ITV

Tag: Animation Studios

  • Bob Chapek realigns roles at Disney Studios Content

    Bob Chapek realigns roles at Disney Studios Content

    MUMBAI: The shuffling is continuing at the Walt Disney Co as CEO Bob Chapek works on creating an organisation that can prosper going forward. In Disney’s latest announcement, Chapek named Alan Bergman as chairman of Disney Studios Content, with Alan Horn who was earlier co-chairman serving as its chief creative officer from 1 January 2021.

    “Our studios are unmatched in their ability to create incredible cinematic experiences, and with this new structure, we are ensuring a vital continuity of leadership,” said Chapek.

    Bergman’s responsibilities will expand to oversee creative, production, marketing, and operations for Disney Studios Content, which encompasses the world-renowned production studios Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios, as well as Disney Theatrical Productions. Horn, on the other hand, will focus on the creative aspects of the studios’ content pipeline, working in partnership with Bergman on its creative approach. Both will report to Chapek.

    The leads of each production studio will continue to dual report to Bergman and Horn on creative matters, including Twentieth Century Studios president Steve Asbell; Blue Sky Studios co-president Robert Baird; Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production president Sean Bailey; Pixar Animation Studios chief creative officer Pete Docter; Marvel Studios and Marvel president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige; Searchlight Pictures chairman Stephen Gilula; Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy; Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer  Jennifer Lee;  Searchlight Pictures chairman Nancy Utley and and Disney Theatrical Productions president  Thomas Schumacher.

    Bergman is a 24-year veteran of Disney. Prior to being named co-chairman in 2019, he served as president of The Walt Disney Studios from 2005 to 2019. He played a leading role in the integrations of Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and the Twenty-First Century Fox film studios. His tenure at Studios has included the release of 25 films that have earned at least $1 billion at the global box office.

    Horn joined Disney in 2012 when he was named chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, becoming co-chairman and chief creative officer in 2019. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, Horn is one of the industry’s most influential and respected executives. He served as president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2011, during which it was the top-performing studio at the global box office seven times and released numerous critically acclaimed films and box office hits including the Harry Potter series, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Departed, Million Dollar Baby, and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. He co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, where as chairman from 1987 to 1999 he oversaw a diverse collection of popular, acclaimed film and TV properties including A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, When Harry Met Sally, and Seinfeld. He also served as president and chief operating officer of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp from 1985 to 1986 after getting his start in the media business in 1973 at Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio’s Embassy Communications, where he ultimately held the role of chairman & chief executive officer.

    Together, Horn and Bergman have presided over a time of significant growth at The Walt Disney Studios, including the 2012 integration of Lucasfilm and the 2019 integration of the Fox film studios, as well as the studios’ expansion into the production of content for Disney’s streaming services. During their tenure, The Walt Disney Studios set numerous records at the box office, surpassing $7 billion globally in 2016 and 2018 and $11 billion in 2019, the only studio ever to have reached these thresholds.

    Among the Studios’ recent successes are Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King; Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen, Zootopia, and Frozen 2;  Pixar’s Coco, Incredibles 2,  and Toy Story 4; Lucasfilm’s  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; and Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, the latter of which is the highest grossing global release of all time.

  • RichCrest Animation now Crest Animation Prods; Fogelson is CEO

    RichCrest Animation now Crest Animation Prods; Fogelson is CEO

    MUMBAI: RichCrest Animation, the US-based production arm of Indian CGI animation major Crest Animation Studios, has been renamed Crest Animation Productions and is expanding its business to become a full-service animation studio specializing in the development and production of CGI-animated properties for theatrical, television, home entertainment and interactive distribution.

    Coming on board as CEO of Crest Animation is Noah Fogelson. The DIC Entertainment veteran’s mandate is to spearhead Crest Animation’s expansion leveraging the recent $ 40 million fund infusion from global investment firm DE Shaw.
    With the fund infusion, Crest Animation is in a position to provide the financing to develop and produce intellectual properties for worldwide distribution across theatrical, home entertainment, television and internet media.

