{"id":6299,"date":"2026-07-15T01:53:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=6299"},"modified":"2026-07-15T01:53:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:53:56","slug":"tennessee-is-courting-paramount-and-the-studio-is-considering-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=6299","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Is Courting Paramount \u2014 And the Studio Is Considering It"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tTennessee is courting David Ellison\u2019s Paramount, <em>The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> has learned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIn a letter to Ellison on July 2, Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter urged the Paramount CEO to relocate the studio\u2019s corporate headquarters amid a rift with California over its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cOur success is rooted in fiscal discipline, low taxes, predictable governance, and a steadfast belief that government should be a partner in private-sector growth,\u201d stated the letter. \u201cCompanies that choose Tennessee find more than a favorable business climate \u2014 they find a state committed to helping them succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe invitation was delivered as California signaled its intent to block the deal. Paramount has extended what it perceived as an olive branch in the leadup to the filing of Monday\u2019s lawsuit by committing to produce 30 films per year with a 45-day theatrical window, an offer that was ultimately rejected. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tLeaving California isn\u2019t optimal considering Paramount relocated out of New York last year, but a longtime adviser to Ellison tells <em>THR<\/em> that \u201ceverything is on the table.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIt\u2019d be a major blow to production in the state and Los Angeles, where filming levels are near historic lows, if the studio were to reallocate much \u2014 or even any significant chunk \u2014 of its $30 billion in spending to competing regions like New York, New Jersey, the U.K. or Canada. The studio has several productions shooting in the state, including <em>Matlock, NCIS <\/em>and <em>Tracker<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tA Paramount spokesperson verified the authenticity of the letter but otherwise had no comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIf it were to move, Paramount would join companies like FedEx, HCA Healthcare and Autozone in the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cAs Paramount Skydance writes its next chapter, Tennessee offers a compelling proposition: a state where creativity and technology converge, where talent is developed intentionally, and where innovation is embraced,\u201d McWhorter wrote. \u201cWe would welcome the opportunity to share our vision for how Tennessee could help shape the future of Paramount Skydance and its talented team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tEllison and his family have deep ties to Tennessee, where he lived on and off for 11 years from 2014 to 2025. He sold his home in the state after Paramount\u2019s bid to acquire Skydance closed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAlso a factor: Plans by Oracle, led by Ellison\u2019s father, to build a massive campus in Nashville. Co-CEO Clay Magouyrk also resides in Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tOn Monday, a coalition of 12 state attorneys general led by California has sued Paramount to stop its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tDays before the lawsuit was filed, Semafor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/07\/12\/2026\/paramount-weighs-leaving-california-over-warner-bros-rift\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">reported<\/a> that Ellison\u2019s advisers have been pushing the exec to leave California and shift production spend away from the state.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/1062064139\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode&amp;access_key=key-uAoxKbVsfs4MhF0ZXq2N\" data-auto-height=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"scribd_1062064139\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tennessee is courting David Ellison\u2019s Paramount, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. In a letter to Ellison on July 2, Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter urged the Paramount CEO to relocate the studio\u2019s corporate headquarters amid a rift with California over its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. \u201cOur success is rooted in fiscal discipline,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2261716704.jpg?w=1440&h=810&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}