‘Rio’ Helmer Carlos Saldanha Sets And Staffs Up BottleCap Productions At Fox
EXCLUSIVE: Carlos Saldanha, who co-directed Ice Age and then helmed two Ice Age sequels in addition to Robots and Rio, has formed BottleCap Productions. The label is Fox-based, where Saldanha made an exclusive five-year deal with 20th Century Fox and Fox International to develop both live-action and animated projects.
Saldanha has hired former Scott Free exec Maresa Pullman as his VP, and promoted Jessica Roberts to Creative Executive. Pullman, who will report directly to Saldanha, most recently worked at Scott Free where she helped develop the Duplass Brothers’ Cyrus, and co-produced Jake Scott’s Welcome To The Rileys. She also worked closely with Ridley Scott on a number of projects, serving as an executive producer on Scott Free’s short animated film featuring the Coca-Cola polar bears. She also worked directly under producer Michael Costigan, working on such films as American Gangster and Body Of Lies. She began her career in the WMA mailroom and also worked for manager Margaret Riley.
Roberts has been a member of Saldanha’s team for five years. She helped develop a number of projects with him, including Ice Age III: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs, Rio, and Rio 2. They will percolate new projects as Saldanha completes directing Rio 2 for release next spring for Blue Sky Studios and Fox. BottleCap should be a very active company. After serving as catalyst for the massively successful Ice Age and Rio franchises, Saldanha is one of the most important director relationships for Fox. His most recent, Rio, grossed over $500M worldwide.
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