Paramount has made repeated entreaties to Bonta to strike a deal that would allow its merger with Warner Bros. to close.<\/p>\n
The studio proposed a firm commitment, via a consent decree, to produce 30 films annually, with a 45-day theatrical release window and a 90-day streaming window, alongside promises to keep both Paramount and Warner Bros. lots open in California, the people said.<\/p>\n
Privately, Ellison and other Paramount executives have expressed frustration at Bonta\u2019s refusal to engage, and have pointed to the commitments around content spending \u2014 some $30 billion annually \u2014 and employment that would flow into California. Already, the region has faced a production exodus to other states \u2014 even to Canada \u2014 with thousands of entertainment jobs lost in recent years. Ellison and his executives have said that the combined Warner Bros.-Paramount would create jobs in California, helping to stymie that outflow.<\/p>\n
But Paramount believes Bonta\u2019s office has rebuffed its overtures, creating what one Ellison adviser said is an \u201cinhospitable\u201d environment for Paramount to operate in. If Bonta sues, the adviser said, the state\u2019s hostility would push the company over the edge.<\/p>\n