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Tag: David Ellison

  • Paramount’s Pam Kaufman calls it a day

    Paramount’s Pam Kaufman calls it a day

    MUMBAI: Pam Kaufman, the executive who turned a “yellow sea sponge” into a global merchandising juggernaut, has announced her departure from Paramount after more than two decades with the entertainment giant.

     Kaufman, who served as chief executive of international markets and global consumer products, will leave at the end of the year, though she plans to stay on as a consultant. Her exit comes as David Ellison and Jeff Shell take the reins of the newly restructured media company.

    During her tenure,  Kaufman transformed Paramount’s consumer products division into a $7bn retail business. She oversaw the expansion of iconic franchises including SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Paw Patrol across more than 170 international markets. Under her watch, the company struck lucrative partnerships with brands from Stella McCartney to Supreme, many of which sold out within minutes of launch.

    The executive, who began her career at Nickelodeon in the 1990s, became the network’s first chief marketing officer in 2008. She launched over 20 television programmes and helped the company achieve $1bn in revenue. Her marketing prowess was perhaps best demonstrated with the Kids’ Choice Awards, where she nearly tripled voter participation.

    Kaufman’s international expansion efforts included launching Nickelodeon-themed resorts in Mexico and the United States, whilst the gaming division she oversaw produced hits like Star Trek Fleet Command, which has racked up 20m downloads.

    “We built billion-dollar franchises,” Kaufman wrote in her farewell post on LinkedIn. “We turned a yellow sea sponge into a global icon.”

    The departure marks the end of an era for Paramount, which has been grappling with the rapid shift to streaming whilst trying to maintain its traditional television and film businesses. Kaufman played a crucial role in supporting the international rollout of Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

    Beyond Paramount, Kaufman sits on the boards of Lindblad Expeditions, Stella McCartney, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. She will remain in these roles.

    “I’ve truly had the slime of my life,” she quipped, referencing Nickelodeon’s trademark green goo, “in the ‘in between’ with all of you.”

     

  • Apple Original Films announces ‘The Gorge’ with Anya Taylor-Joy & Miles Teller

    Apple Original Films announces ‘The Gorge’ with Anya Taylor-Joy & Miles Teller

    Mumbai: Apple Original Films has announced Skydance’s new feature film, The Gorge, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller.

    This is a high-action, genre-bending love story directed by Scott Derrickson and based on a spec script by Zach Dean. In addition to starring, Teller will serve as an executive producer on the film. Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger are producing alongside Crooked Highway’s Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill, and Sherryl Clark, as well as Zach Dean, Adam Kohlbrenner, and Greg Goodman.

    The Gorge hails from a first-look partnership with Apple and Skydance Media and will join feature films including The Greatest Beer Run Ever, from director Peter Farrelly, that stars Zac Efron, now streaming on Apple TV+; Ghosted, a high-concept romantic action adventure film starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, and directed by Dexter Fletcher; and The Family Plan. This is an action-comedy starring Mark Wahlberg.

    The film marks the latest collaboration for Skydance and Miles Teller, following his leading role in Top Gun: Maverick. Skydance and screenwriter Zach Dean also recently collaborated on The Tomorrow War.

  • Lionsgate and Skydance Media ink global television distribution pact

    Lionsgate and Skydance Media ink global television distribution pact

    MUMBAI: Lionsgate and Skydance have formed a global television distribution pact. The launch of newly-created label Skydance International, which will feature Skydance Media’s current and emerging premium television properties around the world following their initial US broadcast, augments Lionsgate’s worldwide distribution pipeline and permits the two companies to tap opportunities across the global television marketplace.

     

    The global distribution pact will encompass programming led by Skydance’s Emmy-nominated television series Grace and Frankie and the dramaManhattan (produced in partnership with Lionsgate and Tribune Studios), as well as a number of new properties that Skydance is developing for the international television marketplace.

     

    These include Lore, which is executive produced by McG and written by Zack Stentz, and Madness of Angels, which is inspired by Kate Griffin’s six-book fantasy series. The project is executive produced by Neil Burger, who is also slated to direct, and written by rising star UK-based writer Ben Vanstone.

     

    “We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with Skydance Media, one of the hottest and most dynamic film and television studios in the industry. The Skydance brand is synonymous with big, bold, quality entertainment events, and their television slate complements our global distribution pipeline. We’re excited to partner with them on all forms of global distribution, from the traditional to the disruptive, and we’ll focus on innovative deals that reflect today’s dynamic television ecosystem,” said Lionsgate president of worldwide television & digital distribution Jim Packer.

     

    “We believe joining together with Lionsgate – one of the most cutting-edge and creative content companies in the world – will strongly position the Skydance Media brand for success as we make our debut in the international television marketplace. We’ve worked hard to create premium, branded content that will resonate with audiences worldwide, and this new partnership with Lionsgate will accelerate our ability to distribute our shows far and wide across platforms and around the globe in conjunction with the launch of Skydance International,” added Skydance Media founder and CEO David Ellison.

     

    As part of today’s announcement, Brandon Zimon has been named as Skydance Media senior vice present of international television sales and co-productions. 

     

    “In this important new role, Brandon will be responsible for collaborating with Lionsgate to expand the reach of our new and existing television properties around the world and for independently executing international television acquisitions for Skydance Media,” said Skydance COO Jesse Sisgold.

     

    Zimon joins Skydance Media from Sony Pictures Television, where he spent over a decade, most recently as vice president of international distribution.

  • Ex-Oscar president Tom Sherak died at 68

    Ex-Oscar president Tom Sherak died at 68

    MUMBAI: Former president of Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Tom Sherak passed away on Tuesday, 28 January at his home in Calabas out of complications due to a long battle of 12 years with prostate cancer. At the age of 68, Sherak succumbed to his long suffering illness.

     

    Before serving three consecutive one-year terms as president of the Academy through August 2012, Sherak had a long career at 20th Century FOX and then at Revolution Studios. Sherak brought changes to the awards, expanding the best picture nominations from five to as many as 10. He pushed the Academy to skew its annual awards show to appeal to younger viewers.

     

    Sherak was named Los Angeles film czar by Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti in September to lead Garcetti’s efforts to support the local entertainment industry and increase local production in the city. He also was serving as a trusted adviser to Oscar-nominated American Hustle and producer Megan Ellison (Her) and to her producing brother, David Ellison (World War Z).