Hollywood
Zac Efron will star and produce film adaptation of John Grisham’s The Associate
MUMBAI: Disney Channel’s High School Musical hit teen pop star Zac Efron will soon don the hat of film producer for the second time, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) reports. According to THR, Efron will star and produce in a new adaptation of John Grisham’s 2009 best-seller The Associate.
Efron is set to play the role of Kyle McAvoy, who grew up in his father’s small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal, and his future has limitless potential. But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget.
The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job he doesn’t want – even though it’s a job most law students can only dream about. Three months after leaving Yale, Kyle becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world, where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed.
Efron will produce via his Ninja’s Runnin Wild production house (That Awkward Moment), and Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher (Divergent) will produce through Red Wagon Entertainment. Michael Simkin and Nicki Cortese will oversee development.
The Associate was earlier set up at Paramount back in 2008, with Shia LaBeouf attached to star. Previous adaptations of Grisham’s books include The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker and The Runaway.
Hollywood
WBD sets April 23 vote on $110bn Paramount Skydance merger
Investor approval key step, but regulators loom over mega media deal
NEW YORK: Warner Bros. Discovery has set April 23 as the date for shareholders to vote on its proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, marking a crucial step in one of the biggest media deals in recent years.
The all-cash transaction offers WBD shareholders $31 per share, a hefty 147 per cent premium to its unaffected stock price, signalling strong intent to push the deal across the finish line. The company’s board has unanimously backed the merger and is urging investors to vote in favour.
Even if shareholders give the green light, the deal is far from done. Regulators in the United States and Europe are expected to scrutinise the merger closely, weighing concerns around competition and potential price impacts for consumers.
To keep investors on side, WBD has built in a safety net. If the deal is not completed by September 30, shareholders will receive a quarterly “ticking fee” of $0.25 per share until closure.
The proposed merger would significantly reshape the media landscape, combining the assets of Warner Bros. Discovery with those linked to Paramount Global and Skydance Media. It would also cement the growing influence of David Ellison, who has been steering Skydance’s aggressive expansion strategy.
“The WBD Board has been guided by the singular principle of securing a transaction that maximises the value of our iconic assets and delivers as much certainty as possible to our shareholders,” said Warner Bros. Discovery board chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr.. “This historic transaction will expand consumer choice and create new opportunities for creative talent.”
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive officer David Zaslav added that the company is working closely with its counterpart to close the deal and unlock value for stakeholders.
With investor backing likely but regulatory hurdles ahead, the proposed merger is shaping up to be a defining moment for the global entertainment industry, where scale, content and competition are increasingly intertwined.
