Latest news with #Bertelsmann
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lea Massari, Italian Cinema's Anti-Diva, Dies at 91
Lea Massari, the Italian actress and European cinema icon famous for her roles in Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura (1960), Dino Risi's A Difficult Life (1961) and Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart (1971), has died. She was 91. Massari died at her home in Rome on Monday, Italian media reported. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Action Item' Treats Burnout as "Collective Condition, Silenced Crisis" (Exclusive Karlovy Vary Trailer) Bertelsmann's RTL Group to Buy Sky Deutschland from Comcast 'Squid Game' Finale Ends With Surprise Hollywood Star Cameo In a decades-long career that spanned films, television and theater, Massari played alongside the likes of Alain Delon, Jean Paul Belmondo, Michel Piccoli and Omar Sharif. She was a critical and audience favorite but shunned the spotlight. After retiring from acting more than 30 years ago, she rarely appeared in public. Born Anna Maria Massatani on June 30, 1933 — she took the stage name Lea in honor of her fiancé, Leo, who died in an accident shortly before they were to be married — her childhood was spent across Europe as her family followed her father, an engineer, to positions in Spain, France and Switzerland. Massatani studied architecture, working as a model to support herself, when she was introduced to the world of film by Oscar-winning costume designer Piero Gherardi (La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2), a family friend. Her debut came with Mario Monicelli's Forbidden (1955), playing a woman in a rugged Sardinian village who tries to help the local priest (Mel Ferrer) broker peace between warring clans. Fame came with her follow-up, Renato Castellani's Dreams in a Drawer (1957), playing a young bride and ambitious student whose academic and other dreams are derailed when she becomes pregnant. Among her most iconic performances were as Anna, the young woman who disappears mysteriously during a boating trip, in Antonioni's modernist masterpiece L'Avventura; as Monica, the partner to a troubled teacher (Delon) who becomes romantically involved with one of his students, in Valerio Zurlini's Indian Summer (1972); and as Clara, a mother with an uncomfortably close relationship to her teenage son, in Malle's Oscar-nominated dramedy Murmur of the Heart. Monicelli delivered a more grounded performance as Elena, the wife of an anti-Fascist intellectual (played by Alberto Sordi) in Dino Risi's postwar classic A Difficult Life (1961), a role that earned her a special David di Donatello award, Italy's equivalent of the Oscars. Later in her career, she would play the sister of a political dissident in Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (1978), a biopic on Carlo Levi, whom Mussolini exiled to a remote village in Southern Italy. In lesser films, Massatani added a touch of class, as in Sergio Leone's debut, the forgettable swords-and-sandals picture The Colossus of Rhodes (1961). Beyond Italy, Massatani was a favorite of European auteurs, cast alongside Piccoli and Romy Schneider as part of a tragic love triangle in Claude Sautet's The Things of Life (1970) and in a supporting role in Meetings With Anna (1978), from Belgian master Chantal Akerman. She read for the main female role in Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. But, Massatani later recalled, her old friend Piero Gherardi, whom she claimed preferred eventual star Anouk Aimée for the role, 'dressed me up absurdly,' spoiling her chances. Massatani married Carlo Bianchini, a former Alitalia pilot in 1963. They had no children and separated in 2004. After retiring from the screen and stage, she became a passionate advocate for animal rights and an anti-hunting campaigner. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Action Item' Treats Burnout as 'Collective Condition, Silenced Crisis' (Exclusive Karlovy Vary Trailer)
Last year, Berlin-based Slovakian writer-director and visual artist Paula Ďurinová screened her documentary debut, Lapilli, about rocks and the loss of loved ones, at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF). This year, she returns to its 59th edition with her sophomore doc Action Item, which the festival calls 'an entirely different, yet equally sensitive film.' Sensibility is key as the doc is about burnout syndrome, treating it, as press materials highlight, as 'a collective condition and a silenced crisis.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Bertelsmann's RTL Group to Buy Sky Deutschland from Comcast 'Squid Game' Finale Ends With Surprise Hollywood Star Cameo Lalo Schifrin, Acclaimed Composer of 'Mission: Impossible' and 'Mannix' Themes, Dies at 93 Ďurinová explores how exhaustion is not just lived but 'constructed, shaped by the pressures of constant performance and control,' they also emphasize. 