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Tag: Dreamworks

  • NBCUniversal launches DreamWorks, E! Entertainment in India

    NBCUniversal launches DreamWorks, E! Entertainment in India

    Mumbai: NBCUniversal International Networks and Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) on Thursday announced the launch of DreamWorks and an E! Entertainment branded zone for Jio subscribers in India.

    Jio subscribers will be able to access a broad selection of territory premieres and catalogue of compelling programming from DreamWorks and E!, alongside a companion package of on-demand content on Universal+.

    The offering will include DreamWorks franchises such as “Trolls: The Beat Goes On!,” “All Hail King Julien,” “The Adventures of Puss in Boots,” “Dragons: Race to the Edge,” “Dawn of the Croods,” “Spirit Riding Free,” and “Voltron Legendary Defender.”

    E! will bring its slate programming to JioTV and on JioTV+ for JioFiber subscribers. This includes popular shows like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” “Dating No Filter,” “Very Cavallari,” “Flip It Like Disick,” “Botched,” and “E! True Hollywood Story.”

    E! will bring live red carpet coverage from signature events such as the Grammy Awards and Academy Awards. In addition, viewers will have access to Daily Pop, the daytime series that covers the biggest stories in entertainment and features discussions of the latest pop culture buzz.  Plus, the launch will also see the arrival of “Overserved with Lisa Vanderpump” and “Celebrity Game Face,” hosted by Kevin Hart.

    “We are thrilled to be extending our footprint into India with DreamWorks and E! on JioTV+,” said NBC Universal International Networks and DTC Asia Pacific managing director Christine Fellowes. “It is exciting to be debuting these popular brands in this territory and we look forward to bringing Jio and JioFiber subscribers companion on-demand content, conveniently packaged under Universal+.”

  • Netflix: DreamWorks’ Cobb to lead kids, family content team, deal with Orange renewed

    Netflix: DreamWorks’ Cobb to lead kids, family content team, deal with Orange renewed

    MUMBAI: Two significant developments have taken place at Netflix, a leading internet entertainment service with 104 million members in over 190 countries, including India, enjoying over 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including originals.

    Orange and Netflix have inked a major agreement and Melissa Cobb will lead Netflix kids and family content team.

    Orange, one of the leading telcos with sales of 40,9 billion euros in 2016, and Netflix have renewed the agreement signed in 2014 for the distribution of Netflix for Orange TV customers in France, and have expanded their partnership to all countries in which the Orange Group is present.

    This strategic partnership will enable the Group’s subsidiaries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to distribute Netflix in the future, bringing their customers exclusive content of this service to all their screens.

    Netflix will be offered to Orange Poland customers in the coming months as part of its TV offers. Other launches will follow in 2018.

    “We want to offer the best content,” notes Orange CEO Stéphane Richard.

    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said, “This partnership offers the possibility for millions of our customers to enjoy the leading entertainment service seamlessly, in one place.”

    Cobb has joined Netflix as vice-president, kids and family, overseeing the creation and acquisition of series and films for children and families. Based in the Los Angeles office, Cobb reports to the chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

    In her role, Cobb leads the content team responsible for bringing kids and family titles to Netflix members with an expanded focus on high quality series and event programming across the spectrum of kids and family entertainment, including both animation and live action.

    Cobb joins Netflix from DreamWorks, where most recently she was the chief creative officer and head of studio for Oriental DreamWorks. Based in Shanghai, China, she oversaw all aspects of running the studio and U.S./China collaboration including creative oversight of all projects in development and production, business strategy, production strategy and more for a slate of high quality animated feature films targeted to a global audience.

  • DreamWorks Animation to cease India operations early next year?

    DreamWorks Animation to cease India operations early next year?

    MUMBAI: A pall of gloom has been cast over the Indian animation industry. Late last evening,  an announcement was made in the Technicolor facilities in Whitefiled, Bengaluru which house the DreamWorks Dedicated Unit (DDU) by general manager Damien de Froberville. Sources say that de Frobeville addressed the 300-odd assembled artists and animators and regretfully announced that the DDU would be ceasing operations come early -2017. At least that’s what he had been informed by the company’s headquarters in the US.

    Shock went through those in attendance for some of the artists and animators worked on Puss in Boots, Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda 3 and the recently released Trolls. And on some other popular TV shows which DreamWorks Animation churned out from its Bengaluru outpost.

    The highly anticipated animated feature film The Boss Baby that’s set to release on 31 March, 2017 is one of the projects being worked upon currently at DDU. It’s said that the employees have been told to wrap up the project they have been currently working on.

