Entertainment

Paramount To Leave California Amid Antitrust Battle & Stalled Warner Bros Merger

Leaks the past few months out of David Ellison‘s inner circle said the CEO would take his Paramount ball and leave California if state attorneys general didn’t back off on their antitrust suit to stop the $111 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery.
And now it looks like the ball really is in play.
Paramount brass have told key officials and stakeholders the company is “deadly serious” about leaving California and the home of Hollywood after over 100 years, sources tell me. Among those told a deposit has been put on the moving trucks is L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and state AG Rob Bonta.
“Mayor Bass is focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in L.A., including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles’ economy,” a spokesperson for City Hall told Deadline today. “She’s been engaged on this issue and will continue to fight to make sure L.A. is home to Hollywood,” the Mayor’s office added, with the core topic being keeping the Paramount corporate HQ and the thousands of jobs it holds in the City of Angels.
Up in Sacramento, Bonta has over the past several months called out Paramount for engaging in “blackmail” in its efforts to sway the court of public opinion over the merger.
Today, with the exit plans taking more concrete shape, the AGs office said as much again, in many more words.
“We cannot comment on a company’s plans,” a spokesperson for AG Bonta told Deadline Wednesday over the moving notice. “It’s no secret that Paramount has been making this threat, despite its alleged commitment to California and Hollywood. What Paramount decides to do is Paramount’s choice alone. We’ll continue to apply the law without fear or favor and continue to be open to coming to the table for good faith discussions.”
Paramount had no comment when contacted by Deadline about the exit plans and how far along they are.
What no one can be silent on is that the potentially devastating blow to any already ailing Tinseltown industry comes as the mega-merger with David Zaslav’s WBD is trapped in the legal leg-hold of the July 13-filed antitrust lawsuit from a dozen states and the Writers Guild of America. Even with court ordered settlement meetings set for next month and a hearing next week over Paramount’s desire for a $1.88 billion bond from the plaintiffs to cover “extraordinary losses” the company anticipates, clearly the wait for the March 2, 2027-starting trial was too much and too late for Team ParaBros.
Ellison’s big move to move comes almost two weeks before the October 1 deadline that had been bandied around in the rumors out of the Melrose lot since the legal battle with Golden State Attorney General Bonta and 11 other blue state AGs over the WBD deal formally went nuclear two months ago. While there are a number of pricey fees in motion under the merger contract, the “extraordinary losses” Paramount has been referring to specifically is the $7-million-a-day ticking fee in the WBD contract that kicks in (surprise surprise) on October 1.
Doing the math of the ticking fee adding up to $635 million a quarter and a look at the calendar of that trial date, and the money Para could be on the hook for is very real.
Now, with all the thunder and lightning of a Paramount departure to a red state like Tennessee and how much of this is another attempt to ramp up the pressure on Bonta to settle, the fact is any exit will have little immediate impact on the antitrust suit’s route through the federal courts — at least for now. However, among docket disputes over whether or not an injunction on the deal is de facto in place or not, Donald Trump‘s DOJ weighing in for Para on jurisdiction and the big bucks bond and a possible SCOTUS intervention, the optics are very immediate if Paramount really leaves.
As are the punishing economics.
“At a minimum, relocating Paramount’s headquarters and other operations out of California would result in losses of 2,750 and 5,550 job-years in California across all industries and losses of between $1.01 billion and $2.03 billion in economic output between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2031,” L.A. County’s Economic Development Corporation wrote in a September 10 document.
The third such report from the powerful Board of Supervisors, the EDC missive of last week is very similar to language in a Paramount statement of September 8 detailing harsh consequences if the merger falters.
“Once Paramount completed the entire relocation of its headquarters and other operations out of California, the state would experience the permanent loss of approximately 28,990 to 57,980 full-time jobs statewide across all industries, and losses of between $10.6 billion and $21.2 billion annually in economic output,” the county document says.
Holding on to over $80 billion in debt, a melded ParaBros is widely expected to follow the M&A pattern of big job losses, whether the company stays in L.A. or not.
On the other side, with Ellison’s promises of 30 flicks a year and long release times, the EDC report also shone a bright light on some good news — if the lawsuits disappeared or a settlement was reached and merger went through.
“Paramount’s post-merger production commitment of 30 features a year for three years would generate a total of between 1,020 and 2,760 job-years in California across all industries and between $377.7 million and $1.01 billion in economic output between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2031,”the L.A. County finding estimates.
That math would look pretty good in the Red Zone too, if you know what I mean?
TMZ first reported Paramount contacting city and state officials with some sort of exit announcement.

