Rob Bonta, California's Attorney General, is reported to have received threats from David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, that the company will leave California if it does not get its way in an ongoing antitrust case. The threat has caused concern among city officials but Bonta remains resolute, stating he would rather settle but is willing to take the case to trial. A court-supervised settlement conference between the parties is scheduled for October 14 and 15, adding urgency to the situation as Paramount prepares a potential announcement about its future in California.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 5 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 16152: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-17
It’s a high-stakes game of Hollywood chicken.
asserted
It → ’ → chicken
It appears Rob Bonta called David Ellison’s bluff this week when the CEO of Paramount Skydance reportedly back-channelled a threat to the California Attorney General’s office — and the Los Angeles Mayor’s office — that he’d officially announce Paramount’s move out of California, regardless of a settlement in the ongoing antitrust case.
uncertain
he → appear → case
“Mayor Bass is taking [Paramount’s threat] seriously, Governor Newsom is taking it semi-seriously.
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Newsom → take → it
But Bonta believes he has a relatively strong anti-trust case,” said a knowledgeable source.
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source → believe → case
“And while Bonta would rather settle, he’s also willing to go to trial — and he also thinks that Ellison is acting a little crazy.”
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Ellison → settle → trial
On Wednesday, TMZ reported that Paramount notified Bonta and Bass that the studio was imminently announcing its intention to leave California.
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studio → report → California
But no announcement has, at least so far, been made.
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announcement → make → ?
(Paramount is not commenting.)
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Paramount → comment → ?
But TMZ then walked back its original story, saying talks were still ongoing.
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talks → walk → story
Making the move messier, a court-supervised settlement conference between the parties is already scheduled for October 14 and 15.
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conference → make → October
“David is used to getting his way and I think he’s so angry and frustrated right now that he could be saying, ‘I’m going to show them and I’m going to punish them because no one thinks I will do this,’” said a source.
uncertain
source → use → this
Bonta’s office would not confirm or deny whether settlement talks are occurring.
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talks → confirm → ?
“It’s no secret that Paramount has been making this threat, despite its alleged commitment to California and Hollywood,” read a statement to P6H yesterday.
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statement → ’ → P6H
“What Paramount decides to do is Paramount’s choice alone.
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decides → decide → What
We’ll continue to apply the law without fear or favor and continue to be open to coming to the table for good faith discussions.
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We → continue → discussions
As the clock ticks down, one showbiz pro half-jokingly told us yesterday of the California quandary.
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pro → tick → quandary
“You know the perfect person who should be in power in this situation?
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who → know → situation
He’s the former governor, he’s a movie star.
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he → ’ → ?
It’s a dereliction of a lot of peoples’ duty [if] California can’t find a way for this to work.
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this → ’ → way
All bets are off for what comes next.
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what → come → ?
The adults at the table really need to step up.”
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adults → need → table
Bonta has indicated he’s open to talks, but said any resolution would require “robust structural remedies.”
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resolution → indicate → remedies
According to several sources, Bonta’s main conditions are keeping Paramount and Warners independent from one another for a period of time, and ensuring they are actually competitive.
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they → accord → time
The other major condition is that Paramount and Warner Bros. cable assets would not merge.
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assets → merge → ?
Beyond the shockwaves created by TMZ’s bombshell report, top showbiz execs were unfazed by the news of Paramount’s alleged exodus.
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execs → create → exodus
“It’s all negotiations and positioning… meaningless,” huffed one veteran entertainment CEO.
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CEO → ’ → ?
Another showbiz vet said of Paramount’s latest threat: “Not going to happen.
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vet → say → threat
They’re about to go into settlement talks.
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They → ’re → talks
This has to be a BS thing for Bonta.”
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This → have → Bonta
Either way, Wednesday’s headlines pulled Bass further into the fray as the Paramount suit becomes a hot-button issue in LA’s mayoral race.
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suit → pull → race
Bass’ upcoming mayoral challenger, Nithya Raman, opposes the Paramount-WBD merger, and thinks the case should be decided in court.
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case → oppose → court
But Bass has called for a “swift and urgent resolution” to the dispute.
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Bass → call → dispute
One top political strategist told us of the political fallout from Paramount’s potential move: “If [Paramount] really was to leave, the repercussions are almost incalculable.
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repercussions → tell → move
The AG is not playing ball and is resistant.
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AG → play → ball
[Bass and Newsom] would like to see this all taken care of for all the obvious reasons.
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this → like → reasons
Who wants to lose a studio to another state?
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Who → want → state
It’s much bigger than that,” said the insider.
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insider → ’ → that
Local showbiz watchers have been wondering what happens to the famed Paramount lot if the studio leaves.
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studio → wonder → lot
“You know who’s gonna buy the lot?
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who → know → lot
OnlyFans,” a source joked, (we think?).
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we → joke → ?
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
