Hollywood Reacts to Paramount-WB Lawsuit Settlement

Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

On September 21, Paramount reached a settlement with the twelve states that sued to block the merger with Warner Bros. from happening. Some guilds, like the Directors Guild of America, celebrated the verdict as a win, while others, like the Writers Guild of America, felt disappointed that the merger is one step closer to becoming reality. Below are reactions from industry guilds, leaders, and unions to this week’s settlement.

Russell Hollander, the National Executive Director of the DGA, shared a statement, writing: “We congratulate the parties on reaching an agreement that addresses a number of critical concerns related to the Paramount/WBD merger. The AG agreement contains important binding and enforceable commitments that protect theatrical film and television markets and domestic film jobs. Equally important, it brings clarity and stability to the industry during a period of decreased production. We especially thank California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, for their leadership. We intend to continue our discussions with Paramount regarding domestic television production, with a focus on ensuring a competitive and robust marketplace that protects jobs.”

The WGA doesn’t seem to be happy with today’s settlement. They shared in a statement that the merger will “cause damage to writers and the industry at large.” They added, “Now that the Attorneys General have settled with Paramount, however, as a nonprofit, the WGA must contend with the reality of forging ahead alone, with no backing from government enforcers, with a complex antitrust lawsuit that would cost millions of dollars to pursue through trial.”

In a new statement, Sean Astin, President of SAG-AFTRA and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, expressed their support for the settlement, claiming members’ interests were represented in the discussion.

IATSE approved the settlement, noting that the new agreement includes “concrete, enforceable commitments that protect workers, preserve jobs, and support a healthy production ecosystem.” IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb added, “I want to take this opportunity to thank AG Bonta for a job well done in settling with Paramount and achieving protections for workers, enforceable safeguards and other important commitments from the company as the merger may now move forward. I look forward to working with the company and am greatly appreciative of the framework the AGs office put in place to protect IATSE members into the future.”

Alvaro Bedoya, a former commissioner of the FTC, called the settlement “a loss.” He praised the lawsuit by 12 states that threatened to block the merger but blamed politicians for caving to Paramount’s demands. “Thanks to an extraordinary outpouring of grassroots anger against the merger, a coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it. They beat Paramount in court, winning a court-ordered pause on the merger, and beat them again at the negotiating table, getting the conglomerate to agree to pause the merger until as late as next June,” he shared in a statement on X. “But the Ellison family does not care about the law. Instead, they loudly threatened to leave California if their merger did not go through immediately. Gavin Newsom caved to that pressure. So did Xavier Becerra. And eventually, so did Attorney General Rob Bonta, agreeing to a weak settlement that will be exceedingly difficult to enforce.”

Ruffalo, one of the merger’s most vocal critics, blamed Governor Gavin Newsom for the settlement on Monday.

The Office and Parks and Rec creator Mike Schur emphasized that writers will not forget how quickly politicians settled and changed how film and television will be made in California. He wrote on Blue Sky: “By the time this merger ruins HBO, destroys WB, gets 5,000 people fired, moves production overseas, and guts the quality of the movies the new studio makes, most people will have forgotten how fast the AGs caved and how little they got in this deal. Writers will not.”

“I don’t think these two companies should merge,” said California’s attorney general in a press conference the day the settlement was announced. “But that’s not something that we are focused on with our resolution here.” Bonta was the face of the antitrust lawsuit and defended the settlement, claiming there were “very strong remedies and commitments” to the issues raised in the settlement. He also felt that this deal is the opposite of the Disney-Fox merger and would benefit the film industry as a whole: “The things that we saw in the Disney-Fox merger — a massive decrease in film production… this doesn’t just guard against that and protect against the downside; it locks in a massive upside.”

The Block the Merger Coalition, a group led by the Future Film Coalition, shamed the result of the settlement but they’re not willing to go down without a fight. “We vehemently oppose the agreement to allow David Ellison to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a bad deal for the future of film, entertainment, independent journalism, and a strong democracy in this country. We are disappointed and angry that the interests of average Americans have been trampled to benefit oligarch billionaires,” the organization wrote in a statement on September 21. “This isn’t the last we will hear of the Ellisons or the fallout of this merger – and it’s not the last you will hear from us. Block the Merger was never just about one merger, but about the harms of media consolidation and promoting a diversity of voices. We will continue fighting for accountability and policy reforms to break up and prevent these large conglomerates.”

Jane Fonda, founder of the Committee for the First Amendment, felt “sickened” by the terms of the settlement, terms that she feels will negatively impact the film industry for years to come. She shared in a statement, “The terms of this settlement at this moment in our nation’s history will be extraordinarily damaging. The so-called ‘independence board’ supposed to guarantee editorial independence at CNN and CBS will be appointed by Paramount’s corporate board—meaning it isn’t independent at all. On top of that, the settlement has a ‘Force Majeure’ clause stating that all its terms are void if there is a strike, labor disruptions, or an economic recession—meaning this settlement is also a union-buster. I’m glad Ted isn’t here to witness the destruction of his unique and important creation.”

“People really downplay how evil Newsom is,” director Adam McKay wrote on BlueSky when resharing a news article addressing California Governor Newsom’s involvement in the settlement.