Pandemics, strikes and fires have hit Los Angeles hard in recent years.
Now Hollywood's future is threatened as media giant Paramount Skydance is considering moving from Los Angeles if the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery - worth the equivalent of around SEK 1,000 billion - is stopped.
Can leave after 100 years
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued to stop the deal, arguing that a merger of two of the Big Five film studios would give the new media giant too much market power. Bonta is leading the lawsuit against Paramount along with 11 other states, while the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is pursuing a separate lawsuit.
Paramount CEO David Ellison is reportedly prepared to sell the historic studio land and leave California after more than a century if the deal is not completed next month. Tennessee, Texas and Georgia are mentioned as alternatives, states that could entice Paramount with tax breaks.
"Extortion"
Rob Bonta has called Paramount's threat to move "blackmail." The move could cost at least 28,000 jobs, according to one report, while a merger alone is estimated to eliminate 4,500 positions.
A move would reduce Los Angeles' tax revenues and hurt small businesses that depend on the film industry. Los Angeles also risks a talent drain and further weakening of film production.
