UPDATE 3: The “keep Paramount in Los Angeles” priority is running out of runway. Per our insiders, the move is happening, the stalled filming Bass described is already tied to it, and Tennessee is the final destination.
UPDATE: Bass got her wish faster than most expected. Settlement talks between Paramount and the state attorneys general are set for Monday, August 24, and Newsom has broken his silence too. (Update 2: Bonta has since canceled that meeting, accusing Paramount of leaking and playing games.)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is now calling for a “swift and urgent resolution” to the fight over the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
In a press release from her office, Bass, joined by entertainment labor leaders, said stalled filming tied to the dispute has Angelenos out of work.
She laid out the city’s priorities: protect LA jobs, strengthen local production, and keep Paramount in Los Angeles.
“Productions in LA are hurting and hardworking Angelenos are out of a job because ongoing disputes over the proposed merger have stalled filming in our city,” said Bass. “It’s time for all parties to come to table.”
“Any resolution must put the long-term stability of LA-based entertainment jobs, productions and investments first. This is not about taking sides. This is about fighting for Los Angeles’ talented and unparalleled creative workforce.”
Per the release, Bass has also been clear she will not support a deal that costs Angelenos their jobs.
Another Voice Asking For A Deal
Bass says this is not about taking sides. Still, the dispute she wants resolved is the 12-state antitrust lawsuit that has the $111 billion deal frozen until a trial in March 2027.
And she joins a growing list. Per the WSJ, Governor Newsom’s office has urged Bonta to settle. Christopher Nolan’s DGA and IATSE sent both sides a letter asking for a settlement. The three biggest theater chains back the merger, and Cinema United asked Bonta and Ellison to meet.
Per our insiders, the chains aren’t just signing contracts, either. There is real excitement in exhibition about Paramount’s theatrical strategy.
The “keep Paramount in Los Angeles” line comes with its own clock. Ellison has set an October 1 deadline to settle or move Paramount out of California, the same day the $7 million a day ticking fees begin.
Not everyone is on board. Per Deadline, the WGA, which filed its own lawsuit against the merger, blasted Bass for what it called joining Paramount’s pressure campaign.
Bass Is Pushing A Federal Film Incentive Too
The release also runs down her record. Bass oversaw the passage of the first Film and TV Tax Credit Program as Speaker of the State Assembly, championed its doubling to $750 million as Mayor, and is now fighting for a no-cap state tax credit and the creation of the first federal film incentive.
That federal push has a familiar backer, as Ellison has been quietly supporting a bipartisan federal film incentive in Washington.
Her office also touts filming wins under Executive Directive 11, including Griffith Observatory fees cut by 70 percent, the Central Library reopened for filming after more than a decade, and filming restored to the Sixth Street Bridge.
Bass toured the Cinerama Dome this month as well, ahead of its reopening under Sony Pictures and Alamo Drafthouse.
Trial is set for March 2027. The list of Californians asking for a deal before it gets there now includes the mayor of Los Angeles.
