There are simply too many companies in the world. Apple, Google, Amazon, Ryanair. I\u2019m probably forgetting some. How could I not? There are so many companies. Thankfully, here in Hollywood, we\u2019re culling the herd. My memory says thanks. My career, on the other hand, does not.<\/p>\n
After Disney swallowing up 20th Century Fox (which is now just called \u201c20th Century Studios\u201d, making it sound like a company that makes gramophones), Discovery merging with Warner Brothers, and Skydance buying<\/a> Paramount, you\u2019d think the industry would be done kneecapping itself through strategic acquisitions. Wrong again, friend. Warner Bros Discovery \u2013 swimming in debt and loaded up with depreciating cable TV assets \u2013 put itself on the market<\/a> only three years after its last merger. First they went to Netflix, then to Paramount, after Netflix realized<\/a> they like profit too much. Now a Paramount-WBD merger is progressing<\/a>. All of this means one less movie studio, inevitable redundancies and more consolidation of vision.<\/p>\n Paramount\u2019s rather slim merger public relations website<\/a> declares that this marriage will be a delightful romp for the film industry and for audiences. Makan Delrahim, Paramount\u2019s chief legal officer (who conveniently served in the justice department\u2019s antitrust department<\/a> under the first Trump administration) told the LA Times in June: \u201cOnce you look at it, it\u2019s incredibly pro-competitive. It increases output, it increases jobs, and it lowers the cost to the consumers.\u201d It\u2019s hard to see how combining two companies within the same industry, that do the same thing, won\u2019t lead to job losses. A report from the LA county department of economic opportunity<\/a> released last month estimated the potential job losses from a Warner\/Paramount merger would total about 6,000, with 2,495 just in Los Angeles county.<\/p>\n All of these troubling stats led California and 11 other states to file suit against Paramount<\/a> to block the merger, despite it sailing through<\/a> federal review. The European Union is also looking skeptically at the deal<\/a>, which could delay the merger from going into effect at the September target date. Oh, and the Writers Guild of America is also suing<\/a>, alleging: \u201cIf Paramount succeeds in buying Warner Bros, the merged firm will be the largest buyer of original film and television programming in the United States, eliminating vigorous competition from a major film and television studio that has operated for more than a century.\u201d This merger is looking about as popular as a cyclosporiasis outbreak<\/a> on a cross-country flight.<\/p>\n Instead of taking the hint, Paramount is continuing to push back on claims the deal will cripple LA\u2019s film industry by \u2026 considering another move that would cripple LA\u2019s film industry. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Tennessee\u2019s deputy governor, Stuart McWhorter, sent a letter to the Paramount CEO, David Ellison, urging him to consider moving his entire operation to his state, citing a \u201cfavorable business climate<\/a>\u201d. An adviser to Ellison told the Hollywood Reporter that \u201ceverything is on the table.\u201d A deliciously unsubtle threat.<\/p>\n Considering the sheer number of states filing suit, I don\u2019t blame Tennessee for shooting its shot, like the last guy at closing time in the bar. I\u2019m trying to imagine a bunch of so-called \u201cwest coast elites\u201d moving to Tennessee and getting super into college football or something, but stranger things have happened. Consider 1) it would be retaining employment in a sour economy and 2) the cost of living in Nashville is significantly lower than in Los Angeles<\/a>. Even I might be tempted, and I hate country music.<\/p>\n But the reality is, moving an entire media company across the country isn\u2019t cheap, especially for an entity that would be $80bn in debt<\/a> if the merger goes through. Just to survive long enough to hand over CNN to Bari Weiss<\/a>, Paramount would need every dollar of revenue, plus the aforementioned cost-cutting. This all sounds like transporting a bloated whale carcass via UPS Ground. Someone\u2019s going to have to shave off a bit of blubber to get it in the truck.<\/p>\n For months, this merger has felt inevitable to people here in Los Angeles. The die was cast, there was no turning back, and we all were braced for turbulence. Every scrap of news makes it feel less like a cursed inevitability and more like a precarious house of cards that could be blown over by a stiff wind at any second. Even if this doesn\u2019t happen, a separate Paramount and Warner Bros<\/a> will each be loaded with more debt than a Bravolebrity\u2019s credit card. Both companies will be dragging a collection of moribund cable channels behind them, each one losing value every time someone cancels their traditional TV service. Nothing in this makes me optimistic for the future of the entertainment industry in LA.<\/p>\n