Entertainment

Double Eviction Night & Final 5 Revealed

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains details on Big Brother Season 28, Episode 35, which aired on Thursday, September 17.
Big Brother Season 28 is down to its final weeks, and the latest episode featured a double eviction, the last Block Buster challenge, and two more housemates joining jury.
In Week 10 of the competition, Yash Patel was crowned as the Head of Household (HOH) and would not only have immunity for the week, but also put three people up for eviction.
At the nominations ceremony, Yash put up Barrett Pfeiffer, Drew Campbell, and Melody Morris for eviction.
The nominated houseguests still had the opportunity to save themselves from the block by winning the Power of Veto (POV) competition. In an endurance competition, Yash and Drew were the final two, and after striking a deal, Drew won the Veto.
Drew took himself off the block, and Yash put up Taylor Brown as a replacement nominee.
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Who won the last safety in the BB Block Buster competition in Week 10?
Barrett, Melody, and Taylor entered the BB Block Buster competition. Melody won the challenge, and it was not even close, giving herself safety for the first eviction of the night.
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How did the Big Brother Season 28 houseguests vote in Week 10?
Barrett and Taylor now face eviction, with the rest of the houseguests holding their fate in their hands as they cast votes to evict in the Diary Room.
Votes to evict Barrett: Devens, Dee, Drew
Votes to evict Taylor: Melody
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Who was evicted from Big Brother Season 28 in Week 10?
By a vote of 3 to 1, Barrett was the eleventh housemate evicted from Big Brother Season 28 in Week 10 and became the third member of the jury.
BUT the night was not over, as it was a double eviction night and a full week of gameplay would play out live.
Who won HOH on double eviction night in Week 10?
Melody won HOH on double eviction night and would now nominate two houseguests for eviction.
Who was nominated on double eviction night in Week 10?
As HOH, Melody nominated Devens and Dee, putting two “Icons” at risk of eviction.
Who won the POV on double eviction night in Week 10?
Devens and Dee still had the opportunity to play for the POV and pull themselves off the block, or, if another houseguest won instead, could sway them to save them from eviction. Following the competition, Devens won the veto.
Devens used the POV to pull himself off the chopping block, forcing Melody to name a replacement nominee and choosing Yash in his place.
How did the Big Brother Season 28 houseguests vote on double eviction night in Week 10?
Dee and Yash now face eviction, with each houseguest entering the Diary Room to cast their votes.
Votes to evict Dee: Taylor
Votes to evict Yash: Devens, Drew
Who was the second houseguest evicted from Big Brother Season 28 in Week 10?
By a vote of 2 to 1, Yash was the twelfth houseguest evicted from Big Brother Season 28 and became the fourth jury member.
Who were the two houseguests evicted from Big Brother Season 28 on double eviction night in Week 10?
The two houseguests evicted from Big Brother on double eviction night in Week 10 were Barrett and Yash, who would now join La Trice Verrett and Angela Murray at the Jury House.
Who are the Final 5 houseguests in Big Brother Season 28?
The final five houseguests who could potentially win Big Brother Season 28 are Dee Valladares, Drew Campbell, Melody Morris, Rick Devens, and Taylor Brown.

Entertainment

‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’ Wanted Green Lantern, Settled For Flash

