David Ellison
American media executive (born 1983)
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David Ferris Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American film producer, media proprietor, and former actor serving as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paramount Skydance since August 2025. He founded the film and television production company Skydance Media in 2006 and later merged it with the media company Paramount Global, forming Paramount Skydance in 2025. He is the son of Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison.
- Film producer
- media proprietor
- actor
David Ellison | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 9, 1983 |
| Education | University of Southern California (no degree) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Title | Chairman & CEO, Paramount Skydance Corporation (2025–present) Founder of Skydance Media |
| Spouse |
Sandra Lynn Modic (m. 2011) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Family | Megan Ellison (sister) |
Ellison founded Skydance and served as its CEO from 2006 till 2025, and produced the films Terminator Genisys (2015), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), Life (2017), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), with the latter nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
In 2025, under Ellison's leadership, Skydance acquired the media company Paramount Global. An ally of President Donald Trump, Ellison appointed right-wing political commentator Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News and acquired her newsletter The Free Press after the second Trump administration approved the merger of Skydance and Paramount Global in 2025.[1] Shortly after the completion of the merger of Paramount and Skydance, Ellison began pursuing the media company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which later signed a merger agreement with Netflix. After Ellison raised Paramount's offer for WBD, Netflix exited the process and the two signed a definitive merger agreement shortly after. Ellison will remain Chairman and CEO of the combined company.
Early life and education
Ellison was born on January 9, 1983, in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of billionaire Oracle Corporation co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison and his third wife, Barbara Boothe Ellison. His father is of Italian and Jewish heritage.[2] Ellison grew up in Woodside, California, with his mother, who nurtured his love for film.[3] He attended Pepperdine University and the University of Southern California, but dropped out of its film school in 2005 to fund a movie with his family's money, Flyboys, a box-office bomb.[4][5] Ellison was influenced by businessman Steve Jobs, a friend of his father, and pitched Jobs his idea for Skydance Media before revising it under Jobs' advice.[3] He has one sister, film producer Megan Ellison, who founded Annapurna Pictures.[2]
Larry Ellison was not a day-to-day presence in David Ellison's early life.[6]
Career
Ellison's career started in acting. His father Larry heavily financed his first major film as an actor, “Flyboys”.[6] It was widely considered a failure.[6] Ellison also acted in Little Fish, Strange Pond, and Hole in One before giving up his acting ambitions and going into the business side of the entertainment industry.[6]
Skydance Media, LLC
Larry provided substantial investment into David's media company Skydance Media.[6] The company's films include Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Annihilation, World War Z, True Grit, Jack Reacher, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond. Ellison was named to Variety's Dealmaker list for 2010[7] and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2011.[8] Ellison was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Top Gun: Maverick. Ellison's company Skydance Media expanded in 2013 with the launch of its television division. He has executive-produced shows such as Altered Carbon and Grace and Frankie. In 2014, Ellison launched a new line of men's clothing called the "LANAI Collection."[9] In 2017, Ellison helped launch Skydance Animation in partnership with Spain's Ilion Animation Studios. In 2019, Ellison hired the former Pixar CCO John Lasseter to run Skydance Animation.[10]
Paramount Skydance Corporation
In January 2024, it was reported that Ellison was interested in merging Skydance Media with Paramount Global and buying the latter's parent company National Amusements from Shari Redstone.[11] The merger received approval from the FCC under the second Donald Trump administration in July of 2025. The merger was completed by August 7, 2025, and Paramount Skydance Corporation was formed. Ellison serves as Chairman and CEO of the merged company.[12] Following the merger, Ellison made changes at CBS News which Le Monde called "conservative-friendly".[1][6] He appointed Bari Weiss as its editor-in-chief.[1] Shortly in her tenure, Weiss controversially held a 60 Minutes story on the Trump administration's deportations to Venezuela from being aired on CBS.[6]
Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery
In September 2025, shortly after the formation of Paramount Skydance, it was reported that Ellison had started preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Following an auction process, WBD entered into a merger agreement with Netflix. Ellison sought to hinder the merger of Netflix and WBD by launching a hostile takeover bid. The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2025 that Ellison had given assurances to President Donald Trump that if Paramount were to buy WBD, he would make major changes to CNN, a media organisation that Trump has frequently criticized.[13] Ellison worked with three sovereign wealth funds owned by Middle-Eastern governments, as well as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, to finance his competing bid for WBD.[13] Defying historical precedent of non-involvement in mergers, Donald Trump personally involved himself in the merger evaluation.[14] In February 2026, after Ellison raised his bid for the company, WBD concluded that it was a superior proposal to the Netflix deal. Netflix declined to raise its bid for the company and Paramount and WBD signed a definitive merger agreement shortly after. Ellison will continue his tenure as Chairman and CEO of the combined company.
