The much-discussed merger of two Tinseltown giants, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery will now be moving forward, with the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit. The deal's negotiations involved the companies and several state attorney generals, and the cost of the acquisition by Paramount is an eye-popping $111 billion, but now it's moving ahead.
After days of marathon negotiations, Paramount Skydance and the state attorneys general have settled the blockbuster antitrust lawsuit over the $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition.
The agreement is expected to be announced later Monday (on Yom Kippur, no less). At a press conference called in Los Angeles, (California Attorney General Rob) Bonta revealed the settlement with Paramount but stipulated at the beginning that that agreement was not an endorsement of the deal.
Ahead of the fine-print being released, Paramount mogul David Ellison praised the deal terms, saying: “We are grateful to Attorney General Bonta and his fellow AGs, as well as the WGA, for engaging in good faith to find a path forward to a resolution that serves all parties, and to Governor Newsom for his support throughout this process. Our shared aim was an outcome that best serves consumers, workers and — most importantly — the creative community so vital to the art of visual storytelling.”
The Paramount CEO added, “We’re confident this agreement does exactly that, memorializing a series of commitments that include 30+ films annually and expanded U.S. film production to help revitalize our industry here at home.”
The industry in California could frankly use some revitalizing. Films are now being shot in such far-flung places as Canada, Georgia and even Australia because of the costs of doing any manner of business in the once-Golden State. In fact, during the negotiations there were rumors that Paramount was considering channeling its inner Davy Crockett and telling California, "You may go to the devil; I will go to Texas." That didn't happen, or at least, not yet.
For now, the deal is moving ahead.
But it also clears Paramount to close the deal, which had a so-called $7 million-per-day ticking fee set to begin Oct. 1. The settlement allows the studio to avoid paying those costs assuming it can close in the next 10 days or so.
The outcry from the left over the deal was predictable.
The state attorneys general, led by California’s Bonta had sued to block the deal, alleging that the merger would give the combined Paramount-Warners too much control over basic cable TV and the theatrical film business. The Writers Guild of America later joined the fray, with a lawsuit that argued the merger would suppress wages and worsen working conditions for writers by creating a single mega-buyer of film and television programming. Earlier this year, consumers had also filed a complaint challenging the purchase.
Of course, there's another answer to all those things: Start producing some original movies. Stop rehashing old content and releasing a squillion sequels for every film. Look to the greats on how movies should be made: Howard Hawks, John Ford, Michael Curtiz, David Lean, Robert Mulligan, and all the greats. Look on to the great movies: Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Cowboys, The African Queen. Make some more films like the ones that brought our parents and grandparents to the theaters.
And for the luvva Pete, get rid of the woke horse squeeze.
Do that, and you won't have to worry about whose name is on the letterhead.
So, a famous reply from one of Warner Bros. most popular and long-lived stars may not be 100 percent accurate, but it is 100 percent appropriate.
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