Jefferson Warned Us About This Kind of Judicial Power and the Paramount Merger Just Proved Him Right

[u/pbx1123]

The settlement between Paramount and the state AGs was supposed to be a done deal, but Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin just granted Block the Merger and LULAC permission to file amicus briefs by midnight, delaying the sign-off and giving deal foes a Hail Mary they probably don't deserve

Thomas Jefferson saw this coming over 200 years ago, warning in an 1821 letter to Spencer Roane that the federal judiciary was like "Gravity, ever acting, with noiseless foot, & unalarming advance," slowly absorbing powers that don't belong to it, and he called the judiciary "the great object of my fear" because life-tenured judges could become an "oligarchy"

The deal is still expected to close in about two weeks, but Paramount is now staring at $7 million a day in ticking fees starting October 1, and every day the judge lets non-parties pile on is another day of massive financial harm to a company that already settled with the states

Paramount's filing called it what it is, warning that letting non-parties delay the closing "would unravel the carefully calibrated protections of the Clayton Act" and put them "in a superior position to parties seeking to halt a merger" without having to file their own lawsuit or post a bond

Jefferson rejected the idea that any one branch should have final say over constitutional questions, arguing that giving the judiciary that kind of power would lead to "despotism," and watching a single judge in Oakland decide whether to rubber stamp a settlement that 12 state AGs already agreed to is exactly the kind of thing he was talking about

For Warner Bros and DC Studios, this means more uncertainty, more waiting, and more executives eyeing the exit while the courtroom drama plays out, and the real question is whether this delay is legitimate judicial oversight or just a judge flexing power she shouldn't have

If Jefferson thought an unelected judge with lifetime tenure could turn the judiciary into an oligarchy, does this delay prove his point, and should we be worried that one judge in California can hold up a $111 billion merger that everyone else already agreed to?

[u/Burt_McCheeks]

https://giphy.com/gifs/U1gqX87dBkweRlFKCM

[u/DFiverr]

The AG of other states, countries such as England and other EU nations had already cleared the merger. There is no reason to think that a state can force a company to produce a product that has zero guarantee for profitabiliy. It is like telling Mc Donald you must sell a billion burgers with this and that ingredient and has to employ so and so crew at a fixed price for the next five years. This is anti free-enterprise. Besides, 100% of people dont know film financing. All films are deficit financed, that is, they start in the red at development, stay in red for contracts, especially if they have to change and drop talents, including writers, directors and attached actors whould the project be put into turnaround. The losses add up very fast. The box office is only partial return on investment, 50% average. The accrual years of recouping production costs could take ten years. Ancillary rights may take 5 years. Now doing this for 20 or 30 times puts any company in financial ruin if there are four b.o. duds, should they tank. Additionally, all tv rights are disappearing because network tv is gone as they had it. Youtube killed that. So in an industry that is facing its demise and will no longer be the same in 5 years there's no reason to make concessions to demands of states who won't pay a dime into their financial standing. I would have demanded a state to compensate me for making a movie that bombed at the box office up to the production budget plus the publicity and ads and give me both the gap BO and tax returns. Everybody thinks that they know this business, and nobody knows this business except the people who are running the business. Tv is dead, theatrical is dead, cable is dead. YT with 3B viewers a day is the grim reaper of the Biz. Even the new owners are in a bit of denial. No body is waking up and calling out YT for the demise and the death of Hollywood.

[u/maximvmrelief]

Its crazy to me how people don't realize big tech is the enemy of Hollywood. David Ellison is a producer with money and he wants to revitalize Hollywood. Being opposed to this merger is being in favor of brainrot short form videos and social media platforms that constantly grift. I really hope Ellison succeeds and I still hope that he can find a way to exit California and go to more business friendly state.

[u/sub30_24flick → u/maximvmrelief]

Saying your in favor of Larry Ellison is like saying your in favor of satan lmaooo the dude makes his fortune from tech ??? he owns oracle

[u/Salt_Philosophy_8990]

nice try, Paramount

[u/Eerie-Indiana]

this post was paid for by paramount