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Unleashing Mutant Mayhem: A Conversation with Jeff Rowe and Ramsey Naito
December 14, 2023 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PST
Get ready to dive into the world of Mutant Mayhem as Ramsey Naito, President of Paramount Pictures, and Jeff Rowe, Director, share insights into the creative process, the evolution of the beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, and the challenges and triumphs of bringing these iconic heroes in a half shell to the big screen.
Moderated by: Tracey Miller Zarneke, Owner, wordplay pr
RAMSEY NAITO
PRESIDENT OF ANIMATION, PARAMOUNT ANIMATION & NICKELODEON ANIMATION
As President of Animation for Paramount Animation, a role which she assumed in September 2021, Naito
oversees all the animation group’s operations from development through release.
For Nickelodeon, Naito oversees animation content across all formats and platforms. Currently,Nickelodeon has over 60 animated shows in production across series, its studio business and movies.
Naito has been a driving force at Nickelodeon and Paramount Animation bringing new projects, top talent and key partnerships to both studios to further bolster its content pipeline across preschool, kids, theatrical and its studio business. Notable projects include: an animated series Monster High based on the iconic franchise in partnership with Mattel; Transformers: EarthSpark in partnership with Hasbro; The Tiny Chef Show in partnership with Imagine Kids+Family; and an all-new PAW Patrol spinoff series with Spin Master.
On the Paramount Animation side, theatricals under Naito’s purview include: recent hit releases Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem theatrical motion picture in partnership with Point
Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, helmed by Jeff Rowe; PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie directed by Cal Bunker in partnership with Spin Master; and, upcoming, the first feature-
length movie from Avatar Studios, and Transformers One, slated for theatrical release in 2024.
Naito is a member of Women in Animation, the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
JEFF ROWE, director of TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM
Jeff Rowe is a writer and director, known for his exceptional contributions to the world of animation. Most recently, Rowe made his directorial and writing debut with the animated feature “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which was released in theaters on August 2 and has become the highest-rated animation film of the year. Currently sitting at a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the feature has been praised for its visually striking art style with critics calling the film “a marvel of animation” and “a gorgeous reintroduction to the TMNT” that is “elevated by phenomenal art direction.”
Additionally, Rowe co-wrote and co-directed the Academy Award-nominated film “The Mitchells vs. the Machines.” The film, which was released on Netflix in April 2021, was hailed as one of
the best-animated features of the year and has been recognized for its unique visual style. It went on to become Netflix’s biggest animated film of the year and is still one of the streaming service’s most-streamed animated works of all time.
On the television side, Rowe served as a writer on the Primetime Emmy award-winning Disney Channel animated series “Gravity Falls” from 2014 to 2016, before going on to write on the animated series “Disenchantment” for Netflix.
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