{"id":5745,"date":"2026-08-12T04:24:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5745"},"modified":"2026-08-12T04:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:24:18","slug":"wga-slams-david-ellisons-plan-to-pull-paramount-from-california-this-type-of-behavior-is-precisely-why-the-merger-should-be-blocked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5745","title":{"rendered":"WGA Slams David Ellison\u2019s Plan to Pull Paramount From California: \u2018This Type of Behavior Is Precisely Why the Merger Should Be Blocked\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tThe Writers Guild of America has fired back at Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison after he threatened to start pulling Paramount out of California on Oct. 1 if California AG Rob Bonta refused to come to the bargaining table and settle the antitrust suit to stop the studio\u2019s acquisition of Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

Read more Zoe Salda\u00f1a\u00a0Says It\u2019s \u2018Frustrating\u2019 When Political Questions Only Get Asked to Actors of Color and Women: \u2018That\u2019s Incredibly Limiting\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBy threatening to leave the state because it doesn\u2019t want the government to enforce the law, Paramount further proves the danger of its outsized power over the industry and what that will mean for writers and the creative community,\u201d the WGA told Variety<\/em> in a statement. \u201cThis type of behavior is precisely why the merger should be blocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe WGA, along with Bonta and his coalition of 12 states, is suing to block the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. Filed jointly with the WGA West and East branches, the guild\u2019s suit claims the merger violates antitrust law and would inflict irreparable harm on industry scribes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe AG\u2019s lawsuit claims the transaction violates the Clayton Act by diminishing competition in three key markets: wide-release theatrical distribution, \u201ctop-grossing\u201d theatrical distribution and basic cable licensing. Bonta, in response to the news that Paramount may split town, wrote on X Tuesday, \u201cIn a span of weeks, Paramount agreed to halt the merger until a court decision or until June 2027, asked for a November trial, and is now back with another attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through. Paramount has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court. It didn\u2019t work the first time \u2014 on the eve of our July lawsuit \u2014 and it won\u2019t work this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Fans Remember Jackie the Eagle, Who Became a Social Media Star Worldwide: \u2018Regal, Fierce, Deeply Devoted\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tOct. 1 is the day when Paramount will begin paying Warner Bros. shareholders a $7 billion ticking fee for every day that passes without a closed deal. The AG\u2019s lawsuit is set to go to trial on March 2, 2027. If no settlement is reached, Paramount would be on the hook for over $1 billion to WBD shareholders by the end of the trial.<\/p>\n

\n\tEllison wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed that he believes the reason the states are opposed to a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. is not because of industry consolidation, but because Ellison would have control over CNN if the two studios were allowed to merge. During the acquisition process Ellison has made no secret that he is a friend of President Donald Trump, a longtime critic of the network. The turbulence behind the scenes at CBS News and its marquee program, \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d has also stoked fear that CNN may be mismanaged under Ellison\u2019s control.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGreat news organizations like CNN and CBS News are here to tell it straight down the middle,\u201d Ellison wrote. \u201cThat requires newsrooms that reflect the whole world, not one side of it. And it requires independence. Our journalists will continue to answer to the facts and to all the people they serve \u2014 not to any party or cause. These were founding principles for both CNN and CBS News, for legends like Ted Turner and Edward R. Murrow, and it is exactly that kind of independence that has always fueled the greatness of \u201860 Minutes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018The Last House\u2019 Debuts With 27.5 Million Views in Three Days<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Writers Guild of America has fired back at Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison after he threatened to pull Paramount out of California.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4469],"class_list":["post-5745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-wga"],"yoast_head":"\nWGA Slams David Ellison\u2019s Plan to Pull Paramount From California: \u2018This Type of Behavior Is Precisely Why the Merger Should Be Blocked\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/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:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5745\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WGA Slams David Ellison\u2019s Plan to Pull Paramount From California: \u2018This Type of Behavior Is Precisely Why the Merger Should Be Blocked\u2019 - 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