The M&A scenarios are continuing to multiply in the media business. Deadline has confirmed that Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra has been in talks with Apollo Global Management about making a go for Paramount.
Remember, though, Skydance and its backers, including Redbird Capital and KKR, are also in exclusive and evidently constructive talks with Paramount Global‘s majority shareholder, National Amusements. That two-step process would see Skydance chief David Ellison running Paramount, with whom he has frequently collaborated on film and TV projects.
Deadline's understanding at this point is that Apollo is doing lots of the heavy lifting – it has reportedly already offered $26 billion for Paramount, a hefty premium to its market value, though that proposal went nowhere. It is not clear exactly how Sony would be involved in the day-to-day or if it would merely provide management expertise, though it revives the grim prospect of two major studios consolidating into one, as was the working theory when Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav broached a potential deal with Paramount CEO Bob Bakish last December. (That combo has been ruled out.)
Paramount’s beaten-down stock jumped 12% in after-hours trading upon the Sony revelation, and shares gained 10% this morning. >>>Culver City Dreaming |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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'The Movie Of Dorian Gray'- Succession star Sarah Snook keeps on rising. Fresh off the back of an Olivier for her performance as 26 characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray in London's West End, Cate Blanchett's Dirty Films has now acquired the film rights to the buzzy theater show. Dirty Films partner Andrew Upton is working with the show’s mastermind Kip Williams on a treatment based on the technically dazzling one woman performance. >>>More Than A Portrait
Cleese Canceled - Monty Python star and anti-woke old codger John Cleese's Channel 4 show about cancel culture appears to have been canceled. He announced the project in 2021 but sources close to the production say Channel 4 struggled to come to a deal with Cleese and there have been diary issues. >>> Dead Parrot
Keeper Of Projects - Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired Shannon Messenger's buzzy bestseller Keeper of the Lost Cities and Emma Watts is set to produce the movie version. The book that focuses on a telepathic girl who must figure out why she is the key to a world that exists side by side with our own has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, so it is little surprise that Warners was so interested. >>>The Saga Continues
Revenge Thriller - Palestinian director Maysaloun Hamoud has boarded female revenge thriller Beretta for LA's Passage Pictures. The talented auteur is taking on her second feature following 2016 breakout In Between (Bar Bahar). >>>Taxi Driver-Style
Moving Up A Gear - Iconic British F1 driver James Hunt is being given the premium doc treatment. Deep Fusion Films is forging the intimate Hunt: We Need to Talk About James, a deep dive into the life of a man who was once deemed the golden boy of motorsport. >>>Playboy & Adrenaline Junkie
In Brief - HBO has set a May premiere date for Nikkie Glaser comedy special Someday You'll Die... Comedian Rhys Darby will narrate Peacock wildlife reality competition The Hungry Games... Film Movement has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to acclaimed choreography doc Obsessed with Light. |
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Johnny Depp’s IN.2 Execs Talk ‘Jeanne Du Barry’ UK Release, ‘Modi’ Plans & More Projects |
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Johnny Depp was in London last week promoting new Maïwenn movie Jeanne du Barry, in which he stars as Louis XV. But quietly behind the scenes, execs at his IN.2 outfit have been compiling a neat little slate of projects.
Deadline spoke with Head of Production Stephen Malit as well as IN.2 CEO Stephen Deuters and Development Coordinator Vivi Stone about Jeanne du Barry launch plans, Depp's upcoming directorial credit Modi and a wealth of other projects featuring the likes of Charlotte Colbert, Julien Temple and Murray Lachlan Young. >>>IN.2 Deep |
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Exclusive
Violett Beane and newcomer Jacob Robinson have joined the cast of Christopher Landon’s Drop for Platinum Dunes and Blumhouse. The duo will star alongside previously announced Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar.
Exclusive
Industry star Myha’la has joined Lily James in 20th Century’s upcoming movie inspired by the story of Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble and co-founder of Tinder.
Gurinder Chadha is pushing on with Christmas Karma inspired by Charles Dicken's seminal novel A Christmas Carol and has cast Kunal Nayyar to lead an ensemble cast.
Exclusive
Matilda Firth has been cast in Wolf Man opposite Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott and Sam Jaeger.
Exclusive
Legendary has cast Ellie Bamber in Animal Friends, a star-studded feature combining live action and animated characters from Kevin Burrows and Matt MIder.
In Brief - Sterlin Harjo's FX pilot The Sensitive Kind has added five to its cast... NCIS: Origins has added Daniel Bellomy, Caleb Martin Foote and Robert Taylor... The Suits: LA pilot has set John Amos, Victoria Justice and Kevin Weisman as guest stars. |
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More News 🦸♂️ David Zaslav, the Warner Bros Discovery CEO who has become a poster child for lavish executive compensation in the media business, saw his total pay last year jump by more than $10 million to $49.7 million, the company disclosed this morning. WBD stock has dropped 38% over the past year, but Zaslav and other execs now tie their compensation to free cash flow, which has been on a more positive trajectory.
🙈 20th Century Studios' Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes remains on track for a $54 million domestic opening, which would place it on par with the 2011 Andy Serkis-James Franco movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
💓 Kevin Hart's Hartbeat has signed with WME for representation in all areas amid an expansion of multi-platform IP. The star, who was named as Billboards 2023 highest-grossing comedian, recently announced an Acting My Age tour and last month became the youngest honoree to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Comedy.
📈 It was good to see some variety in the Nielsen streaming charts last month, driven by the success of Road House and Quiet on Set. During the week of March 18 to 24, there were four different streamers represented among the top five streaming titles, a rarity that has only occurred once before, according to the measurement company.
⚖️ "We have our jury," said Judge Juan Merchan after several days of lengthy questioning in the Donald Trump hush money trial. The 12-person jury has now been compiled but alternates are still being selected.
🎖️ Abel Gance's classic Napoleon will open the 2024 Cannes sidebar in restored form. The major work of the silent era has taken 16 years to restore and the fest said “various sources were used to rediscover the original storyline." |
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BY THE NUMBERS 8.7% - The Q1 year-over-year drop for film and TV production days in Los Angeles, per Film LA, as the industry looks to rebound from 2023's dual strikes |
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Obituaries
🕯Roger Dickens, the British special effects artist best known for his work on Alien, died at his home in North Wales. He was 84. 🕯Dickey Betts, the Allman Brothers Band‘s Grammy-winning co-founding guitarist, singer and songwriter behind such classics as “Ramblin’ Man,” “Blue Sky” and “Jessica,” died yesterday of cancer at his home in Osprey, FL. He was 80.🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024 Photo Gallery |
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On the Radar
Fri - New Taylor Swift album released; Daytime Emmy nominations
Sat - NHL & NBA Playoffs begins
Sunday - ‘The Jinx’ Season 2 premieres on HBO |
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Royale Reunion - Several key Pulp Fiction stars reunited Friday for a screening of the film at the Turner Classic Movies Festival. |
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