Wwith sound stage With doors made to display elephants, the 100-year-old Paramount Pictures lot on Melrose Avenue is a living museum of the movie business. Now the studio is one of the first and last studios in the world still located in Central. Hollywood—is for sale. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, has been seeking a buyer for the faltering empire she inherited from her father, Sumner, who died in 2020. For six months, suitors have come and gone. On July 2, it was reported that David Ellison, a tech heir whose previous bid for Paramount was rejected in June, had struck a preliminary agreement to buy Ms. Redstone’s stake in the company.
The turbulent picture at Paramount reflects the state of Hollywood. show business An era of austerity has entered. Cinema has long suffered from Covid; domestic box-office revenues this year are projected to be 30% lower than in 2019. Cable subscriptions are falling faster than ever, with a record 2.4 million Americans canceling their payments.TV in the latest quarter.