THE LONG-RUNNING corporate dramedy(戏剧喜剧混合体) over Paramount Skydance’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery has entered a new act(进入新阶段（戏剧比喻）). On July 13th Rob Bonta (pictured), California’s top prosecutor, announced that a coalition of 12 attorneys-general(总检察长（复数）) would sue to halt the studios’ megadeal(巨额交易). At a press conference in front of the Hollywood sign, he argued that the $111bn merger was illegal and insinuated(暗示（负面）) that David Ellison, Paramount’s boss, was acting like a mafia don(黑手党头目（《教父》梗）). “David Ellison may think this is an offer we can’t refuse,” said Mr Bonta. “But I am here to say he’s wrong.”
关于派拉蒙天空之舞与华纳兄弟探索合并的长期企业闹剧进入了新篇章。7月13日，加州最高检察官罗伯·邦塔（如图）宣布，由12位总检察长组成的联盟将起诉以阻止这两家制片厂的巨额交易。在好莱坞标志前的新闻发布会上，他辩称这桩1110亿美元的合并是非法的，并暗示派拉蒙老板大卫·埃里森的行为像黑手党头目。“大卫·埃里森可能认为这是一个我们不能拒绝的提议，”邦塔先生说，“但我在这里要说，他错了。”
Paramount claims that its merger with Warner Bros would allow it to compete with streamers(流媒体公司), such as Netflix, which have been eating the studios’ lunch(抢走生意（习语）). But instead of considering this broader competition, the states focused on legacy markets(传统市场) in which they say the merger would reduce competition. The complaint, filed in federal court in California, alleges that the deal would give the combined company greater leverage over cinemas and cable distributors, allowing it to extract more favourable terms that could ultimately lead to higher ticket prices and cable bills.(诉状指控交易将导致票价和有线电视费上涨)
派拉蒙声称，与华纳兄弟的合并将使其能够与Netflix等流媒体公司竞争，这些公司一直在抢走制片厂的生意。但各州并未考虑这种更广泛的竞争，而是聚焦于传统市场，称合并会减少竞争。在加州联邦法院提起的诉状指控，该交易将赋予合并后的公司对影院和有线电视分销商更大的影响力，使其能够争取更有利的条款，最终可能导致票价和有线电视费用上涨。
The legal merits(实质内容（法律）) will be considered in court, but the lawsuit is part of a bigger saga(长篇故事；一连串事件), too. Antitrust enforcement has long been characterised by bipartisan(两党合作的) co-operation. However it is an increasingly political endeavour(努力；尝试), on the local and national level.
法律事实将由法庭审理，但这起诉讼也是一出更大闹剧的一部分。长期以来，反垄断执法以两党合作为特征。然而，在地方和国家层面，它正日益成为一项政治活动。