'Through collective reflection and found footage, the film traces the shift from personal fatigue to a shared understanding of systemic conditions. It challenges the narratives of self-optimization, revealing burnout as more than an individual crisis. Between resistance and care, between memory and action, Action Item uncovers what has always been there – anxiety as a public secret.' A synopsis on the KVIFF website calls the doc an 'activist anatomy of burnout, set in Berlin, interweaves the observation of community sharing with a more experimental montage,' a synopsis on the KVIFF website explains. 'The work takes note of the myths associated with individualistic society, yet, at the same time, it conveys sincere moments of solidarity between individuals who aren't afraid to speak of their anxieties. This is both a personal and also very human film, which invites us to take a break in these hectic times, when burnout doesn't necessarily mean the end; on the contrary, it might be a new beginning, where individual pain is gradually transformed into the power of collective sharing.' THR can now reveal the first trailer for the film, which showcases how people featured in it discuss their struggles and gives experimental visual expressions to them. 'Today's public secret is that everyone is anxious,' one person says in it. And yes, there is also time for physical closeness. 'Action Item emerged from my personal experience with anxiety, depression, and a burnout episode several years ago,' Ďurinová explains. 'Needing to understand what had happened, I began reading various essays and self-published zines that critique the privatization of mental health and focus on its political dimensions.' Sales for the film, which debuts on July 6 in the Proxima Competition lineup at Karlovy Vary, in which Lapilli also screened, are being handled by Portuguese sales and festival distribution agency Kino Rebelde. The 2025 edition of KVIFF, star-studded as always, runs July 4-12. The new doc from Bratislava-based production company guča films is also part of the international competition at the 36th FidMarseille International Film Festival, running July 8-13. Action Item was produced by Matej Sotník for guča, with co-producers Claw films, Slovak Television and Radio, and Ďurinová as part of her studies at Universität der Künste Berlin. Lisboa-based Kino Rebelde holds international rights. 'The circular and repetitive aspects of depression, anxiety or burnout guide the film,' explains Ďurinová. 'Each new experience carries the memory of the previous one and, at the same time, anticipates the next. With this film, I wanted to create a certain suspension of time and space in which we can reflect on past crises and depart from them to look for a wider context.' Watch the trailer for Action Item below. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Times
a day ago
- Business
- Times
Sky sells German division to RTL Group for initial €150m
The German division of Sky will be sold to a leading local operator as European groups consolidate to compete with the American streaming giants. RTL Group, the largest German broadcaster, is to purchase the Sky unit with an upfront cash payment of €150 million and a possible additional consideration of up to €377 million. Sky's German business holds sports rights including Bundesliga and Premier League football, as well as the rights to show Formula 1 races. RTL, which is owned by the German media group Bertelsmann, will make the additional payments for Sky depending on the performance of its share price post-acquisition. Comcast, the parent company of Sky, can call for the payment of the additional consideration within five years of the deal closing if RTL's share price is higher than €41, capped at a payment of €70 per share or €377 million.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Sky retreats from Germany after losing billions
Sky has struck a cut-price deal to sell its German television business after losing billions of pounds on a troubled expansion spree. The media giant announced the sale of Sky Deutschland to Radio Télévision Luxembourg (RTL), Germany's biggest broadcaster, on Friday, in a deal that values the business at €150m (£128m). Comcast had been exploring the sale of Sky Deutschland for several years, which was bought from Rupert Murdoch's Fox for £2.9bn in 2014 but has never turned a profit. Cost-cutting The sale forms part of attempts by Sky-owner Comcast to radically scale back the British broadcaster, which is struggling amid increased competition from streamers. Comcast already slashed the value of Sky by $8.6bn (£6.3bn) in 2022 after acquiring the business for $31bn in 2018. Last year, it also reported a £1.2bn write-down on loans to its German and Italian operations, which were bought by Sky in a £7bn deal in 2014. Struggles in Europe have prompted further cost-cutting efforts at Sky, which recorded a pre-tax loss of £773m in 2023, according to its latest accounts. Plans to cut 2,000 customer service roles were announced in March. Meanwhile, RTL, which is part of media conglomerate Bertelsmann, could pay a further €377m (£321m) for Sky Deutschland based on its future performance. For example, extra payments will be triggered if RTL's share price exceeds €41. The combined business will have 11.5m customers. Thomas Rabe, the chief executive of RTL, said the deal would 'bring together two of the most powerful entertainment and sports brands in Europe and create a unique video proposition across free TV, pay-TV and streaming'. 