Paramount Has Blacklist for Stars Deemed “Overtly Antisemitic”

It sure looks like the likes of Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Mark Ruffalo won’t be making movies for Paramount in the foreseeable future.

Under the newly appointed head honcho David Ellison, Paramount has made it clear that it won’t be business as usual in Hollywood any longer. They’re trying to reconfigure the landscape — and it’s already taking a toll.

A fascinating new report from Variety offers insight into what’s coming at Paramount. As you know, Paramount executives have been outspoken about their stance on the conflict in Gaza. This past September, the company became the first major Hollywood studio to publicly reject a high-profile letter — signed by stars including Stone and Bardem — that urged a cultural boycott of Israeli film institutions accused of engaging in “genocide and apartheid” against Palestinians. Warner Bros. later took the same position.

Sources tell Variety that it has gone as far as Paramount creating a sort of blacklist of talent the studio will not work with because they are deemed to be “overtly antisemitic,” as well as “xenophobic” and “homophobic.” Whether the boycott signatories are on that list is unclear — but who are we kidding here?

The pledge, organized by Film Workers for Palestine and published Monday, initially featured 1,200 signatories, including filmmakers and actors: Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Boots Riley, Adam McKay, Olivia Colman, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Harris Dickinson, Guy Pearce, Jonathan Glazer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, Elliot Page, Payal Kapadia, Joaquin Phoenix, and Rooney Mara.

Furthermore, Variety claims that Ellison’s goal is to turn Paramount into a MAGA-friendly environment, with content in the TV and movie divisions expected to be more “America-centric” and geared toward “the middle of the country.”

An odd coincidence? Peter Berg was recently tapped to direct one of Paramount’s most prized IPs — their “Call of Duty” movie, penned by Americana poet-laureate Taylor Sheridan.

Berg, who recently said on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “I think Trump’s doing some great things” — the type of sentiment that could land talent on a blacklist anywhere but Paramount. 

Ellison is reportedly aiming to take over Warner Bros. next. “We’re going after Warners,” Ellison told confidants even before the Paramount deal was approved. “I want to be in the top three, not the bottom three.”