Latest news with #Katzenberg
MTV Lebanon
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- MTV Lebanon
Jeffrey Katzenberg: The rise of the man who changed the animation game
Disney is the home of dreams and fairytales, it was built by the sheer determination and self-belief of one man who dared to pursue his dream, Walt Disney. It came as a shock that another magnificent man, just as talented, a man with a vision, was handed the short end of the stick at Disney. Jeffrey Katzenberg was given the boot at Disney despite having helped revive the animation empire. The man deserved a promotion and a raise, but they rewarded him with a pink slip. This goes to show that life isn't fair. However, his story doesn't end here. In fact, let's go back to the beginning. Jeffrey got his start as an assistant in Paramount. Only a year later, he got promoted to working directly under Michael Eisner who valued him for his many skills including but not limited to his instincts, speed and work ethic. Katzenberg took off like a rocket and produced hits like Grease, Beverly Hills Cop, and Saturday Night Fever. The man was on fire. As 1984 rolled around, Michael embarked on Disney as CEO and boarded Jeffrey with him just as Disney animation was sinking. Stalled projects, low profits, the timing was perfect to make some serious waves. Katzenberg to the rescue! He restructured the animation division and created a phenomenal hit: The Little Mermaid, a personal favorite of mine. And the hits just kept on coming! Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King. Katzenberg didn't just salvage Disney animation, he flipped its script on its head changing the animation game. Naturally, Katzenberg requested a share of the profits. Lo and behold, Eisner refused. The nerve on that guy. Instead of giving credit where credit is due, Disney fired Katzenberg, the home of dreams crushed Jeffrey's. The animation phenom didn't stay out of the game for long. He soon teamed up with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen and co-founded Dreamworks SKG in 1994. Disney's new worthy opponent was created and went on to release Shrek in 2001, an open satire of Disney. We can all agree that it was a smash hit, the Academy agreed as well. It gave the movie the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature, marking the industry officially shifting. Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and How to Train Your Dragon are some of the fun movies Dreamworks gave life to. In 2016, Jeffrey made some serious bank. He sold Dreamworks Animation for 3.8 billion with his cut being 500 million dollars. The Good Guy always wins, even if he was fired by the organization that sold us on fairytales. He rewrote the playbook that Once Upon a Time belonged to Disney. Dreams really do come true!
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
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.
Axios
04-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
DreamWorks co-founder Katzenberg likens AI to CGI revolution
Hollywood giant Jeffrey Katzenberg at Axios' AI+ Summit Wednesday likened the arrival of artificial intelligence to the advent of computer graphics in the 1990s, which revolutionized animation. The big picture: Whether Hollywood overcomes its unease to eventually embrace AI could be a bellwether for the technology's impact on other industries and on jobs. The dispute over AI was central to the 2023 writers strike, which ended with an agreement that included landmark rules on AI in projects. Zoom out: Katzenberg, a co-founder of DreamWorks and one-time Disney executive whose work includes films like "Shrek," reflected on the "huge" resistance to making "Toy Story" with the then-novel CGI technology. The people most afraid were the ones who would be disrupted, he said. "Everything that you are hearing today are the issues that we had to deal with," he said. Katzenberg continued, "Yes, there was disruption, but animation's never, ever been bigger than it is today." The bottom line: "AI isn't going to replace people, it's going to replace people that don't use AI," he said.
Axios
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
"Destroying a generation": Katzenberg raises alarm on teens and tech
WndrCo founding partner Jeffrey Katzenberg warned that the impact of kids' unsupervised access to technology is "destroying a generation" during Axios' annual AI+ NY Summit Wednesday. The big picture: By 11, over half of children have a smartphone — but research has found screen time has played a key role in the youth mental health crisis. Katzenberg, an entertainment executive turned technology investment firm co-founder, is a backer of Hari Ravichandran's digital security firm Aura, which provides online safety tools for families and individuals Aura recently launched an AI-powered tool that helps parents analyze their children's behavior and engagement online. Driving the news:"Today, you can have a teenager sitting across the table from you and you don't actually know who they're with, what they're doing, or really where they're at," Katzenberg told Axios' Ina Fried. "The damage that we are doing to our kids, in terms of the online, unsupervised, un-parented is destroying a generation," he added.
