Undeterred, Ellison stayed in the game. In 2010, he founded his production company, Skydance Media. He continued to act, appearing in a number of small roles, such as the best friend of a college golfer in the comedy "Hole in One."

After "Twilight" star Taylor Lautner dropped out of Ellison's movie "Northern Lights," a film that he co-wrote and planned to co-star in, he abandoned acting.

"When that movie didn't come together, it was a turning point," Ellison told The Times in 2011. "Everything I've done has helped me to realize producing is all that I want to do."

Around town, however, the episode bolstered the idea that Ellison was just a rich kid with what Hollywood likes to call dumb money.

While he had money, Ellison wasn't dumb.

In addition to wealth, Larry Ellison provided his son with a cadre of his influential and powerful friends who made important introductions and advised him on the finer points of deal-making and negotiating.

Along with Jim Berg, who also sits on Oracle's board, David Geffen became an early guide. Entertainment lawyer Skip Brittenham helped set up Skydance's business plan.

But it was his father's close friend, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who also built Animation Studios, that had a profound influence on Ellison.

Jobs offered to listen to hear Ellison's pitch for Skydance, but he was skeptical.

" 'I want you to come back up here and talk about how you guys are going to aspire to make movies and tell stories better than anybody else, because that's what we did at Pixar,' " Ellison told the "Sway" podcast, noting, "It very much changed the trajectory of the company."

In 2010, Skydance raised $350 million to co-finance movies with Paramount Pictures. Ellison's father put up a portion of the company's $150-million equity and JPMorgan Chase & Co. provided a $200-million credit line. Last year, the company closed a five-year, $1-billion credit led by JPMorgan.

Skydance's current stakeholders include the Ellison family, private equity firms RedBird Capital Partners and KKR and Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings.

The funds gave Ellison a venture in a slate of the studio's big-budget, triple-A titles such as "Mission: Impossible," "World War Z," "Star Trek" and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation."

Hitting it big with 'Mission: Impossible'

Ellison got a taste of success right out of the gate. The first film released as part of the arrangement was "True Grit," the Coen brothers' western. Made for $38 million, it went on to gross more than $252 million globally while garnering 10 Oscar nominations, including a nod for best picture.

In 2011 came the release of "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," which has grossed nearly $700 million, launching a slate of profitable popcorn fare. Ellison also married Sandra Lynn Modic, an actress he met on the set of "Hole in One."

Despite his youth and relative inexperience, Ellison impressed those around him. "He was a very young person, but he was wise beyond his years, Goodman said.

"He stands by what he loves, said another producer who was has worked with Ellison. "He fought for the original construction of projects when the easy thing to do was to let the studio make choices."

Skydance expects to generate about $1 billion in revenue this year and more than double that amount in 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Yet, Skydance has had its share of setbacks. Both "Gemini Man" and the "Terminator: Dark Fate" reboot failed to connect with either audiences or critics, or both.

Its investment in animation has yet to match the kind of success as its film and television productions. In 2019, Ellison hired former Pixar creative chief John Lasseter to head the unit to an onslaught of criticism. It was just six months after Lasseter's ouster from the Walt Disney Co.-owned Pixar following allegations that he'd engaged in inappropriate workplace behavior. The famous director acknowledged unspecified "missteps" in his dealings with employees. Emma Thompson withdrew from the company's first animated feature, "Luck."

"He's had some hits and misses. But he's been bold and aggressive and built a solid production company in Skydance," one industry executive said of Ellison.

Goodman recalled how Ellison proved his mettle during the troubled production of "World War Z." The movie's delays, ballooning budget (it eventually cost $200 million) and clashes over whether it was a summer blockbuster or a geo-political allegory threatened to sink the film.

"We made a movie where some parts worked well and others were unwatchable," Goodman said. "We had two choices: put a Band-Aid on it or go deep and make real creative and financial investments. David and his partners went all in. It was a real test of our partnership and testament to their ability to put their money where their mouth was."

The film has grossed $540 million at the box office.

The Paramount Global acquisition would propel Ellison into a different stratosphere — with formidable challenges. Ellison and his partners would have to decide whether to continue to invest in Paramount+, its money-losing streaming service that has more than 67 million subscribers; as well the fate of the CBS broadcast network and the company's many struggling cable channels, like MTV.

More urgently, Ellison must contend with Paramount's restless shareholders and board members who have objected to the Skydance deal on offer.

The viability of the Skydance deal depends on whether shareholders are willing to believe that the bid — and Ellison's leadership — will pay future dividends that will exceed the current dilution of their shares, said Nelson Granados, executive director for the Institute for Entertainment‚ Media‚ and Sports at Pepperdine University.

But Ellison's father's tech connections — and deep pockets — could help bolster Paramount, particularly if there are new advancements in artificial intelligence, digital production or distribution, he said.

"Can they bring Paramount to the 21st century basically is the big question," said Granados.

(Los Angeles Times staff writers Samantha Masunaga and Meg James contributed to this report.)

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