DreamWorks Animation Announces Additions, Promotion to Support Studio's Growth Plans

GLENDALE, Calif., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- DreamWorks Animation today announced two new hires and a promotion, all designed to support the company's strategy of producing two CG films a year plus direct-to-video movies.

John Batter has rejoined DreamWorks Animation as a senior production executive; Jane Hartwell, a nine-year veteran with the company, has been promoted to Head of Global Production, and Nancy Bernstein has joined the company as Head of Production for the studio's Glendale campus.

John Batter

Batter returns to DreamWorks Animation after six years at Electronic Arts. In his time at EA, he spearheaded the turnaround of the Redwood Shores studio as general manager, overseeing the development of the James Bond, Lord of The Rings, Knockout Kings, Freekstyle and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR franchises. He raised EA's profile in Los Angeles as the general manager of the new Electronic Arts Los Angeles, where he oversaw development teams for the Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle-earth, Goldeneye, Command & Conquer and Medal of Honor franchises. He also worked with a cross-functional team on an international basis to establish EA Mobile as a significant force in the mobile gaming space.

DreamWorks Animation Chief Operating Officer Ann Daly said, "John is a dynamic executive with broad-based production experience, ranging from the creative side to finance and business strategy. His expertise will be a significant asset to our company and we couldn't be happier to have him back."

Jane Hartwell

DreamWorks Animation also announced that Jane Hartwell has been promoted to Head of Global Production. Hartwell's new responsibility is part of DreamWorks Animation's commitment to managing a substantial increase in production scale without sacrificing the time spent at various stages of creative development. In her new role, Hartwell oversees all aspects of physical production for the studio.

"Jane has been an integral and dynamic part of the DreamWorks Animation evolution," Ms. Daly said. "She was intimately involved in developing the studio's unique capability to deliver two computer-animated films per year and expanding our production operations for our upcoming direct-to-video projects. As DreamWorks Animation continues to experience significant production growth, her leadership will be more valuable than ever."

Hartwell began her DreamWorks career in 1996 at PDI, the company's Redwood City campus. She served as a production manager on "Antz," the company's first CG animated film, and later took on the role of associate producer on the Academy Award-winning "Shrek." Hartwell was promoted to Head of Digital Production for Glendale in 2001 and became responsible for the digital aspects and needs of all the animated projects in production and pre-production in Glendale. She also helped spearhead the company's transition from traditional 2D animation to computer generated animation. In 2004 Hartwell assumed the additional responsibility for production at the Redwood City campus, as well.

Nancy Bernstein

Nancy Bernstein, as the new Head of Production at DreamWorks Animation's Glendale campus, oversees all aspects of physical production in Glendale and reports to Hartwell. Bernstein comes to DreamWorks Animation from Digital Domain. While there, she led the studio's feature effects production on the Academy Award-winning "What Dreams May Come" and the Academy Award-nominated "I, Robot." She has worked as the visual effects executive producer on more than thirty films, including "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "A Beautiful Mind," and the upcoming "Aeon Flux." She also oversaw visual effects production on Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard's last seven films.

"Nancy is a true industry veteran with an impressive background in effects and animation," Ms. Hartwell said. "Given the number of creative projects we have concurrently in production, we're confident that Nancy's experience and enthusiasm will provide us with strong, additional leadership so important to our success."

Prior to joining Digital Domain in 1997, Bernstein spent ten years at R/GA Digital Studios. As Head of Production, she was responsible for feature films, commercials, and new media, and served as the visual effects producer on such films as "In the Line of Fire" and "Last Action Hero." She was also instrumental in transitioning R/GA from optical imaging to digital production.

About DreamWorks Animation SKG

DreamWorks Animation is principally devoted to developing and producing computer generated, or CG, animated feature films. With world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced CG filmmaking technology and techniques, DreamWorks Animation makes high quality CG animated films meant for a broad movie-going audience. The company has theatrically released a total of nine animated feature films, including Antz, Shrek, Shrek 2, Shark Tale and Madagascar. DreamWorks Animation's newest release, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, opened in theaters October 7, 2005.