Overview
- A magistrate judge ordered the two-day, in-person settlement conference after a Friday hearing and set the late-October dates to be filed by September 15.
- Paramount Skydance, a coalition of 12 state attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta, and the Writers Guild of America are required to attend the talks.
- The plaintiffs insist on structural remedies that would spin off assets while Paramount has offered behavioral promises such as pledges to release at least 30 movies with 45-day theatrical windows.
- Financial pressure is rising: a $7 million-per-day ticking fee begins on October 1 and Paramount has asked the court to require the states and WGA to post about a $1.88–$1.9 billion bond, with a bond hearing set for September 24.
- If talks fail the 12-day merits trial remains scheduled to start March 2, 2027 in Oakland and the case will proceed despite prior DOJ and some foreign approvals, with local job and production concerns keeping political and labor attention intense.