John Ferraro Screenplay Collection

John Ferraro graduated Greenwich High School before attending Emerson College, where he received a BS in Mass Communications (entertainment business and productions) in 1980. From 1983-1984 he served as a Story Analyst for Paramount Television, where he reviewed television program source materials and scripts. He then served as the Director of Programming & Development from 1984 to 1988, where he worked on the pilot for Star Trek: The Next Generation and was a key figure in the development of the series MacGyver, among other projects. He was promoted to Vice President of Acquisitions in 1988, and in 1997 was promoted again to Senior Vice President for Worldwide Acquisitions and Co-Productions. His oversaw the motion picture group’s negative pickup agreements, efforts to acquire rights/content in international territories, and focus group projects. John left Paramount in 2001 and until 2009 was a photographer at John Ferraro Photography. He created portraits for such notable individuals as Brian Wilson and David Duchovny, created cover art for publications, and photographed items that were being sold into private collections. In 2011, he created Valleywood Entertainment, where he is a producer and manager.

Paramount Pictures is a film and television production and distribution company located in Los Angeles, where it has been on the same lot since 1927. Through the 1980s and 1990s, despite several corporate restructurings, the company produced several well-received and popular films, including the Star Trek and Indiana Jones movie series. Other notable films produced during Ferraro’s time with the company, whose working scripts are in this collection, include The Hunt for Red October (1990) and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).