TIM
JOHNSON (Director) made his animated feature film directorial
debut in 1998 on DreamWorks’ first computer-animated comedy
release, “Antz,” which starred the voices of Woody
Allen, Sharon Stone, Anne Bancroft, Sylvester Stallone, Gene
Hackman and Jennifer Lopez. He more recently directed the animated
action adventure “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas,” starring
the voices of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Joseph Fiennes.
Johnson joined PDI in 1988 and, two years later, co-founded the
studio’s Character Animation Group. He later served as the
animation director on “The Simpsons’” 1995 Halloween
special, “Homer3,” leading the team in transporting
the two-dimensional Homer into a three-dimensional world. The episode
has remained a favorite of fans of “The Simpsons,” and
has become a classic to animation aficionados.
Johnson’s background in film and animation dates back to
his college years. While earning a BA in English Literature at
Northwestern University, he produced two animated films, both of
which earned Richter Grant Organization Awards. Upon graduation,
he worked for two years as a freelance cel animator and director.
His introduction to computer animation came in 1985 while he was
on staff at Post Effects in Chicago.
KAREY
KIRKPATRICK (Director/Screenwriter) makes his directorial debut
on “Over the Hedge.” Kirkpatrick’s writing
credits encompass both live-action and animated features. He
most recently co-wrote the new live-action version of “Charlotte’s
Web,” based on the beloved children’s classic. Due
out this holiday season, the film stars Dakota Fanning and also
features the voice talents of Julia Roberts, Robert Redford,
Steve Buscemi, Oprah Winfrey and John Cleese, among others. Together
with his writing partner, Chris Poche, he also wrote an original
comedy entitled “Flakes,” which Kirkpatrick also
produced. Slated for release in 2006, the film stars Zooey Deschanel,
Christopher Lloyd and Aaron Stanford.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Kirkpatrick attended a performing
arts high school and started out as an actor. His career pursuits
eventually landed him on the streets of Walt Disney World’s
EPCOT Center, where he performed improvisational audience-participation
street theater. As his artistic focus turned to writing, he was
accepted to the USC School of Cinema-Television’s Filmic
Writing Program, where he won the Robert Riskin Screenwriting
Award and the Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award.
Immediately out of film school, Kirkpatrick landed a job as a
staff writer at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he worked
for more than three years. During that time, he earned his first
screenwriting credit as a co-writer on “The Rescuers Down
Under.” Since then, Kirkpatrick has been working almost
non-stop as a freelance screenwriter. He co-wrote the comedy “Honey,
We Shrunk Ourselves,” which, together with his animation
experience, led to his co-writing the acclaimed stop-motion animated
feature “James and the Giant Peach.” In addition,
he adapted the film’s script into a children’s storybook,
featuring illustrations and conceptual designs by award-winning
illustrator Lane Smith.
Kirkpatrick went on to write the screenplay for DreamWorks’ and
Aardman’s award-winning clay-animated comedy “Chicken
Run,” which was named the best-reviewed movie of 2000.
On the live-action side, he co-wrote the screenplay for the family
comedy fantasy “The Little Vampire.” He more recently
collaborated with author Douglas Adams on the screenplay for
the sci-fi comedy “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy,” based on Adams’ enduring bestseller.
BONNIE
ARNOLD (Producer) previously produced the 1995 landmark computer-animated
feature “Toy Story” and the Disney
blockbuster “Tarzan.” In the world of live-action
production, the veteran filmmaker’s credits include serving
as an associate producer on Kevin Costner’s Oscar®-winning
epic Western “Dances with Wolves” and Barry Sonnenfeld’s
hit comedy “The Addams Family.” She has also held
a variety of production posts, working with such top directors
as Peter Weir, Tony Scott, Stephen Frears and Michael Mann.
