John Hayward Williams (born June 17, 1953) is an American film producer known for his work both in live-action and in animation. He is mainly known for the mainline Shrek film franchise. He is the founder and owner of his own company, Vanguard Films which produces live-action and animated (through its sister skein Vanguard Animation) products.
Williams was born in Manhattan, New York City, on June 17, 1953.
In 2001 shortly after working on Shrek, Williams founded Vanguard Animation and started working on projects such as Valiant (2005), Happily N'Ever After (2007), Space Chimps (2008) and its sequel '.
He made his directorial debut on '.
On June 6, 2008, John Williams along with Platinum Studios created a new comics publishing imprint called Vanguard Comics.
In 2014, partnering with Henry Skelsey, formed 3QU Media as a specialist in CG-animated feature films for the international marketplace. 3QU Media is producing in association with WV Enterprises. Williams is producing and SC Films International is handling foreign sales.