Kelly Asbury

Kelly Asbury

Asbury with Veronique Culliford, daughter of The Smurfs creator, Peyo
Born Kelly Adam Asbury
(1960-01-15) January 15, 1960
Beaumont, Texas, United States
Alma mater

Lamar University

California Institute of the Arts
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, voice actor, artist, author, illustrator
Years active 1982 to present
Notable work Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Shrek 2
Gnomeo & Juliet

Kelly Asbury (born January 15, 1960) is an American film director, screenwriter, voice actor, published children's book author/illustrator, and non-fiction author. He is best known for directing animated films, including Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shrek 2 and Gnomeo & Juliet.

Early life

Asbury was born in Beaumont, Texas and attended Lamar University for two years before transferring to the renowned California Institute of the Arts in 1980, where he studied animation and film making.[1]

Career

He worked at Walt Disney Animation from 1983 to 1995, and worked on story boards for several animated films including The Little Mermaid and Toy Story.[2] In 1993, he was the assistant art director on Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.[3]

In 1995, he began working for DreamWorks, and directed two Academy Award-nominated feature films, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and Shrek 2 (2004). In addition to directing, Asbury provided some of the extra voices in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third.

Kelly Asbury directed and co-wrote an animated film titled Gnomeo & Juliet (2011), for which he also provided the voices of the tiny Red Goon Gnomes. He was nominated for two Annie Awards for directing and co-writing that film.[4]

In 2003, he wrote a non-fiction book titled Dummy Days, which is a biography of five 20th century ventriloquists. He is the author and illustrator of twelve published children's books, [5] including Rusty's Red Vacation, Bonnie's Blue House and Yolanda's Yellow School.[6]

In 2011, he was hired by Elton John's Rocket Pictures to write and direct a film adaptation of the children's novel Will Gallows and the Snake-Bellied Troll.[7] In 2012, Asbury directed the development of Kazorn and the Unicorn, a proposed new animated feature film for Sony Pictures Animation.[8][9] Since early 2014, he is directing a fully CG-animated reboot of The Smurfs for Sony Pictures Animation, scheduled for a March 31, 2017 release.[10][11]

Asbury currently resides in Southern California.[1]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 "Kelly Asbury". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kelly Asbury Biography". Showtimes.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ E1 strikes UK, Canada deal for Gnomeo And Juliet | News | screendaily.com
  5. ↑ Kelly Asbury Interview UGO Entertainment
  6. ↑ "Rusty's Red Vacation". Barnes and Noble. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  7. ↑ Fleming, Mike (July 26, 2011). "Elton John’s Rocket Pictures And Kelly Asbury Follow ‘Gnomeo’ With ‘Will Gallows And The Snake Bellied Troll’". Deadline. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  8. ↑ Patten, Dominic (June 23, 2012). "Sony Animation In Talks With Kelly Asbury For ‘Kazorn & The Unicorn’". Deadline. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  9. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (August 27, 2012). "Sony Launches 10th Anniversary Screening Series". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Kit, Borys (March 12, 2014). "Sony Animation Sets Slate: 'Smurfs', 'Transylvania 2,' More (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Lowe, Kinsey (June 14, 2015). "‘Get Smurfy’ Unveiled: Demi Lovato Joins As Smurfette, Rainn Wilson As Gargamel". Deadline. Retrieved June 14, 2015.

External links

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