Tennessee is courting David Ellison’s Paramount, The Hollywood Reporter has realized.
In a letter to Ellison on July 2, Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter urged the Paramount CEO to relocate the studio’s company headquarters amid a rift with California over its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Our success is rooted in fiscal self-discipline, low taxes, predictable governance, and a steadfast perception that authorities ought to be a associate in private-sector development,” said the letter. “Firms that select Tennessee discover greater than a good enterprise local weather — they discover a state dedicated to serving to them succeed.”
The invitation was delivered as California signaled its intent to dam the deal. Paramount has prolonged what it perceived as an olive department main as much as the submitting of Monday’s lawsuit by committing to provide 30 movies per yr with a 45-day theatrical window, a proposal that was in the end rejected.
Leaving California isn’t optimum contemplating Paramount relocated out of New York final yr, however a longtime adviser to Ellison tells THR that “every part is on the desk.”
It’d be a serious blow to manufacturing within the state and Los Angeles, the place filming ranges are close to historic lows, if the studio had been to reallocate a lot — and even any important chunk — of its $30 billion in spending to competing areas like New York, New Jersey, the U.Ok. or Canada. The studio has a number of productions capturing within the state, together with Matlock, NCIS and Tracker.
A Paramount spokesperson verified the authenticity of the letter however in any other case had no remark.
If it had been to maneuver, Paramount would be part of corporations like FedEx, HCA Healthcare and Autozone within the state.
“As Paramount Skydance writes its subsequent chapter, Tennessee affords a compelling proposition: a state the place creativity and know-how converge, the place expertise is developed deliberately, and the place innovation is embraced,” McWhorter wrote. “We might welcome the chance to share our imaginative and prescient for a way Tennessee may assist form the way forward for Paramount Skydance and its proficient workforce.”
Ellison and his household have deep ties to Tennessee, the place he lived on and off for 11 years from 2014 to 2025. He offered his residence within the state after Paramount’s bid to accumulate Skydance closed.
Additionally an element: Plans by Oracle, led by Ellison’s father, to construct a large campus in Nashville. Co-CEO Clay Magouyrk additionally resides in Tennessee.
For Warner Bros. Discovery, shifting headquarters to Tennessee would imply a return to the state. The corporate used to take care of a large workplace complicated in Knoxville stemming from the 2017 Scripps Community deal. It offered the property in 2023.
On Monday, a coalition of 12 state attorneys common led by California has sued Paramount to cease its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Days earlier than the lawsuit was filed, Semafor reported that Ellison’s advisers have been pushing the exec to go away California and shift manufacturing spend away from the state.
