Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart… 1000 Hollywood stars oppose the merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount

All say they are “deeply concerned about the signs of support for this merger which favor the interests of a small group of powerful actors to the detriment of the general interest”.

The merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. is not yet implemented. But it is already causing concern among a large part of the industry.

More than 1,000 figures from cinema and television, including Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller and Kristen Stewart, signed an open letter published Monday to denounce the takeover project, currently being studied by the American authorities, after the withdrawal of Netflix:

“We are deeply concerned by signs of support for this merger which favor the interests of a small group of powerful actors over the general interest“; states the letter, published by the New York Times and available on the BlocktheMerger.com website. “The integrity, independence and diversity of our industry would be seriously compromised. Competition is essential to a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. As is strong regulation and enforcement.”

The signatories add that this operation “would further strengthen the already highly concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a time when our industries – and the audiences we serve – can least afford it.” According to them, this would lead to “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs and less choice for audiences, in the United States and around the world.”. They also alert on a point considered particularly worrying: “CThis merger would reduce the number of major American film studios to just four..

They also believe that the sector is already “under severe pressure, largely due to previous waves of consolidation“, evoking “a marked decline in the number of films produced and distributed, as well as a narrowing of the types of stories financed and distributed”. For them, “a small number of powerful actors increasingly determine what is produced — and under what conditions.leaving creators and independent structures with “fewer and fewer viable ways to make their work exist“.

Led by CEO David Ellison, Paramount Skydance announced at the end of February its intention to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion, after a battle with Netflix for the group’s assets.

Among the signatories highlighted are Adam McKay, David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve, Jane Fonda, JJ Abrams, Mark Ruffalo, Rosario Dawson, Ted Danson, Yorgos Lanthimos and many others.

Damon Lindelof, creator of Watchmencurrently under contract with HBO (Warner Bros. Discovery), explained its position in an Instagram post. If he says he knows David Ellison and recognizes him as a leader “brilliant, ambitious and passionate”he nevertheless chose to sign the letter, out of attachment to the fabric “worker” of Hollywood.

“It’s a city of thousands of technicians: stagehands, lighting engineers, drivers, set designers, camera crews, catering… And they’re all about to get screwed.”he writes. He believes that consolidation of this magnitude would automatically lead to fewer films, fewer series, and therefore fewer jobs. “When two historic studios become the same entity, one always ends up becoming a ghost town“.

He concludes by expressing his fear, but also his desire not to remain silent: “A battle is already lost if it is never fought.”