DreamWorks
9.0/10 (13512 reviews)
Post a Job. Get Free Quotes. Hire Proven Animators. Anytime, Anywhere!
- Our Team is Here to Help
Let Our Recruiters Find The
Perfect Freelancer For Your Project
- How Freelancer Works
Post Your Project, Choose a
Freelancer, Get Your Job Done!
- Get The Perfect Design
Start a Contest Today - 100s of
Entries, Only Pay for the Best!
- Outsource Anything
Need Something Done? Hire a
Professional in Any Field, Today.
- Sign Up Now - Free
Join the World's Largest
Freelancing Platform Today.
- Our Team is Here to Help
Search results
Following his departure, he co-founded DreamWorks SKG in 1994, [a] where he served as the company's chief executive officer (CEO) and executive producer of its animated franchises—including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon—until stepping down from the title in 2016.
In January 2017, Christopher DeFaria joined DreamWorks Animation in the newly created position of president of the DreamWorks Feature Animation Group. [86] As president, DeFaria oversaw all aspects of DWA's feature animation business, including slate strategy, development, production; innovation and technology; and business affairs.
- Overview
- Early life
- Professional career
- Political activities
- SEC investigation
- SOPA/PIPA
- Academy Award
- Personal life
Jeffrey "Jeff" Katzenberg (/ˈkætsənbɜːrɡ/; born December 21, 1950) is an American film producer and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation, where he oversaw the production of such animated franchises as Sh...
Katzenberg was born in New York City, to a Jewish family, the son of Anne, and artist, and Walter Katzenberg, a stockbroker. He attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, graduating in 1969. When he was 14, Katzenberg volunteered to work on Republican John Lindsay's successful New York mayoral campaign. He quickly received the nickname "Squirt"...
Paramount PicturesKatzenberg began his career as an assistant to producer David Picker, then in 1974 he became an assistant to Barry Diller, the Chairman of Paramount Pictures. Diller moved Katzenberg to the marketing department, followed by other assignments within the studio, until he was assigned to revive the Star Trek franchise, which resulted in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He continued to work his way up a became president of production near Paramount's president, Michael Eisner.
The Walt Disney StudiosIn 1984, Michael Eisner became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at The Walt Disney Company. Eisner brought Katzenberg with him to take charge of Disney's motion picture division. Katzenberg was responsible for reviving the studio which, at the time, ranked last at the box office among the major studios. He focused the studio on production of edgy comedies through its Touchstone Pictures banner, including films such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Three Men and a Baby (1987) and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). By 1987, Disney had become the number-one studio at the box office. Katzenberg also oversaw Touchstone Television, which produced such hit TV series as The Golden Girls and Home Improvement.
Katzenberg was also charged with turning around Disney's ailing Feature Animation unit, creating some intrastudio controversy when he person edited twelve minutes out of a completed Disney animated feature, The Black Cauldron (1985), shortly after joining the company. Under his management, the animation department began creating some of Disney's most critically acclaimed and highest grossing animated features. These films include, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), which was the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994). In addition, Katzenberg also sealed the deal that created the highly successful partnership between Pixar and Disney and the deal that brought Miramax Films into Disney.
When Eisner's second in command, Frank Wells, died in a helicopter crash in 1994, Eisner refused to promote Katzenberg to the vacated position as president. This led to a falling out between the two executives, and Katzenberg left the company in September 1994. He launched a lawsuit against Disney to recover money he felt he was owed and settled out of court for an estimated $250 million.
DreamWorks SKG
Later in 1994, Katzenberg co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, with Katzenberg taking primary responsibilities for animation operations. He was also credited as executive producer on the DreamWorks animated films The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado and Joseph: King of Dreams (both in 2000), Shrek in 2001, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron in 2002, and Shrek 2 in 2004.
Katzenberg is a longtime supporter of Barack Obama. Reportedly "smitten" by Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Katzenberg pledged his full support to Obama in 2006 if he decided to run for president. During his campaign, Obama praised Katzenberg for his "tenacious support and advocacy since we started back in 2007."
Katzenberg has been an avid fundraiser for Obama, doing so while much of Hollywood was still supporting the Clintons. His fundraising prowess has reportedly allowed him to become an "informal liaison" between Hollywood and the White House. Katzenberg co-hosted a fundraiser for President Obama at the home of actor George Clooney in May 2012. Katzenberg said the event raised almost $15 million, which would make it the most profitable presidential fundraiser in history. It was reported that Obama campaign officials were not happy about some of the requests that Katzenberg had made. In particular, they were bothered that Katzenberg, who reportedly had made himself "indispensable to Obama", required that the President spent time talking at each of the 14 tables.
