When David Ellison’s Skydance made a play for Paramount last fall it was how and when (not if) Shari Redstone would tie the knot. Paramount and Skydance worked together. He valued the studio and its crown jewel of a backlot and planned to keep the company together. He was offering her a nice bundle of cash for her stake in National Amusements.

They talked, and talked, and talked. Potential suitor Warner Bros Discovery faded away, as did Byron Allen, who made an actual offer for the company. Par and Skydance entered an exclusive negotiating period for the month of April. When the lock-up ended with no deal, doubt crept in. Sony jumped into the mix. Yet the two sides continued talking intensely up through this past weekend.

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But Redstone, whose family holding NAI controls about 80% of Paramount, always had the last word, and the last word was no. She waved goodbye as National Amusements noted that the two sides were unable to find “mutually acceptable terms.” The stock dipped today on the news.

There are a number of reasons why things collapsed, depending on who’s talking. Deadline hears that all of the deal’s economic terms were set but other issues were not, like seeking consent for the deal from a “majority of the minority” of shareholders not named Redstone. Redstone wanted to, Ellison, not surprising, did not.

“I wouldn’t have done it either if I were him,” said one Wall Streeter. “They probably would have voted no.”

Deadline hears that Paramount may have found Skydance financials lacking and its valuation high. The deal called for Skydance to pay Redstone $2.25 billion outright for NAI and then merge with Paramount in a deal that valued Skydance at $4.75 billion.

Another big deal point: We hear that both sides couldn’t agree on how Skydance would operate the company through the regulatory process.

There’s been speculation that it’s hard for Redstone to relinquish mogul status; or her family company; or that she wanted more for her stake; or that maybe she just didn’t like Ellison, although there was a sense that they were somewhat simpatico at first. Going forward, Skydance doesn’t have any kind of slate financing deal in place on the Melrose lot, however he had dibs to step and co-finance such feature IP as the Mission: Impossible, Top Gun and Star Trek movies.