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Paramount Skydance, currently in an aggressive bidding war with Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery, is a recently merged film company. David Ellison (pictured below), founder of Skydance Media, acquired Paramount Pictures, and as the current CEO of Paramount Skydance, he's now bringing his established operational style from Skydance to the new entity.
In a feature article introducing Paramount Skydance, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) noted that Ellison has a distinct preference for hiring talent shunned by other studios or impacted by "cancel culture," a practice he established during Skydance's independent operations.
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THR highlighted Ellison's willingness to promote men who were embroiled in scandals during the "cancel culture" era. For instance, during his time at Skydance, he recruited Pixar co-founder John Lasseter (pictured below) to lead their animation division shortly after Lasseter was dismissed from Disney Animation Studios following sexual harassment allegations. A source familiar with Ellison told The Hollywood Reporter that "David has always liked to hire people he thinks are underestimated."
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After acquiring Paramount, Ellison quickly secured a first-look deal with Will Smith, whose image was severely impacted by the "Oscars slap" incident in recent years. He also brought in Johnny Depp, who had been largely blacklisted by Hollywood for several years due to domestic abuse allegations, to star in the new adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," "Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol". This marks Depp's first major studio production in Hollywood in years.
Beyond creative talent like actors and directors, Ellison also favors appointing individuals with tarnished reputations to executive leadership roles. Paramount Skydance's current president, Jeff Shell, previously served as CEO of NBCUniversal but was dismissed after an extramarital affair led to sexual harassment allegations from his partner. Following the merger of Paramount and Skydance, Ellison appointed him to the presidency.
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Interestingly, a few years before Shell's dismissal from NBCUniversal, he had fired Universal's President of Worldwide Marketing, Josh Goldstine (pictured above). Goldstine was let go after an internal investigation into misconduct complaints. Now, Ellison has appointed Goldstine as Paramount's President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution.
The Hollywood Reporter suggests that Ellison's reliance on scandal-plagued talent is partly driven by their lower salary expectations and their eagerness to prove themselves again. The film industry has reacted with surprise to Ellison's bold, contrarian management approach. Some insiders view Ellison as arrogant, while others believe this strategy could be the much-needed shake-up for a long-demoralized Paramount.