Actor George Clooney questioned the financial viability of a pending merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. during the Venice Film Festival, where he received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. "I don't know how this goes through. There's so many issues involved," Clooney said at a press conference. "It doesn't matter how much money you have, it's going to be very tricky to do."
Clooney said the primary concern was whether the combined company would be financially sound. "I don't see how it financially ends up making sense for the people who are trying to do it," he said. He characterized consolidation in the industry as troubling because it typically leads to job losses.
Clooney also predicted that artificial intelligence would displace workers across Hollywood. "AI is going to be a very big part of this industry. It's going to hurt us in a lot of ways," he said. "If you're a visual effects supervisor, you're going to have trouble coming up because a lot of jobs are going to be taken away."
He described the industry as unprepared for the technological shift. "We're kind of on our back foot on taking the lead on it. People are just now starting to," Clooney said. "So it's going to be a complicated time in our industry. So we're going to have to find ways to survive."
