Paramount head David Ellison has reportedly set his eyes on Austin, Texas, as a possible new home for the studio should California’s antitrust lawsuit shut down the Warner Bros. merger.
According to the New York Post, sources indicated that David Ellison has been considering Austin since California Attorney General Rob Bonta ratcheted up his lawsuit.
“While Paramount has not formally committed to the plans, sources said the entertainment giant and its partners are in advanced negotiations and zeroing in on the Bluebonnet Business Center — a hulking commercial development in the east of the city — as a primary target,” it reported.
“Located at 9219 Old Manor Road, the sprawling industrial park’s crown jewel is Building 4, a 415,000-square-foot cross-dock mega facility,” the Post added. “By comparison, Paramount’s legendary lot in Los Angeles — whose soundstages have produced iconic films.
At least one insider accused Rob Bonta of “trying to kill Hollywood” by emphatically blocking the merger.
“Rob Bonta is trying to kill Hollywood jobs in California while boosting real estate commissions in Texas. If Bonta’s plans were a movie, it would be ‘Dumb and Dumber,’” said the source.
“As for Paramount, they don’t want to leave the state, but they are sort of being kicked out by the Democrats,” it added.
The big theaters chains – AMC, Cinemark, and Regal – have all backed the merger and called for a settlement. Xavier Becerra, the Democrat nominee for California governor, also called on Bonta to work out a settlement last week.
“I hope it settles before court. It is easier to stand in a conference room and settle than it is to stand in a courtroom. I say that having had to stand both in the conference room and in the courtroom. You get way more done in the conference room than you do in the courtroom,” he said.
According to confirmation from Variety, Ellison is indeed “prepared to start moving Paramount out of California as soon as October unless the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger is resolved through a settlement with the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta.”
“Ellison told Paramount senior execs last week that he’s prepared to relocate Paramount (and Warner Bros., too, if the merger successfully closes) if Bonta does not agree to negotiate a settlement in the case,” Variety reported. “Ellison said the company will begin the process of exiting California starting Oct. 1 in the event that such talks have not started, and he told his team the Paramount Skydance board has approved the move.”