Spoilers Star Trek: Picard General Discussion Thread

[Paul755]

That'll break a lot of people's brains!

it’s the kinda meta, stunt casting that would kinda make sense and be fun.

 

[HotRod]

Like having Shatner show up as Kirk’s father on SNW

Grandfather maybe. He's a bit old be George Kirk.

 

[fireproof78]

Speaking of gimmicks...

 

[Danja]

Paramount Global has a complicated ownership structure.

Eighty percent of Paramount Global's voting shares are controlled by a company called National Amusements (Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone's old company).

If anyone were to try to buy Paramount without going through National Amusements (a la Byron Allen and Apollo), they risk leaving National Amusements in charge of the company.

Warren Buffett also owns a large minority stake in Paramount Global.

 

[Danja]

Paramount is leaning towards Skydance:

National Amusements and Paramount Global Close to Setting an Exclusive Window for Acquisition Talks with Skydance Media

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/pa...dance-ellison-national-amusements-1235958618/

The path forward for Paramount appears to be slowly coming into focus around a complicated deal that would call for Skydance to acquire National Amusements, which is privately held and controlled by Redstone. The enlarged Skydance would then acquire Paramount Global, which is publicly traded, in a two-step process. Paramount Global and Skydance have been business partners in film and TV production for more than 10 years. That familiarity is said to be a big factor in Redstone’s willingness to consider a transaction.

 

[Quantum21]

My choice

Paramount is leaning towards Skydance:

 

[cooleddie74]

#Justice4Laris

 

[Danja]

The Exclusivity Window is on:

Paramount Global Stock Surges As Skydance Looks To Seal Deal In Exclusive Negotiating Window

https://deadline.com/2024/04/paramo...gotiating-window-for-merger-talks-1235875236/

Shares of Paramount Global jumped more than 15% on Wednesday afternoon with Skydance chief David Ellison in pole position to clinch a majority stake of National Amusements.

Led by Shari Redstone, National Amusements operates a movie theater circuit and also controls more than three-quarters of Paramount’s voting shares. A report in Bloomberg just prior to market close said a tentative deal was reached between Ellison, a longtime business partner on film and TV projects with Paramount, and Redstone. There is no deal done. But as Deadline reported earlier today, the two sides are in an exclusive negotiating period. That is only entered into with a framework in place, and with hope for a final agreement.

The Skydance deal would require two steps, which is why it’s taking some time. First, the acquisition of Redstone’s stake in NAI, which would give Skydance control of Paramount Global. The second, more complicated, transaction would be merging the Skydance and Paramount studios. That’s the point of the deal, but they can’t just be jammed together even if Ellison controls them both, since Paramount Global is a publicly traded company with outside shareholders, including big names like Warren Buffett and Mario Gabelli. The merger would require approval by an independent committee of Paramount Global directors to ensure that it’s fair to all shareholders and could risk endless lawsuits if its not done right.

 

[Nerys Myk]

That'll break a lot of people's brains!

More like grandfather. Which is something I've seriously suggested.

 

[Mage]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but it's a deleted scene from season 3 mention Deanna and piloting the Enterprise...
I can see why it was cut, but as a deleted scene I got a giggle out of it.

 

[The Wormhole]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but it's a deleted scene from season 3 mention Deanna and piloting the Enterprise...
I can see why it was cut, but as a deleted scene I got a giggle out of it.

I'm glad they deleted that. Contrary to popular belief, Deanna was not actually flying the Enterprise in Generations. Yes, she went and sat at the helm, but the dialogue even made it clear that Data had taken over flight operations, further proven when he says he's leveled the saucer's descent during the crash sequence. And as for Nemesis, she was ordered to ram the Enterprise into the Scimitar, so that's not her fault at all.

But of course such facts get in the way of all the "woman driver" jokes we've had for the past thirty years.

 

[Mage]

I'm glad they deleted that. Contrary to popular belief, Deanna was not actually flying the Enterprise in Generations. Yes, she went and sat at the helm, but the dialogue even made it clear that Data had taken over flight operations, further proven when he says he's leveled the saucer's descent during the crash sequence. And as for Nemesis, she was ordered to ram the Enterprise into the Scimitar, so that's not her fault at all.

But of course such facts get in the way of all the "woman driver" jokes we've had for the past thirty years.

I fully agree. As a meta-joke between the actors, I can see how this was funny. But yes, the gender-biased 'women suck at driving' jokes at the expense of Deanna have been horrible over the years.