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Thursday night’s episode of HBO Max‘s Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.
As the title of this week’s episode (“Spoiler: We Couldn’t Get Green Lantern”) suggests, the creators of Stuart Fails to Save the Universe really did want the Green Lantern to be at the center of the show’s DC comic crossover.
Unfortunately, the man without fear was already booked.
“They told us we couldn’t have him because of [HBO’s live-action series] Lanterns, which I understood,” Zak Penn, one of the series’ creators, revealed to Deadline. “Chuck [Lorre] was a little grumbly about it, but Bill and I pointed out to him that Flash was actually perfect. If we needed something that’s going from dimension to dimension, Flash worked even better than Green Lantern.”
Like Penn says, the episode ultimately sees Stuart (Kevin Sussman) and his friends stuck inside a comic book, where Mr. Freeze is terrorizing Gotham City. To get out of that dimension, they go off in search of Golden Age Flash for help.
“It was half opportunity and half what they encouraged us, but Golden Age Flash appealed to us a lot, just because he’s kind of silly. No offense to Golden Age Flash,” Penn said.
If it seems kind of backward that the gang would trek all the way to Central City to enlist The Flash to help them take on a villain in Batman’s territory, that’s the point. The writers reveled in the opportunity to poke fun at the more far-fetched notions accepted in comic lore.
“Bill [Prady] and I were laughing a lot [about] the whole notion of Gotham City isn’t where New York City is, which makes no sense,” Penn said. “All those things were just kind of built up humor and things that we felt about comic books. So, the next obvious decision was, in terms of a villain, let’s put the villain who seems right and that people know more, and then have our characters comment on the fact that he’s the wrong villain for this piece.”
Penn is surely considered the superhero expert of the group as a Marvel vet who also famously wrote a script for a Suicide Squad film that went unused. However, he says his fellow creators Prady and Lorre, as well as several of the other writers, had their own affinity for DC comics to draw upon for the episode.
He and the writers thought a commentary on how a layperson would navigate a comic locale like Gotham City “seemed like the perfect sense of humor for our show.”
“If you were in the DC universe, it would be pretty boring a lot of the time because you’d just be sitting around waiting for planes,” he laughs, adding that the irony is there’s also a bit about that exact notion in an early episode of Lanterns.
That other DC show didn’t steal all Stuart‘s thunder, though, and in fact there is plenty that the comedy series can get away with that its drama counterparts cannot in that the writers can lean into the quirks of these convoluted superhero universes rather than shy away.
“One of the things about this show that’s really fun is that you know when you work on an actual comic book movie, you really have to be rigorous about the consistency of the reality, because people will pick you apart if you’re not, and on this show we kind of took the attitude of ‘we’re going to purposely break things and then have the characters notice that the multiverse doesn’t work as well as it should,’” Penn explained.
Similarly, Penn says the episode could adopt a visual style more consistent with comic books without asking the audience to do more work suspending their disbelief.
“[Director] Robbie McNeill deserves a lot of credit, because he really added a bunch of stuff, like the way the frames panel at certain points, which is something that I don’t always think is effective. Back in the early days of comic book movies, when people did that, I think it really took you out of it,” Penn told Deadline. “But this show’s sense of humor needs that, so it was really helpful.”
The writers worked closely with DC’s Jim Lee to develop the versions of the comic characters that appear in Thursday’s episode. Lee teased the partnership over the summer at San Diego Comic-Con, assuring the audience in Hall H that the DC IP would be in good hands with the Stuart team.
“Some of the DC characters they have in it, I think are some of the best versions I’ve seen of those characters, and so I’m super excited for you guys,” Lee said at the time.
Penn, who had previously collaborated with Lee and the DC team on Ready Player One, remembered the Stuart reteam fondly: “They were great. They basically said, ‘How can we help? Other than we won’t give you Green Lantern.’”
The series has already been renewed for a second season ahead of next week’s Season 1 finale. Penn tells Deadline he “would be shocked” if the writers didn’t once again mine from the DC universe in future episodes, but Season 2 is still in early stages.

Entertainment

Miley Cyrus reveals biggest misconception about Dolly Parton

Miley Cyrus wants fans to know that Dolly Parton — despite her larger-than-life persona — was as “authentic” as they come.
“She’s known for, I guess, the faux, the fake, the hair, the makeup, the show of it, but there’s a part of her that’s just what I think everyone gravitates toward — how real she is and how authentic she is,” the “Wrecking Ball” singer said during a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
Elsewhere during the chat, Cyrus recalled her final conversation with her godmother before her tragic death on Aug. 25 following a brief — and private — battle with cancer.
“The time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record,” she said, referencing her latest album, “Bass Persuades.”
Cyrus, 33, noted that “because even though we are so different, that’s what made us so perfect for each other is that she knew this, and I know this.”
The “Flowers” hitmaker also opened up about how Parton’s sage advice comforted her through her life’s big moments.
“There was a time in my life, I mean, we hit on it with Hannah [Montana], so much of my life’s about persona.” she said.
It was Parton, Cyrus divulged, that helped her navigate the fame her Disney Channel character brought her — all while she was also discovering who she was off-camera.
“I think a way that I could look at that as, you can still have a persona and still be who you are, is because I had Dolly,” she explained.
Cyrus looked back on crying during her performances — something that perplexed Parton, who saw music as “escapism.”
“She was like, ‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. Get through it,’” Cyrus recalled, to which she responded, “I know, but this is who I am.” Parton, she said, “loved [her] for it.”
During her co-hosting gig with the legendary country singer during NBC special “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” as they rang in 2023, Cyrus recalled getting emotional while performing “I Will Always Love You” with Parton — and realizing the “9 to 5” star wouldn’t always be there to guide her through life’s challenges.
“So many of my really stabilizing peers that I have in my life, they’re generations before me,” she explained.
“And they’ve laid down brick by brick the road that I travel now, and they aren’t always going to be here for me to call them and say, ‘What do I do now?’”
Cyrus said it’s something she “always did with Dolly,” whom she described as having been “always right about stuff.”
The “Jolene” singer died at the age of 80 last month following a private battle with cancer. At the time, Cyrus mourned her “Aunt Dolly” in an emotional social media tribute, writing that the “feeling of losing” the country star was “beyond what feels right to share.”
Cyrus divulged in the upload, “One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis. 🦋.”

