Jeffrey Godsick leads global location-based entertainment (LBE) and themed entertainment for SONY Pictures Entertainment. His recent projects have included Jumanji attractions and lands at Merlin Parks and the Unchartered attraction at PortAventura World in Spain.
Colombia Pictures Aquaverse in Thailand, a collaboration between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Thailand-based attractions developer Amazon Falls, officially opened in 2022.
Speaking to blooloop about the project, Godsick said: “What we’re looking to do with the location-based entertainment business is extend and broaden the relationship we have between our audiences and our IP. We need activations that maintain that relationship, bring new audiences into the brand, and extend the stories.
“In many cases, we’re world-building with these attractions. We’re not just repeating what you’ve seen before in one of the movies; we’re trying to add to it. In some cases, we might add new characters, we might add new locations, new story elements. We stick with the original canon that the IP is based on, and then add to it by creating new elements. I think that adds to the immersion and the ‘wow’ factor.
“We’re fortunate enough to have IP that has global resonance. Because of that, there’s almost not a market that our big IP is not known in.”
Godsick was formerly president of Fox Consumer Products, and joined SONY in 2016 as executive vice president of worldwide partnerships. In 2020 SONY Pictures Entertainment restructured and created a new brand management division, to focus on developing cross-media opportunities and long-term branding initiatives for franchise films. Godsick was appointed executive vice president, brand strategy and global partnerships, and head, location-based entertainment.
In this, his responsibilities expanded to include brand strategy and global partnerships across all motion picture film labels, with TriStar Pictures and Screen Gems picture labels, and the studio’s home entertainment entities among his remit.