Tony Gilroy Slams Paramount-Warner Merger as Tragic — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Tony Gilroy blasted the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger as 'tragic' during the premiere of his film 'Behemoth!', warning it would destroy a 'healthy and beautiful business' in the name of venture capital
- Skydance, led by David Ellison, will consolidate Paramount and Warner Bros. under a new corporate structure set to close on October 6, reducing Hollywood’s traditional Big Five studios to four owners
- 'Behemoth!', a $36 million mid-budget adult drama starring Pedro Pascal, premiered as the centerpiece of the 64th New York Film Festival and exemplifies the kind of film Gilroy fears will be endangered by studio consolidation
- Sanne Wohlenberg, producer of 'Behemoth!', expressed concern that the merger will make 'the possibilities for a filmmaker alarmingly limited' despite assurances of separate studio identities under Skydance
- Searchlight Pictures, an indie studio owned by Disney, backed 'Behemoth!' and earned praise from Gilroy for greenlighting a challenging film 'calmly, gracefully, no drama'
Why it matters: The merger reduces competition among major studios, potentially limiting opportunities for mid-budget, director-driven films. With Skydance set to control two legacy studios, filmmakers like Gilroy and Wohlenberg see a narrowing of creative pathways that were once sustained by a more diverse studio ecosystem.
Ask SkimNews
