Pearl Studio chief creative officer Peilin Chou announced Justinian Huang as the head of development for Pearl Studio today. The global animation company are currently in production of two major films.
Originally from Shanghai, Huang in his new role as head of development, will report to Peilin Chou and will oversee Pearl’s development team.He’ll also continue to build and expand upon Pearl’s diverse and robust development slate which includes over a dozen active projects, and the newest addition- Tiger Empress which sprang from an idea originally developed by Huang.
Tiger Empress is the story of a young tigress who grows from the obedient daughter of a Tiger Mom into a transformational leader when a prophecy convinces her that she’s the only one who can save their kingdom. Tiger Empress will be written by the Tony Award winning David Henry Hwang (M Butterfly, The Affair).
Also new to Pearl’s development roster are Kelvin Yu & Steven Davis (Bob’s Burgers) who have been brought on board to write the previously announced Untitled Chinatown Project, executive produced by Alan Yang.
Huang joined Pearl (formerly known as Oriental DreamWorks) as a creative executive in 2015. In the past three years, Huang, has made a name for himself within the development community and is respected by agents and artists alike. He has ascended rapidly within Pearl becoming director of development, and now head of development.
“Justinian is a passionate champion of great storytelling, and over the past few years, he has brought so much to Pearl in terms of his understanding of bridging Eastern and Western culture, as well as his unique ideas, insights, and industry relationships. Justinian is truly dedicated to and energized by Pearl’s mission to create original world class films that enchant and inspire audiences around the globe, and I could not be more excited to continue collaborating with him in his new role at Pearl,” Chou commented.
He was also part of the team that developed Pearl’s upcoming Abominable directed by Jill Culton and Over The Moon directed by Academy Award-winning animator Glen Keane. Both films along with their filmmakers will be highlighted next week during Pearl’s studio focus spotlight session at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France.
Prior to joining Pearl Studio, Huang was a development executive at Lynda Obst Productions, where he assisted Obst with early development for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, as well as Ricky Gervais’s The Invention of Lying. He also worked in development for Bob Cooper at Landscape Entertainment, as well as for Gary Ross at Larger Than Life Productions.
Huang’s passion for diversity also led him to establish his own company, Faded Film, which landed a deal with Lionsgate where he executive produced the first-ever US documentary series featuring an all Chinese-American cast.
“It’s truly an honor to work with Pearl and Peilin as we develop and produce a slate of movies that empower through art and animation. Today more than ever, we need to tell stories that represent the world as a diverse community, and that will uplift and inspire young people in creative and thought provoking ways. This is a dream job for someone like me who grew up loving animation as I now get to work everyday with some of the most extraordinary artists, writers and legends in our industry,” Hunan mentioned.
Born in Los Angeles to Chinese immigrants, Huang had an old-school upbringing in the film industry, landing his first job on the Paramount lot as a runner when he was a teenager. He studied English Literature at Pomona College and screenwriting at University of Oxford (in conjunction with BAFTA).
In addition to Abominable and Over The Moon, and Tiger Empress he will also oversee previously announced projects such as: Untitled Chinatown Project, The Monkey King, Illimikitty, Lucky.
