Jeffrey Scott Edell

Jeffrey Scott Edell
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMcIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia
OccupationTech & Entertainment CEO
Years active1990–present
Organizations
Known for

Jeffrey Scott Edell is an American entrepreneur in the entertainment, media, and tech industries.[1][2] He currently serves as the CEO and Chairman of MeWe, a global social media and social networking service that utilizes Web3.[3][4]

Jeffrey Edell is best known for his role as a top executive at numerous entertainment and technology organizations such as: CEO and president of Soundelux Entertainment Group, Chairman of Intermix Media (former parent company of MySpace)[5] and eLabor.com (formerly jeTECH Data Systems[6][7]) CEO of Inferno Pictures,[8] CFO of Cinedigm,[9] president and COO of DIC Entertainment, as well as former president and CFO of WTG Entertainment Enterprises.[10] Edell is also co-founder and Chairman of IndieU[11] and Ohana Chem Co. LLC along with his daughter Natalie Edell.[12] In early 2021, Edell was named CEO of MeWe.[13]

Education

[edit]

Edell attended Lehigh University to pursue a Pre-Medicine path and later transferred to the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce, where he graduated with a B.S. in Commerce with an emphasis in Accounting and Taxation.[14] He served as Associate Professor at Florida State University[15] and was Entrepreneur in Residence for the Motion Pictures Arts College from 2014 to 2016.[16] During his time at KPMG,[17] Edell obtained his Certified Public Accountant certification.

Career

[edit]

As CEO of MeWe, Edell orchestrated a $27 million Series A round led by private company McCourt Global, which contributed $15 million. Previous investors contributed another $12 million—the round values MeWe at approximately $200 million.[3]

From 1995 to 2001, he served as a production executive for films such as Braveheart, Face/Off, The Mask of Zorro, Gladiator, Almost Famous, and Shrek. Starting in 2009, Edell's companies have produced films such as The Kids Are All Right,[18] Just Friends, Killer Elite, Hachi: A Dog's Tale, and The Grey. While Edell was the chief executive officer of Soundelux, Soundelux performed work for films such as Gladiator and Braveheart, among other films, which won multiple BAFTA and Academy Awards.[19][20]

Edell was a producer and actor on the 2013 Lifetime movie Taken for Ransom (originally named Life Saver) with his wife Elaine Hastings Edell,[21][2][22] a producer for various other films, and an actor in National Lampoon's Movie Madness (formerly National Lampoon's Goes to the Movies). In 2019, Edell was a producer of the thriller film Deadly Excursion (Paradise Prey). He also serves as co-executive producer of the 2020 animated series, The Freak Brothers,[23][24] based on the comic book series of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. The series was renewed for Season 2 to be released in December 2022.[25] In May 2020, it was announced that the main characters in the series will be voiced by A-list celebrities including Woody Harrelson, John Goodman, Tiffany Haddish, and Pete Davidson.[12] In 2021, Tubi announced that The Freak Brothers was the most-watched program on the platform.[26]

Edell is also known for overseeing and managing the development of brands such as Inspector Gadget and Strawberry Shortcake during his tenure at DIC Entertainment,[27][28] as well as partnering with Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment[29] on a game titled Stan Lee's Superhero Ball Wars.[30] Edell was interviewed by journalist Julia Angwin in her 2009 book Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America because of his role as Chairman of Intermix Media.[5] Edell was also interviewed in 2022 by David Ryan Polgar on the All Tech Is Human podcast, which promotes the Responsible Tech field.[31]

Edell was featured in Start It, Sell It & Make a Mint: 20 Wealth-Creating Secrets for Business Owners by Joe John Duran. He also won the Master Award in Comic Collecting from the Certified Guaranty Company's Collectors Society,[32] and served as goalie for the US Maccabi World Team at the Olympics in 2004.[14] Edell is also Advisor, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Ohana Chem Co, LLC, a hemp extraction solvent supplier specializing in ethanol, hydrocarbons, and logistics.[33]

