According To The variety CANNES — Robbie Brenner told Mipcom attendees that the toymaker is focused on stepping up its TV development and production now that the Mattel Studios arm has been unified under her leadership as president and chief content officer.
Brenner spoke Tuesday with Leo Barraclough, Variety‘s international features director, in the keynote address on Day 2 of the Mipcom content market. Brenner detailed her unlikely journey from independent film producer to Mattel Studios leader. She reflected on the out of the box success of “Barbie,” which was Mattel’s first feature film effort under the new regime led by CEO Ynon Kreiz, who recruited Brenner to the toymaker in 2018 to drive the key component of his strategy to transform Mattel into a media and entertainment firm in addition to its consumer toy and game businesses.
“It’s not very often get to go to work and dream every day,” Brenner said of her role. After joining the company she was impressed at Mattel’s culture of detail and innovation. She appreciates Mattel’s history of “having the integrity to make these toys the best they can be,” Brenner said. Her job is to “find ways to honor that and celebrate the brands do it I a way feels interesting an out of the box and unexpected.” Brenner explained to Barraclough how Mattel tries to cast the creative auspices of its projects well with distinctive writers, directors, producers and stars who have a feel for the material. Travis Knight, the writer-director steering Mattel’s second feature film release, “Masters of the Universe,” is a “fanboy” who grew up playing with the action figures and knows the mythos behind them. The live-action film starring Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and Idris Elba bows June 5, distributed by Amazon MGM Studios.
“He knows the characters,” she said of Knight. “His attention to detail has been wonderful to watch.”
The same is true for Daniel Kaluuya, who is taking on a fresh take on the purple dino for A24, with Ayo Edebiri co-starring. Stunt peformer turned director Sam Hargraves is in the driver’s seat for the “Matchbox” feature in the works with John Cena and Jessica Biel. And one day before Brenner’s Mipcom appearance, her studio unveiled a pact with M. Night Shamalayan to develop a series based on the iconic Magic 8 Ball toy.
“Television is a big push for us – I feel good about where my team is,” Brenner said. Brenner had been the company’s head of film. She was promoted in June to oversee TV as well. She firmly believes there will be benefits to the tighter alignment.
“Everything historically has been so separated” between film and TV at studios,” Brenner said. “Everything really is so blended today….For us to all exist under the umbrella together — we figure out what is the best past forward for each one of these brands to navigate that together as television and theatrical.”
(Pictured: Variety’s Leo Barraclough with Mattel Studios’ Robbie Brenner at Mipcom in Cannes on Oct. 14)
