Animation studio behind ‘Ratchet & Clank’ feature appoints veteran content executive to the newly-created position overseeing creative development, content strategy and sales.
VANCOUVER, BC -- Rainmaker Entertainment, the animation studio that made history with ReBoot, the first CGI animated series, and the producer and lead financier behind the April 29th release of the 3D CG-animated feature film Ratchet & Clank, has announced the appointment of veteran content executive Gregory R. Little to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Content, effective immediately.
Based in Los Angeles, Little becomes Rainmaker’s senior content executive, anchoring both the creative and strategic sides of the company’s content efforts. Reporting to Rainmaker President and Chief Creative Officer Michael Hefferon, Little will oversee creative development, content strategy and sales. His role includes the development of business strategies that take advantage of emerging platforms and new distribution models.
Little’s appointment marks his return to Rainmaker, where he previously served as the company’s Head of Development and as Executive Producer on Rainmaker’s first 3D CG-animated theatrical release, Escape from Planet Earth, which he brought to the company as a pitch and developed.
“Greg returns to our Rainmaker family at a time of great expansion for the company as we continue to grow the development and production of new intellectual properties and further build our service business for leading entertainment companies,” commented Hefferon. “We look forward to benefitting from Greg’s creative talents and business expertise in the development of film and television projects for both Rainmaker and Mainframe Entertainment.”
Little returns to Rainmaker as the Company prepares for the April 29th theatrical release of Ratchet & Clank, based on the popular Playstation video game franchise from Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, created and developed by Insomniac Games. Directed by Kevin Munroe (TMNT) and Jericca Cleland (Arthur Christmas), Ratchet and Clank tells the story of two heroes who join forces with The Galactic Rangers to stop Chairman Drek from destroying the Solana Galaxy and is voiced by such prestigious talents as Paul Giamatti (Billions, Straight Outta Compton), John Goodman (Monsters, Trumbo), Bella Thorne, Rosario Dawson, Jim Ward, James Arnold Taylor (portraying Ratchet), David Kaye (portraying Clank), Armin Shimmerman and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Creed).
Rainmaker’s television division, Mainframe, is also busy completing production on the Bob the Builder animated preschool series for HIT Entertainment and preparing for the summer production start of ReBoot: The Guardian Code, the hybrid live-action/CG-animated series which will utilize cutting-edge technology to create 26 new episodes of groundbreaking, multi-platform entertainment experiences.
“I’m inspired by the growth Rainmaker and its Mainframe division have experienced under Michael’s leadership since the company’s initial launch into the feature business with Escape from Planet Earth,” said Little. “This is an exciting time to rejoin the company and I’m looking forward to working together with Michael and the rest of the team to create more great entertainment content that we can leverage in new business models and platforms.”
From 2010 to 2014, Little served as executive producer and head of the U.S. operations of Dublin-based BAFTA Award-winning studio Brown Bag Films, one of the world’s most successful producers of family entertainment, whose credits include Doc McStuffins, Octonauts and Henry Hugglemonster for Disney Junior, and Peter Rabbit for Nickelodeon. Prior to joining Brown Bag Films, Little was Vice President of Development for The Gotham Group, charged with oversight of the group’s first-look deal with Sony Pictures Animation on the production of animated and hybrid feature films.
While Head of Development with Rainmaker Entertainment from 2005 to 2009, Little spearheaded the company’s push into original content creation, especially in theatrical features. Identifying the Escape from Planet Earth project as Rainmaker’s foray into theatrical production, Little developed and served as executive producer for the film. He is also credited for producing DVD titles such as The Nutty Professor: Face the Fear and Tony Hawk in Boom-Boom Sabotage.
Little got his start in feature development as a vice president with the Mark Gordon Company in 2001.
Source: Rainmaker Entertainment
