Elena Wurlitzer has been appointed Development Producer – Animated Series and Features for Jellyfish Originals, the kids & family original content division of Jellyfish Pictures (jellyfishpictures.co.uk), the award-winning animation & VFX studio, headquartered in London, U.K. The appointment is part of Jellyfish’s plans to robustly build its original’s department and grow and diversify its development slate with an emphasis on high-quality animated episodic and feature content.
In her new role, Wurlitzer will focus on creating and developing IP alongside Jellyfish’s in-house directors, art department and creative team, as well as acquiring external IP and aligning strategically with co-production and commercial partners. She will report to Natalie Llewellyn, Managing Director – Animation & Originals. “Having been a fan of the incredible work Jellyfish has produced, I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of such an exceptionally creative team, and I’m excited to expand our slate of fantastic animated series,” said Wurlitzer.
Prior to joining Jellyfish, Wurlitzer was Senior Development Executive at Wildseed Studios, where she led a slate of original series, sourced and nurtured emerging talent for live-action and animated series. Previous roles include Senior Creative for BAFTA nominated children’s app, Azoomee, developing and producing on-demand series content. She was also part of the MarcoPolo Learning team that won awards for Kidscreen’s Best Learning App and the App Store’s App of the Day in two consecutive years, as well as an International Emmy Award nomination. Earlier in her career, Wurlitzer spent several years at Disney in Original Series and Co-production, before moving on to become an animation script writer for series airing on Disney, CBeebies and the Family Channel.
Jellyfish Originals is in development on premium projects for global platforms and commercial partners and has also adapted two popular children’s book series. Subject to financing, Jellyfish will commence pre-production on its inaugural original preschool series later this year.
Award-winning animation studio Golden Wolf (goldenwolf.tv) announced the promotion of long-time Executive Producer Dotti Sinnott to the new title of Managing Director for the studio, and adds Heidi Stephenson as Head of Production and Tan Jones as Executive Producer. Founded in 2013, the studio has expanded to a 27-person staff with team members hailing from all over the world.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have Dotti, Heidi and Tan by my side as we take Golden Wolf to the next stage of our evolution,” said Golden Wolf founder Ingi Erlingsson. “Having been my right hand woman for over half a decade, Dotti is the perfect person to lead this exceptional team into uncharted territory as we broaden our horizons into music, AI and more.”
Sinnott originally joined the studio’s London-based office in 2015 as a freelance producer where she oversaw projects for Nike, Disney, Ubisoft and more. In 2017, she assumed the title of Executive Producer and spearheaded the studio’s expansion into New York City. Her leadership played an integral role for the studio’s transition into remote production during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now in her seventh year with Golden Wolf, Sinnott will now oversee the business operations for both the New York and London offices as Managing Director.
“I am excited to focus on Golden Wolf’s continued expansion as a powerhouse of entertainment and technology, but most of all I’m proud to support our people as Managing Director,” said Sinnott. “Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure and the challenge of working on so many amazing projects with this top-notch team. It’s an honor to take on this role alongside the incredible talent of Heidi and Tan. Working with such a kind, supportive and talented group of individuals has been a joy, and I can’t wait for all we have in store for the future.”
Heidi Stephenson, a newcomer to the animation studio, has experience spanning from animation production all the way to broadcasting and will manage internal production across both offices as the Head of Production. Executive Producer Tan Jones assists in managing the production team and has overseen projects for brands such as Nike and Adidas. A fellow Golden Wolf veteran, Jones’ promotion includes the new responsibility of spearheading all new business ventures for the studio globally.
Trevanna Post, the industry leader in post-production accounting (trevannapost.com), has promoted Yana Collins Lehman to Chief Executive Officer. Lehman, who previously served as President and COO, succeeds Jennifer Freed, the company’s founder, who will focus on her role as CEO of Trevanna Tracks, a developer of music licensing software. Lehman joined Trevanna Post in 2004 as an accountant when it was a boutique operation based in New York City’s iconic Brill Building. She was appointed President and COO six years later, and since then has led in expanding Trevanna into Los Angeles and London.
In her new position, Lehman will be responsible for the performance and operations of the company’s offices in New York, Los Angeles and London. She will also direct strategy, future growth and innovation. The company has recently provided post-production accounting services for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Licorice Pizza, and The French Dispatch.
Lehman got her start with Independent Pictures under Cary Woods and Andrew Karpen, while a graduate student at Columbia University. She later worked as a paralegal at Sloss Law/Cinetic Media before joining Trevanna Post. She is an active member of Local 161. Since 2009, Lehman has served as chair and board member of the Post New York Alliance. She successfully lobbied New York State to increase film industry jobs by passing a 30% film and television post-production incentive. She is an outspoken advocate for the state’s post-production industry and has worked to build bridges between the entertainment industry and local governments.
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA, hpaonline.com) Awards Committee has announced that revered studio post-production executive Kim Waugh, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Post Production Creative Services, Warner Bros. Studio Operations (WBSO) at Warner Bros. Discovery, will receive the HPA Lifetime Achievement Award on November 17 when the HPA Awards gala celebration returns to the Hollywood Legion Theater. The HPA Awards honor technical and creative brilliance in content creation.
Waugh immigrated to the U.S. from New Zealand in the early 1980s to pursue a post production career in Los Angeles. He got his start as a sound recordist at Soundelux before moving up the ranks to facility management, and evetually taking on a partnership. Working on films like Bravehart, JFK and Home Alone, Waugh and studio founders Lon Bender and Wylie SStatement received a Sci-Tech Oscar in 1994 for developing the ADE System (a.k.a. Kiwi 9000). He joined WBSO in 2004 as VP of Post Production Services, was promoted to SVP in 2007 and currently oversees creative teams, facilities and operations in Burbank, New York and London, and is suprvising the built out of Warner’s new flagship post shop in Soho, London.
More moves:
- Theatrical marketing agency Open Road has launched a branding and design division, dubbed PopClutch (popclutch.openroad.la), to be led by Open Road Senior Creative Director Paul Brodie as Executive Creative Director/Head of Creative for the new label, in partnership with Executive Producer/Head of Production, Sharre Jacoby.
- MTI Film (mtifilm.com) has added dailies colorist Arthur Oganesyan to its team of post-production artists. Oganesyan brings experience in streaming and broadcast series through stints at Encore, Hollywood and Company 3. In his first project for MTI, he is grading dailies for the new season of American Horror Story (FX).
- OTT/FAST Channel service OTTera (ottera.tv) has selected C-suite revenue, strategy and marketing professional Larry Schwartz as Chief Revenue Officer to lead its sales, commercial strategy, partnerships and customer-facing operations.
- BAFTA (bafta.org) has appointed Sky Studios Chief Content Officer Jane Millichip as Chief Executive Officer, selected by the Board of Trustees following an extensive and highly competitive search to replace Amanda Berry and Kevin Price after their long tenure. She asumes the role in October and will lead the Academy in delivering its charitable remit and ambitious vision.
- Pamela Kaufman has been appointed to the newly created role of President & CEO of International Markets, Global Consumer Products and Experiences at Paramount Global, reporting to President & CEO Bob Bakish. Meanwhile, Raffaele Annecchino is departing his role as President & CEO of Paramount International Networks, Studios and Streaming.
