More than 1,000 leading industry figures, including JJ Abrams, Denis Villeneuve, Kristen Stewart and David Fincher, have signed a letter expressing “unequivocal opposition” to Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The letter, first published on Monday, April 13, by the New York Times, said the deal “would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it”.
Read the full letter below
The letter noted the effects “media consolidation” has already had on the industry, including accelerating “the disappearance of the mid-budget film, the erosion of independent distribution, the collapse of the international sales market, the elimination of meaningful profit participation, and the weakening of screen credit integrity”.
“Together, these factors threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community,” noted the letter. “That includes endangering the professional lives of the tens of thousands of workers who help make up that community in predominantly small businesses and independent companies embedded in local economies and communities nationwide.”
Alongside Abrams, Villeneuve, Stewart and Fincher, filmmakers to have signed the letter include Alex Gibney, Boots Riley, Damon Lindelof, Daniel Kwan, David Chase, Ted Hope, and Yorgos Lanthimos.
Actor signatories include Ben Stiller, Don Cheadle, Bryan Cranston, Elliot Page, Rose Byrne, Tiffany Haddish. Joaquin Phoenix, John Cusack, Jason Bateman, Kathy Griffin, Lily Gladstone, Ramy Yousseff and Rosario Dawson. The majority of the names are US or US-based; although it also includes signatories from the UK and Europe, including Emma Thompson, Javier Bardem, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Sandra Huller.
The letter closed with an expression of gratitude for the reported efforts of California attorney general Rob Bonta and his colleagues in other US states, to scrutinise the deal and consider legal action to block it.
The letter has been circulated by the Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonpartisan group standing against autocracy, in favour of strengthening democratic institutions.
Paramount struck a $110bn deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery in February at an agreed price of $31 per share.
Paramount has pledged that the combined companies will produce a minimum of 30 theatrically released films per year, and will maintain theatrical release windows.
However, a lengthy approval process before the deal can be confirmed is underway, with approval required from the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division, as well as UK and European regulators.
Open Letter Opposing the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
As filmmakers, documentarians, and professionals across the movie and television industry, we write to express our unequivocal opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it. The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world. Alarmingly, this merger would reduce the number of major U.S. film studios to just four.
Our industry is already under severe strain, in large part due to prior waves of consolidation. We have witnessed a steep decline in the number of films produced and released, alongside a narrowing of the kinds of stories that are financed and distributed. Increasingly, a small number of powerful entities determine what gets made—and on what terms—leaving creators and independent businesses with fewer viable paths to sustain their work.
Media consolidation has accelerated the disappearance of the mid-budget film, the erosion of independent distribution, the collapse of the international sales market, the elimination of meaningful profit participation, and the weakening of screen credit integrity.
Together, these factors threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community. That includes endangering the professional lives of the tens of thousands of workers who help make up that community in predominantly small businesses and independent companies embedded in local economies and communities nationwide.
We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good. The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised.
Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement. Media consolidation has already weakened one of America’s most vital global industries—one that has long shaped culture and connected people around the world.
Fortunately, someone is doing something about all this. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his colleagues in other states are reportedly scrutinizing the merger and considering legal action to block it. We are grateful for their leadership, and stand ready to support all efforts to preserve competition, protect jobs, and ensure a vibrant future for our industry, for American culture, and for our single most significant export.
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