Visual effects and animation company DNEG has appointed Erika Burton as EVP, VFX–global head of studios, based in L.A.
She comes on board on the heels of DNEG last month winning both a VFX Oscar and BAFTA Award for its work on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Burton will operate as part of DNEG’s senior leadership team, helping to establish and implement the company’s organizational vision, goals and objectives, as well as leveraging her extensive network of industry contacts to help attract even more high-profile work.
Burton brings over 25 years of senior-level experience to her role at DNEG. Her most recent position was as EVP, global features and streaming VFX at Method Studios, where she led the company’s visual effects business across its many locations. Prior to this, Burton held senior leadership roles at a number of major studios including Digital Domain, PDI/DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Rhythm & Hues. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America and the Visual Effects Society.
In her new role, Burton will work with Merzin Tavaria, president, global production and operations. Together, they will oversee the organization of DNEG’s production capabilities and the efficient delivery of work across its global locations, while identifying and implementing process and workflow improvements.
DNEG CEO Namit Malhotra said of Burton, “Her wealth of experience, coupled with her talent, creativity and deep industry relationships make her an important addition to our senior team. Working closely with Merzin Tavaria, she will be a driving force in guiding our global VFX production ambitions to the next level as we continue to innovate and scale, and move into exciting new business areas.”
Burton said: “With five Oscar wins out of the last seven, the quality of DNEG’s work is world-class and I’m looking forward to leading the charge and strengthening the company’s production capabilities even further. Our industry has evolved dramatically over the past 14 months, and DNEG has positioned itself well to capitalize on exciting new opportunities as we come through these unprecedented times.”
DNEG is currently in production on movies such as The Matrix 4, Uncharted, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Bullet Train and Slumberland, and episodic projects including The Wheel of Time and Doctor Who, season 13.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More