“Main Street vs. The Merger”: Entertainment Workers, Small Businesses, and Lawmakers Convene in Three Cities to Oppose the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
Tour kicks off in Los Angeles on June 6 with Adam Conover, FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, WGAWest President Michele Mulroney, and AELP Senior Advisor Alvaro Bedoya, a former FTC Commissioner; New York event June 13 with Sen. Cory Booker and filmmaker James Schamus. Atlanta on June 16 with Rep. Hank Johnson.
The American Economic Liberties Project, the Committee for the First Amendment, Democracy Defenders Action, the Future Film Coalition, and the Writers Guild of America are joining forces for a three-city tour bringing together entertainment workers, small business owners, elected officials, and antimonopoly advocates to publicly oppose the $110 billion Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The premise of the Main Street vs. The Merger tour is simple: the merger would put CBS, CNN, HBO, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Paramount Pictures under one roof, with the power to raise prices, cut workers, and bankrupt countless small businesses who support the industry. Yet the people who stand to lose the most — independent theater owners, writers, grips, costume designers, makeup artists, drivers, caterers, small production companies — have not had a public venue to say so. These events give them one.
RSVPs required, links for city-specific RSVPs below.
EVENT DETAILS
Los Angeles – Saturday, June 6
What: Town hall on the Paramount-WBD merger, open to the public and press
When: 1:00–3:00 PM PT (Press can join early at 12:30 PM for interviews)
Where: Lumiere Cinema (9036 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90211)
Featured speakers:
- Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, Federal Communications Commission
- Michele Mulroney, President, Writers Guild of America West
- Adam Conover, comedian and writer; WGA strike captain
- Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC Commissioner and AELP Senior Advisor
- Marjan Safinia, Documentary Field Leader, Future of Film Coalition/IDA
New York — Saturday, June 13
What: Roundtable discussion with elected officials, industry leaders, and affected workers, open to press
When: 2:00–4:00 PM ET
Where: Writers Guild of America East (250 Hudson St, New York, NY 10013)
Featured speakers:
- Sen. Cory Booker, United States senator from New Jersey
- James Schamus, screenwriter, producer, former CEO of Focus Features
- Sam Wheeler, WGAE executive director
- Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC Commissioner and AELP Senior Advisor
Atlanta — Tuesday, June 16
What: Roundtable discussion with elected officials, industry leaders, and affected workers, open to press
When: 1:00-3:00 ET
Where: The Plaza Theater (1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306)
Featured speakers:
- Rep. Hank Johnson, Congressman representing Georgia’s 4th District
- Alvaro Bedoya, former FTC Commissioner and AELP Senior Advisor
- Gabriel Lezra, Senior Counsel, Democracy Defenders Action
- More speakers to be announced soon.
BACKGROUND
The Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would create one of the largest media companies in history, consolidating CBS, CNN, HBO, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and other properties under common ownership. Opposition to the deal has grown rapidly in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, AELP Director of Research Matt Stoller co-authored an op-ed with actor Mark Ruffalo in The New York Times outlining the case against the merger and the labor, creative, and press-freedom stakes of letting it go through(read it here). Over 5,000 film and television professionals have signed an open letter opposing the deal, which was engineered by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison with financial backing from his father Larry Ellison and several Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. To keep the fight going AELP Senior Advisor, Alvaro Bedoya, a former FTC commissioner, is hosting a series of roundtables in LA, NY and Atlanta.
The Main Street vs. The Merger tour aims to surface the voices that have been missing from the coverage so far: the people whose jobs, businesses, and creative work depend on a competitive media and entertainment industry.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
The American Economic Liberties Project is an antimonopoly think tank and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.
Democracy Defenders Action is a legal advocacy and nonprofit organization that works to protect American democratic institutions.The
Future Film Coalition is a non-profit think tank and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and sustaining the U.S. independent film and media sector.
The Writers Guild of America represents writers in film, television, and new media.
The Committee for the First Amendment is a large collective of artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders standing together to defend free expression against government repression, industry complicity, and intimidation.
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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.