Optimism bloomed in the media business after Donald Trump was elected last November. Top executives hailed what they expected to be a more M&A-friendly era, with the pace of dealmaking finally quickening.
Paramount Global and Skydance Media were seen as beneficiaries of the turnover of administrations. The two companies had announced an $8 billion deal to merge last July, projecting the deal would close during the first half of 2025. In light of the election outcome, Bloomberg hastened to report last December, Skydance CEO David Ellison and his management team had begun “preparing to take over Paramount even sooner than they once thought,” expecting a resolution by late-March or early-April.
Momentum has since moved in the other direction, mostly because of President Donald Trump's media jeremiad and the actions of his faithful appointee as FCC chair, Brendan Carr. Even though the deal is expected to eventually go through, it appears less likely to happen on schedule, and the amount of compromise required of the companies is unclear.
Meantime, Paramount’s unusually structured organization, with three top executives sharing the Office of the CEO on an interim basis, is continuing to try to encourage staffers to tune out the noise and deliver results. Thursday will be the latest example, as Paramount Pictures takes the stage in Las Vegas to pitch its upcoming releases at CinemaCon. >>>"Negative Impact" Of Uncertainty |
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Fox Renewals Include 4X4 Mega Deal - In an unprecedented 4×4 order, Fox picked up four 20th TV Animation series for four seasons each, renewing animated stalwarts The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers for four more years and confirming American Dad!'s return to the network after an 11-year break, also with a four-season order. The network called the pact with Disney TV Studios a “meganimation deal.” >>> More Renewals & Bubble Shows
Tariff Time - International film and TV executives have woken up asking: will Donald Trump's "liberation day" tariffs bite my business? Deadline's Max Goldbart attempts to provide some answers — and the early signs are encouraging. >>>Services Are Excluded
Pascal Bonds With Amazon MGM - On the heels of signing with Amazon MGM Studios to produce the next iteration of James Bond films alongside David Heyman, Amy Pascal has closed a multiyear first-look film deal for her Pascal Pictures banner. >>>007 Not Part Of Pact Apple Bites On 'The Husbands' - Apple TV+ has greenlighted The Husbands, a comedic drama starring Juno Temple. The eight-episode series, from A24, lead writer Miriam Battye (Succession, Beef) and lead director Craig Gillespie (Your Friends & Neighbors, Pam & Tommy) is adapted from author and games designer Holly Gramazio’s bestselling debut novel. >>>Percolating For A While La La, Kenya & Kim K's 'Group Chat' - Hulu has handed a pilot order to Group Chat, a satirical comedy starring and executive produced by La La Anthony (BMF), written and executive produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and executive produced by Kim Kardashian. >>>Inspired By Anthony's Book
Muscling Into A Theater Near You - A24‘s Dwayne Johnson-starring and Benny Safdie-directed The Smashing Machine, about MMA fighter Mark Kerr, has set a theatrical release date of October 3, 2025. >>>Emily Blunt Co-Stars
Jackson Biopic Two-Steps? - Sources are telling us that Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael, from Lionsgate, with a near four-hour cut, could be split into two movies. That’s an option on the table but not a definite at this time. >>>Legal Issues A Factor
Berg Back At Netflix - Peter Berg’s Film 44 has renewed it creative partnership with Netflix to produce and direct live-action films and series. The next project under the partnership is the feature adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s New York Times bestseller The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. >>>'American Primeval' Success
Toxic Town - Patrick Wachsberger and Legendary Entertainment’s nascent sales and production joint venture 193 has set its first international sales title in the shape of Peter Dinklage starrer The Toxic Avenger, which it will be screening and shopping at next month’s Cannes market. >>>Dark Comedy
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Toei Company President and CEO Fumio Yoshimura holds forth on the Japanese studio’s ambitious growth and global expansion plans, which include a slate of international projects and co-productions; ramping up international sales of its existing content; and upgrading its physical production facilities in Tokyo and Kyoto. Deadline sat down with Yoshimura ahead of his trip to Los Angeles to meet with major Hollywood studios and streamers. >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Alec Baldwin, Michael Boatman (The Good Fight) and Karen Allen are set to topline The Cutting Room Floor, the first feature from writer-director Victoria DeMartin.
Exclusive
William Fichtner (The Dark Knight) and Eric Lange (Narcos) are set for key recurring roles, rounding out the cast of Apple TV+'s limited series Lucky, starring and executive produced by Anya Taylor-Joy. Production is currently underway in Los Angeles.
Exclusive
Jonathan Tucker has joined the cast of Netflix’s I Will Find You. In a pivotal role in the limited series based on Harlan Coben’s bestselling 2023 novel of the same name, the Echoes alum will portray Police Sergeant Adam Mackenzie.
Elizabeth McGovern will reprise her role as movie star Ava Gardner in the play Ava: The Secret Conversations at New York City Center this summer. The play, written by McGovern, premiered in 2023 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
Rodrigo Santoro (300), Leila George (Disclaimer) and Adriana Barraza (Babel) have joined Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson in Runner , the new action-thriller from director Scott Waugh, which is now in production in Australia. |
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More News
🏢 In a notable change at Fox's storied Century City lot, Disney will pull up stakes there when its lease is up next March, ending a multiyear stay borne of one of the biggest mergers in media history. 🧊 Ice Cube has inked a deal with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema to write and reprise his role as Craig Jones in Last Friday, the fourth entry in the comedy franchise that includes Friday (1995), Next Friday (2000) and Friday After Next (2002).
🚫 The Television Critics Association let its membership know the traditional gathering in July and August would not be happening this year. In an email, TCA brass said the networks and streamers “told us they could not afford the cost of tour.”
⚕️ Italian director Nanni Moretti was reported to be in intensive care in stable condition Wednesday evening after suffering a heart attack earlier in the day. |
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Obituaries
Patty Maloney, an actress whose 30-plus year career included memorable turns on Little House on the Prairie, Syd & Marty Krofft's Far Out Space Nuts, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the Star Wars Holiday Special, has died. Her passing was confirmed via a post on the official Syd & Marty Krofft Facebook page. She was 89. 🕯️ 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Wed - Michael B. Jordan & Ryan Coogler on Fallon; Women's NCAA Final Four
Sat - Deadline Contenders Television; NAB begins; Men's NCAA Final Four; Jack Black hosts SNL
Sun - Deadline Contenders Television; The White Lotus S3 finale; Women's NCAA basketball championship
Mon - Men's NCAA basketball championship
Tue - The Handmaid's Tale Season 6 premieres |
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'Crime' Time - Halle Berry and Chris Hemsworth at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas for the Amazon MGM Studios presentation of Crime 101. |
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