Inside the states' case to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

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Rob Bonta’s big swing — leading a coalition of 12 state attorneys general to try to block Paramount Skydance’s $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros.Discovery — could reverberate through the entertainment business for years to come.Late Monday, Bonta’s coalition of Democratic prosecutors asked a federal judge to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent tech scion David Ellison from finalizing his blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros., which owns HBO, CNN and the Burbank studios behind such popular characters as Batman, Superman, Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo, while the case is pending.“I am very protective of Hollywood and its ongoing durability and success,” Bonta said Tuesday during a virtual town hall.

“The market is already consolidated, and additional consolidation will create harm.”Winning a restraining order will be a crucial test for Bonta and his group.Some observers see the states’ efforts as an uphill climb because the U.S.

Justice Department last month approved the merger.And President Trump supports the deal; he’s been rooting for a shakeup at CNN and maintains friendly ties with billionaire Larry Ellison and his son, who already own CBS.

A second battlefront emerged Tuesday when the Writers Guild of America sued in federal court to stop the merger, saying it would lead to fewer jobs and lower pay for writers.Hollywood Inc.

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Rob Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general expressed concern that the industry-reshaping deal could spell doom for movie theaters.Paramount, in a statement, blasted the lawsuit from the state attorneys general, saying it “reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law.”But the litigation poses a major headache for David Ellison, who ...