John Penotti has produced over 55 film and TV projects. After founding Ivanhoe Pictures—an international local-language content company—in 2013, Penotti merged the Company with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, to form SK Global Entertainment as a Founder. His film and TV productions have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars around the world. The Company was acquired in 2022 by London-based investment firm Centricus. Penotti produced the worldwide box office juggernaut “Crazy Rich Asians”, with director Jon M. Chu. The film boasted the first all-Asian cast for a studio in many years and went on to become one of the highest grossing romantic comedies of all time. “Crazy Rich Asians” film sequels, television adaptations, and live stage productions are currently in the works.
Along with productions throughout North America, Penotti has developed, financed, and produced film and television projects all throughout Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, China, and Hong Kong, as well as India, Western Europe, and Latin America. In Hollywood, he is considered the tip of the spear in developing international local language production business strategies, combining talent from North America and each of the local markets he’s worked in. Penotti’s recent productions include the Netflix hit event series “Thai Cave Rescue”, the Korean phenomenon “The Wailing”, and the International Emmy Award winning Hindi-language series “Delhi Crime” (Netflix), amongst others. Penotti established a number of key partnerships to produce local-language films in China, Thailand, India, South Korea, Latin America, and Indonesia. Additional productions include the 2017 Academy Award Best Picture nominee “Hell or High Water” and the thriller “Greta” from director Neil Jordan (“The Crying Game”).
In 2001, John launched GreeneStreet Films, a company he founded with international investor Louis Bacon. Here John produced several box office hits and Academy Award nominated films including “In The Bedroom”, “A Prairie Home Companion”, “Uptown Girls”, and “Swimfan”, amongst many others. Upcoming Penotti films include Sony Picture’s “Sex and Vanity”, written by Kevin Kwan (the creator of the “Crazy Rich Asians”).