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News.com.au
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's ‘Meet Me at the Lake' movie still has no director or cast
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's remaining Netflix projects may be on ice as their exclusive multimillion-dollar deal comes to an end. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced back in August 2023 that they were producing a film adaptation of Carley Fortune's hit romance novel, Meet Me at the Lake for the streamer. But Page Six reports Archewell productions has yet to hire a director or come anywhere close to picking a cast. Netflix is believed to have paid out around $US3 million for the rights to the book for the duo to produce, though it's understood little has been done to get the project moving. 'By this point, you would have thought they would have got a director on board and a cast. So what is the delay?' asked a Hollywood source. 'And when you make something for Netflix, it takes a long time for it to actually hit the streamer — there is so much to do in post production, to make sure it's ready for every country. If the deal is up this year, then when is this film going to be made?' The couple were also working on a documentary set in Africa — albeit without Harry, 40, or Markle, 43, appearing. This, too, may be on the back burner. 'What's the betting that neither of these projects will see the light of day?' said a source in the know. It was revealed this week the Sussexes' Netflix deal will end this year, and the couple may move to a first-look contract, like President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle's production company, Higher Ground, has. This week, sources were quick to tell us, however, that there will be more TV shows from the renegade royals. We have reached out to Sussex reps. Netflix has also been working with Markle on her As Ever range which includes her rosé wine, jams, tea and honey. Her show, With Love, Meghan, will return for season 2 in September, so that production partnership doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The Netflix cash has been reported to be $100 million, although it's believed to be closer to $20 million. It was, indeed, a big chunk of the Sussexes' fortune. So far, their biggest Netflix success has been Harry & Meghan, which debuted in December 2022 with 81.55 million hours viewed — making it the highest viewed documentary premiere for the streaming platform. 'Let's be honest … Netflix got what they really wanted out of the Sussexes — their documentary,' said the source in the know. Meanwhile, the docu-series Polo, which was released last December and executive-produced by Harry and Markle, was watched by 500,000 viewers and ranked at 3,436 on the Netflix ratings chart. Last week, the streamer announced that Markle's lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, was at No. 383 in its semi-annual report, 'What We Watched', with a total of 5.3 million views since its March 4 debut. It was even beaten by re-runs of Markle's old show, Suits. Despite this, an insider pointed out that With Love, Meghan was actually in the top 5 per cent of Netflix shows — and had outperformed other leading 'lifestyle' shows such as The Great British Baking Show, two seasons of Chef's Table and Season 9 of Queer Eye. However, the Hollywood insider noted that Netflix likely expected the show to fare better given the amount of promotion put into it.
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
On Israel and Gaza, a question of intent
Operation Gideon's Chariots, Israel's latest assault on Gaza, began on the night of May 16. Sometimes the names of military operations carry a message. Gideon was the biblical liberator of Israel from its oppressors, who led a small force of 300 men to defeat the mighty host of the Midianites. 'Gideon's Chariots' expresses the traditional narrative that Israel is the underdog fighting for survival. It is a myth. Israel is one of the most highly militarised and technically advanced states in the world. In terms of GDP per head, it is also one of the richest. It is an undeclared nuclear power. At $US37 billion ($57 billion), its defence budget is by far the biggest in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia's. Its security is implicitly guaranteed by the United States, which contributes more than $US3 billion a year to its defence.
