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ALLEROD, Denmark, Jan 30 (Reuters) – A play examining the meteoric rise of Danish weight-loss drug giant Novo Nordisk will premiere on Saturday at a theatre outside Copenhagen. "The Golden Calf" tells the story of August and Marie Krogh, the Danish couple who founded Nordisk Insulinlaboratorium in 1923, a precursor to Novo Nordisk that's now valued at $200 billion. The company had a market capitalization larger than the entire Danish economy at its peak and is now battling with U.S. rival Eli Lilly to dominate the global obesity drug market. "It's a piece of our common story about these two scientists who get insulin to Denmark and start this huge snowball that becomes Novo Nordisk," the play's director Nicolei Faber told Reuters, adding the play was made without Novo's involvement. The second part explores the drugmaker's evolution into a global behemoth through its GLP-1 drugs Wegovy for weight-loss and Ozempic treatment for diabetes. The firm became Europe's most valuable in June 2024, before mounting competition and slowing growth led it to announce plans to cut 9,000 jobs globally, including 5,000 in Denmark. "Everybody has some relationship to Novo Nordisk and everybody's pension has stocks in Novo," said Sebastian Henry Aagaard-Williams, an actor in the play, which will be performed at the Mungo Park theatre around 30 km (19 miles) north of Copenhagen. But while widely promoted GLP-1 drugs have proven effective weight-loss treatments for many people, they are also costly and may need to be ongoing, bringing dilemmas for patients, insurers and public health systems. "Do they produce this medicine to earn money or to help people who are sick? And where's the balance between these two things?" director Faber said. Novo says its drugs bring significant health benefits that could help reduce long-term health care costs and has defended payments to U.S. medical professionals as necessary for research, education and raising awareness about obesity. The company declined to comment on the play. (Reporting by Tom Little, writing by Jagoda Darlak, editing by Philippa Fletcher)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Bo Erickson and Dawn Chmielewski WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – With tensions in Minneapolis still high and a possible U.S. military strike on Iran looming, movers and shakers in the Trump administration took a timeout on Thursday to attend a lavish event celebrating a big-budget documentary about first lady Melania Trump. The movie, “Melania,” was financed at an eyebrow-raising $75 million by Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon’s chairman, Jeff Bezos, also contributed to President Donald Trump’s inaugural fund earlier this year. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and a related docuseries, which is scheduled to be released later this year on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. The first lady is one of the producers of the film, which documents the 20 days leading up to Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the family’s return to the White House.  The studio spent another $35 million promoting and distributing the movie, which will be available in about 25 territories outside North America, according to a person familiar with the matter. This week, promotional ads could be seen in places such as London’s Piccadilly Circus. Amazon, along with the film’s director, Brett Ratner, have rejected suggestions that the studio bought and promoted the film to curry favor with the administration. “It wasn't about getting rich,” Ratner told reporters at Thursday's premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington. “I think the Trumps are wealthy and successful enough,” said Ratner, whose credits as a director include the “Rush Hour” film series with Jackie Chan. Asked at the event if the Amazon film deal was to curry favor with him and the White House, Trump said that was fake news. “I'm not involved, and it was done with my wife.” A spokesperson for Amazon told Reuters, “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only – because we think customers are going to love it.” BLACK, NOT RED, CARPET The film offers rare access to the deeply private, enigmatic first lady, who has kept a low public profile during her husband’s second term. The trailer opens on Inauguration Day in January 2025, showing her donning a navy wide-brimmed hat for the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. It also depicts her role as an adviser to the president, including a moment in which she encourages him to emphasize “peacemaker and unifier” in his inaugural address. The film’s premiere was attended by top Trump administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They strode upon a black – not red – carpet in front of a large backdrop emblazoned with the word “MELANIA” in black-and-white letters as flashbulbs popped. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cabinet's attendance was seen as obligatory. Kennedy said the first lady has “largely been misunderstood. She’s a deep person. She’s deeply concerned about our country.” The documentary opens in about 1,700 theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, following a robust marketing campaign of the kind typically associated with a major Hollywood release, one that included television ads during the NFL playoff games, billboards and a promotional video projected on the exterior of Las Vegas’s Sphere. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, head of documentary film at the University of California Los Angeles, said the promotional budget was well above a typical budget for marketing documentary films, which often rely on reviews and word-of-mouth to attract viewers. "It's an extremely high budget for promotion of a documentary," said Guevara-Flanagan. "It really feels like it's so much in excess it's like stuffing it down our throats." Box office forecasters predict “Melania” could bring in as much as $5 million on opening weekend. “The question is, for opening weekend, ‘How much does Donald Trump's appeal to the public extend to Melania?” said Daniel Loria, senior vice president of The Boxoffice Company, a data analytics firm for cinemas. (Dawn Chmieleski reported from Los Angeles. Additional reporting by Phil Stewart. Writing by James Oliphant, editing by Ross Colvin and Diane Craft)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Bo Erickson and Dawn Chmielewski WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – With tensions in Minneapolis still high and a possible U.S. military strike on Iran looming, movers and shakers in the Trump administration took a timeout on Thursday to attend a lavish event celebrating a big-budget documentary about first lady Melania Trump. The movie, “Melania,” was financed at an eyebrow-raising $75 million by Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon’s chairman, Jeff Bezos, also contributed to President Donald Trump’s inaugural fund earlier this year. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and a related docuseries, which is scheduled to be released later this year on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. The first lady is one of the producers of the film, which documents the 20 days leading up to Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the family’s return to the White House.  