    It was on 22 August 2016 that the company’s acquisition by Comcast NBCUniversal was completed and the company now functions as a division of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Initial reports were that after the take over Jeffrey Katzenberg would cede control of the studio to Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Melendandri and the two studios would focus on producing four animation features between them. However, that did not come to pass, and the two remained independent with Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria being retained as presidents of the DreamWorks Feature Animation division with Margie Cohn leading the television animation division.

    Folks have been expecting change to happen at the studio ever since Jeffrey Katzenberg exited DreamWorks Animation with the acquisition. But no one expected it to happen so suddenly. It was not too long ago that DreamWorks Animation had announced that it would be lopping off 200 jobs from its Glendale unit. And now the news has emerged that the Indian dedicated DreamWorks Animation unit would get the axe.

    The exact date of the cessation of the DDU’s operations is not known but speculation is that it could be either 31 January 2017 or 2 February 2017.

    DreamWorks Dedicated Unit, studio manager, Adi Shayan said that he was not the right person to say anything. “However all I can say is it’s not that black and white and there’s more to it,” he stated.

    We tried reaching out to de Froberville on several occasions telephonically. Late at night, he responded with a short but curt message: “DDU is not shutting down. I do not have any comments.”

    Only time and a rolling out of announcements will reveal whether this is true, but sources at the meeting, insist that the unit is being wound up. It’s possible that some of the artists could be absorbed by Technicolor, it’s “partner” in India.

    On 20 December 2007, Technicolor India partnered with DreamWorks Animation to assist in the recruitment, training and development of top-tier animation talent. From producing just animated commercials to TV specials to first full-length feature Penguins of Madagascar, DDU had come a long way.

    Portions of the financially successful movie Kung Fu Panda 3 were also worked upon by the Bengaluru artists which included work mainly on the Panda village and market sequences. Animation, character FX, FX and lighting were the key areas worked upon by them.

    Source indicated that the Indian Technicolor management was awaiting official word from Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Dreamworks’ headquarters before deciding on the way forward.

    In the past, DreamWorks Animation used to renew its contract every three years, sources told AnimationXpress.com. “So three rounds of contracts had been renewed,” says an industry veteran. “But this time DreamWorks did not reach out to Technicolor, so even the renewal of the contract is yet to be initialed by the two parties.”

    We reached out to Technicolor, country head, Biren Ghose to no avail. He chose not to comment on any queries. ”We will be making our announcement either tomorrow or next week,” is all he expressed.

    This article was first published in Indiantelevision.com’s sister publication Animationexpress.com

  • DreamWorks Animation to cease India operations early next year?

    DreamWorks Animation to cease India operations early next year?

    MUMBAI: A pall of gloom has been cast over the Indian animation industry. Late last evening,  an announcement was made in the Technicolor facilities in Whitefiled, Bengaluru which house the DreamWorks Dedicated Unit (DDU) by general manager Damien de Froberville. Sources say that de Frobeville addressed the 300-odd assembled artists and animators and regretfully announced that the DDU would be ceasing operations come early -2017. At least that’s what he had been informed by the company’s headquarters in the US.

    Shock went through those in attendance for some of the artists and animators worked on Puss in Boots, Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda 3 and the recently released Trolls. And on some other popular TV shows which DreamWorks Animation churned out from its Bengaluru outpost.

    The highly anticipated animated feature film The Boss Baby that’s set to release on 31 March, 2017 is one of the projects being worked upon currently at DDU. It’s said that the employees have been told to wrap up the project they have been currently working on.

    It was on 22 August 2016 that the company’s acquisition by Comcast NBCUniversal was completed and the company now functions as a division of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Initial reports were that after the take over Jeffrey Katzenberg would cede control of the studio to Illumination Entertainment CEO Chris Melendandri and the two studios would focus on producing four animation features between them. However, that did not come to pass, and the two remained independent with Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria being retained as presidents of the DreamWorks Feature Animation division with Margie Cohn leading the television animation division.

    Folks have been expecting change to happen at the studio ever since Jeffrey Katzenberg exited DreamWorks Animation with the acquisition. But no one expected it to happen so suddenly. It was not too long ago that DreamWorks Animation had announced that it would be lopping off 200 jobs from its Glendale unit. And now the news has emerged that the Indian dedicated DreamWorks Animation unit would get the axe.

    The exact date of the cessation of the DDU’s operations is not known but speculation is that it could be either 31 January 2017 or 2 February 2017.

