The fourth reboot of The Naked Gun arrives this week from Paramount Global, its distributor, which is also heralding its own massive reboot — a study in contrasts.
The three Naked Gun films over 40 years hilariously chronicled a litany of organizational debacles, the last even subtitled “Final Insult.” But in unveiling his $8 billion takeover, Skydance’s young CEO David Ellison has pledged his commitment to success – one apparently shared by the Trump administration in endorsing the mega-deal.
Within the Hollywood community itself there’s debate about the feasibility of “reinventing” a slumbrous studio, especially one attached to CBS, Comedy Central, MTV and other cable entities. Ellison himself, age 41, has promised enthusiastically that “technology will transform every aspect of this company.” It will be a “studio in the cloud,” one that leverages AI and other digital tools that generate content faster and cheaper.
In quietly assuming this role, Ellison has avoided emulating David Zaslav’s intense pre-WarnerMedia takeover tour in which he met with successive echelons of Hollywood’s creative elite. The incoming Warner Bros Discovery CEO insistently reiterated his commitment to filmmakers and their creativity, symbolically even joining the board of the American Cinematheque.
Although Ellison has been personally involved in productions including the latest Mission: Impossible film, he has allowed his billionaire father, Larry Ellison, to dominate the public stage – though it’s not clear whether Dad has ever seen Naked Gun.
Personal note: I’ve always enjoyed the slapstick shtick of the Zucker Brothers movies like Naked Gun and Airplane!, though wonder whether Liam Neeson can chaotically inhabit Frank Drebin Jr, the son of the clueless cop immortalized by Leslie Nielsen. The new iteration is directed by Akiva Schaffer, replacing Jerry Zucker, who is now 80.
The faces of Neeson and Nielsen are etched in Hollywood history, Neeson as the protagonist in Schindler’s List and Nielsen as the stony-faced captain of the doomed Poseidon – but still fated to become cops.
The newly created Paramount Global could benefit from a few laughs at a moment when it must implement some $2 billion in cost savings and restructuring. Much of that responsibility will fall on the very corporate presence of Jeff Shell, a former president of NBCUniversal.
David Ellison himself has never run a company of this size: Skydance has 1,300 employees versus Paramount‘s 18,000. Neither has he had any experience in the incendiary news business, nor dealt with entities like 60 Minutes or Face the Nation. Nor canceled showbiz institutions like Stephen Colbert. Nor figured out how to revive morning or evening TV ratings.
His position has been enshadowed by the looming friendship of Larry Ellison with Donald Trump. Or even by his reported talks to acquire The Free Press, a right-leaning organization that positions itself as an alternative to mainstream news.
David Ellison
Michael Kovac / Getty Images / Paramount
David Ellison has resisted identification with high-profile political or religious causes. Indeed even the family name seems ambiguous; was its origin somehow linked to Ellis Island rather than to generational roots?
The Ellison control of Paramount was made possible by support from Sumner Redstone’s daughter, Shari, who is Paramount’s controlling shareholder. The Redstone control itself stemmed from a ferocious proxy fight pitting the family against Barry Diller, who ardently fought Sumner’s hunger to become a media czar.
The Ellison win at Paramount was itself the upshot of the FCC approval of the Skydance offer, which was theoretically predicated upon an Ellison commitment to unbiased journalism. And that was somehow emboldened by the Paramount decision to pay $16 million to settle a Trumpian suit against 60 Minutes.
Sound complicated? It may also be for David Ellison, whose introduction to Hollywood stemmed from his desire to produce and star in Flyboys, a $60 million World War I combat movie that collected a low-altitude $17 million in worldwide box office. Its fate persuaded Ellison to shift roles, becoming studio chief rather than actor. With the further backing of RedBird and investor Gerry Cardinale, Skydance reached a valuation of roughly $4 billion before mounting its assault on bigger prey.
Drebin, the klutzy cop in Naked Gun, once explained to his wife, “Look, baby, I do what I do. Some guys make shoelaces or lay sod. I make a living.” So does David Ellison.
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