Entertainment

Dancing With the Stars’ Julia Stiles Shares Juilliard’s Apology After Shade

Julia Stiles is officially a Juilliard graduate—well, sort of.
After the Dancing With the Stars contestant called out the school’s statement that she never was a student there—despite playing one in 2001’s Save the Last Dance—during an exclusive E! interview, the prestigious conservatory followed up with a hilarious change of heart.
“Dear Julia, with our apologies for the clerical error, your alumni file was found under the name Sarah Johnson,” Stiles read from Juilliard’s note to her and pro Ezra Sosa in a Sept. 17 TikTok video. “We are so proud of you and cheering you and Ezra on.”
And the school—which first posted ahead of the DWTS season 35 premiere, “No, Julia Stiles did not, in fact, attend Juilliard”—couldn’t help but call back to her and costar Sean Patrick Thomas’ memorable exchange in the film when welcoming Stiles into the family.
“Remember, Dancing With the Stars ain’t no square dance,” she continued narrating their message, “but we know you’ll dance circles, probably, around everyone else.”

Entertainment

Alexandra Daddario posts vacation bikini photos after Andrew Form split

Alexandra Daddario is soaking up some time away after a year of major changes.
The 40-year-old actress shared a series of vacation photos on Instagram Wednesday, including two shots of her relaxing outdoors in a blue and white gingham bikini.
Daddario opened the Instagram carousel reclining on a cushioned lounge chair while looking directly at the camera. She wore the checkered two-piece with her long brunette hair loose and swept across one side of her face.
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The “White Lotus” star appeared to keep the look natural and accessorized simply with a silver ring as she leaned on one arm for the close-up shot.
“Vacation details,” Daddario captioned the post.
A second photo captured Daddario from a different angle as she stretched out on the same chair. She rested her head against one arm while peeking toward the camera, offering another look at the pale blue gingham swimsuit.
Fans quickly took notice of the vacation photos.
“If she broke my heart i would apologize…,” one person joked.
“We missed the Daddarios,” another commented.
“Your not allowed to look so good effortlessly @alexandradaddario,” another fan added.
Daddario traded her swimsuit for a more dressed-up look elsewhere in the carousel.
In a mirror selfie, the “Baywatch” actress posed barefoot in a cream-colored matching set covered in a bold floral and bird print. The look featured a sleeveless fitted top and floor-length skirt, with a cutout along one side of her waist.
Daddario held her phone in one hand and stretched her opposite arm above her head against the wall as she captured the full look.
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The vacation glimpse comes seven months after Daddario and film producer Andrew Form announced the end of their marriage.
A representative for Daddario confirmed the split to People in February after more than three years of marriage.
“Alexandra Daddario and Andrew Form have made the decision to end their marriage,” her representative told the outlet.
“The decision was made with love and respect,” the statement continued. “They will continue to co-parent their child together and appreciate privacy as they navigate this transition.”
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Daddario and Form married in New Orleans in June 2022 after making their relationship Instagram official the previous year.
The former couple welcomed their first child together, a son, in October 2024. Form also shares two sons with his ex-wife, actress Jordana Brewster.
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Daddario had previously opened up about her journey to motherhood, revealing in a 2024 interview with Vogue that she experienced a pregnancy loss before welcoming her son.
“It’s long and complicated, so I don’t want to be too specific,” she told the outlet at the time. “Those kinds of losses and trauma are very hard to explain unless you’ve been through them.
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“I really relate to all the women who have been through those kinds of things in a way that I didn’t understand fully before. It’s very, very painful.”
The actress has remained busy professionally amid the changes in her personal life.
Earlier this month, Daddario stepped out during New York Fashion Week for Montblanc’s 100 Years of Leather celebration at the Crane Club in Manhattan.
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Speaking at the event, Daddario reflected on how her outlook has evolved as she’s gotten older.
“When I was younger, I never wanted to use them,” she told WWD while discussing the luxury items she once saved for special occasions. “I didn’t want to use the best skin care product. I didn’t want to use my fancy bag.
“And now that I get older, I’m like, ‘I’m alive. Things are meant to be used. You use them until they wear out, and that’s what’s good about them.'”