Sony Pictures Animation has named Kristine Belson as the new president of its Sony Pictures Animation division. Belson, who most recently worked at DreamWorks, will lead the development and production of Sony’s animation films while “focusing on creating an environment that nurtures animators and artists.” Belson will report to Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group chairman Amy Pascal.
Belson spent nearly a decade at DreamWorks Animation, where she produced The Croods and executive produced the first installment in the How to Train Your Dragon series. More recently, she was the executive producer on B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, which was unceremoniously halted in mid-production last Thursday as part of the DreamWorks’s restructuring plan.
To clear the way for Belson at Sony, Michelle Raimo Kouyate stepped down as president of production of Sony Pictures Animation last Friday. She had been in the role for four years. Raimo Kouyate will stay on the Sony lot with a first-look producing deal; the first project she is expected to produce is the previously-announced Medusa, for which Lauren Faust has been recruited to direct.
