fights

Citing Hollywood’s already struggling production economy, two influential industry unions have jointly called on Paramount Skydance Chairman David Ellison and California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to settle their antitrust fight.

The Directors Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees — which represent a combined 200,000 union members — are turning up the political pressure to try to resolve the clash over the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, which has already carved deep divisions throughout the industry.

The DGA and IATSE’s unusual missive comes as Paramount has been trying to drum up support for the deal and while
development projects reportedly are being put on hold. Paramount executives and others have decried the delay in deciding whether the deal moves forward. Bonta and Paramount are now poised to slug it out in an Oakland courtroom next spring.

“Our collective members are concerned about their futures, and the future of the industry,” DGA Executive Director Russell Hollander and IATSE President Matthew D. Loeb wrote Thursday in their three-page letter to Ellison and Bonta.

“We are aware of productions that have been put on hold or canceled altogether, leading to further reductions in available work for our members and other industry workers,” the letter reads in part.

The effort adds heat to a growing campaign urging Bonta to bend in his fight to block the industry- reshaping deal that would combine the Warner Bros. and Paramount film and television studios, HBO, CBS, CNN, HGTV and Comedy Central.

Earlier this week, California’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Xavier Becerra, said he favored a settlement. Republican Steve Hilton has decried the antitrust lawsuit as being politically motivated.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who leaves office next year, has stayed above the fray.

Paramount and Bonta’s office didn’t immediately comment.

The Writers Guild of America last month joined Bonta’s coalition of state attorneys general in filing lawsuits to upend the $111-billion transaction, saying the Paramount-Warner combination violates U.S. antitrust laws and would decimate the entertainment industry by erasing jobs and reducing pay.

At issue is the $81 billion in debt that Ellison would have to take on to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders for the keys to the studios and HBO.

WGA leaders and others have warned that level of debt would choke the two historic studios, creating a more devastating sequel to 2019‘s combination of the Disney and Fox studios, and the 2022 takeover of Warner Bros. by Discovery.

The union leaders conceded they weren’t merger fans, and they stopped well short of asking Bonta to throw in the towel.

Instead, they listed nine conditions — including requiring Paramount to maintain its operations in Hollywood and a commitment to make film and television shows in the U.S. — as part of any settlement.

The unions want Ellison to make an enforceable commitment that Paramount and Warner Bros. studios each release 15 films into theaters a year. They also want a 45-day theatrical window so that cinema chains can continue their rebound.

Some of the DGA and IATSE terms may be difficult for Ellison to swallow. Already, Paramount is looking to shave expenses to come up with the $81 billion promised to Warner Bros. shareholders. Sources have said Ellison’s suggestion to move Paramount from its picturesque Hollywood campus is designed, in part, to attract financial incentives from another state, such as Tennessee, eager to help with a relocation.

Among the conditions, the DGA and IATSE asked that Paramount’s and Warner Bros.’ motion picture units be kept as “as separate studios, with each studio maintaining its own production, distribution, marketing and exhibition groups as distinct divisions.”

One of the goals of the merger is to shave costs by consolidating overlapping business divisions and back-office functions.

The union leaders also want Warner Bros. television studio to operate independent from the Paramount and CBS production arms. They called on HBO to remain a linear television channel and available on third-party platforms, including Amazon.

Loeb and Hollander’s requests are designed to keep production jobs in the U.S.

They asked Ellison to commit to producing films and TV shows in the U.S. “at no less than the average percentage produced in the United States during the last five years” excluding 2020, the pandemic year, and 2023, when two strikes idled production.

“Our goal, with respect to the proposed merger, has always been to achieve an outcome that ensures a vibrant, competitive marketplace for the production, distribution, and licensing of film and television programming that serves the interests of consumers and filmmakers alike,” Hollander and Loeb wrote.

“We believe that these conditions, if secured through a binding agreement, will largely serve this purpose,” the said.

Bonta previously has said his preference would be structural remedies — divesting key business units — rather than “behavioral” compromises that could evaporate soon after the merger closed.

Should the two sides fail to hash out a settlement with conditions, Loeb and Hollander asked Ellison and Bonta to seek an earlier trial date for the legal showdown.

A federal judge set a March 2 date — despite Paramount’s request to hold the proceedings in November.

Davina McCall was visibly moved on Long Lost Family as she made a life-changing discovery

Davina McCall struggled to keep her emotions under control during the latest epsidoe of the heartwarming ITV series.

The beloved TV presenter fought back tears during an emotional episode of Long Lost Family which aired on Monday (August 10 ) after revealing to 76-year-old Christine that the search for her biological family had uncovered her birth certificate and an unknown brother.

Christine left in a train carriage at Waterloo station in 1949. She was discovered and taken into care, beginning a life in which the identity of her birth parents remained one of the greatest unanswered questions she carried with her.

She has spent much of her life wondering about her biological family and where she had come from. Although she had always questioned whether she would ever discover the truth, she admitted she never expected the moment to actually happen.

Away from the cameras, Davina had already broken the heartbreaking news that Christine’s birth parents had been found but had sadly died.

Speaking to Christine, Davina asked: “How are you?” Christine replied: “It was a bit of a shock. Oh, my gosh. It’s actually happening.” She explained that she had been struggling to process everything, saying that her mind had been “addled” since learning what the Long Lost Family team had discovered.

Christine admitted that she had never really expected to find her birth mother alive. She said: “I didn’t think my mother would be alive now. I’m 76 this year, but there’s always been that question. ‘Who’s my family?’” But Davina then revealed something that made the emotional moment even more poignant.

The presenter was visibly moved as she told Christine: “I want to show you something today. It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to do this for someone. I have a birth certificate.”

Christine was visibly overwhelmed by the discovery. “Oh, goodness. So my birth was registered,” she said. Davina, visibly emotional herself, confirmed that it was. She explained that Christine’s birth mother, Joyce, was just 22 years old when she gave birth to her.

For Christine, the information was difficult to absorb. “It is a lot to take in. Oh, my goodness. So I was born in Portsmouth,” she said.

Davina confirmed that Christine had been born in hospital. The discovery appeared to answer some of the questions Christine had carried with her for decades.

Christine began trying to piece together what may have happened to her young mother. She reflected: “So, she’s looked after, and I was looked after. She must have left the hospital and gone straight up to Waterloo. But it doesn’t have the father. Probably couldn’t look after me on her own.”

Then Christine asked the question that would lead to another extraordinary discovery. “Did she have any more children?” Davina replied simply: “She did.” Christine immediately reacted with shock. “Oh, my gosh. This just gets better,” she said.

Davina then revealed that Christine had a brother named Barry — and that he had been born just one year before her. Christine wanted to know what had happened to him and asked whether Barry had stayed with their mother.

But Davina revealed that Barry had also been fostered. Davina explained: “Barry has got a birth certificate and that’s what your birth mother’s name is on it. He was the key to everything.”

Later on in the show Christine finally reunited with brother Barry. The reunion was particularly poignant given that Christine had already learned the heart breaking news that her biological parents had both died.

Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace is available to stream on ITVX