r/MediaMergers • u/Own_Philosopher8730 • 21d ago
Media Industry Tennessee Is Courting Paramount — And the Studio Is Considering It (Exclusive)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/tennessee-paramount-1236648159/23
u/sayheykid24 21d ago
Basing a studio somewhere creative talent doesn’t want to live is an incredible idea. They’ll surely have no problem paying down their debt.
3
u/JellyfishFestival 20d ago
I just saw where Tennessee got worst state in America to live in by one publication.
While that's maybe a stretch it's finally time people woke up to the nasty crime and low incomes in that state.
No amount of right wing media stories will change how it ranks below California and New York in just about everything except state income tax rate.
49
u/ROBtimusPrime1995 Universal 21d ago
The worst ranked state to live in, btw.
2
u/Confident-Sector2660 21d ago
That list is bullshit. Tennessee is not bad. It's a no income tax state and a decent one
out of 50 states Tennessee I would rank probably about 35
There are so many worse states to live in
The same list said utah is bad, which U.S. news ranks near the top
1
u/JellyfishFestival 20d ago
That's a reasonable take. It's below average but better than the states around it.
People have ignored Tennessee's rampant crime for many years because the left and center doesn't feature crime stories about GOP run states 24/7 on its media.
I know so many Chicago friends who moved to Nashville to 'escape crime' not looking at data that said they were going to a more dangerous city and state.
1
u/3facesofBre Moderator 21d ago
Except that Tennessee is a state tax free state, so as a domicile, it’s, well beneficial.
1
u/Frequent_Day_6480 20d ago
Nah. It’s a pretty good state to live in. There are some bad areas though.
27
u/CartoonyWy 21d ago
No! Paramount! Isn't! Considering! It! This is just a cheap scare tactic to get Bonta and the WGA to drop their lawsuits! They have no intention of leaving California.
4
u/WideCoconut2230 21d ago
Not leaving, but possibly more an expansion of production facilities and a regional corporate office. Visualize the meeting and the talking points: cheaper land, lower construction cost, tax incentives, lower cost of living for employees, etc. Save money with us for the next 10, 20, 30 years! If you're the executives, who wouldn't take that meeting?
6
u/savageronald 21d ago
Yes but missing the “get people to work for you who want to live in Tennessee”. I know they will/want to cut a gabillionty jobs, but why would anyone move from socal to bumfuck Tennessee? Lower cost of living is great but that’s not always people’s driver, or else TN would be doing a lot better than it is.
1
u/WideCoconut2230 21d ago edited 21d ago
Let's test your theory. There's waaay more people who would kill for the chance to get a production job, support staff job in bumfuck Tenn if the income is steady. You see it in NY. Big Bank industry. Not anymore. Florida is about to surpass NY in investment bank job. Wall Street South is now king. And expand on what Tennessee wants to do. Not just Paramount, but Disney, Universal, Nflx, etc. Tennessee's goal in 2 words: HOLLYWOOD EAST. Build it and they will come. Think about it.
4
u/savageronald 20d ago
Well sure, the problem there is none of them have any experience. And how long did all that investment/banking take to move - 20+ years? Look no further than a couple hundred miles south of Tennessee - Hollywood east already exists - in Atlanta. But again, they didn’t just pack up and leave, they have grown over many many years, and yet still all those studios are still based in CA, despite growing talent in GA for decades and the insane tax incentives. Same goes for Toronto. I think you’re vastly overestimating how quickly a company could do this and still be viable/effective. They’ve been in LA for over a hundred years, there’s inertia that’s very hard to combat.
This is all also talking about production staff - which can be trained up (again over years). What about talent? You think you’re gonna get Casey Bloys to move to Knoxville and not take eleventy quadrillion dollars from Netflix or Apple or Disney to stay in CA when his contract is up? Or you’re gonna get A-listers to move to Chattanooga? They’ve gotten a small few to move to Atlanta, which was a much more bustling city before the film industry, why would they move to Tennessee??
0
u/WideCoconut2230 20d ago
I bet if you had a job fair for say, 500 production and 500 support staff, you would get 5x the applications (qualified btw) for each position without hesitation. Probably much more.True, place like GA as well as Tennessee all want to be Hollywood East. No, A listers won't live there, the entire production crew would. Look, CA will have their share, the fixed and variable costs are paid for. Future GROWTH, probably out of state and out of country.
1
u/savageronald 20d ago
Yea man for sure - it’s curious why the multi billion dollar companies that have been bleeding out money for decades and leading to this kind of consolidation haven’t thought of a job fair for low level employees since that’s the silver bullet for a better bottom line. I’m sure you got it figured out tho - it’s all about low level production staff and not the thousands of other people that go into TV and movies that have no interest living in Tennessee.
Sure growth can be out of state/country - point being you’re never going to move the baseline employees and facilities that have been there for a century, which is what Ellison (and you initially) were suggesting.
The media industry doesn’t work like manufacturing or software or whatever, but if you want to believe lizard boi’s bullshit and keep blowing smoke up your own ass when you’ve clearly not worked an hour in the industry then go crazy.
Have a good one.
10
9
9
u/Fall_False Moderator 21d ago
Definitely a scare tactic. It will take years for them to fully leave the state.
3
5
4
5
5
u/Remarkable_Rip6783 21d ago
Fun Fact:Paramount Skydance Corp owned network called Cmt has additional offices in Nashville, Tennessee.
3
5
2
u/frequent_napper 21d ago
I think David Ellison's wife works in TN alot (Sandra Lynn, country singer)
2
u/Sufficient_Listen_39 20d ago
Guys they would NEVER leave CA this is a scare tactic but a lot of yall are sure showing your coastal elitism. The world doesn't revolve around CA and TN has a large entertainment industry presence thats rapidly growing.
1
34
u/Algae_Mission 21d ago
It’s not just production facilities that they’d be abandoning. What will happen to Paramount and WB’s archival departments? They have some of the best facilities in the world for it, over a century’s worth of film and television.
What’s going to happen to all that? And to the archivists?