English Entertainment
HBO & HBO HD makes March action-packed with spy thriller ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout’
MUMBAI: Flirt with danger, as Ethan Hunt swivels through Parisian streets and precariously leaps off rooftops in London, with the momentous mission of saving the world. HBO and HBO HD bring to you the ultimate action blockbuster ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout’, this Sunday, 17th March, at 1pm and 9pm. So, stack up on some popcorn and watch magnificent action and bone-breaking stunts performed by Tom Cruise himself! The movie of the year is presented to fans by Dubai Tourism, co-powered by Volkswagen, Poco by Xiaomi and Amazon Fire Stick TV, along with food delivery partner Swiggy.
This latest sequel in the 22 year-old spy thriller franchise, ringing in more than 3.5 billion dollars at the box office, elevates thrill and pace. Hunt’s mission is set against a ticking clock with three nuclear weapons set to explode in 72 hours. The famous spy plays a distinctive mental parkour against swerving loyalties and assassination attempts. Fallout matches these complications with equally stunning signature action sequences, including the HALO (High Altitude, Low Open) jump and a classic carnage with fist-fights.
Tom Cruise reprises the role of the world’s numero uno spy for the sixth time, showcasing his daredevilry through slick stunts performed without body doubles or special effects. Cruise’s Hunt meets familiar faces and names – Rebecca Ferguson returns as MI6 Agent Ilsa Faust and Simon Pegg as the much-devoted Benji. The plot includes dual threats, CIA chief Erica Sloan played by Angela Bassett, and Sloan’s top-level assassin August Walker, portrayed by Henry Cavill. Vanessa Kirby chips in as the deadly rogue trader, ‘White Widow’. Director Christopher McQuarrie creates a familiar sense of adventure, adding a pinch of complexity as we see Hunt throwing his moral compass askew for just a bit.
HBO and HBO HD will bring to viewers a chance to experience the thrill of being Ethan Hunt and dive into his adrenalin-pumping world. Through an Augmented Reality (AR) game on HBO India Facebook page, fans must dodge and narrowly escape obstacles in 30 seconds while riding a bike, just like the spy! They can reach the highest score and proudly share on their feed and with HBO!
Fans can also put their spy logic to test with Frapp and see if they match up to Ethan Hunt’s skills! HBO and HBO HD has associated with Frapp app, the highest rated internship app in India with over half a million downloads, for a unique experience. Using the app, participants can challenge friends to ‘Missions’ like quizzes, puzzles or tasks, to be completed within a few seconds – as does the agent in his espionage adventures!
Check out one of the highest grossing movies of 2018, ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout’ only HBO and HBO HD, and experience the magic on Sunday, 17th March, 1pm and 9pm. Use the #MI:FalloutMarch17onHBO on social media to post your experience.
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
