Melissa Cobb
Melissa Cobb
VP at Netflix, ’Kung Fu Panda’ trilogy Producer
Melissa recently joined Netflix
as Vice President
overseeing event programming across the spectrum of
kids and family entertainment. Melissa’s goal is to offer powerful, timeless family entertainment with global appeal,
including animation, live action, tween sitcoms and interactive shows.
Prior to Netflix, Melissa was Chief Creative Officer and Head of Studio for Oriental DreamWorks
based in Shanghai, China.
She has also served as a producer at DreamWorks Animation, responsible for producing animated feature films including the Academy Award-nominated “Kung Fu Panda” trilogy which grossed over $1.8 billion worldwide!
Before that, Melissa worked in senior executive and production roles at Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox
and VH1.
Q&A
What educational path did
you follow?
I was pretty focused academically on math and science in high school and college. I majored in Biology at Stanford.
In college I became more involved in theater and theater production. I realized how much a truly loved it!
I followed my passion and began working in theater
after Stanford.
How were you involved in the
Kung Fu Panda trilogy?
I really wanted to work for Dream Works. I had been talking with them about different potential projects and when they shared the Kung Fu Panda idea with me, I thought it was great!
As a producer for the trilogy, I was involved in supporting everyone on every aspect of the film-- from creative to the crew to the business aspects of scheduling, budgeting, etc.
What do you think the world needs more of?
Finding creators all over the world and allowing their shows, movies and content to be seen by people of other cultures is important.
The more we know and understand about different cultures, the more we realize we actually have more in common than we probably realize.
Movies Produced by Melissa Cobb
Melissa Cobb with Director, Jen Yun Nelson, at the Academy Awards
more about me...
a challenge in the film industry...
Unlike math or science which is completely objective, in entertainment it’s a matter of taste. It takes a lot of confidence to stand up for your personal opinion when something is so subjective. I was shy as a child, so I had to learn to have confidence and stand up for what I believed in.
my most rewarding career moment...
At one point, I realized the impact my work has on people. I was traveling to China with the crew and met a monk who was guarding tombs in a very distant part of China. He told me how much he loved Kung Fu Panda! Here I was half way across the world, meeting a person who spoke a completely different language, who led a completely different life, and our film had an impact on him!