An interest in journalism led Arnold to her first professional
entertainment industry assignment as the unit publicist for American
Playhouse’s debut production, “King of America.” Following
that, Arnold began working with several independent filmmakers’ groups
and helped to promote the Atlanta Independent Film and Video
Festival. In addition, she oversaw a touring showcase of independent
films, sponsored by the American Film Institute. Her efforts
to arrange financing for independent ventures influenced her
decision to pursue a career as a producer.
In 1984, Arnold worked on her first major Hollywood film as a
production coordinator for Neil Simon’s “The Slugger’s
Wife.” She went on to serve as the production coordinator
for the U.S. portions of Peter Weir’s “The Mosquito
Coast.” While working in a similar role on “Leader
of the Band,” she met David Picker, who invited her to
work with him at Columbia Pictures. Assignments as a production
supervisor on such films as “Hero,” “Stars
and Bars,” “The Mighty Quinn” and “Revenge” followed.
Her association with Kevin Costner and her reputation for managing
complex productions led to her work on “Dances with Wolves.”
MIKE
FRY (Creative Consultant) brings an illustrious cartooning
background to his work as the co-creator and writer of the
comic strip Over the Hedge. He is a screenwriter and producer
of the Internet cartoon series “Live Nude Geeks” (at pcmag.com).
He was also the executive producer and creative consultant for
the animated television series “Committed.” Produced
by Nelvana, the series debuted in 2001 on CTV Canada and is based
on the irreverently funny comic panel that Fry created for United
Feature Syndicate.
Fry, together with Guy Vasilovich, co-created the popular comic
When I Was Short, which was made into a pilot short for Warner
Bros. Television Animation. Fry is also the creator of “Cheeverwood,” “Scotty” and
the editorial cartoon “No Bull.” In addition to the
Over the Hedge collections, Fry’s published works include
When I Was Short (Avon Books), Scotty: Born to Be Mild (Fine
Toon Books) and Scotty’s Houston: The View From Cafe Phil
(Loud Books).
Born in Minneapolis, Fry attended Baylor University in Waco,
Texas, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University
of Texas at Austin. He was an editorial cartoonist for the student
newspapers at both universities, and his first cartoon published
after college appeared in Playboy. Fry is a founding partner
of RingTales, a New Media company that produces short-form animated
content for all platforms. He has also worked with Mondo Media
to create, produce and develop interactive animated Web programming.
Fry lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, their two daughters,
one dog, two turtles, a few scorpions and a dozen or so shrub-eating
cows.
T
LEWIS (Creative Consultant) is the co-creator and illustrator
of the Over the Hedge comic strip. A native of Texas, he grew
up in such exotic locales as Africa, Switzerland and Alaska.
He now lives and works in Omak, Washington, commuting occasionally
to Houston, New York and Los Angeles.
Lewis’ eclectic artistic interests have found many wide-ranging
outlets, including children’s books, for which he won the
1999 National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award for Book
Illustration. His most recent major book is The Forgotten Helper
(Random House), which was conceived and illustrated by Lewis
and authored by Lorrie Moore. It has since been published in
Italian, Spanish, German and Japanese editions. Lewis has also
drawn the Mickey Mouse comic strip for Disney Productions and
King Features Syndicate.
Lewis holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and has taught art
at the University of Alaska, as well as in the Alaskan State
Arts Council’s Artists in Villages program, above the Arctic
Circle.
LEN
BLUM (Screenwriter) is a veteran screenwriter who most recently
co-wrote, with Steve Martin, the screenplay for the hit remake
of “The Pink Panther.” Blum also co-wrote the screenplay
for “Private Parts,” based on the Howard Stern autobiography,
and wrote the comedy sequel “Beethoven’s 2nd.”
Blum first made his mark in the film industry when he partnered
with Daniel Goldberg on two back-to-back comedy hits for director
Ivan Reitman: 1979’s “Meatballs” and 1981’s “Stripes,” both
starring Bill Murray. Blum lives in Montreal, Canada, where his
wife is President of McGill University.
