Latest news with #JeffreyKatzenberg
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Disney's VERY pricey mistake: How firing a man who made the film studio billions 'cost them even more' after he became their biggest rival
In the mid 90s, the Walt Disney Company sacked Jeffrey Katzenberg, the executive widely credited with reviving the studio's flagging fortunes and ushering in a golden age of animation. In doing so, they may have made one of the most costly errors in corporate Hollywood history. Not only did Jeffrey, now 74, go on to co-found DreamWorks SKG alongside Steven Spielberg and David Geffen but, under his leadership, the new studio soon became Disney's most formidable competitor in animation. It was a twist few in the industry could have predicted, but Jeffrey's journey from Disney's inner circle to rival mogul reshaped the landscape of modern entertainment. Jeffrey's film career began in 1974 when he joined Paramount Pictures as an assistant to the chairman, Barry Diller. His work ethic and ambition quickly became apparent and after a short time, he was promoted to work directly under head of production Michael Eisner, according to the LA Times. He became a trusted lieutenant and was soon overseeing major hits such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Beverly Hills Cop. And when Eisner left Paramount in 1984 to become CEO of Disney, Jeffrey followed him, appointed to chair Walt Disney Studios during a time of significant decline. At the time, Disney's animation division was near collapse. Jeffrey immediately began reshaping the unit, scrapping underperforming projects and helping complete a handful of decently successful films. But his real impact came with The Little Mermaid, the first film over which he had full creative control. It became a massive box office hit and signalled the start of what is now known as the Disney Renaissance. Under Jeffrey's leadership, Disney produced a string of hits including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. These films grossed billions of dollars, revitalised the company's reputation and re-established animation as a dominant force in global cinema. But Jeffrey's influence extended beyond animation. He oversaw all of the studio's filmed content, from motion pictures and television to home video distribution. He also played a major role in launching Disney's Touchstone Pictures and producing a string of adult-oriented comedies such as Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and Pretty Woman. Under his influence, Disney rose from the bottom of the box office rankings to become the most successful studio in Hollywood by the late 1980s. He co-launched Hollywood Pictures, oversaw the acquisition of Miramax and greenlit the historic partnership with Pixar, resulting in the production of Toy Story. But even with these achievements, Jeffrey's relationship with the company began to deteriorate. He had always been a highly ambitious executive and, in 1993, he even sought promotion to company president. But after the untimely death of then-president Frank Wells in a helicopter crash the following year, CEO Michael Eisner decided not to promote Jeffrey to the vacant role. According to Jeffrey, Eisner had previously assured him the position would be his if it became available, he told The Hollywood Reporter. Instead, Eisner stepped into the role himself, reportedly under pressure from Roy E. Disney, who had become uncomfortable with Jeffrey's aggressive style and growing influence, the LA Times reported. Jeffrey left the company in October, 1994, his contract completed but his departure laced with acrimony. And shortly afterward, he filed a lawsuit against Disney, claiming he was owed bonuses and back pay. The case was ultimately settled out of court in 1999 for a reported $250million. That same year, Jeffrey embarked on a new chapter in his career that would alter the animation industry once again. With the encouragement of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey co-founded DreamWorks SKG just two months after leaving Disney. He was given primary responsibility for the studio's animation division and began building it from scratch. Initially, the studio experimented with both traditional and stop-motion animation, producing titles like The Prince of Egypt, Chicken Run and The Road to El Dorado. But the major breakthrough came in 2001 with Shrek, a computer-animated satire of the traditional fairytale narratives Disney had popularised. Shrek was not only a commercial hit but also a critical success, winning the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Its humour appealed to both children and adults, establishing a groundbreaking new tone in family entertainment. It also spawned a billion-dollar franchise, complete with sequels, merchandise and spin-offs that have endured for more than two decades, with the next Shrek film coming to cinemas at the end of 2026. Ahead of his time, Jeffrey recognised early on that the future of animation lay in computer-generated imagery. After the commercial failure of the traditionally animated Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas in 2003, which lost the company over $100million, he shifted DreamWorks entirely to CG animation. This transition led to a series of hits including Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. By the mid-2000s, DreamWorks had become Disney's most serious competition in the animation market, both in terms of box office performance and cultural influence. In 2016, Jeffrey sold DreamWorks Animation to NBCUniversal for a staggering $3.8billion, AWN reported. He personally received an estimated $500million from the deal, bringing a lucrative end to a chapter that had begun with his being fired from Disney more than two decades earlier. It appears Disney's decision to remove him in 1994 was rooted in internal politics and personal rivalries. Yet in doing so, the company created a competitor that would challenge its dominance for years. In the story of Hollywood's modern animation era, Jeffrey is a central figure not just for what he built, but for what he built after seemingly being told he was no longer needed.