    Crest Animation Studios received a total capital infusion of $40 million from DE Shaw Group. Crest Animation will issue 3.385 million shares (14.99 per cent of the company) at Rs 120 ($2.5) to DE Shaw to raise $8.7 million. Crest will also allot securities worth a 26 percent stake in its US subsidiary RichCrest Holdings to raise another $15.75 million. Further, it would avail up to $15.75 million in guarantee funding towards film financing. This makes it a total of $40.2 million in funding.

    Fogelson was EVP/GM at DIC Entertainment (DIC), where he facilitated the company’s public offering on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market in 2005. Prior to DIC, Fogelson practiced corporate and entertainment law at Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles.

    “Noah’s background and extensive experience in this field are integral to the growth of Crest Animation Prods.” said Seemha Ramanna, MD, Crest Animation Studios. “We are thrilled to have an executive of Noah’s caliber on board who can maintain and develop our existing relationships with key US producers and distributors and at the same time propel the company forward with our new agenda.”

    “Our studio facilities in India enable us to produce the highest quality CGI-animated projects at a fraction of the cost of most major studio CGI features to date,” said Fogelson. “Couple this with the substantial commitment from the DE Shaw group to finance a slate of new properties, and we are now in a position to work with partners to create a catalog of innovative intellectual properties for the global entertainment marketplace.”

    Founded in 1986 by Richard Rich as Rich Animation, the Los Angeles area studio was subsequently acquired by Crest. It has become widely respected in the industry for producing animated content for film and television, such as six 2D animated features (including The Trumpet Of The Swan for Columbia TriStar and The King And I for Warner Bros.), as well as 60 half-hours of animated television and direct-to-video content in both 2D and CGI.

    India-based parent Crest Animation Studios has delivered more than 150 half hours of television and home video titles in CGI animation, working for such clients as Mike Young Prods, Mark Brown, Classic Media, Nelvana, American Greetings, Marathon and Nickelodeon.

    Jakers! The Adventures Of Piggley Winks, the first television series Crest animated for Mike Young Prods., received a daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program. Other recent projects include animation for such properties as Bratz, Casper, and Arthur.

    Richard Rich, who began his career in feature animation at Disney, has directed eight animated features to date and will continue on at Crest Animation Prods as president of production. The company is in development on a slate of animated features under the 2005 strategic partnership with Lionsgate Family Ent.

  • Thomson invests in Paprikaas Animation Studios

    Thomson invests in Paprikaas Animation Studios

    MUMBAI: Thomson, through its Technicolor Content Services business, has announced it is expanding its entertainment services capabilities with a strategic investment in Bangalore based Paprikaas Animation Studios, an animation and game content provider.

    This transaction further strengthens Thomson’s commitment globally and in India to expand its service offerings in the feature film, television animation and video game industries.

    The addition of Paprikaas’ creative, technical and computer animation work will give Technicolor added capabilities and resources to capture the growing industry demand for high end 3-D digital animation for feature films, television animation, commercial advertising and video games and provide Thomson with a leading position in the rapidly expanding Indian entertainment industry, informs an official release.

    “Technicolor Content Services has been looking to capture a larger share of the growing market trend toward outsourcing in theatrical, broadcast, commercial advertising, animation and video game segments,” said Technicolor Content Services president Ahmad Ouri. “Paprikaas has proven that their animation and game content creation work consistently meets our high standards, enabling us to further expand our capabilities and global reach, while also achieving cost efficiencies.”

    “This strategic investment is another step in Thomson’s initiative to expand its services to content owners and to broaden its scope of offerings for the film, broadcast and gaming communities. As one of India’s leading animation studios, Paprikaas earned a strong reputation for quality services, which is in alignment with Thomson’s high standards. This move also provides Thomson with a strategic platform from which to access the fast growing Indian media and entertainment market, thus, enabling us to accelerate our roadmap in India,” says Thomson – India vice president Thierry Pasquet.