Damon Lindelof: Hollywood HATES the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
4.7 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
Sonny Bunch and Damon Lindelof—the show runner behind Lost, The Leftovers, and Watchmen—discuss the growing backlash to the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. merger and what it could mean for Hollywood’s future. Lindelof explains why he joined more than a thousand industry professionals in signing a public letter urging scrutiny of the deal. He describes a “chilling effect” across Hollywood, where even speaking out against consolidation can carry professional risk.
Open Letter: 2,500+ Industry Leaders Oppose the Paramount–WBD Merger
https://blockthemerger.com/openletter
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, everybody. Welcome back to The Bullwork. My name is Sunny Bunch. I'm culture editor at the Bullwork. And I'm very pleased to be joined today by Damon Lindeloff, who you will know from TV shows like Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen, movies like Prometheus, World War Z, The Hunt. And upcoming, which is pretty relevant to the discussion we're about to have lanterns, which is going to be on HBO Max, |
| 0:22.1 | which is owned by Warner Brothers, |
| 0:23.6 | and which is currently in the process of maybe possibly merging, |
| 0:29.5 | being purchased by Paramount, |
| 0:31.9 | which has caused a lot of consternation in the industry. |
| 0:35.6 | So, Damon, thank you for being on the show today. I really |
| 0:38.1 | appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me. So the reason I wanted to get you on is because |
| 0:43.3 | you are one of, you are one of more than a thousand Hollywood luminaries and, you know, below the |
| 0:49.1 | line works. A broad swath of people have signed this letter that has basically said, hey, let's put the |
| 0:55.0 | breaks on this deal. I just want to read a quick passage from it. We are deeply concerned by |
| 1:01.3 | indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful |
| 1:05.8 | stakeholders over the broader public good. The integrity, independence, and diversity of our |
| 1:10.7 | industry would be |
| 1:12.0 | grievously compromised. Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. |
| 1:18.2 | So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement. Media consolidation has already weakened one of |
| 1:23.6 | America's most vital global industries, one that is long-shaped culture and connected |
| 1:28.3 | people around the world. I reached out to you because you had a great Instagram post talking |
| 1:33.1 | about your own fear. As you put fear, your fear of signing this letter, which, you know, |
| 1:41.5 | jumped out of me because you are in the top one-tenth of one percent |
| 1:45.8 | of probably most powerful, successful people in the industry. And if even you are afraid to |
| 1:50.5 | kind of speak up against this, it seems like a real indication that something is wrong with this |
| 1:55.3 | process with this merger with the state of the industry. I think that's right. I hope that's right, or else my, |
... |
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