Village Roadshow, Warner Bros. to Delay Fight Over ‘Matrix' Debt
The two movie studios behind The Matrix films are putting off fighting over as much as $100 million in unpaid debt related to the movies until after an auction for the film library of bankrupt filmmaker Village Roadshow Entertainment Group.
Lawyers for Village Roadshow and its former movie-making partner, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., agreed that the auction can move forward before the two sides further dispute debt leftover from the last Matrix film.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Warner Bros. Discovery Bet on All You Can Eat. Viewers Wanted More à la Carte.
Two years ago, the proposition seemed simple enough. After the blockbuster merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, the leaders of the newly formed company announced plans to take two different types of programming and smash them together to form an unbeatable streaming service called Max. HBO's lean-in original content would be combined with Discovery's vast collection of lean-back unscripted programming. HBO originals like 'The Last of Us' and 'Succession' would get people to subscribe and watch intently at night, and Discovery's broad array of cable shows like 'The Property Brothers' and 'Naked and Afraid' would get them to stay and keep the streaming service running all day in the background. 'Together, they pack a really powerful one-two punch,' David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in 2023. It is now clear that one of the punches never really landed. On Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it would split into two companies. One will operate the cable networks, like TNT and CNN, along with Discovery's old properties, which include the Food Network, HGTV, TLC and the Discovery+ streaming app. The other company will own HBO, HBO Max, and the Warner Bros. and DC studio businesses. Mr. Zaslav said the separate companies would be more nimble and aggressive to 'unlock value.' There's no doubt that the change is largely in response to the reality of today's cable business, which is rapidly losing viewership, revenue and relevance. Competing against giants like Netflix with an all-you-can-eat streaming buffet, the thinking now goes, is not a viable game plan. NBCUniversal announced a similar spinoff of most of its cable properties last year. But it is also a response to two years of streaming viewing data from Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship service. People who subscribe to Max watch HBO content like 'The White Lotus,' studio movies, older Warner Bros. series like 'Friends' and 'The West Wing' — and little else. With the exception of a few properties, like programs from the ID cable network, subscribers have mostly ignored Discovery's enormous assortment of lowbrow reality shows and unscripted lifestyle content. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Olivia Wilde To Receive Taormina Film Festival Creativity Award
EXCLUSIVE: Actress, director and producer Olivia Wilde will receive the Taormina Film Festival's Creativity Award at the 71st edition of the event which runs June 10-14 in the hilltop Sicilian town. Wilde, who started out as an assistant casting director and moved into acting on such series as The O.C. and House, made her feature directing debut with 2019's Booksmart, following it up with 2022's Don't Worry Darling. More from Deadline Helen Hunt To Receive Taormina Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Catherine Deneuve To Receive Taormina Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Alec Baldwin, Heather Graham, Cuba Gooding Jr. Set To Attend Filming Italy Sardegna Festival As an actress, Wilde has thriller I Want Your Sex from Gregg Araki and Black Bear on deck. Cooper Hoffman and pop superstar Charli XCX also star. Wilde is also on her next directing gig, comedy The Invite, from a screenplay by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. She stars alongside Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz. Further, she's attached to direct Avengelyne, a feature adaptation of the 1990s comic book character for Warner Bros, and Universal's Christmas comedy Naughty, both of which will be produced by Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley's LuckyChap. Taormina Artistic Director, Tiziana Rocca, commented: 'We are honored to welcome Olivia Wilde to the 71st edition of the Taormina Film Festival. Olivia represents a shining example of female creative power, combining elegance, intelligence and determination. Her presence will greatly enrich this year's program and offer the audience a unique opportunity to engage with one of the key figures in contemporary cinema.' Wilde's addition to the program further expands a starry list of attendees and honorees in Taormina, which includes Martin Scorsese, Michael Douglas, Catherine Deneuve and Helen Hunt. The international jury will be led by Oscar-winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph, with panel support from British actor Rupert Everett, three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell and more. Lionsgate's John Wick spinoff Ballerina will open Taormina with director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus presenting. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'Stranger Things' Season 5 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Big Bang Theory' Spinoff ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' Will Have ‘A Lot of CGI,' Says Chuck Lorre
Expect some big effects on 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe,' the latest 'The Big Bang Theory' series in development at HBO Max under Chuck Lorre, fellow 'Big Bang' creator Bill Prady and screenwriter Zak Penn ('The Avengers'). Speaking Monday at the Banff World Media Festival in Banff, Alberta, Canada, Lorre gave a few tidbits on the show, including the fact that he, Penn and Prady have already written ten episodes. More from Variety Chuck Lorre Family Foundation Donates $350,000 to Van Ness Recovery House (EXCLUSIVE) Stephan James, Phil Rosenthal, South Korea Among Honorees Set for Banff World Media Festival's Gala and Rockie Awards (EXCLUSIVE) Hans Zimmer to Receive Career Achievement Honor at Banff World Media Festival 'There's a lot of CGI,' Lorre revealed. 'There's a lot of special technical stuff that — you know, for me in my career, a big production number was two people sitting on a couch, drinking coffee! This is different. This is trying to incorporate some of that world of science fiction/fantasy into a comedy. And I'm completely out of my element, which is what I wanted. Which is what I was hoping to do, something that I had no experience with. And maybe I can learn as we go.' When it was pointed out that DC is just down the block on the Warner Bros. lot, Lorre admitted that the 'Stuart' team had a bit of an uncomfortable exchange with them recently. 'Yeah, we had an argument with them recently — they're very protective of the Green Lantern,' he said. 'We were making fun of the Green Lantern. Really? Even when I was 10, I knew that stunk!' 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' stars Kevin Sussman reprising his role as comic book store owner Stuart Bloom on 'The Big Bang Theory.' Also on board are Brian Posehn, who appeared in 'The Big Bang Theory' in the role of Bert Kibbler, a geologist at Caltech; Lauren Lapkus, who played Denise, the assistant manager of Stuart's comic book store and Stuart's eventual love interest; and John Ross Bowi, who will reprise the role of Barry Kripke, a fellow physicist at Cal-Tech. 'I reunited with my old pal, Bill Prady, who I created 'The Big Bang Theory' with, and a wonderful science fiction feature writer named Zak Penn, who's written a lot of gigantic, big time Marvel kind of movies with superheroes and things,' Lorre said. 'And we've written 10 episodes of this thing.' That's about all he would reveal about 'Stuart,' but he did talk a bit more about the staying power of 'The Big Bang Theory,' which ran for 12 highly-rated seasons on CBS, the prequel 'Young Sheldon' (which ended after seven seasons last year) and the spinoff of that show, 'Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage,' which has been renewed for a Season 2. 'These shows that we worked so hard on for so many years that we were so determined to make meaningful and funny at that same time, they seem to be sustaining over time, which is incredibly gratifying,' he said. 'And even more so, I meet people all the time who enjoy 'Young Sheldon' and never watched 'The Big Bang Theory.' They didn't even know it was a prequel, which is incredibly gratifying, because, when Steven Molaro and I started doing that, the hope was that it would stand on its own. That it would not be leaning against this 12 years of this other series. And it did, it became its own series, its own ensemble. That's immensely gratifying. The idea is to make a to make a silicon chip instead of Kleenex, something that you can use it again.' Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