    DreamWorks Dedicated Unit, studio manager, Adi Shayan said that he was not the right person to say anything. “However all I can say is it’s not that black and white and there’s more to it,” he stated.

    We tried reaching out to de Froberville on several occasions telephonically. Late at night, he responded with a short but curt message: “DDU is not shutting down. I do not have any comments.”

    Only time and a rolling out of announcements will reveal whether this is true, but sources at the meeting, insist that the unit is being wound up. It’s possible that some of the artists could be absorbed by Technicolor, it’s “partner” in India.

    On 20 December 2007, Technicolor India partnered with DreamWorks Animation to assist in the recruitment, training and development of top-tier animation talent. From producing just animated commercials to TV specials to first full-length feature Penguins of Madagascar, DDU had come a long way.

    Portions of the financially successful movie Kung Fu Panda 3 were also worked upon by the Bengaluru artists which included work mainly on the Panda village and market sequences. Animation, character FX, FX and lighting were the key areas worked upon by them.

    Source indicated that the Indian Technicolor management was awaiting official word from Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Dreamworks’ headquarters before deciding on the way forward.

    In the past, DreamWorks Animation used to renew its contract every three years, sources told AnimationXpress.com. “So three rounds of contracts had been renewed,” says an industry veteran. “But this time DreamWorks did not reach out to Technicolor, so even the renewal of the contract is yet to be initialed by the two parties.”

    We reached out to Technicolor, country head, Biren Ghose to no avail. He chose not to comment on any queries. ”We will be making our announcement either tomorrow or next week,” is all he expressed.

    This article was first published in Indiantelevision.com’s sister publication Animationexpress.com

  • Justin Timberlake to write original music for DreamWorks’ ‘Trolls’

    Justin Timberlake to write original music for DreamWorks’ ‘Trolls’

    MUMBAI: Nine-time Grammy and four-time Emmy Award winning musician and actor Justin Timberlake will serve as executive music producer as well as pen original music for DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls. In this role, Timberlake will oversee all creative direction for the film’s music as well as perform multiple songs on the soundtrack. The multifaceted artist also stars as Branch, a hilariously hardcore survivalist who hides his surprising true colors, in DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming comedy.

     

    Joined by Academy and Tony Award nominee Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy, the two embark on a hair-raising adventure as the globally iconic Trolls make their motion picture debut. The film will be distributed on 4 November, 2016, by 20th Century Fox.

     

    “Justin is an amazingly versatile artist and producer whose unprecedented creative talents provide a unique voice and sound for our movie.Trolls is a comedy with fantastic music at its core and we can’t think of a more perfect artist to elevate this soundtrack to incredible heights,” said DreamWorks Animation co-presidents of feature animation Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria.

     

    “Working with Justin has been a dream come true from day one,” added director Mike Mitchell.

     

    “Between the fantastic work he’s doing in bringing to life the character of Branch and his production oversight on the soundtrack, we couldn’t be in more inspired hands,” said co-director Walt Dohrn.

     

    “I have always envisioned bringing the two worlds of film and music together for one epic event.  I couldn’t be more excited that they will collide in DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls. This film is very special, the music is going to be very special and I can’t wait for everyone to experience it all,” said Timberlake.

     

    Produced by Gina Shay, the film for the first time tells the story behind the beloved Trolls and their gravity defying and colourful manes.

  • DreamWorks, Reliance, Participant Media, eOne form new film, TV & digital venture

    DreamWorks, Reliance, Participant Media, eOne form new film, TV & digital venture

    MUMBAI: DreamWorks Studios principal partner Steven Spielberg, Participant Media chairman Jeff Skoll, Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani and Entertainment One (eOne) president and CEO Darren Throop have announced the formation of a new film, television and digital content creation company called Amblin Partners.

     

    The new company will create content using the Amblin, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant brands and leverage their power and broad awareness to tell stories that appeal to a wide range of audiences. Participant Media will remain a separate company that continues to independently develop, produce and finance projects with socially relevant themes.

     

    Amblin Partners will be led by CEO Michael Wright and president and COO Jeff Small.

     

    In addition, Amblin Television will become a division of Amblin Partners and continues to be run by co-presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, who maintain their longtime leadership roles. They join producer Kristie Macosko Krieger and president of production Holly Bario on the film side, to complete Amblin Partners’ senior management team.

     

    Participant Media CEO David Linde and Participant’s narrative feature team, led by executive vice president Jonathan King, will work closely with Amblin Partners to develop and produce specific content for the new venture in addition to exploring opportunities for co-productions and other content.

