California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded to calls from the Directors Guild of America and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to settle the state’s antitrust lawsuit over the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, saying the California Department of Justice remains “committed to enforcing the law.”
“The California Department of Justice always appreciates the opportunity to hear from workers and communities directly impacted by our work,” representatives for Bonta said in a statement to TheWrap. “As it stands today, the proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger will mean higher costs, less competition, lower wages, job cuts and fewer movies and TV shows. This merger violates long-standing federal antitrust law. We remain committed to enforcing the law.”
The update came a day after the DGA and IATSE released a joint statement, in which they urged Bonta to reach a settlement on his lawsuit against the $110 billion merger, provided that Paramount CEO David Ellison keeps the film studios separate, commits to 45-day theatrical windows and maintains his promise of 30 films per year, among other conditions.
“While we have been consistent in our view that mergers, such as this one, historically offer few benefits to workers, we are also particularly concerned about the negative impact a delay in the decision regarding the proposed merger will have on our members and the industry at large,” the letter noted. “We further believe the benefits and detriments of the proposed merger should be measured against the alternative outcomes if it is not approved, especially if the anti-competitive impacts of the proposed merger can be mitigated by a binding agreement.”
Elsewhere in the letter, DGA Executive Director Russell Hollander and IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb highlighted that impacts from the legal battle have already been felt throughout the entertainment industry.
“As our members struggle to find employment, the uncertainty surrounding the proposed merger is only making matters worse,” the letter noted. “We are aware of productions that have been put on hold or canceled altogether, leading to further reductions in available work for our members and other industry workers.”
The DGA and IATSE are not alone in their calls for Bonta to settle this lawsuit, as Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee in California’s gubernatorial race, publicly urged the two sides to find a solution this past Tuesday.
“I hope it settles before court. It is easier to stand in a conference room and settle than it is to stand in a courtroom,” he said at a conference in Sacramento, Calif. “I say that having had to stand both in the conference room and in the courtroom. You get way more done in the conference room than you do in the courtroom.”
A trial date for the antitrust suit brought about by Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general, as well as a challenge from the Writers Guild of America, was set last week, with U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruling that a 12-day trial would begin on March 2 and end on March 15.
However, Ellison has a plan in place to start moving the company out of California by Oct. 1 if Bonta does not settle the antitrust lawsuit blocking the merger.
