John Stevenson (director)

Not to be confused with John Stephenson (director).

John Stevenson
Stevenson in 2018
Born1958 (age 65–66)
London, England
Occupation(s)Animator, art director, film director, motion capture performer, puppeteer, storyboard artist, voice actor
Years active1978–present

John Stevenson (born 1958) is a British animator, film director and puppeteer with over 40 years of experience in animation. He is best known for directing (along with Mark Osborne) DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda (2008), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Life and career

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Stevenson worked as a story artist on the feature films The Great Muppet Caper, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Little Shop of Horrors and as a character designer and story artist on shows and films like The Dreamstone, Count Duckula, Back to the Future: The Animated Series, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, two of the Fox Tales specials and FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue. He also worked as an art director on Back to the Future: The Animated Series and a puppeteer on James & the Giant Peach and Motion Capture Performer on The Moxy Pirate Show. In 1991, Stevenson moved to the United States, and in 1998, he was hired as a head of story at DreamWorks Animation. There he worked for many years in the art department on many films such as Shrek, Shrek 2, Madagascar and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, in addition to helming a number of episodes of their animated primetime show Father of the Pride. He worked for four years bringing Kung Fu Panda to the screen.

In 2009, Stevenson was nominated for an Academy Award with Mark Osborne for Best Animated Feature for Kung Fu Panda[1] and won the Annie Award with Osborne for Directing in a Feature Production.[2]

In 2011-12, Stevenson directed a six-minute animated short film for The Coca-Cola Company produced by Ridley and Tony Scott called The Polar Bears.[3]

Since 2012, Stevenson has been directing for Rocket Pictures the sequel of Gnomeo & Juliet, titled Sherlock Gnomes, The film was released on 23 March 2018 to negative reception.[4][5]

Stevenson was originally set to work as director for an upcoming film based on the character created by Mattel, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.[6] He was also attached to various projects like The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break,[7] We3,[8] Alien Rock Band[9] and Rotten Island.[9] In August 2014, it was announced that Stevenson will direct for Unified Pictures a CG-animated feature film The Ark and the Aardvark inspired by Noah's Ark.[10]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Producer Notes
2008 Kung Fu Panda Yes No Co-directed with Mark Osborne
2018 Sherlock Gnomes Yes No
2026 The Ark and the Aardvark Yes Executive

References

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  1. ^ Oscars.org : Nominees & Winners for the 81st Academy Awards Archived 1 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "36th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". The Annie Awards. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  3. ^ Beltrone, Gabriel (7 January 2013). "Ad of the Day: Coca-Cola The brand's polar bears weather some family drama in this six-minute short, produced by Ridley Scott". Adweek. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  4. ^ Fleming, Mike (5 September 2012). "John Stevenson Tapped To Direct 'Gnomeo & Juliet' Sequel 'Sherlock Gnomes'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  5. ^ Robinson, Will (7 November 2015). "Johnny Depp takes lead in Sherlock Gnomes". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. ^ El Mayimbe (19 November 2008). "Exclusive: From Kung-Fu Panda to He-Man?!". Latino Review. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. ^ O'Hara, Helen (14 May 2009). "John Stevenson To Direct Minotaur". Empire Online. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  8. ^ Rotten, Ryan (8 December 2008). "Stevenson Attached to Direct Comic Adaptation We3". ShockTillYouDrop.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  9. ^ a b DeMott, Rick (8 November 2010). "Panda's Stevenson Joins Vanguard's Alien Rock Band". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  10. ^ Beck, Jerry (20 August 2014). "John Stevenson Tapped To Direct "Noah's Ark" For Unified Pictures". Animation Scoop. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
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