Director Asghar Farhadi, left, and actress Lily-Rose Depp pose for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the screening of the film Ismael's Ghosts at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
CANNES, France (AP) --
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has finally received his Oscar for best foreign language film, nearly three months after boycotting the Academy Awards ceremony.
Farhadi received the statuette during the opening ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Wednesday.
Farhadi boycotted the ceremony in February over President Donald Trump's proposed travel ban on people from several majority-Muslim countries, including Iran.
In his acceptance speech Wednesday, Farhadi praised Cannes as a "place where cultures speak to one another."
Farhadi won for "The Salesman," a drama centered around the story of a married couple who performed Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" on stage.
Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.
The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.
The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.
DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.
"While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.
The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.
The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.
DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More
