Pixar Animation Studios is promoting “Turning Red” producer Lindsey Collins and director Domee Shi into leadership roles at the company.
Collins has been named into a new position, as senior vice president of development. She will lead the development group at Pixar for features and streaming, where current and upcoming filmmakers originate story ideas and shape them into movies for production. She will report to Pixar president Jim Morris and join the creative VP team which supports chief creative officer Pete Docter in guiding the studio’s creative direction.
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Collins joins five other SVPs at Pixar, taking a leadership role in steering the studio’s overall business. She’s a nearly 25-year veteran at the studio, including roles as co-producer of “WALL-E,” producer of “Finding Dory” and vice president of development, where she helped spearhead the studio’s SparkShorts program.
“As I reflect on my 25 years at Pixar, the pride and gratitude I have is surpassed only by the excitement I feel stepping into this new role,” Collins said in a statement. “Pixar has always been a place that seeks to delight and surprise audiences and I am thrilled to be able to expand on that legacy and help shape what comes next, surrounded by some of the most diverse, unique and inspiring filmmakers and voices working today.”
Shi has been named vice president of creative, joining directors Andrew Stanton, Peter Sohn and Dan Scanlon (who also carry that title) in guiding the studio’s filmmakers on their own productions as part of the famed Pixar Braintrust. She will report to Morris and Docter.
After starting at Pixar as an intern, Shi was hired as a story artist on “Inside Out” and has worked on “The Good Dinosaur,” “Incredibles 2” and “Toy Story 4.” Her 2018 short, “Bao,” won the Academy Award for best animated short. With “Turning Red,” Shi is the first woman ever to be a solo director on a Pixar feature. According to Disney, the movie was the No. 1 film premiere on Disney Plus in the streamer’s history.
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