All posts tagged: Paramount

Anti-Trumpists Are Suddenly Progressive Documentary Funders

Anti-Trumpists Are Suddenly Progressive Documentary Funders

Published by Daniella Wilson

Anti-Trumpists have emerged as a new and growing source of financing for embattled political documentary makers. Richard Lorber, president of Kino Lorber, on Friday told a Toronto Film Festival panel on connecting audiences to non-fiction movies that progressive, or politically-oriented, documentaries are drawing on “civic-minded citizens with significant contributions, which allow them to get made and give viewers a chance to go to the theater.” Beyond such “impact partners,” the TIFF: The Market panel centered on how to get documentaries financed and released as they make slow return to theaters after the pandemic. “The only thing you can count on in releasing quality art house specialty films is disappointment,” Lorber argued, even as he has had recent gains with theatrical docs like the Oscar-winning Mr Nobody Against Putin and the summer arthouse hit Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World. That theatrical success offered Lorber proof of “a ray of light that you’ve suddenly activated, a sleeper cell of fans who you didn’t know even existed.” mTuckman Media principal Michael Tuckman had his own recent success …

Paramount Presses States and WGA on Posting .88 Billion Bond

Paramount Presses States and WGA on Posting $1.88 Billion Bond

Published by Daniella Wilson

Paramount is continuing to press a dozen states led by California and the Writers Guild of America to bear the costs of the hold up caused by their lawsuits challenging the $111 billion megamerger. The studio has asked for a $1.88 billion bond to cover losses if it wins the cases. In July, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín temporarily halted the deal and scheduled a trial for March, months past its target closing date of late September. There will be major financial repercussions for the delay. Under the agreement, Warners shareholders are owed roughly $650 million per quarter or $6.9 million per day if the merger hasn’t closed by Oct. 1. The bond represents the maximum payout to investors, plus legal fees. The states and WGA have pushed back on the demand, arguing that Paramount proposed the fee in a bid to win support from shareholders, who were weighing a rival bid from Netflix at the time. The studio “now wishes to offload that responsibility,” stated a filing from California Attorney General Rob Bonta last …

Former Paramount International CEO Was 55

Former Paramount International CEO Was 55

Published by Daniella Wilson

Raffaele Annecchino, the Italian-born former president and CEO of Paramount International, died suddenly over the weekend while on vacation in the Balearic Islands from meningitis, his friend and colleague Claudia Loda announced. He was 55. Over more than 25 years at Paramount and Viacom/CBS starting in the late 1990s, Annecchino rose from an early commercial role in Madrid to oversee the company’s operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia. As head of Paramount International, Annecchino helped the company transition from traditional broadcasting to digital platforms. He led the overseas rollout of Paramount+, supported the global expansion of Pluto TV and championed innovation, digitization and strategic partnerships. He also was instrumental in the 2022 creation of SkyShowtime, the joint venture between Paramount and Comcast. Known for his negotiation skills, Annecchino worked closely with major players across the global media ecosystem, including Sky, Canal+, MultiChoice, Viaplay, Corus, J:COM, Claro and Mediapro. He oversaw the growth of networks such as MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Channel 5 in the U.K., Network 10 in Australia, Telefe in …

Tom Hardy Officially Back to ‘MobLand’ With Season 3 Renewal

Tom Hardy Officially Back to ‘MobLand’ With Season 3 Renewal

Published by Daniella Wilson

Tom Hardy will remain with the MobLand cast for a third season — the official word was handed down on Thursday with a renewal for the Paramount+ series. The streamer’s headline on its announcement: “THE HARRIGANS AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE.” That includes their fixer Harry da Souza (Hardy), the press release specified. MobLand also stars Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as crime family patriarch and matriarch Conrad and Maeve Harrigan; Paddy Considine, Joanne Froggatt, Lara Pulver, Anson Boon, Jasmine Jobson, Mandeep Dhillon, Geoff Bell, Daniel Betts, Janet McTeer, Jordi Mollà and Toby Jones star in supporting roles. MobLand season two is still weeks away from premiering — it debuts on Friday, Sept. 18 — the early season three renewal is a vote of confidence in the series and a wise way to put the Hardy drama to bed. MobLand will roll out a new episode each Friday through its season two finale on Nov. 20. Hardy had clashed with producers on the series, THR reported in May, including executive producer Jez Butterworth and others at David Glasser’s 101 …

Everyone Wants a Paramount Settlement. Look Under the Hood

Everyone Wants a Paramount Settlement. Look Under the Hood

Published by Daniella Wilson

Twelve state attorneys general, the directors’ and crew unions, the theater owners, and much of the industry disagree on almost everything in the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery case. They agree on one thing: they would all prefer a settlement. The Directors Guild and IATSE have jointly urged Attorney General Rob Bonta and David Ellison to pursue a negotiated resolution. The theater owners group, Cinema United, which opposed the merger, now seeks a settlement with enforceable protections. The three largest exhibitors have endorsed the deal after receiving commitments on theatrical output and release windows. Political leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, likely successor Xavier Becerra and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, have joined in. I understand the impulse. I share it. No one in this industry benefits from another year of limbo. Not Warner Bros. Discovery, not Paramount, and certainly not the writers, directors, crews, vendors, and communities whose livelihoods depend on production that companies in limbo may not greenlight. A word about where I stand. I have publicly written against this merger more than half a dozen times, …

