JOHN TARNOFF

  Head of Show Development, DreamWorks   Animation

John has been in the motion picture business for 25 years, starting as a studio executive for MGM, Orion, Columbia Pictures, and DeLaurentiis Entertainment, as an independent film producer and as a technology entrepreneur.

Some of the films he has been responsible for include “Diner,” “The Year of Living Dangerously,” “Pink Floyd The Wall,” “Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure” and “The Power of One.” A co-founder of Village Roadshow Pictures, he pioneered U.S./Australian co-productions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. John branched into multimedia development in 1994, licensing the interactive rights to Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and creating the game “Big Brother” based on the book. He and director John Badham co-wrote the successful PC/Playstation game “War Games,” based on Badham's hit movie). Prior to joining DreamWorks, John was the co-founder
of Talkie, Inc a technology company that pioneered online conversational animated characters for marketing, brand building, lead generation, customer service and training.

John holds a B.A. from Amherst College, and a M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. He grew up in New
York and Paris, and is a passionate still photographer.