Introduce Yourself : Comedian, Chameleon, Corinthian & Caricature by Melissa Mailer-Yates

Hi All,

I would be considered old by the young and young by the old, so I guess I can never win!  I have been around a long time and travelled a lot through my work.  As a portrait artist I travelled the States a lot at the end of the last century which makes me sound ancient.  I had solo exhibitions in Manhattan and L.A. and in Aspen.  I have painted a lot of Rock and Pop stars too and living in the UK our Royalty have their fair share of my work as well.  The high life was painting Saudi Princesses in the 80s!

I worked in film as an Art Director in this country, although while I lived in L.A. for a short time I loved the heat and so wanted to get involved in the movie side of things too.  I did once judge 'Magnolia' for the Oscars along with a friend who was the official judge.  I got seriously into writing and wrote a full novel set in the 1580s about my ancestors, and hope one day that it will go into film as it is made for it.  That led me into combining the two elements of my life and producing a children's character, William Shakespuss.  As a cartoon for pre-school it is a great way to get kids into reading and using their imagination, and while the stories are based on Shakespeare, it is not really about education.

Dreamworks showed an early interest in the project and as I grew to understand its importance and its globally unique standing, I knew it was always going to be a part of my life that I would never let go.  I hope that one day everything will come together in order for me to make that happen properly.  Meantime I have written and published the first few books, and have begun the long road to looking at the world of animation.  Such a lot to learn, but this is surely the place to come to pull that all together. I have written my first screenplay, based on a book I wrote recently called 'Reality'. Powerful story including Romania in Post Ceaucescu times.

Hoping to make good friends and contacts in these rooms,

best wishes

Melissa