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    Jolie Pitt accepts honorary post at Cambodian film festival

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    In this July 30, 2015, file photo, actress Angelina Jolie Pitt, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees special envoy and co-founder of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, visits Jan Mai Kaung refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Hkun Lat, File)
    PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) --

    The little-known Cambodia International Film Festival is getting a star-powered boost this year from Angelina Jolie Pitt.

    The Hollywood star, who is currently in Cambodia filming her latest movie, will serve as president of the festival's honorary committee, organizers said.

    The festival held in the capital, Phnom Penh, runs Dec. 4-10 and is screening 130 films from 34 countries.

    "Cambodia's rich history, long culture and talented people mean it has a huge amount to offer the region and the world," Jolie Pitt said in a statement issued Tuesday by the festival. "I'm proud to support the Cambodia International Film Festival and Cambodia as a home for vibrant and innovative filmmaking."

    Festival adviser Cedric Eloy, head of the Cambodian Film Commission, said Jolie Pitt's role would provide moral support and help "bring attention to the rebirth of the Cambodian film industry."

    Cambodia's film industry was devastated by the murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. The regime executed artists, writers and filmmakers as part of its Maoist vision to eliminate the educated elite and transform the country into an agrarian utopia. More than 1.7 million people died under the regime.

    Jolie Pitt is currently filming an adaptation of a Khmer Rouge biography, "First They Killed My Father," based on a 2000 memoir by Cambodian author and human rights activist Luong Ung.

    Tags:Angelina Jolie PittCambodia International Film Festival



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    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

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