Axios
09-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
Axios AI+ NY Summit: AI's rapid rise outpaces guardrails
NEW YORK – AI and the internet are outpacing oversight — threatening kids, creatives, national security and even basic innovation, leaders across tech, politics and entertainment said at the Axios' AI+ Summit. Why it matters: AI is transforming industries and society faster than it can be regulated, creating sweeping, serious security risks, according to several speakers. The June 4 summit hosted multiple conversations and was sponsored by BCG, Booking Holdings, Snyk, Varonis, and Workato. Here are some key takeawayes: WndrCo founding partner Jeffrey Katzenberg said kids' unsupervised use of the internet is "destroying a generation." Lumen Technologies president and CEO Kate Johnson said telcos aren't innovative enough and have ceded too much ground to Big Tech. The Weather Company CEO Rohit Agarwal said AI could help forecasters be as specific as giving guidance on what time of day to walk your dog. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) made a dig at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for saying she didn't know the GOP's "big, beautiful" tax bill included a provision that would ban states and municipalities from regulating the tech for 10 years. Lux Capital co-founder Josh Wolfe said the best way to beat China in the AI race is to "make sure every single young" person is super well-versed in AI. Actor and entrepreneur Joseph Gordon-Levitt said there needs to be an incentive to keep creatives paid and employed as AI disrupts the entertainment business. Content from the sponsored View from the Top conversations: Vlad Lukić, BCG managing director and senior partner, and global leader for its tech & digital advantage practice discussed the disconnect between corporate AI investment and tangible outcomes. According to a recent study of 1,000 companies, "Over 75% of them are with budgets in this year deploying AI at scale, but only 25% of them have a line of sight to value creation from those activities," he added. Danny Allan, chief technology officer at Snyk, said visibility, false expectations, and proper policies are lacking behind the pace of AI-powered software development. "The speed and velocity that software is coming through the pipelines is like nothing I have ever seen in my career right now. It's so, so fast. And the trouble that CISOs have is they don't have the trust that what is coming through that pipeline is actually secure." Bhaskar Roy, Workato chief of AI products and solutions, said businesses will experience real transformation when AI agents tackle the "messy middle." "There are a few companies that are targeting the core and looking at how they can transform the core with … agentic AI and that's what excites us." Rob Sobers, chief marketing officer at Varonis, warned that security risks, like "AI model poisoning" where attackers inject malicious data into AI models, could impact people's lives. While working with an organization researching Alzheimer's, they noticed a hacker feeding the organization's custom AI model new data out of nowhere, Sobers said. And, "that could change subtly the dosage of a medication that you're giving somebody. … It's super important to get the trust and security layer right."
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hollywood legend makes big bet on the future of AI
Hollywood legend makes big bet on the future of AI originally appeared on TheStreet. The booming artificial intelligence market is upending many industries, but it is also creating valuable opportunities for forward-thinking investors. Despite a fairly volatile start to 2025, many AI stocks such as Nvidia and Palantir have made substantial progress, establishing themselves as leaders in the space. But other investors are focused on finding newer tech companies, not yet publicly traded, with the potential to help usher in the next phase of AI. 💵💰💰💵 These companies sometimes operate under the general public's radar, quietly creating technology that has the power to disrupt entire industries and change how work is done. They may not often make headlines, but when they do, it is because someone important has decided to stake a bet on one. One example is Creatify, a platform that leverages AI technology to create video ads. An investing leader has revealed that he sees it as a likely force in the industry. If you're a fan of Hollywood animations, you probably know the work of Jeffrey Katzenberg. One of the industry's most respected producers, he helped create some of Disney's most popular animated features before helping found DreamWorks, the studio responsible for films such as "Shrek" and "The Prince of Egypt."Katzenberg is credited with helping turn Disney () into a multi-billion-dollar media empire and ultimately ushering in a new era of animation. But he's also a managing partner at WndrCo, an investment firm that has backed tech startups such as Airtable, Databricks, and 1Password. Now, Katzenberg has revealed that his firm is co-leading a Series A investment in Creatify, to the tune of $15.5 million. This represents a significant bet not just on the startup but on the future of AI, as Creatify is poised to disrupt the advertising industry. Why is Katzenberg investing in this startup over others? He recently revealed that he is excited about AI-generated video platforms because he believes they give storytellers a key edge. 'I've seen firsthand how technology opens new doors, from hand-drawn to CGI animation, and now AI,' he states. 