Benedict Cumberbatch Calls Paramount-Warner Deal 'a TV and Cinema Calamity' and Urges to Block the $111 Billion Merger
The actors said the $111 billion merger could put thousands of UK screen workers at risk and pressed Lisa Nandy to intervene.
- On Monday, actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong published a Guardian op-ed urging Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to block the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.
- To service $84 billion in debt, executives promised investors around $6 billion in "synergies," which the actors warn means "redundancies, cancelled productions, fewer films commissioned and fewer risks taken."
- The trio expressed alarm that Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly promised "sweeping changes" to CNN if the deal proceeds, alongside one entity controlling Channel 5 and CNN International.
- Nandy has stated she is "minded to intervene" in the takeover, though she has yet to finalize a decision on whether to launch a full public interest investigation.
- Paramount agreed on Friday to delay the deal until after a U.S. antitrust trial, though the European Union conditionally approved it and regulators in China, South Korea, Australia, Canada, and Brazil granted clearance.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong and Alan Cumming have written in The Guardian a joint column on the negative effects of the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount
Benedict Cumberbatch calls Paramount-Warner deal 'a TV and cinema calamity' and urges to block the $111 billion merger
Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong are pushing for the government to step in and block the massive $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The actors have teamed up to warn that the deal represents a TV and cinema calamity that could have lasting negative effects on the British screen industry. In a recent op-ed in The Guardian, the trio directed their message toward Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. They…
Beneficiaries of Disney/Fox Merger Unite Against Paramount/WBD Merger
The campaign to block the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) merger has gained another wave of celebrity support, but there’s an irony that’s difficult to ignore. Three of the loudest voices now urging governments to stop further consolidation in Hollywood are themselves major beneficiaries of one of the biggest entertainment mergers in modern history: Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox. In the United Kingdom, Benedict Cumberb…
Paramount-Warner Bros. $111 billion merger: Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong urge UK to block deal, warn of job losses and fewer films
Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong have called on the UK government to block the proposed $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, warning that the deal could cause "immense harm on the British public" by threatening jobs, independent filmmaking and media diversity. Their comments come as Paramount agreed to delay completing the takeover until a U.S. court rules on whether the transaction violates antitrust …
The protagonists of 'Doctor Strange', along with Scotsman Alan Cumming, sign a forum at The Guardian on the impact this alliance could have on film and television in the United KingdomBenedict Cumberbatch: "Terror is a good way to make political cinema, because it speaks of the fear of the different" English actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange) and Scotsman Alan Cumming (X-Men 2) sign a joint forum in the Guardian newspape…
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