David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and actor best known as the founder and CEO of

Skydance Media Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions) is an American production company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with ...

Early life and education

David Ellison was born in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of billionaire

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

co-founder and chairman

Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor who is the co-founder, executive chairman, chief technology officer (CTO) and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the American computer technology ...

, and his ex-wife, Barbara Boothe Ellison. His father is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

heritage.Matthew Symonds, Larry Ellison. ''Software: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle'' Simon and Schuster, 2004. pp332-333 David attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He has one sister, film producer

Megan Ellison Margaret Elizabeth Ellison (born January 31, 1986) is an American film producer and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Annapurna Pictures, established in 2011. She produced the films ''Zero Dark Thirty'' (2012), '' Her'' (2013), '' American Hu ...

, who founded

Annapurna Pictures Annapurna Pictures is an independent American media company founded by Megan Ellison in 2011, that specializes in film production, live theatre production, television through its Annapurna Television division, and video game publishing through i ...

Career

Ellison is the CEO and founder of

. In 2010, with his father then the sixth richest person in the world, and a partnership deal with

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

, Skydance was able to raise $350 million in equity and credit to co-finance and co-produce movies. The company's films include '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout,

Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy a ...

World War Z ''World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War'' is a 2006 zombie apocalyptic horror novel written by American author Max Brooks. The novel is broken into eight chapters: “Warnings”, “Blame”, “The Great Panic”, “Turning the Ti ...

True Grit True Grit may refer to: Fiction * ''True Grit'' (novel), a 1968 novel by Charles Portis ** ''True Grit'' (1969 film), a film adaptation by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne ** ''True Grit'' (2010 film), a film adaptation by the Coen Brothers, ...

Jack Reacher Jack Reacher is the protagonist of a series of crime thriller novels by British author Lee Child. In the stories, Jack Reacher was a major in the US Army's military police. Having left the Army at age 36, Reacher roams the United States, t ...

Star Trek Into Darkness ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. It is the 12th installment in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and the sequel to the 2 ...

Star Trek Beyond ''Star Trek Beyond'' is a 2016 American science fiction action film directed by Justin Lin, written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, and based on the television series ''Star Trek'' created by Gene Roddenberry. It is the 13th film in the ''Star Tr ...

'' and many more. With the 2010 transaction, Ellison was named to ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Dealmaker list for 2010 and the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

30 Under 30 list in 2011. As an actor, Ellison has performed in the films '' Flyboys'', ''

Little Fish, Strange Pond ''Little Fish, Strange Pond'' (alternate titled as ''Frenemy'') is a 2009 direct-to-DVD independent black comedy drama film directed by Gregory Dark and written by Robert Dean Klein. Cast *Matthew Modine as Mr. Jack *Callum Blue as Sweet Stephen ...

'' and ''

Hole in One In golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one (also known as an ace, mostly in American English) occurs when a ball hit from a tee to start a hole finishes in the cup. A ball hit from a tee following a lost ball, out-of-bounds, or water hazard is not a ho ...

''. Ellison's company

expanded in 2013 with the launch of its television division. He has executive produced shows such as ''

Altered Carbon ''Altered Carbon'' is a 2002 cyberpunk novel by the English writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel and relative immortality is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows t ...

'', and ''

Grace and Frankie ''Grace and Frankie'' is an American comedy television series created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris for Netflix. The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the eponymous Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein, two aging women who form ...

''. In 2014, Ellison launched a new line of men's clothing, called the "LANAI Collection." In 2017, Ellison helped launch Skydance Animation in partnership with Spain's Ilion Animation Studios. In 2018, he announced that

had partnered with

Tencent Holdings Limited Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...

Personal life

Ellison is a licensed pilot with instrument ratings for helicopter aviation,

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

, fixed-wing aircraft, and multi-engine aircraft. In 2003, aged 20, he was selected to perform as part of

Sean D. Tucker Sean Doherty Tucker (born April 27, 1952) is an American world champion aerobatic aviator. He was previously sponsored by the Oracle Corporation for many years, performing in air shows worldwide as "Team Oracle". Tucker has won numerous air show ...

's "Stars of Tomorrow" aerobatic team at

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin ...

.EAA News
; accessed October 26, 2015. Ellison is a member of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

and Television Academy. He married Sandra Lynn Modic, an actress and singer, on October 1, 2011 in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

Filmography

Film

;Actor ;Director ;Writer ;Thanks

Television

;Executive producer * ''

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

'' (2014−15) * ''

Ten Days in the Valley ''Ten Days in the Valley'' is an American drama television series that aired on ABC from October 1, 2017, through January 6, 2018. The series, starring Kyra Sedgwick, was ordered direct-to-series on August 4, 2016. After airing four episodes, ABC ...

'' (2017) * ''

'' (2015−18) * ''

Dietland ''Dietland'' is the debut novel by Sarai Walker that was first published on May 26, 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The novel explores the beauty industry and society's obsession with weight loss. A television adaptation of the novel by M ...

'' (2018) * ''

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

'' (2018–present) * ''

'' (2018−19) * '' Jack Ryan'' (2018−present) * ''

Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

'' (2021–present) * '' Reacher'' (2022–present) * ''

Good Rivals ''Good Rivals'' (originally titled as ''Good Neighbors'') is a three-part sports docuseries exploring the unique and Mexico–United States soccer rivalry, intense rivalry between the Mexico national football team, Mexico and United States men's ...

'' (2022) * ''The Checkup with Dr. David Agus'' (2022) * ''

The Big Door Prize ''The Big Door Prize'' is an American comedy television series based on the book of the same name by M.O. Walsh that premiered on Apple TV+ on March 29, 2023. In April 2023, the series was renewed for a second season. The second season is schedu ...

'' (2023) * ''

FUBAR Military slang is a colloquial language used by and associated with members of various military forces. This page lists slang words or phrases that originate with military forces, are used exclusively by military personnel or are strongly associat ...

'' (2023) * ''Ring Shout'' (TBA) * ''Cross'' (TBA) * ''Hotel del Luna'' (TBA) ;Actor

References

External links

*
David Ellison Work Summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, David 1983 births Living people American male film actors American film producers American aviators American people of Italian descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Film producers from California People from Santa Clara County, California University of Southern California people Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni Commercial aviators Skydance Media people