Paramount Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Ellison told California lawmakers his commitment to keep Par and Warner Bros. separate and to produce a combined 30 films a year if they merge, saying that will help support sustained job creation across the film and creative industries.
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| (L-R) David Ellison and David Zaslav | Getty Images, Deadline |
In a letter to Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Laura Friedman obtained by Deadline, he said a combined company will continue licensing content to its own and third-party platforms while remaining active buyers of content from third-party studios and independent producers. It will operate HBO independently. It will preserve the full theatrical and home video windows. The promises, which he has previously stated publicly, “will help preserve good jobs and expand opportunities for workers in California and in the United States.”
“Every one of these commitments is measurable, objective and verifiable,” he wrote in response to queries by the lawmakers around jobs, AI, competition, and working in good faith to bargain with unions as the company looks to close the WB acquisition in the third quarter.
Paramount anticipates at least $6 billion in cost savings from the deal and there’s serious angst in Hollywood that will mean heavy layoffs. The $31 a share cash deal, with an equity value of $110 billion, will saddle the combined company with significant debt. Executives have pushed back on speculation about massive job losses, insisting a significant chunk of the savings will come from elsewhere.
The guilds are concerned. Late last month, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) wrote that “The loss of competition would be a disaster for writers, consumers and the entire entertainment industry. This merger must be blocked.”
Ellison wrote that “Paramount has historically enjoyed a collaborative and respectful partnership with the unions, their leadership and its unionized workforce. Paramount values the talent, passion and hard work our union workforce dedicates to their craft and our industry.”
“We remain steadfast and committed to bargaining with all our union partners in good faith-both individually as a company and collectively with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP). To this end, I have already met in person with key guild and union representatives to discuss our vision for the combined company and the benefits of the transaction for creative talent and unionized workforce. We want to ensure the long-term stability and growth of our valued workforce and industry as a whole.”
He also said Par will continue to engage with Congress on the issue of a federal tax incentive for film and TV production. “America already has the world’s leading entertainment workforce and world-class production facilities. It now just needs a federal film tax incentive to close the competitive gap with the rest of the world, and again attract the biggest film and TV projects, activate its highly skilled workforce, and utilize its infrastructure. We enthusiastically and actively support federal tax incentives that will assist in expanding production in the United States, and we will look forward to filling our sound stages to maximum capacity once again.”
And he urged Sen. Schiff and Rep. Friedman “to work with your colleagues in both the House and Senate to ensure that Section 181 is reinstated as soon as possible,” referring to a section of the U.S. tax code that was key for film and television production but expired at the end of last year.
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