Jeff Kline
{{short description|American film producer}}
{{About|the American film and television writer-producer|the Australian rules footballer|Jeff Kline (footballer)}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jeff Kline
| image = Jeff Kline.png
| caption = Kline in 2018
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts
| other_names =
| occupation = Producer, screenwriter, comics writer
| years_active = 1996–present
| alma mater = Boston University's College of Communication
}}
Jeff Kline is an American film and television writer-producer and former television executive. He has been involved in more than 40 animated and live-action series and pilots, and he has received multiple Emmy nominations and wins.
Early life
Jeff Kline was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Kline graduated from Boston University's College of Communication in 1987.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}
Career
After graduating from Boston University, Kline interned at Roger Corman's Concorde/New Horizons and worked in feature development for Michael Shamberg and Harold Ramis's Ocean Pictures. He served as a television executive in Daytime Programming at NBC Entertainment for one year then spent five years at Columbia Pictures Television, eventually serving as the senior vice president of drama before transitioning into writing/producing at the suggestion of his first writing partner, Frank Lupo, co-creator of The A-Team and Wiseguy.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}
Between 1995 and 2006, he developed or produced the series: My Friends Tigger & Pooh (Playhouse Disney); Jackie Chan Adventures (Kids' WB); Dragon Tales (PBS); Stuart Little: The Animated Series (HBO); That Was Then (ABC); Harold and the Purple Crayon (HBO); Max Steel (Kids WB); Men in Black: The Series (Kids WB); Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (FOX); Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles (BKN); Godzilla: The Series (FOX); Channel Umptee-3 (Kids WB); Extreme Ghostbusters (BKN); and Jumanji (UPN).{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}
From 2006 to 2008, he wrote a Paris Hilton pilot for MTV, and co-wrote the feature film The Rosenbergs Save Christmas (with Goldie Hawn attached to star) for Fox Searchlight.{{cite web|title=Goldie Hawn to star in The Rosenbergs Save Christmas|url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/goldie-hawn-to-star-in-the-rosenbergs-save-christmas|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129054850/http://www.movieweb.com/news/goldie-hawn-to-star-in-the-rosenbergs-save-christmas|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 29, 2013|publisher=Movieweb|accessdate=June 12, 2012}}
In 2009 he taught as an adjunct professor at Boston University's College of Communications, and wrote two live-action pilots for SyFy before being recruited to develop and executive-produce Transformers: Prime for Hasbro's then-new cable co-venture with Discovery Communications, The Hub. Kline developed and was executive producer of G.I. Joe: Renegades as well before signing an exclusive four-year series development and production deal with Hasbro Studios in 2011.{{cite web|title=Playdate with Hasbro |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118030556?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562|publisher=Variety |accessdate=June 1, 2012}}
He was executive producer of both Transformers: Prime and the first season of Transformers: Rescue Bots.{{cite web|author=Harris, Jeffrey|title=Roberto Orci Speaks on the Next Transformers Animated Show|url=http://www.411mania.com/movies/news/293414/|publisher=411mania.com|date=September 7, 2013|access-date=September 2, 2013|archive-date=July 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725190233/https://411mania.com/|url-status=live}} He was an executive producer of Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
In 2013, Kline founded Darby Pop Publishing, a comic book publishing company, and entered into a distribution agreement with IDW.{{cite web|title=Darby Pop Publishing|url=http://www.darbypop.com/about/|publisher=Darby Pop|accessdate=September 2, 2013|archive-date=July 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723101922/http://www.darbypop.com/about/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Darby Pop Publishing Announces Partnership with IDW|url=http://www.darbypop.com/press/darby-pop-publishing-announces-partnership-with-idw/|publisher=Darby Pop|accessdate=September 4, 2013|archive-date=August 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803025905/http://www.darbypop.com/press/darby-pop-publishing-announces-partnership-with-idw/|url-status=live}} Darby Pop's first title, Indestructible, was created by Kline. The first issue was released in December 2013.{{cite web|title=Indestructible - Meet the Writer|url=http://www.darbypop.com/beyond-the-cover/indestructible-meet-the-writier/|publisher=Darby Pop|accessdate=September 2, 2013|archive-date=July 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723125649/http://www.darbypop.com/beyond-the-cover/indestructible-meet-the-writier/|url-status=live}} Other Darby Pop titles include The 7th Sword, City: the Mind and the Machine, Doberman, and Dead Squad.{{cite web|title=Darby Pop Publishing|url=http://www.darbypop.com/titles/|publisher=Darby Pop|accessdate=2014-10-29|archive-date=2014-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030234217/http://www.darbypop.com/titles/|url-status=live}} In October 2015, Darby Pop announced a collaboration with Bruce Lee Entertainment to produce Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises, co-written by Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee and Kline. In January 2018, Darby Pop announced another collaboration with Bruce Lee Entertainment: Bruce Lee: The Walk of the Dragon by Nicole Dubuc (Star Wars: Rebels, My Little Pony, Transformers: Rescue Bots).
