Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda Among Signatories Against Paramount Merger

Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cynthia Nixon, Alan Cumming, and several more from the Broadway community have signed a new open letter opposing the proposed merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. 

If finalized, the merger would bring the historic studio under the umbrella of the entertainment conglomerate known as the Paramount Skydance Corporation, which is currently headed by CEO David Ellison.

The letter, which went live on Monday morning on BlocktheMerger.com and has been signed by more than 1000 entertainment professionals, addresses the potential danger of further consolidation in the industry, which would bring the number of major U.S. movie studios to four.  

“The result will be 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,” reads the letter, also noting that the support for the merger between the two Hollywood giants serves to “prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good.”

Among the other signatories from the entertainment communities are Alyssa Milano, Billy Porter, Glenn Close, Bradley Whitford, and Rosie O’Donnell. Luis A Miranda, Jr., Broadway producer and father of Lin-Manuel Miranda, posted a call to action on social media, inviting more signers of the letter.

Since its release, Paramount offered a rebuttal of the initial saying that, instead, the merger would “create a company that can greenlight more projects, back bold ideas, support talent across multiple stages of their careers, and bring stories to audiences at a truly global scale.” Find the full list of signers, and read more here.

Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas