James Cameron's Lightstorm Employs Kathy Franklin To Steer 'Avatar' Brand

La (August 9, 2011) __ Kathy Franklin continues to be named Leader of Franchise Development at Lightstorm Entertainment. Introduced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, thehire signifies Lightstorm's commitment, together with Last Century Fox, to building thefranchise and make of AVATAR past the traditional certification and retailing avenues. Cameron said, Anticipating the exponential development of the Avatar world, we lookedfor somebody that may lead a team which will cement Avatar like a first class brand across allplatforms and marketplaces. Kathys experience, combined together with her drive and vision for which Avatar canbe, made her the best choice. Franklin is really a seasoned leader having a proven record of creating and applying industry-leadingbranding, growth and communications methods. As V . P . of Global Studio FranchiseDevelopment for Disney Consumer Items, she brought the methods that drove the DisneyPrincess, Disney Fairies, Cars and Toy Story franchises while building integrated close ties withfilm, television, an internet-based divisions from the Wally Disney Company. Before that, Franklin was VicePresident of Disney Worldwide Outreach, throughout which she went marketing and communicationsfor all corporate philanthropic outreach and charitable giving. Franklin's first position at Disneywas Director of Disney Learning Partnership, a philanthropy centered on supporting creativeapproaches to learning and teaching, which she assisted launch as well as for which Franklin createdDisneyLearning.org and executive created "The Creative Class Series," an award-winningset of videos and educator guides. "Getting Kathy onboard at Lightstorm further reflects the initial creative and businessrelationship shared by Fox and Lightstorm about the Avatar franchise," stated Oren Aviv, TwentiethCentury Fox's Chief Marketing Officer, and Tony Sella, Fox's Chief Creative Officer. "Jim Cameroncreated an incredible world of mass appeal and we are certain that with Kathy in position, thispartnership will further take advantage of the tremendous possibilities natural within this awesomeproperty." "Kathy has proven herself to become a forward thinker who offers a chance to bring new ideasto existence," stated Landau. "With Kathy's leadership, together with they and infrastructureat Fox, I am confident our franchises will grow in innovative methods stay consistent with thequality and styles in our films." "Right from the start, Jim and Jon have seen AVATAR like a franchise whose storytelling hasglobal achieve and impact across multiple platforms. I anticipate leading this exciting new phasein the evolution from the franchise and also to dealing with they at Last Century Fox to driveAVATAR's ongoing growth," stated Franklin. Franklin depends at Lightstorm's Santa Monica headquarters.