Illumination CEO and Animation Super-Producer Chris Meledandri Signs With CAA (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comMatt Donnelly Senior Film Writer The Minions are about the get the white glove treatment, as Variety has learned that CAA has signed Illumination CEO and prolific animation producer Chris Meledandri as a client.
Meledandri, who founded the company and is responsible for two of the four highest-grossing animated franchises of all time (“Despicable Me,” “Ice Age”), will be represented by a team including the agency’s co-chairman Bryan Lourd.
Illumination has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, most recently delivering this year’s $1.3 billion baby “Super Mario Bros.” starring Chris Pratt and Anya-Taylor Joy.
The venture’s most successful project, “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” grossed $940 million worldwide. The Minions films feature the voice of Steve Carell as the hapless villain Gru, and they have spawned six movies including spinoffs.
Read more on variety.com