Chanda Bell，編劇、製片人、導演，2019年參與製作動畫電影《Elf Pets: A Fox Cub's Christmas Tale》。
基本介紹
- 外文名：Chanda Bell
- 職業：編劇、製片人、導演
- 代表作品：Elf Pets: A Fox Cub's Christmas Tale
早年經歷,個人生活,
早年經歷
Chanda A. Bell was born in Atlanta, Georgia to her father, Robert C. Aebersold who worked as a self-employed engineer and her mother, Carol V. Aebersold, a former music teacher who became an active stay-at-home mom. Bell grew up in humble circumstance along with her two siblings: her younger brother Brandon and her twin sister, Christa Pitts. She is the best-selling author of several books, including: The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, Elf Pets: A Reindeer Tradition, Elf Pets: A St. Bernard Tradition, and Scout Elf Express Delivers: Letters to Santa; Additionally, she an Executive Producer, Writer and Director for the animated stories being churned out by her family owned production company, Scout Elf Productions. Bell's day to day responsibilities include serving as Co-CEO and the creative force behind the international consumer products and entertainment company: CCA and B, LLC (Creatively Classic Activities and Books).
When Bell was in elementary school her family moved to the small town of Powder Springs where she cheered her way through high school and was crowned homecoming queen. She graduated from McEachern High School in 1992 and attended Reinhardt University (1992-1994) in Waleska, Georgia. Ultimately, though, Bell majored in Middle Grades Education with a minor in English and graduated from the University of West Georgia in 1996.
It was at the University of West Georgia, where she met and married football player Murry Bell who was introduced to her through her twin sister. She began her career as a remedial reading teacher at West Hall Middle School in Oakwood, Georgia, followed by stints as a language arts and social studies teacher at Conyers Middle School in Conyers, Georgia, and Shiloh Middle School in Snellville, Georgia. She taught until the birth of her son Taylor in 2001. Bell worked a series of odd jobs, even running an in-home daycare to support her family. Struggling financially, and feeling isolated as a stay-at-home mom, she started writing during this time. Eventually, Bell found a permanent job working as an office secretary for her father's engineering and fabrication firm-a job opportunity that allowed for her to take her son to the office with her.
In 2004, she convinced her mother, Carol Aebersold, to co-author a book about their family tradition-the Scout Elf who listens to kids' wishes and dreams during the day and reports their adventures to Santa at night. They completed the story in six months. Determined to get their book into print, Bell and Aebersold sent proposals to agents. Literary agent Jennifer DeChiara took notice and shopped the manuscript. However, publishers turned down the unknown writing team. Bell and her mother dove into self-publishing research and enlisted the talents of local water-colorist Coë Steinwart to illustrate the story. Christa Pitts left her position as an on-air host at QVC and the trio formed CCA and B, LLC to market and publish the book.
Strapped for start-up cash, they tapped Bell's personal credit cards, and Pitts used the proceeds from the sale of her house to fund the initial startup. By the end of 2005, they sold 5,000 units of The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition®. By 2008, Bell and her partners had progressed from selling books out of car trunks and at gift shows and specialty shops to placing products in major retailers, toy stores and bookstore chains. The keepsake box featuring a charming tale and a magical Scout Elf from the North Pole became a timeless Christmas tradition, with the storybook topping best-seller lists year after year.
個人生活
Bell first began to explore the idea of using entertainment to tell her stories from the North Pole when she started Big Canoe Entertainment along with partners Catherine Scorcese, Kenneth Waddell, Tara Burtchaell, Chad Eikhoff, Christa Pitts and her mom Carol Aebersold. The entertainment company's sole purpose was to write and produce An Elf's Story. The first animated tale based on The Elf on the Shelf property. An Elf's Story debuted on CBS and is now considered a modern day Christmas classic viewed year after year on Turner Networks: TBS and Cartoon Network. To date, the special has been viewed by a combined audience of over 24 million people. The special has also aired to warm receptions in Canada and in the UK. Bell served as an executive producer and writer and also put pen to paper composing lyrics.
In 2017, Bell co-founded Scout Elf Productions(TM) with Christa Pitts and Carol V. Aebersold to "Imaginatively tell the stories of Santa's North Pole and answer the age-old questions about his fantastical universe through the power of animation." A subsidiary of CCA and B, LLC, the production company released Elf Pets: Santa's St. Bernards Save Christmas, in the Fall of 2018. Bell served as the executive producer, director and screenwriter of the 2018 animated special. She is now at work directing a new animated special set to release in the fall of 2019, which she also wrote.
