Locksmith Animation names Mary Coleman as Chief Creative Officer

Locksmith Animation has appointed Mary Coleman to be Chief Creative Officer.  Coleman joins LSA from Pixar Animation Studios, where she was Head of Creative Development.  Locksmith CEO Natalie Fischer announced the news today and confirmed that Coleman officially will join the studio in July. “Having someone of Mary Coleman’s professional stature come on board Locksmith as Chief Creative Officer is a milestone in our company’s journey,” said Locksmith CEO Fischer.  “Her keen eye for material and her strong relationships with filmmakers were top of mind as we searched for the perfect CCO.  We feel honored for her to join Locksmith Animation as we bolster our development slate, widen our artistic vision and expand our appetite for success in the animation space.”   

Coleman joins the company from San Francisco’s renowned Magic Theatre, where she was the Associate Artistic Director. Pixar Co-founder Ed Catmull brought her into the Pixar fold in 1999 to help create its development department. She worked alongside Pixar’s directors from original concept through final draft, supporting their   vision.  During her tenure, Pixar created a legacy of modern classics including Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University, Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Finding Dory, Cars 3, Coco, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red.

She is also credited with contributing to the launch of various screenwriting careers, such as that of Dan Fogelman, Michael Arndt, Meg Le Fauve, and Kemp Powers.  She was the first woman to participate on Pixar's Brain Trust, providing creative feedback on films in production.  In her 23 years at Pixar, Coleman is most proud of co-founding "The Story Artistas," Animation Artistas and Art Artistas. These successful Pixar programs empowered the studio's female artists and paved the way for women directors and creative leaders.  Coleman holds a BA from Amherst and an MFA in Theater Directing from the University of California at San Diego.  “Few individuals are equally adept at story development and filmmaker collaboration.  Mary is a respected industry veteran and we feel incredibly lucky for her to join our stellar team,"   Locksmith Co-Founder and President of Production Julie Lockhart, said.

Locksmith recently announced it has awarded the digital production of its second animated movie "That Christmas" to DNEG Animation. The film is based on the successful series of children’s books by British filmmaker Richard Curtis and marks the feature film directorial debut of renowned character animation and story artist veteran Simon Otto (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy).   

LSA also recently optioned Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles, the bestselling series of novels published by Feiwel & Friends. The series, which focuses on a reimagining of classic fairy tale heroines, has seen success since the first volume was published. “Ultimately, what drew me most to Locksmith is that between Julie Lockhart’s two decades working with Aardman Animations and Natalie Fischer having helped launch and then worked with Illumination for a decade and my two decades at Pixar, the three of us have helped to build wildly successful studios.  Locksmith’s vision is ambitious and its slate is already full of potential.   I’m thrilled that they have asked me to help them deliver on their promise of creating compelling entertainment for families around the world.”