Did David Ellison win by losing?
Ever since Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin set a March 2027 start date for the antitrust trial against Paramount’s $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery — effectively giving California AG Rob Bonta what he asked for — there’s been a slow drip of opposition to the case proceeding at all.
While many Hollywood staffers remain opposed to the deal, an increasing number are growing wary at the prospect of a lengthy legal battle that would effectively freeze a major studio for almost a year. Since then, the political vibes have started to shift against Bonta.
In the early months after Paramount outlasted Netflix for Warner Bros., the deal had only a few, if high profile, public backers: AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron and super agent Ari Emanuel, most notably, and far more detractors. More than 5,000 A-listers, including Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller and Denis Villeneuve added their names to a petition to block the deal and Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Cinema United, the DC-based trade group that represents theater owners, came out in forceful opposition to the merger.
But in the last two weeks, there’s been a growing push, including from some within Bonta’s own party, to figure out a way to settle the dispute out of court.
In the days since the trial date was set, that sentiment has only gotten louder. First, it was Regal Cinemas CEO Eduardo Acuna joining Aron in backing the deal, which now means that the two largest theater chains are in favor of the Paramount-Warner Bros. tie-up. A day later, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer publicly backed the deal.
We reported this week on the mood on the Warner Bros. lot, with some execs now angry at Bonta for leaving them in deal purgatory.
Earlier this week, after it broke that Ellison was considering the nuclear option of pulling Paramount out of California, the frontrunner to succeed Gavin Newsom as California Governor, Xavier Beccera, pushed for the two sides to reach a settlement. (Last month, Page Six Hollywood reported that Newsom was not that high on the antitrust case, and the Wall Street Journal followed that up by reporting Newsom was pushing for a resolution out of court).
Then on Wednesday, the DGA and IATSE weighed in and pushed for both to come to an agreement — albeit one with some pretty sizeable stipulations — warning that a prolonged legal fight only further endangers the industry. In doing so, it put them in opposition to the WGA, which is also suing to block the deal, and to a lesser extent, SAG-AFTRA, which publicly supported the antitrust case in a resolution that left wiggle room for Paramount to offer meaningful concessions.
(Given that the DGA is led by Christopher Nolan, arguably the most influential director in town these days, their public stance carries considerable weight.)
For many, it’s not as if all of sudden they support the merger — far from it, as there’s still a ton of trepidation over more consolidation and fears of job losses. A source with knowledge of the DGA’s thinking told P6H that their joint letter with IATSE should not be viewed as them throwing their support behind the merger, but that the prolonged uncertainty is bad for business.
Another powerful labor union, Hollywood Teamsters 399, meanwhile, told Paramount to “stop playing games and show us more of your commitment to the workforce,” per a statement by Secretary-Treasurer Lindsay Dougherty yesterday.
“Touting worker prosperity, without commitments, while simultaneously threatening their livelihood in the press as a bargaining chip begs the question — what is in this deal for American film and television workers?”
For his part, Bonta is not backing down, at least publicly. He told journalist Jessia Yellin on her show “News Not Noise” yesterday that he doesn’t feel any pressure to settle.
“The blackmail, the extortion, the threat to leave California if the regulators in my office dare to enforce the law and not let them get away with breaking the law, that seems like what a monopoly does. That seems like what someone with too much market power would do.”
For now, the case will move forward, with discovery beginning on Monday and running through Jan. 8, according to the proposed case management order that was filed Thursday.
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