Chris Meledandri
Chris Meledandri | |
---|---|
Born | Christopher Meledandri May 15, 1959 New York City, U.S. |
Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
Occupation | Film producer |
Employers |
|
Notable work | |
Title |
|
Spouse |
Leslie Benzinger
(m. 2002; div. 2016) |
Children | 2 |
Christopher Meledandri (/mɛləˈdɑːndri/;[1] born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation, and has worked as the producer for the film series of Ice Age, Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets and Sing. In 2021, he joined Nintendo's board of directors after working with the video game company on The Super Mario Bros. Movie.[2]
Early life
Meledandri was born in New York City to Roland Meledandri, a men's fashion designer, and Risha Meledandri, an activist, growing up in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.[3] He is of Italian descent,[4] and attended Dartmouth College.[5]
Career
Early career
Meledandri's first job in the film industry came when he worked as an assistant to executive producer
1998–2007: Blue Sky Studios
In 1998, Meledandri led Fox's acquisition of fledgling visual effects house Blue Sky Studios, which became a commercially successful production studio. He oversaw the creative and business operations of Blue Sky, which became wholly owned by Fox.[7][8] While at the studio, Meledandri supervised and/or executive produced films including Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) and Horton Hears a Who! (2008). He also produced two animated shorts, Gone Nutty (2002) and No Time for Nuts (2006); both were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
2007–present: Illumination
Meledandri left as President of 20th Century Fox Animation in early 2007, being replaced by Vanessa Morrison, and founded
2016–present: DreamWorks Animation and Nintendo
On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intent to acquire competing studio DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. It was announced that Meledandri would oversee both Illumination and DreamWorks following the completion of the merger.[10] However, it was later announced that Meledandri had declined to oversee DreamWorks, and will instead be a consultant at the studio. On November 6, 2018, it was announced that Meledandri will be collaborating with Universal and DreamWorks to revive the Shrek franchise.[11][12][13] Meledandri intends, however, to retain the original voice actors, as he believes they were perhaps the most memorable parts of the series. The first film in this collaboration, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, in which Meledandri served as executive producer, was released in December 2022 to universal critical acclaim and commercial success.[citation needed]
In January 2018, Nintendo announced during a fiscal meeting that Illumination would be developing an animated Mario film and that Meledandri will co-produce the film with Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. On July 5, 2021, it was reported that Meledandri would join Nintendo's board of directors "as an independent and non-executive outside director" to advise Nintendo as the company develops more films under Nintendo Pictures.[2]
Personal life
Meledandri is a member of
Meledandri was married to Leslie Benziger from 2002 to 2016.[14] He has two sons, born in 1990 and 1998.[15]
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1986 | Quicksilver | Associate producer |
1989 | Brothers in Arms | Producer |
1990 | Opportunity Knocks | |
1993 | Fly by Night | Executive producer |
Swing Kids | ||
Cool Runnings | ||
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | Co-executive producer | |
1994 | Trial by Jury | Producer |
2002 | Ice Age | Executive producer |
Gone Nutty | ||
2005 | Robots | |
2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | |
No Time for Nuts | ||
2008 | Horton Hears a Who![7] | |
2010 | Despicable Me | Producer |
2011 | Hop | |
2012 | The Lorax | |
2013 | Despicable Me 2 | |
2015 | Minions[16] | |
2016 | The Secret Life of Pets[17] | |
Sing | ||
2017 | Despicable Me 3[18] | |
2018 | The Grinch[19] | |
2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2[20] | |
2021 | Sing 2 | |
2022 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | |
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish | Executive producer[21] | |
2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie[22] | Producer |
Migration | ||
2024 | Despicable Me 4 |
References
- ^ Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why This 'Super Mario Bros.' Movie Lives Up to Fan Expectations. YouTube. Variety. April 4, 2023. Event occurs at 0:05. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ a b Q&A Summary Archived July 5, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e Barnes, Brooks (April 3, 2011). "For Illumination Entertainment, Animation Meets Economic Reality". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 20, 2022). "Illumination's Chris Meledandri Talks 'Minions', Streaming Vs Theatrical, Chris Pratt For 'Super Mario' & Facing Fear Of Failure: CineEurope". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
I'm not sure this is the smartest defense, but as a person who has Italian-American heritage, I feel I can make that decision without worrying about offending Italians or Italian-Americans
- ^ a b Archibald, Sophia (May 10, 2011). "In nod to other famous alum., Meledandri produces 'Lorax'". The Dartmouth. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Garrahan, Matthew (January 6, 2014). "Chris Meledandri, the man who has made millions from Minions". Financial Times. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ a b c Munoz, Lorenza; Verrier, Richard (January 19, 2007). "Head of Fox animation division signs with rival Universal Studios". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ Baisley, Sarah (January 18, 2007). "Universal Pictures Lures Chris Meledandri From 20th Century Fox Animation". Animation World Network. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (December 9, 2016). "Illumination's Chris Meledandri Talks Success Secrets, Rumors He'll Head DreamWorks". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ "Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal". Los Angeles Times. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ^ Lang, Brett (November 6, 2018). "'Shrek,' 'Puss in Boots' Getting Rebooted (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ Lang, Brent (November 6, 2018). "How Chris Meledandri Became the Most Powerful Man in Animation". Variety. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ Palmeri, Christopher; Sakoui, Anousha (September 12, 2017). "In Dismal Summer, 'Despicable Me 3' Producer Delivers $1 Billion". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ "LESLIE BENZIGER VS CHRISTOPHER MELEDANDRI". unicourt.com.
- ^ S. Cohen, David (October 26, 2013). "Chris Meledandri: Event Films Are Cannibalizing Each Other". Variety. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
- ^ Mike Fleming (July 23, 2012). "Illumination And Universal Hatch 'Despicable Me' Spinoff About The Minions". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 24, 2014). "Chris Meledandri's Illumination Sets Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet And Kevin Hart For 3D Animated 'Pets' Pic At Universal". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- ^ Bond, Paul (September 11, 2013). "Steve Burke: NBC's Ratings Woes Hurting Revenues". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
A third film is in the works, as is a Christmastime spinoff about the Minions.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (October 8, 2013). "Universal, Illumination to reboot 'The Grinch'". Variety. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ^ Mandell, Andrea (August 2, 2016). "Get Ready for 'Secret Life of Pets 2'". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (March 15, 2022). "'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' Trailer Recounts the Nine Lives of the Leche Whisperer". Animation Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- ^ Nintendo of America [@NintendoAmerica] (February 1, 2018). "Nintendo and Illumination are partnering on a movie starring Mario, co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2020 – via Twitter.
External links
- Chris Meledandri at IMDb