| | | | | | | IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THERE WOULD BE ANY ROLE FOR WBD CEO DAVID ZASLAV AFTER A SALE |
With new contracts for Warner Bros. Motion Picture chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy signed, the (still) David Zaslav-run Warner Bros. Discovery looks poised for a purchase by David Ellison and Paramount.
Coming off a $4 billion global box office year-to-date, De Luca and Abdy are clearly among the major WBD assets for the Ellisons, which is more than you can say for Zaslav. The longtime media CEO could find himself without a seat in a new structure, an unfamiliar outside-looking-in situation for him.
Sources at both studios tell Deadline that while no formal offer has yet been sent from PSKY to WBD, the Jeff Shell and Gerry Cardinale-advised Ellison is just biding his time before making a bid for another iconic studio. However, it is unclear how far “informal” pitches and discussions between the parties have evolved. >>>Limited Competition
Related:
Netflix Co-Chief Greg Peters Says Warner Bros. Discovery Acquisition Bid Is Unlikely
Warner Bros Motion Pictures Chairs Michael De Luca & Pamela Abdy Re-Up |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Hollywood Is Sore About Sora - The promise and peril of AI is a not a brand new phenomenon, but it was not until this week that studios and CAA collectively sounded the alarm over one of its most recent and threatening developments – Sora 2. >>>Where Things Stand
Jeremy Strong On '9/12' Case - 9/12, a six-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Emmy and Tony winner Jeremy Strong (Succession), has been given an official green light by Paramount+. The project is about ailing 9/11 first responders’ David vs. Goliath legal fight for compensation. >>>Summer '27 Launch
'Tron' Hopes To Pop A Wheelie - It’s been a while since we’ve had a full-blooded Hollywood tentpole at the fall box office, and the hope is that Disney’s Tron: Ares is exactly that with an $80M-$90M worldwide start. >>>$40M-$45M Domestic
Hot Ones: Drama - Welcome to Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our annual selection of the most scorching titles headed to MIPCOM this year. Our editorial team has carefully researched and selected the projects we expect to drive the chatter on the Croisette and far beyond. >>>The List
Scott Z. Burns Steps Down - A little over a year after Netflix landed the Silicon Valley drama Thumblite starring Rosamund Pike with a straight-to-series order, there is a major behind-the-scenes change at the corporate thriller. The series creator Scott Z. Burns has stepped down as showrunner. >>>Will Remain An EP
Jessica Biel To Star In ‘The Ambler Warning’ Robert Ludlum Series Adaptation As Her Iron Ocean Inks Deal With Paramount TV Studios |
Surprise! Torrey DeVitto returned to NBC’s Chicago Med for its special 200th episode, which aired last night.
She joined Nick Gehlfuss, who plays her character Dr. Natalie Manning’s true love, Dr. Will Halstead. We confirmed in late August that he would reprise his role this season. Both are set to appear in multiple new episodes.
“It’s like going back home for a visit,” DeVitto shared with Deadline earlier this week. “It was really lovely to be there with everyone. It was as if no time had passed and I wasn’t expecting that.” >>>Read The Interview |
QUOTABLE "I ain't dead yet!" - Dolly Parton responding to fans' concerns about her health |
Exclusive Four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan has inked a deal to play Linda McCartney, the first wife of The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, in Sam Mendes’ The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
Millie Brady (Surface), Blu Hunt (Sherlock & Daughter), James Purefoy (Rome), Will Stevens (The Thursday Murder Club) and Taylor Napier (The Wheel of Time) are set as leads for the third and final installment of Fox's Biblical drama series The Faithful. Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) also returns to reprise his role as Jacob in the final episode, which airs on Easter Sunday, April 5.
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BY THE NUMBERS 3.5M - Number of units of Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl' sold in the first week, breaking Adele's record |
MORE NEWS
📺 Jimmy Kimmel thinks Dana Walden should become the next CEO of Disney. After joking that he is never in that conversation, he said, “It would be very foolish for me to answer that question," the ABC late-night host said at a Bloomberg conference, "but I happen to love Dana Walden very much, and I think she’s done a great job."
🛰️ Megyn Kelly will get her own SiriusXM Channel as part of a multi-year deal with the satellite broadcaster.
🎬 “We just got the budget approved at Warner Bros. and we’re trying to set up,” George Clooney told E! News of Ocean's 14. “It’s just scheduling, so it’s just setting a start date for us … probably start in about nine or 10 months, shooting.” |
OBITUARIES
🕯️ Nancylee Myatt, an Emmy-winning producer and a writer for such TV series as Night Court, Social Studies and the animated series Teacher’s Pet, died September 23 in Basel, Switzerland two years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 68. 🕯️ Ron Dean, a veteran actor whose scores of credits include The Fugitive, The Dark Knight, three Tom Cruise movies, recurring on Frasier and Early Edition and playing Emilio Estevez’s dad in The Breakfast Club, has died. He was 87. 🕯️ 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery |
ON THE RADAR
Thu - Infinity Festival Hollywood kicks off; David Ellison interviewed at Bloomberg Screentime
Sat - Deadline Contenders Film: London; MSNBC Live ’25 event
Mon - MIPCOM begins; Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day |
'Monster' Talent - Monster S4 star Ella Beatty and Monster S3 star Charlie Hunnam in an editorial handover photo released this morning by Netflix. Hunnam also has a role in S4. |
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