Feola to leave Uni after 26 years
Launched video production unit
By Scott Hettrick -- Video Business, 8/13/2004
AUG. 13 | Industry veteran Louis Feola is ending his 26-year run at Universal Studios.
Feola, who headed the studio's global home video operations from 1992 to 1998, is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Although his contract has expired, he will stay on for a couple months as the company determines its strategy going forward for Universal Worldwide Home Entertainment.
Feola created the production unit in 1998 and served as its only president.
At UWHE, Feola oversaw three operations that develop and produce content for home video and animated TV series: Universal Home Entertainment Prods., Universal Pictures Visual Programming and Universal Cartoon Studios. Collectively, the three subunits employ about three dozen workers.
UWHE successes have included the first new Woody Woodpecker TV cartoon series in more than 20 years and The Mummy and Sitting Ducks animated TV series.
At UWHE, Feola also was responsible for acquiring international distribution rights to Mattel's computer-animated DVD premiere Barbie movie series.
Previously, as president of MCA/Universal Home Video, Feola oversaw the release of such major home video successes as ET, The Extra-terrestrial and the entrance of the studio into the DVD market. He also spearheaded Universal's first video premiere movie, in late 1994, the first animated sequel to The Land Before Time.
The studio's worldwide sales for the video premiere Land and eight other Land sequels have reached nearly $1 billion. Additional theatrical films for which Feola supervised video premiere sequels have included An American Tail, Balto, Darkman, Tremors, K-9, Beethoven and Slapshot.
He also shepherded the critically praised documentary Beyond the Mat.
Feola joined Universal in 1978 in the feature film division. He went on to exec posts in MCA Distributing in 1985 and MCA Home Video in 1987, and then to a position as executive VP U.S. at MCA/Universal Home Video in 1990.
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