Following charges of “inappropriate behavior” filed against him, actor Bill Murray agreed he stepped out of line in dealing with an unnamed woman. The charges against Murray led to the suspension of production of the movie Being Mortal which is directed by Aziz Ansari and produced by Searchlight Pictures, THR reports.
During a chat with the media at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders conference, Murray said he did something funny that the complainant did not see as funny, leading to a terrible rift that caused the movie they were working on to be suspended. The actor said it was all a matter of “difference of opinion” and that he is working on resolving the issue with the aggrieved woman.
“As of now we are talking, and we are trying to make peace with each other,” he said. “We are both professionals. We like each other’s work. We like each other, I think, and if we can’t really get along and trust each other, there’s no point in going further working together or making the movie as well. It’s been quite an education for me.”
Murray said the incident has helped him to see the world around him in a different light. He said the world has changed since he was a kid without necessarily knowing it. The 71-year-old actor-comedian noted that what was funny when he was a little boy is no longer funny to people today and that he is trying to see things from the viewpoint of others around him.
“The world is different than it was when I was a little kid,” he stated. “You know, what I always thought was funny as a little kid isn’t necessarily the same as what’s funny now. Things change and the times change, so it’s important for me to figure it out.”
He expressed hope that he will reconcile with the woman and that production will resume on the movie project. He said he is not too old to learn from any incident, and also urged the complainant to put everything behind her and get back to work.
Director Aziz Ansari and partner Youree Henley are said to be making consultations on the next step to take regarding the issue; the movie production is with the backing of Disney Studio. Searchlight Pictures would not comment on the incident, saying the investigation is ongoing. Based on Atul Gawande’s non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, the movie features Ansari, Seth Rogen, and Keke Palmer among others.
In his bid to secure bank loans for his proposed $44 billion Twitter takeover, Elon Musk told banks he may slash the salaries of Twitter directors and management executives. He said he might also monetize tweets, appoint a new CEO for the microblogging social media platform, and ban adverts among other changes.
The tech billionaire ultimately secured $13 billion in loans from banks, sold 4.4 million Tesla shares valued at $4.4 billion, raised a $12.5 billion margin loan against his Tesla stocks, and plans to generate the balance to cover the entire $44 billion Twitter acquisition price before taking over the company by the end of the year.
Although he was able to pitch his ideas to banks to raise a significant amount, Musk was able to sway banks based on his visions rather than on solid covenants. Sources familiar with the pitch said he does not even know the exact number of employees on Twitter nor know the exact amount that Twitter generates as profits.
However, he tweeted that cutting or eliminating the pay of Twitter board directors could net him $3 billion; while analysts revealed that Twitter stock-based remuneration for the year ended December 31, 2021, was $630 million, a 33% increment from the price generated in 2020.
As part of his plans to raise more revenue after acquiring the platform, Musk said external websites may be required to pay a fee for quoting or embedding a tweet from verified persons or organizations. Tweets that go viral may also be monetized to grow revenue for the company. Twitter’s Blue premium subscription service may also undergo some changes, including subscription payments via dogecoin cryptocurrency.
While Parag Agrawal has been Twitter’s CEO since December 2021, Musk hinted at appointing a new CEO once he gains total acquisition of the company. Inside sources said Agrawal will hold the forte until the acquisition is complete, but analysts said the possibility of replacing him undermines his performance since he took leadership of the social media five months ago.
Persons familiar with the deal said Musk will not accept partnerships from equity investors, and that he might institute certain moderation on the platform, even though he touts free speech for the platform. The insiders said he would have raised more than $13 billion from banks to secure Twitter, but some banks would not commit their funds because Musk is erratic, and the acquisition may cause top-tier talent to exit the company.
