DreamWorks Animation has hired Jennifer Howell, Paramount’s former head of comedy. She will be the new head of development, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.
Howell will be taking over for Gregg Taylor and will report to Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria.
In August, Taylor began producing duties on “Larrikins,” the animated film that has an expected release date in 2018. Taylor oversaw the development of both “Trolls” and “The Boss Baby” during his five year stint as head of development at DreamWorks. He served as the production executive on films like “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Howell has a strong background in animation. He previously ran 20th Century Fox Television’s animation department and was the executive vice president of Important Studios.
Howell’s was also a supervising producer on “South Park.” During her stint at Paramount, she set up comedies such as “Grease: Live” and “School of Rock” and films like “Shooter” and “The Truman Show.”
In April, Comcast’s NBCUniversal officially acquired DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. The acquisition gave NBCUniversal control of DreamWorks Animation’s film franchise properties like “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
DreamWorks Animation had no comment.