LORNE
CAMERON & DAVID HOSELTON (Screenwriters) co-wrote
the 2003 animated film “Brother Bear,” which earned
an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature. Cameron
and Hoselton also co-wrote the computer-animated feature “Ratatouille,” starring
the voice of Brad Garrett, which is due out in summer 2007.
On the live-action side, Cameron and Hoselton co-wrote the comedy “Like
Father Like Son,” starring Dudley Moore, and wrote the
story for the Arthurian legend “First Knight,” starring
Sean Connery and Richard Gere.
Cameron and Hoselton have also written for television, including
the pilot for “Justice League of America,” on which
they served as executive producers, and the crime comedy telefilm “Catch
Me If You Can,” starring Tim Matheson.
BILL
DAMASCHKE (Executive Producer) is the Head of Creative Production
and Development for DreamWorks Animation (DWA), where he is
responsible for overseeing the creative production process
for all DWA projects, overseeing all artistic development,
shaping the creative teams behind each project, and growing
and developing the company’s creative talent
pool.
In addition to his studio responsibilities, Damaschke produced
the computer-animated comedy “Shark Tale,” which
earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature.
During his tenure at DWA, Damaschke has also been involved in
such animated releases as the Academy Award®-winning blockbuster “Shrek”;
the Oscar®-nominated sequel, “Shrek 2,” which
is the top-grossing animated film of all time; the recent Oscar® winner “Wallace & Gromit:
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”; and “Madagascar,” which
is the highest-grossing original film in the studio’s history.
Currently, there are a wide range of computer-animated comedies
in production at DWA, including “Flushed Away,” due
out in Fall 2006, and “Shrek the Third” and “Bee
Movie,” both slated for release in 2007. Damaschke is also
actively overseeing the new theatrical “Shrek” musical,
which is being produced for the stage.
A native of Chicago, Damaschke graduated from Illinois’ Wesleyan
University with a BFA in Music and Theatre. He began his career
in animation working on the hit feature “Pocahontas.” Coming
to DreamWorks in 1995, Damaschke served as a production manager
on the traditionally animated musical epic “The Prince
of Egypt.” He later co-executive produced the animated
adventure “The Road to El Dorado.” Damaschke was
named Head of Creative Production in 1999, and was promoted to
his current post in 2005.
ELLEN
COSS (Associate Producer) is a 20-year veteran in computer-generated
imagery, starting out as a coordinator at the seminal Digital
Productions. In the 1980s, Coss spent two and a half years
at Universal Studios’ theme park, serving as the production
manager of the film for the innovative “Funtastic World
of Hanna Barbera” attraction, which opened at Universal’s
Florida park in 1991.
Following her stint at Universal, Coss joined Rhythm & Hues
as a producer. During her five-year tenure, she produced several
theme park-attraction films, including “Seafari,” which
won first place at Imagina that year. She later became the executive
producer of the theme park division. Moving to Disney Feature
Animation, Coss produced the theme park-attraction films “Magic
Lamp” and “Mickey’s Philharmagic.” “Magic
Lamp” is currently playing at Disneyland Tokyo, and “Philharmagic” is
currently playing at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and Disneyland
Hong Kong.
Coss came to DreamWorks Animation as a production executive in
2003.
JIM
COX (Co-Executive Producer) is a screenwriter and producer
who has primarily worked in the family entertainment arena,
particularly animated features. His writing credits include
the films “Oliver & Company,” “The
Rescuers Down Under” and “FernGully: The Last Rainforest,” on
which he also served as a co-producer. In addition, he worked
on the inception of and script development for the Oscar®-nominated
animated hit “Beauty and the Beast.”
In addition to his film work, Cox and Over the Hedge co-creator
Mike Fry are the co-founders of RingTales LLC, a new media company
that produces short animated content for the internet and mobile
phones.
Born in Spokane, Washington, Cox received his undergraduate degree
in Media Studies from Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington.
