New Hollywood era begins with an epic mega merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.
New Hollywood era begins with an epic mega merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.
LOS ANGELES —
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era → begin → Paramount
A new era in Hollywood is set to begin with a new media conglomerate called Skydance.
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era → set → conglomerate
David Ellison's long-anticipated — and long-feared — deal to consolidate Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to close Tuesday.
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deal → anticipate → Skydance
The $111 billion merger faced months of public protests, but ultimately passed legal and regulatory challenges in the U.S. and in Europe.
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merger → face → Europe
Ellison will control the new media empire with help from his billionaire father Larry Ellison and investors from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries.
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Ellison → control → Arabia
The company, Skydance, combines two legendary film studios, both more than 100 years old: Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures.
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company → combine → studios
"Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture.
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Paramount → shape → culture
By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine," Ellison wrote in a post on X last week, with a video unveiling Skydance.
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Ellison → combine → Skydance
"What was peak is now just the beginning," the video announcer said.
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announcer → say → ?
Ellison and co. will also control the two companies' streaming services, including Paramount+ and HBO Max.
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Ellison → control → Paramount+
They will also get MTV, Comedy Central, and the Food Network.
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They → get → MTV
And they will control two huge news outlets: CNN and CBS News.
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they → control → outlets
"This deal is basically, it's pro-competitive, pro-consumer, it's good for the overall creative economy," Ellison told CNBC in March, after having outbid Netflix.
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Ellison → tell → Netflix
"We now have a library of 15,000 films, everything from Harry Potter, the DC Universe, Mission Impossible, Top Gun, and The Godfather under one roof.
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We → have → roof
"
Among the television shows Skydance gets to distribute are Ted Lasso, The Daily Show, the Star Trek franchise, and all those Looney Tunes cartoons.
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Lasso → get → shows
Ellison already announced his co-CEO will be Ynon Kreiz, the former head of Mattel.
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CEO → announce → Mattel
But Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the duo that headed Warner Bros. Pictures, are now out of the picture.
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that → head → picture
Just last year at the Oscars, they celebrated awards for their films Sinners and One Battle After Another.
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they → celebrate → Another
The merger faced many public fights with people who work in the entertainment and news industries; the Writers Guild of America and 12 state attorneys general tried unsuccessfully to block the merger with lawsuits.
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Guild → face → lawsuits
As part of the settlement with the states, Ellison agreed that the combined studios will make 30 films a year for the next few years.
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studios → agree → years
But critics remain skeptical.
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critics → remain → ?
Many viewers and journalists also worry about what might happen to CNN, with David and Larry Ellison being allies to President Trump.
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Ellison → worry → Trump
"We're concerned about the Ellison's corrupting CNN," attorney Jessica Gonzalez told NPR.
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Gonzalez → concern → NPR
She's co-CEO of the nonprofit media advocacy organization Free Press, which helped organize the Block the Merger Coalition.
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which → organize → Coalition
(That's not to be confused with the media company Free Press, founded by Bari Weiss, the head of CBS News.
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That → confuse → News
"We're concerned about what the Ellisons have already done since taking over Paramount and CBS.
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Ellisons → concern → Paramount
They are willing to use their money and power to censor the news, to tear down stories that they or the president don't like," Gonzalez said.
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Gonzalez → use → that
"We deserve better than billionaire oligarchs controlling our media system."
To get the deal past a federal judge in the antitrust lawsuit, Ellison promised to set up an independent oversight board to protect CNN from political interference.
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Ellison → deserve → interference
Skydance says the current head of CNN, Mark Thompson, will remain.
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head → say → CNN
Bari Weiss will continue to head CBS News.
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Weiss → continue → News
People against the deal predict viewers could soon have to pay more for streaming services, they could have fewer choices and there may be less risky films and TV shows.
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they → predict → choices
And they say layoffs are inevitable.
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layoffs → say → ?
Ellison comes into this with a huge amount of debt.
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Ellison → come → debt
Beyond the $111 billion price tag, he promised to pay Warner Bros. shareholders $7 million starting October first until the deal closes.
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deal → promise → million
For now, workers at both companies will be starting the day a bit unsure about their future at Skydance.
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workers → start → Skydance
The Aporia
