Emotions spilled over at a gathering of Hollywood workers, union officials and a current and former FCC commissioner opposed to the planned Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. merger on Saturday, with some arguing that the mega-merger on top of other recent challenges in the business would mean the “death of Hollywood.”
Writers, actors, crew members and small business owners made dire predictions for the proposed $111 billion transaction at the “Main St. vs. The Merger” town hall at Beverly Hills’ Lumiere Cinema. Some expressed feelings of powerlessness at the prospect of one historic studio swallowing another, a transaction Warner Bros. shareholders approved in late April. Others, including moderator and former FCC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, urged that the transaction isn’t a done deal yet and called for hope.
On Friday, Reuters reported that California, New York and other state attorneys general are preparing a lawsuit to block the merger after California attorney general Rob Bonta previously promised to look into the deal.
Nevertheless, many in the room didn’t seem to be banking on that suit stopping the transaction. One person who identified as a producer, but like many speakers at the town hall didn’t say her name, described a Paramount-Warner Bros. deal in existential terms. “A domino fell during the pandemic. Another fell during the writers’ strike. If Paramount merges with Warner Bros., it may be the final domino that knocks everything down,” she said.
