Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Names Jason Goldberg Head of of Global Film
Additional promotions across the studio within Operations and Animation
LOS ANGELES AND TORONTO – April 8, 2024 – Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven studio and IP business from WEBTOON Entertainment, today named Jason Goldberg as Head of Global Film. The studio also elevated Alessandra Ferreri to Vice President of Content and Brennan Loftus to Director of Development, Animation.
Goldberg joined Wattpad WEBTOON Studios in 2022 as Director of Film for North America. In his new role as Head of Global Film he will report to Head of Global Entertainment David Madden, where he’ll continue producing and expanding the studio’s robust film slate in North America and key international markets. Select current film projects include the WEBTOON hit “Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell” with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, Wattpad romance sensation “Chasing Red” with Stampede Ventures, and the Wattpad thriller “What Happened That Night” with Academy Award-nominated “Children of Men'' screenwriter David Arata.
Before joining Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, Goldberg was Vice President of Scripted Film & TV at Gunpowder & Sky, where he supervised all scripted development and managed the company's comedy deal with Paramount. He has also held executive roles at MTV Studios and VH1 in addition to positions at HBO and Lee Daniels Entertainment.
“Jason’s expertise and understanding of storytelling and film culture have been a critical asset to the studio,” said Madden. “He has enthusiastically leapt into the adaptation process on some extraordinary titles from WEBTOON and Wattpad that movie fans will embrace with the same passion that they do on our platforms. As we continue to grow our footprint in Hollywood, we’re thrilled to have him lead our global film division, providing the guidance and leadership we need to create fantastic content for audiences around the world.”
On the studio’s operations and content development team, Alessandra Ferreri has been promoted to Vice President, Content. Since joining Wattpad in 2015, Ferreri has spent nearly a decade managing the studio’s IP strategy, identifying global hits on WEBTOON and Wattpad that can capture new audiences in TV, film, and publishing. In this role, she will continue to manage the flow of webnovels and webcomics to entertainment, publishing and merchandising opportunities.
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Brennan Loftus has also been promoted to Director of Development, Animation. He will continue to report to Sydney Bright, the studio’s Head of Global Animation, where he’ll support creator relationships, identify writing talent, and help manage creative development for the studio’s animation slate. He will continue to work on key Wattpad WEBTOON Studios projects such as the “Lore Olympus” series with The Jim Henson Company, based on Rachel Smythe’s 1.5 billion-viewed WEBTOON sensation, as well as the “HAWK” series with MCU screenwriter Christopher Yost.
In addition to these promotions, Jess Brinder has taken on an expanded role as Director, Head of Entertainment Business Development. Brinder will continue to manage Wattpad WEBTOON Studios international presence with entertainment partnerships and productions across Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Recent and upcoming releases from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios include “Float” starring Robbie Amell and Andrea Bang; Through My Window: Looking at You, the final film in Netflix’s “Through My Window” trilogy based on Ariana Godoy’s wildly popular Wattpad webnovel, which spent five weeks in Global Top 10 for non-English films*; and the upcoming film “Boot Camp,” based on Gina Musa’s Wattpad webnovel with over 27 million reads and starring “Riverdale” alum Drew Ray Tanner.