Valley filmmaker was on the Paramount lot when ‘Saudiwood’ flew over, then California settled

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) - Graham Bennett was working on the Paramount lot last week when a plane towed a banner over the studio: "Welcome to Saudiwood, David!"

Five days later, California and 11 other states settled their lawsuit against Paramount Skydance, clearing the way for its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. On Tuesday, protesters outside the same lot chanted "shame" at Attorney General Rob Bonta, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Bennett, a camera assistant and director who moved to the valley at 15, says the deal makes his job harder.

"You learn very early on in filmmaking that you're going to get a lot of nos," he told News Channel 3. "But if there are less people to say no, and no means a lot more. It's all around consolidation, confinement. It's limiting."

Bonta sued in July, arguing the merger would give one company nearly a third of U.S. theatrical releases. In August, he told CNN a promise to make a set number of movies was "a way to behave," not a fix. The settlement filed Monday is built on that promise: at least 30 films a year in theaters, rising to 32, four of them independent, with a $30 million penalty for each one it misses. Paramount must spend $300 million more a year on U.S. production, keep both studio lots open and put $5 million a year into a fund for buying independent films. Nothing has to be sold up front. Bonta said the deal is "not a vote of support for this merger" and that he still doesn't think the companies should merge.

Paramount had threatened to move to Texas or Tennessee if the case dragged on. Bonta called it "blackmail." Bennett didn't buy it.

"There's a lot of infrastructure there, and it will cost millions of dollars to move all of that," he said. "I think it was just a way of pressuring the attorney general into getting what they want."

The banner refers to the money behind the deal. Sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are putting in about $24 billion, according to SEC filings cited by The Hollywood Reporter. On Sept. 17, the FCC approved letting foreign investors hold 49.5% of the merged company's equity. The shares carry no vote.

Bennett says the $5 million indie fund "is enough for two films." He pointed to "Obsession," a horror movie made for about $750,000 that became one of the year's biggest hits. The fund is "more of a crowd pleaser than something that will actually change anything," he said. "And the crowds aren't even pleased."

The deal puts CBS News and CNN under one owner, with a board of journalists, picked by Paramount's own directors, meant to keep them independent.

"It's hard to talk about the Ellisons without talking about their connections with Trump," Bennett said. "How separate can you be if you're owned by the same person?"

Connecticut's attorney general told NPR he wanted CNN and CBS News sold off and was "deeply disappointed." The Writers Guild settled its own suit Monday and said it still believes the merger will hurt writers. Paramount CEO David Ellison told employees the company expects to close in about two weeks, CNBC reported. A federal judge still has to approve the settlement. Paramount can ask to loosen the terms after two years.

Bennett sat on the Palm Springs ShortFest youth jury at 16 and now works at Festival Theaters on Tahquitz Canyon Way, where he says small films play that no one else in the valley shows.

His advice for a kid here who wants to make movies.

"Do it. It's hard, but great things don't come from easy experiences. Tell your stories, and people will want to watch them."