Jill Culton
{{short description|American animator, director and screenwriter|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Jill Culton.jpg
| imagesize =
| name = Jill Culton
| caption = Culton in 2010
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| alma_mater = California Institute of the Arts
| occupation = {{hlist | Film director | executive producer | writer | animator | character designer | storyboard artist }}
| years_active = 1993–present
| spouse =
| notable_works = Monsters Inc
Open Season
Abominable
| employer = {{ubl | Pixar Animation Studios (1993–2003) | Sony Pictures Animation (2003–2009) | DreamWorks Animation (2010–2024)|Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (2024–present)}}
}}
Jill Culton is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, and screenwriter. With her directorial debut on Sony's first animated film, Open Season, she became the first female principal director of a big budget, computer-generated feature.{{cite news|last=Stein|first=Ruthe|title=DATE LINES / News, notes and updates from the Bay Area arts and culture scene compiled by Chronicle staff writers and critics|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/DATE-LINES-News-notes-and-updates-from-the-Bay-2487004.php#page-2|accessdate=December 21, 2013|newspaper=SFGate|date=September 27, 2006}}
Education and career
Previously, she studied at the Character Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts, where she later taught animation.
She was also a storyboard artist for various Pixar films such as Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life and also co-wrote the original treatment for Monsters, Inc., and continued to become the Head of Development.
She animated on Toy Story and served as a Directing Animator at Turner Features for the film Cats Don't Dance.
Along with Anthony Stacchi, she helped to develop Curious George while working at Industrial Light & Magic.{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Dana|title=Sony tooning new animation unit|url=https://variety.com/2003/film/news/sony-tooning-new-animation-unit-1117885891/|accessdate=July 31, 2014|work=Variety|date=May 8, 2003}}{{cite news|last1=Eller|first1=Claudia|title=Lucas Starts Animation Division|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-12-fi-lucas12-story.html|access-date=July 31, 2014|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 12, 2003|quote=Later, Universal -- concerned about a budget that topped $100 million -- scrapped plans to enlist ILM in making an animated adaptation of the children's classic "Curious George."}}
In 2003, Culton joined Sony Pictures Animation, which launched a year before to produce CG animated films.{{cite web|last1=Wolfe|first1=Jennifer|title=Emails, Court Docs Show Sony Resisted Wage-Fixing Cartel|url=http://www.awn.com/news/emails-court-docs-show-sony-resisted-wage-fixing-cartel|publisher=Animation World Network|accessdate=July 31, 2014|date=July 10, 2014}} During her years at Sony, Culton, along with directing Open Season and executive producing Open Season 2, also developed Hotel Transylvania.
As of 2010, Culton was at DreamWorks Animation.{{cite web|title=Two in One Interview: NY Illustrators – Character Designers|url=http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/participants/index.php/two-in-one-interview-ny-illustrators-character-designers/|publisher=CTN Animation Expo|accessdate=December 21, 2013|archive-date=December 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224105232/http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/participants/index.php/two-in-one-interview-ny-illustrators-character-designers/|url-status=dead}} For some time, she was writing and directing an animated film (now titled Abominable) about a little girl and a Yeti, tentatively titled Everest,{{cite news|last=Gachman|first=Dina|title=Bringing 'The Croods' to Life: A Spotlight Interview with Producers Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell|url=http://www.studiosystemnews.com/bringing-the-croods-to-life-a-spotlight-interview-with-producers-kristine-belson-and-jane-hartwell/|accessdate=December 21, 2013|newspaper=Studio System News|date=March 21, 2013|quote=We have a project tentatively titled Everest, but that's a temp title. It's about a little girl and a Yeti, and the writer-director is Jill Culton.|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224102655/http://www.studiosystemnews.com/bringing-the-croods-to-life-a-spotlight-interview-with-producers-kristine-belson-and-jane-hartwell/|archivedate=December 24, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Milligan|first=Mercedes|title=DreamWorks Adopts FLIX for Story Development|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/vfx/dreamworks-adopts-flix-for-story-development/|accessdate=March 27, 2014|newspaper=Animation Magazine|date=March 26, 2014|quote=Culton, who made her directorial debut with Sony’s Open Season, is currently writing and directing a film about a young girl and a Yeti for DWA with the working title Everest.}} but by 2016, she had left the project.{{cite web|last1=D'Alessandro|first1=Anthony|title='How To Train Your Dragon 3' Flies To 2019; Uni's DWA To Scale 'Everest'|url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/how-to-train-your-dragon-3-everest-dreamworks-animation-1201864844/|publisher=Deadline|access-date=December 6, 2016|date=December 5, 2016}}
However, in 2018, she came back to the project to write and direct once again.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/asia/cmc-takes-universal-stake-in-oriental-dreamworks-1202685349/|title=CMC Takes Over Universal's Stake in Oriental DreamWorks|first1=Patrick|last1=Frater|date=February 2, 2018}}
In June 2024, it was announced that Culton would serve as the co-director of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's adaptation of Oh, the Places You'll Go!.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/06/dr-seuss-oh-the-places-youll-go-jill-culton-joins-jon-m-chu-to-direct-warner-bros-animation-bad-robot-1235969197/|title=Jill Culton Joins Jon M. Chu To Co-Direct Dr. Seuss' 'Oh, The Places You’ll Go!' For Warner Bros Pictures Animation & Bad Robot; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul Writing Original Tunes|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=June 10, 2024|access-date=June 19, 2024|website=Deadline Hollywood}}
Filmography
- The Princess and the Cobbler (1993) (animator: Calvert/Cobbler Productions)
- Toy Story (1995) (story artist)
- Cats Don't Dance (1997) (supervising animator: Supporting Animal Characters, storyboard artist)
- A Bug's Life (1998) (additional storyboard artist)
- Toy Story 2 (1999) (character designer: new characters, story artist)
- Shrek (2001) (story artist)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001) (story, story supervisor, visual development)
- Open Season (2006) (director, story)
- Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run (2006) (director, writer)
- Surf's Up (2007) (special thanks)
- Open Season 2 (2009) (executive producer)
- Shrek Forever After (2010) (special thanks, character designer: new characters, story artist)
- Abominable (2019) (director, writer)
- Oh, the Places You'll Go! (2028){{cite web |work=The Hollywood Reporter |title=Dr. Seuss’ ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’ Lands 2028 Release From Director Jon M. Chu and Warner Bros. |author=Ryan Gajewski |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oh-the-places-youll-go-jon-m-chu-release-1236119860/ |date=2025-01-27 |accessdate=2025-03-07 }} (co-director)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0191717|name=Jill Culton}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culton, Jill}}
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:People from Ventura County, California
Category:Animators from California
Category:American animated film directors
Category:Women animated film directors
Category:California Institute of the Arts alumni
Category:American women animators
Category:Sony Pictures Animation people
Category:DreamWorks Animation people