Kline's Darby Pop Productions produced Jingle Bell Rocks, a documentary about Christmas music, distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories.{{cite web|title=Lionsgate Nabs Schwarzenegger Starrer 'Maggie'; Oscilloscope Rocks With 'Jingle Bell' Docu|url=https://deadline.com/2014/08/arnold-schwarzenegger-maggie-lionsgate-toronto-jingle-bell-rocks-825148/|publisher=Deadline|accessdate=2014-10-29|archive-date=2014-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021233439/http://deadline.com/2014/08/arnold-schwarzenegger-maggie-lionsgate-toronto-jingle-bell-rocks-825148/|url-status=live}}
In 2018, Kline served as executive producer and head writer on a new series of Woody Woodpecker animated shorts for YouTube.
= Achievements =
The crew of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters were nominated for a 2014 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for which Jeff Kline was named for his work as executive producer. Transformers Prime Beast Hunters won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation: Jose Lopez for Character Design and Yasuhiro Motoda for Character Animation.
Transformers: Prime won three 2013 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation: Arato Kato for Character Animation, Jason Park for Background Design, and Kirk van Wormer for Storyboards.
The series Transformers: Prime won a 2012 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program for which Jeff Kline was named for his work as executive producer.{{cite web|title=THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES ANNOUNCES The 39th ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARD NOMINATIONS|url=http://www.emmyonline.tv/mediacenter/daytime_39th_nominations.html|publisher=Emmy Online|accessdate=June 1, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910015320/http://www.emmyonline.tv/mediacenter/daytime_39th_nominations.html|archivedate=2012-09-10}}
Transformers: Prime was also nominated for six Daytime Emmys in 2011, and won two Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Awards for Christophe Vacher's color design and Vince Toyama's background design.{{cite web|title=Daytime Emmys 2011: Full list of nominees|url=http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Daytime-Emmys-2011:-Full-list-of-nominees/8125012|publisher=On The Red Carpet|accessdate=May 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819003504/http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Daytime-Emmys-2011:-Full-list-of-nominees/8125012|archive-date=August 19, 2012|url-status=dead}}
While Kline was executive producer, PBS children's series Dragon Tales was nominated for the Outstanding Children's Animated Program Daytime Emmy in 2001, 2002, and 2003. {{citation needed|date=September 2012}}
Kline's shows have also been nominated for Daytime Emmys in:
2007: My Friends Tigger & Pooh
2002: Jackie Chan Adventures; Harold and the Purple Crayon won for Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Design; Men in Black: The Series won for Outstanding Sound Editing Special Class
2001: Jackie Chan Adventures, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles
2000: Men in Black: The Series; Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles won for Outstanding Sound Editing Special Class.
Jackie Chan Adventures was nominated for an Annie Award in 2003, as was Dragon Tales in 2000. Harold and the Purple Crayon was nominated for a Humanitas Prize in 2002. Max Steel was nominated for the Annie Awards in 2000 and 2001 and for Golden Reel Awards in 2001 and 2002. Men in Black: The Series was nominated for a Kids' Choice Award in 1999 and for Golden Reel Awards in 1998, 1999, and 2002. Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles was nominated for Golden Reel Awards in 2000 and 2001.
