Downer Ending? Iconic Hollywood Studio Considering Ditching Tinseltown for Friendlier Waters

Hollywood has been considered the king of the movie universe for over a hundred years now, influencing world culture, international filmmaking, and even the U.S. presidency (thinking of you, Ronald Reagan).

In recent years, however, the Los Angeles district itself has faced struggles, with the one-party Democrat rule in L.A. and the rest of California makes life more and more miserable for companies trying to actually get things done and make a profit. Production in Hollywood has cratered as more and more studios film overseas or in tax-friendly film havens like North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. Surprisingly, even deep blue states like New York, New Jersey, and Illinois have grabbed a share of Hollywood’s business.

Now, after a lengthy and complicated takeover of Warner Bros., Paramount — a studio once a key pillar of the Golden Age of Filmmaking — is pondering following Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, and Chevron, among many others, and ditching the state. 

Why? California may file suit to block the merger as soon as Monday:

As California tries to derail Paramount’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount CEO David Ellison’s friends and advisers have been pushing the media executive to consider shifting his business out of the state.

Ellison’s confidantes have pushed him to consider moving its corporate headquarters and reallocating much of its $30 billion in planned spending outside the state if California Attorney General Rob Bonta were to sue to stop the merger, according to people familiar with the discussions.

No decision has been made, according to the report, and it could be posturing to get a better deal. But the fact that something once unthinkable is even being discussed shows you just how bad the business climate is in the Golden State.

 

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MORE: DOJ Gives Its Blessing to Paramount Purchasing Warner Bros. - but California AG Bonta Just Won't Let Go

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State Attorney General Rob Bonta 

 

has been threatening to sue to block the merger because he believes that it will harm competition, reduce jobs, and shrink consumer choice. What he’s really saying, though, is that California can’t afford to lose all that tax revenue (it costs lots of money to fund healthcare for illegal aliens), and they don’t plan on changing their business-busting ways, so he’ll try to stop the bloodletting with lawfare.

And they might just be able to drum up some more Trump hatred as a bonus, as California Democrats love to do:

Note that although Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, 

 

son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has said he wants Paramount to keep politics at arm’s length and focus on business, he’s made a number of moves that make Hollywood leftists sad, like purchasing Bari Weiss’ Free Press and appearing with President Trump at events. Coincidence?

Ellison is reportedly reluctant to leave his home state, and Paramount has made numerous concessions to Bonta in an effort to stave off his potential blocking of the deal. But they appear to have fallen largely on deaf ears:

Privately, Ellison and other Paramount executives have expressed frustration at Bonta’s refusal to engage, and have pointed to the commitments around content spending — some $30 billion annually — and employment that would flow into California. Already, the region has faced a production exodus to other states — even to Canada — with thousands of entertainment jobs lost in recent years. Ellison and his executives have said that the combined Warner Bros.-Paramount would create jobs in California, helping to stymie that outflow.

But Paramount believes Bonta’s office has rebuffed its overtures, creating what one Ellison adviser said is an “inhospitable” environment for Paramount to operate in. If Bonta sues, the adviser said, the state’s hostility would push the company over the edge.

California just keeps on California-ing. Last company to leave, please turn off the lights.