The studio spent another $35 million promoting and distributing the movie, which will be available in about 25 territories outside North America, according to a person familiar with the matter. This week, promotional ads could be seen in places such as London’s Piccadilly Circus. Amazon, along with the film’s director, Brett Ratner, have rejected suggestions that the studio bought and promoted the film to curry favor with the administration. “It wasn't about getting rich,” Ratner told reporters at Thursday's premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington. “I think the Trumps are wealthy and successful enough,” said Ratner, whose credits as a director include the “Rush Hour” film series with Jackie Chan. Asked at the event if the Amazon film deal was to curry favor with him and the White House, Trump said that was fake news. “I'm not involved, and it was done with my wife.” A spokesperson for Amazon told Reuters, “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only – because we think customers are going to love it.” BLACK, NOT RED, CARPET The film offers rare access to the deeply private, enigmatic first lady, who has kept a low public profile during her husband’s second term. The trailer opens on Inauguration Day in January 2025, showing her donning a navy wide-brimmed hat for the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. It also depicts her role as an adviser to the president, including a moment in which she encourages him to emphasize “peacemaker and unifier” in his inaugural address. The film’s premiere was attended by top Trump administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They strode upon a black – not red – carpet in front of a large backdrop emblazoned with the word “MELANIA” in black-and-white letters as flashbulbs popped. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cabinet's attendance was seen as obligatory. Kennedy said the first lady has “largely been misunderstood. She’s a deep person. She’s deeply concerned about our country.” The documentary opens in about 1,700 theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, following a robust marketing campaign of the kind typically associated with a major Hollywood release, one that included television ads during the NFL playoff games, billboards and a promotional video projected on the exterior of Las Vegas’s Sphere. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, head of documentary film at the University of California Los Angeles, said the promotional budget was well above a typical budget for marketing documentary films, which often rely on reviews and word-of-mouth to attract viewers. "It's an extremely high budget for promotion of a documentary," said Guevara-Flanagan. "It really feels like it's so much in excess it's like stuffing it down our throats." Box office forecasters predict “Melania” could bring in as much as $5 million on opening weekend. “The question is, for opening weekend, ‘How much does Donald Trump's appeal to the public extend to Melania?” said Daniel Loria, senior vice president of The Boxoffice Company, a data analytics firm for cinemas. (Dawn Chmieleski reported from Los Angeles. Additional reporting by Phil Stewart. Writing by James Oliphant, editing by Ross Colvin and Diane Craft)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Bo Erickson and Dawn Chmielewski WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – With tensions in Minneapolis still high and a possible U.S. military strike on Iran looming, movers and shakers in the Trump administration took a timeout on Thursday to attend a lavish event celebrating a big-budget documentary about first lady Melania Trump. The movie, “Melania,” was financed at an eyebrow-raising $75 million by Amazon MGM Studios. Amazon’s chairman, Jeff Bezos, also contributed to President Donald Trump’s inaugural fund earlier this year. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and a related docuseries, which is scheduled to be released later this year on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. The first lady is one of the producers of the film, which documents the 20 days leading up to Trump’s 2025 inauguration and the family’s return to the White House.  The studio spent another $35 million promoting and distributing the movie, which will be available in about 25 territories outside North America, according to a person familiar with the matter. This week, promotional ads could be seen in places such as London’s Piccadilly Circus. Amazon, along with the film’s director, Brett Ratner, have rejected suggestions that the studio bought and promoted the film to curry favor with the administration. “It wasn't about getting rich,” Ratner told reporters at Thursday's premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington. “I think the Trumps are wealthy and successful enough,” said Ratner, whose credits as a director include the “Rush Hour” film series with Jackie Chan. Asked at the event if the Amazon film deal was to curry favor with him and the White House, Trump said that was fake news. “I'm not involved, and it was done with my wife.” A spokesperson for Amazon told Reuters, “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only – because we think customers are going to love it.” BLACK, NOT RED, CARPET The film offers rare access to the deeply private, enigmatic first lady, who has kept a low public profile during her husband’s second term. The trailer opens on Inauguration Day in January 2025, showing her donning a navy wide-brimmed hat for the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. It also depicts her role as an adviser to the president, including a moment in which she encourages him to emphasize “peacemaker and unifier” in his inaugural address. The film’s premiere was attended by top Trump administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. They strode upon a black – not red – carpet in front of a large backdrop emblazoned with the word “MELANIA” in black-and-white letters as flashbulbs popped. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cabinet's attendance was seen as obligatory. Kennedy said the first lady has “largely been misunderstood. She’s a deep person. She’s deeply concerned about our country.” The documentary opens in about 1,700 theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, following a robust marketing campaign of the kind typically associated with a major Hollywood release, one that included television ads during the NFL playoff games, billboards and a promotional video projected on the exterior of Las Vegas’s Sphere. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, head of documentary film at the University of California Los Angeles, said the promotional budget was well above a typical budget for marketing documentary films, which often rely on reviews and word-of-mouth to attract viewers. "It's an extremely high budget for promotion of a documentary," said Guevara-Flanagan. "It really feels like it's so much in excess it's like stuffing it down our throats." Box office forecasters predict “Melania” could bring in as much as $5 million on opening weekend. “The question is, for opening weekend, ‘How much does Donald Trump's appeal to the public extend to Melania?” said Daniel Loria, senior vice president of The Boxoffice Company, a data analytics firm for cinemas. (Dawn Chmieleski reported from Los Angeles. Additional reporting by Phil Stewart. Writing by James Oliphant, editing by Ross Colvin and Diane Craft)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)