ANIMAGIC LAYS OFF ENTIRE STAFF
On May 21st, Jeff Nodelman's animation studio Animagic laid off its entire staff, about 75 people, after 6 weeks of employment on "Nate the Great." Animagic is a subsidiary of Creative Group and Moe Green Entertainment.
"Nate the Great" was a show that PBS bought from Creative Group last year. Unlike most shows, which run for about 10 test episodes, "Nate" was picked up for a whopping 40 episodes that were going to syndication.
The staff was called into a meeting at 11am Monday morning and was told that the poject was cancelled. Nodelman labeled it a haitus and sent all the artists back to their desks to pack up, where they found the information on their computers inaccessable.
According to a source, PBS itself is shocked at the cancellation, which stems from the investors pulling out their funding.
Meet New York's New ANImagician
ANImagic's Jeff Nodelman talks about the studio he helped create after abdicating as CEO of his own successful independent animation house.
By Jake Friedman
*Originally published in the February, 2007 issue of Animation Magazine.
As far as new animation studios go, it's hard to find one with the kind of zest and creative freedom as ANImagic, headed at the canopy organization of Creative Group in New York City by Jeff Nodelman. Nodelman came fresh off Noodle Soup Studios (Venture Brothers, Hopeless Pictures), an independent animation house he founded five years ago, to head animation production and I.P. development for projects at ANImagic.
“This place here is built for how best to tell a story,” asserts Nodelman. “It doesn't matter who the idea comes from, whether it's a top supervisor or from the guy who cleans to kitchen.” While no longer a CEO, Nodelman wears his new position with pride. “It was fun to be an entrepreneur, but I'm a storyteller at heart.”
(c) ANImagic