John Rutherford
John Rutherford Multi-award winning producer/director John Rutherford, President and Creative Director of COLT Studio Group, has produced over 350+ man-on-man films in his career. The look of his films is unmistakable and has garnered him multiple awards and accolades, including a lifetime achievement award from AVN in 2001, the Hall of Fame award from the Grabby's in 2002 and another lifetime achievement award from the Free Speech Coalition in 2006 as well as winning numerous awards over the years as well as Best Director 5 times from the annual GayVN Awards Show. After nearly 15 years at the Falcon Family of Companies Rutherford resigned in June of 2003 and subsequently announced his acquisition of COLT Studio Group. To date, he has produced and directed over a dozen features so far for the John Rutherford Feature brand for the COLT Studio Group. Taking the helm from famed photographer Jim French in 2003 meant bridging the (at the time) 37-year history of COLT Studio with the constantly changing dynamics of the industry today. "I want to continue the legacy of what Jim created while blending it seamlessly with the continuing evolution of COLT Studio," says Rutherford. A California native, Rutherford graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Broadcast Communication Arts. Knowing his passion lie in the creative arts he immediately began working as a freelance producer, videographer and production manager. With numerous corporate and industrial videos, independent films and personal projects under his belt he was approached by The Falcon Family of Companies in 1993 for a freelance assistant director position. Quickly rising through the ranks and forming an unbreakable bond with Falcon Studios founder Chuck Holmes, Rutherford hit his stride behind the camera directing the multiple award winners for GayVN, AVN and the Grabbys for Flashpoint, The Renegade, The Other Side of Aspen III & IV, French Connections I & II, High Tide, The Code of Conduct Series, Out of Athens I & II, California Kings, Deep South I & II, Absolute, Aqua & Arid, and more recently at COLT Studio Group the multi-award winning blockbuster BuckleRoos just to name a few. Widely accepted as one of the most approachable, honest and hardest working directors in the industry today, Rutherford continues on his quest to bring the highest quality, integrity and creative dynamics to his ever-growing library of films. Rutherford hails from Redwood City, California and now makes his home in the San Francisco Bay Area with his partner since 2000, Tom Settle.