     

    Spielberg said, “We are thrilled to partner with Jeff Skoll, Participant Media, and to continue our prolific relationship. We are of like minds, as our many collaborations have illustrated, with a mutual commitment to quality, premium entertainment and global vision.”

     

    Skoll added, “I have had the good fortune of working with Steven for many years. We share a passion for stories that can truly affect change. And this new venture will further Participant’s growth and global impact.”

     

    DreamWorks Studios and Participant Media have collaborated on many Academy Award nominated films such as Lincoln and The Help as well as the critically acclaimed The Hundred-Foot Journey, and the recently released Bridge of Spies.

     

    Spielberg continued, “We are honoured to continue our long-term association with our dear friend, Anil Ambani and his team at Reliance. We have had the opportunity to develop and produce wonderful films thanks to their ongoing support.”

     

    “We are delighted to continue our now seven-years-strong relationship with our valued partner, Steven Spielberg, and to extend this alliance to the formation of Amblin Partners with Jeff Skoll. We look forward to the combination of Steven’s passion and integrity with Jeff’s unique socially conscious vision to create uplifting and quality content to entertain global audiences,” Ambani said.

     

    Spielberg said, “We are also grateful to Darren Throop and his team at Entertainment One for their contribution to Amblin Partners. We look forward to expanding our relationship.”

     

    “We are delighted to join Steven Spielberg, Jeff Skoll and Reliance in launching this unique new venture,” Throop said. “We continually strive to partner with producers of the highest quality content, and Amblin Partners certainly represents the gold standard.”

     

    Through this new partnership, eOne extends its collaboration into television production and distribution and expands its successful film distribution relationship across additional territories. eOne will handle the direct distribution of Amblin Partners films on a multi-territory output basis in Australia/New Zealand and Spain as well as the United Kingdom and the Benelux, where it previously had a successful output arrangement with DreamWorks Studios.

     

    J.P.Morgan Chase structured and arranged the $500 million debt syndication together with Comerica Bank, which served as co-lead. Other financial institutions involved included Sun Trust Bank, Union Bank, City National Bank and Bank of America, among others.

  • DreamWorks Animation to launch live-action TV unit; taps Katie O’Connell Marsh as head

    DreamWorks Animation to launch live-action TV unit; taps Katie O’Connell Marsh as head

    MUMBAI: DreamWorks Animation has appointed Katie O’Connell Marsh as head of global live-action television, a role in which she will oversee the expansion of DWA’s television business into the live-action genre. 

     

    Marsh will be based at the company’s Glendale headquarters and begin her duties in January 2016.

     

    “Television has quickly grown into one of our most successful businesses and, as the demand for kids and co-viewing content continues to rise, extending the DreamWorks Animation brand to live-action TV in a strategic and financially disciplined way will spur even further growth. Katie’s proven track record of developing hit live-action television programming, coupled with her success in quickly building television businesses from the ground up, makes her the perfect executive to lead us into this new genre,” said DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

     

    “Our move into live-action will enable DWA to further capitalize on the evolving television landscape by creating new opportunities on both traditional and emerging platforms for our branded series. Moreover, live action will give us yet another creative lens with which to explore our library of rich storytelling and memorable characters that have resonated with audiences for the past two decades,” added DreamWorks Animation president Ann Daly. 

     

    “When Jeffrey and Ann approached me, I was impressed by the endless possibilities and unique specificity of the opportunities that lie ahead, as I have always admired the iconic and global DreamWorks Animation brand The existing library of brands, coupled with a desire for original content, makes this opportunity incredibly special. I look forward to working with Jeffrey, Ann and everyone at DWA,” said Marsh.

     

    Marsh joins DreamWorks Animation, having served since 2010 as the CEO of Gaumont International Television (GIT), a division of Gaumont SA she built from the ground up. Previously, she was an executive at NBC, where she first served as SVP of development in New York. Marsh was ultimately elevated to EVP of drama programming.

     

    Prior to NBC, Marsh was EVP of development and current programming at Imagine Television, where she developed numerous comedy and drama projects.

  • Assemblage Entertainment expands leadership team with three key hires

    Assemblage Entertainment expands leadership team with three key hires

    MUMBAI: Indian 3D animation studio Assemblage Entertainment has made key additions to its leadership team. The company has appointed Indian animation industry long timer PMV Ramana to head the creative function as art director. Additionally, two senior level professionals – Rahul Nair and Vaibhav Shah have been hired to head its lighting and modeling verticals respectively.

