News

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights worldwide to Sundance prize-winner East Of Wall.

Written and directed by Kate Beecroft, the drama about female resilience in the American West premiered at this year’s festival and won the Audience Award in the Next category.

Tabatha Zimiga and Porshia Zimiga star as themselves alongside Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle in the story, inspired by the Zimigas’ real lives, of a rebellious young horse trainer who provides refuge for a group of wayward teens on her run-down ranch.

Lila Yacoub, Beecroft, Melanie Ramsayer and Shannon Moss produced, with Scott Frank, Al Engemann,...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights worldwide to “East of Wall,” following its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the Audience Award in the Next category, the company announced on Friday.

Written and directed by Kate Beecroft, “East of Wall” is about female resilience in a marginalized, neglected corner of the American West.

“I am incredibly grateful to have our film championed by, and to be partnered with, Sony Pictures Classics,” Beecroft said in a statement to TheWrap. “This project is deeply personal to everyone involved, and I’m so proud of the bravery my cast showed in sharing their voices — voices that are too often overlooked or pushed aside. I can’t wait for audiences to experience their lives on the big screen.”

The film stars Tabatha Zimiga and Porshia Zimiga playing themselves, as well as Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle.

“East of Wall...

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired “East of Wall,” a critically acclaimed look at a marginalized, neglected corner of the American West that marks the feature debut of writer and director Kate Beecroft. The film was inspired by real people, with Beecroft convincing Tabatha and Porshia Zimiga, ranchers from the Badlands, to play versions of themselves. “East of Wall” won the Audience Award at Sundance in the Next category.

Variety‘s Peter Debruge praised the film as an “artful debut” and compared it to Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider,” which Sony Pictures Classics also distributed. Other critics agreed with The Austin Chronicle writing, “As a first-time feature filmmaker, Beecroft’s storytelling technique could stand greater development, but her sense of place and mood is spot-on. Her film will definitely make you want to scrape the mud off your boots before you leave the theatre.”

Tabatha Zimiga stars as a horse trainer who,...

Days of Our Lives spoilers and rumors tease Salem University Hospital could get a last-minute miracle save from bankruptcy and dissolution.

Alice Horton’s (Frances Reid) necklace mysteriously reappears, and Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes) sells it to save the hospital, and it might even get a new name!

Salem University Hospital Is Part Of Julie’s Family’s Legacy

Salem University Hospital is part of Julie’s family legacy as much as the Horton House is-her grandfather, Tom Horton (MacDonald Carey) was a prominent doctor there.

Her uncle Bill Horton (John Martin) was a surgeon there also, and the hospital was very important to the Hortons.

So it’s a sad day for Julie and for the hospital staff as well, when they learn all that was keeping the hospital open was “Body And Soul” being filmed there.

The production is moving to California, and not only are some...

In the latest turn in the Paramount Global sale process, Edgar Bronfman Jr. has withdrawn his bid to buy the film and TV studio.

“Tonight, our bidding group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate,” Bronfman said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “We continue to believe that Paramount Global is an extraordinary company, with an unrivaled collection of marquee brands, assets and people.”

Bronfman added, “While there may have been differences, we believe that everyone involved in the sale process is united in the belief that Paramount’s best days are ahead. We congratulate the Skydance team and thank the special committee and the Redstone family for their engagement during the go-shop process.”

Bronfman initially submitted a roughly $4.3 billion bid last week, which included $2.4 billion in debt and equity for Shari Redstone’s holding company,...

Paramount Global’s special committee is taking a long look at a revised $6bn offer for the media conglomerate by industry veteran Edgar Bronfman Jr. and has extended the “go-shop” window by 15 days to September 5.

The committee always had the option to extend the deadline, which was due to expire tonight. This is an indication it views Bronfman Jr.’s 11th-hour offer seriously enough to press pause on the previously agreed merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

According to reports Bronfman Jr. has increased the offer by $1.7bn from the original $4.3bn proposed.

It is understood the additional sum...

Paramount Global’s special committee is taking a long look at a revised $6bn offer for the media conglomerate by industry veteran Edgar Bronfman Jr. and has extended the “go-shop” window by 15 days to September 5.

