A graduate of the UCLA film school, John has worked in the film industry for the last 20 years. As founder and president of Dean River Productions, he has worked on nearly 30 films in various capacities: director, writer, producer, editor, having won numerous awards in the process (see his filmography, below).
His greatest joy is as husband and father, but he has major dreams and goals for Dean River for the near future. “I want to be part of projects that matter”, he says. “Each of us in the film industry have a limited amount of time on this earth, and a limited number of films to work on. At the end of the day, I want the ones on my filmography to have mattered, to count for something. Faith affirming, with values, the triumph of the human spirit, etc., films that have something to say and contribute to the good in this world. It’s what I care about; what drives me”, John says. “I have very little interest in working on something that just fills up the screens and airwaves for programming sake. Life’s too short.” Of the filmmaking process itself, he says, “I’m not a development guy—getting the rights, doing lunch, trying to get a project going. I don’t know what I’d do without my team at Dean River who do that for me-- working day in and day out to get a project started. But when those projects start, I’m all over it. I’m a production guy. I like to get my hands in there with the team and help it come to life. I love the collaboration; the sense of mission that we’re all on in working on a film together. I love the pre-production process more and more; the shooting. It’s great. But it’s all payment to get to what I live for: post-production. I love to edit; to work with the composer, the visual fx and post sound teams; to see it all come to life, working toward the finish line. There’s no greater joy for me in the making of a film.”
In his “spare time”, John teaches film at Biola University. “I’m a real ‘practical professor’; I like to teach all the stuff that I never learned at UCLA. I love my students. My greatest desire is to see them succeed in every area of life”, he says.
John and his wife, Cathy, have been married for 26 years. They have two children and one son-in-law.
FILMOGRAPHY
2004 Stroke of Genius Co-Producer 2002 Mountain of Fire (tv documentary) Director 2002 Hermie (animated tv special) Director (voices) 2002 The Climb (feature) Director 2001 Road to Redemption (feature) Co-Producer/Editor 2001 Legend of the Candy Cane (tv special) Director (voices) 2000 Something to Sing About (feature) Co-Producer/Editor 1999 The Story of Jesus for Children (video) Director 1999 Jacob’s Gift (made-for-tv movie) Director/Producer 1999 A Vow to Cherish (made-for-tv movie) Director/Producer/Co-Writer 1998 Present Time: Lost Prophet (video) Director 1998 Present Time: Fiery Stranger (video) Writer/Director 1998 Newton’s Workshop (5-8) (video) Executive Producer 1997 Present Time: The Adventure Begins (video) Writer/Director 1997 Newton’s Workshop (1-4) (video) Executive Producer 1994 The Crossing (film) Director 1994 Race for Life (video) Writer/Director 1992 Guess Who’s Coming to America (film) Writer/Director/Producer 1987 Super Christian II (film) Writer/Director/Producer 1986 Wait of the World (film) Writer/Director/Producer 1983 The Greatest Story Never Told (film) Writer/Director/Producer 1981 Kevin Can Wait (film) Writer/Director/Producer 1980 Super Christian (film) Writer/Director/Producer
