Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison Lobbies for Federal Film Tax Incentive

Ellison’s Legislative Push in Washington

While antitrust regulators were moving to halt his company’s expansion on Monday, David Ellison was in Washington, D.C., working to secure support for a federal film tax incentive. According to Variety, Ellison has spent at least six months in exploratory meetings regarding the legislation. On Monday evening, he attended a dinner hosted by Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, to discuss the proposal with bipartisan leadership.

The effort is not a solo venture. Ellison was joined in D.C. by his chief legal officer, Makan Delrahim. Several sources confirmed that the lobbying trip was part of a broader, months-long strategy to establish a national incentive program that would stack on top of existing state-level tax credits. The Hollywood Reporter noted that while Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Laura Friedman were gathering support for a federal tax incentive bill, Ellison’s involvement is viewed as a potential catalyst for swaying President Donald Trump, who has previously expressed interest in domestic film production.

Antitrust Lawsuit Challenges $110 Billion Merger

The legislative meetings took place under the shadow of a major legal challenge. Earlier on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a coalition of 12 states, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The suit alleges the deal violates the Clayton Act by consolidating too much power in theatrical distribution and cable licensing.

Rob Bonta, California Attorney General, via Variety

The legal challenge argues that the combined entity would control 27% of the wide-release theatrical market and 30% of the submarket for anticipated blockbuster films. As reported by TheWrap, the states joining California in the suit include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

Industry Stakes and the Labor Union Perspective

Paramount has pushed back against the litigation, characterizing the lawsuit as a misunderstanding of competitive market realities. Deadline reported that the company plans to defend the transaction, arguing that the merger would boost a needed rival to Netflix.

“The lawsuit filed by the state attorneys general, in the most generous light, reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law. Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs.”

Paramount spokesperson, via TheWrap

Interestingly, Hollywood labor unions—including the DGA, IATSE, and SAG-AFTRA—have found common ground with Ellison regarding the tax incentive, even while remaining skeptical of the merger itself. The DGA’s recent contract specifically mandates that top studio executives lobby for favorable domestic filming incentives. Cosmic Book News observed that this creates a split-screen narrative: while Bonta argues the merger threatens jobs, Ellison is simultaneously in Washington pushing for federal funding intended to prevent domestic production from fleeing to overseas markets like the UK or Australia.

The Legislative Path Forward

The push for a federal incentive faces a tight legislative window. With Congress expected to be out of session in October for midterm campaigning and an end-of-fiscal-year funding deadline looming on September 30, the timing for a new tax bill remains uncertain. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has indicated that the administration is currently studying the balance between existing state programs and potential federal involvement.

While the merger faces a court date, the lobbying effort for the tax bill continues, with Ellison and his team positioning the incentive as a way to protect the industry from further erosion. The outcome of both the antitrust litigation and the tax incentive negotiations will likely dictate the financial future of the proposed media giant.

Find more reporting in our Entertainment section.