Buried yesterday in news reports about the legal battle that broke out between David Ellison and a coalition of state attorneys general trying to block Paramount’s $110 billion deal with Warner Bros., Discovery, a PR firm that Paramount frequently enlists, is once again trying to help them take control of the case.
Brunswick Group, whose previous client is Endeavor, has a long and checkered history with Paramount.
Mr. Brunswick was hired by Paramount to help support messaging regarding Warner Bros. Discovery’s initial acquisition plan. It was a months-long media campaign with several verbal arrows aimed at Netflix. Mr. Brunswick was also the spokesperson for the Paramount Special Committee, which was made up of board members under Shari Redstone (who was not a member) in 2024 during the sale to Skydance. During these contentious negotiations, Redstone often found himself at odds with factions on the board.
In 2017, Brunswick partner Justin Dini joined Paramount predecessor Viacom as head of corporate communications and remained with the company until the Skydance deal was completed. Then in 2016, Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements (which had controlled Viacom for years before the Skydance deal) fired Brunswick after just a month amid a messy legal battle with former Viacom CEO Philip Dorman and Sumner’s health issues.
Paramount doesn’t seem to be letting go of Brunswick — it’s been working with Paramount in some capacity since last fall — and now the London-based company (which also has offices in New York) will once again be trusted to help control the narrative of this bet that is nothing short of historic. Brunswick officials could not be reached for further information on this matter.
In a bit of fortuitous (and some wonder if intentional) timing, a source confirmed that Ellison was meeting with House Republicans in Washington, D.C., on Monday about a bipartisan federal film tax bill that Ellison has long advocated for. (Politico’s Daniel Miller first reported Ellison’s visit to D.C.)
Ahead of the start of this latest legal battle, Semaphore reported yesterday that another major impact of the lawsuit is Mr. Ellison and Paramount executives’ resentment toward California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who are spearheading the lawsuit.
Semafor said Ellison’s advisers had pitched him the nuclear option of moving the business out of California if a lawsuit were filed. Semafor said Paramount executives were frustrated by Bonta’s office’s refusal to negotiate to find a solution.
At a press conference held by Mr. Bonta in front of the Hollywood sign yesterday morning, California’s attorney general responded to the idea that Mr. Ellison’s team was threatening to leave the state over the lawsuit, saying it “looked like a final attempt to blackmail my office.”
