However the Ellisons try to spin their surprise decision to hold off closing the Paramount-Warner deal, possibly until June 2027, it sure looks like they recalibrated after months of projecting supreme confidence in their invincibility. (My partner Eriq Gardner will have a full analysis of their legal strategy in tomorrow’s edition of What I’m Hearing.) Most people in Hollywood still expect the deal to go through—eventually. I spoke to several industry figures and Warners insiders in the days immediately before and after Friday’s bombshell pause and, as some of them noted, Paramount could still settle with the state attorneys general and be ready to roll in a matter of weeks. This morning, David Ellison also projected assurance in a lengthy Paramount all-staff email. “Let me be clear: we remain highly confident that this transaction does not pose any legal issues, and we will complete it and bring these two companies together,” he wrote.