But Megan Ellison is the more interesting sibling here, since she was anointed by Variety as "patron of the auteur," including filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, 2012; Detroit, 2017), P. T. Anderson (The Master, 2012; Phantom Thread, 2017), Spike Jonze (Her, 2013), David O. Russell (American Hustle, 2013; Joy, 2015), Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk, 2018), and others. … Having inherited $2 billion on her twenty-fifth birthday, Megan established Annapurna in 2011 with a mission that "isn't looking for fame, but is simply motivated to support talented filmmakers." Even if Ellison did have the best of intentions upon starting this company, the long-term result has been the weakening of the overall infrastructure for independent film as it becomes ever more closely linked to the whims of the wealthy and the vagaries of finance.

XREF: Connects to broader patterns of billionaire patronage in other creative/artistic fields, and critiques of concentrated funding.

Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, loc. 274