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The DreamWorks Animation boss looking for a bigger job has taken to sending out emails to the whole company of what looks like a boastful blog (typos and all). This one is pretty boring. But I bet Deadline commenters can do better:
From: Katzenberg, Jeffrey
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 7:49 PM
To: DreamWorks AnimationYikes, another crazy busy day. Bkft with Cyma Zarghami (pres of Nick) to discuss out series. Penguins continues to be very strong (3rd highest rated show 2-11yr). We have already been given a second season pickup for KFP series and it won’t even go on the air until fall 2011 after our feature film has been released. Big promotional/advt pushes lined up for our launch of Megamind and KFP2. Back at studio I spent 2 hrs with Croods and saw fantastic and very imaginative presentations of characters, creatures, and world. REALLY exciting and unique. Then saw story reel of first seq to go into production….good start but lots more to do to get it to great. Discussed latest draft. Hosted the owners of largest private equity fund called TPG on campus ($20B of cash) They want us to know they’re ready, willing, able to support us if there’s ever anything big we want to pursue. Nothing on the horizon but good to have them in the wings and excited about dwa. Went over to employee appreciation lunch for Facilities group. What a fantastic job they’ve done over the last 18 months. New building. Remodeled buildings and commissary. The campus has never looked more beautiful. 3 Cheers to them!!!
Met with Turbo team to discuss latest script which is very big step forward and is very promising project. Met with Mad3 team to review 60pgs of rewrite done by Noah Bombach that are exc!!! Met with Dragons2 team and Dean pitched out next chapter…. very smart /interesting /ambitious. Guardians showed some costume and character designs and some super animation tests (one of the tests Gabe showed of North was a first for me….. he was animated saying f___ you.) FUNNY. No it won’t be in movie. Saw a couple of seqs that had good work but out of context seemed long. Last mtg of the day was 2 hour Franchise mtg where prod/mktg/consumer products all come together to look at long term strategy for managing our 4 franchises and all of the zillion things going on with each of them. Off to dinner with the Family and seeing Scott Pilgrim movie.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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sounds like a nice guy, cool and dedicated boss.
what am I missing?
What a loser — he’s still so enthusiastic about his company and its projects…
Oh wait, that’s how a president and a leader is supposed to be!
Agreed. Reads like an unbelievably honest and enthusiastic account of his business that day. Makes me want to work there. Glad it was shared. It was a fun read. Not sure what the derision in the headline is about, though.
Unbelievably honest? You really believe this is an honest accounting of his day. It’s nice to see a boss trying to communicate with the rank & file, but this is a little too cheery and rose-colored to be honest.
What about the portion of his day where curses whatever he hears Pixar is doing or the latest accolade they’ve received? Or curses the voice actors of Kung Fu Panda for how much they want for a third and fourth movie? Or the portion of his day dedicated to avoiding Seinfeld when he calls about a Bee movie sequel? Or when he wonders how he’s going to replace the revenue for the ever-dminishing DVD sales?
Nobody’s day goes this well. This “email” looks like it was written by the Dreamworks PR department.
LOL
I would say only the part about Breakfast is accurate, this guy likes to start way too early for me.
But i just loved the part about the visit from the Venture Capital Fund, who seem to be throwing their money at him, brushes it off as “good to know its there” and in typical JK fashion manages to slip in (20B) to really impress the wet trayed staffers in the commissary.
As someone who works at Dreamworks, I can say that I look forward to reading these emails from Jeffrey and knowing what the company’s up to. You want to make fun of the fact that JK sends kudos out to the facilities department? Go right ahead. Can you think of any other studio head who takes the time to acknowledge all the other people it takes to keep a studio running? Keep blogging, JK. Your employees are more important than what “the town” has to say about these emails, anyway.
Sound like Katz being Katz to me. Nothing shocking here – its actually a little refreshing that he’d send something around that’s a little unfiltered. If you work for that guy you can read between the lines (“don’t worry folks – everyone will do it my way in the end, and most of you will still have a job if you keep your heads down. ‘kay, bye now.”) Don’t like it? Don’t work for Dreamworks.
I don’t necessarily think this is such a bad idea.
A little mundane and list-like, perhaps, but it’s an interesting way of a boss making himself accessible and transparent to his employees.
Would you rather he stayed locked up in his executive suite and came out only to fire people?
this reads like a boss letting his employees know that he cares about their work and is in touch with the day to day… why would he be boasting INTERNALLY? If anything this is just good management style.
