In a move straight out of a Hollywood thriller, David Ellison has ignited what could become the most explosive proxy war the entertainment industry has ever seen. From a basement war room beneath the UBS building in Manhattan, Ellison is orchestrating a high-stakes bid to pry Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) out of Netflix’s hands — and the battle is already drawing blood.

Backed by Oracle founder and mega-billionaire Larry Ellison, the Paramount CEO is pitching a bold transformation of the legacy studio, and Wall Street is listening. Meetings with finance giants, threats of proxy fights, and lawsuits are all part of the arsenal. The target? WBD, which recently inked a deal to sell itself to Netflix — a move that sent shockwaves through Hollywood.

Paramount’s response was swift: a lawsuit filed Jan. 12 aimed at forcing transparency from WBD’s board, coupled with a threat to launch a proxy battle if the company refuses to engage. It’s corporate warfare, old-school style — and Ellison is betting big.

“This is an old-fashioned fight for a target,” says famed investor Mario Gabelli, who plans to tender nearly 90% of the WBD shares he manages to Paramount. “Why not?” he says. “It’s all part of the game.”

That “game,” however, has real stakes — and real costs. Disney’s 2024 battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz cost a combined $65 million. This one could go even higher, especially with Larry Ellison and RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale in the mix, facing off against Netflix and WBD’s board chair Samuel Di Piazza.

Add to that a possible wildcard: President Donald Trump. The former president has already weighed in publicly, suggesting CNN (a WBD asset) needs “new ownership” and signaling he would be “involved” in any regulatory review. Both Paramount and Netflix have reportedly hired Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to Trump’s White House, to get ahead of the political firestorm.

While Netflix could still counter with a higher or all-cash offer, Ellison is playing for keeps. A proxy fight would elevate the boardroom chess match into a very public slugfest. And with the clock ticking on WBD’s annual meeting, the window to act is narrowing fast.

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Ellison, clearly, believes this is his shot to reshape the entertainment landscape. And if WBD doesn’t respond? He’s ready to take the gloves off.

“This is the moment to act,” says Wharton’s Michael Useem. “If it’s not now, it’s going to never be.”

Buckle up — this is no ordinary deal. This is war.

The Hollywood Reporter