English Entertainment
Star Movies presents TV premiere of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron
MUMBAI: Sometimes even the best is not good enough. Sometimes even a hero might fall. When the world faces total annihilation at the hands of one incredibly powerful foe, it’s time to assemble all against one. The devious Ultron wants to break earth’s mightiest superheroes, but together they will stand tall against all odds and with the help of every movie lover in India they will look to prevail on Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron on 24 April at 1 pm and 9 pm only on Star Movies.
The movies is powered by Domino’s, partnered by Dell and Tiago from Tata Motors while associate sponsors are Frooti, Reebok and Nivea.
For the showcase of one of biggest superhero blockbusters of all time, a film that grossed over 1.4 billion USD worldwide, the Star Movies team created an avalanche of Superhero showdown with one single focus join the Marvel’s Avengers and defeat Ultron!
For a blockbuster of this scale, movies marketing needs to set benchmarks that the industry has not seen before. That’s exactly what the marketing blitzkrieg by Star Movies is going achieved on 20 and 21 April at the Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel. Life Sized figurines of the Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man were flown down to India to create the spectacular scene of the movie where the 4 super heroes fight the mighty Ultron. Fans of the franchise came in huge numbers to get a picture with their favorite super hero. Singer and Radio personality Mihir Joshi came in amongst huge numbers waiting to see one of their favorite singers support his favorite avenger. Mihir Joshi came dressed for the occasion in a casual jeans and a black avenger’s t shirt. Amidst a huge roar came one of the music industry’s most famous personalities Shibani Kashyap. It came in as a surprise that she was a huge fan of Captain America and she quoted that she couldn’t wait to watch the movie on Sunday.
A high decibel omnipresent Outdoor messaging was set across India that urges all fans to assemble against Ultron. To support this spectacular campaign, branding and partnerships in Gold’s Gym outlets, Crossword Bookstores, Café Coffee Day and PVR Cinemas were set up across India. The radio campaign boomed with the voice of superheroes announcing the date when all the Avengers will assemble against their one foe.
Social media is already abuzz with fans gearing up to join their favourite superheroes. There has been non-stop social media conversations leading up to the premiere that will unleash the fans on Ultron by forming the biggest army on social media with #AvengersOnStarMovies on 24 April 1 pm and 9 pm.
Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron does not have an equal and Star Movies has certainly set a new benchmark in movie marketing with an unprecedented plethora of high-octane initiatives that are befitting to a movie of this stature.
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.
