Jon Turtle

For 40 years, Jon Turtle has forged a path of success throughout many areas of the entertainment industry, having produced myriad esteemed and popular films for a number of studios and distributors. W ...Show More

For 40 years, Jon Turtle has forged a path of success throughout many areas of the entertainment industry, having produced myriad esteemed and popular films for a number of studios and distributors. With more than 125 film productions to his credit, he has produced and financed films from popular action hits, such as Joe Carnahan's 2011 survival thriller "The Grey," to lauded art cinema favorites, such as David Lynch's Palm d'Or winning 1990 picture "Wild at Heart." Accruing decades of experience in marketing, distribution, acquisitions, home video and television production, and programming, Mr. Turtle continues to leave his mark on the filmmaking landscape as a freelance production management consultant, providing his expertise to film productions across the United States and Europe. Garnering funding for such notable films as "Can't Buy Me Love," "Bat*21" and "Mannequin" earlier in his career, Mr. Turtle had been involved with multiple major motion picture franchises, including entries into the "Death Wish," "Missing in Action," "Delta Force" and "American Ninja." He has also financed or produced a number of beloved cult classics in the horror genre, including Clive Barker's epic creature feature "Nightbreed," David Cronenberg's unsettling psychodrama "Dead Ringers," Neil Jordan's hilarious horror comedy "High Spirits" and Craig R. Baxley's action-horror hybrid "I Come in Peace." However, Mr. Turtle's best-known credits may be his participation as a financier and producer on three films in the immensely popular "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise, including Chuck Russell's "Dream Warriors," Renny Harlin's "The Dream Master" and Stephen Hopkins' "The Dream Child." Mr. Turtle has been a consultant/producer for the Atlantic Screen Group since 2015, and from 2006 to 2014 he was vice president of co-productions and acquisitions for Morgan Creek International and a producer and a special consultant to the president of Showtime Networks from 1996 to 2005. Moreover, he established his own production company, Jon Turtle Productions, for which he has remained active as a producer and a film financier from 1997 to the present. Mr. Turtle additionally served as the president of Rocket Pictures from 1993 to 1996 and produced and financed the film Cannes Man. The cast included Seymour Cassel, James Brolin, Dennis Hopper, Johnny Depp, Jon Cryer, Treat Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Julian Lennon, Bob Evans, and others. Before embarking upon his professional ventures, Mr. Turtle attended the University of Miami and the University of Miami Law School. He started his career as a film buyer at Mann Theatres from 1974 to 1979. From 1985 to 1992, Mr. Turtle was the senior vice president of film productions and acquisitions for Media Home Entertainment Inc. In the preceding years, he held the position of vice president of Albacore Productions Inc., a Martin Ransohoff Company, from 1982 to 1985, Capella Films, Inc. from 1993 to 1998, Coutts & Co. from 1996 to 2000 and ASCII Pictures Corp. USA from 1992 to 1995. Having found success as a producer, executive producer and associate producer for many motion pictures, Mr. Turtle recently provided his wealth of expertise to films such as "Left Behind," a 2014 adaptation of the best-selling book series, and Larry Charles' "Masked and Anonymous," which featured an all-star cast anchored by Bob Dylan and including Luke Wilson, John Goodman, Jessica Lange and Penelope Cruz, among others. He has worked alongside several acclaimed filmmakers, including actor/director John Turturro on 2005's Golden Lion-nominated "Romance and Cigarettes" starring James Gandolfini, "First Blood" director Ted Kotcheff on 1988's "Switching Channels" starring Burt Reynolds, and "Return of the Jedi" director Richard Marquand on 1985's Academy Award-nominated "Jagged Edge" starring Glenn Close. Mr. Turtle has even produced a pair of comedy video features focusing on the sport of golf, "Rodney Dangerfield's Proper Golf Etiquette" and "Bad Golf Made Easier," with Leslie Nielsen. He also delved into financing and producing documentaries, including "3 Billion and Counting" in 2010 and "Madonna: Truth or Dare," in 1991, which followed singer Madonna on her controversial 1990 Blond Ambition tour. In light of his exceptional undertakings, Mr. Turtle has accrued several accolades throughout his impressive career. During his production partnership with Showtime Networks Inc., he executive produced the WGA Award-nominated "Freak City" in 1998, the Gabriel Award-winning "In A Class of His Own" in 1999, the Emmy Award-nominated "Snow in August" in 2000, and "They Call Me Sirr," also in 2000, which was nominated for a DGA Award, an Emmy Award and a Prism Award. Mr. Turtle cemented his status in the cinema landscape when he was asked to be a juror for the Tokyo International Film Festival in 1989 and the Bogota Film Festival in 1997. He maintained involvement with Chapman University's graduate school as a professor of film production between 2004 and 2009. Lauded as a notable Jewish American film and television producer and art collector, Mr. Turtle is a member of the Producers Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Hide