Justinian Huang has been named Head of Development for Pearl Studio the global animation company with two major films currently in production, it was announced today by Peilin Chou, Chief Creative Officer for Pearl Studio.

In his new role as Head of Development, Huang will be responsible for overseeing Pearl’s development team, as he continues to build and expand upon Pearl’s diverse and robust development slate. Pearl’s slate includes over a dozen active projects, and the newest addition is TIGER EMPRESS, which sprang from an idea originally developed by Huang. TIGER EMPRESS is the story of a young tigress who grows from the obedient daughter of a Tiger Mom into a transformational leader when a prophecy convinces her that she’s the only one who can save their kingdom. TIGER EMPRESS will be written by the Tony Award winning David Henry Hwang (“M BUTTERFLY”, “THE AFFAIR”). Also new to Pearl’s development roster are Kelvin Yu & Steven Davis (“BOB’S BURGERS”) who have been brought on board to write the previously announced UNTITLED CHINATOWN PROJECT, executive produced by Alan Yang (see additional info below).

Huang is based in Shanghai and reports to Peilin Chou.

Huang joined Pearl (formerly known as Oriental DreamWorks) as a Creative Executive in 2015. In the past three years, Huang, has made a name for himself within the development community and is respected by agents and artists alike. He has ascended rapidly within Pearl becoming Director of Development, and now Head of Development. In his time at the studio, he was part of the team that developed Pearl’s upcoming ABOMINABLE, directed by Jill Culton and OVER THE MOON, directed by legendary Academy Award-winning animator Glen Keane. Both films as well as their acclaimed filmmakers will be highlighted next week during Pearl’s studio focus spotlight session at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France.

Prior to joining Pearl Studio, Huang was a Development Executive at Lynda Obst Productions, where he assisted Obst with early development for Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR, as well as Ricky Gervais’s THE INVENTION OF LYING. He also worked in development for Bob Cooper at Landscape Entertainment, as well as for Gary Ross at Larger Than Life Productions.

“It’s truly an honor to work with Pearl and Peilin as we develop and produce a slate of movies that empower through art and animation,” said Huang. “Today more than ever, we need to tell stories that represent the world as a diverse community, and that will uplift and inspire young people in creative and thought provoking ways. This is a dream job for someone like me who grew up loving animation as I now get to work everyday with some of the most extraordinary artists, writers and legends in our industry.”

Born in Los Angeles to Chinese immigrants, Huang had an old-school upbringing in the film industry, landing his first job on the Paramount lot as a runner when he was a teenager. He studied English Literature at Pomona College and screenwriting at University of Oxford (in conjunction with BAFTA). In addition to ABOMINABLE and OVER THE MOON, and TIGER EMPRESS he will oversee such previously announced projects as:

UNTITLED CHINATOWN PROJECT, a comedic, action-packed intergenerational adventure with supernatural elements. Conceived and executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Alan Yang (Co-creator and Executive Producer of “Master of None,” Writer/Producer on “Parks and Recreation”).

THE MONKEY KING, an epic adventure featuring China’s most legendary, mystical and mischievous superhero, breaking through for the first time to the global stage. Written by Ron Friedman & Steve Bencich, whose animated movies have grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide, and include BROTHER BEAR and CHICKEN LITTLE.

ILLUMIKITTY, an irreverent comedy about the ultimate cat-astrophe: a feline plot for world domination.

LUCKY, an animated buddy comedy which takes you behind the scenes of Chinese superstition and the battle between good luck and bad luck. LUCKY is currently being written by Rita Hsiao (MULAN, TOY STORY 2).

About Pearl Studio

Pearl Studio is one of the world’s leading creators of animated entertainment for the global family market and is currently in production on ABOMINABLE, directed by Jill Culton and to be released worldwide through Universal Pictures in 2019. The studio is also currently producing OVER THE MOON, an animated musical feature film event directed by legendary animator and Academy Award winning filmmaker Glen Keane. The film will be distributed theatrically in Greater China and by Netflix worldwide.

Headquartered in Shanghai with branches in New York and Los Angeles, the studio is backed by a CMC Capital Partners-led consortium. Pearl Studio is focused on Animation Film Production, Copyright Operations, Ancillary Businesses (Merchandising, Joint Promotion, Interactive Entertainment and Location Based Entertainment) and Digital Content. The company was previously operated as a Joint Venture known as Oriental DreamWorks, which co-produced the first American-Chinese animated co-production KUNG FU PANDA 3, which generated more than $500M in Worldwide Box Office revenues and was one of the most successful animated films ever released in China.