RUPERT
GREGSON-WILLIAMS (Composer) has scored a wide variety of film
and television projects. In 2004, he collaborated with Andrea
Guerra to compose the score for the acclaimed true-life drama “Hotel Rwanda,” for which the composers won
a European Film Award. He more recently contributed to the scores
of the Oscar®-winning animated feature “Wallace & Gromit:
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” and Antoine Fuqua’s
live-action epic “King Arthur.” His upcoming films
include Nick Hurran’s “It’s a Boy Girl Thing” and
Peter Hewitt’s “Zoom.”
Gregson-Williams has also created the scores for such feature
films as the teen comedy “What a Girl Wants,” starring
Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth; the biographical comedy-drama “The
Night We Called It a Day,” starring Dennis Hopper and Melanie
Griffith; Brad Mirman’s crime comedy “Crime Spree,” starring
Gérard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel; Nick Hurran’s “Plots
With a View,” starring Brenda Blethyn and Alfred Molina;
Peter Hewitt’s “Thunderpants,” starring Simon
Callow; Nick Hurran’s “Virtual Sexuality”;
and “Urban Ghost Story.” He has also collaborated
with composer Hans Zimmer on a number of animated and live-action
features.
Gregson-Williams received an Emmy Award nomination for his score
for “Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story.” His
television work also includes Peter Hewitt’s “Princess
of Thieves,” and four projects for director Nick Hurran: “Walk
Away and I Stumble”; “Take a Girl Like You”; “Happy
Birthday Shakespeare”; and the series “The Last Detective.” He
also scored the acclaimed documentary miniseries “Long
Way Round,” which followed actors Ewan McGregor and Charley
Boorman on a motorcycle trip around the world.
In addition to his busy film schedule, Gregson-Williams has composed
for the London Symphony Orchestra, wrote the FIFA Soccer World
Cup anthem, produced albums for EMI, and worked alongside several
famed conductors and recording artists.
BEN
FOLDS (Songs) has enjoyed success as both a solo artist and
as the frontman and pianist for the group Ben Folds Five. His
composition and playing technique remain wholly unique, combining
elements of jazz and power rock. Although he is best known
for his prowess as a pianist, Folds’ first
instrument was drums, and he is also adept at guitar and bass.
Emerging in the early 1990s, the guitarless trio Ben Folds
Five was a refreshing break from the norm. In addition to Folds
on piano and vocals, the group also included a bassist and
a drummer. The group put on a high-energy, blistering live
show, turning the band into a must-see live act. Ben Folds
Five was signed to an independent record label, resulting in
their self-titled debut CD in 1995. Two years later, their
second album, Whatever and Ever Amen, was released on Epic
Records, and included the ballad “Brick,” which
broke the band commercially.
While 1998 didn’t see a new studio album by the band, Ben
Folds Five’s former label issued a 16-track rarities collection,
titled Naked Baby Photos. That same year, Folds released his
first solo album, Volume 1, under the pseudonym Fear of Pop.
Ben Folds Five regrouped with 1999’s The Unauthorized Biography
of Reinhold Messner, which was a more mature work than its predecessors,
although the energetic lead-off single, “Army,” showed
that Folds’ humorous approach hadn’t dulled at all.
Due to artistic differences, Ben Folds Five broke up in 2000.
In 2001, Folds’ second solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs,
was released, with Folds playing most of the instruments himself.
A year later, he released a live album, Ben Folds Live, and followed
it up with three EPs. In 2005, his latest solo work, Songs for
Silverman, was released to critical acclaim.
Over the past few years, Folds has also provided a number of
songs for film soundtracks, including “Lonely Christmas
Eve” for Ron Howard’s “How the Grinch Stole
Christmas,” and a rendition of the Beatles’ “Golden
Slumbers” for “I Am Sam.” He has also done
charity compilations, including the song “Wicked Little
Town,” from the show “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” for
the benefit album Wig in a Box; and No Boundaries, a benefit
album for Kosovo refugees.
Touring each year, Ben Folds is famous for his charismatic, energetic
concerts, and his trademark wit and musicality. Supporting the
independent music scene, Folds created his own record label (Attacked
By Plastic), and does promotional work for independent record
stores across the country.