The committee always had the option to extend the deadline, which was due to expire tonight. This is an indication it views Bronfman Jr.’s 11th-hour offer seriously enough to press pause on the previously agreed merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

According to reports Bronfman Jr. has increased the offer by $1.7bn from the original $4.3bn proposed.

It is understood the additional sum...

Paramount’s special committee has considered the competing bid from Edgar Bronfman Jr. to buy National Amusements and take control of Paramount, and it’s at least curious at what it sees.

Paramount’s special committee announced it has extended the “go-shop period” in which other interested bidders could try and match or beat to the deal agreed to with David Ellison’s Skydance. The committee had the responsibility to consider anything that “is or would reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal” compared to what Skydance put on the table. It means the committee is now seriously considering the competing offer and will keep this M&a saga rolling a little longer.

After Paramount agreed to a deal with David Ellison’s Skydance, the company opened a 45-day window in which others could match. Late on Monday, Bronfman formally submitted a $4.3 billion bid, saying that his offer is...

Paramount Global’s board has extended the go-shop window under its Skydance Media deal for 15 days as it engages with an investor group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., which on Wednesday proffered $6 billion to take control of the media conglomerate — up from $4.3 billion previously.

Bronfman and his backers on Wednesday made the higher bid to acquire National Amusements Inc., Paramount’s controlling shareholder, and added a deal sweetener — offering a pool of $1.7 billion to give Paramount nonvoting shareholders a $16/share buyout premium for a portion of their stock, sources confirmed to Variety. The Bronfman-led group originally offered $4.3 billion and had not offered to acquire any of Paramount Global’s nonvoting stock. The move puts on hold, for now, the deal with David Ellison’s Skydance Media that would see Skydance merge with Paramount.

In an announcement Wednesday, the Paramount board’s special committee confirmed the “receipt of an acquisition proposal from Edgar Bronfman, Jr.,...

We were this close to being done with Paramount M&a drama. Not so fast.

Just ahead of the deadline for Paramount’s 45-day “go-shop period,” in which the company could entertain offers from anyone not named David Ellison, Edgar Bronfman Jr. formally submitted his own bid for Paramount Global, the Wall Street Journal reported. At a glance, Bronfman’s bid is very similar to what the Skydance CEO offered Shari Redstone, who in turn accepted. There is one major difference however, and it could make the Seagram’s heir a real champion of the common man — or at least the common stockholder.

Paramount’s special committee is tasked with determining if Bronfman’s offer “is or would reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal” than its bird in the hand. The committee can now extend the shopping window by 15 days, and Ellison still has the chance to...

The book isn’t closed yet on Paramount Global’s months-long M&a epic.

On Monday (Aug. 19), billionaire media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr. submitted an offer valued at $4.3 billion to acquire Shari Redstone’s National Amusements Inc., which is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, Variety has confirmed.

Bronfman’s bid is an attempt to rival the offer from David Ellison’s Skydance Media and its financial backers, which last month clinched a binding agreement worth more than $8 billion for Nai and Paramount Global, whose properties include CBS, Paramount Pictures, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks.

Bronfman’s bid was submitted to the special committee established by Paramount Global’s board to evaluate M&a offers, which is expected to review it on Wednesday. Reps for Nai, Bronfman, Skydance and the Paramount board’s special committee declined to comment.

Bronfman’s bid for Nai was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Carla Balenda, who starred alongside Dana Andrews and Claude Rains in the Rko Pictures thriller Sealed Cargo and portrayed Mickey Rooney’s girlfriend on the NBC sitcom Hey Mulligan, has died. She was 98.

Balenda, billed at times as Sally Bliss, her birth name, died April 9 of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, her grandson Jim Martin told The Hollywood Reporter.

She also played a nurse on the 1955-56 syndicated series The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, starring Glen Gordon, and recurred as Miss Hazlitt, Timmy’s (Jon Provost) teacher, on CBS’ Lassie from 1958-63.

In Sealed Cargo (1951), Balenda portrayed a woman who is aboard a fishing trawler bound for Newfoundland when she and the skipper (Andrews) wind up tangling in the North Atlantic with Nazis led by Rains’ character. She often said it was her favorite role.

When Rooney took his first crack at television,...

Steve Aoki has been a household name for the last two decades, but that hasn’t stopped him from perpetually experimenting — bounding from one sound to the next — and challenging how his music is consumed, understood, and memorialized.