When the details of Oriental DreamWorks emerged, Jennifer Rubin noted that Post the Obama Administration's potential involvement in the deal would not be an issue if not for Katzenberg's May fundraiser for Obama and his "huge campaign donations." It was reported that Katzenberg was Obama's top bundler, who, along with Andy Spahn, had contributed at least $6.6 million combined for both of Obama's campaigns. In an MSNBC interview about the donations, Nicholas Confessore noted Katzenberg's desire to build movie studios in China, saying that he would need help from the Obama administration to get this done and that "[e]verything has interests at stake." Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation suggested that Katzenberg's long history of financial support for Obama may have influenced the movie deal being "fast-track[ed]" by the White House, noting that DreamWorks Animation "never registered to lobby the federal government."
It was reported that Obama arrived in Los Angeles on October 7, 2012, where he joined Bill Clinton at Katzenberg's Beverly Hills home for a private meeting with several deep-pocketed Democratic donors. Obama's campaign indicated the meeting was to thank supporters, but some members of the campaign finance committee said that it involved the pro-Obama PAC Priorities USA Action. Members of the White House press corps who had traveled to California with Obama were kept in the garage of Katzenberg's mansion and one reporter calling the meeting "unusual". Katzenberg, who has previously donated $2 million to the pro-Obama PAC Priorities USA Action, donated an additional $1 million in October 2012.
The Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation in April 2012 into accusations that Katzenberg had bribed Chinese officials in an effort to obtain distribution rights, as Joe Biden was negotiating a deal to increase film quotas.
Katzenberg took a leading role in pushing the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA); Hollywood reportedly saw piracy as "an existential threat." When the White House announced its opposition to the bill in January 2012, Chris Dodd, the former Senator and head of the Motion Picture Association of America, the film industry's lobbying organization, contacted...
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced in September 2012 that the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award would be presented to Katzenberg at the Oscar ceremony in 2013 in acknowledgement of his role in "raising money for education, art and health-related causes, particularly those benefiting the motion picture industry."
Katzenberg married Marilyn Siegel, a kindergarten teacher, in 1975. They have twin children, Laura and David. David is a television producer and director.
Together, Marilyn and Jeffrey have been highly active in charitable causes. They donated the multimillion-dollar Katzenberg Center to Boston University's College of General Studies, citing that the school gave their two children the "love of education." They also donated the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Center for Animation at the University of Southern California.
In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board for the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation, Katzenberg sits on the boards or serves as a trustee of AIDS Project Los Angeles, American Museum of the Moving Image, California Institute of the Arts, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Geffen Playhouse, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and The Simon Wiesenthal Center. Together with DreamWorks Animation, Katzenberg founded the DreamWorks Animation Academy of Inner-City Arts in 2008. In recognition of his efforts, Katzenberg received the 85th Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2013 American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards Presentation on December 1 at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.
Katzenberg has an estimated worth of $800 million according to Forbes. Katzenberg is reported to have donated over $3.5 million in political contributions since 1979: 33% ($1.171+ million) to Democrats, 66% ($2.33+ million) to special interest groups without party affiliations, and less than 1% ($7,000) to Republicans.
Apr 28, 2016 · Dreamworks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg (R) poses for photographers as he arrives for the European premiere of Kung Fu Panda 3 in London.
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American businessman, film studio executive, film producer, and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He was the former Studio Chairman of Disney in the late 1980s and early 1990s, playing a part in the Disney Renaissance which happened in spite of him.
After leading some of the most influential animation divisions of our time (including Dreamworks Animation and Disney), Jeffrey Katzenberg shared some of his...
- 56 min
- 46K
- Stanford Graduate School of Business
People also ask
Who is the CEO of DreamWorks Animation?
What happened to DreamWorks Animation?
Who are DreamWorks Animation's new co-presidents?
Is DreamWorks Animation a publicly traded company?
What if I sold DreamWorks Animation in 2016?
What is DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment?
When I sold DreamWorks Animation in 2016, I woke up the next day and asked myself: If you… · Experience: WndrCo · Location: Beverly Hills · 500+ connections on LinkedIn.
- WndrCo
