1,000+ Hollywood Heayweights Sign Letter With “Unequivocal Opposition” To Paramount Skydance-WBD Deal As Yorgos Lanthimos, David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve & More Among Those Names

Alongside sitting politicians in Congress (Senator Warren has warned of antitrust issues), there is now a group of over 1,000 Hollywood creatives signing a new petition letter opposing the billion-dollar acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by David Ellison‘s Paramount Skydance after their hostile bid (backed by multiple Gulf state investors linked to foreign governments, who would end up part owners of a U.S. media entity, CNN) pushed Netflix out of their previous deal.

The Hollywood Reporter posted that “Block The Meger” letter (See below) along with mentioning a handful from that group of Hollywood’s who’s who (featuring Norm Eisen‘s Democracy Defenders Fund and Jane Fonda‘s Committee for the First Amendment) includes folks such as Bryan Cranston, Glenn Close, Ben Stiller, Don Cheadle, Jason Bateman, Ted Danson, J.J. Abrams, Adam McKay, Mark Ruffalo, David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve, and Yorgos Lanthimos, Mark Duplass, Lin-Manuel Miranda Damon Lindelof, and David Chase being a portion of the avalanche of people putting their names to this letter establishing their “unequivocal oppostion” to the merger.

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Here is that letter as posted by THR, which is calling upon California Attorney General Rob Bonta (who has telegraphed his desire to investigate in a previous official statement from February) and other regulators to block the deal:

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.

You can read that full and overwhelming list of names that signed the letter, right here.

We don’t know if Paramount Skydance is going to automatically pass all the regulatory bodies (The Ellison Family are billionaire donors to President Trump), given a conflict of involvement of having President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kusher (supposedly out of the picture) once attached to the investor group backing Ellison and the Trump cabinet (after authrorian statements made recently by Secretary Pete Hegseth and FCC chairman Brendan Carr) suggesting that Paramount Skydance is willing to to the bidding of the White House than other media outlets (hinting to their looming takeover of CNN and current friendly coverage at Bari Weiss‘ CBS News).

UPDATE: Paramount Skydance has responded with the following statement below.

“We hear and understand the concerns that some in our creative community have raised and respect the commitment to protecting and expanding creativity. This transaction uniquely brings together complementary strengths to create a company that can greenlight more projects, back bold ideas, support talent across multiple stages of their careers, and bring stories to audiences at a truly global scale—while strengthening competition by ensuring multiple scaled players are investing in creative talent. We have been clear in our commitments to do just that: increasing output to a minimum of 30 high-quality feature films annually with full theatrical releases, continuing to license content, and preserving iconic brands with independent creative leadership —ensuring creators have more avenues for their work, not fewer. We understand the concerns raised as a result of the disruptions caused to our industry by COVID, entry of big-tech, and changes in consumer behavior, but we promise this: Paramount remains deeply committed to talent, and this merger strengthens both consumer choice and competition, creating greater opportunities for creators, audiences, and the communities they live and work in.”

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This comes after The Wrap revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav has proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services recommending WBD shareholders to reject his staggering “golden parachute” of $887 million for securing the sale to Ellison.

The outcome won’t be known for a while, despite talk from Trump that he wanted a speedy closing, likely connected to the midterm elections in November (this deal doesn’t seem to be strictly about Paramount Skydance buying up a legacy movie studio and their subsequent divisions), and could add to the legal concerns of the deal.

Paramount responds to the 1,000-plus Hollywood names who signed an open letter opposing the studio's deal to buy Warner Bros:

"We hear and understand the concerns that some in our creative community have raised and respect the commitment to protecting and expanding creativity…… pic.twitter.com/AYG48I2pVj

— Variety (@Variety) April 13, 2026