Tony Gilroy calls the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger “tragic”: it will “destroy” the healthy business of grown-up films

Tony Gilroy called the merger of Paramount with Warner Bros. “tragic”, warning that the $110 billion deal risks “destroying” a “healthy and beautiful business” in the name of venture capital. The remarks, as he told Variety on the red carpet at the world premiere of his new film “Behemoth!” on Friday evening at Alice Tully Hall in New York, place the Emmy-winning director of “Andor” at the forefront of the industry’s critics of the deal.

Gilroy called his film, produced for $36 million and starring Pedro Pascal as a talented cellist, the typical example of the mid-budget adult dramas that once formed the heart of Hollywood’s film business. The film is the director’s first major project after the series “Andor” and was selected as the centerpiece of the 64th edition of the New York Film Festival.

The comments come as the closing of the deal is expected on October 6, when five major studios — Disney, Universal, Sony, Warner Bros. and Paramount — will be controlled by four corporate owners, and after David Ellison’s announcement that the new company will be called Skydance. Warner Bros.’ top chairs, Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, left this week ahead of the deal’s closing.

Gilroy’s fear reflects the broader industry concern that consolidation will favour big franchises at the expense of auteur films with mid-sized budgets. In New York, however, he praised the festival’s programme as a “light” amid the turmoil in Hollywood.