It’s been headline after nauseating headline about Paramount Skydance’s megadeal to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery. You’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about it. We’ve all heard about it. It all became official after Netflix dropped out of the hostile bidding race earlier this year, giving Skydance free rein. To put it mildly, Hollywood isn’t happy about the acquisition. On Monday, April 13, more than one thousand A-List names tossed an open letter expressing their “unequivocal opposition.” Attached to that letter include bold-faced names such as Bryan Cranston, J.J. Abrams, Glenn Close, and several others. Paramount has since responded, claiming the merger will give creatives more avenues for their work.
The open letter was released by an alliance of groups, including Norm Eisen’s Democracy Defenders Fund and Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment. A throng of actors, directors, producer, and other creatives can be found on the list of signatories. Some A-List examples include Jason Bateman, Ben Stiller, Pedro Pascal, Rose Byrne, Denis Villeneuve, and Yorgos Lanthimos.
“This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries, and the audiences we serve, can least afford it,” the letter reads. “The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world. Alarmingly, this merger would reduce the number of major U.S. film studios to just four.”
“We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good. The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised.”
In addition, some individuals spoke out on social media. Damon Lindelof shared his complicated thoughts in an Instagram post.
How Did Paramount Respond?
Shortly following the letter, Paramount spoke up to address the situation. Below is an exerpt of the company statement. You can read the full statement in an article on Deadline.
“This transaction uniquely brings together complementary strengths to create a company that can greenlight more projects, back bold ideas, support talent across multiple stages of their careers, and bring stories to audiences at a truly global scale—while strengthening competition by ensuring multiple scaled players are investing in creative talent.
We have been clear in our commitments to do just that: increasing output to a minimum of 30 high-quality feature films annually with full theatrical releases, continuing to license content, and preserving iconic brands with independent creative leadership —ensuring creators have more avenues for their work, not fewer.” – Paramount Skydance
Sorry Paramount, but no amount of talking is going to make people who’ve made up their minds see things any differently. Media consolidation is, by any stretch of the term, bad. We need competition. We need varying viewpoints. Monopolies simply do more harm than good. Hollywood isn’t afraid to speak out, and this letter is proof of that. You can read the open letter in its entirety here.