RICHARD JOHNS, FOUNDER & CEO

Richard is one of the UK’s most highly regarded producers, with a list of credits to his name that includes the Channel 4 TV series Chivalry(Steve Coogan, Sarah Solemani) and films such as two-time Academy Award-nominated Shadow of the Vampire (John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe), Like Minds (Toni Collette, Eddie Redmayne), The Calcium Kid (Orlando Bloom, Billie Piper) and Off the Rails(Dame Judi Dench, Kelly Preston, Ben Miller), directed by Jules Williamson and produced by Richard with Bill Kenwright.

He started his career in TV in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, establishing Quay Productions. One of the UK’s first indies, it produced commercials and scripted and unscripted programming for the Tyne Tees, Yorkshire TV and Granada franchises. Johns then teamed up with Bharat Nalluri and Neil Marshall to produce his first feature film, Killing Time(Craig Fairbrass). His next film, Downtime (Paul McGann, Susan Lynch, Tom Georgeson), also with Nalluri as director, was made for Channel 4 Films, Scala and Ima Films and received international acclaim. Immediately prior to establishing Argo Films, he was a partner in Corona Pictures, which made Truth or Dare and The Liability (Tim Roth, Jack O’Connell) and Corona Television, which received investment from Fremantle Media.

Richard is a long-time member of BAFTA, PACT and an alumnus of the international film producer network Ateliers du Cinema Européen. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Media School, Bournemouth University, where he was previously co-director of the Bournemouth Skillset Screen and Media Academy. He is also a past chair of the New Producers Alliance and a former board member of BAFTA North.