Douglas Wood (producer)
Encyclopedia
Douglas Wood is a writer, creative executive, director and producer. From 2005-2009 at the feature animation studio, Animation Lab, Wood was Head of Creative Affairs then director and executive producer on its first feature, "The Wild Bunch." He has previously served as VP of Feature Animation Development and Production at Turner, Warner Bros.
and Universal
.
, United States
. Wood began his career at The Second City
, and formed a comedy duo with Cheryl Rhoads titled The Fine Line. Their vignettes on human relationships entitled, "An Evening with the Fine Line" ran for 9 months in Chicago. Wood and Rhoads were spotted by the William Morris Agency
and they soon performed (twice) on The Merv Griffin Show
. He has worked as the creative executive for the Annie award winning films The Iron Giant
and Cats Don't Dance
. While working for Amblin Entertainment
, Wood analyzed screenplay
s for Steven Spielberg
where he began his executive career, eventually becoming Director of Animation. He also served as the creative executive for the emmy award winning TV series Tiny Toon Adventures
and Animaniacs
. Wood has created two successful animated television series: Little Einsteins
for Disney and Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
for National Geographic (for which he also authored the children's book, When Mama Mirabelle Comes Home. At the Motion Picture and Television Fund he volunteers his services instructing senior citizens on the craft of Improvisation. He is also the founder of The Artists' Playground in which he offers creativity workshops for people in all walks of life. At www.WriteWoodScreenplayConsulting.com he offers screenplay consulting services to both new and experienced screenwriters.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
.
History
Douglas Wood was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Wood began his career at The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
, and formed a comedy duo with Cheryl Rhoads titled The Fine Line. Their vignettes on human relationships entitled, "An Evening with the Fine Line" ran for 9 months in Chicago. Wood and Rhoads were spotted by the William Morris Agency
William Morris Agency
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
and they soon performed (twice) on The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
. He has worked as the creative executive for the Annie award winning films The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney...
and Cats Don't Dance
Cats Don't Dance
Cats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical comedy film, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment's feature animation unit . The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...
. While working for Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
, Wood analyzed screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s for Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
where he began his executive career, eventually becoming Director of Animation. He also served as the creative executive for the emmy award winning TV series Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
and Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
. Wood has created two successful animated television series: Little Einsteins
Little Einsteins
Little Einsteins is an animated television series on Disney Junior. The educational preschool series was developed for television by Douglas Wood who created the concept and characters, and a subsequent team headed by Emmy Award-winning director Olexa Hewryk and Dora the Explorer co-creator Eric...
for Disney and Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies
Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies is a 2006 animated television series. Set in the African savanna, it focuses on an enthusiastic elephant named Mama Mirabelle, who travels around the world to film real wildlife footage and project them onto a screen of fireflies in front of almost the entire animal...
for National Geographic (for which he also authored the children's book, When Mama Mirabelle Comes Home. At the Motion Picture and Television Fund he volunteers his services instructing senior citizens on the craft of Improvisation. He is also the founder of The Artists' Playground in which he offers creativity workshops for people in all walks of life. At www.WriteWoodScreenplayConsulting.com he offers screenplay consulting services to both new and experienced screenwriters.
Amblin Entertainment
During his time as Director of Animation at Amblin, Wood helped develop and was the creative executive for the following works:- BaltoBaltoBalto was a Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. The run is commemorated by the...
- We're Back! A Dinosaur's StoryWe're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (film)We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1993 American animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and originally released to theaters on November 24, 1993 for the United States. It was rated G by the MPAA...
- Tiny Toon AdventuresTiny Toon AdventuresSteven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
- AnimaniacsAnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
- A Wish For Wings That WorkA Wish for Wings That WorkOn December 13, 1991, an animated special was released. It was directed by Skip Jones and was produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio for Universal Cartoon Studios...
- Family DogFamily DogFamily Dog is an American animated television series that only aired 10 episodes for one year on CBS, due to negative reviews. The plot of the story was about an average suburban family, the Binsfords, as told through the eyes of their dog, It first appeared as an episode of the TV show Amazing...
- Fievel's American TailsFievel's American TailsFievel's American Tails is an American/Canadian animated television series, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, Nelvana, and Universal Cartoon Studios. It aired for one season in 1992, and continued Fievel's adventures from the film An American Tail: Fievel Goes West...
- Back to the Future: The Animated SeriesBack to the Future: The Animated SeriesBack to the Future: The Animated Series is an animated series for television based on the Back to the Future trilogy of feature films. The series lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 7, 1991 to November 28, 1992. It reran until August 14, 1993...
Warner Bros./Turner
Wood worked on the following animations:- Cats Don't DanceCats Don't DanceCats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical comedy film, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment's feature animation unit . The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...
(Executive) - Iron Giant (Executive)
- Osmosis JonesOsmosis JonesOsmosis Jones is a 2001 live-action/animated comedy film directed by Tom Sito and Piet Kroon for the animated segments and the Farrelly brothers for the live-action segments...
(Executive) - Scooby-Doo and the Monster of MexicoScooby-Doo and the Monster of MexicoScooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico is the sixth of a series of direct-to-video animated films based upon the Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on September 30, 2003, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation...
(Screenwriter)
Disney
Wood was involved with the following projects:- Little EinsteinsLittle EinsteinsLittle Einsteins is an animated television series on Disney Junior. The educational preschool series was developed for television by Douglas Wood who created the concept and characters, and a subsequent team headed by Emmy Award-winning director Olexa Hewryk and Dora the Explorer co-creator Eric...
(Writer, Creator) - JoJo's CircusJoJo's CircusJoJo's Circus is a musical comedy series for preschool children. The series debuted in 2003 and airs in the United States on the Disney Channel as part of the Playhouse Disney morning programming schedule at 6am eastern time. The program airs daily on both the UK and Australian versions of...
(Writer, Story Editor) - Handy MannyHandy MannyHandy Manny is a Disney animated children's television program that premiered on September 16, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
(Writer) - Johnny and the SpritesJohnny and the SpritesJohnny and the Sprites is a musical television show aimed for preschoolers that airs every weekend on the "Playhouse Disney" program of The Disney Channel. The show was created for, is produced by, and stars John Tartaglia . The show's theme song was written by Stephen Schwartz...
(Writer) - Playhouse Disney Live! Stage musical at California Adventure theme park, Disney World and Disney Paris. (Writer)
National Geographic
Wood was involved with the following projects for National Geographic:- Mama Mirabelle's Home MoviesMama Mirabelle's Home MoviesMama Mirabelle's Home Movies is a 2006 animated television series. Set in the African savanna, it focuses on an enthusiastic elephant named Mama Mirabelle, who travels around the world to film real wildlife footage and project them onto a screen of fireflies in front of almost the entire animal...
(Creator, TV series) - When Mama Mirabelle Comes Home (Author, Children's Book)