Les responsables démocrates du comté de Hudson, dans le New Jersey, demandent à la procureure générale Jennifer Davenport de retirer l’État de sa participation à un procès visant à empêcher la fusion entre Paramount-Skydance et Warner Bros. Discovery.

Dans une tribune publiée par le New Jersey Globe, la maire de Bayonne Sharon Ashe-Nadowski, le chef de l’exécutif du comté de Hudson Craig Guy, les sénateurs d’État Raj Mukherji, Brian Stack et Angela McKnight, ainsi que les membres de l’Assemblée d’État Jerry Walker, William Sampson, Ravi Bhalla, Katie Brennan, Larry Wainstein et Gabriel Rodriguez ont exhorté Davenport à retirer le New Jersey de l’affaire, en invoquant les avantages économiques potentiels pour l’État.

Les élus ont écrit que, même s’ils font confiance au jugement indépendant 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," les élus ont écrit. "Paramount has become a critical participant in that effort and has committed to establishing a substantial, long-term production presence in Bayonne."

Le groupe a indiqué que le projet de développement de 1888 Studios à Bayonne constitue la plus importante opportunité économique qu’ait connue le comté de Hudson depuis des années.

"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," the Hudson County officials said.

Selon les élus, le projet représenterait environ 1,2 milliard de dollars de dépenses d’investissement sur le campus Paramount, ainsi que des plateaux permanents et des installations de postproduction dans le comté, en plus d’emplois permanents.

Les responsables élus du comté de Hudson ont également soulevé des inquiétudes concernant le coût du contentieux, estimant que l’argent des contribuables ne devrait pas être engagé dans une affaire qu’ils jugent incertaine alors que le New Jersey cherche à développer son secteur audiovisuel et à attirer des investissements extérieurs.

"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," they wrote. "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."

Ils ont demandé à la procureure générale de retirer le New Jersey de la coalition.

"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," they wrote.

"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," the county leaders added.

Le gouverneur du New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, a déclaré à Fox News Digital dans un communiqué : "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."

Le bureau de Davenport a indiqué à Fox News Digital n’avoir aucun commentaire sur la tribune des responsables du comté de Hudson.

Dans un communiqué de presse publié en juillet, le bureau de Davenport a déclaré qu’elle se joignait à la coalition contestant la fusion, qui comprenait aussi la Californie, le Colorado et New York, affirmant : "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," a déclaré Davenport à l’époque.

"The proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will hurt our state’s residents, plain and simple," a-t-elle poursuivi. "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, directeur général de Strat Americas et ancien président du Film & Entertainment Advisory Council de Floride, a déclaré à Fox News Digital que les élus ont un argument légitime.

"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," he said. "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."

Il a également indiqué que les élus n’étaient "not unbiased here," puisqu’ils soutiennent l’engagement de Paramount en faveur de 1888 Studios à Bayonne.

Selon des informations publiées, des représentants de Paramount-Skydance et du bureau du procureur général de Californie, Rob Bonta, devaient se rencontrer la semaine dernière pour discuter d’une éventuelle résolution du litige visant à bloquer l’acquisition de Warner Bros. Discovery par Paramount, d’un montant de 110 milliards de dollars.