EXCLUSIVE: Wattpad Webtoon Studios has promoted Jason Goldberg to Head of Global Film, also elevating Alessandra Ferreri to Vice President of Content, Brennan Loftus to Director of Development, Animation, and Jess Brinder to Director, Head of Entertainment Business Development.
Joining Wattpad Webtoon in 2022, as Director of Film for North America, Goldberg will now continue producing and expanding the studio’s robust film slate in North America and key international markets. He reports to Head of Global Entertainment, David Madden. Projects he’s overseeing at present include adaptations of the hit Webtoon comic Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, Wattpad romance Chasing Red with Stampede Ventures, and the Wattpad thriller What Happened That Night with Children of Men scribe David Arata, to name a few.
Alessandra Ferreri, Brennan Loftus and Jess Brinder
Scarlet O’Neill/Courtesy
“Jason’s expertise and understanding of storytelling and film culture have been a critical asset to the studio,” Madden told Deadline. “He has enthusiastically leapt into the adaptation process on some extraordinary titles from WEBTOON and Wattpad that movie fans will embrace with the same passion that they do on our platforms. As we continue to grow our footprint in Hollywood, we’re thrilled to have him lead our global film division, providing the guidance and leadership we need to create fantastic content for audiences around the world.”
Prior to his time at Wattpad Webtoon Studios, Goldberg was Vice President of Scripted Film & TV at Gunpowder & Sky, where he supervised all scripted development and managed the company’s comedy deal with Paramount. He has also held executive roles at MTV Studios and VH1, in addition to positions at HBO and Lee Daniels Entertainment.
Since joining Wattpad in 2015, Ferreri’s focus has been on managing the studio’s IP strategy, identifying global hits on Webtoon and Wattpad that can capture new audiences in TV, film, and publishing. In her new role, she will continue to manage the flow of webnovels and webcomics to entertainment, publishing and merchandising opportunities.
Most recently serving as a development executive on the animation side, Loftus will continue to report to Sydney Bright, the studio’s Head of Global Animation, where he’ll support creator relationships, identify writing talent, and help manage creative development for the studio’s animation slate. Going forward, he will continue to work on key projects such as the Lore Olympus series with The Jim Henson Company, based on Rachel Smythe’s 1.5 billion-viewed Webtoon sensation, as well as the series Hawk with MCU screenwriter Christopher Yost.
With Wattpad Webtoon for a little over two years, Brinder will continue to manage the company’s international presence with entertainment partnerships and productions across Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Founded in 2019, Wattpad Webtoon Studios is a fan-driven studio harnessing popular IP from the online publishers Wattpad and Webtoon to create content for film and TV with a built-in audience. Recent and upcoming releases include Float, starring Robbie Amell and Andrea Bang; Through My Window: Looking at You, the final film in Netflix’s Through My Window trilogy based on Ariana Godoy’s Wattpad webnovel, which has now spent more than a month in the streamer’s Global Non-English Films Top 10; and the upcoming film Boot Camp, an adaptation of Gina Musa’s Wattpad webnovel, starring Riverdale alum Drew Ray Tanner.