Ben Stiller added his voice to a swelling Hollywood chorus against the Warner Bros. Discovery–Paramount merger on Thursday, warning that the $110 billion deal will choke off original storytelling and shut out new creative voices at a moment when the industry can least afford it.
“There are already very few buyers out there,” Stiller wrote in an X post. “Original ideas and non-legacy IP is extremely hard to get made by a major studio or network. The winnowing down of choices results in less opportunity for new voices and diverse viewpoints in what we all are given the opportunity to see. It’s already been challenging for years, and the merger will only make this worse.”
Stiller wrote in reply to actor Mark Ruffalo, who had flagged how narrowly his HBO miniseries I Know This Much Is True escaped cancellation before it was made. “HBO was the only streamer willing to make ‘I Know This Much Is True.’ Very difficult material,” Ruffalo said. “We won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for it. Knocking out even one streaming service, or combining even two, would have made ‘I Know This Much Is True’ impossible to get made.”
WBD shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Paramount deal on Thursday, with 1.743 billion shares cast in support and just 16.3 million against. The deal, announced February 27, values Paramount’s offer at $31 per share for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery — a combined portfolio that would house HBO, CNN, Warner Bros. film studios, DC, Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount+. Shareholders also rejected David Zaslav’s exit compensation package, which could exceed $800 million depending on several variables, though the vote was non-binding, meaning Zaslav can still collect.
The creative community’s opposition has been loud and organized. Over 4,200 signatories — including Robert De Niro, Sofia Coppola, Florence Pugh, Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, David Fincher, Denis Villeneuve, Bryan Cranston, Jane Fonda, Glenn Close, and Lin-Manuel Miranda — signed an open letter at BlockTheMerger.com, backed by the Writers Guild of America, the Future Film Coalition, and the Democracy Defenders Fund. Ruffalo also testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee, warning that mergers follow a predictable pattern of “promises of efficiencies, then mass layoffs and production cuts,” and that Los Angeles is already “hanging by a thread.”
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker voiced opposition, and following the shareholder vote, Warren reiterated that the deal is not yet final and that state attorneys general are taking steps to block it. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is also investigating the deal for possible antitrust violations, and European regulators must still sign off before the merger can close. The companies expect to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2026.
