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 wi ...

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, and his ex-wife, Barbara Boothe Ellison. His father is of Italian 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 , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. 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 Hust ...

, 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, 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 ener ...

, World War Z,

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

, Jack Reacher,

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 t ...

, Star Trek Beyond'' 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 r ...

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'', 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 f ...

''. 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.

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 glide ...

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 ...

, 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 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 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 lan ...

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'' (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 (''Vu ...

'' (2018–present) * '' Altered Carbon'' (2018−19) * '' Jack Ryan'' (2018−present) * '' Foundation'' (2021–present) * '' Reacher'' (2022–present) * '' Good Rivals'' (2022) * ''The Checkup with Dr. David Agus'' (2022) * '' The Big Door Prize'' (2023) * '' FUBAR'' (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