David Ellison Shows Off His New Throne at Paramount, With ‘Top Gun 3,’ ‘Star Trek’ and ‘World War Z’ Called Priorities

Growing up, David Ellison spent every Sunday going to the movies with his mother and his sister, Annapurna founder Megan Ellison. As an adult, he spent more than 15 years pursuing his wish to run a legacy Hollywood studio. Now, his dream has become reality and all eyes are on the young mogul to see if he can right a movie studio that has been all but run into the ground.

On Wednesday, Ellison, the ambitious and introspective son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison showed off his new throne — metaphorically speaking — when hosting a meet-and-greet for journalists on the storied Melrose Lot in Hollywood, home of the newly minted Paramount-Skydance. The gathering of he and his C-suite followed a similar event in New York held Aug. 7, the day the $8 billion merger officially closed. The L.A. presser focused more on the movie and TV side, which includes CBS, its cable channels and Paramount+.

At the event, Ellison called Top Gun 3, the sequel to the $1.5 billion grosser Top Gun: Maverick, a top priority at the studio, and said he would be in the Tom Cruise business as long as the A-list star — with whom he has made ten films in Ellison’s former life at Skydance — wanted to tell stories with him.

“One of our biggest priorities is restoring Paramount as the No. 1 destination for the most talented artists and filmmakers in the world,” Ellison said. “Great filmmakers make great movies.”

Ellison, who said he intends to make movies exclusively for theaters, now has full control over a number of film franchises he already worked on at Skydance. Many of them have been dormant on the big screen for years (Star Trek, G.I. Joe) or have had trouble finding their footing in recent years (Terminator, Transformers).

Co-film chief Josh Greenstein said these franchises would be a priority, noting the company hopes to release 15 films a year, and then up that to 20. He name checked Star Trek and Transformers, with a surprise being World War Z, the 2013 Brad Pitt zombie feature. He also indicated an interest in both horror (Paramount is home to A Quiet Place and Smile) as well as R-rated comedies. But he noted that originals were also a priority, pointing to the first greenlight under the new regime, the Timothée Chalamet, James Mangold project High Side.

Star Trek, which has not been in theaters since 2016, has largely been overseen by Alex Kurtzman with a lengthy list of Paramount+ series. Execs said that Trek would be looked at holistically rather than siloed off between different parts of the company, such as film and TV. “We’re going to make sure those conversations are happening together so that we can do what’s best for the brand as a whole,” said film co-chief Dana Goldberg.

On the Paramount+ side, Ellison acknowledged the uber importance of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan for the health of the streaming service. “He is literally a singular genius with a perfect track record,” said Ellison. “If we can make this his home as long as he wants to tell stories, we want to do that.”

Newy tapped Paramount+ chief and former Netflix exec Cindy Holland — speaking publicly for the first time about her intentions — didn’t mince words when later backing up Ellison’s focus on making films for theatrical, versus the small screen, since they have different roles. “Streaming movies are not a priority for me,” said Holland, who played a key role in Netflix’s ascent to power when serving as EVP of scripted at Netflix, bringing in such marquee series as The Crown and Orange is the New Black, among other projects.

“We want to entertain all audiences around the world on Paramount+,” said Holland. And for that to happen, the menu of content has to be expanded beyond current options. “We’re seeking to expand that and make sure that we’re offering programming for everybody, not just occasionally and not just for the one thing they want to come back for.”

When asked if Ellison would give her the content budget she needs, she respondedwith a quick yes.

Ellison arrives at Paramount well-prepared in terms of using his creative acumen and C-suite in trying to right Paramount, which had been under the control of the Sumner Redstone family for more than three decades. Instead of choosing outsiders, he’s relying on Hollywood veterans who have, between them, worked at almost every major studio.

Former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is president of Paramount-Skydance and Ellison’s top lieutenant, while Andy Gordon is COO of the conglomerate. Gordon comes from RedBird Capital, which provided financial capital for the merger. RedBird has also most recently employed Shell.

George Cheeks, who has also been leading the CBS business, will remain with the company as chair of TV media, adding oversight of the company’s cable TV channels. All three execs were also on hand for Wednesday’s press event, which followed an employee-only town hall.

Ellison’s longtime confidante and Skydance chief content officer Goldberg has been tapped alongside former Sony Pictures exec Greenstein to lead the new Paramount Pictures studio as co-chairs (they each have additional duties as well). In addition to franchises and original films, Goldberg said Paramount intends to focus on family films, citing movies like Goonies and The Night at the Museum franchise as north stars. “We’re going to run towards those movies,” she said.

Holland, Greenstein and Goldberg were not at the New York press event, so Wednesday provided the first chance to hear from them. For Greenstein, it’s a homecoming. Prior to Sony, he ran marketing and distribution at Paramount, where Ellison’s Skydance had a co-producing and co-financing deal. He, Ellison and Goldberg formed a close friendship that endured.

Ellison fielded a number of other topics, batting away speculation that he was interested in acquiring TikTok and declining to discuss specifics on new voices he might like to bring into CBS News. He also noted that he intended to hold onto BET, after speculation that the previous Paramount regime flirted with selling.

As he has reiterated repeatedly, Ellison emphasized that technological efficiencies will help Paramount prevail in the years to come.

“Legacy media kind of swam out to the middle of the lake, but wasn’t exactly sure how to get to the other side. Some people wanted to go back and burn the boats,” Ellison said, adding that he intended to “get to the other side of the lake.”