Hollywood Signs Open Letter Protesting Paramount-Warner Bros Deal

More than 1,000 film and TV stars and creatives, including Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller and Kristen Stewart, issued an open letter early Monday opposing Paramount Skydance’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

“We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good,” the letter, which was published by the New York Times and available on the website BlocktheMerger.com, states. “The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised. Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement.”

Run by CEO David Ellison, Paramount Skydance announced its intended $111 billion acquisition of the David Zaslav-led Warner Bros. Discovery in late February, following a battle with Netflix for the assets.

Paramount issued a lengthy statement in response to the letter later Monday:

We hear and understand the concerns that some in our creative community have raised and respect the commitment to protecting and expanding creativity.

Importantly, as creators we know firsthand that this is also a moment when the industry has been facing significant disruption—and the need for strong, creative-first and well-capitalized companies that can continue to invest in storytelling has never been greater.

This transaction uniquely brings together complementary strengths to create a company that can greenlight more projects, back bold ideas, support talent across multiple stages of their careers, and bring stories to audiences at a truly global scale—while strengthening competition by ensuring multiple scaled players are investing in creative talent.

We have been clear in our commitments to do just that: increasing output to a minimum of 30 high-quality feature films annually with full theatrical releases, continuing to license content, and preserving iconic brands with independent creative leadership —ensuring creators have more avenues for their work, not fewer.

We understand the concerns raised as a result of the disruptions caused to our industry by COVID, entry of big-tech, and changes in consumer behavior, but we promise this: Paramount remains deeply committed to talent, and this merger strengthens both consumer choice and competition, creating greater opportunities for creators,  audiences and the communities they live and work in.

Included in the “featured signatories” section in the new open letter opposing the deal, which was signed by more than 1,034 people at the time of publication, were: Adam McKay, Alan Cumming, Alyssa Milano, Boots Riley, Bryan Cranston, Cynthia Nixon, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve, Elliot Page, Glenn Close, Jane Fonda, JJ Abrams, Jason Bateman, John Leguizamo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Margaret Cho, Mark Ruffalo, Noah Wyle, Patti Lupone, Ramy Youssef, Rosario Dawson, Rosie O’Donnell, Ted Danson, Tiffany Haddish, Tig Notaro, Yorgos Lanthimos and Yvette Nicole Brown, among others.

Representatives for Warner Bros. Discovery did not respond to request for comment Monday.

“Watchmen” creator Lindelof, who is currently under an overall deal with Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO, explained his reasoning for signing the letter in an Instagram post Monday, noting he does “sort of know my (potential ) new boss, David Ellison” and calls him a “bright, ambitious and passionate” exec who “loved movies and trusted the people he made them with.”

Lindelof says despite that impression he has of the Paramount CEO, and the concerns he and his peers have of potential retaliation in the industry, he chose to sign the open letter opposing the merger mainly in support of Hollywood’s “blue-collar town” makeup.

“It’s thousands and thousands of Grips and Gaffers. Drivers and Decorators,” Lindelof wrote. “Builders and Boom operators. Camera teams and Caterers. And they’re all about to get fucked. Hollywood mergers mean fewer movies and fewer TV shows and that means fewer jobs. When two storied backlots are owned by the same company, the outcome is intuitive —one becomes a Ghost Town. I’m scared. But I’m not a ghost. And a fight is already lost if it’s never fought. So I signed. Proudly. I understand why many of my peers have not — trust me, I’m more of a puker than a stormer. But these boats are heading for the beach whether we like it or not…”

Read the open letter in full below.

As filmmakers, documentarians, and professionals across the movie and television industry, we write to express our unequivocal opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it. The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world. Alarmingly, this merger would reduce the number of major U.S. film studios to just four.

Our industry is already under severe strain, in large part due to prior waves of consolidation. We have witnessed a steep decline in the number of films produced and released, alongside a narrowing of the kinds of stories that are financed and distributed. Increasingly, a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made—and on what terms—leaving creators and independent businesses with fewer viable paths to sustain their work.

Media consolidation has accelerated the disappearance of the mid-budget film, the erosion of independent distribution, the collapse of the international sales market, the elimination of meaningful profit participation, and the weakening of screen credit integrity.

Together, these factors threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community. That includes endangering the professional lives of the tens of thousands of workers who help make up that community in predominantly small businesses and independent companies embedded in local economies and communities nationwide.

We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good. The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised.

Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement. Media consolidation has already weakened one of America’s most vital global industries—one that has long shaped culture and connected people around the world.

Fortunately, someone is doing something about all this. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his colleagues in other states are reportedly scrutinizing the merger and considering legal action to block it. We are grateful for their leadership, and stand ready to support all efforts to preserve competition, protect jobs, and ensure a vibrant future for our industry, for American culture, and for our single most significant export.