A momentous couple of weeks are underway for Paramount Global. The conglom's second-quarter earnings are due out today; the “go-shop” period in the Skydance deal ends August 21; and a new round of layoffs is expected next week.
Paramount will release its earnings after the market closes, with Wall Street analysts forecasting a revenue dip due to challenges in linear TV and at the film studio.
In addition to the Skydance deal, the eyes of the financial community will be focused on Paramount’s cost-cutting plans. The company’s Co-CEOs, who have promised to deliver $500 million in annual savings, said in June that more details about the streamlining would be revealed on the Q2 earnings call.
Yet chatter has been intensifying over the last few days that the next round of layoffs is coming next week, with hundreds of jobs expected to be eliminated. According to multiple sources, Tuesday, Aug. 13, is the target date. >>>Full Analysis |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Pair Of 'Wolfs' - Apple has pivoted on the Jon Watts-directed George Clooney & Brad Pitt starrer Wolfs, which makes its world premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival. It has made a deal with Watts to write, direct and produce a sequel vehicle for Clooney and Pitt, while altering release plans. >>>No Change In Strategy
Live From Connecticut - Deadline visited NBCU’s Olympics production hub in Stamford, CT, where thousands of staffers are laser-focused on an event happening some 3,600 miles away, as they attempt to present it to viewers in an authoritative, engaging way. >>>Inside The "Billion-Dollar Lab"
Who Is Ted Black? - Picked up to series just a day after the 20th anniversary of the Entourage premiere, NBC’s Suits: L.A. shares a lot more in common with the HBO showbiz comedy than a Los Angeles setting. They also both feature a main character inspired by — and named after — a top Hollywood agent. >>>His Identity
The 'Ghost Of John McCain' - Ghost Of John McCain, the new, upcoming Off Broadway musical satire that finds the late Senator in a very, very strange heaven, has found its cast of characters that includes McCain, Donald Trump and Donald Trump’s brain. >>>Kamala Harris Just Added |
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Richard Gadd’s Netflix hit, Baby Reindeer, produced for a song and released with little fanfare, beat the odds to become a surprise sensation. It made overnight stars of Gadd and his co-star Jessica Gunning, who have been adjusting to life in the spotlight ever since.
With the tabloid press, particularly in their native Britain, stirring up reams of controversy, Joe Utichi traveled across London to meet Gadd and Gunning, who place emphasis on the lives their show is changing for the better. >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Josh Duhamel and Lukas Gage (Road House) have signed on to star in Full Throttle Mindset, a darkly comedic crime thriller from director Patrick Brice (Creep) and XYZ Films.
Exclusive
Augustus Prew (Players) has joined the cast of the Paramount+ original drama series 1923 for Season 2. In a recurring role, Prew will portray Paul, a dapper, bookish, well-to-do young Brit on a passenger ship. |
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More News ⚠️ UK police are on high alert for Taylor Swift's upcoming Wembley concerts after her trio of Vienna shows were canceled following the foiling of a terrorist plot.
📉 Warner Bros. Discovery shares plunged more than 10% to an all-time low this morning after the company disclosed a massive $11.2 billion in write-downs and charges as it reported second-quarter earnings.
📺 Broadcast TV giant Nexstar Media Group undershot Wall Street analysts’ estimates for the second quarter, but said losses are continuing to narrow at The CW.
💰 “Measures to increase efficiency are taking effect,” German giant ProSiebenSat.1 said today as profits rose 14% in the second quarter to €91M ($100M) and turnover grew slightly.
❌ Adam Britton, a crocodile expert who worked on BBC and Nat Geo shows, has been jailed for 10 years in Australia for sexually abusing dogs. |
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Obituaries
🕯️ Billy Bean, a former Los Angeles Dodger who went on to become the first diversity chief for Major League Baseball after becoming the second MLB player to come out as gay, died on Tuesday. He was 60. 🕯️ Connie Chiume, the South African actor known for her role as tribal leader Zawavari in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther and 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, died Tuesday at a Johannesburg hospital. She was 72. 🕯️ Jack Karlson, whose iconic arrest video while eating a “succulent Chinese meal” turned him into a meme, died Wednesday in Australia. He was 82.🕯️ Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2024: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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Hall Pass - Team USA's Quincy Hall won Gold and provided one of the most memorable TV moments of the Paris Olympics. Going into the final turn on the men's 400M, Hall was in fourth place, looking spent. But an openly grimacing Hall, pumping his arms furiously, improbably passed all three leaders and leaned into a gold medal finish. |
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