More Hollywood insiders, including Robert De Niro, Elliot Page, Lilly Wachowski, Sofia Coppola, and Holly Hunter have signed the petition opposing the Paramount Skydance merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Launched April 13 with 1,000 names, the petition has now grown to over 4,194 total signatures as of Thursday, adding top-level Hollywood names each passing week. While the Warner Bros. Discovery have approved the merger, signatories are hoping that regulatory agencies will stop it from going forward, fearing that it will lead to further industry consolidation.
“A new batch of Hollywood A-listers including Robert De Niro, Sofia Coppola and Holly Hunter have signed on to an open letter opposing the Paramount-WBD combination, citing the threat of lost jobs, higher costs for consumers, and fewer TV shows and movies,” per Variety.
“Organizers said the list of film and entertainment industry union members, actors, and directors includes more than 75 Oscar winners and nominees,” it added. “The group is hoping to sustain opposition the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal, which is still pending approval by regulators in the U.S. and Europe — and could be subject to litigation seeking to stop the merger by state attorneys general.”
At least one industry titan, Academy Award-winning director James Cameron, has expressed support for the deal while hailing David Ellison as “the right man for the job.”
“I’m a supporter of it. I know it’s controversial,” Cameron told the Associated Press
“I know David quite well. And I know that he really cares about movies,” Cameron continued. “And he’s a natural born storyteller and thinks like almost an old school entrepreneurial producer that was a storyteller that loves storytelling and loved putting on spectacular shows. He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all.”
At least for the time being, the Trump administration has taken a neutral stance on the deal while some lawmakers have called for a pause.
“The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal. State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on Thursday.
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