Chris Meledandri
Christopher Meledandri (/mɛlɛdɑːndreɪ/; born May 15, 1959) is an American film producer, and founder and CEO of Illumination. He is best known as the producer of the Despicable Me franchise.
Chris Meledandri | |
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 Meledandri at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival | |
| Born | Christopher Meledandri May 15, 1959 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Employer | Illumination |
Notable work | Despicable Me franchise |
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| Spouse(s) | Leslie Benzinger
(m. 2002; div. 2016) |
Early and personal life
Meledandri was born in New York City. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He attended Dartmouth College[1] and is a member of the board of trustees at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He has two sons, born c. 1990 and 1998.[2] He was married to Leslie Benziger, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of his two sons, from 2002 until their divorce in 2016. They started dating in 1989.
Career
1998–2006: 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios
In 1998, Meledandri led Fox's acquisition of fledgling visual effects/commercial house Blue Sky Studios, which he built into a successful producer of animated features. He oversaw the creative and business operations of Blue Sky, now Fox's wholly owned CGI studio. While at the studio, Meledandri supervised and/or executive produced films including Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), and Dr. Seuss Horton Hears a Who! (2008)[3] 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 and founded Illumination, an all-audience film production company, co-owned by Universal Pictures, which fully finances and owns the films.[4] In 2010, Illumination released its first film, Despicable Me, (which became successful and was followed by Despicable Me 2 (2013) and Despicable Me 3 (2017)), and in 2011, Hop. Illumination released a film version of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which continued the successful collaboration between Meledandri and Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel's widow, Audrey.[1] He also produced the franchise spin-off prequel, Minions (2015).
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.
2016–present: DreamWorks Animation
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.[5] 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 helping Universal and DreamWorks to reboot the Shrek franchise. Meledandri intends, however, to retain the original voice actors, as he pointed out they were perhaps the most memorable parts of the series. [6]
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 | ||
| Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty | |||
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | ||
| No Time for Nuts | |||
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | ||
| 2010 | Despicable Me | Producer | |
| 2011 | Hop | ||
| 2012 | The Lorax | ||
| 2013 | Despicable Me 2 | ||
| 2015 | Minions[7] | ||
| 2016 | The Secret Life of Pets[8] | ||
| Sing | |||
| 2017 | Despicable Me 3[9] | ||
| 2018 | The Grinch[10] | ||
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2[11] | ||
| 2021 | Minions: The Rise of Gru | ||
| Sing 2 | |||
| 2022 | Untitled Mario film[12] | 2023 | Despicable Me 4 |
References
- Archibald, Sophia (2011-05-10). "In nod to other famous alum., Meledandri produces 'Lorax'". The Dartmouth. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
- S. Cohen, David (October 26, 2013). "Chris Meledandri: Event Films Are Cannibalizing Each Othe". Variety. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2018-06-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- 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. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- 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.
- Mike Fleming (2012-07-23). "Illumination And Universal Hatch 'Despicable Me' Spinoff About The Minions". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- Fleming Jr, Mike (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.
- Nintendo of America [@NintendoAmerica] (January 31, 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
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