'Germany has always been different' The German division, which operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and parts of Italy, holds the rights to broadcast the Bundesliga (the German football league) until 2029. Francois Godard, an analyst at Enders Analysis, said Sky had struggled in Germany with market share languishing around 10pc. He said earlier valuations of Sky Deutschland had been based on 'magic growth … of course that did not happen'. 'Germany has always been different from the UK. They never reached the kind of penetration they had in the UK.' Meanwhile, Sky's attempted overhaul was dealt a blow last year after bosses discovered an embarrassing advertising blunder. This stemmed from Sky uncovering miscalculations in its ad sales that meant its partners did not receive the correct revenues from their deals dating back years. Like other broadcasters, Sky has also been navigating a shift from linear TV to streaming, as customers switch from expensive satellite TV packages to on-demand streaming apps. Next year, it will face further competition as HBO launches its Max streaming service. In December, Sky secured a deal to keep HBO's shows, such as a new Harry Potter series, bundled with its service, but they will no longer be exclusive to the UK broadcaster.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Sky sells German pay-TV business to RTL for €150m
Sky has sold its German pay-TV business to RTL, the former owner of Channel 5, in a deal that could ultimately value the business at almost £500m. Germany's biggest broadcaster, which is owned by the media conglomerate Bertelsmann, has agreed to buy Sky Deutschland for €150m (£128m), and a further up to €377m depending on the future performance of RTL Group. Comcast, the parent company of Sky, has been looking to sell its German business for a number of years. The jettisoning of the German operation is part of a wider plan by Comcast to make good on the eye-watering £31bn it paid to secure the Sky group in a bidding war with Disney in 2018. Seven years on and the value of Sky has been written down by almost a quarter, the broadcaster's stranglehold on new prestige TV shows and films has been broken, and bosses continue to deal with an embarrassing £300m advertising scandal in the UK. Sky Deutschland, which operates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has never made a profit but after a three-year restructure programme bosses expect the business to break even this year. The German market has proved tough for Sky with fierce competition for prime sports rights and broadband customers making it difficult to emulate the success of its highly profitable UK business. However, in December Sky Deutschland struck a deal securing the lion's share of Bundesliga football matches, with the majority exclusive, through to the end of 2028-29 season. 'Sky Deutschland has made significant progress over the past three years [and] is on track to achieve EBITDA [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] break-even,' said Dana Strong, the group chief executive of Sky. 'This deal provides a strong platform for long-term success and ensures Sky continues to share in the growth of the combined business.' Under the terms of the deal, RTL will have the right to use the Sky brand in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and South Tirol. The element of the deal that could lead to further payments can be triggered by Comcast at any time within five years of the deal closing later in 2026, provided that RTL Group's share price exceeds €41. The stock is currently trading at €31.60. The performance-linked payout is capped at €70 a share, or €377m. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion In 2023, operating losses doubled as Sky recorded a pre-tax loss of £773m, fuelled by a £1.2bn writedown in loans to its German and Italian operations, and a £327m impairment charge at the lossmaking streaming service SkyShowtime, a joint venture with the US media behemoth and Channel 5 owner, Paramount. The combination of the two companies is expected to generate €250m in annual cost savings within three years. 'This combination of RTL and Sky is transformational for RTL Group,' said Thomas Rabe, the chief executive of RTL Group. 'It will bring together two of the most powerful entertainment and sports brands in Europe and create a unique video proposition across free TV, pay-TV and streaming.' The combined business will create a sport, news, entertainment and streaming powerhouse with 11.5 million paying subscribers. The combination of RTL and Sky, the biggest deal RTL Group has struck since it was formed in 2000, will create a company with €4.6bn in revenues.
