Posted in: Movies, Opinion, Paramount+, TV, TV | Tagged: opinion, paramount, trump

Paramount Head David Ellison Is All Set to Attend Trump's SOTU Speech

Paramount Skydance's David Ellison will be cheering on Trump's SOTU speech live tonight, attending as a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham.

It's interesting that on the same day that his Paramount Skydance received some promising news from Warner Bros. Discovery regarding its hostile bid offer to kill the still-in-place Netflix deal, David Ellison is going public with his love for Donald Trump. Over the past year, the company hasn't exactly helped its perception, which is that it's a little too BFFs with Donald Trump than a multimedia company should be, especially one that would need federal regulatory approval if a WBD deal were to happen. For many, the controversial calls being made by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss are just one example of how the company is looking to make things much more Trump-friendly. But Ellison isn't letting any of that stop him from checking out Trump's State of the Union address tonight, attending as a guest of Trump's talking head, Lindsey Graham.

Here's a look at Graham's social media post, posing with Paramount Skydance head Ellison and sharing their dinner plans for the night:

Over the weekend, we learned that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's Department of Justice squad was investigating Netflix's influence over the entertainment industry. Reportedly in the works over the past several weeks, a notice was sent out to the DOJ's Antitrust Division's acting boss, Omeed Assefi, to filmmakers and producers across Hollywood. The deadline for submitting documentation and sworn statements is set at March 23rd, and now we can see why timing is everything (and very interesting).

The deadline set by Bondi's DOJ team is three days after the WBD board scheduled a shareholders meeting to finalize the Netflix deal, should that be the case. The investigation itself is expected to add months to the overall regulatory approval process. And the news also hit on the same weekend when Trump threatened Netflix with "consequences" if it didn't fire Susan Rice, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and national security adviser, from its board. Trump's demand came on the heels of right-wing talking head Laura Loomer attacking Rice and the streaming service on social media for comments Rice made during Preet Bharara's podcast, and asking Trump to step in.

"This civil investigative demand is issued pursuant to the Antitrust Civil Process Act …in the course of an antitrust investigation to determine whether there is, has been, or may be a violation of the antitrust laws by conduct, activities, or proposed action of the following nature: the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Netflix Inc, that may substantially lessen competition, or tend to create a monopoly in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, or Section 2 of the Sherman Act," read the request sent out to filmmakers and producers from Trump's DOJ.

To offer some background, Section 2 of the Sherman Act notes: "Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court."

Last week, Ellison was asked to answer some questions about his efforts to scuttle Netflix's standing agreement with WBD, and any potential influence the Trump Administration may have had or currently has in the dealings. In the letter sent by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), are asking that Ellison's company "preserve all records related to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery transaction" and answer a series of questions related to the ongoing negotiations.

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