Director Ryan Coogler Named Warner Bros. Creative Talent Ambassador
(February 11, 2016 – London) – Ryan Coogler, director and co-writer of “Creed,” has become the first Warner Bros. Creative Talent Ambassador. The news comes as Warner Bros. Creative Talent welcomed its third season, following two successful years since the programme’s launch. The announcement was made by Josh Berger CBE, President & Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland & Spain.
Coogler, 29, a Time Warner Foundation Fellow, was supported early in his career by the Time Warner Foundation in partnership with Sundance Institute, which enabled him to develop his first feature film, “Fruitvale Station.” The film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Coogler said, “Having experienced firsthand the support and impact of programmes similar to Warner Bros. Creative Talent, it is fantastic to know that passionate young people of all backgrounds are being given the chance to follow their dreams here in the U.K. This can be a tough industry and so we need to do what we can to bring talented young people into it.”
Josh Berger CBE, President & Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland & Spain, said, “I am thrilled that Ryan has become an Ambassador for Warner Bros. Creative Talent, as he is the perfect example of the effect that a programme like this can have on one’s life and career. We’re already seeing our talented young people taking strides into the industry, just a couple of years into the programme, and I can’t wait to see what Season Three will go on to achieve.”
Warner Bros. Creative Talent Season Three will receive funding and unique opportunities as part of a multi-layered, nationwide investment, which encompasses scholarships at some of the country’s most respected higher education institutions. These include three Prince William scholars in Film, Television and Games in partnership with BAFTA; apprenticeships at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and Warner Bros. Television Production UK; trainee positions on every Warner Bros. film production in the U.K.; training course places for young people at inclusive theatre company, Chickenshed; work experience places for students at a school local to Warner Bros.’ London HQ; and work placements on the award-winning West End musical, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Applications for the next five “Golden Ticket” work placements on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will close on Friday, February 12. All opportunities are posted on the Warner Bros. Creative Talent website (www.warnerbroscreativetalent.co.uk).
Warner Bros. Creative Talent Season Three currently comprises:
14 Scholars:
Hosea Ntaborwa* (The National Film & Television School, Diploma in Sound Recording for Film and Television)
Shivani Shah* (The National Film & Television School, MA Digital Effects)
Christopher Schlechte-Bond (Royal College of Music, MComp in Composition for Screen)
Jayne O’Hanlon (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), PgDip in Property Making)
Jamie Trott (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), FD in Technical Theatre and Stage Management)
Yasmin Taheri (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), BA (Hons) Acting)
Tegan Cutts (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), FD in Technical Theatre and Stage Management)
Damian Mullen (Glasgow Caledonian University, MA Television Fiction Writing)
Roseanna Willson (The National Film & Television School, Screenwriting)
Arran Green (Ravensbourne, BA (Hons) Digital Film Production)
Ola Aworetan (Ravensbourne, BA (Hons) Digital Film Production)
Jon Champion (University of Hertfordshire, BA (Hons) Film and Television Production)
Ellie Rawlings (University of Hertfordshire, BA (Hons) Film and Television Production)
Ciarán Dooley (The National Film School at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, MA Screenwriting), who joins the programme following the extension of Warner Bros. Creative Talent to Ireland.
* Prince William scholars in Film, Television and Games, supported by BAFTA and Warner Bros., awarded in late 2015
8 Trainees:
Trainees have been working on upcoming Warner Bros. film productions shot at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.
Lucy Noble (Script Supervision trainee on “The Conjuring II,” scheduled for release 17th June 2016)
Rosie Pedley (Costume trainee on “The Conjuring II”)
Jo Barass-Short (Make-Up & Hair trainee on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” scheduled for release 18th November 2016)
Lisa Macgregor (Camera trainee on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”)
Neil Morgan (Assistant Director trainee on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”)
Cei Frampton (Sound trainee on “Wonder Woman,” scheduled for release in June 2017)
Maria Hanson (Trainee Assistant to Patty Jenkins on “Wonder Woman”)
Richard Perry (Video Assistant / Camera trainee on “Wonder Woman”)
6 apprentices:
Apprentices are working at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL) and for Warner Bros. Television Production UK (WBTVPUK).
Zara Abraham (Apprentice IT Support Analyst, WBSL)
Charlotte Higgs (Apprentice IT Support Analyst, WBSL)
Grace Reinhold-Gittins (Apprentice Studio Assistant, WBSL)
Zavura De N’Dili (Production Assistant Apprentice, WBITVPUK)
Stuart Fuller (Edit Runner/Junior Apprentice (Brighton), WBITVPUK)
Niall Todd (Edit Runner/Junior Apprentice (Brighton), WBTVPUK)
For more information on Warner Bros. Creative Talent, visit www.warnerbroscreativetalent.co.uk
Warner Bros. Creative Talent:
Warner Bros. Creative Talent supports the next generation of U.K. creative industries talent, with scholarships providing work placements, mentoring, apprenticeships and training courses, giving young people of all backgrounds invaluable industry experience and insight across Warner Bros.’ U.K. film, TV, video games and theatre operations. A series of special events and master classes delivered by industry experts form an integral part of the programme.
Warner Bros.:
Warner Bros.’ long-term commitment to the UK’s creative industries has seen significant investment in Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden; in TV production company, Warner Bros. Television Production UK; in leading video games companies Rocksteady Studios and TT Games; in Soho post-production house, Warner Bros. De Lane Lea; in the West End musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”; and in Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
Each year, Warner Bros. runs a successful intern programme for over 50 students who spend a paid year with the company during their degree courses. Warner Bros. has been a principal partner of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) since 2008.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter hosts a range of educational classes, which to date have reached nearly 60,000 school children.