Shedding tears, laughs for rich kid

I am having a hard time deciding if the story written by Mary McNamara on rich kid David Ellison, the son of Oracle CEO and founder Larry Ellison, was one of the worst or one of the funniest I have read in a long time [“A Wing and a Player,” Aug. 24].

With sentences such as, “Though he has the subtle sheen money often brings -- a combination of excellent orthodontia, high thread counts, and quality products for hair and skin,” and “with the rangy, hands-shoved-in-his-pockets good looks of a Ralph Lauren model,” I had no trouble picturing McNamara swooning with her heart pounding as she typed up this story. What teen fan magazine did McNamara work at before The Times?

I also enjoyed how difficult it was for Ellison to get into the movie investment business. According to the producer, Dean Devlin, Ellison’s investment, with the help of dear old Dad, was “less than 30%” of the $60 million in production costs. Let’s see: If 30% of $60 million is $18 million, then I would guess Ellison’s investment is in the range of $15 million to $16 million. I’m just glad Ellison was able to find a producer and director who would take a chance on this young kid and take his money, because if you go walking around Hollywood waving around $15 million, asking someone to take it, you’re going to have a lot of doors slammed in your face.

TERRY HOGAN

Upland

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Actor/pilot/billionaire’s son David Ellison proves that in Hollywood, money, not talent, is still king. It looks like Ellison is well on his way to becoming the next Tom Cruise. I wonder how much it’ll cost his dad to remake “Top Gun.”

DANIEL WOLOWICZ

Ventura