Los líderes demócratas del condado de Hudson, New Jersey, están pidiendo a la fiscal general Jennifer Davenport que retire al estado de su participación en una demanda que busca impedir la fusión entre Paramount-Skydance y Warner Bros. Discovery.

En un artículo de opinión publicado por el New Jersey Globe, la alcaldesa de Bayonne, Sharon Ashe-Nadowski, el ejecutivo del condado de Hudson, Craig Guy, los senadores estatales Raj Mukherji, Brian Stack y Angela McKnight, y los miembros de la Asamblea estatal Jerry Walker, William Sampson, Ravi Bhalla, Katie Brennan, Larry Wainstein y Gabriel Rodriguez instaron a Davenport a sacar a New Jersey del caso, citando posibles beneficios económicos para el estado.

Los funcionarios escribieron que, aunque confían en el criterio independiente de Davenport, "The extraordinary stakes for New Jersey in this matter, however, give rise to this rare but consequential disagreement."

"New Jersey has spent years building a film and television industry capable of competing with New York, California, Georgia and production centers around the world including the U.K., attracting transformational investments from Netflix and Lionsgate," escribieron los funcionarios. "Paramount has become a critical participant in that effort and has committed to establishing a substantial, long-term production presence in Bayonne."

El grupo dijo que el plan para desarrollar 1888 Studios en Bayonne es la oportunidad económica más importante que el condado de Hudson ha tenido en años.

"This is the creation of an entirely new economic ecosystem and a self-sustaining creative economy in our state: careers for electricians, laborers, carpenters, stagehands, technicians, artists, and countless others; new customers for our small businesses; and, critically, accessible pathways into a growing industry for young people and working families who too often have been excluded from the prosperity being created around them. Its economic reverberations will extend well beyond the studio gates," dijeron los funcionarios del condado de Hudson.

Según los funcionarios, el proyecto aportaría alrededor de $1.2 billion in capital expenditures en el campus de Paramount, además de soundstages permanentes e instalaciones de postproducción en el condado y empleos permanentes.

Los funcionarios electos del condado de Hudson también expresaron preocupación por el costo del litigio, diciendo que el dinero de los contribuyentes no debería quedar comprometido en un caso que describieron como incierto, mientras New Jersey ha estado trabajando para expandir su sector cinematográfico y atraer inversión externa.

"We are increasingly concerned that New Jersey taxpayer dollars are being committed to litigation whose merits appear uncertain while its potential costs to the State and to our economy continue to escalate," escribieron. "After an exhaustive eight-month investigation involving review of more than 2 million documents, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that the transaction was unlikely to harm competition in streaming, linear television, or theatrical film."

Pidieron a la fiscal general que retire a New Jersey de la coalición.

"Now that New Jersey is a party to this litigation, whether or not we might have chosen a different course at the outset, the question is how best to protect the interests of the State going forward. We respectfully urge our Attorney General to withdraw our state from this action or work toward a prompt and reasonable resolution of this matter and to be a voice of reason in the room," escribieron.

"The State should have an exceptionally compelling reason before spending taxpayer dollars on multi-state litigation of uncertain merit that may undermine those very investments," añadieron los líderes del condado.

La gobernadora de New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, dijo a Fox News Digital en una declaración: "We are excited to welcome Paramount to Hudson County because film is in New Jersey's DNA — we're Hollywood East and the only state where film shoots are up this year. New Jersey is open for film business, so we are going to keep building, keep filming, and keep making it easier for companies like Paramount to create good-paying jobs and lay down roots in the Garden State."

La oficina de Davenport dijo a Fox News Digital que no tenía comentarios sobre el artículo de opinión de los funcionarios del condado de Hudson.

En un comunicado de prensa de julio, la oficina de Davenport dijo que se estaba uniendo a la coalición para impugnar la fusión, que incluía a otros estados como California, Colorado y New York, afirmando: "The proposed merger would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of the five major basic cable companies, extinguishing competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. and inflicting substantial harm on movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and, ultimately, consumers nationwide."

"New Jersey is the birthplace of the American film industry, and the state is now a burgeoning hub for film and television production. Given our state’s leadership in the film and television industry, we must protect our residents when corporate media monopolies threaten to upend the industry by raising prices and reducing content choices," dijo Davenport en ese momento.

"The proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will hurt our state’s residents, plain and simple," continuó. "We will always stand up against corporate monopolists that seek to exploit hardworking New Jerseyans by driving up prices and turning a massive profit at their expense."

Seth Schachner, managing director of Strat Americas y ex presidente del Florida's Film & Entertainment Advisory Council, dijo a Fox News Digital que los legisladores tienen un argumento legítimo.

"These lawmakers have a legitimate argument, as no one really benefits from extensive legal delays over a merger that could still go forward, albeit with asset sales," dijo. "The states' legal case is a bit limited though, as it ignores the broader competitive reality that all locales — including New Jersey — are operating in with respect to film and TV production, as streamers like Netflix are essential parts of the case."

También dijo que los legisladores "not unbiased here," ya que apoyan el compromiso de Paramount con 1888 Studios en Bayonne.

Según informes, representantes de Paramount-Skydance y la oficina del fiscal general de California, Rob Bonta, estaban previstos para reunirse la semana pasada para discutir una posible resolución de la demanda que busca bloquear la adquisición de Warner Bros. Discovery por $110 billion.