John Tarnoff

John Tarnoff is an executive at DreamWorks Animation where he is Head of Show Development, a role that includes overseeing a number of talent development and future-focused programs for the company. In addition, he travels frequently on the company's behalf to colleges, conferences and festivals where he addresses questions relating to the state and the future of feature 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 "WarGames", 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.