Paramount settlement rumors spark pretty profoundly pissed-off Block The Merger response

The coalition (which includes folks like Mark Ruffalo, Denis Villeneuve, and Lilly Wachowski among the many major movie-making names that have lent their clout to its efforts) issued what we would categorize as a pretty profoundly pissed-off statement on Saturday, basically warning the AGs to pump the brakes on any potential conciliation. “The rumored ‘deal’ to usher the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger forward is an insult to everyone who has stood up against this harmful transaction and to the hundreds of thousands of workers, journalists, and consumers who will be hurt if it goes forward,” the statement begins. “Let’s be very clear: an agreement based on unenforceable concessions is a win only for David Ellison. It is an L for everyone else.”

Citing comments from folks like Senator Elizabeth Warren (who put out her own statement on Saturday calling Paramount’s efforts “a dangerous merger”), the statement goes on to urge Bonta and his colleagues to reject pretty much anything Ellison brings to them that isn’t outright capitulation: “We know a bad deal when we see one,” it continues. “AG Bonta and his fellow state AGs should reject this deal, stand strong, and fully block the merger with no concessions.” That’s a much harder line than many people in California government, and other parts of the film industry, have been holding; Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass have both made public statements urging some kind of settlement, especially as Paramount makes increasingly bellicose statements about abandoning California outright. All of which means a pretty enormous amount of pressure is currently focused on Bonta and his fellow AGs, who have very deliberately positioned themselves as the last roadblock in the way of the $111 billion sale, and now get to enjoy the election year pleasures of facing down a decision that’s absolutely going to piss somebody powerful off.