“There’s no one doing what I’m doing,” he tells Rolling Stone when reflecting on HiROQUEST 2: Double Helix, an expansive 23-track album released Friday. The ambitious project simultaneously spans country, latin, and dance — building on Aoki’s early roots while embracing today’s appetite for genre-breaking music. Paris Hilton, Akon,...

New Delhi, Aug 21 (Ians) India saw 120 per cent growth in electric vehicles (EVs) in the second quarter of this year, driven by a 400 per cent surge in hybrid vehicles, a report showed on Monday.

Assistance systems (Adas) rapidly expanded by 350 per cent (year-on-year) and the adoption of connected and digital cockpit features continue to gain steady traction in passenger vehicles, surpassing 60 per cent, according to the report by CyberMedia Research (Cmr).

The surge in Ev adoption was driven by the introduction of new affordable models, including, for instance, Mg Comet Ev from Mg Motors.

“Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are focused on introducing electric vehicles with Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (Adas) that include helpful features like adaptive cruise control, lane centering, and automated lane changes,” said John Martin, senior analyst-smart mobility practice, Cmr.

Additionally, the use of intelligent and connected cockpits within vehicles is on the rise.

“These advancements...

Steve Aoki is expanding the HiROQUEST universe.

The Grammy-nominated artist will release his 10th studio LP HiROQUEST: Double Helix on Nov. 17, Rolling Stone can exclusively reveal. The record will feature collaborations with Paris Hilton, Akon, Ángela Aguilar, Dana Paola, Greeicy, Galantis, JJ Lin, Hayley Kiyoko, Galantis, Timmy Trumpet, and John Martin, and follows 2022’s HiROQUEST: Genesis.

“HiROQUEST is an entire world I crafted around an enigmatic character named HiRO,” explained Aoki in a statement. “Part I was largely driven by my alt-music roots in hardcore punk bands. Now, the story continues on Double Helix,...

Exclusive: Warner Bros. Discovery has shuttered iStreamPlanet, a Seattle-based company that allowed users to stream live and traditional TV over the internet.

Roughly 25 employees were laid off as a result of the closure. The operation was flagged for possible elimination after the Wbd merger in April of 2022, Deadline has learned.

A Wbd spokesperson declined comment.

In 2015, Turner Broadcasting invested an additional $200 million in the company, which was founded by Serbian former pro basketball player Mio Babic. The deal allowed Turner to take advantage of iStreamPlanet’s technology at a time when media companies didn’t have the kind of in-house knowledge needed to run large-scale streaming video operations.

“This partnership will expand our capabilities to offer live events within and outside of the traditional ecosystem and, by bringing iStreamPlanet’s innovative technology in-house, allow us to cultivate future business opportunities on digital platforms,” then Turner CEO John Martin said at the time.

Our friends over at Severin Films just kicked off their epic Summer Sale with prices slashed by 50% on most catalogue releases, along with a handful of brand new offerings.

One of the standout new arrivals this week is the controversial 1981 horror movie Nightmare – also known as Nightmares in a Damaged Brain – now available on 4K Ultra HD from Severin. The 1980s horror film has been scanned from the internegative and various foreign print sources to create the most complete version Ever assembled.

The film’s 4K Uhd debut comes complete with a brand new roster of extras, including the first time Tom Savini has gone on camera about his controversial involvement!

Severin is also publishing a 193 page novelization of the film, written by Rue Morgue’s Michael Gingold, based on the original screenplay by Romano Scavolini.

Nightmare was famously named one of the “Video Nasties” back in the 1980s, a...

"Don’T Move! Don’T Breathe! Don’T Make A Sound! They’Re Coming!" Just in time for Halloween, Synapse Films will be releasing its 2-disc Tombs of the Blind DeadBlu-ray on October 24th!

Amando de Ossorio’s unique 1971 Spanish shocker Tombs of the Blind Dead was an international horror hit that spawned three sequels and countless imitations. Now, over 50 years after its debut, Synapse Films is proud to bring this Spanish horror classic back from the grave in a brand new restoration with killer extras that would wake the dead!