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Wall Street opens mixed amid focus on trade talks
Traders on Wall Street have all but ruled out a cut in interest rates by the central bank next week. (AP PHOTO) Traders on Wall Street have all but ruled out a cut in interest rates by the central bank next week. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP Wall Street is struggling for direction as investors weigh signs of progress in US trade talks and peruse a spate of second-quarter company earnings, some of which showed a hit from President Donald Trump's tariff policies. In early trading on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68.00 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 44,393.01, the S&P 500 gained 5.04 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 6,310.64, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 19.88 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 20,954.29. Tariffs have started to take a bite out of Wall Street giants. General Motors had its second-quarter profit skid 32 per cent to $US3 billion ($A4.6 billion), with the car maker blaming hefty tariff costs for carving out $US1.1 billion from its results. The company's shares lost 6.5 per cent while peer Ford also dipped 1.4 per cent. "Everyone's watching GM very closely and the numbers did disappoint, and specifically related to tariffs," said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Muriel Siebert. "The fact that they (GM) did come out and say that there's going to be a forecast based on increases in tariffs is something that is going to play out throughout the day." RTX slashed its 2025 profit outlook after taking a direct hit from Trump's tariff war, sending its shares down 3.9 per cent. Lockheed Martin did not fare much better - its second-quarter profit nosedived nearly 80 per cent after booking a hefty $US1.6 billion pre-tax loss. Yet, despite the trade turbulence, the robust US economy has powered major indexes to fresh all-time highs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet his Chinese counterpart next week, potentially discussing an extension to the August 12 deadline set for tariffs on China. With just over a week before the August 1 deadline for most US trading partners, Bessent stressed that the administration was focused on striking high-quality trade deals not just quick ones. Meanwhile, negotiations stalled with optimism for a breakthrough deal with India waning, according to Indian government officials, and as the European Union weighed new countermeasures against the US. Still, a slew of positive earnings surprises has kept markets near record territory. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report a healthy 6.7 per cent jump in second-quarter profits, with Big Tech leading the charge, data compiled by LSEG showed. Investors piled into tech titans on Monday, with Google-parent Alphabet powering Wall Street gains ahead of its results. The company is scheduled to kick off earnings for the "Magnificent Seven" megacaps along with Tesla on Wednesday. Tesla rose 0.1 per cent on Tuesday. The healthcare sector jumped 1.3 per cent to lead sectoral gains after falling for the last three sessions. Meanwhile, Philip Morris fell 7.5 per cent after reporting second-quarter revenue behind expectations while Coca-Cola slipped 1.0 per cent despite beating quarterly profit estimates. The stocks dragged the consumer sector to the bottom. After last week's mixed economic cues, traders have all but ruled out an interest-rate cut next week. They are pricing in a 58 per cent chance of a reduction in September, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.21-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 25 new highs and 22 new lows.
Perth Now
16-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Australian shares fall as US inflation picks back up
The local share market has dropped from record levels after US government data showed inflation re-accelerated in June, reducing the odds of another rate cut in September. Near midday on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 79.1 points to 8,551.2, a drop of 0.92 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries had fallen 72.4 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 8,802.9. Overnight the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that had ticked back up in June - particularly prices of goods most exposed to tariffs, such as household furnishings and appliances. NAB head of FX research Ray Attrill said market pricing for Fed rate cuts was pared back after the consumer price index report, while bond yields and the US dollar rose. "With risks still skewed to the upside for inflation, the Fed will likely remain on hold as it waits for more data," JP Morgan's economics team wrote in a client note. The interest rate market's implied pricing for a Fed rate cut by September had dropped to 52.4 per cent, from 58.9 per cent a day earlier, according to CME FedWatch. At midday 10 of the ASX's 11 sectors were lower, while technology had eked out a modest 0.2 per cent rise. Mining was the biggest mover, dropping 1.3 per cent. BHP was down 1.2 per cent, Fortescue had dropped 0.2 per cent and Rio Tinto had slipped 0.3 per cent as the mining giant announced its Pilbara iron ore shipments for the June quarter were at the lower end of guidance. Goldminers were also in the red as the yellow metal traded for $US3,335 an ounce, about the same as Tuesday. Northern Star slid 2.1 per cent, Genesis Minerals dropped 4.6 per cent and Evolution was down 1.6 per cent as the goldminer forecast higher mining costs in 2025/26. All of the big four banks were lower, with CBA down 1.1 per cent, Westpac dropping 0.9 per cent, NAB retreating 1.6 per cent and ANZ subtracting 0.7 per cent. Infratil was up 4.1 per cent after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that the New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company would be added the ASX200 next week, replacing Spartan Resources, which is being acquired by Ramelius Resources. Droneshield was up 5.8 per cent, taking its gains for the week to 41.9 per cent after announcing Monday a ramp-up in production capacity. Imugene had dropped 14.1 per cent after the cancer immunotherapy company announced a $37.5 million capital raising at a 22.4 per cent discount. The money will be used to fund a clinical trial of Imugene's potential gene therapy treatment for an aggressive type of blood cancer. The Australian dollar was trading for 65.19 US cents, from 65.55 US cents.
