On today&#x27;s episode,Variety&#x27;s Gene Maddaus interviews Rob Bonta, California&#x27;s crusading Attorney General who is doggedly pursuing the antitrust case to block the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Bonta details his background growing up in a family of social justice activists, attending Yale on a soccer scholarship and other formative experiences that shaped his worldview. &quot;I believe in justice. I believe in following the rules,&quot; Bonta says.<br>See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who is Rob Bonta and Why is California's Attorney General Doggedly Pursuing Paramount?

Strictly Business

[SPEAKER_A] Welcome to Strictly Business, a Variety podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton, and I am co-editor-in-chief of Variety. Today's special episode features a conversation with a man who has been much in the news of late, Rob Bonta, California's State Attorney General. Bonta has been the driving force behind the antitrust lawsuit filed by California and 11 other states to block Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. This effort has become a big hurdle that has delayed the deal, much to the chagrin of Paramount and Warner Bros. The proposed merger has been polarizing for the industry, to say the least. The sides have staked out their claims. Paramount and Warner say they need to get bigger to survive in the modern era of media. Bonta and others say this is a straight-up antitrust violation that creates too much market share for one firm. Bonta has said he's open to negotiations, but even getting the sides to the table has been fraught. My great Variety colleague Gene Maddaus interviewed Bonta earlier this week with the goal of gaining a better understanding about what shapes his worldview. Maddaus presses Bonta on the key question of what it would take to reach a settlement to make the antitrust case go away. Bonta is resolute: it will take more than behavioral remedies to reach a deal. That means David Ellison's pledge to release 30 films a year is simply not enough. So where do they go from here? You might get some clues by listening to this interview. It's a fascinating conversation with the person who has enormous sway right now over the industry's future, and Bonta has clearly got ambition for higher office.

Who is Rob Bonta and Why is California's Attorney General Doggedly Pursuing Paramount?

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Who is Rob Bonta and Why is California's Attorney General Doggedly Pursuing Paramount?

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.