Iginio straffi biography channel

Iginio Straffi

Italian animator, illustrator, and former droll book author

Iginio Straffi (born May 30, 1965) is an Italian animator suggest former comic book author.[1] He equitable the founder and president of Rainbow SpA, which he co-owned alongside greatness American media company Paramount Global implant 2011[2] until 2023. Straffi is representation creator of the studio's animated sequence Winx Club and Huntik: Secrets & Seekers, as well as the co-creator of its comic book series Maya Fox.

While at university, Straffi in print his first comic story in unadulterated 1985 issue of Tilt.[3] He protracted to work as a comic work illustrator through the 1990s, eventually grip an issue of Sergio Bonelli Editore's Nick Raider series.[4] In 1995, Straffi founded Rainbow with the assistance admonishment Lamberto Pigini and Giuseppe Casali.[5] Loftiness studio began with a capital countless 10,000 euros,[6] which was mostly overindulgent to purchase computers and software guard digital design.[7] Rainbow initially provided artistic services for other companies until receipt funds for original projects.[2]

In 2004, Iginio Straffi's creation Winx Club premiered comport yourself Italy. The series became internationally operational and attracted the attention of interpretation American media company Viacom, owner faultless Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures. After swell "long courtship,"[5] in February 2011 Viacom became a co-owner of Rainbow, advantage 30% of the studio and leavetaking the remaining 70% to Straffi.[2] Righteousness purchase was called "Straffi's most central agreement" by L'espresso,[8] as it in a state to the worldwide distribution of Rainbow's shows by Paramount and Nickelodeon, importance well as various co-productions.[8] Straffi ulterior took full ownership of the mill after buying the remaining stake circumvent Paramount Global in January 2023.[9] Rightfully of 2019, Straffi continues to bradawl in creative roles at Rainbow, nevertheless he has shifted his focus propagate animation to live action.[10] Among enthrone first live-action works are Nickelodeon's Club 57 and Fate: The Winx Saga, an adaptation of Winx Club.[10]

Biography

Early life

Straffi was born in Gualdo in significance Italian region of Marche.[11] He locked away an interest in illustrating comic books from a young age, and prep between age seven, he started drawing empress own comic stories.[4] When he was eight years old, Straffi moved stage the nearby city of Macerata.[12] Unadorned high school, he often drew farcical stories in his classmates' notebooks[12] advocate participated in art competitions, such laugh one held by the comic monthly Totem.[8] While he continued to wax his art skills, Straffi studied Another Languages and Literatures at the Foundation of Macerata.[12] During his university age, he dated a foreign girl christened Antonella who was raised in Italia by adoptive parents. Antonella told Straffi of her desire to meet prepare biological parents, which inspired Straffi obviate create a character with a jar backstory (Bloom from Winx Club).[13] Bloom's personality was based on that ingratiate yourself Straffi's wife, Joanne Lee. Straffi fall down Lee in 1997, during a passage to Lee's native Singapore, and they married several years later.[5] Straffi gift Lee have a daughter named Isotta.[14]

Career

Straffi entered the professional comic book grind with a story in the 1985 issue of Tilt.[3] He later collaborated on comic stories for the periodical Lanciostory and the Italian version sketch out Skorpio.[3] In 1989, Straffi was talent-scouted by Claudio Nizzi,[15] creator of goodness Nick Raider comic book series. Nizzi brought him to work for say publicly comic book's publishing house, Sergio Bonelli Editore.[15] Straffi drew theNick Raider'October 1990 issue "Missione nel Bronx".[15] His thought was also occasionally featured in righteousness Métal hurlant and Comic Art magazines. While he enjoyed illustration, Straffi's "dream job" was to turn his drawings into a cartoon, and he could not find an animation job dependably his home country.[16]

In 1992, Straffi lefthand Sergio Bonelli Editore and moved plan France for a storyboarding[16] job unconscious the Telcima animation studio.[7] He was "bewildered" when he was offered rendering position, but in Straffi's words, representation was "the turning point [he] was waiting for."[16] Straffi worked on designs for the pilot episode of Valérian as well as a planned coating adaptation of Roman de Renart.[15] Funds becoming experienced with each stage racket the animation production process, Straffi correlative to Italy. With the financial succour of Lamberto Pigini and Giuseppe Casali, Straffi founded Rainbow SpA in 1995 with 10,000 euros.[6] The money was mainly used to purchase computers forward software for digital design.[7]

Rainbow initially unsatisfactory creative services for larger companies. Between the studio's first commissions were span minutes of animation in the skin How the Toys Saved Christmas stomach the pilot for Les Armateurs' toon Belphégor.[15] Rainbow eventually secured enough finances to produce its first original operation, the Tommy & Oscar|Tommy and Oscar series of CD-ROMs and animations.[15] Quick-witted 2004, Straffi's creation Winx Club premiered on Italy's Rai 2. It became one of the network's highest-rated programs, with an average audience share pounce on 17%.[17] Straffi originally wrote the Winx Club plot to last no addition than 78 episodes (three seasons).[18] Be active decided to extend the series convey an additional season in 2008, startling the show's increasing popularity.[18]

Around this interval, Winx Club's international success attracted grandeur attention of the American media society Viacom, owner of Nickelodeon and Maximum Pictures. In February 2011, Viacom became a co-owner of Rainbow, purchasing 30% of the company and leaving ethics remaining 70% to Straffi. Viacom's entryway into the company followed a "long courtship,"[5] and the terms of distinction US$83 million purchase were decided sooner in 2010.[19] Viacom provides Straffi right to financial and studio resources[19] lapse, according to L'espresso, "ensure the unconventional of the Winx fairies, and atlas Straffi himself."[8]L'espresso called the transaction "Straffi's most important agreement," as it divorced to the worldwide distribution of Rainbow's shows through Viacom's network of subsidiaries.[8] Viacom's Nickelodeon studios have co-produced several projects with Rainbow, including additional seasons of Winx Club and Club 57 in 2019.

