California AG Rob Bonta Says David Ellison Is “Desperate” and “Grasping at Straws”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bonta took aim at the Paramount chief and emerging legal rival: “He cannot flee accountability."

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California AG Rob Bonta Says David Ellison Is “Desperate” and “Grasping at Straws”

The road to a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal as been littered with many hurdles for David Ellison. The would-be mogul has cleared them all — save one. That would be, of course, the dozen attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta, whose antitrust lawsuit last month seeking to block the merger has been a thorn in Ellison’s side. It could force the divestiture of Warner Bros. assets and cost more than a billion dollars in ticking-clock fees ahead of a March trial, among other consequences. So far, the Northern California District Court judge has been relatively favorable to the states’ case, allowing it to move forward with little impediment (and setting the date far enough away to potentially cost Ellison a lot of money).Ellison in recent weeks has sought to beat back Bonta with a slew of moves — a foot-soldier media blitz, a threat to leave California and a motion to force Bonta’s hand by making taxpayers pay the ticking-clock fees.Bonta has been relatively silent on these moves, giving few interviews. But he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, offering a mix of rhetoric both fiery and eyeroll-y about what the Paramount owner has been doing. With each week that passes, Bonta’s leverage grows, though a few Hollywood guilds have flipped, potentially undermining that leverage. Here’s what Bonta has to say about all of it.The last few weeks have certainly brought a lot of efforts by David Ellison to put pressure on you on multiple fronts — the media, the industry, the courtroom. Let’s start with the courtroom and the motion this week to hang taxpayers on the hook for a very large sum of money if you lose the case. How did that land with you?I just don’t think it’s going anywhere. There’s no basis for it. Honestly it seems like they’re grasping at straws. The judge already decided in the temporary restraining border on the issuance of a bond [for the state to put up nearly $2 billion] and she said no. Paramount voluntarily — on their own, without California forcing them to —  decided to enter an agreement with Warner Bros for this ticking fee. They’re very sophisticated and they decided to do that. We had absolutely nothing to do with it. And they agreed not to close the merger until ’27. And because of that they want us to post the bond? I just don’t see it. I think [the motion] says more about them and their desperate position than anything else. The threatened move out of California is another stick Ellison appears to be using to force you to think about a settlement. Is it having that effect?I literally envision them sitting in a war room saying “we’re getting our butts kicked, what can we do? What rabbit out of a hat can we pull to try to impose some pressure on the Attorney General? We know the Attorney General loves having jobs in California. Maybe we can threaten to leave? It’s a Hail Mary, but let’s try it! Anyone else got anything better?” I don’t know what they’re thinking. I do know it’s not working. If their goal is to apply pressure,  no pressure felt, no pressure applied. Honestly it reveals more than it tries to impose. What it reveals is that they’re on the back foot, they’re reeling. They’re losing in court.  And David Ellison has to explain why he’s talking out of two sides of his mouth. Out of one side he’ll say “I believe in Hollywood, I believe in the future of Hollywood, my future is here.” And then from the other side of the mouth he’s saying “I’m pulling out of California.” I don’t know how he harmonizes those two things.Let’s say for argument’s sake — and I think most observers believe it’s not an actionable threat — but let’s say he did pull off some kind of move to Nashville or Atlanta. Would you lose standing if he did — does the case go away?Absolutely not. This is a lawsuit where the geographic jurisdiction is the United States of America and the American economy. So no matter where he goes we will continue to have our lawsuit, we will continue to have standing. Remember, this is 12 attorneys general from all over the country who brought this lawsuit. Paramount Studios are only in California but Paramount/Skydance operates in the United States of America. Anywhere he goes in the United States of America he cannot flee accountability. You can’t escape accountability.You mention no pressure felt. The last week has brought a shift from some Hollywood groups — the DGA and IATSE wrote you a letter saying they wanted a settlement. Earlier today Cinema United, the movie-theater group, said they favor a settlement too. How is that playing into your calculus to continue? The WGA has sued [to stop the merger]. SAG-AFTRA has taken a position against the merger. The Teamsters also. We’re always happy to hear from stakeholders, from those impacted. Cinema United has changed position. We were interested when they were opposing, we’re interested now that they’re — I don’t know if they’re pro-merger or pro-settlement talks, I think it’s pro-settlement talks, which I see as ne

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