Paramount Animation has entered an exclusive, multi-year first-look development deal with writer, director and producer Jeff Rowe. The pact extends the relationship between the studio and the filmmaker following the success of last summer’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which Rowe directed and co-wrote.
The agreement covers Rowe’s development and directing services, as well as his producing and executive producing work, on both animated and live-action projects. This includes the recently announced sequel to “Mutant Mayhem,” which Rowe will direct. The first movie earned more than $181 million at the worldwide box office and enjoyed strong reviews (it also sold a lot of toys, bolstering Paramount’s consumer products business).
“Jeff has been an instrumental creative force and excellent partner in breathing new life into our iconic ’Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ franchise,” says Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation. “I am so proud of the work we’ve done together and I can’t wait for audiences to experience the next evolution of our incredible collaboration.”
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“Working with Paramount and having the opportunity to reinvent the iconic ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ characters has been a dream come true,” Rowe said. “I’m grateful to Ramsey and the entire team for this opportunity. It’s also my understanding that this deal will pay me in money instead of pizza, and I think that’s gonna be a real game-changer.”
In addition to “Mutant Mayhem,” Rowe co-wrote and co-directed the Academy Award-nominated film “The Mitchells vs. the Machines.” The film, which was released on Netflix in April 2021, became the streamer’s biggest animated film of the year. On the television side, Rowe served as a writer on the Primetime Emmy-winning Disney Channel animated series “Gravity Falls” from 2014 to 2016, before going on to write on the animated series “Disenchantment” for Netflix.
Rowe is represented by United Talent Agency and attorney Alex Kohner at Morris Yorn.
