{"id":4851,"date":"2026-08-04T09:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851"},"modified":"2026-08-04T09:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:06:10","slug":"think-the-paramount-wbd-mega-deal-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-locarno-film-festival-think-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851","title":{"rendered":"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tThe planned Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is sure to make global waves across various parts of the film industry landscape. <\/p>\n

Read more Vicki Wickham, Influential \u2018Ready, Steady, Go!\u2019 Talent Booker and Producer, Dies at 87<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn fact, it already has, being the topic of debate on film studio lots, at sector players\u2019 headquarters, in social meet-ups across the industry and, yes, also at film festivals, such as the recent Karlovy Vary fest.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland is also ready to take on the big issue of consolidation and its fallout, along with other hot-button sector topics, at its 2026\u00a0Locarno Pro industry program.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are some earthquakes that are shaking up the infrastructure of the global industry,\u201d which plays into this year\u2019s program, Markus Duffner, director of Locarno Pro, tells THR<\/em>. So, among other themes, he and his team thought: \u201cLet\u2019s see what happens with the merger of Paramount and Warner. Let\u2019s see what happens with everything that AI can do, as groundbreaking technologies will change the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNews of the Paramount-WBD earlier this year came up as the team was in the thick of planning this year\u2019s Locarno Pro program. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a crystal sphere, but when we were putting together [the plans for Locarno Pro opening session] StepIn, the Paramount merger news came out,\u201d Duffner recalls. \u201cAnd we said, \u2018Wow, what does it mean with all we\u2019re talking about? But in the end, we felt it\u2019s actually coherent with what we were already dealing with.\u2019 So it\u2019s not something brand new. It\u2019s really a symptom of everything we were dealing with and discussing already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Alan Ritchson on What He Learned About Fame From Working With Arnold Schwarzenegger<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tLocarno Pro, which will once again mix educational, business and networking opportunities, runs Aug. 6-11 this year as part of the Locarno festival, which takes place in the Swiss lakeside town Aug. 5-15.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe 2026 edition of StepIn will explore how power structures, human capital, politics, AI and data-driven systems are reshaping the future of independent cinema,\u201d Marcello Paolillo, the StepIn project manager, explains in a brochure. \u201cThe first roundtable will focus on the unprecedented pressures that independent cinema is facing today, including the influence of global streaming platforms on creative choices, the increasing use of algorithms, data and AI in decision-making, and the rapid concentration of power through mergers and industry consolidation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter all, the Swiss festival\u2019s industry strand is all about exploring challenges and how to address them with an eye on the future. \u201cLocarno Pro\u00a0is the platform which identifies, anticipates, and addresses the challenges faced by the European film industry, through an open space for dialogue on innovation and social impact,\u00a0and through a concrete investment in the next generation,\u201d Duffner highlights in a preview of this year\u2019s edition on the Locarno Pro website. \u201cToday\u2019s talents are the leaders, producers, and filmmakers who will shape the coming era of film. This is why Locarno Pro is not a market like any other: it is the place where those who believe in cinema as an art form and a driving force for change find the tools to make it possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Howard Stern Beats Former Executive Assistant\u2019s Lawsuit Looking to Void NDA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What the Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery mega-deal has to do with the 2026 Locarno Film Festival industry strand Locarno Pro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2,904,905,906],"class_list":["post-4851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-international","tag-locarno-2026","tag-locarno-film-festival","tag-locarno-pro"],"yoast_head":"\nThink the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again! - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again! - US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What the Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery mega-deal has to do with the 2026 Locarno Film Festival industry strand Locarno Pro.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-04T09:06:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"headline\":\"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again!\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T09:06:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851\"},\"wordCount\":573,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"international\",\"Locarno 2026\",\"Locarno Film Festival\",\"Locarno Pro\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851\",\"name\":\"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again! - US Property Moves\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T09:06:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":810},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=4851#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Property Moves\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again! - US Property Moves","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again! - US Property Moves","og_description":"What the Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery mega-deal has to do with the 2026 Locarno Film Festival industry strand Locarno Pro.","og_url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851","og_site_name":"US Property Moves","article_published_time":"2026-08-04T09:06:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c"},"headline":"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again!","datePublished":"2026-08-04T09:06:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851"},"wordCount":573,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp","keywords":["international","Locarno 2026","Locarno Film Festival","Locarno Pro"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851","name":"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again! - US Property Moves","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-04T09:06:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/362298b4e65759339635b0fee97f0810.webp","width":1440,"height":810},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=4851#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Think the Paramount-WBD Mega-Deal Has Nothing to Do With the Locarno Film Festival? Think Again!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/","name":"US Property Moves","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/uspropertymoves.com"],"url":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}