John Stevenson
With more than three decades of experience in filmed entertainment, Stevenson is a filmmaker who brings a full and varied skill set to every project, all of which bear the stamp of his keen eye and unending creativity.
Stevenson co-directed Kung Fu Panda (2008) and has a few projects in development including, The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break, based on Steven Sherrill's 2000 novel about the mythological creature, which, having survived Theseus' attack in the labyrinth, walks among us today. Stevenson is also teaming up with Warner Bros and producer Joel Silver to direct Masters of the Universe.
Prior to the release of Kung Fu Panda, Stevenson held the post of Head of Story at PDI/DreamWorks serving as story artist for Shrek, Shrek 2 and Madagascar. He also created storyboards for the animated features Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. A core member of PDI/DreamWorks' creative review committee, Stevenson had input on a variety of projects and also taught classes on the story process to artists at PDI and the San Francisco-based Wild Brain Productions.
The mid-to-late '90s saw Stevenson working between multiple feature and television animation projects. He provided the lead voice for the pilot of the series Mr. Baby, designed characters for DreamWorks Television's Toonsylvania and worked as a storyboard artist and character designer for PDI/DreamWorks's Antz, Pixar's Toy Story 2, and Nickelodeon's Fathead. He acted as an independent creative consultant to CBS, NBC, Walt Disney Productions, Colossal Pictures and Protozoa Pictures and worked with Henry Selick as Head of Story/Creative Development for Twitching Image, Inc., puppeteering the animatronic rhinoceros in Disney's James and the Giant Peach (also drawing storyboards) and directed an episode of Film Roman/CBS's The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat.
As Staff Designer/Director for Colossal Pictures (1991-1995), Stevenson worked in multiple capacities on the animated series Back to the Future and Moxy-Pirate TV Show, created advertising spots for Cheerios, Little Caesars and Parker Bros. and developed show formats and concepts for Nickelodeon/CBS. He served as art director, character designer and storyboard artist on England's Central Television series The Dreamstone.
Stevenson's previous freelance career as an artist, illustrator, character designer and art director exposed him to myriad projects in nearly every medium, working on theme parks, museums, album covers, commercials and various feature films and television shows. Stevenson's entrée into entertainment began with character/product design, storyboarding, show concepts and background puppetry on the seminal The Muppet Show for Jim Henson Productions.
