Marylata Elton
- Music Department
- Producer
Marylata Elton (formerly known as Marylata E. Jacob) has enjoyed a multi-faceted career on the music side of the entertainment industry, spanning 40 years and encompassing award-winning feature films, collaborations with number of legendary musical artists, and her own Grammy® nomination.
Throughout it's first seven years, Elton held the post of DreamWorks Senior Vice President of Music, where she oversaw both the creative and corporate aspects of the music and songs for the studio's animated feature films. She joined the studio in 1995, shortly after its inception, and, as its first music executive, developed the feature film music department virtually from the ground up.
Elton went on to serve as Artistic Director of Music for seven DreamWorks' animated features, including the computer animated blockbuster Shrek, which won the first-ever Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. In addition, Elton was honored with a Grammy® Award nomination (shared with Michael Ostin) in the category of Best Compilation Soundtrack for her work as Producer on the film's multi-platinum-selling soundtrack album. Always within arm's reach of Hollywood, Elton and her longtime partner, guitarist, and three-time Emmy® nominated composer Danny Jacob, have their own music production company Marquand Music, Inc. These productions include Disney's TV animation mega-hit, Phineas and Ferb, as well as producing numerous songs for Disney's TV animation division's Sofia the First, Elena of Avalor and Tangled. Joining the organization is their son, NYU and Chapman University film graduate, Aaron Jacob, as composer, music editor and featured vocalist.
During her tenure at DreamWorks, Elton was the Co-Producer of Vocals (shared with composer Hans Zimmer) on the epic musical drama The Prince of Egypt, which won the Oscar for Best Song for "When You Believe". The soundtrack for the film also featured Broadway's Brian Stokes Mitchell performing "Through Heaven's Eyes". On the morning of February 28, 2011, at the request of the astronaut's families, this song was broadcast to wake up the Discovery shuttle crew on their last voyage. Other animated projects on which Elton oversaw the music include Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, featuring songs by Bryan Adams; and The Road to El Dorado, which marked the reunion of the Oscar-winning "The Lion King" team of Elton John, Tim Rice, and Hans Zimmer; as well as the animated hits Chicken Run and Antz in addition to feature films Peacemaker and Gladiator.
Raised in Los Angeles, Elton began her career in 1978 at A&M Records where she managed album-recording costs for their many artists. Soon after, she struck out on her own as an independent coordinator and worked on more than 20 albums for such artists as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Bob Weir, and Duran Duran's Andy Taylor. Having maintained relations with mentor Diana Ross, Elton was Co-Executive Producer on Ross' CD "I Love You" released in 2009. As the advent of MTV put a greater emphasis on the visual aspects of the music industry, soundtrack albums were also enjoying greater success, often spawning chart-topping singles. Segueing into the film industry, Elton supervised songs for such movies as Ivan Reitman's comedy smash "Ghostbusters", David Lynch's "Wild at Heart"; and James L. Brooks' 1994 film "I'll Do Anything."
It was on the last that Elton first worked with composer Hans Zimmer and producer Penney Finkelman-Cox, who were responsible for bringing Elton to DreamWorks the following year.
In 2011, Elton established the first endowment for the Teenage Drama Workshop at California State University Northridge, the longest running teen theater program in the nation. Relocating to Jacksonville, Oregon in 2014, Elton continues her legacy as a patron of the arts, supporting the Collaborative Theater Project, when in 2023, she accepted the honor being on its Board of Directors.
Throughout it's first seven years, Elton held the post of DreamWorks Senior Vice President of Music, where she oversaw both the creative and corporate aspects of the music and songs for the studio's animated feature films. She joined the studio in 1995, shortly after its inception, and, as its first music executive, developed the feature film music department virtually from the ground up.
Elton went on to serve as Artistic Director of Music for seven DreamWorks' animated features, including the computer animated blockbuster Shrek, which won the first-ever Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. In addition, Elton was honored with a Grammy® Award nomination (shared with Michael Ostin) in the category of Best Compilation Soundtrack for her work as Producer on the film's multi-platinum-selling soundtrack album. Always within arm's reach of Hollywood, Elton and her longtime partner, guitarist, and three-time Emmy® nominated composer Danny Jacob, have their own music production company Marquand Music, Inc. These productions include Disney's TV animation mega-hit, Phineas and Ferb, as well as producing numerous songs for Disney's TV animation division's Sofia the First, Elena of Avalor and Tangled. Joining the organization is their son, NYU and Chapman University film graduate, Aaron Jacob, as composer, music editor and featured vocalist.
During her tenure at DreamWorks, Elton was the Co-Producer of Vocals (shared with composer Hans Zimmer) on the epic musical drama The Prince of Egypt, which won the Oscar for Best Song for "When You Believe". The soundtrack for the film also featured Broadway's Brian Stokes Mitchell performing "Through Heaven's Eyes". On the morning of February 28, 2011, at the request of the astronaut's families, this song was broadcast to wake up the Discovery shuttle crew on their last voyage. Other animated projects on which Elton oversaw the music include Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, featuring songs by Bryan Adams; and The Road to El Dorado, which marked the reunion of the Oscar-winning "The Lion King" team of Elton John, Tim Rice, and Hans Zimmer; as well as the animated hits Chicken Run and Antz in addition to feature films Peacemaker and Gladiator.
Raised in Los Angeles, Elton began her career in 1978 at A&M Records where she managed album-recording costs for their many artists. Soon after, she struck out on her own as an independent coordinator and worked on more than 20 albums for such artists as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Bob Weir, and Duran Duran's Andy Taylor. Having maintained relations with mentor Diana Ross, Elton was Co-Executive Producer on Ross' CD "I Love You" released in 2009. As the advent of MTV put a greater emphasis on the visual aspects of the music industry, soundtrack albums were also enjoying greater success, often spawning chart-topping singles. Segueing into the film industry, Elton supervised songs for such movies as Ivan Reitman's comedy smash "Ghostbusters", David Lynch's "Wild at Heart"; and James L. Brooks' 1994 film "I'll Do Anything."
It was on the last that Elton first worked with composer Hans Zimmer and producer Penney Finkelman-Cox, who were responsible for bringing Elton to DreamWorks the following year.
In 2011, Elton established the first endowment for the Teenage Drama Workshop at California State University Northridge, the longest running teen theater program in the nation. Relocating to Jacksonville, Oregon in 2014, Elton continues her legacy as a patron of the arts, supporting the Collaborative Theater Project, when in 2023, she accepted the honor being on its Board of Directors.