Over 1,000 Hollywood boldface names released an open letter Monday morning, expressing “unequivocal opposition” to Paramount‘s mega-deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
The letter, which was released by a consortium of groups including Norm Eisen’s Democracy Defenders Fund and Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment, counts a who’s who of signers, including actors like Bryan Cranston, Glenn Close, Ben Stiller, Don Cheadle, Jason Bateman and Ted Danson, directors like JJ Abrams and Yorgos Lanthimos, producers like Ted Hope and Mark Duplass, and multi-hyphenates that include Lin-Manuel Miranda and David Chase.
“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 letter states. “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.
“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 letter continues. “The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised.”
The letter concludes by calling for California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other regulators to block the deal.
