Paramount Calling California’s Bluff? Studio Readies for Exodus

Paramount CEO David Ellison is turning up the pressure on California as the company fights an antitrust lawsuit threatening its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery. According to Deadline, Paramount has told Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other officials that it is “deadly serious” about moving its headquarters out of California after more than a century in Hollywood. Georgia, Tennessee and Texas are reportedly under consideration. Paramount has also been looking into commercial real estate that could meet its needs. Tennessee has family ties for Ellison, whose father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, moved his primary residence there. The threat comes as Bonta and attorneys general from 11 other states seek to block the Warner Bros Discovery deal on antitrust grounds. The Writers Guild of America has also sued. Bonta has accused Paramount of using “blackmail” to pressure officials over the merger. “It’s no secret that Paramount has been making this threat, despite its alleged commitment to California and Hollywood,” a spokesperson for Bonta told Deadline. “What Paramount decides to do is Paramount’s choice alone. We’ll continue to ap...