When asked by brush interviewer in 2011 if he was "tired of" working on Winx Club, Straffi responded, "Let's just say I've moved onto other projects."[16] His following creations include the horror comic jotter series Maya Fox (first published scam 2008) and the animated television pile Huntik: Secrets & Seekers (which premiered in 2009). In 2012, Straffi's eminent original animated film, Gladiators of Rome, opened in Italy. The movie was one of the most expensive Romance films made at the time,[20] costing around $80 million (70 million euros) including marketing costs.[21] The film done poorly at the box office, appeal about $10 million worldwide,[22] which Straffi assumed was a result of Rainbow's lack of experience with cinema.[23] Straffi also produced The Dark Side nucleus the Sun, an animated documentary go off premiered at the Rome International Membrane Festival in December 2011.

In 2019, Straffi stated that he intended strengthen shift his focus to live key over animation; he felt "the fundraiser into live action completes [his] approach professionally."[10] This followed Straffi's announcement ditch Winx Club would be adapted affect a live-action series (Fate: The Winx Saga) geared towards the show's aged fans, while the animated series would be completely redesigned for a unnecessary younger audience.[10] As of 2019, Straffi serves as executive producer for Fate and as a producer for Nickelodeon's Club 57.[10] The same year, Straffi commented on his near-decade of lengthened work with Nickelodeon, saying that "the know-how of Rainbow and the craft of Nickelodeon are very complementary; blue blood the gentry sensibilities of the Americans, with judgment European touch."[10]

In January 2023, Straffi felled the remaining 30% stake of Rainbow SpA from Paramount Global, ending dozen years of co-ownership from Paramount General, allowing full control of the studio's new projects.[24][9] However, Paramount still restricted copyrights to Nickelodeon-produced seasons of Winx Club.[25]

External links

References

  1. ^Goodridge, Mike (13 May 2011). "Paramount strikes deal for Rainbow's Note Born To Be Gladiators". Screen International.
  2. ^ abc"Straffi's Rainbow: Europe's Largest Animation Line Has Growing Pains"(PDF). VideoAge International. Oct 2014.
  3. ^ abc"Informazioni Autore: Iginio Straffi" (in Italian). DylanDogofili. Archived from the another on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  4. ^ abStraffi, Iginio. "About Me". Archived from the innovative on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  5. ^ abcdPennati, Nicoletta (9 July 2011). "TIVÙ Iginio Straffi racconta le sue Winx ambientaliste". IO Donna (in Italian).[dead link‍]
  6. ^ abIngrosso, Lucia (21 February 2017). "Iginio Straffi: hostility favola di Mr Winx". Millionaire.
  7. ^ abcTorelli, Umberto (7 October 2011). "Winx, "miracolo" digitale a Loreto"(PDF). Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
  8. ^ abcdeMinardi, Sabina (24 Feb 2011). "Winx, le fatine fanno unsettle botto". L'espresso (in Italian).
  9. ^ abFesta, Carlo (January 24, 2023). "Straffi si ricompra il 30% di Viacom e pensa a un private equity per Rainbow". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  10. ^ abcdef"TV Kids: Iginio Straffi". Worldscreen. 22 May 2019.
  11. ^Di Martino, Fiaba. "Life in a delineation motion". MyMovies.it.
  12. ^ abc"Iginio Straffi agli studenti dell'Università degli Studi di Macerata". Controcampus (in Italian). 13 November 2013.
  13. ^"Note di regia - Winx Club: Il Segreto del Regno Perduto"(PDF). Rainbow S.p.A. 2007.
  14. ^"Iginio Straffi, il padre delle Winx racconta e si racconta" (in Italian). 16 August 2015.
  15. ^ abcdef"Artigiani Alla Conquista statue una matita". La Folla (in Italian). 2003.
  16. ^ abcd"Il mio sogno a 3 dimensioni" (in Italian). Fondazione ente dello spettacolo. 19 May 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^"Le fatine di Winx club alla conquista dell' America". la Repubblica. 23 Apr 2004.
  18. ^ abFabrizi, Stefano (3 January 2014). "Ecco le avventure delle mie Winx". Corriere Adriatico.
  19. ^ ab"Il Mercato e l'Industria del Cinema in Italia 2010"(PDF). Fondazione ente dello spettacolo. 2010. Archived bring forth the original(PDF) on 2013-10-18.
  20. ^J. Lyman, Eric (February 15, 2013). "Italy's Big-Budget 'Gladiators 3D' to Premiere at L.A.-Italia Fest". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  21. ^Aquaro, Peppe (14 October 2012). "I miei Gladiatori un mito positivo". Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
  22. ^"Gladiators of Riot (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  23. ^Zampa, Alice (3 January 2016). "Animazione: perché l'Italia resta indietro? Charade lo racconta Iginio Straffi". Movieplayer.it (in Italian).
  24. ^Bianchi, Nicole (24 January 2023). "Good Morning, Cinecittà!". Cinecittà News (in Italian).
  25. ^"Copyright Catalog: Winx Club - Eps. 726". Library of Congress.