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By Jungmin Ryu SEOUL, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Chart-topping K-pop boy band BTS is set to embark on a global concert tour in April, marking its first new album release in more than three years, and on Thursday fans rushed to secure tickets for the tour's opening shows. The band had been on hiatus since 2022 while each of its seven members undertook South Korea's mandatory military service. "I flew all the way to Korea just to get the tickets so it was all worth it," said 34-year-old Joanna Marie in an internet cafe in Seoul. "I've been waiting for them… a very long time, now that we're seeing them again, it's like a big dream." Earlier this month, BTS announced it will release a new album, "Arirang" in March, sparking intense anticipation among fans worldwide, known collectively as "Army". The accompanying world tour launches in Goyang, South Korea on April 9 and will span 79 shows across Asia, the U.S. and Europe through July, the group's agency has said. Fans vying for seats at the first three concerts in Goyang Stadium braced for ticket sales to go live at 8 p.m. Seoul time (1100 GMT). Some even flew into Seoul to take advantage of its high-speed internet connection for the ticketing war. "I think we all waited really long and now that it's happening, let's hope we all are satisfied," said 20-year-old Valentina Le Pera in the cafe. "They really are doing a lot of (tour) dates so I think they know what the fans are expecting." The band's most recent album, "Proof", released in 2022, debuted at number one in 18 countries and has amassed about 16.7 billion streams, according to industry data. (Reporting by Jungmin Ryu; Writing by Joyce Lee; Editing by Ros Russell)

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By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (Reuters) – "Sinners," a Segregation-era vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan, stormed into the awards race on Thursday with the most Academy Award nominations of any film this year, landing a record 16 nods. The large haul sets up "Sinners" as the frontrunner heading into the March 15 Oscars, where it will face off against contenders including "One Battle After Another," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme" and others for the coveted best picture prize. The previous record for most nominations in a single year was 14, a mark hit by "All About Eve," "Titanic" and "La La Land." "Bugonia," "F1," "The Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value" and "Train Dreams" also were nominated for this year's best picture trophy. Jordan was nominated for best actor for his dual role in "Sinners" as twin brothers who set up a juke joint in 1930s Mississippi. Other nominations for the Warner Bros film include best director for Ryan Coogler, supporting actor for Delroy Lindo, supporting actress for Wunmi Mosaku and best cinematography, costume design, original screenplay and visual effects. Jordan's competition includes Leonardo DiCaprio in "One Battle After Another," which scored 13 nominations, and Timothee Chalamet in "Marty Supreme."  For best actress, Jessie Buckley was nominated for "Hamnet" and Kate Hudson for "Song Sung Blue." Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 10,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Walt Disney's ABC will broadcast the awards, and comedian Conan O'Brien will host for the second straight year. Warner Bros Discovery, the studio subject to a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Skydance, led all studios with 30 nominations.  Netflix has never won best picture despite nominations for such films as "Roma," "Emilia Perez" and "The Irishman." It has a chance this year with "Frankenstein," which earned nine nominations. The streaming service releases its movies in theaters for only a limited time to qualify them for awards consideration. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)

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By Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Here is the list of Oscar nominees announced on Thursday with winners to be announced on March 15: BEST PICTURE "Bugonia"  "F1" "Frankenstein"  "Hamnet" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "The Secret Agent" "Sentimental Value"  "Sinners" "Train Dreams"  BEST ACTOR Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme" Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another"  Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon" Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners"  Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent"  BEST ACTRESS Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet" Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I’d Kick You" Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue" Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value" Emma Stone, "Bugonia" BEST DIRECTOR Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"  Ryan Coogler, "Sinners"  Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme" Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value"  Chloé Zhao, "Hamnet" BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Benicio Del Toro, "One Battle After Another" Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein" Delroy Lindo, "Sinners" Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another" Stellan Skarsgård, "Sentimental Value" BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value" Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, "Sentimental Value" Amy Madigan, "Weapons" Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners" Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another" BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Will Tracy, "Bugonia"  Guillermo Del Toro, "Frankenstein" Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao, "Hamnet"  Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another" Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, "Train Dreams"  BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Robert Kaplow, "Blue Moon" Jafar Panahi, "It Was Just an Accident" Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme" Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt, “Sentimental Value”  Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM "Arco" "Elio" "KPop Demon Hunters"  "Little Amelie or the Character of Rain"  "Zootopia 2" BEST ANIMATED SHORT "The Three Sisters" "Butterfly" "Forevergreen" "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" "Retirement Plan" BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE "It Was Just an Accident" "The Secret Agent" "Sentimental Value"  "Sirât" "The Voice of Hind Rajab" BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE "Cutting Through Rocks"  "The Alabama Solution" "The Perfect Neighbor" "Come See Me in the Good Light" "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT "All the Empty Rooms"  "Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud" "Children No More: Were and Are Gone" "The Devil Is Busy" "Perfectly a Strangeness" BEST ORIGINAL SCORE "Bugonia" "Frankenstein" “Hamnet”  "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" BEST ORIGINAL SONG "Dear Me," from "Diane Warren: Relentless" "Golden," from "KPop Demon Hunters" "I Lied to You," from "Sinners" “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” from “Viva Verdi” “Train Dreams,” from “Train Dreams”  BEST SOUND "F1"  "Frankenstein" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" "Sirât" BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN "Frankenstein" "Hamnet" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT "Butcher’s Stain" "A Friend of Dorothy" "Jane Austen’s Period Drama" "The Singers" "Two People Exchanging Saliva" BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY "Frankenstein" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" "Train Dreams" BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING "Frankenstein" "Kokuho" "The Smashing Machine" "Sinners" "The Ugly Stepsister" BEST COSTUME DESIGN "Avatar: Fire and Ash" "Frankenstein" "Hamnet" “Marty Supreme” “Sinners” BEST VISUAL EFFECTS "Avatar: Fire and Ash"  "F1"  "Jurassic World Rebirth" "Sinners" "The Lost Bus" BEST FILM EDITING "F1" "Sentimental Value" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" BEST CASTING "Hamnet" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "The Secret Agent" "Sinners"   (Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Howard Goller)

