What Will David Ellison Name His Mega Hollywood Studio?

Bigger-is-better studio merger logic goes back in Hollywood nearly as long as the industry has existed. So, too, do eyerolls about such consolidation. In 1933, for instance, comedy troupe the Marx Brothers unveiled the name of their production company, with a characteristic wink, as International Amalgamated Consolidated Affiliated World Wide Film Productions Company Incorporated, of…

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U.K. Competition Watchdog Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Mega-Deal

U.K. Competition Watchdog Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Mega-Deal

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved David Ellison-led Paramount Skydance’s planned $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The merger watchdog, considering the merger on theatrical film distribution grounds, concluded although “the parties compete closely, they do not appear closer to each other than to Universal, Disney, or Sony. While the merged entity…

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Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, Benedict Wong Pen Op-Ed Urging U.K. to Block “Dangerous” Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger

Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, Benedict Wong Pen Op-Ed Urging U.K. to Block “Dangerous” Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger

Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong have penned an op-ed in The Guardian calling for the U.K. to block the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger, arguing that the deal threatens to inflict “immense harm on the British public.” The U.K. culture secretary Lisa Nandy — who has remained in her post amid a cabinet reshuffle with new…

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Justice Department Signs Off on Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

Justice Department Signs Off on Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

The Justice Department has cleared Paramount‘s $111 billion megadeal for Warner Bros., a key approval that removes a major regulatory roadblock to completing the merger that will reshape Hollywood. The acquisition will “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem,” the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in an announcement on Friday. The agency found that markets…

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Emotions Spill Over at Town Hall of Industry Workers Opposed to Paramount-WBD Merger: “It’s the Death of a Great American Industry”

Emotions Spill Over at Town Hall of Industry Workers Opposed to Paramount-WBD Merger: “It’s the Death of a Great American Industry”

Emotions spilled over at a gathering of Hollywood workers, union officials and a current and former FCC commissioner opposed to the planned Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. merger on Saturday, with some arguing that the mega-merger on top of other recent challenges in the business would mean the “death of Hollywood.” Writers, actors, crew members and small…

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‘Deadliest Catch’ Headed to Canadian Waters as U.S. Reality Series Gets First International Adaptation

‘Deadliest Catch’ Headed to Canadian Waters as U.S. Reality Series Gets First International Adaptation

As Discovery’s popular reality series Deadliest Catch premieres its 22nd season on May 8, Canadian broadcaster Rogers Sports & Media has greenlit a local version, Deadliest Catch: Northern Edge, as the first international adaptation of the popular Warner Bros. Discovery property.   A deal with Fremantle Canada will see eight episodes follow a new fleet…

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