Edell's tenure at Soundelux garnered him recognition as Nasdaq and Ernst and Young's ‘Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year' in 2000[28][15][34] and admission to both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.[35] He is also a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Young Presidents Organization, and a contributing member of the Rolling Stones Culture Council.[36]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Ref.
1982 Movie Madness Actor [37]
1995 Braveheart Production Executive [38]
1997 Face/Off Production Executive [39]
1998 The Mask of Zorro Production Executive [40]
2000 Almost Famous Production Executive [41]
2000 Gladiator Production Executive [42]
2000 True Rights Co-Producer [43]
2001 Shrek Production Executive [44]
2009 Hachi: A Dog's Tale Production Executive [45]
2010 The Kids Are All Right Production Executive [46]
2011 Dirty Little Trick Executive Producer [47]
2011 The Grey Production Executive [48]
2011 Killer Elite Production Executive [49]
2013 Final Recourse (Taken for Ransom) Producer & Actor [50]
2019 Deadly Excursion (Paradise Prey) Producer [51]
2020-2021 The Freak Brothers (TV show) Co-Executive Producer [52]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Entrepreneurial dad, daughter to speak". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  2. ^ a b Block, Alex Ben (June 9, 2014). "Jeffrey Edell Joins Cinedigm as CFO". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. ^ a b Johnson, Arianna. "Facebook Alternative MeWe Raises $27 Million To Help It Become A Household Name". Forbes.
  4. ^ Fischer, Sara (September 20, 2022). "Facebook alternative MeWe to join Project Liberty protocol". Axios.
  5. ^ a b Angwin, Julia (March 17, 2009). Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9781588367693 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "jeTECH Data Systems Is Award Finalist". Los Angeles Times. 1998-06-30. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  7. ^ "Unassociated Document". www.sec.gov.
  8. ^ Swart, Pamela McClintock,Sharon; McClintock, Pamela; Swart, Sharon (March 3, 2010). "Inferno gets new topper".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Jeffrey Edell Joins Cinedigm as CFO". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  10. ^ Ball, Ryan (2008-06-20). "Cookie Jar, DIC Merge". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  11. ^ "Entrepreneurial dad, daughter to speak". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  12. ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (May 7, 2020). "'The Freak Brothers': Woody Harrelson, John Goodman, Pete Davidson & Tiffany Haddish Set As Leads For Toon Series Based On Cult Comics".
  13. ^ Spangler, Todd (2021-04-12). "MeWe Names Hollywood Veteran Jeffrey Edell CEO of Zero-Advertising Social Media Service". Variety. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  14. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-19. Retrieved 2020-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ a b Florida State University Entrepreneur in Residence: Jeffrey Edell, retrieved 2020-05-11
  16. ^ "FSU Entrepreneur in Residence: Jeffrey Edell". July 30, 2014.
  17. ^ "Home - KPMG Global". KPMG. November 20, 2020.
  18. ^ "Cinedigm Taps Jeffrey Edell To Be CFO". Deadline. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  19. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (2014-02-03). "Supervising Sound Editor and Designer Lon Bender Joins Formosa Group". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  20. ^ "Soundelux". LA 411. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  21. ^ "Big screen, small town". Shelbyville Times-Gazette. 2013-12-11. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  22. ^ "Jeffrey S. Edell". IMDb.
  23. ^ Alejandro Chavez. "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers television show coming in 2020, from 'King of the Hill', 'Silicon Valley' writers; 'Workaholics' alumni to star – Nuke The Fridge". Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  24. ^ Bloom, David. "Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers To Fly Flag In Animated Series". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  25. ^ Burton, Carson (May 2, 2022). "'The Freak Brothers' Renewed for Season 2 at Tubi in Streamer's First Ever Renewal".
  26. ^ Gruenwedel, Erik (November 22, 2021). "Tubi Says 'The Freak Brothers' Most-Watched Program on Platform".
  27. ^ "DIC Entertainment Launches the First Kids' Online Cartoon Channel, www.kewlcartoons.com". www.businesswire.com. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  28. ^ a b "Management". WTG Enterprises. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  29. ^ "Jeffrey Edell Joins Cinedigm as CFO". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  30. ^ Stan Lee's Ball Wars - Stan Lee's LA Comic Con 2016, retrieved 2020-02-05
  31. ^ "All Tech Is Human Library Podcast Series #14 | Jeffrey Edell". All Tech Is Human.
  32. ^ "Public User Home". comics.www.collectors-society.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  33. ^ "Ohana Chem Co". Ohana Chem Co.
  34. ^ "Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Background and History". June 30, 2021.
  35. ^ "Unassociated Document". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  36. ^ Edell, Jeffrey (September 27, 2022). "Is Social Media Really 'Social' Anymore?". Rolling Stone.
  37. ^ "Movie Madness". IMDb. April 23, 1982.
  38. ^ "Braveheart". IMDb. May 24, 1995.
  39. ^ "Face/Off". IMDb. June 27, 1997.
  40. ^ "The Mask of Zorro". IMDb. July 17, 1998.
  41. ^ "Almost Famous". IMDb. September 22, 2000.
  42. ^ "Gladiator". IMDb. May 5, 2000.
  43. ^ "True Rights". IMDb. June 26, 2000.
  44. ^ "Shrek". IMDb. May 18, 2001.
  45. ^ "Hachi: A Dog's Tale". IMDb. March 12, 2010.
  46. ^ "The Kids Are All Right". IMDb. July 30, 2010.
  47. ^ "Dirty Little Trick". IMDb. November 8, 2011.
  48. ^ "The Grey". IMDb. January 27, 2012.
  49. ^ "Killer Elite". IMDb. September 23, 2011.
  50. ^ "Final Recourse". IMDb. December 16, 2013.
  51. ^ "Deadly Excursion". IMDb. February 1, 2019.
  52. ^ "The Freak Brothers". IMDb. November 14, 2021.