Now to another bump in the row for one of the biggest media mergers in Hollywood history.

If you were writing the story of the big multi-billion dollar merger that is obsessing Hollywood these days,

I think you might have expected what happened earlier this week,

which I can only sum up as a plot twist.

A federal judge is ordering Paramount and Warner Brothers

to halt their $81 billion merger for at least two weeks.

Quick reminder for about a year,

the very wealthy, very Trump-aligned Ellison family has had its eyes on Warner Brothers Discovery, the home of CNN and HBO.

The Ellison's already owned Paramount and CBS, but they're hungry for more. Now, some state attorneys general want to curb the Ellison's appetite.

Twelve states suing to block the deal alleged the merger would extinguish the competition in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers. Usually, with a merger like this one, the states wouldn't have to act.

The federal government would intervene, with antitrust attorneys,

weighing the pros and cons of creating a mega corporation. But, well, you know where we're at.

I like to think of what's happening right now as a good old-fashioned Hollywood chase scene.

Paramount's been ruthlessly pursuing Warner Brothers for

months. They keep encountering obstacles. First, Netflix tried to outbid them, which the

Ellison's managed to wait out. Then, they slipped past federal regulators just weeks after

throwing a big party honoring the Trump

White House. Now, Paramount and the Ellisons are facing a third test, the state attorneys

general who say their merger is bad business, and the judge who's agreed to hear them out.

Like any good chase scene, there's also a ticking clock. If this merger doesn't go

through by the end of September, the Ellison's will be obligated to pay Warner Brothers shareholders

$650 million on a quarterly basis. And this latest speed bump, the one in federal courts, it could last a while.

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