The talks surrounding Paramount's anti-trust case are splitting state officials at the bargaining table into two factions -- deal and no deal. The studio is trying to settle the case brought against the entertainment giant by 12 states as it tries…
TMZ•TMZ Staff20 Sept
Mark Ruffalo is begging California not to settle their anti-trust lawsuit with Paramount ... as the studio seeks to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. Tagging in California Attorney General Rob Bonta ... he told the official ... "Don't you dare ...…
TMZ•TMZ Staff20 Sept
Seeking to settle a lawsuit with 12 states, Paramount has discussed measures to protect the editorial independence of CNN and the divestiture of Comedy Central.
The New York Times•David McCabe, Laurel Rosenhall, Benjamin Mullin and Shawn Hubler19 Sept
Agreement to end action by a dozen Democratic states would clear path for $111bn tie-up
They’re talking! Or are they? And what are they actually talking about? Does everyone need to chill out? Paramount and state Attorneys General are talking, we are told. However, the discussions that are occurring over coming to a deal in the battle over Paramount’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery are far from advanced. […]
Deadline•Dominic Patten18 Sept
Per the Wall Street Journal, the two sides are in "advanced talks" to resolve the case.
The Hollywood Reporter•Winston Cho18 Sept
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is in “advanced talks” with California Attorney General Rob Bonta to settle the 12-state antitrust suit that’s holding up its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. A rep for Bonta’s office said, “Potential settlement talks are confidential. […]
Variety•Todd Spangler18 Sept
Paramount's World War Z sequel is moving forward, with Brad Pitt confirmed to return and Conclave's Edward Berger attached to direct.
IGN•Michael Cripe18 Sept
Paramount has set a July 16, 2027 release date for its Alexandre Aja-directed Crawl sequel, while Heart Eyes 2 will shift a week from February 11, 2028 to February 4, 2028. The follow-up to 2019’s alligator movie Crawl, which grossed close to $92 million, stars Mason Gooding and Emily Rudd in a new survival story […]
Deadline•Anthonypauldalessandro18 Sept
Paramount is circling release dates for two horror sequels: the new “Crawl” movie starring Mason Gooding and Emily Rudd, and “Heart Eyes 2.” The yet-to-be-titled “Crawl” sequel is set for July 16, 2027. Alexandre Aja — who directed the 2019 horror thriller, which was a breakout box office success — is back in the director’s […]
Variety•Angelique Jackson18 Sept
FCC rejects concerns about repressive governments buying influence over CBS owner.
Ars Technica•Jon Brodkin18 Sept
Brad Pitt will return to star in Paramount’s forthcoming sequel to “World War Z.” Edward Berger, who recently directed Pitt in “The Riders” for A24, has signed on to direct from a script by Dennis Kelly. Plot details for the long-awaited sequel are being kept under wraps. The original “World War Z,” based on Max […]
Variety•Angelique Jackson18 Sept
The sequel to Paramount's hit zombie disaster movie has been in development on and off since 2013.
The Hollywood Reporter•Borys Kit18 Sept
EXCLUSIVE: The long-awaited and highly-anticipated sequel to the hit zombie epic World War Z is gaining some serious momentum as Paramount has not only closed a deal with Brad Pitt to return but has also tapped Edward Berger to direct the pic. World War Z is based on Max Brooks bestselling 2006 novel, World War […]
Deadline•Justin Kroll18 Sept
The FCC has announced it's waiving its rules limiting foreign equity ownership to 25 percent in the Paramount-Warner Bros. case and will allow three sovereign wealth funds run by the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi to own 49.5 percent of the company. During Brendan Carr's tenure, the FCC has repeatedly threatened ABC, […]
The Verge•Terrence O’Brien18 Sept
Editor’s note: AGC CEO and chairman Stuart Ford, a veteran of the independent film scene, trained as a lawyer before working for Miramax and then running IM Global and AGC, which has a busy slate of film and TV projects. Here, he considers how the independent business could be impacted by the Paramount-WBD deal and […]
Deadline•Andreas Wiseman18 Sept
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved Paramount’s petition to allow 49.5% of its equity to be held by foreign entities once the Warner Bros. Discovery deal is complete. Paramount owns 28 TV stations, and thus must get the FCC’s approval for foreign ownership over 25%. Its acquisition of WBD is backed by three Gulf […]
Variety•Gmaddaus17 Sept
The greenlight is aimed at ensuring that foreign investors can own a substantial share of Paramount without controlling the company.
The Hollywood Reporter•Winston Cho17 Sept
The FCC Paramount’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery cleared an FCC review of its foreign ownership stake. Paramount has disclosed that total foreign ownership of the combined company would be 49.5%, including 38.5% from investment funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Paramount had petitioned the FCC to sign off on the foreign […]
Deadline•Ted Johnson17 Sept
“We, respectfully, didn’t think that the United States DOJ did an adequate review, and we thought we needed to step in to make sure we were protecting consumers,” California AG Rob Bonta said of a lawsuit that’s rocking Hollywood after 12 attorneys general sued to block Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. He was dinging […]
Deadline•Jillg36617 Sept