KATHY
ALTIERI (Production Designer) came to DreamWorks in 1994 and
worked as an art director on the traditionally animated epic
musical “The Prince of Egypt.” She then moved up
to production designer on the Oscar®-nominated animated feature “Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron.” Presently, Altieri is overseeing
the production design for one of DreamWorks Animation’s
future projects, the computer-animated comedy “How to Train
Your Dragon,” based on the book by Cressida Cowell.
Altieri’s earlier animation credits include work as a background
supervisor on the hit feature “Aladdin,” the featurette “The
Prince and the Pauper,” and the Roger Rabbit short “Tummy
Trouble.” She was also a background painter on such animated
successes as “The Lion King,” “The Little Mermaid” and “The
Hunchback of Notre Dame,” as well as on another Roger Rabbit
short, “Roller Coaster Rabbit.”
CRAIG
RING (Visual Effects Supervisor) served as the digital supervisor
on DreamWorks’ animated adventure “Sinbad:
Legend of the Seven Seas.”
Prior to coming to DreamWorks Animation, Ring was based at PDI/DreamWorks
in Northern California. While at PDI, he worked as a CG Supervisor
on the traditionally animated “The Road to El Dorado” and
was also the lead lighting supervisor for DreamWorks’ first
computer-animated release, “Antz.” In addition, Ring
worked on such live-action features as “Batman and Robin,” “The
Peacemaker,” “The Arrival” and “Batman
Forever.”
Before joining PDI/DreamWorks, Ring was at Industrial Light & Magic,
where he worked on the computer graphics in the Oscar®-winning
feature “Forrest Gump.” He had started out working
in product design, software design and digital hardware design
at Hewlett-Packard.
JOHN
K. CARR (Editor) has worked as both a film editor and as a
sound editor. He has won three Golden Reel Awards from the
Motion Picture Sound Editors, the first in 1997 for his work
on the animated film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and
one the following year as part of the editing team on the animated
feature “Hercules.” He won his third Golden Reel
in 2002 as the supervising sound editor on the animated film “Atlantis:
The Lost Empire.”
Carr also served as a sound editor on the animated hit “A
Bug’s Life.” He had earlier edited the animated feature “All
Dogs Go to Heaven,” and he was a co-editor on “The
Land Before Time.”
JEFF
SNOW (Head of Story) has been with DreamWorks since 1997, when
he served as a co-story supervisor on the traditionally animated
feature “The Road to El Dorado.”
Snow began his career in animation as a story artist at Disney,
where he worked on the films “Tarzan,” “Mulan,” “Hercules” and “The
Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Snow also worked at Warner Bros.
as a story artist on the animated feature “Batman: Mask
of Phantasm,” and as a layout and story artist on the television
series “Batman: The Animated Series.”
DAMON
O’BEIRNE (Head of Layout) held the post of layout
supervisor on the traditionally animated adventure “Sinbad:
Legend of the Seven Seas.” He was more recently a part
of the layout teams on the computer-animated hits “Madagascar” and “Shark
Tale.”
O’Beirne came to DreamWorks in 1995, starting out as a
workbook and lighting layout artist on “The Prince of Egypt.” He
later served as a layout supervisor on “The Road to El
Dorado” and also worked as an animatic artist on “Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron.”
O’Beirne started his animation career at London-based Amblimation,
where he worked on the animated features “Balto” and “We're
Back! A Dinosaur’s Story.”
CHRISTIAN
SCHELLEWALD (Art Director) previously served as a visual development
artist on DreamWorks’ “The Prince
of Egypt.” He went on to be the production designer on
the studio’s second traditionally animated feature, “The
Road to El Dorado.”
Hailing from Essen, Germany, Schellewald studied graphic design
at the University of Essen. He went on to work as a comic strip
artist and freelance illustrator before segueing into animation.
He began his animation career at Amblimation in London, where
he worked as a layout artist on “Balto.”
