Polygram Entertainment, the film and television division of Universal Music Group, has announced that Daniel Inkeles will become the new senior vice president of film and television development and production.
Prior to his promotion, Inkeles was the vice president of scripted film and television for UMG. In that role he served as executive producer of NBC’s musical comedy “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” During the series’ two-season run, it was nominated for seven Emmys, winning one for Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming. Inkeles was also an executive producer for Alison Ellwood’s Critics Choice-winning documentary “The Go-Go’s,” which centered around the American rock band of the same name, as well as the 2019 film, “Billie,” James Erskine’s documentary about Billie Holiday.
Inkeles is based in Los Angeles and will report to David Blackman, the executive vice president and head of film and television development and production for UMG.
“Since joining us in 2018, Daniel has been instrumental in shaping Polygram into an exciting producer of premium film and television projects that have touched audiences around the world,” David Blackman said in a press release. “Daniel’s work on such projects as ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ and its feature spinoff has played an important role in the evolution of this company, and his promotion comes at an incredibly exciting time for Polygram.”
“It’s been a privilege to help build Polygram into an industry-leading producer of music-driven film and television,” Inkeles said. “UMG’s incredible artists, catalogs and labels form the foundation of everything we do, and I feel so lucky to work with such an iconic, storied and infinite source of narrative inspiration. I could not be prouder of the work we’ve done or more excited about the projects to come. I want to thank David, Michele Anthony and Jody Gerson for their continued trust and support.”
Before Inkeles joined UMG, he was a development executive at Sony Pictures Animation and worked on projects such as “Hotel Transylvania 2,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” and “Smurfs: The Lost Village.” Prior to Sony, Inkleles focused on franchise creative development for DreamWorks Animation, specializing in expanding films across multiple platforms as he helped do with “How to Train Your Dragon.” He also worked on “Shrek the Third” and “Shrek Forever After” at the start of his career.
In addition to “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” “The Go Go’s” and “Billie,” Polygram Entertainment has worked on Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano’s documentary “Love to Love You, Donna Summer,” Todd Haynes’ “The Velvet Underground,” Frank Marshall’s “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” Sacha Jenkins’ “Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues” and Spike Jonze’s “Beastie Boys Story.” The company’s upcoming projects include the docuseries “James Brown: Say It Loud,” scripted movies about KISS and the Osbournes, a docuseries about the record label STAX and a new series based on Frank Sinatra’s life.
