John Ledford
Encyclopedia
John R. Ledford II is an American
entrepreneur
, co-founder and former president of ADV Films (before the company's split). He now serves as President of Sentai Filmworks.
Originally an avid fan of video games, college dropout
Ledford founded a company, Gametronix, in 1990 as an importer of video game systems and cartridges. By 1992, he and Matt Greenfield
had switched their focus to anime
, and founded A.D. Vision (which had been doing business as ADV Films). Within a year, he was making enough profit off anime licensing and distribution that he dissolved Gametronix and focused his attention on ADV. Within a decade, the company had cemented its status as a major distributor of anime in North America, and had diversified into releasing live-action films on DVD
, promoting original film releases, a venture into extreme wrestling with Combat Zone Wrestling
, and even inaugurating a cable network (The Anime Network).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, co-founder and former president of ADV Films (before the company's split). He now serves as President of Sentai Filmworks.
Originally an avid fan of video games, college dropout
Dropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
Ledford founded a company, Gametronix, in 1990 as an importer of video game systems and cartridges. By 1992, he and Matt Greenfield
Matt Greenfield
Matt Greenfield is the American co-founder of the now-defunct ADV Films. Originally an avid fan who ran an anime club in Houston, Texas with John Ledford , he and Ledford founded ADV Films in 1992. ADV Films began as an importer of anime, marketing primarily to the existing network of anime fans...
had switched their focus to anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, and founded A.D. Vision (which had been doing business as ADV Films). Within a year, he was making enough profit off anime licensing and distribution that he dissolved Gametronix and focused his attention on ADV. Within a decade, the company had cemented its status as a major distributor of anime in North America, and had diversified into releasing live-action films on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, promoting original film releases, a venture into extreme wrestling with Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
, and even inaugurating a cable network (The Anime Network).
External links
- interview with John Ledford on Anime News NetworkAnime News NetworkAnime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...