You will never understand.
KatZ has the audacity to share his typo-laden enthusiasm with his co-workers. Happiness is foolish.
Dinner with fam tonight. What a fantastic meal!!! Didn’t realize until dessert that I was still wearing the 3-D glasses from the Mad3 seqs that day. Btw, the overall domestic exp is def more dynamic and vibrant and beautiful in 3-D!!!!
OMG! that’s the doorbell. Oh, it’s Jack Black. He borrowed the weed wacker. Gotta bounce.
I actually think this is nice. I wish my boss communicated with me like this. It feels casual and collaborative. What’s the biggie?
Yikes, nnother crazy busy day in my wonderful life.
Bkfast with Cyma Z, president of a new reality channel that will follow me aroubnd like all those JERSEY SHORE types except I’m so much more imnportant and smarter and more creative than all those creeps.
Second bkfast with my p.r. who told me, `Jeffrey, you are to animation what Mother Theresa was to the poor” — God’s gift.
Mother Theresa? I say. Can I get her to play Cameron’s sister in my new animation movie. Its about a studio executive who keeps writing self-important twitters.
Third bkfast with my other p.r. who tells me that I am wonderful and Dreamworks Animation is the best, even though there’s another studio that shames us.
WHAT STUDIO? I shriek.
Pixar, comes the response.
DONT EVER USE THAT WORD.
My fourth bkfast with my new P.R., who replaced the Pixar fool, told me that theres only one way to stay relevant. One way to prove that I have the genius of Thalberg. And that’s to Twitter.
Irving would have done the same, said my new p.r.
So I’m twittering for all the world to see how significant I am.
By the way, who’s Thalberg?
I’m glad I’m not the only person who didn’t understand why this email deserved such sarcasm. Kudos to JK for communicating with his employees, typos and all.
Yeah, I agree with the majority of people here… it’s actually a nice thing for the CEO of a major studio to do, to keep his employees in the loop. Katzenberg is giving his hard-working employees a little peek into his life, what he’s up to, so that they continue to work hard and feel connected to their company. The typos actually encourage me, knowing it’s not filtered through some machine of PR flak and assistants…
In short, it’s cool. No need to mock it.
I commend Katzenberg’s loyal employees in appreciating his new email blog. They sincerely enjoy his hour-by-hour updates, even if to the rest of us the blogs reeks of self-indulgent, chest-pounding. Katz might consider a life free from love of money ($20B), and be content with what he has certainly achieved in this industry.
This is just good managerial skills, that’s all.
Seems a good e-mail to me. Strange that some think otherwise. Good idea to keep the staff involved and appreciated. That maybe an alien concept to some. Friend of mine worked for Dreamworks found them to be a good company.
You lost me on this one, Nikki. I think it’s cool that he takes the time to communicate and thank. Wish more bosses would do the same.
I’m a writer. I can’t understand why you’re not lauding JK for this memo?! It’s amazing. What studio head is this involved with the creative process and cares this deeply about quality work? I wish I had a guy like this involved in every project I work on. He instills confidence and passion and cares about creating a happy, creative work environment.
Having worked at DWA for 3 years I can attest to Jeffrey’s dedication to his employees. I think the blog is very indicative of that. In hind sight, I should not have left to work for the other guys!!
Is he speaking english?
I love getting my J Katzenblog updates…best boss ever!
He’s no Steve Balmer.
Gotta agree with the other comments that don’t see anything wrong with this email. I wish some of the bosses that I once worked for were as enthusiastic and communicative as JK is.
Yeah, this is a good guy who is staying in touch with his employees. Big props.
V
Someone please set this man up with his own Twitter account so he can use his Blackberry to type in these ridiculous scream of consciousness tweets all day and all night to his little heart’s content. Now I’m off to KFP for some tasty finger licking Kentucky Fried Penguin it’s the best meal ever it’s delicious.
Or is that Kentucky Fried Panda? Either way works for me.
Full disclosure.
I work for Dreamworks Animation and I like reading JK’s emails.
I’ve worked at other studios where the top bananas don’t even acknowledge their employees’ existence – and here’s a guy who not only has regular town hall-like company meetings (during which PDI from up north is teleconferenced in) AND makes regular rounds to each and every department taking the time to shake as many people’s hands as he can, but also sends out fireside chat-like correspondences everyday (sometimes more).
I encourage such actions from JK.