PAUL
SHARDLOW (Art Director) has served as a visual development
artist on the DreamWorks Animation films “The Prince of
Egypt,” “Shrek,” “Spirit: Stallion of
the Cimarron” and “Shark Tale,” as well as
the upcoming features “Flushed Away,” “Bee
Movie” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Originally from Manchester, England, Shardlow earned a B.A. in
Illustration from Leicester College of Art and began his career
in 1970. He spent 25 years in London as a freelance artist, working
on commercials and television specials, and illustrating for
books, magazines and program titles. He also worked as a background
painter on the films “Watership Down,” “Heavy
Metal” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” In 1995,
he came to DreamWorks as part of the animation company’s
core start-up group.
DAVID
BURGESS (Supervising Animator) most recently worked on the
computer-animated hits “Madagascar” and “Shrek
2.” He is currently working as the head of character animation
on the future DreamWorks Animation project “Rex Havoc.”
Burgess came to DreamWorks from Walt Disney Feature Animation,
where he worked on some of their most successful productions.
His credits include the posts of supervising animator on “Tarzan” and “The
Lion King,” and animator on “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”
JOHN
HILL (Supervising Animator) is currently at work as a supervising
animator on DreamWorks’ upcoming animated feature “Bee
Movie.” During his tenure at the studio, he has also served
as an animator on the films “Shark Tale,” “Sinbad:
Legend of the Seven Seas” and “Spirit: Stallion of
the Cimarron.”
Before coming to DreamWorks, Hill had collaborated with renowned
animation director Don Bluth on a number of films. He was a supervising
animator on Bluth’s “Titan A.E.,” “Bartok
the Magnificent,” “Anastasia,” “A Troll
in Central Park” and “Thumbelina.” Hill also
worked as an animator on the Bluth-directed features “Rock-A-Doodle,” “All
Dogs Go to Heaven” and “The Land Before Time.”
JASON
REISIG (Supervising Animator) most recently worked on the hit
comedy “Madagascar.” He is now serving as
a supervising animator on the computer-animated comedy “Kung
Fu Panda,” which is slated for release in 2008.
Reisig began his career in 1996 at PDI/DreamWorks, where he worked
as an animator on “Antz” and “Shrek.” For
his work on the latter, he was nominated for an Annie Award for
Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation.
In 2002, Reisig went to Sony Pictures Imageworks, where he was
a lead character animator on the live-action blockbuster “Spider-Man
2.” He also worked on “Stuart Little 2,” “Christmas
with the Kranks” and the Oscar®-winning animated short “The
Chubbchubbs.”
KRISTOF
SERRAND (Supervising Animator) came to DreamWorks in 1995 and
was a supervising animator on “The Prince of Egypt.” He
then supervised the animation teams on “The Road to El
Dorado” and “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.” He
also served as the animation and final line supervisor on “Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron” and as an animator on the computer-animated
comedy “Shark Tale.”
Serrand had previously worked at Amblimation in London, where
he was a supervising animator on the films “Balto,” “We’re
Back! A Dinosaur’s Story” and “An American
Tail: Fievel Goes West.” He also worked as an animator
for Gaumont Studios on such features as “The Big Fight,” “Asterix
in Britain” and “The Cesar’s Surprise.”
WILLIAM
SALAZAR (Supervising Animator) was a supervising animator on
the computer-animated hit “Shark Tale.” He previously
supervised the animation for several central characters in DreamWorks’ traditionally
animated features. He was the supervising animator for the female
lead character, Marina, in “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven
Seas,” the equine love interest, Rain, in “Spirit:
Stallion of the Cimarron,” Tulio in “The Road to
El Dorado,” and Young Moses in “The Prince of Egypt.”
Salazar also worked at the London-based Amblimation, where he
served as an assistant animator on “An American Tail: Fievel
Goes West,” as an animator on “We’re Back!
A Dinosaur’s Story,” and as a supervising animator
on “Balto.”
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