The Advertiser
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Paris 'concerned' about Michael Jackson estate payments
Singer Paris Jackson is "concerned" about payments being made by her father Michael Jackson's estate. The 27-year-old Jackson has objected to a request for court approval of the estate executors' "premium payments" to three law firms in her position as a beneficiary of the Thriller hit-maker's estate. In documents filed on June 24 and obtained by People magazine, Jackson expressed her concern over an alleged "practice of granting so-called 'premium payments' for unrecorded attorney time, much less paying 100 per cent of any such extraordinary amounts". The paperwork named six months in 2018 when executors requested approval for $US625,000 ($A950,137) in payments for "uncaptured time" without explaining "as to why counsel was incapable of recording unbilled time, or why such a failure should not preclude payment". Two of the firms had received their prospective payments, in breach of the "court's order allowing only partial payment of attorneys' fees until court approval is obtained". "Even worse, these payments appear, at least in part, to consist of lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel," the document said. "(The payments) raise serious and substantial questions about Executors' ability to effectively supervise counsel, by, at minimum, requiring that counsel record their time in a manner susceptible to at least superficial review and oversight, namely by means of task-billed time entries, and refraining from wasteful, six-figure gift-giving to themselves and their colleagues." Jackson is also said to be "concerned" about the executors' alleged "gross lack of diligence in seeking the required court approval for extraordinary fees and costs" for the 2018 payments and lack of explanation for the delays. Her lawyer Craig Peters claimed there was "no written agreement" authorising executors to seek approval for fees in six-month increments and requested a "schedule for all of the outstanding approvals, both the accountings and the legal fees". Lawyers for the estate insisted nothing untoward had happened. "The executors' approval of payments to attorneys have been made with the same business judgment that has earned this estate over $US3 billion," Jonathan Steinsapir told People. "We are confident that the objected-to payments are appropriate as, indeed they are fully consistent with payments made in the decade prior, all of which have been approved by the Probate Court." Insiders said the "premium payments" were connected to the sale of Michael Jackson's stake in EMI to Sony. "They are objecting to relatively minor bonuses to three firms for work on the EMI catalogue sale in 2018," the source said. "The estate, assisted by these lawyers and others, bought a 10 per cent stake in EMI for $US50,000 ($A76,011) in 2012 due to a contractual right we had with Sony. "In 2018, the stake sold for almost $US300 million ($A456 million). Any business in this position would reward those who worked on that matter through the years. "They also claim that the estate had to withhold 30 per cent of all fees pending court approval. On that, they are simply mistaken and do not understand the court's orders. "The estate has paid bonuses like this to attorneys for years and they've all been approved without any objections." At the time of his death in 2009, Jackson - whose sons Prince and Bigi are also beneficiaries of his estate - was more than $US500 million ($A760 million) in debt to more than 65 creditors. A hearing regarding the matter is scheduled for Wednesday. Singer Paris Jackson is "concerned" about payments being made by her father Michael Jackson's estate. The 27-year-old Jackson has objected to a request for court approval of the estate executors' "premium payments" to three law firms in her position as a beneficiary of the Thriller hit-maker's estate. In documents filed on June 24 and obtained by People magazine, Jackson expressed her concern over an alleged "practice of granting so-called 'premium payments' for unrecorded attorney time, much less paying 100 per cent of any such extraordinary amounts". The paperwork named six months in 2018 when executors requested approval for $US625,000 ($A950,137) in payments for "uncaptured time" without explaining "as to why counsel was incapable of recording unbilled time, or why such a failure should not preclude payment". Two of the firms had received their prospective payments, in breach of the "court's order allowing only partial payment of attorneys' fees until court approval is obtained". "Even worse, these payments appear, at least in part, to consist of lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel," the document said. "(The payments) raise serious and substantial questions about Executors' ability to effectively supervise counsel, by, at minimum, requiring that counsel record their time in a manner susceptible to at least superficial review and oversight, namely by means of task-billed time entries, and refraining from wasteful, six-figure gift-giving to themselves and their colleagues." Jackson is also said to be "concerned" about the executors' alleged "gross lack of diligence in seeking the required court approval for extraordinary fees and costs" for the 2018 payments and lack of explanation for the delays. Her lawyer Craig Peters claimed there was "no written agreement" authorising executors to seek approval for fees in six-month increments and requested a "schedule for all of the outstanding approvals, both the accountings and the legal fees". Lawyers for the estate insisted nothing untoward had happened. "The executors' approval of payments to attorneys have been made with the same business judgment that has earned this estate over $US3 billion," Jonathan Steinsapir told People. "We are confident that the objected-to payments are appropriate as, indeed they are fully consistent with payments made in the decade prior, all of which have been approved by the Probate Court." Insiders said the "premium payments" were connected to the sale of Michael Jackson's stake in EMI to Sony. "They are objecting to relatively minor bonuses to three firms for work on the EMI catalogue sale in 2018," the source said. "The estate, assisted by these lawyers and others, bought a 10 per cent stake in EMI for $US50,000 ($A76,011) in 2012 due to a contractual right we had with Sony. "In 2018, the stake sold for almost $US300 million ($A456 million). Any business in this position would reward those who worked on that matter through the years. "They also claim that the estate had to withhold 30 per cent of all fees pending court approval. On that, they are simply mistaken and do not understand the court's orders. "The estate has paid bonuses like this to attorneys for years and they've all been approved without any objections." At the time of his death in 2009, Jackson - whose sons Prince and Bigi are also beneficiaries of his estate - was more than $US500 million ($A760 million) in debt to more than 65 creditors. A hearing regarding the matter is scheduled for Wednesday. Singer Paris Jackson is "concerned" about payments being made by her father Michael Jackson's estate. The 27-year-old Jackson has objected to a request for court approval of the estate executors' "premium payments" to three law firms in her position as a beneficiary of the Thriller hit-maker's estate. In documents filed on June 24 and obtained by People magazine, Jackson expressed her concern over an alleged "practice of granting so-called 'premium payments' for unrecorded attorney time, much less paying 100 per cent of any such extraordinary amounts". The paperwork named six months in 2018 when executors requested approval for $US625,000 ($A950,137) in payments for "uncaptured time" without explaining "as to why counsel was incapable of recording unbilled time, or why such a failure should not preclude payment". Two of the firms had received their prospective payments, in breach of the "court's order allowing only partial payment of attorneys' fees until court approval is obtained". "Even worse, these payments appear, at least in part, to consist of lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel," the document said. "(The payments) raise serious and substantial questions about Executors' ability to effectively supervise counsel, by, at minimum, requiring that counsel record their time in a manner susceptible to at least superficial review and oversight, namely by means of task-billed time entries, and refraining from wasteful, six-figure gift-giving to themselves and their colleagues." Jackson is also said to be "concerned" about the executors' alleged "gross lack of diligence in seeking the required court approval for extraordinary fees and costs" for the 2018 payments and lack of explanation for the delays. Her lawyer Craig Peters claimed there was "no written agreement" authorising executors to seek approval for fees in six-month increments and requested a "schedule for all of the outstanding approvals, both the accountings and the legal fees". Lawyers for the estate insisted nothing untoward had happened. "The executors' approval of payments to attorneys have been made with the same business judgment that has earned this estate over $US3 billion," Jonathan Steinsapir told People. "We are confident that the objected-to payments are appropriate as, indeed