Vice Media Nearing Deal to Be Acquired by Fortress, Soros Fund Management for $400 Million (Report)

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Netflix landed North American rights for “May December,” a soapy romantic-drama directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, which debuted at Cannes Film Festival. It sold for $11 million, marking the first big sale of this year’s festival. Several bidders, including Neon, were in the mix before Netflix emerged victorious. The streamer hopes to position “May December” as an Oscar contender in the fall. A scandalous age-gap relationship plays out at the center of “May December,” which debuted on Saturday to raves and earned a six-minute standing ovation. Moore plays the “December” to Charles Melton’s much-younger “May,” who was just 13 when the two fell in love. Given their 20-year age gap, their marriage inspired a national tabloid scandal. Decades later, their relationship is put to the test as an actress (Portman) travels to Georgia to study the life of Moore’s character, whom she’s set to play in a film.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have acquired the crown jewel of California real estate.

Avril Lavigne is getting ready to say goodbye to her home in Malibu!

Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology is launching a grant scheme to support co-productions between Indonesian and international filmmakers. 

Rose Ayling-Ellis To Lead ITV Drama ‘Code Of Silence’

A fundraising appeal for the family of a pregnant mum who died after a motorway crash which left two young children in a coma has topped £35,000, it was revealed today.

Chapter 11 filing, Vice has estimated liabilities between $500 million to $1 billion. The filing states that Vice’ management “has determined that it is advisable and in the best interest of the Vice Group Companies to enter into a stalking horse agreement for the sale of substantially all assets and related auction procedures.” In a “stalking horse” agreement, potential buyers are lined up in advance of the bankruptcy filing.“This accelerated court-supervised sale process will strengthen the Company and position Vice for long-term growth, thereby safeguarding the kind of authentic journalism and content creation that makes Vice such a trusted brand for young people and such a valued partner to brands, agencies and platforms,” Vice co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said in a statement.

Trail-blazing youth brand Vice Media has formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Vice Media Group, said on Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 protection to facilitate its sale. The company said in a court filing that it listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion, according to the Reuters news service. The statement also said that the group had agreed to the terms of an asset purchase agreement with a consortium of lenders. These include Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management, and Monroe Capital. The consortium agreed to provide total purchase consideration of approximately $225 million in the form of a credit bid for substantially all of the company’s assets, in addition to the assumption of significant liabilities upon closing, the statement said.

reported Saturday that a buyer group that includes Sun Group, GSV and others is backing the bid. Russell, CEO of the automotive tech company Luminar, told the Wall Street Journal Friday he would be purchasing a majority share—82%—of Forbes, valuing the publication at close to $800 million. However, Axios media reporter and CNN analyst Sara Fischer says there’s more to the story. “This deal is made to look like it’s Austin Russell buying 82% of this asset but it’s not,” Fischer reported on Twitter.

Instagram story. My Dad has been out of the hospital for weeks and is recuperating.

Ryan Reynolds’ efforts to become owner of his own NHL team have apparently come to an end.

A 25-year-old woman who previously worked as Jimmie Allen’s day-to-day manager is suing the country singer for alleged sexual abuse that lasted for a year and half while she was working with him. Allen has denied the allegations, saying he intends "to mount a vigorous defense to her claims." The lawsuit was filed in Tennessee federal court on Thursday, claiming the "Don’t You Wanna Know" singer "manipulated and used his power over Plaintiff’s job to sexually harass and abuse her," according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.  After sexually harassing the plaintiff – known only as Jane Doe – for nearly a year, Allen raped her following a dinner they attended after the taping of an "American Idol" episode in March 2021, the documents allege.

Jimmie Allen claiming he raped her and repeatedly subjected her to sexual abuse and harassment over the course of 18 months as his day-to-day manager.In a report published Thursday by, the 37-year-old country crooner is accused of assaulting the woman, groping her breasts on a plane, pushing his erect penis against her body in public, masturbating in front of her at a hotel they both were staying at and forced his fingers into her vagina when she drove him to events.The woman, who filed the lawsuit Thursday in Tennessee federal court and is identified only as «Jane Doe,» tells  that during a work trip to Los Angeles in March 2021, Allen allegedly raped her following his appearance as a celebrity guest on. She claims that following a business dinner after that taping, she woke up naked in her hotel room in severe pain and bleeding vaginally.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Backup Systems, the Paris-based company behind the owner of the cloud-based app MovieChainer, has launched Connect, which is being presented as the first AI-powered app enabling smart data upload and data management for filmmakers. Rolled out on the eve of the Cannes Film Market, this new tool has been created to help filmmakers with non-creative tasks and has been designed to identify entertainment-related data, including all sorts of creative, financial and contractual data used in the film and TV industry. The app scans hard drives or dedicated folders in search for user’s raw material – scripts, videos, contracts, budgets, accounting reports etc, automatically archives files at the right place in user’s own cloud-based secured drive. Connect also identifies relevant data contained in the files and extract them to feed user’s database – enabling data-centric approaches and models to generate intelligence for the user. Backup Systems will be at Cannes to present the app.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann are divorcing after 11 years of marriage. Documents obtained by Fox News Digital revealed the former NFL player filed a divorce petition May 5 in Atlanta "on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken."  Zolciak filed her own petition the same day.

Nine celebrity Instagram accounts have over 300 million followers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Struggling media company Vice Media Group is gearing up to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — and then sell itself to some of its backers for about $400 million, according to a new report. The Brooklyn-based company post-bankruptcy arrangement to sell to investors including Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management would value it at $400 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. That would be less than 10% of its once high-flying $5.7 billion valuation back in 2017. The New York Times last week reported that Vice was prepping a bankruptcy filing. A spokesman for Vice Media declined to comment. Representatives for Fortress and Soros Fund Management did not respond to requests for comment.

A huge emergency response was prompted at a beauty spot in Rochdale after police were called following concerns for the welfare of a man.

Vice Media Group, the swashbuckling youth-skewing digital media brand, is preparing to file for bankruptcy.