As Mark Ruffalo continues to fight against Paramount‘s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, he suspects he’s already made some enemies in high places.
The 4x Oscar nominee noted that he assumes he’s “already on a list” as he and attorney Norm Eisen urge state officials to enact antitrust laws and block the hostile takeover, adding that he’s “not a friend of these people” after accumulating more than 5,000 signatures on his open letter against the merger.
“It’s interesting because a lot of people, off the bat, were afraid,” Ruffalo said as he and Eisen appeared on the I’ve Had It podcast. “They’re afraid because, to quote one prominent agent whose name I won’t divulge here, these are some vindictive motherfuckers, the Ellisons.”
Ruffalo noted that many who were initially afraid to sign onto the letter “have already started to change and come out,” and they’ve amassed 2,000 more signatures in the month since setting it live.
“What we know is that courage is contagious, and there’s safety in numbers,” he explained. “A lot of the people on this letter are people who either can afford to be there, like myself, or people who can’t afford to not be there. They’re fighting for their lives. The stakes are very, very high. They understand what happens when these mergers happen. The last one was Fox-Disney, and we lost so many jobs, we lost so many shows, we so many films that were in production or in pre-production or being developed, and we know the writing’s on the wall.”
With the merger meaning the Ellisons would own both CBS and CNN, Ruffalo fears “the degradation of journalism through political pressure,” which he already sees at CBS, noting they recently platformed “accused war criminal,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He would have never been on 60 Minutes outside of this regime,” he added. “And that’s another thing that people really understand, there’s a whole other part of this, which is the journalists are starting to sign on. We have journalists who are coming out against this.
“And I just want to speak to that fear thing, because I have fear. I’m not doing this because I’m fearless. I’m doing this because I know we have to. And I know that no matter what, if I don’t speak out, it’s the same outcome. I’m already on a list, I’m already not a friend of these people. And so, you’re either gonna fight or you’re gonna lay down,” said Ruffalo.
Ruffalo called on Hollywood agencies to stop setting agendas for their clients. “I really hope they start to change their tune and see the writing on the wall here,” he said. “Their clients are gonna suffer more from sitting back and letting this happen than getting out and fighting next to us, the unions too.”
In February, Netflix threw in the towel on the Warner Bros. deal, refusing to raise its bid against Paramount Skydance’s “superior” $31-per-share offer, following the $82.7 billion deal Netflix signed with WBD in December before the Ellison-owned company launched its hostile takeover.
Last month, Ruffalo was among more than 1,000 signatories on the letter claiming the merger will “threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community.” The letter, which has since grown to nearly 5,000 signatures, was organized by the Committee for the First Amendment, the Future Film Coalition, the Writers Guild of America and the Democracy Defenders Fund.
