By Robert Goldrich
NEW YORK --Though Ken Yagoda formally left his staff position as managing partner/director of broadcast production and creative resources at Young & Rubicam, New York, earlier this week, plans call for him to continue to work for the agency on select assignments. The highest profile of these projects will be the fourth annual “Dreams” program, which again teams Y&R with Sony Electronics’ Broadcast and Production Systems Division.
“Dreams” turns noted spot directors loose to reflect their creative vision in shorts lensed with Sony 24p HD cameras. Yagoda has been the point person on “Dreams” since its inaugural year of 2002.
Rich Rosenthal assumes the Y&R, New York, director of broadcast production mantle from Yagoda. Rosenthal formerly served as associate director of broadcast production. Yagoda described Rosenthal as a “tremendous producer” and a worthy successor. “My intent for the past couple of years has been to pass the torch [as head of production] to Rich,” related Yagoda. “He’s taking over a great department.”
Yagoda said he decided to step down from his position. But there have also been reports of recent layoffs at Y&R in light of declining revenues. Yagoda has had three tours of staff duty at Y&R, totaling 23 years. His just concluded Y&R tenure lasted 17 years. Yagoda said that Y&R has been “a great place for me,” representing “a highlight of my professional life.”
In addition to “Dreams,” Yagoda said he will likely take on other Y&R assignments. He hopes some of these jobs will entail him working again with Y&R chairman/CEO/worldwide creative director Michael Patti.
Beyond his continued involvement with Y&R, Yagoda is considering other prospects, noting that several interesting opportunities have started to surface. He added that the “Dreams” experience over the years has piqued his interest in longer form fare.
Meanwhile, there’s been a change in the ’05 “Dreams” directorial lineup. Due to a conflict in his schedule, director Fredrik Bond of bicoastal/international MJZ–who was recently named a DGA nominee for best commercial director of ’04 (see story, p. 1)–had to pull out of “Dreams.” Bond’s slot has been filled by director Jesse Dylan of Los Angeles-headquartered Form.
Dylan has already wrapped his “Dreams” short. He rounds out an ’05 coterie of “Dreams” directors that consists of: Samuel Bayer of bicoastal RSA USA, James Gartner of Santa Monica-based GARTNER, Alison Maclean of Park Pictures, New York, Doug Nichol of bicoastal/international Partizan, Hank Perlman of bicoastal/international Hungry Man, Jeffery Plansker of Supply & Demand, New York, Baker Smith of Santa Monica-based harvest, Charles Stone III of Brown Bag Films, New York, and the StyleWar collective, represented by bicoastal Smuggler.
This marks the first time that Yagoda has opted for a “Dreams” theme that wasn’t a state of mind. He selected “Flight” because it had “more kinetic energy than our previous themes.” Yagoda said that this new thematic direction has provided a creatively inspiring change of pace as reflected in the shorts completed thus far.
The ’05 series of “Dreams” shorts is slated to debut in March at the Ziegfeld Theater, New York.DreamWorks Animation Hits 30 With A New Hit Different From The Norm: “The Wild Robot”
Filmmaker Chris Sanders had finally cracked "The Wild Robot."
Peter Brown's middle-grade book, about an intelligent robot living in the wilderness, had been sitting on the shelf at DreamWorks Animation for a bit. No one had quite figured it out. Then Sanders, the man behind beloved animated features from "Lilo & Stitch" to "How to Train Your Dragon," came along.
His vision, however, was different from the norm: The story started without zippy dialogue and didn't follow traditional beats. He also wanted to embrace a more illustrated style that melded analog warmth with computer generated imagery capabilities, which was finally technologically possible. Before he got too deep, he needed to make sure the studio was on board.
"They said, 'That's the reason we bought the book. We want to do something different,'" Sanders said. "One of the great strengths of DreamWorks is they're willing to try new things. To everybody's credit, they stayed the course."
And it's already paying off. "The Wild Robot" opened No. 1 in theaters nationwide this weekend, riding in on a wave of critical acclaim. Sanders didn't know it at the time but something bigger was at play too: "The Wild Robot" would be released coinciding with the studio's 30th anniversary.
It wasn't so long ago that DreamWorks was the new kid on the block. The upstart, founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, was in October 1994 the first new studio in 60 years. Since their first animated release ("Antz," in 1998), DreamWorks Animation has released 49 feature films that have grossed more than $17 billion at the box office. They have major franchises, including "Shrek," which became the first best animated feature Oscar winner, "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to... Read More