The first of four official films in the series, it begins with a trio of friends getting together for a camping trip that quickly turns into blood curdling horror as a legion of long-dead Knights Templar rise from their graves in search of human flesh! When the Templars were originally executed for their cannibalistic rituals, they were hanged outside...

However, with the friendly government policies and new entrants arriving on the scene with cheaper EVs, the country is set to witness a plethora of options in the next 2-3 years.

Industry experts expect that passenger car Ev penetration will cross 21 per cent by 2027 from 1.3 per cent in 2022.

Tata Motors is currently leading the Indian passenger electric vehicle (Ev) market, followed by Mg Motor, and Hyundai Motor.

"Mg Motor’s recent launch of the Comet Ev priced under Rs 10 lakh is expected to be a game-changer for urban Ev adoption," senior analyst Soumen Mandal from Counterpoint Research told Ians.

Comet Ev offers a certified battery range of around 230 km on a single charge. According to the company, the new Comet Ev has been evaluated to provide an encouraging and economical charging cost of Rs 519 per month.

Maruti Suzuki is also working on developing its own battery technology before launching pure Ev models.

New Delhi, May 9 (Ians) India’s overall connected vehicle (CV) technology grew more than 60 per cent (on-year) in the first quarter of this year, with the electric vehicle (Ev) market showing stupendous growth by 48 per cent YoY, a report showed on Tuesday.

The connected 2-wheeler (C2W) vehicles grew around 92 per cent YoY, with its market share increasing to nearly 60 per cent, according to data from market research firm Cmr.

The electric 2-wheeler (E2W) market grew by 44 per cent YoY. The electric 3-wheeler (E3W) market grew steadily covering around 50 per cent share within the segment.

“There is growing consumer awareness around connected vehicle technologies. For instance, connected vehicle tech has consistently increased its footprint in the industry,” said John Martin, senior analyst, smart mobility practice, Cmr.

The advanced driver-assistance system (Adas) adoption grew around 50 per cent YoY in Q1 2023.

“With safety becoming a top consumer priority, Adas feature tech has witnessed gradual adoption,...

We’ll all celebrate the new year on January 1. But the date when everybody seemed to turn the page on Big Media already took place unexpectedly on August 3.

That’s when investors stopped giving companies the benefit of the doubt that their TV networks, Hollywood’s main profit drivers, could manage their worrisome declines in ratings and ad sales — and especially early signs of cable and satellite TV cord-cutting.

It was a big change. Up to then Wall Street for the most part accepted moguls’ upbeat view that their troubles were insignificant and temporary.

“While the U.S. multi-channel household universe has been experiencing some subscriber losses, they haven’t been material and we don’t anticipate that they’re going to be material,” Turner Broadcasting CEO John Martin told analysts in April.

That optimism was reflected in the Dow Jones U.S. Media Index. It rose 7.8% between January and early August,...

Recently, ABC revealed the new,official,synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Mistresses" episode 5 of season 2. The episode is entitled, "Playing With Fire," and it sounds like things will get quite interesting when April learns about some new dirt on her current lover, Daniel, and more. In the new,5th episode press release: Savi will reveal a devil-may-care side. Karen's harmless addiction, could turn dangerous. A surprised Josslyn is going to consider an unusual request, and April will get disconcerting news. Press release number 2: Savi’s sister and friends are going to be concerned when her secret camaraderie with Zack, reveals a devil-may-care side. Karen will try to heed April’s advice that her harmless addiction could turn dangerous. Scott is going to make his move with Josslyn, and then will share a surprising fantasy with her. A blissfully-in-love April is going to get some disconcerting news about Daniel. In the meantime,...

“We have better product than they do,” said ESPN President John Skipper today at the Ncta’s Cable Show convention in downtown LA about challenges to cable from Netflix, Amazon and Yahoo. “Shame on us if we don’t protect our turf,” he added. “We’re allowing them to set the tone of the conversation — we should set the tone of the conversation.” Proclaiming that “the single greatest buttress in the pay-tv package is ESPN,” Skipper also acknowledged the shifting landscape of cable and the real threats from new platforms. “We’re not all going to grow and make more money unless we sell the value” of pay-tv, he said. “There was not this discussion when it was a growing pie. We’ve got to find a way to grow the pie.”

The sports TV boss and Cable Show co-chair was joined today on the panel in the cavernous West...