Personal life
He married Sandra Lynn Modic, an actress and singer, on October 1, 2011, in Palm Springs, California.[15] They have two children.[16] [citation needed]
Ellison is a licensed pilot with instrument ratings for helicopter aviation, aerobatics, commercial aviation, fixed-wing aircraft, and multi-engine aircraft. In 2003, aged 20, he was selected to perform as part of Sean D. Tucker's "Stars of Tomorrow" aerobatic team at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.[17]
Ellison and his father are close associates of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[6] His father's first wife has described Larry as "an ardent Zionist" and he hosted the prime minister on his Hawaiian island in 2021. Ellison once joined his father on a trip to Israel, posting a photo to Instagram from a dinner with the prime minister that he was "very grateful for everything he has done and continues to do for the nation of Israel." After the October 7th attacks, Ellison declared that "Skydance stands with Israel."[18]
Ellison is a member of the Producers Guild of America and Television Academy.[19]
Ellison has been described as an ally of Donald Trump.[1] Ellison has made several editorial changes to CBS News following Skydance's acquisition of Paramount, such as hiring conservative political commentator Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of the network. It is also said that he has proposed to Trump that he would make similar changes to CNN, after Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Trump has also boasted about his friendship with David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison.[14]
Filmography
Film
Executive producer
- Flyboys (2006)
- True Grit (2010)
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
- The Guilt Trip (2012)
- Jack Reacher (2012)
- G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
- Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
- World War Z (2013)
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
- Star Trek Beyond (2016)
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
- Baywatch (2017)
- Annihilation (2018)
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
- Without Remorse (2021)
- Snake Eyes (2021)
- Blush (2021)
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Producer
- Terminator Genisys (2015)
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
- Life (2017)
- Geostorm (2017)
- Gemini Man (2019)
- Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
- 6 Underground (2019)
- The Old Guard (2020)
- The Tomorrow War (2021)
- The Adam Project (2022)
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
- Luck (2022)
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
- Air (2023)
- Ghosted (2023)
- Kelce (2023)
- Heart of Stone (2023)
- Spy Kids: Armageddon (2023)
- Spellbound (2024)
- The Gorge (2025)
- The Old Guard 2 (2025)
- Fountain of Youth (2025)
- The Family Plan 2 (2025)
- They Will Kill You (2026)
- Swapped (2026)
- Mayday (2026)
- Matchbox: The Movie (2026)
- Way of the Warrior Kid (2026)
- Ray Gunn (2026)
- Untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project (TBA)
- Untitled Skydance Animation/Don Hall project (TBA)
- Actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Chumscrubber | Student #1 | |
| When All Else Fails | Mike Williams | Short film | |
| 2006 | Flyboys | Eddie Beagle | |
| 2009 | Hole in One | Tyler Hayden | |
| Little Fish, Strange Pond | Romeo | Direct-to-video |
- Director
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | When All Else Fails | Short film |
- Writer
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | When All Else Fails | Short film |
- Thanks
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Phantom | Special thanks |
Television
- Executive producer
- Manhattan (2014−15)
- Ten Days in the Valley (2017)
- Grace and Frankie (2015−18)
- Dietland (2018)
- Condor (2018–2020)
- Altered Carbon (2018−19)
- Jack Ryan (2018−2023)
- Foundation (2021–present)
- Reacher (2022–present)
- Good Rivals (2022)
- The Checkup with Dr. David Agus (2022)
- The Big Door Prize (2023)
- FUBAR (2023)
- WondLa (2024)
- One Night in Idaho: The College Murders (2025)
- Terminator Zero (2024)
- Neuromancer (TBA)
- Ride or Die (TBA)[20]
- Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Blank Slate | Blake Feltzer | Television film |
| 2010 | Leverage | Ballard |