With a recent deal that approves the merger of two of the biggest conglomerates in media and entertainment, Mark Ruffalo is one of the many people speaking out against the move. The ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ actor publicly spoke out about the merger on his social media account following the news. The deal will possibly be finalised by next week.
Mark Ruffalo speaks out against the recent merger of media giants
Speaking out against the Paramount-Warner merger deal, Ruffalo took to Threads to share his opinion about the matter. He strongly opposed the merger, writing, “This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech, and cost people their jobs—it is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved.”He added, “This is an incredibly disappointing outcome for the hundreds of thousands of us who stood up to block it, but it’s also not the end. This grassroots movement isn’t going to fade away, and neither is our resolve.” Ruffalo continued to oppose the merger and talked about the real issue, sharing, “This was never about just one merger: this was about fighting back against corrupt oligarch billionaires trampling the interests of everyday people to line their own pockets. We’re still in that fight. Join us.”This is not the first time the Hollywood star has spoken out about the merger, which has been ongoing for months. Last month, he appealed to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his coalition of 11 other state AGs not to settle their lawsuit against one of the media conglomerates, which would have stopped the merger and prevented David Ellison from acquiring the other firm. He had written in another social media post, “Don’t you dare, [Rob Bonta], do not cave,” further adding how “5,670 filmmakers put their necks on the line for you to fight this merger.” His post also mentioned how many people had signed the petition against the merger and urged him to continue with the case.His post concluded, “Reject the deal. The people don’t want it!” Many other Hollywood stars, such as Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix, Noah Wyle, and Ben Stiller, have publicly expressed their disdain for the merger, which is said to result in mass industry layoffs along with lower competition in the media and entertainment industry.
More about the merger and the settlement
The settlement resulted in a USD 111 billion deal, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Not only that, but according to the settlement, the merged companies will be required to release 30 theatrical films a year for the first two years, increasing to 32 films for the following three years. The deal also dictates that at least half of the films released every year need to be produced or jointly produced by the combined company. If the annual quota is not met, a USD 30 million per film penalty will be applied.On the work front, Ruffalo is slated to appear in the upcoming MCU film, ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ which is being released on December 18 later this year.
