In a recent turn of events in the entertainment industry, Paramount Pictures has emerged victorious in a lawsuit regarding its highly anticipated film “Top Gun: Maverick.” The lawsuit, which claimed that the movie borrowed too heavily from a 1983 magazine article that inspired the original “Top Gun” film, was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson in Los Angeles. The judge ruled that the sequel was not “substantially similar” to Ehud Yonay’s “Top Guns,” which focused on the U.S. Navy’s Top Gun fighter pilot training school in San Diego.
In other news, Hollywood actor Jonathan Majors has managed to avoid jail time after being found guilty of domestic violence charges. Instead, he has been sentenced to one year of domestic-violence counseling by Justice Michael Gaffey of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan. Majors was convicted of third-degree assault and second-degree harassment against his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
Meanwhile, ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus celebrated two significant milestones over the weekend. As the Swedish pop group marked the 25th anniversary of the musical “Mamma Mia!” in London, it also commemorated 50 years since winning the Eurovision Song Contest with the iconic song “Waterloo.” Ulvaeus expressed his gratitude for ABBA’s enduring success and global impact.
Additionally, French media group Vivendi’s Canal+ has made a substantial offer to acquire all the shares of South African broadcaster MultiChoice that it does not already own. The all-cash mandatory offer is valued at 35 billion rand ($1.9 billion) and comes after an initial offer was rejected by MultiChoice for undervaluing the company.
Lastly, EU regulators are closely monitoring Apple’s compliance with an order to allow music streaming services like Spotify to inform users of payment options outside of its App Store. Failure to meet the requirements could result in antitrust charges and fines for the tech giant.