 

[SJGardner]

Seriously, with how much of the crew they managed to rescue and how the saucer remained intact and salvageable, Deanna (and Data) should have been given medals for such a flawlessly executed emergency landing. And they probably were.

 

[Danja]

https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/paramount-global-redstone-skydance-charter-acquisition-1235962741/

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported the sides were moving toward a deal that would see Skydance acquire Redstone’s holding company National Amusements Inc., which holds her controlling interest in Paramount Global. Paramount Global would then acquire the enlarged Skydance Media in an all-stock deal that would value Skydance at $5 billion. Redstone would wind up with $2 billion from the Skydance-NAI transaction, which would buy out her preferred shares that amount to about 77% of voting shares and 10% of the economic value of Paramount Global shares, the Journal reported.

By multiple accounts, Paramount Global’s special committee “reached the point of no return” last month and decided that the time had come to figure out the best sale option for the company. If the Skydance Media scenario comes to pass, multiple sources confirm reports by the Journal that former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell will take on a key operational role alongside David Ellison as CEO.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

 

[Danja]

https://www.thewrap.com/paramount-board-members-step-down-skydance-exclusive-talks/

Four Paramount Board Members To Step Down Amid Merger Talks | Report

Four members of the Paramount Global board directors are expected to step from the entertainment giant in the next few weeks amid concerns over lawsuits stemming from merger discussions with Skydance Media, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Three of the board members — Dawn Ostroff, Nicole Seligman and Frederick Terrell — are members of a special committee of independent board members formed in January to evaluate potential merger deals for the company, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure could come as soon as this week. A fourth member of the board, Rob Klieger, also is stepping down but is not part of the special committee, the media outlet reported.

Skydance, which is valued at more than $4 billion, has been a coproducer with Paramount on projects such as the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Its deal, which CNBC reported would include raising new equity and an ownership stake of somewhere between 45% to just over 50%, would be financed with the help of a consortium of investors, including private equity firms RedBird Capital Partners and KKR, as well as Larry Ellison, Ellison’s father and Oracle’s cofounder.

The senior Ellison would reportedly put up some of the new funding and potentially provide Paramount with access to artificial intelligence software and other data technology from Oracle. David Ellison, meanwhile, would likely lead the new company, while former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell would also have a major leadership role. Additionally, management would reportedly be open to divestitures of assets, such as BET Media Group. Bloomberg separately reported that Skydance would look to merge Paramount+ with a rival, such as Peacock, Max or Prime Video, and would hold onto CBS.

• I can't see P+ merging with Amazon (Amazon already owns MGM. They don't need another studio.)

• Warner is $55 billion in debt. They're not in any position to do a merger.

If there's anyone who can make a merger with Peacock happen, it's Jeff Shell.

 

[Tosk]

Seriously, with how much of the crew they managed to rescue and how the saucer remained intact and salvageable, Deanna (and Data) should have been given medals for such a flawlessly executed emergency landing. And they probably were.

Hopefully on the same day as Picard's court martial for losing the ship. ...assuming it still applies to the captain, even if they're not on board at the time. If not, Riker.

 

[The Wormhole]

Hopefully on the same day as Picard's court martial for losing the ship. ...assuming it still applies to the captain, even if they're not on board at the time

It does. Picard is still the ship's Captain meaning the ship is still his responsibility regardless if he's on board or not. The only concession to the circumstances Starfleet would give is that Riker would also be court-martialed along with Picard.

Although, really, a Captain being automatically court-martialed over the destruction of their ship seems rather harsh for the supposedly non-military Starfleet. An inquiry should come first with a court-martial only coming if the inquiry deemed it necessary.

 

[Tosk]

Although, really, a Captain being automatically court-martialed over the destruction of their ship seems rather harsh for the supposedly non-military Starfleet.

Apparently it's done (real world) so that the findings are part of the official record.

 

[The Wormhole]

Apparently it's done (real world) so that the findings are part of the official record.

An inquiry still comes first simply because to do otherwise is to imply the Captain is suspected of criminal misconduct, which no one wants to be accused of right off the bat, unless there is overwhelming evidence to support as much.

For what it's worth the novels have attempted to explain that the only reason Picard was automatically court-martialed over the Stargazer was because an intact starship was left abandoned for potentially anyone to find and take. Had the ship actually been destroyed, he would have gotten an inquiry first.