Col Needham: IMDb Founder and CEO
Col Needham is the founder and CEO of IMDb, the #1 movie website in the world. Born and living in the UK, Col has had a lifelong interest in both technology and movies. After starting a computer games software business at the age of 14, he went on to complete a computer science degree at Leeds University before commencing a career in technology research in Bristol, England. IMDb grew out of a personal database of movie information which Col created as a teenager, combined with similar data collected on the Internet in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Col published the first version of IMDb online in October 1990 and co-ordinated IMDb as a worldwide volunteer effort from 1990-1996. IMDb incorporated in January 1996 with the volunteers as shareholders and IMDb became a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com in April 1998. Col continues in his original role to this day, working from an office in Bristol with IMDb staff members in countries around the world. Col is a board member of Into Film. He received a 2014 Creative Coalition Independent Spotlight award for his work to support independent filmmaking. Col was a jury member at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. To learn more about IMDb or Col Needham, go to: www.imdb.com/press
News Articles
- The UK Mirror: IMDb's British Founder Heading to Hollywood Awards Show, But Who Is Col Needham?
- The Daily Mail: And Britain's Biggest Winner at the Oscars Is a Self-Confessed 'Net Nerd' Who Founded IMDb
- CBS Sunday Morning: The Man Behind IMDb
- TheWrap: Straight Outta Compton Stars Join Mira Sorvino and Dana Delany to Celebrate IMDb's 25th Birthday
- Deadline: Amazon's IMDb Celebrates Milestone 25th Anniversary -- Digital Paradise for Movie Geeks
- Time: How IMDb Can Be Older Than the First Web Browser
- USA Today: Cannes scene: Dinner for movie geeks only
- The Independent: Cruise, DiCaprio, Travolta ... Needham? British film fan behind IMDb is the biggest name in Hollywood you've never heard of
- Total Film: The Future 100: IMDb (#35)
- Film Journal: Data man: How IMDb’s Col Needham conquered filmdom with just the facts
- Mashable: IMDb’s Mobile App Hits 100 Million Downloads Milestone On The Eve Of Upgrade
- The Financial Times: Col Needham: 'Everything About Me Is Movies'
- Beyond Cinema: Col Needham - Icon Mentor Deity of Bristol: Founder of IMDb
- The UK Guardian: Six Degrees of IMDb Founder Col Needham
- LA Times: Col Needham Created IMDb
- Geek Magazine: The Movie Fan's Movie Fan
- American Way Magazine: The Man Behind the Data
- The Hollywood Reporter: 2012 Digital Power 50 List
- The Sun: No 1 Film Website Is Run by Brit
- The Daily Mail: How The World's Biggest Movie Website Is Run By a 'Self Confessed Geek'
- The Bristol Evening Post: Bristol Father of Two Is Hollywood Movie Website Entrepreneur
- The LA Times: An Interview with IMDb Founder Col Needham
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The UK Guardian: The 2012 Guardian Film Power 100 List
[Note: Col Needham’s profile is five rows down, second from the left.] - Total Film: The Story of IMDb
- The New York Times: How British Film Enthusiast Became Digital Media Baron
Photo Gallery
Pull Quotes
Video Gallery
- CBS Sunday Morning: The Man Behind IMDb
- PBS's The Open Mind: The Movie Database
- Col Needham interviews Jennifer Connelly and writer/director Claudia Llosa
- Col Needham: What Movies Mean To Me
Radio Appearances
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BBC Radio Bristol (May 30,2015): "Dr. Phil Hammond: Col Needham Interview"
**The Col Needham interview starts at approximately the 9-minute mark
Press Inquiries
To request an interview or additional information about IMDb, please send an email to: press@imdb.com
Please note: IMDb’s press email alias is for use exclusively by journalists on deadline. Inquiries about other topics will not receive a response. For all other inquiries, please contact IMDb’s helpdesk