UPDATE: Two state attorneys general just used the same word in a Supreme Court filing. Iowa and Montana told the Court that Warner Bros. is “frozen” and needs Paramount’s approval for certain decisions, with the result being “movies that are not made, risks that are not taken, and every decision hedged.”
The Tennessee reports are not a negotiating tactic.
Per our insiders, Paramount’s move out of California is happening, and it is already costing Hollywood work.
Some deals and productions are frozen right now because of the relocation, a source tells us. “They’re not bluffing.”
The timeline is long. “It’ll take years, but it will happen.”
And the destination is settled. Tennessee is the “final destination, not Texas,” per what our sources are hearing.
That tracks with the Wall Street Journal’s report, relayed by the New York Post, that Tennessee has emerged as Paramount’s preferred landing spot if it leaves California, per people familiar with the company’s deliberations.
The same weekend, Bonta canceled Monday’s court-ordered settlement talks, and the move went from contingency to the only plan with a date on it.
The Post also reported Ellison has been in advanced negotiations over a movie and television studio facility in Austin, Texas.
Per our insiders, that is not the headquarters answer.
A production facility in Austin and a corporate home in Tennessee are two different decisions, and the Ellisons have already made this exact trip once: Larry Ellison moved Oracle’s headquarters out of California to Austin, then on to Nashville.
The Receipts
Nothing our insiders are saying now should surprise CBN readers. It has been on the board since July.
On July 16, our insiders said it was “chaos” at Warner Bros., with projects on hold, and that the deal has to go through or Warner Bros. gets sold off in pieces or ends up like MGM.
On August 11, Puck reported Ellison’s October 1 deadline: settle or Paramount starts moving, with board approval already in hand. Headquarters first, then a five-year plan shifting most studio jobs out of California, and regardless of how the lawsuit turns out. Tennessee, Texas, and Georgia were the names, and Tennessee’s deputy governor had already sent Ellison an invitation.
On August 13, Christopher Nolan’s DGA and IATSE told Bonta and Ellison they know of productions put on hold or canceled altogether, and made Paramount staying headquartered in Los Angeles one of their nine settlement conditions.
On August 20, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said stalled filming has Angelenos out of a job and listed keeping Paramount in Los Angeles as a city priority.
On August 22, Newsom said he takes the exit threat “seriously” and that he is “concerned about the state, our reputation.” The next day, Andy Muschietti’s The Brave and the Bold turned up on hold until the merger is settled.
A five-year plan, frozen productions, a headquarters move, Tennessee at the top of the list.
Every piece of what our insiders are saying now was already in print. What’s new is the certainty: it is not a threat anymore, it is a schedule.
Everyone But Bonta Has Done The Math
Look at who is now asking for a deal.
The DGA and IATSE, nearly 200,000 workers between them.
All three major theater chains, plus Cinema United, the trade group that started out backing the lawsuit.
The mayor of Los Angeles. The governor. Gubernatorial nominee Xavier Becerra.
They have all worked out what our insiders laid out in July: if the merger dies, the healthy, independent Warner Bros. the lawsuit claims to protect does not exist.
The fallback is Warner Bros. sold off in pieces, or turned into a label inside somebody else’s streamer the way MGM became a label inside Amazon.
This week’s Bloomberg report that bankers are already shopping New Line and the Warner Bros. cable channels is what that looks like in practice.
And per our insiders, the chains aren’t holding their noses. There is real excitement in exhibition about Paramount’s theatrical plan, which is why Cinemark joined AMC and Regal.
Bonta pulled Monday’s meeting late Sunday, accusing Paramount of leaking Friday’s pre-meeting.
Per the Journal, his asks are cable-network divestitures and restrictions keeping Warner Bros. a distinct movie operation, and a person familiar with Ellison’s thinking told the paper he won’t accept limits that leave him with little control over the company he is buying.
Paramount says it was not the source of the leaks and remains ready to talk.
The Journal puts the cost of the standoff at roughly $650 million per quarter in additional payments to Warner Bros. shareholders once October 1 passes without a close, more than $1 billion if it runs through the March 2 trial.
That is the same $7 million a day we have been counting down, with a quarterly total attached.
October 1 is five weeks out and nothing is on the calendar.
Same insiders, same track record, and what they say now is that the question is no longer whether Paramount leaves California. It’s how long the move takes and where it ends. Per our sources, that answer is Tennessee.
