Ellison's Warner-Paramount Merger: A Hollywood Power Play

0:00It's April 23rd. This is California News Today, local news powered by AI. Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders just greenlit a $110 billion merger with Paramount and Skydance. If regulators give the thumbs up, David Ellison, son of Oracle's Larry Ellison, steps in to run Warner Brothers Studio, plus heavy hitters like CNN, HBO, and all their streaming services. Earlier this week, Ellison hit Madison Avenue pitching advertisers to ease merger jitters. Last week at Cinemacon, he doubled down, vowing the combo would drop 30 movies a year, a promise cheered by AMC boss Adam Aaron and producer Jerry, Brooke Heimer, who called it a done deal. Hollywood split on this. Over 4,000 directors, actors and writers, including Kristen Stewart and Pedro Pascal, signed a letter blasting the merger. Stars like Mark Ruffalo and Jane Fonda warned in mean fewer jobs, higher prices, and less variety for fans.

1:01Shareholders also shot down exec pay packages, eyeing a nearly $900 million dollar payout for CEO David Zoslov. Critics worry about Ellison family clout, especially their trump ties and foreign cash from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. California's Attorney General is probing antitrust issues, while senators like Elizabeth Warren push the FCC for deep scrutiny. Meanwhile, Ellison's hosting a private dinner in DC tonight to toast Trump, as the deal eyes are close by September 30th if it clears the hurdles.