Paramount settles the last lawsuit standing between it and Warner Bros., and Hollywood is about to change forever
Deadline confirms Paramount Skydance has reached a settlement with the coalition of state attorneys general who sued to block its $110.9 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing the final legal obstacle to a deal that will redraw every map in the entertainment business.
In brief
Paramount just settled the last lawsuit standing between it and Warner Bros., and Hollywood is about to change
For months, a coalition of twelve state attorneys general was the one thing keeping the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger in legal limbo. That ended this morning. Deadline confirmed that Paramount Skydance has settled the antitrust suit brought by those states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, clearing what the outlet described as "the last obstacle to closing" the $110.9 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The deal is real now. Not pending. Not theoretical. Real.
According to Deadline, the settlement includes several significant concessions. Paramount has agreed to guardrails around CNN's editorial independence, financial penalties tied to CEO David Ellison's stated commitment to release at least 30 films per year, and some form of studio separation during an initial transition period. The Writers Guild of America's lawsuit is folded into the same settlement. Specific terms were still being formalized at press time, with Deadline reporting that a full consent decree document was expected to be posted publicly within hours of the announcement.
How we got here
To understand why this moment hits so hard, you have to rewind to December 2025. Time reported that Warner Bros. Discovery had initially chosen Netflix as its buyer, agreeing to a deal that would have handed the streaming giant control of HBO, DC Films, the Harry Potter franchise, CNN, and a film library spanning from Casablanca to The Sopranos. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos called it a chance to "entertain the world" at an entirely new scale.
Then Ellison kept bidding. And bidding.
Variety detailed the behind-the-scenes drama: WBD CEO David Zaslav ultimately called Netflix to say the company was walking away from their pact, after Paramount's final all-cash offer for the entire company, at $31 per share, proved too rich to ignore. Netflix declined to counter and instead collected a $2.8 billion breakup fee. That was February 27, 2026.
Federal regulators signed off in June. European regulators followed, requiring Paramount to exit a major European film distribution arrangement with Universal. WBD shareholders had already voted to approve the deal at a special meeting back in April, with the board unanimously behind it. Señal News reported the deal had "already secured regulatory clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice in June." The one thing left was the state lawsuit. Oregon forced a records review that pushed the closing from its original late-September target. Then California and eleven other states obtained a temporary restraining order, and in July, Paramount agreed not to close until the lawsuit was resolved.
That lawsuit is now resolved.
What Paramount is actually getting
The scale is hard to wrap your head around. Deadline previously laid out what the combined entity looks like: Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., Paramount+ and HBO Max, CBS and its affiliated broadcast stations, CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, HBO, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, and TLC, all under one roof. David Ellison, whose father Larry Ellison guaranteed the deal's financing personally, told CNBC he believes the merger is "pro-competitive, pro-consumer, and good for the overall creative economy."
The WGA's position has been the opposite. The guild stated flatly that "this merger is unlawful" and vowed to continue fighting it. Whether the settlement terms give writers enough protection will be a live argument in the industry for months.
The $31-per-share price WBD shareholders received represents, per the SEC proxy filing, "a 147% premium to WBD's unaffected stock price of $12.54 per share" before the bidding war began.
The ripple effects are already moving
Hollywood wasn't waiting for ink to dry. Earlier this month, filmmaker Noah Baumbach quietly left a longtime exclusivity deal with Netflix for a three-year first-look arrangement with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, effective 2027. Whether Baumbach knew the settlement was coming or simply read the room, the timing is striking.
The Ellison family's influence over CNN has already spooked the network's staff, according to Variety, which noted the mood at CNN "was grim" when the Paramount deal was first announced in February. The settlement's specific CNN guardrails will be scrutinized by First Amendment lawyers and newsroom staffers equally.
And the ticking fee clock matters too. Per SEC filings, WBD shareholders began accruing a daily bonus of roughly $0.00277778 per share for every calendar day after September 30, 2026 until closing. Every day this drags is a day the Ellison family's bill goes up.
None of the individual brands disappear overnight. HBO stays HBO. Warner Bros. stays Warner Bros. The name on the door at the Burbank studio lot won't change Tuesday morning. But the ownership structure that has defined the entertainment industry since the 2022 Warner Bros. Discovery merger is done. The question of who controls the library, the streaming subscriber base, the news networks, and the movie studio pipeline is settled. Larry Ellison's son runs it all now.
The formal announcement of the consent decree terms was expected to drop within hours of Deadline's initial confirmation. At the Hollywood Bowl this October, Miley Cyrus will play two nights promoting her new album. On every screen in that park, the content overhead belongs to a different company than it did last week.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
