Author Archive: Ralph Boral
Ralph Boral is a rare example of a senior executive who can bestride the worlds of production and finance with remarkable effectiveness. He brings a deep background of senior industry experience in both production and finance to his position at Odyssey, where he is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, new technology development and capital planning. He also coordinates all production activities and is the producer of Odyssey's current animated feature film in pre-production. “Hank The Cowdog.” In 1899 he joined NBC's new division, NBC News Channel (NBCNC), as Director of Finance and Producer of Special Events. During this time, Boral was responsible for dramatically increasing NBCNC's event coverage, increasing foreign affiliates and bolstering the channels profitability through re-negotiation of contract rates for satellite downlinks. His success at NBC attracted an offer from Fox News. In 1999, he took over Fox's affiliate feed service. During this period, Boral created new feature segments including “Legal Briefs”, and “A View From the Inside”. He also produced a self-contained news special for turnkey affiliate usage called “Special-in-Box”. His next move was to Film Foundry, a film production studio which brought him in to trouble shoot its release, “Bobby Jones” which, after disappointing box office returns, was being legally blocked from ancillary markets. Boral's analysis and negotiating skills led to freeing up the film from a $5MM overhang with vendors and allowing it to go to DVD and other distribution outlets. The film is frequently seen on cable TV and is still generating revenue. He then became an executive with the conglomerate that was producing “The Ultimate Gift”, an inspirational rite of passage film starring Drew Fuller and James Garner, based on Jim Stovall's best selling novel. Being in charge of production finance, Boral negotiated all agreements associated with the project, including a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. The film's R.O.I. was strong enough to justify a sequel titled “The Ultimate Life”, which is being scripted and funded by Odyssey Pictures Corporation under Boral's watchful eye. Boral's next move before joining Odyssey was to head up Glueworks Animation, The Film Foundry's animation division. Again, his combined production and financial skills came into play. He restructured the operation to bring it into full efficiency and profitability. Boral went on to produce nine more Hermie projects, winning an Accolade Award along the way. The “Hermie” series has sold more than 5,000,000 units as of mid 2011.