| DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT THE REVISED BIDS BY THE COMPANIES LOOKING TO ACQUIRE ALL OR PART OF WBD |
Word of revised bids by the three companies looking to acquire all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery surfaced Monday, the day designated by the media giant as the deadline for the next round of offers.
Paramount, which has already had three proposals rejected by the WBD board, is staying in the hunt, as are Netflix and Comcast, multiple sources familiar with deal deliberations have told Deadline.
The financial and structural details of the offers and the shape of the resulting company remain fluid. Netflix submitted an almost all-cash offer for the studios-and-streamers division of WBD, according to press reports. Comcast and Netflix are interested in only the studios-and-streamers part, while Paramount’s bid is for the entire company.
Wall Street analysts estimate that Warner Bros., HBO and the deep vault of franchises and library titles could be worth at least $70 billion, due in part to what one called a "scarcity premium" involved in assets like Warner Bros., HBO and DC hitting the block. The market value of WBD, which currently includes linear TV networks like CNN, TNT and Discovery, was $59 billion at the end of Monday’s trading day. >>>Exclusive Negotiating Window Possible |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Marquee Duo - Two top English actors of their generation, Nicholas Hoult (Superman) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Twisters) have been set as the leads of Mosquito. The Hulu original series from Oscar-nominated writer Tony McNamara (Poor Things) has received a six-episode straight-to-series order. Part of Disney+‘s UK original slate, the dark, wry comedy will stream on Disney+ internationally and Hulu in the U.S. >>> Sardonic Take On Young Couple
New Overlord For 'God Of War' - Prime Video’s series adaptation of the popular God of War video game has added another high-profile creative auspice. Emmy-winning director Frederick E.O. Toye (Shōgun, The Boys) has been tapped to direct the first two episodes of the action-adventure series which has received a two-season order. >>>Casting Underway
'Traitors' Stars Land YouTube Show - Dylan Efron and “Boston” Rob Mariano, who first met on Peacock’s The Traitors, are teaming up for a new YouTube series, Everything’s a Competition. The friendly rivals will go head-to-head in a series of unpredictable challenges from blindfolded golf to sword fighting to pottery and much, much more. >>>Launches Next Week
Sam Raimi & Jordan Peele Team Up - In a competitive situation, Universal Pictures has acquired Portrait of God, a spec from emerging filmmaker Dylan Clark that expands on the world of his viral horror short of the same name. The film will mark the first collaboration of producers Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele. >>>8.6M Views On YouTube
Micro Drama Quality Control - Onset Octopus Micro Drama UK, one of Britain’s few microdrama-first production houses, has become the founding partner of global quality and ethics standard bearer Micro-Series Certified Alliance. L.A.’s IGM Media established the alliance as a counter to what it claims is “global fatigue caused by the repetitive current micro-drama demographic.” >>> ‘Certified Alliance Seal’
In Brief - Emma Roberts’ Belletrist Productions struck a first-look deal with Blink49 Studios... The Chronology of Water publisher acquired by Catapult Book Group... Max Jacoby joins Jadis Collective |
In this week's installment of Behind The Lens, our guest is the director and co-writer of the new film, Rental Family, Hikari, who is proof that coming to America, speaking little English, and taking every odd job imaginable can indeed lead to a successful career in the film industry, and now a major Searchlight movie starring Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser.
We talk about the themes of her new movie, which is based on an actual thriving business in her native Japan where companies rent out services of people and actors to fill a void in the often lonely everyday lives of their real-life customers. >>>Watch |
QUOTABLE "Made by humans, for humans" - Guillermo del Toro describing the creation of his AI-free film 'Frankenstein' |
Exclusive HBO Max's hit medical drama The Pitt has added four recurring guest stars to its Season 2 cast. They include Brittany Allen (The Boys), Bonita Friedericy (A Friend of the Family), Taylor Handley (Mayor of Kingstown) and Jeff Kober (The Walking Dead).
Robert Caro’s The Power Broker, the seminal 1974 biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses, could be heading towards its first screen adaptation. Matthew Rhys is in talks with Netflix about starring. The Perry Mason star revealed the news on SiriusXM podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend.
Exclusive Sarah Steele (The Good Fight) has joined the cast of NBC's Brilliant Minds for Season 2 in a recurring guest star role. She plays Sofia, a new patient suffering from a medical mystery that Wolf (Zachary Quinto) struggles to crack.
Exclusive The Power Universe’s latest expansion, Power: Origins, is rounding out its cast with six actors. Among the newly added cast members is a familiar face: Jason Dirden, who will reprise the role of Traymont Stinson from Raising Kanan. Jennifer Ferrin (The Blacklist), Lizzy DeClement ( New Amsterdam), Lenny Platt (The Hot Zone), Armani Gabriel (Blue Bloods) and Everett Osborne (Sweetwater) will also appear in recurring roles.
In Brief - Whitney Leavitt to make Broadway debut in Chicago... Nathan Lane & Laurie Metcalf to lead Death Of A Salesman Broadway revival... Ed Weeks cast in CBS pilot Eternally Yours |
MORE NEWS
🤼♂️ AMC Networks and TNA Wrestling have set a deal that will see weekly TNA bouts air on AMC and stream on AMC+.
🏆 Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another won Best Feature at the 35th annual Gotham Awards, which were handed out last night in Manhattan.
📺 ABC News has named Hanna Battah overnight co-anchor of World News Now and Good Morning America First Look alongside Sophie Flay.
🗣️ Sean “Diddy” Combs insists that Netflix should have never got into business with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and the streamer should definitely not have used “stolen” footage of him for a docuseries launching December 2. |
ON THE RADAR
Tue - Deadline For the Love of Docs: Cutting Through Rocks; Rachel Maddow on Colbert
Wed - New York Times DealBook Summit; National Board of Review Awards announced; Indie Spirit Awards nominations
Thu - Red Sea Film Festival begins; Versant and Imax investor days
Fri - Critics Choice Nominations
Sat - Deadline Contenders Film: International; Melissa McCarthy hosts SNL
Sun - Contenders Film: Documentary; Kennedy Center Honors
Mon - Golden Globe nominations; UBS Global Media & Communications Conference begins |
Stand By Your Man - Rihanna showed up to support her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky, who was nominated as a Breakthrough Performer at the 35th Annual Gotham Film Awards. |
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