Search form

Pearl Studio Gathers Top Talent for 4th Annual Brain Trust Summit

Distinguished thought leaders Daniel Dae Kim, Margaret Cho, Richard LaGravenese, Jenny Han and Jessica Gao to participate in three-day creative think tank summit.

SHANGHAI -- Actor, Director and 3AD Producer Daniel Dae Kim (ABC’s The Good Doctor, Hawaii Five-0, LOST), five-time Grammy & Emmy nominated comedian and actress Margaret Cho, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, Behind the Candelabra, A Little Princess), renowned best-selling YA author Jenny Han (“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”) and Emmy award-winning writer Jessica Gao (Silicon Valley, Rick and Morty) will travel to Shanghai, China December 12-14 to participate in the fourth annual Pearl Studio Brain Trust Summit.

Originally launched in 2015, the summit is an extraordinary and innovative annual program that is designed as a think tank to advance the company and its core creative objectives. Pearl invites thought leaders, content creators, influencers, storytellers and innovators from around the globe to come to Pearl Studio headquarters for three days of brainstorming, goal exploration, and project ideation. The studio’s upcoming Glen Keane directed animated musical Over the Moon was first conceived at this summit in 2015.

The Pearl Brain Trust Summit has previously drawn such luminaries as Crazy Rich Asians screenwriter Adele Lim, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang, Master of None creator Alan Yang, legendary screen actress Joan Chen, and many more.

One of the highlights of this year’s event will be a panel discussion on December 13, “Creating for Awakening Audiences,” which reinforces the Pearl mission, but also opens a dialogue about how audiences (particularly audiences in China) are evolving and awakening. The panel, open to the media, will feature all five distinguished guests and will be moderated by Pearl Studio chief creative officer Peilin Chou.

“The Brain Trust Summit has become highly anticipated within the creative community in China, not only because of our history of curating such exciting and renowned guests, but even more so because there is a palpable change that is occurring with respect to representation of unheard voices in global entertainment,” Chou commented. “This summit has always been a wellspring of new ideas and bold vision, and a highlight of our year at Pearl Studio. We are enormously thrilled and honored to have such incredible participants joining us again this year. Their talent and thought leadership is helping to shape the entertainment landscape in magnificent ways, and we can’t wait to share this experience with them and the community.”

Pearl Studio, formerly known as Oriental DreamWorks, is the studio behind the critically-acclaimed Kung Fu Panda 3, one of the most successful China/U.S. co-productions of all time generating more than $500 million in worldwide box office revenues. The company’s mission is to be a premier family entertainment brand creating original world-class films that enchant, inspire, and awaken audiences around the globe.

Source: Pearl Studio

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.