Amee Dolleman, Charles Pugliese, Mahita Penke and Jennifer Dubin Promoted at Disney Branded Television

Amee Dolleman and Charles Pugliese have been promoted to vice president, and Mahita Penke and Jennifer (Jen) Dubin have been promoted to executive director, Original Movies, Disney Branded Television, a provider of original content for Disney+ and Disney Channels. The announcement was made today by Charlie Andrews, executive vice president, Live-Action and Alternative Series, Disney Branded Television.

 

Over the past two years, this Disney Branded Television team, led by Lauren Kisilevsky, senior vice president, Original Movies, has broadened its production slate of universally appealing movies to reach kids, families, young adults and millions of the young at heart who embrace the unparalleled Disney brand of entertainment. The team just launched the third installment of the hugely popular “ZOMBIES” franchise, starring Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly, on Disney+ and have dozens of other projects, including the following:

• “Out of My Mind,” based on the best-selling novel by Sharon M. Draper from Big Beach, Participant and EveryWhere Studios LLC for Disney+, is currently in production in Toronto. It stars newcomer Phoebe-Rae Taylor, Rosemarie DeWitt (“The Staircase”), and Emmy® Award-winning Luke Kirby (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Judith Light (“American Crime Story”), Michael Chernus (“Severance”) and Courtney Taylor (“Insecure”). Noted director Amber Sealey (“No Man of God”) is directing from an adapted screenplay written by Daniel Stiepleman (Humanitas Prize winner for “On the Basis of Sex”). Academy Award® nominee Peter Saraf (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “The Farewell,” “Little Miss Sunshine”) is producing with Dan Angel (“Rescued By Ruby,” “Door To Door,” “Goosebumps”) and Participant (“Wonder”).

• In pre-production is “The Pocketwatch,” a music- and dance-filled original movie that will expand the fantastic world created in “Descendants,” the global entertainment megahit franchise that introduced the teenage sons and daughters of Disney’s most iconic classic characters and infamous villains. Lauded filmmaker Jennifer Phang (“Advantageous,” “Half-Life,” “Foundation,” “The Flight Attendant”) is directing and is co-executive producer of the movie.

• And in postproduction is “Prom Pact” (working title), starring Peyton Elizabeth Lee (“Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.”) and Milo Manheim (“ZOMBIES). Executive-produced by Melvin Mar (“Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.”), Julie Bowen, Jake Kasdan and Rachael Field and directed by NAACP Image Award-winning Anya Adams (“black-ish,” “GLOW”), the film is set to premiere on Disney+ next year.

 

In a joint statement, Andrews and Kisilevsky said, “Amee, Charles, Mahita and Jen have exceptional taste and fantastic relationships with top creative talent. They are each passionately dedicated to uplifting and expanding the Disney legacy by developing movies that delight and inspire audiences all over the world. The team continues to deliver tent pole and event movies with humor, heart and adventure to kids, families and young adults everywhere for whom Disney magic knows no bounds.”

 

Amee Dolleman, vice president, Original Movies, Disney Branded Television, joined Disney in 2018 and reports to Kisilevsky. She oversaw the upcoming “Prom Pact” (working title) and “Sneakerella,” “Spin” and “Secret Society of Second Born Royals.” Dolleman began her career at WGBH Boston, where she worked on the PBS Kids series “Arthur,” “Between the Lions” and “ZOOM.” After moving to Los Angeles, she joined Fox 2000 Pictures, where she worked on a number of films, including “27 Dresses,” “Water for Elephants,” “Love and Other Drugs” and “Bride Wars.” She produced several independent features and series for emerging digital platforms before returning to kids and family content development at Disney Branded Television.

 

Charles Pugliese, vice president, Original Movies, Disney Branded Television, joined Disney in 2019 and reports to Kisilevsky. He oversaw several movies for kids, teens and families, including “Under Wraps,” and is overseeing the upcoming titles “Under Wraps 2,” “The Pocketwatch” and “Out of My Mind.” He began his career at Killer Films, where he produced the award-winning films “I’m Not There” and “Cairo Time” and the independent films “Dirty Girl,” “Cracks” and “Gigantic.” He also ran the production companies of Darren Star and, later, producer Debra Martin Chase, where he developed and produced two projects that became series: “G.C.B.” on ABC and “Zoe Ever After” on BET. He also executive-produced the Lifetime Original Movies “Menendez: Blood Brothers” and “Christmas Unleashed.”

 

Jennifer (Jen) Dubin, executive director, Original Movies, Disney Branded Television, joined Disney in 2019 and reports to Kisilevsky. Most recently, she oversaw the Disney+ musical title “Sneakerella” and the upcoming Disney+ original movie “The Naughty Nine.” Previously, Dubin spent a decade as a film producer and ran her own production company, Present Pictures. Her producer credits include the feature films “The Babysitters” starring John Leguizamo, Cynthia Nixon and Katherine Waterston; the Sundance favorite “Good Dick”; “The Perfect Family” with Kathleen Turner and Emily Deschanel; and the thriller “Preservation” for Netflix. Dubin began her career at ICM and later held positions at Escape Artists and the feature film division of Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson’s production company, Cosmic Entertainment.

 

Mahita Penke, executive director, Original Movies, Disney Branded Television, joined Disney in 2018. She reports to Amee Dolleman and Charles Pugliese. She oversees several titles, including the wildly popular “ZOMBIES” and “Descendants” franchises, “The Pocketwatch,” “Spin” and the upcoming “From the Desk of Zoe Washington.” Penke began her career at Heel & Toe Films (“House M.D.”), where her projects included “Dr. Del” starring John Hawkes and “The Eighth.” Prior to her time at Disney, she spent several years at Skybound Entertainment (“The Walking Dead”), where she managed creative development for its multiplatform division and produced “Dinner Party (VR),” which toured over 20 festivals, including Sundance New Frontiers and SXSW.

 

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Disney Branded Television Media Relations
Patti McTeague
patti.mcteague@disney.com