MGM
David Ellison tried to be an actor before becoming a producer
The merger between iconic Hollywood studios Warner Bros. and Paramount has officially closed, forming the new conglomerate Skydance Media. The $110 billion deal is an apparent culmination of billionaire David Ellison’s desire to be a Hollywood star.
David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, the sixth-richest person in the world and the founder of Oracle Corporation. In 2006, his son David — with his Daddy’s money — founded Skydance Productions. Its first film was the James Franco WWI bomb Flyboys, which coincidentally co-starred David Ellison.
Skydance Media boss David Ellison’s Hollywood career began by trying to become an actor, producing and starring in the James Franco bomb Flyboys
Flyboys was both a critical and commercial bomb, and grossed just $17 million against its $60 million budget. Ellison had just two more acting roles after that in films even less relevant than Flyboys (which, at least, contributes to a funny gag in This Is The End): 2009’s Hole in One and the direct-to-video movie Little Fish, Strange Pond.
In 2010, Ellison again tried to bankroll a movie for himself to star in. He wrote a script for “Northern Lights,” and almost signed Taylor Lautner to co-star (for $7.5 million!) but then Lautner backed out when he found out Ellison was trying to co-star hahahah https://t.co/8v38BCFR8j
— Sean Morrow (@snmrrw) October 6, 2026
In the roughly 20 years since trying and failing to become an actor, Ellison worked as head of Skydance and oversaw films such as Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Annihilation, World War Z, True Grit, Jack Reacher, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond.
Now, the close associate of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu runs Warner Bros., Paramount, and dozens of its subsidiaries, including news outlets such as CBS and CNN.
All told, Skydance — and therefore the Ellisons — now owns companies and brands such as: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Music, Warner Bros., CBS (and all of its local affiliates), CBS Sports, BET, Nickelodeon, MTV, Showtime, HBO, DC Studios, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, HGTV, TNT, TBS, Food Network, Paramount+, HBO Max, New Line Cinema, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Mission: Impossible, and many, many more.
Skydance Media didn’t take long to start closing deals following the finalization of the merger, as reports indicate that Steven Spielberg has been brought on board as the producer of a new Transformers movie set to be directed by Michael Bay.