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By Harshita Mary Varghese and Aditya Soni Jan 22 (Reuters) – Paramount Skydance on Thursday extended the deadline on its hostile tender offer for Warner Bros Discovery by about a month to February 20, buying more time to persuade investors that its bid for the Hollywood studio trumps a rival deal with Netflix.  The company did not raise its bid on Thursday. Only about 168.5 million Warner Bros shares, representing 6.8% of the company's outstanding stock, had been tendered by the offer's original January 21 deadline. A successful deal will change the landscape of Hollywood by giving the suitor ownership of iconic franchises from "Friends" to "Batman" as well as the HBO Max streaming service.  Netflix on Tuesday revised its $82.7 billion offer to go all-cash in hopes of expediting the deal closure and providing greater financial certainty to investors worried about its previous stock-and-cash deal. It is now willing to pay $27.75 per share in cash for the streaming and studio assets of the David Zaslav-led company, an offer that was unanimously approved by the Warner Bros board. Paramount has launched a charm offensive and sued Warner Bros to bring the HBO owner to the negotiating table. But Warner Bros and analysts have suggested that Paramount needs to raise its offer of $108.4 billion, or $30 per share, for the whole company to restart deal talks. BIDDING WAR LIKELY TO COME DOWN TO SHAREHOLDER VOTE  Shares of Paramount rose 0.6% in early trading, while Netflix was down 1.2% and Warner Bros was little changed. "We are confident in our ability to achieve regulatory approval for the Netflix merger," Warner Bros said. It added the deal provided "tremendous and certain value" and that Paramount continues to make an offer its board has rejected repeatedly. Netflix did not immediately respond to a Reuters requests for comment. Warner Bros' board earlier this month rejected an amended Paramount bid that included a $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle's co-founder and Paramount CEO David Ellison's father, Larry Ellison.  The race is expected to come to a head at a shareholder vote that is likely to be held by April as Warner investors weigh the value of cable assets that Paramount argues are worthless. Paramount said it would ask Warner Bros investors to vote against the Netflix deal, arguing the bid is valued incorrectly. It said that the offer relied on offloading $17 billion in debt to the Discovery Global spinoff that would house Warner Bros' cable assets and was essential to the Netflix deal. If Warner Bros cannot move all of the debt as planned, it would substantially reduce what shareholders stand to make on a sale to Netflix, Paramount said. Warner Bros has said that its advisers used three separate approaches for valuing Discovery Global.  The lowest share price they arrived at was $1.33 per share, by applying a single value across the whole company. The high end of the range was a price of $6.86 a share, if the spinoff became involved in a future deal. Paramount has repeatedly said that its offer is superior to Netflix's deal and has a clearer path towards regulatory approval. The Ellisons have argued their relationship with President Donald Trump gives them an easier regulatory path to approval. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on a post-earnings call on Tuesday that the company has made progress towards securing the necessary regulatory approvals.  Netflix expects the addition of HBO Max will allow it to offer more personalized and flexible subscription options to better meet the needs of its diverse global audience. It also sees the theatrical business as a new revenue stream. But some analysts argue the deal would create near-term uncertainty around integration costs, content spending and the large debt load of the combined company. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Anil D'Silva)

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 – 'Sinners,' a Segregation-era vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan, stormed into the awards race on Thursday with the most Academy Award nominations of any film this year.  The large haul sets up the film as the frontrunner heading into the March 15 Oscars, where it will face off against contenders including "One Battle After Another," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme" and others for best picture. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)

