UPDATE Aug. 25: Newsom’s concern has a destination attached. Per our insiders, the California exit is already freezing deals and productions, it will take years, and Tennessee is where it lands.
UPDATE Aug. 23: Add DC to what’s riding on Monday. Filmmaker Dan Marcus says Andy Muschietti told him all work on The Brave and the Bold is on hold until after the merger is settled, which is exactly what the merger contract’s limits on long-term deals predicted.
UPDATE: The meeting is off. Bonta canceled Monday’s talks late Sunday, accusing Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting a preliminary August 21 discussion. The original article follows.
The room everyone has been asking for finally exists.
Per Deadline, Paramount representatives and the state attorneys general offices will meet face to face on Monday, August 24. The depth and scope of the meeting is unclear, with an insider telling the outlet, “This is mandated under the mediation procedure.”
That last part matters. At a status conference earlier this week, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin set future dates in the case and stipulated the parties engage in mediation before a magistrate judge, which is standard in federal cases like this.
So Monday is a court-ordered sit-down, not a surrender. But it arrives with the political pressure on the 12-state lawsuit at its absolute peak.
Newsom Finally Says It Himself
Three weeks ago, the WSJ reported Governor Newsom’s office was privately urging Bonta to settle. On Friday, the governor went public for the first time.
Asked about Ellison’s threat to move Paramount to Tennessee, Texas, or Georgia if there’s no settlement, Newsom said he takes it “seriously.”
“We’re hoping that doesn’t happen,” said Newsom. “And I’m of the belief they don’t want that to happen. It’s not, I don’t think, in the company’s long-term interest, but I take it seriously.”
“I’m concerned about the state, our reputation,” he added. We’ve covered what a Paramount exit would actually cost California, and the termed-out governor with 2028 ambitions clearly has too.
On the lawsuit itself: “I think there’s some universal settlement there, if that’s possible. The question is [whether] that’s possible and what’s the best deal … that has to be worked through.”
And then the tell: “I know there are many meetings that are going on, and there’s a lot of conversation.”
Bonta Holds His Line
Bonta, who is seeking re-election, played Monday down in a statement late Friday.
“As I’ve said before, generally for all of my cases, I prefer to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom,” said Bonta. “As I’ve also said, if the opposing party in litigation wants to meet in good faith to make a sincere effort to resolve the case, we’ll meet. And as I have further said, any potential discussions about the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger will be unproductive absent robust structural remedies on the table that address our concerns.”
He then repeated the case he’s made from the start: “As it stands today, the proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger will mean higher costs, less competition, lower wages, job cuts, and fewer movies and TV shows. This merger violates long-standing federal antitrust law, and we are committed to enforcing the law.”
Structural remedies means pieces of the company staying separate or being sold. That has been his price all along, and nothing in Friday’s statement lowered it.
The Scoreboard Going Into Monday
Consider who is now on the record asking for a deal: the governor, the mayor of Los Angeles, gubernatorial nominee Xavier Becerra, the DGA and IATSE, and all three major theater chains plus Cinema United.
Bonta walks into Monday’s meeting as the last holdout, with a March 2 trial on the calendar, a $1.88 billion bond demand hanging over the states, and $7 million a day in ticking fees starting October 1.
For over a month, everyone in Hollywood has asked for the two sides to get in a room. On Monday, there is one.
