Warner Bros. Animation has a new top kick:
Warner Bros. Television Group has tapped former AOL marketing exec Lisa Judson to top its toon unit.
Judson succeeds Sander Schwartz as prexy of Warner Bros. Animation. Schwartz ankled last month...
Judson's duties in the toon division include overseeing its expansion in the fast-growing area of original production for new media and broadband platforms. She will supervise traditional TV kidvid production for Kids' WB!, Cartoon Network and other outlets, as well as the development of direct-to-video titles with the Warner Premiere homevid division.
Maybe new blood is a good thing for WBA. The studio has been something less than a busy hive of cartoon activity the last couple of years.
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8 comments:
Put Bruce Timm in charge of it. He's the "John Lasseter" of Warner animation. He'll do a great job if they just let him.
are you kidding? they would never, ever put an artist in an executive position.
your only allowed to become upper management if you absolutely hate cartoons and have absolutely no appreciation for animation.
Whoa! To most everyone else on all the other productions excepting batman, Bruce was kind of a snob. I guess he started believing the hype all the comic book geeks at Comic Con gushed upon him. Bruce, as well as his extremley rude, bullying, longtime production mngr Shaun McLaughlin (who was fired by Warners this past year, ding-dong the witch is dead!) should stick to his own little world that he knows. What Warners needs is a modern day Chuck Jones, a funny, cartoon guy, that's what WB Animation stands for: FUNNY CATOONS! Road Runner, Pepe, Bugs! Just say no to the "darkside"!
There's no reason WB shouldn't do funny cartoons AND animated action/superhero stuff.
But they need to do them WELL if they want them to succeed.
Unless they purge their company of all the execs who hate animation and don't know what they're doing, their animation deptartment will continue to suffer.
We'll have to wait and see, but on principle I recoil at the idea of a marketing exec being "head" of a cartoon studio. These types are usually the worst of the "I'm perfect for the job because I LOOOOOVE cartoons!" micro-managers.
Oh, and Bruce deserves the "hype" and gushing he recieves at cons etc. He's an extremely talented, focused artist who took a potential idea and made it GOOD instead of horrible--even wrenched the design reins away from those corporate people who'd have had a Filmation show instead of the one he and Eric pitched. He assembled a killer crew and demanded the best. He was boss for a reason. There are plenty of people who'd be deserving of brickbats, but he ain't one of them. He's also got nothing against funny cartoons. Give a man a break!
I just think it's ironic that during the 90's Warner had Timm over doing television and Bird in features.
They have been able to hold onto Bruce but were crazy to loose a talent like Brad.
It they were smart, they should've greenlit "Ray Gunn" for him.
Oh well, a very big fish got away. They better keep Timm happy.
Ahh, yet another chance for Warners to shoot themselves in the foot.
Or maybe they'll figure out that if you're trying to make Warners style cartoons the way they were meant to be made. You won't hire a room full of writers that don't draw or even understand any style of humor beyond The Simpsons. Um...yeah I know, they don't and won't get it.
Had high hopes last time around for those shorts that Warners claimed, were going to be done old style. With strong funny Directors that understand what makes the Warners characters funny, and a strong talented board crew that understand the same. Oops! that's only what they said to get people in the door. Then it was back to business as usual.
Here's your story that was written by someone that finds Star Wars characters randomly running through a scene to be funny. Because you know, its funny having something your familiar with turn up somewhere they don't belong. ha ha ha! Morons.
All I can say is THANK GOD Sander Schwartz left! He was a mean Mofo. He sucked that place dry (and not in a good way). I fear for the studio he lands at next. the man is a viper. First Sony, then WB.
As for someone with animation experience running the place I doubt it... It's waaaaaay too corporate now. Sigh, I long for the old days with Jean and Tom. granted tom was crazy at the time but man did he lead that place to victory. Big shoes for this lady to fill.
Oh yeah and Timm was a dick. A talented dick but a dick nonetheless.
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