'What excites me about Creatify is that it's breaking down barriers around video creation. When production takes minutes instead of weeks, more people get to tell their stories. That's a real shift.' More AI News: Tempus AI hits back at scathing short report OpenAI teams up with legendary Apple exec One AI stock makes up 78% of Nvidia's investment portfolio As an expert in both animation and storytelling, Kateznberg is well qualified to discuss these areas and to identify the technologies that can enhance them. He adds that although traditional production isn't able to keep up with today's demands for custom ads, modern AI systems can, making them a game-changer for the industry. The fact that someone like Katzenberg is betting big on a company like Creatify suggests that the advertising industry may be about to change. For some, that might raise the question of how severely jobs in the field will be on what Katzenberg and Creatify Cofounder and CEO Yinan Na have said, it doesn't seem like these technologies will replace too many human workers. 'It's about harnessing AI to democratize creativity and empower entrepreneurs everywhere to scale their storytelling and grow their businesses,' states Na. The CEO adds that his vision is to create the "Shopify of video ads" with Creatify, engineering a platform that empowers entrepreneurs to venture into a new industry with user-friendly tools. While this may lead to more video content and advertising campaigns, it doesn't seem as if it will do the creative part of advertising. Telling stories is a crucial part of the industry, as many experts have reiterated. Joe Lazer, Pepper CEMO and author of "The Storytelling Edge," addressed this earlier in the year, stating, 'No matter how good generative AI gets, great storytellers will be the hardest thing for it to replace. AI can write, but it can never be a storyteller.'Hollywood legend makes big bet on the future of AI first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
06-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
WndrCo's Katzenberg, Wang on Investing in the Next Big Thing
WndrCo Founding Partner Jeffrey Katzenberg and General Partner ChenLi Wang discuss their venture capital fund and how they're identifying and scaling startups at the intersection of technology, media, and AI. They spoke with Bloomberg Television's Caroline Hyde at Bloomberg Tech in San Francisco. (Source: Bloomberg)
Miami Herald
05-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Hollywood legend makes big bet on the future of AI
The booming artificial intelligence market is upending many industries, but it is also creating valuable opportunities for forward-thinking investors. Despite a fairly volatile start to 2025, many AI stocks such as Nvidia and Palantir have made substantial progress, establishing themselves as leaders in the space. But other investors are focused on finding newer tech companies, not yet publicly traded, with the potential to help usher in the next phase of AI. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter These companies sometimes operate under the general public's radar, quietly creating technology that has the power to disrupt entire industries and change how work is done. They may not often make headlines, but when they do, it is because someone important has decided to stake a bet on one. One example is Creatify, a platform that leverages AI technology to create video ads. An investing leader has revealed that he sees it as a likely force in the industry. If you're a fan of Hollywood animations, you probably know the work of Jeffrey Katzenberg. One of the industry's most respected producers, he helped create some of Disney's most popular animated features before helping found DreamWorks, the studio responsible for films such as "Shrek" and "The Prince of Egypt." Related: Disney makes a devastating layoff announcement Katzenberg is credited with helping turn Disney (DIS) into a multi-billion-dollar media empire and ultimately ushering in a new era of animation. But he's also a managing partner at WndrCo, an investment firm that has backed tech startups such as Airtable, Databricks, and 1Password. Now, Katzenberg has revealed that his firm is co-leading a Series A investment in Creatify, to the tune of $15.5 million. This represents a significant bet not just on the startup but on the future of AI, as Creatify is poised to disrupt the advertising industry. Why is Katzenberg investing in this startup over others? He recently revealed that he is excited about AI-generated video platforms because he believes they give storytellers a key edge. More AI News: Tempus AI hits back at scathing short reportOpenAI teams up with legendary Apple execOne AI stock makes up 78% of Nvidia's investment portfolio As an expert in both animation and storytelling, Kateznberg is well qualified to discuss these areas and to identify the technologies that can enhance them. He adds that although traditional production isn't able to keep up with today's demands for custom ads, modern AI systems can, making them a game-changer for the industry. The fact that someone like Katzenberg is betting big on a company like Creatify suggests that the advertising industry may be about to change. For some, that might raise the question of how severely jobs in the field will be impacted. Related: Why two AI leaders are losing talent to startup Anthropic Based on what Katzenberg and Creatify Cofounder and CEO Yinan Na have said, it doesn't seem like these technologies will replace too many human workers. "It's about harnessing AI to democratize creativity and empower entrepreneurs everywhere to scale their storytelling and grow their businesses," states Na. The CEO adds that his vision is to create the "Shopify of video ads" with Creatify, engineering a platform that empowers entrepreneurs to venture into a new industry with user-friendly tools. While this may lead to more video content and advertising campaigns, it doesn't seem as if it will do the creative part of advertising. Telling stories is a crucial part of the industry, as many experts have reiterated. Joe Lazer, Pepper CEMO and author of "The Storytelling Edge," addressed this earlier in the year, stating, "No matter how good generative AI gets, great storytellers will be the hardest thing for it to replace. AI can write, but it can never be a storyteller." Related: Billionaire fund manager, skeptical of AI, backs shocking stock The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