California AG Cancels Paramount-WBD Deal Meeting: Stop “Playing Games”

California AG Cancels Paramount-WBD Deal Meeting: Stop “Playing Games”

Published by Daniella Wilson

A planned Monday meeting between David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance and California state officials, designed to kick off ‌settlement talks over the state’s lawsuit to block the entertainment company’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, has been called off at the last moment, California attorney general Rob Bonta said. He is one of a group of state attorneys general (AG) that have taken aim at the planned mega-merger. “Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” Bonta said in a statement. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.” A dozen AGs, led by Bonta, whose antitrust lawsuit last month seeking to block the merger has been a thorn in Ellison’s side, have spoken out against the mega-deal, which could lead to the divestiture of Warner Bros. assets and cost more than $1 billion in “ticking-clock” fees ahead of a March trial, among other potential fallout. Ellison has in recent weeks sought to fight back with a media blitz, a threat …

Mark Ruffalo denies antisemitism charge from Paramount Skydance over merger criticism

Mark Ruffalo denies antisemitism charge from Paramount Skydance over merger criticism

Published by Sam Flores

Mark Ruffalo is pushing back against Paramount Skydance after the media giant characterized his anti-merger comments as antisemitic. Ruffalo called the accusation “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.” “Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people,” Ruffalo wrote Saturday on X. “This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.” The dispute traces to a social media post from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement — a Palestinian-led campaign opposing Israel’s occupation, which began in 1967 — that Ruffalo had boosted. The post featured comments from Oracle Executive Vice Chair Safra Catz describing the company’s assistance to Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Catz said Oracle undertook efforts it couldn’t fully discuss to support the Israeli military, alluding to advanced technology it made available for that purpose. BDS captioned the clip by accusing Oracle of being “complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity — including apartheid and genocide against Palestinians.” Oracle Executive …

Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Calls Out Mark Ruffalo’s Paramount Remarks

Simon Wiesenthal Center CEO Calls Out Mark Ruffalo’s Paramount Remarks

Published by Daniella Wilson

Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is defending Paramount after the studio called Mark Ruffalo’s anti-merger comments “antisemitic.” “Words matter, and so does the willingness to draw a line when legitimate debate gives way to antisemitic tropes,” Berk wrote. “We commend Paramount for speaking clearly and refusing to allow prejudice to masquerade as political or corporate criticism. At a time when antisemitism is too often minimized, rationalized or repackaged in more socially acceptable language, this kind of moral clarity matters.” “Invoking Israel in an issue where it is completely irrelevant is a textbook case of obsession and demonization. Paramount was right to call it out. More leaders and institutions should have the courage to call antisemitism what it is, regardless of who is spreading it,” his statement concluded. Earlier this week, the Oscar-nominated actor, who has been an outspoken opponent of Paramount’s $111 billion deal for Warner Bros., highlighted Larry Ellison’s (Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father) Oracle’s ties to the Israeli military amid the Israel-Gaza war. Ruffalo resurfaced a clip from 2024 of former …

Mark Ruffalo hits out at Paramount over ‘appalling’ and ‘dishonest’ antisemitism accusation

Mark Ruffalo hits out at Paramount over ‘appalling’ and ‘dishonest’ antisemitism accusation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Mark Ruffalo has hit out at Paramount after the film studio accused him of antisemitism, branding the accusation “appalling and fundamentally dishonest”. Earlier this week, Ruffalo criticised the links between Oracle – the multinational tech company owned by billionaire Larry Ellison, father of Paramount Skydance boss David Ellison – and the Israeli military. Paramount are currently in the process of a controversial merger with rival studio Warner Bros, in a deal worth $111bn (£81bn). The acquisition has faced significant criticism from within the US film industry, thanks in part to David Ellison’s political ties with US president Donald Trump. Ruffalo shared a clip on social media of a video taken in 2024, in which former Oracle chief Safra Catz discusses the company’s activities in relation to Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Catz is heard making reference to “profoundly scary technologies” that …

Taylor Sheridan Sued by Writer for Allegedly Stealing Yellowstone Idea

Taylor Sheridan Sued by Writer for Allegedly Stealing Yellowstone Idea

Published by Daniella Wilson

Taylor Sheridan, Paramount and NBC Universal are all being sued by a writer who says Sheridan stole her idea for a TV show and used it to create Yellowstone. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Friday, TV writer and entertainment journalist Lauren J. Salkin claims she submitted a pilot script, show bible and pitch deck for a show called Sovereign Nation to Sheridan’s reps at his management company, Elevate Entertainment, which is also named as a defendant in the suit, in late 2016 and early 2017. Sovereign Nation, which Salkin spent more than 10 years developing, is described in the complaint, which was viewed by The Hollywood Reporter, as a “dramatic television series centered on tribal governance, casino-driven economic power and a modern war over land and development.” Salkin alleges that she received a response from Elevate on Feb. 1, 2017 saying that Sheridan was “unavailable for TV projects.” “Within months, Paramount greenlit Sheridan’s Yellowstone,” the complaint states. The show premiered on the Paramount Network …