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Tag: supreme

  • Paramount’s Pam Kaufman calls it a day

    Paramount’s Pam Kaufman calls it a day

    MUMBAI: Pam Kaufman, the executive who turned a “yellow sea sponge” into a global merchandising juggernaut, has announced her departure from Paramount after more than two decades with the entertainment giant.

     Kaufman, who served as chief executive of international markets and global consumer products, will leave at the end of the year, though she plans to stay on as a consultant. Her exit comes as David Ellison and Jeff Shell take the reins of the newly restructured media company.

    During her tenure,  Kaufman transformed Paramount’s consumer products division into a $7bn retail business. She oversaw the expansion of iconic franchises including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Paw Patrol across more than 170 international markets. Under her watch, the company struck lucrative partnerships with brands from Stella McCartney to Supreme, many of which sold out within minutes of launch.

    The executive, who began her career at Nickelodeon in the 1990s, became the network’s first chief marketing officer in 2008. She launched over 20 television programmes and helped the company achieve $1bn in revenue. Her marketing prowess was perhaps best demonstrated with the Kids’ Choice Awards, where she nearly tripled voter participation.

    Kaufman’s international expansion efforts included launching Nickelodeon-themed resorts in Mexico and the United States, whilst the gaming division she oversaw produced hits like Star Trek Fleet Command, which has racked up 20m downloads.

    “We built billion-dollar franchises,” Kaufman wrote in her farewell post on LinkedIn. “We turned a yellow sea sponge into a global icon.”

    The departure marks the end of an era for Paramount, which has been grappling with the rapid shift to streaming whilst trying to maintain its traditional television and film businesses. Kaufman played a crucial role in supporting the international rollout of Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

    Beyond Paramount, Kaufman sits on the boards of Lindblad Expeditions, Stella McCartney, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. She will remain in these roles.

    “I’ve truly had the slime of my life,” she quipped, referencing Nickelodeon’s trademark green goo, “in the ‘in between’ with all of you.”

     

  • Content is supreme, lyrics are vital, says Farhan Akhtar at NDTV conclave

    Content is supreme, lyrics are vital, says Farhan Akhtar at NDTV conclave

    MUMBAI: “If the story is not good, then no matter where you shoot the film it doesn’t matter. Content has to be supreme. There was a time when music became more important than lyrics. Audience would not even remember the lyrics. That is changing now. The thought that if you have one hit number in the movie and that can ensure success of the film is also changing,” said actor-director Farhan Akhtar at the NDTV conclave in New Delhi on Monday.

    NDTV saw the culmination of its Youth for Change Conclave, a day-long event that aims to focus on solutions for challenges that our youth face today. This year saw a host of personalities from diverse fields come together to address the issues that are concerned with today’s youth.

    The sessions also featured celebrities like Kangana Ranaut, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Armaan Malik, Neeti Mohan, Irshad Kamil, Sachin Jigar and the stars of the women cricket team – Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Punam Raut, among others. The sessions covered issues ranging from Gender divide, challenges of fake news and is social media a bane or boon.

    Ranaut shared the travails of being a superstar: “Big cities are money-oriented, small towns are more concerned about what people – buaji, mausiji – will say. I come from an extreme environment, a conservative background. I felt stifled and just wanted to be free. On being discriminated against as a child: I could never feel pride in my lineage and I don’t feel like I belong when I go home. I want to tell women that they should fight for their own dignity, be it against fathers, husbands or children.”

    Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Punam Raut talked about setting new records against all odds.

    Raj, Captain, Women Cricket Team, said: “PM Modi tweeting about the women’s team was a moment of pride for us. My grandparents did not want me to take up cricket. Cricket is not life to me. There is life beyond cricket too.”

    Goswami, cricketer, said: “”World Cup final defeat will continue to hurt all of us. After beating Pakistan in the World Cup league match, even their fans applauded us. Unfortunately only one day out of 365 is celebrated as Women’s Day.”

    Arjun Kapoor, actor, shared his views on the gender divide: “”I am not very educated. I didn’t clear my Class 11. But, my upbringing has been such that despite this lack of education, I got a chance to move on in my life to do what I wanted to do. I don’t think women get such opportunity. I have grown up among women, predominantly with my sister and mother, and I have seen how strongly women face adversity. We should incorporate it in the syllabus itself how men should treat women. We always hear, ‘Stop crying like a woman.’ We inadvertently are implying that women are the weaker gender. I have a sister and somewhere there is always a concern about her safety. It is not just about urban or rural areas, world over security of women is an area of concern. We are moving forward and progress is everyone’s right. It cannot be gender specific. Gender parity means that both are equal not one is superior to the other.”

    Armaan Malik, singer: “I was a 10-year-old when I got to know that I am from Music composer Hasrat Jaipuri’s family. In my family everybody is a composer, I am the first one to get into singing. My grandmother makes me listen to Hasratji’s music and always asks me if such good music is being composed today as well. I feel good music is still being created.”

    Irshad Kamil, lyricist: “Today the films are closer to reality and so the scope of music in the films have gone down.”

    Sachin-Jigar, music composer duo: “The shelf life of songs have not gone down. Today lot more songs are being made and so audience has a lot of options to keep sifting through. But good songs live on for a long time even today.”

    Ajay Devgn, actor: “Always look ahead and not dwell on the past, just focus on rectifying the errors as we move forward.”

    Emraan Hashmi, actor, said: “If you are from a family connected with film industry then getting a break may be easier but at the end of the day you have to be good in acting. At the end of the day the audience is the decision maker. There is more pressure on ‘star kids’.”