Warnermount Talks Will Resume in October

The Warnermount merger inches ever closer. A judge has instructed Paramount, California attorney general Rob Bonta, and the Writers Guild of America to sit down and talk face-to-face in a month. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson told everyone to give him “two consecutive days in the end of October” when everyone can gather for an “in-person settlement conference,” per Deadline. Since it’s in the middle of spooky season, maybe both sides can do Knott’s Scary Farm as a team-building exercise as well.

Talks between Paramount Skydance, the Bonta-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general, and the WGA stalled out over the summer. Bonta withdrew from talks scheduled for late August after accusing Paramount of leaking details to the media. And his reps were still not stoked on the talks set for October. “A court-ordered settlement conference means the judge required both sides to meet, but it does not indicate a settlement is in progress,” they told Deadline. “This is standard course in a case of this magnitude.” The Warnermount antitrust trial is still set to begin on March 2, 2027. In the meantime, Paramount will pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a $7 million-per-day ticking fee for every day the merger doesn’t happen after October 1. Losing $7 mil a day and no horror movies on the Paramount slate until the next Paranormal Activity in 2027? Now that’s spooky.