Pixar’s Mary Coleman Joins Locksmith Animation As Chief Creative Officer
01.06.2022 - 18:09
/ deadline.com
The London-based CG animation studio Locksmith Animation has appointed Mary Coleman as Chief Creative Officer. Coleman joins Locksmith from Pixar Animation Studios, where she served as Head of Creative Development. She will begin her work at LSA in July.
During her 23 years at Pixar, Coleman worked closely alongside numerous A-list animation directors—looking to support their vision, from original concept through final draft. Modern classics brought to life there during her tenure included 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.
Coleman is known for helping to launch the careers of such screenwriters as Dan Fogelman (Cars), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3), Meg Le Fauve (Inside Out) and Kemp Powers (Soul). She was the first woman to participate on Pixar’s Brain Trust, providing creative feedback on films in production, and is particularly proud of co-founding (with producer Nicole Grindle) The Story Artistas, Animation Artistas and Art Artistas—successful Pixar programs that empowered the studio’s female artists and paved the way for women directors and creative leaders.
Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull brought Coleman into the fold to help create the studio’s development department in 1999. She previously served as Associate Artistic Director at San Francisco’s renowned Magic Theatre, having earned a BA from Amherst and an MFA in Theater Directing from the University of California at San Diego.
“Having someone of Mary Coleman’s professional stature come on board Locksmith as Chief Creative Officer is a milestone in our