     

    Ramana has more than two decades of experience in creative art direction, visual development and scripting. He has been associated with various projects including Puss in Boots, Madagascar, Elizabeth 2 & 3 and Prince of Persia. He has worked with studios such as DreamWorks, Qyuki and Prana.

     

    Nair has fifteen years of experience across TV and feature films in a creative and technical capacity. He has worked with studios such as DreamWorks and Prime Focus and has been associated with projects including Puss in Boots, Madagascar and TinkerBell. He joins Assemblage as its lighting supervisor.

     

    With a decade of experience in the animation industry, Shah is a senior character modeler with high proficiency in concept art, texturing and modeling lead characters. He has previously worked with DreamWorks and UTV Toons and has played a vital role in animated movies such as Puss in Boots, How to Train Your Dragons 2 and Rise of the Guardians amongst others. He joins Assemblage as its modeling supervisor.

     

    Assemblage Entertainment founder & CEO AK Madhavan said, “It is a proud moment for us at Assemblage to welcome the industry’s leading professionals to work with and among us. Since its inception, not so long ago, we have always believed in investing in good people, who can not only drive the Company’s deliverables to the next level but more importantly, also inspire and guide the young aspiring team members to think beyond their limitations. We’re looking for creative and hard working artists and are building a culture and platform to harness their skill sets. I feel excited to have three senior members join us and believe that they would help us craft an exciting future.”

     

  • Justin Timberlake joins cast of Dreamworks Animation’s ‘Trolls’

    Justin Timberlake joins cast of Dreamworks Animation’s ‘Trolls’

    MUMBAI: Nine-time Grammy and four-time Emmy Award winner Justin Timberlake has signed on to star as Branch, a hilariously hardcore survivalist who hides his surprising true colors, in DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming musical comedyTrolls.

     

    Joined by Academy and Tony Award nominee Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy, the two embark on a hair-raising adventure as the globally iconic Trolls make their motion picture debut. The film will be released on 4 November, 2016, by 20th Century Fox.

     

    Directed by Mike Mitchell, co-directed by Walt Dohrn and produced by Gina Shay, the film for the first time tells the story behind the beloved Trolls and their gravity defying and coloUrful manes.

     

    Continuing to this day, the Troll doll phenomenon was born in 1959 when Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam, too poor to afford a Christmas present for his young daughter Lajla, carved a doll for her based on the legendary Scandinavian troll. This modern-day Geppetto couldn’t have imagined that the Troll dolls would soon become one of the biggest toy crazes of the 1960s. The Trolls experienced a resurgence in the 1990s and their uniquely endearing faces and shocks of coloUrful hair continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of fans around the world.

     

  • Boomerang bounces into Malaysia on HyppTV

    Boomerang bounces into Malaysia on HyppTV

    MUMBAI: Boomerang, the global kids’ brand and companion channel to Cartoon Network, has launched in Malaysia on HyppTV with a two-month free preview available from 1 August, 2015.

     

    Boomerang is an all-animation network with a line-up of household names and contemporary cartoons programmed for both kids and their families. The channel offers exclusive, first-run content including new episodes of timeless favourites such as Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunesand Scooby-Doo, as well as premium acquisitions including Garfield, Pink Panther, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Mr. Bean, Inspector Gadget, DreamWorks’ Turbo FAST and two Dragons series.

     

    The channel is available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, and is aimed at all kids aged 4-9 and their families. This year, audiences can expect a surge of new shows and episodes of familiar favourites with fresh, premium content from Warner Bros. Studios, including the recently-announced new series Wabbit and Bunnicula.

     

    “Boomerang provides light-hearted and fun moments for a whole new generation of viewers with iconic characters. It is hugely popular content presented in a safe environment for both boys and girls to feel happy, relaxed and to laugh. It’s entertainment that parents can trust and enjoy together with their children. With the best comedy and imaginative fun of young ones, Boomerang celebrates today’s family and how they have fun together. Boomerang is already extremely popular in many countries around the world, and I’m confident Boomerang will soon be one of the best-loved channels for kids and families in Malaysia too,” said Turner International senior vice president and managing director for Southeast Asia Pacific and North Asia Phil Nelson.

     

    The channel launches as part of HyppTV’s Jumbo Pack and will also be available on an á-la-carte basis. Existing Jumbo Pack subscribers will automatically receive Boomerang Channel on HyppTV Channel 555. The channel will be available for free to all HyppTV subscribers starting August 1 until the end of September. Plans to roll-out a complimentary app for mobile devices that hosts both video and gaming content are well underway.