By Nancy Tartaglione
September 26, 2017
Oriental DreamWorks has appointed industry veteran Peilin Chou as its Chief Creative Officer, and unveiled a slate of key development projects at the Shanghai-based studio. They include animated features from such talent as Master Of None‘s Alan Yang, Sex And The City writer Jenny Bicks, Toy Story 2‘s Rita Hsiao and Audrey Wells who wrote A Dog’s Purpose which barked up $88M at the Chinese box office. Already on deck for release by Universal in 2019 is the Yeti-themed Everest, directed by Tim Johnson and Todd Wilderman and produced by Suzanne Buirgy.
Oriental DreamWorks is backed by DreamWorks Animation, CMC Capital Partners, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment. The studio has a mandate to make animated features for the global market, with “hyper-appeal” in China. In 2016, its Kung Fu Panda 3 became the first Chinese-American animated co-production and grossed over $521M worldwide, including over $154M in the Middle Kingdom.
Chou joined ODW in 2015 as head of creative. She will now be responsible for shaping overall creative direction, and overseeing all of the company’s animated features She’ll be based in Shanghai and New York.
Of her appointment, ODW Chairman Li Ruigang said, “We are very excited that Peilin Chou is taking on this role as we expand our slate and commit to bringing audiences worldwide the highest quality in animated entertainment. I know she will make a tremendous contribution to Oriental DreamWorks. Peilin’s extensive experience in creating successful global content, and her cultural connection and passion for China, make her uniquely qualified to lead the global mission of ODW. As a well-loved industry veteran with deep relationships, Peilin is attracting a wealth of world class talent to our studio, which I know will greatly enrich all of our films and projects.”
Here’s a closer look at the family-oriented features on the ODW development slate:
– Over The Moon: A modern-day retelling of the classic Chinese myth about mysterious moon goddess Chang’e; written by Audrey Wells (A Dog’s Purpose, George Of The Jungle), it’s executive produced by Janet Yang, whose credits include Joy Luck Club and The People Vs Larry Flynt
– Untitled Chinatown Project: Action comedy with supernatural elements from Master Of None co-creator and exec producer Alan Yang
– The Monkey King: An epic adventure featuring China’s most enduring superhero; written by Ron Friedman & Steve Bencich (Brother Bear, Chicken Little)
– Illumikitty: An irreverent comedy about a feline plot for world domination; written by Jenny Bicks (Rio 2, Sex And The City)
– Lucky: Buddy comedy about Chinese superstition and the battle between good luck and bad luck; Rita Hsiao (Mulan, Toy Story 2) is writing