ViacomCBS To Rebrand, New Name Is ‘Paramount’

In 2011, former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords survived an assassination attempt that left her partially paralyzed and unable to walk. Tracing her recovery and activism, the title of Julie Cohen and Betsy West‘s documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” pretty much says it all.

Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto cut stylish figures on Saturday as they attended the premiere of their new limited series WeCrashed at South by Southwest.The 39-year-old actress and the 50-year-old actor walked the red carpet at the film and music festival in Austin, Texas.The Oscar winners playreal-life married couple Rebekah and Adam Neumann in the Apple TV+ show, which will debut worldwide on March 18. On the red carpet:Anne Hathaway, 39, and Jared Leto, 50, attended the premiere of their new limited series WeCrashed at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on SaturdayAnne dazzled in a long sleeveless silver mesh dress that featured a low V-cut neckline and cut-outs at the star's trim waist.

Hilary Duff stepped out in an alluring ensemble when she grabbed dinner with a friend on Friday.The actress, 34, donned a long, black leather trench coat that she draped over her shoulders over a short shirt that hugged her torso.She rocked a pair of ripped blue jeans and finished off the look in nude open-toed shoes. Looking good:Hilary Duff stepped out in an alluring ensemble when she grabbed dinner with a friend on Friday at LAVO Ristorante in West HollywoodThe How I Met Your Father star wore her blonde hair down just past her collar bone, and she accessorized with a pair of huge hoop earrings and two sparkling silver necklaces.

Selome Hailu Premiering his new Apple TV Plus docuseries “They Call Me Magic” at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Magic Johnson shared that Michael Jordan’s Netflix docuseries “The Last Dance” helped him decide it was finally time to tell his own life story.“The reason we did it is because when Michael did ‘The Last Dance,’ my phone just started ringing,” the former L.A. Laker said in a post-screening discussion.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThat homemade cherry pie you see Emily carrying in the opening scene of “Soft & Quiet”? It’s not what you think. But then, neither is Emily, a tall blond kindergarten teacher who cuts through the woods behind school to attend a gathering of like-minded women.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaWhen Christopher Nolan was shopping for a studio for “Oppenheimer,” his look at the creation of the atomic bomb, Donna Langley sprang into action. The Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman believes that Nolan, along with Steven Spielberg and Jordan Peele, is one of the few filmmakers whose name above the title demands that audience will pay attention.

Liverpool have revealed the severity of Mohamed Salah’s injury is still unknown after the Egyptian was forced off against Brighton. Salah scored a penalty in the 2-0 win that took Liverpool to within three points of Manchester City at the top of the table, but shortly after scoring he went down and was replaced by Diogo Jota. With the Reds still fighting in three competitions, any injury to their star man would be a huge concern and the club will be hoping that the news proves to be positive.

Piers Morgan has taken aim at Alec Baldwin over reports he thinks he's "untouchable". The Talk TV star has spoken out with a savage assessment of the Hollywood actor.

Los Angeles on Friday. The socialite, 41, donned a full-diamanté ensemble - which featured a blue mini dress with criss-cross string side detail, silver fingerless gloves and a matching choker. The beauty added blue court heels to the look, showing off her toned legs for the snap as she documented her launched party on social media.

As the surge of Covid infections in December and January due to the Omicron variant continues to recede, media and entertainment companies are starting to update their return-to-office plans.

Was it the Bumblebee bit?

Afternoon subscribers. Max Goldbart here with your weekly dose of International Insider news and analysis and it’s been as busy as ever over the past seven days. Scroll down for more.

Shares of ViacomCBS are down more than 20% in early trading as Wall Street digests the company’s streaming strategy, outlook and financials announced after the market closed Tuesday, and clearly has some issues.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorShares of Paramount, the new corporate name of ViacomCBS, took a dive after the media conglomerate told Wall Street that it was more aggressively equipping itself for battle in the streaming wars.The stock was down more than 15% in premarket trading Wednesday, coming a day after Paramount’s 2022 investor day presentation that detailed revised financial forecasts including a bigger capital outlay for its streaming strategy, led by Paramount Plus.Investors were apparently unnerved about the heavier investment Paramount plans to make in the streaming biz — it plans to boost spending on streaming content to $6 billion by 2024, versus $4 billion previously — and the resulting hit to profitability. Bank of America Securities analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich downgraded her rating on the stock, from “buy” to “neutral,” and cut her 12-month price target on the stock from $52 to $39 per share.SEE ALSO: As ViacomCBS Becomes Paramount, an Energized Company Solidifies Its Streaming Playbook“We commend management for taking a bold approach, but near-term headwinds will drive Y/Y declines in CY22 and CY23 OIBDA [operating income before depreciation and amortization] and pressure already depressed FCF [free cash flow] levels,” Reif Ehrlich wrote in a note to clients.In reporting Q4 2021 results, the company said Paramount Plus netted 7.3 million new subscribers to stand at 32.8 million at year end.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorIn their last outings as leaders of ViacomCBS, the executive team led by Shari Redstone and Bob Bakish finally started to sound like they have a solid plan to compete in streaming.On the day ViacomCBS unveiled its corporate rebrand to Paramount, starting as of Feb. 16, the company put on a nearly three-hour virtual presentation for investors that demonstrated how much its operations have been turned inside out to focus on streaming growth opportunities.

The CFO of ViacomCBS, soon to be known as Paramount, said Tuesday that the company is looking hard for “efficiencies” at its traditional businesses to divert as much cash it can to streaming, where investment will hit an estimated $6 billion in 2024.

ViacomCBS unveiled a slew of new news Tuesday during an investor day presentation that followed the release of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings.

Yellowstone is the crown jewel in the newly rebrand Paramount Global but the Kevin Costner-led series lives on streaming in the U.S. with rival Peacock.

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish said the company now anticipates 100 million streaming subscribers in 2024 – well above a previous forecast of 65M-75M, after record ads in the fourth quarter and amid a rebranding of the company to Paramount – (officially ‘Paramount Global’ but the company prefers to be called just ‘Paramount’.)

ViacomCBS President Bob Bakish announced today during the conglom’s investor day that all new Paramount theatrical releases will head straight to Paramount+ after their run in cinemas starting in 2024.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorViacomCBS will change its corporate name to Paramount as of Feb. 16, calling the move an effort to adopt “an iconic global name” to reflect the conglomerate’s increasingly worldwide focus.The company’s shares will trade on the NASDAQ index under the ticker symbol PARA (for Class B common shares), PARAA (for Class A common), and PARAP (for Class A preferred).The moniker makeover was announced Tuesday by ViacomCBS chair Shari Redstone and president-CEO Bob Bakish in a memo to staffers.