PARAMOUNT PREPARES TO LEAVE CALIFORNIA AFTER 100+ YEARS IN HOLLYWOOD Paramount Pictures is reportedly gearing up to exit California for good — and the fallout could reshape Hollywood as we know it. According to TMZ, Deadline, and multiple outlets, Paramount CEO David Ellison has notified L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’s office and California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office that the studio is preparing to relocate. The threat is tied to Paramount’s stalled $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been frozen since July after Bonta led a 12-state antitrust lawsuit to block it. Ellison’s ultimatum: reach a settlement by October 1, or Paramount begins moving its headquarters and operations to Texas, Tennessee, or Georgia — with Nashville reportedly the frontrunner thanks to the Ellison family’s ties there and Tennessee’s aggressive film incentives. Bonta isn’t backing down, calling the threat “blackmail.” An announcement expected this week didn’t materialize, so it’s still...