William "Bill" Damaschke (born November 20, 1963) is the President of Animation and Family Entertainment, where he served as the key architect setting the overall creative direction and strategy for Skydance. In conjunction with the company's feature film and television division, he cured and oversaw a team dedicated to producing a bold and original slate of both animated and hybrid family programming. Previously, he spent 20 years at DreamWorks Animation, most recently as Chief Creative Officer, where he was involved in the creative, artistic, and operational direction of the company. His tenure oversaw the release of some of the company's big franchise films, including Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods. He also oversaw all of DreamWorks Animation's live theatrical productions, including the award-winning Shrek The Musical. Bill's other current projects as a producer are the new Broadway musical The Prom, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, which begins previews at the Longacre Theatre in NY on Oct. 23, 2018, with an official opening date of Nov. 15, 2018, and the Broadway-bound musical Half Time, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, which was presented at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Spring of 2018, and the stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge, directed by Alex Timers, on which Bill serves as Executive Producer.
Early life[]
Damaschke is the oldest of seven children, and grew up in Chicago.[2] He attended St. Bruno Catholic Elementary and Argo Community High School, and graduated at the School of Theatre Arts at Illinois Wesleyan University.[2]
Professional career[]
Initially, Damaschke pursued a career in musical theater, working on Godspell in New York, but soon ended up in Los Angeles as a production assistant on Disney's Pocahontas in 1994.[2] In 1995, he joined DreamWorks Studios as a production assistant on The Prince of Egypt.[1][2] He then moved on to become head of creative production in 1999 and head of creative production and development in 2005.[3] Damaschke served as a producer of Shark Tale (nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2004) and an executive producer of Over the Hedge and Kung Fu Panda. In 2011, he became chief creative officer (CCO) of DreamWorks Animation,[3] running "the factory floor, working with directors, writers and artists," and "calling the creative shots."[2] He was also president of DreamWorks Live Theatricals,[4] and produced Tony Award-winning,[5] but financially unremarkable,[2] Shrek the Musical.[6] In 2013, The New York Times called him as "one of the film industry's most important executives."[2] In January 2015, Damaschke stepped down from his position as Chief Creative Officer at DreamWorks to pursue other interests including: theatrical productions; animated television, movies, web series, and live action films. In October 2017, he became the president of Animation and Family Entertainment for Skydance Media. He would also continue operating his StoryKey Entertainment theatrical production company.[7]
Personal life[]
Damaschke lives with John McIlwee, a top Hollywood business manager, in Hollywood Hills, in a 1962 house designed by John Lautner, which they bought in 2002 for $1.3 million and renovated for an additional $1 million.[8]
Filmography[]
Producer[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Pocahontas | production office assistant |
| 1998 | The Prince of Egypt | production manager |
| 2000 | The Road to El Dorado | co-executive producer |
| 2004 | Shark Tale | producer |
| 2006 | Over the Hedge | executive producer |
| 2008 | Kung Fu Panda | executive producer |
| 2008-present | Shrek the Musical | producer |
Special Thanks[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron | special thanks |
| 2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | special thanks |
| 2004 | Shrek 2 | special thanks |
| 2005 | Madagascar | special thanks |
| 2005 | Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | special thanks |
| 2006 | Flushed Away | special thanks |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | special thanks |
| 2007 | Bee Movie | special thanks |
| 2016 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | special thanks |
| 2016 | Trolls | special thanks |
| 2017 | The Boss Baby | special thanks |
Actor[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | My So-Called Life | Salesman | Episode: The Zit |
| 2001 | French touch cinéma | Himself |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bill Damaschke. Cook County Clerk. Retrieved on September 10, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barnes, Brooks (July 15, 2013). "The Quiet Force Behind DreamWorks". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Abrams, Rachel (January 5, 2011). "DreamWorks Animation ups Bill Damaschke". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Garchik, Leah (December 22, 2010). "Every happy family goes to the show". SFGate. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ↑ Star Treatment. Illinois Wesleyan University magazine (2011). Retrieved on September 10, 2013.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shrek The Musical to close at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London". Westend Theatre. September 3, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.McNary, Dave (October 10, 2017). "Skydance Hires Bill Damaschke for Animation-Family Entertainment Post". Variety. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.A. E. Schuker, Lauren (May 24, 2012). "Reviving a Hollywood Icon". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
External links[]
v - e - d | ||
|---|---|---|
| A subsidiary of NBCUniversal, a Comcast company | ||
| Feature films | Theatrical | Antz (1998) PDI • The Prince of Egypt (1998) • The Road to El Dorado (2000) • Chicken Run (2000) AA • Shrek (2001) PDI • Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) • Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) • Shrek 2 (2004) PDI • Shark Tale (2004) • Madagascar (2005) PDI • Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) AA • Over the Hedge (2006) • Flushed Away (2006) AA • Shrek the Third (2007) PDI • Bee Movie (2007) C81P • Kung Fu Panda (2008) • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) PDI • Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) • How to Train Your Dragon (2010) • Shrek Forever After (2010) • Megamind (2010) PDI • Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) • Puss in Boots (2011) • Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) PDI • Rise of the Guardians (2012) • The Croods (2013) • Turbo (2013) • Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) PDI BS • How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) • Penguins of Madagascar (2014) PDI • Home (2015) • Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) PS • Trolls (2016) • The Boss Baby (2017) • Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) • How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) • Abominable (2019) PS • Trolls World Tour (2020) • The Croods: A New Age (2020) • Spirit Untamed (2021) • The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021) • The Bad Guys (2022) • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) • Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023) • Trolls Band Together (2023) • Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) • The Wild Robot (2024) |
| Direct-to-video | Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) | |
| Direct-to-digital | Orion and the Dark (2024) | |
| Upcoming | Dog Man (2025) • The Bad Guys 2 (2025) • Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie (2025) • Shrek 5 (2026) | |
| Franchises | Shrek • Spirit • Madagascar • Kung Fu Panda • Monsters vs. Aliens • How to Train Your Dragon • Megamind • The Croods • Trolls • Tales of Arcadia • The Boss Baby • The Bad Guys | |
| People | Bill Damaschke • Chris Meledandri • Jeffrey Katzenberg • Nico Marlet • Kelly Asbury • Eric Darnell • Tom McGrath • Pierre Perifel | |
| Divisions | DreamWorks Animation Television • DreamWorks Channel • DreamWorks Classics (Big Idea Entertainment • Harvey Entertainment) | |
| Related topics | Amblimation • CyberWorld • DreamWorks Pictures (films • DreamWorks Records • DreamWorks Television • DreamWorks Interactive • Go Fish Pictures) • MoonRay • Pacific Data Images • Pearl Studio • Universal Animation Studios • Illumination (Illumination Studios Paris) • List of Paramount Pictures theatrical animated feature films • List of 20th Century Studios theatrical animated feature films • List of Universal Pictures theatrical animated feature films (unproduced projects) • List of unproduced DreamWorks Animation projects • DreamWorks Water Park • In amusement parks (DreamWorks Experience) | |
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