Exclusive | Paramount CEO David Ellison eyes Austin as potential new base after threateningto ditch California during antitrust battle
As an antitrust battle threatens his Hollywood empire, Paramount boss David Ellison is eyeing a new base in Austin, Texas, The Post has learned.The 43-year-old media mogul — facing heat from California Attorney General Rob Bonta over his plans to merge Paramount with Warner Bros.Discovery in a $110 billion mega deal — is actively evaluating a prospective movie and TV studio in the Texas capital, according to three people familiar with the matter.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.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.
By comparison, Paramount’s legendary lot in Los Angeles — whose soundstages have produced iconic films including “Rear Window,” “The Godfather,” “Grease” and “Forrest Gump” — spans about 360,000 square feet.Warner Bros.
— home of legendary films from “Casablanca” to “Blade Runner” — operates dozens of soundstages across LA with a combined footage of nearly 1 million square feet.A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.Representatives for Hines, the property’s developer, and Aquila Commercial, the main broker, did respond to requests for comment.A spokesperson for Opportunity Austin, a regional economic development group tasked with luring corporate investments and jobs to Central Texas, also did not respond to a request for comment.The surprise pivot by the CEO of Paramount Skydance could be framed as a strategy to cut costs by skirting California’s high taxes, regulations and its heavily unionized entertainment industry workforce, according to sources briefed on the plans.“Rob Bonta is trying to kill Hollywood jobs in California while boosting real estate commissions ...