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NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) – A federal judge will consider on Thursday actor Justin Baldoni's bid to dismiss actor Blake Lively's lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment and waging a smear campaign in connection with their 2024 movie "It Ends With Us." Both sides are expected to make arguments at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan, after waging an acrimonious battle for more than a year that has transfixed Hollywood and involved names including Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds and longtime friend Taylor Swift. Lively, 38, accused Baldoni – who directed the movie – and his Wayfarer Studios of coordinating a scheme to silence her and others from speaking out about the hostile environment they allegedly created on the film's set. Thousands of pages of documents made public this week included Lively's claim that Baldoni, 41, pressured her unnecessarily to simulate nudity during a film scene where her character gave birth in a hospital. Also released this week were text messages between Lively and Swift, including a December 5, 2024, text message where the superstar singer likened Lively's and Baldoni's relationship to "a horror film no one knows is taking place." Lively is seeking unspecified damages for alleged harassment, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil rights laws. A trial is scheduled for May 18. Lawyers for Lively and Baldoni were not immediately available for comment. BALDONI HAS SAID HE ADDRESSED LIVELY'S CONCERNS In seeking a dismissal, lawyers for Baldoni said he resolved Lively's concerns about sporadic misunderstandings and "awkward comments" on the film set, including over her physical appearance, as soon as she raised them. They also said Baldoni had a right to hire a crisis management firm to defend his reputation after Lively began disparaging him publicly. Lively's lawyers countered that the dispute concerned more than merely "minor annoyances fueled by creative differences." They said a jury should consider the alleged "toxic environment" where Baldoni and Wayfarer ignored numerous women's claims of being sexualized and marginalized, and then pursued a strategy of "deny" and "attack."  The dispute burst into public view in mid-December 2024 when Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department, followed by her lawsuit, and a New York Times article titled: "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine." Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and Reynolds of trying to destroy his reputation, but Liman dismissed that case last June.  The judge also dismissed Baldoni's related $250 million defamation case against the Times. "It Ends With Us" generated mixed reviews but grossed more than $351 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by Deepa Babington)

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By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 – 'Sinners,' a Segregation-era vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan, stormed into the awards race on Thursday with the most Academy Award nominations of any film this year, landing a record 16 nods. The large haul sets up the film as the frontrunner heading into the March 15 Oscars, where it will face off against contenders including "One Battle After Another," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme" and others for the coveted best picture prize. "Bugonia," "F1," "The Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value" and "Train Dreams" also were nominated for best picture. Jordan was nominated for best actor for playing twin brothers in "Sinners." His competition includes Leonardo DiCaprio in "One Battle After Another" and Timothee Chalamet in "Marty Supreme."  Best actress nominees include Jessie Buckley for "Hamnet" and Kate Hudson for "Song Sung Blue." Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 10,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Walt Disney's ABC will broadcast the awards, and comedian Conan O'Brien will host for the second straight year. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)

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

LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 – 'Sinners,' a Segregation-era vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan, stormed into the awards race on Thursday with the most Academy Award nominations of any film this year.  The large haul sets up the film as the frontrunner heading into the March 15 Oscars, where it will face off against contenders including "One Battle After Another," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme" and others for best picture. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)

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

Jan 22 (Reuters) – Paramount Skydance on Thursday extended the deadline on its hostile tender offer for Warner Bros Discovery to February 20, giving it more time to persuade investors that its bid for the Hollywood studio trumps a rival deal with Netflix. With DC Comics, iconic franchises from "Friends" to "Batman" and the HBO Max streaming service at stake, a successful deal would change the power dynamics of Hollywood and could help power growth at its suitor for years to come. Netflix on Tuesday revised its $82.7 billion offer to go all-cash in hopes of expediting the deal closure and providing greater financial certainty to investors worried about its previously stock-and-cash deal. It is now paying all the $27.75 a share bid in cash for the streaming and studio assets of the David Zaslav-led company, an offer that was unanimously approved by the Warner Bros board. Paramount has launched a charm offensive and sued Warner Bros to bring the HBO owner to the negotiation table. But Warner Bros has suggested that Paramount needs to raise its $108.4 billion, or $30-per-share, offer for the whole company to restart deal talks. Warner Bros' board earlier this month rejected an amended Paramount bid that included a $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle's co-founder and Paramount CEO David Ellison's father, Larry Ellison. The deadline for Paramount's offer was originally January 21. The race is expected to come to a head at a shareholder vote expected to be held by April as Warner investors weigh the value of cable assets that Paramount argues are worthless. Warner Bros has said that its advisers used three separate approaches for valuing Discovery Global – the spinoff company that would include the cable assets. The lowest share price they arrived at was $1.33 per share, by applying a single value across the whole company. The high end of the range was a price of $6.86 a share, if the spinoff became involved in a future deal. Paramount has repeatedly said that its offer is superior to Netflix's deal and has a clearer path towards regulatory approval. The Ellisons have argued their relationship with President Donald Trump gives them an easier regulatory path to approval. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on a post-earnings call on Tuesday that the company has made progress towards securing the necessary regulatory approvals.  Netflix expects the addition of HBO Max would allow it to offer more personalized and flexible subscription options to better meet the needs of its diverse global audience. It also sees the theatrical business as a new revenue stream. But some analysts argue the deal would create near-term uncertainty around integration costs, content spending and the large debt load of the combined company. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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