Let’s play pretend time for a second. So pretend you’re the son of the sixth richest man in the world. In sixth place you’re still god-like rich, but you can still fly under the radar unlike the celebrities in first and second place. Your dad is worth $27 billion. You can basically do whatever you want. So what do you do?
Well if your David Ellison, the actual son of Larry Ellison and sixth richest man in the world, you get into film and start financing sequels of favorite childhood movies. No, really, that’s what he has done. The kid (he’s 27) raised $350 million for Paramount and the first movie they’re making with his investment in Mission: Impossible IV with Tom Cruise.
This of course led Paramount to talk to the original Top Gun creators, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott and they have said they are in serious talks to bring the jet fighters back to the screen.
With Ellison financing Cruise’s next movie and Paramount cozingy up to Bruckheimer and Scott, this should be in the bag, right? Well Cruise isn’t officially in. He doesn’t want an obvious part for Maverick since the real Top Gun program has shifted in the 20 years since the first gun. So earlier reports that he would be a flight instructor are a no-go. Christopher McQuarrie is handling the script, so if he comes up with something interesting for Cruise to do, this thing might take off.
Glad to see that Ellison is putting his money to good use. I’m all the starving kids in Africa really appreciate that he is using his incredible wealth to give the world what it has so desperately wanted: another Top Gun. I jest, of course, because, let’s be honest, if I were in his position I would totally finance the Arrested Development movie.
Source: The Playlist and NY Mag