they are fully consistent with payments made in the decade prior, all of which have been approved by the Probate Court." Insiders said the "premium payments" were connected to the sale of Michael Jackson's stake in EMI to Sony. "They are objecting to relatively minor bonuses to three firms for work on the EMI catalogue sale in 2018," the source said. "The estate, assisted by these lawyers and others, bought a 10 per cent stake in EMI for $US50,000 ($A76,011) in 2012 due to a contractual right we had with Sony. "In 2018, the stake sold for almost $US300 million ($A456 million). Any business in this position would reward those who worked on that matter through the years. "They also claim that the estate had to withhold 30 per cent of all fees pending court approval. On that, they are simply mistaken and do not understand the court's orders. "The estate has paid bonuses like this to attorneys for years and they've all been approved without any objections." At the time of his death in 2009, Jackson - whose sons Prince and Bigi are also beneficiaries of his estate - was more than $US500 million ($A760 million) in debt to more than 65 creditors. A hearing regarding the matter is scheduled for Wednesday. Singer Paris Jackson is "concerned" about payments being made by her father Michael Jackson's estate. The 27-year-old Jackson has objected to a request for court approval of the estate executors' "premium payments" to three law firms in her position as a beneficiary of the Thriller hit-maker's estate. In documents filed on June 24 and obtained by People magazine, Jackson expressed her concern over an alleged "practice of granting so-called 'premium payments' for unrecorded attorney time, much less paying 100 per cent of any such extraordinary amounts". The paperwork named six months in 2018 when executors requested approval for $US625,000 ($A950,137) in payments for "uncaptured time" without explaining "as to why counsel was incapable of recording unbilled time, or why such a failure should not preclude payment". Two of the firms had received their prospective payments, in breach of the "court's order allowing only partial payment of attorneys' fees until court approval is obtained". "Even worse, these payments appear, at least in part, to consist of lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel," the document said. "(The payments) raise serious and substantial questions about Executors' ability to effectively supervise counsel, by, at minimum, requiring that counsel record their time in a manner susceptible to at least superficial review and oversight, namely by means of task-billed time entries, and refraining from wasteful, six-figure gift-giving to themselves and their colleagues." Jackson is also said to be "concerned" about the executors' alleged "gross lack of diligence in seeking the required court approval for extraordinary fees and costs" for the 2018 payments and lack of explanation for the delays. Her lawyer Craig Peters claimed there was "no written agreement" authorising executors to seek approval for fees in six-month increments and requested a "schedule for all of the outstanding approvals, both the accountings and the legal fees". Lawyers for the estate insisted nothing untoward had happened. "The executors' approval of payments to attorneys have been made with the same business judgment that has earned this estate over $US3 billion," Jonathan Steinsapir told People. "We are confident that the objected-to payments are appropriate as, indeed they are fully consistent with payments made in the decade prior, all of which have been approved by the Probate Court." Insiders said the "premium payments" were connected to the sale of Michael Jackson's stake in EMI to Sony. "They are objecting to relatively minor bonuses to three firms for work on the EMI catalogue sale in 2018," the source said. "The estate, assisted by these lawyers and others, bought a 10 per cent stake in EMI for $US50,000 ($A76,011) in 2012 due to a contractual right we had with Sony. "In 2018, the stake sold for almost $US300 million ($A456 million). Any business in this position would reward those who worked on that matter through the years. "They also claim that the estate had to withhold 30 per cent of all fees pending court approval. On that, they are simply mistaken and do not understand the court's orders. "The estate has paid bonuses like this to attorneys for years and they've all been approved without any objections." At the time of his death in 2009, Jackson - whose sons Prince and Bigi are also beneficiaries of his estate - was more than $US500 million ($A760 million) in debt to more than 65 creditors. A hearing regarding the matter is scheduled for Wednesday.