Kline's 2013 film Jingle Bell Rocks!, for which he was an executive producer, was selected for inclusion in several film festivals, including the 2015 Cleveland International Film Festival and the Detroit Institute of Arts Cinetopia Film Festival.{{cite web |title=Jingle Bell Rocks! |url=http://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2014/jingle-bell-rocks |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030203252/http://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2014/jingle-bell-rocks |archive-date=2014-10-30 |accessdate=2014-10-29 |publisher=Cleveland International Film Festival}}{{cite web|title=Cinetopia Film Festival: Jingle Bell Rocks!|url=http://www.dia.org/calendar/event.aspx?id=4517&iid=5408|publisher=Detroit Institute of Arts|accessdate=2014-10-29|archive-date=2014-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030232432/http://www.dia.org/calendar/event.aspx?id=4517&iid=5408|url-status=live}} Jingle Bell Rocks! was released on DVD for Record Store Day in 2014.{{cite web|title=Jingle Bell Rocks!|url=http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/7597|publisher=Record Store Day|accessdate=2014-10-29|archive-date=2014-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031032406/http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/7597|url-status=live}}
Kline helped start the BU in L.A. industry exchange program.{{cite web|title=Steve Blum and Jeff Kline Talk Rescue Bots Transformers Prime|url=http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-prime-39/steve-blum-and-jeff-kline-talk-rescue-bots-transformers-prime-174315/|accessdate=June 12, 2012|archive-date=November 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105000937/http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-prime-39/steve-blum-and-jeff-kline-talk-rescue-bots-transformers-prime-174315/|url-status=live}} He received the Boston University College of Communication Distinguished Alumnae Award in 2003.{{cite web|title=Complete Alumni Awards List |url=http://www.bu.edu/com/alumni/distinguished-alumni/complete-alumni-awards/ |publisher=BU |accessdate=June 1, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525083725/http://www.bu.edu/com/alumni/distinguished-alumni/complete-alumni-awards/ |archivedate=2012-05-25 }} In early 2009, Kline taught as an adjunct professor at BU's College of Communications.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994
|Writer |Series |Live-action | ||||
| 1996
|Developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1997
|Producer |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1997
|Supervising producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1997–2001
|Co-executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1997
|Producer |Series |Live-action | ||||
| 1998–2001
|Co-executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1998–1999
|Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot |Co-executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1999–2005
|Executive producer |Series |Animated | ||||
| 1999–2000
|Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles |Co-executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2000–2005
|Executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2001
|Co-executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2001
|Executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2001
|Electra Woman and Dyna Girl |Executive producer, writer |Pilot |Live-action | ||||
| 2001
|Creative consultant |Pilot |Animated | ||||
| 2002
|Executive producer, writer |Series |Live-action | ||||
| 2002–2003
|Dragon Tales: Let's Start a Band |Executive producer |Special |Animated | ||||
| 2003
|Creative consultant |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2004–2005
|Soccer Moms |Executive producer |Pilot |Live-action | ||||
| 2007–2010
|Executive producer |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2007
|Executive producer, story by |Special |Animated | ||||
| 2010–2011
|Executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2010–2013
|Executive producer, developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2012–2016
|Executive producer (season 1), developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2015–2017
|Transformers: Robots in Disguise |Executive producer (seasons 1 and 2), developed by |Series |Animated | ||||
| 2018–2022
|Executive producer, head writer |Series |Animated | ||||
| Cancelled | Magic: The Gathering | Developed by{{Cite web |last=London |first=Rob |date=September 10, 2024 |title=Netflix's 'Magic: The Gathering' Series Is Officially Dead |url=https://collider.com/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series-cancelled/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=Collider |language=en-US}} | Series | Animated |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0458807}}
- [https://archive.today/20130209032624/http://www.wcsh6.com/life/programming/local/207/article/202315/50/Transformers-Prime-Executive-Producer-Jeff-Kline/ "Transformers: Prime Executive Producer Jeff Kline"]. WCSH. May 31, 2012.
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Jeff}}
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:Film producers from Massachusetts
Category:Mass media people from Boston
Category:Screenwriters from Massachusetts
Category:Sony Pictures Entertainment people
Category:Universal Animation Studios people