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Benjamin Mullin
David Ellison’s Hollywood career has been marked by blockbuster movies full of suspense, stunts and incredible plot twists. But he also faced his biggest cliffhanger yet when, after months of negotiations with Paramount and its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, he reached an agreement to merge with Paramount. If the deal goes through, he will be in charge of a sprawling media empire that includes CBS, MTV and the Paramount movie studio.
Although Ellison, 41, joined the ranks of Hollywood superstars more than a decade ago, he’s only now entering the spotlight. Here’s a look back at his career. Who is David Ellison? And what about his company, Skydance?
A quick look at Ellison’s page on the Internet Movie Database shows that his acting career was relatively unremarkable, with small roles in films like the fighter drama “The Chumscrubber” and the teen comedy “The Chumscrubber” (in which he played “Student One”). It wasn’t until he became a producer that his star in Hollywood began to rise.
After dropping out of USC and giving up his acting career, Ellison got into producing. The son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, his family has been a huge influence on him, helping him finance big-budget movies like Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Star Trek Into Darkness.
In the process, David Ellison’s company, Skydance Media, soared to a valuation of more than $4 billion after investments from private equity firms including RedBird Capital Partners and KKR. As CEO of Skydance, Ellison co-produced hits like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “G.I. Joe: Resurgence” with Paramount Pictures, giving him access to the company’s executives and its most valuable franchises.
Long before he made Top Gun: Maverick, Ellison was a risk-taker himself. In 2022, he told The New York Times that he had been flying planes since he was a teenager and participated in aerobatic shows in his 20s.
What is Ellison’s family’s connection to Hollywood?
Larry Ellison, who had a cameo in Iron Man 2, personally backed Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount Pictures and invested his wealth and technical expertise in the deal. David Ellison’s sister, Megan Ellison, is also a Hollywood fixture: In 2011, she founded Annapurna, which produced Her and American Hustle. Ellison’s wife, Sandra Lynn, is also in the entertainment business: She’s a country singer-songwriter, with songs like I Think of You and Somebody Kissed Me at a Bar. Neither Megan Ellison nor Sandra Lynn are on Skydance’s executive team.
What are David Ellison’s plans for Paramount?
While Ellison has not publicly outlined his plans for Paramount, he discussed them with a special committee of the company’s board of directors several months ago. He has discussed forming a U.S. streaming joint venture with another major entertainment company to tap into a general trend toward bundling, according to two people familiar with his proposal to Paramount’s board.
Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, is enthusiastic about other aspects of the Skydance deal, according to two people familiar with her thinking. She believes Ellison’s management team will bring technical and animation expertise to the combined company.
Ellison also pitched Paramount a plan to bolster the company’s streaming capabilities by improving its recommendation systems and striking more efficient deals with data providers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Skydance owns the rights to Paramount’s most successful TV shows and movies, including “Mission Impossible” and “Top Gun,” so a merger of the two companies would give the combined company more flexibility in managing franchises.
One key executive in talks with Skydance is former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, who joined Skydance backer RedBird Capital last year and will become Paramount’s president.
Does Skydance have connections with other Hollywood companies?
Although Skydance has a strong relationship with Paramount, it also makes films for other Hollywood studios. Skydance has a multi-year animated film production deal with Netflix and has worked with Amazon on films including The Tomorrow Fight and No Regrets.
Skydance has also recently entered the sports media business. Skydance Sports, a division launched in 2021, reached an agreement with the NFL in 2022 to form a production company to expand the influence of sports programming. Last year, the company produced “Air,” a film about the production of Nike’s Air Jordan brand. – The New York Times
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