Trey Parker and Matt Stone Nearing Settlement, ‘South Park’ Contract Extension with Paramount
According to entertainment industry insiders, Paramount is preparing a payout and contract extension with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone just days after the duo hired a notoriously aggressive litigator in preparation for a massive streaming war against their parent company.
In the last three weeks, Parker and Stone have been waging an unprecedented PR battle against Paramount as the pair of creators near the end of their current contract with the media giant that is inching toward a multi-billion-dollar acquisition by David Ellison’s company Skydance Media. After Paramount postponed the premiere of South Park Season 27 without warning, Parker and Stone blamed Paramount’s “shit show merger” for the delay on the official South Park Twitter page. Then, Parker and Stone’s lawyers publicly accused Skydance of illegally meddling in their contract negotiations with other streamers, setting the stage for another high-profile and embarrassing lawsuit for Paramount and its prospective new owners.
But today, Hollywood insider and Puck founder Matthew Belloni reported that Paramount is working on a settlement agreement with their most scorned and profitable partners, and the media monolith that is already drowning in bad publicity is also preparing an extension offer on their overall deal which will satisfy Parker and Stone’s sizable demands.
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They didn’t even need to use the Chewbacca Defense.
The public acrimony that has embarrassed a constantly humiliated Paramount began late last month when the company failed to secure an extension deal with the South Park creators before the June 23rd deadline. According to the terms of the current contract, Parker, Stone and their shared production company Park County were then allowed to start shopping the show’s highly sought-after streaming rights, valued at over $200 million annually, to other power players, a process which Skydance allegedly (and illegally) impeded.
In an open letter sent by Park County’s legal team to Skydance and the prospective new Paramount head Jeff Shell, Park County accused Skydance of interfering in their negotiations with Netflix and pressuring other streamers to drastically reduce their contract offers to Parker and Stone in an attempt to drive down the price on South Park. After Parker and Stone hired high-powered Hollywood litigator Bryan Freedman this past week, all signs pointed to another expensive and embarrassing legal battle for Paramount, which had just paid a $16 million definitely-not-bribe to President Donald Trump to end his laughable lawsuit against 60 Minutes.
Insiders had previously reported that Ellison, who has the power to veto any contract offer made by Paramount while his company waits for Trump’s FCC to approve the merger, was unconvinced of South Park’s immense asking price during original extension talks, as Parker and Stone were reportedly expecting a 10-year, $3-billion overall deal that would have included the streaming rights to their back catalog as well as all new South Park content for the next decade. Ellison’s offer was allegedly closer to $750 million over five years, causing the creators to take their business elsewhere.
Presumably, the terms of Paramount and Ellison’s new offer is much closer Parker and Stone’s original acting price if the pair are ready to put away their knives and drop the lawsuit. South Park fans will undoubtedly be excited to see just how badly Parker and Stone have their soon-to-be boss over the barrel.
