Paramount Extends Negotiating Window, Lionsgate Recalls ‘Megalopolis’ Trailer For Fake Quotes and Matthew Perry’s Death Reveals Hollywood Ketamine Habit

Plus: DNC Night 2 audience beats opening night, Rotten Tomatoes adds ‘verified hot’ badge and Iger Is ‘obsessed’ with finding successor [Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images)]( [Paramount Extends Negotiating Window as Edgar Bronfman Jr. Raises Bid to $6 Billion]( By Lucas Manfredi Paramount Global has extended the “go-shop” window in Skydance Media’s $8 billion merger agreement to Sept. 5 after receiving a competing offer from former Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. In a statement on Wednesday, Paramount’s independent special committee, which has been evaluating potential takeover bids, confirmed it had received an offer from Bronfman, which his investor group sweetened to $6 billion, from $4.3 billion on Monday. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Megalopolis]( [Lionsgate Recalls 'Megalopolis' Trailer After Apparently Making Up Quotes: 'We Screwed Up']( By Drew Taylor Francis Ford Coppola’s long-in-the-works “Megalopolis” finally hits theaters next month. A new trailer, released earlier Wednesday by Lionsgate, takes a more combative approach to the film’s marketing. At the beginning of the video, apparent quotes from reviews of previous Coppola masterpieces like “Apocalypse Now” and “The Godfather” flash on the screen. It’s a way of getting ahead of the divisive response to “Megalopolis,” which left critics bewildered when it screened at this year’s Cannes. It’s also pretty funny. The only problem… as New York Magazine critic Bilge Ebiri pointed out, the quotes are all made up. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Matthew Perry]( [Matthew Perry's Ketamine Death Reveals Hollywood's Quiet New Drug Habit]( By Josh Dickey Hollywood’s creeping ketamine habit might have carried on quietly for years, were it not for the death of Matthew Perry. But unlike many celebrities’ high-profile struggles with opiates, cocaine and alcohol, even the most desperate ketamine-dependency cases – and the “Friends” star’s was certainly one – have been consigned to the shadows. Overdose deaths from ketamine alone are extremely rare, experts say, and no national fatality statistics exist. And yet Perry’s fast ride to deep dependency — an indictment said he shot up six to eight times on the day of his death – was a shock to many. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [DNC Night 2 Audience Exceeds Opening Night With 20.8 Million Viewers]( [bad-boys-ride-or-die-rotten-tomatoes]( [Rotten Tomatoes Adds New ‘Verified Hot’ Audience Badge for Fan-Approved Movies]( [bob iger]( [Bob Iger Says He's 'Obsessed' With Finding His Successor at Disney: 'I'd Like to Retire Again']( [Jane Pauley, Alex Gibney to Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at News & Documentary Emmys]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [WrapPRO logo] Discover why entertainment executives and professionals rely on the WrapPRO platform daily for exclusive coverage, analysis, deeper reporting, and access to VIP events & screenings throughout the year. [Subscribe Today]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( TheWrap | 2034 Armacost Ave Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( [LiveIntent Logo]( [AdChoices Logo](