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\n\tEmotions spilled over at a gathering of Hollywood workers, union officials and a current and former FCC commissioner opposed to the planned Paramount<\/a> Skydance-Warner Bros.<\/a> merger on Saturday, with some arguing that the mega-merger on top of other recent challenges in the business would mean the \u201cdeath of Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWriters, actors, crew members and small business owners made dire predictions for the proposed $111 billion transaction at the \u201cMain St. vs. The Merger\u201d town hall at Beverly Hills\u2019 Lumiere Cinema. Some expressed feelings of powerlessness at the prospect of one historic studio swallowing another, a transaction Warner Bros. shareholders approved<\/a> in late April. Others, including moderator and former FCC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, urged that the transaction isn\u2019t a done deal yet and called for hope.<\/p>\n \n\tOn Friday, Reuters reported<\/a> that California, New York and other state attorneys general are preparing a lawsuit to block the merger after California attorney general Rob Bonta previously promised to look into the deal.<\/p>\n \n\tNevertheless, many in the room didn\u2019t seem to be banking on that suit stopping the transaction. One person who identified as a producer, but like many speakers at the town hall didn\u2019t say her name, described a Paramount-Warner Bros. deal in existential terms. \u201cA domino fell during the pandemic. Another fell during the writers\u2019 strike. If Paramount merges with Warner Bros., it may be the final domino that knocks everything down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n\tThe fear is that the Hollywood mega-merger would lead to thousands of layoffs, the removal of a key buyer in the marketplace for projects and less work for those already facing the downstream effects of an industry contraction and previous consolidation. One television writer who spoke at the meeting said that he had a project in development with CBS Studios that slowed down once the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger was announced. He has had to make a career pivot this year. \u201cIf this merger goes through, this will be the death of our industry, I believe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>, a Paramount-Skydance spokesperson said, \u201cOpposing this deal means opposing expanded consumer choice, new opportunities for creators and workers, and greater competition throughout the creative ecosystem \u2014 the opposite of what antitrust law is meant to achieve. It also means giving entrenched incumbents like Netflix an advantage they do not deserve. We will continue to fight against any attempt to derail a deal that plainly benefits consumers, creators, and the industry as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe mood in the room was heavy as audience members questioned how they could make an impact. \u201cAs someone who tries really hard to keep people positive and motivated and inspired and empowered and, \u2018Let\u2019s keep going, let\u2019s keep doing it, I am starting to feel\u2026 do you know what I mean? The hard. And it\u2019s getting hard for me to keep others inspired. And I don\u2019t like that,\u201d a self-described actor and comic said, her voice cracking.<\/p>\n \n\tSome expressed frustration that more elected officials and labor unions weren\u2019t stepping up to challenge the merger, with performers\u2019 union SAG-AFTRA especially coming under fire.<\/p>\n \n\tA panel of speakers including Writers Guild of America West president Michele Mulroney and board member Adam Conover, as well as current FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and a representative of the International Documentary Association and Future Film Coalition, Marjan Safinia, didn\u2019t negate the pessimism. (\u201cIt\u2019s the death of a great American industry,\u201d said Conover in his opening remarks.) But they did suggest action items, like telling personal stories on social media, calling political representatives and joining larger groups to lobby for a stop to the deal.<\/p>\n \n\tBedoya also maintained optimism about the potential attorneys general suit. \u201cThis merger can<\/em> be blocked,\u201d he said in his opening remarks. \u201cI have to say there is every reason not just to think that Attorney General Rob Bonta will step in along with other state attorneys general to block this merger, there is every reason to think they will win.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn addition, Bedoya said a challenge to the merger could come in the form of a lawsuit from a private citizen or labor union, legislation, a European Union review of the transaction or funding from Middle Eastern ventures falling through amid the war in Iran. <\/p>\n \n\tThe town hall arrived just days after Ellison\u2019s Paramount Skydance<\/a> became embroiled in a new scandal at CBS News. In an overhaul of 60 Minutes<\/em>, management fired executive producer Tanya Simon and correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi and hired columnist-slash-filmmaker Nick Bilton to lead the storied newsmagazine. Longtime 60 Minutes<\/em> correspondent Scott Pelley subsequently was fired after laying into management<\/a> at a meeting on Monday, claiming CBS News head Bari Weiss was \u201cmurdering\u00a060 Minutes<\/em>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tThough speculation swirled about whether other correspondents would follow Pelley out the door, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim said on Friday<\/a> they would stay because \u201cwe don\u2019t want to see\u00a060 Minutes<\/em>\u00a0die.\u201d<\/p>\n