Artist bio
Born in Austin, TX, Jonathan (or as his mother still calls him: “Juanito”) has been writing and directing professionally for over a decade. His extensive music video and commercial credits include popular international acts such as Reel Big Fish, Reggie and the Full Effect, Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Nickelodeon. In 2004, London directed the short comedy film Gay By Dawn, which won a number of festival awards including Best Comedy/Parody at 2005’s San Diego Comic Con Film Festival and screened at over 80 festivals world wide.
In 2008, Jonathan wrote and directed the pilot presentation Singledom, optioned by Fox Television Networks, about the dating lives of four Los Angeles geeks.
In 2009, Jonathan wrote and directed the web series When Ninjas Attack, also for Fox Television Networks. Jonathan is also a 2001 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a 2006 graduate of the Columbia University graduate film program.
In 2014, Jonathan co-produced and co-directed the zombie fan culture documentary ‘Doc of the Dead’ for Epix as well as wrote the comic book series based on the popular TV series ‘Miami Vice’ for Lionforge Comics and Universal.
In 2015, Jonathan was one of 12 directors selected for the Warner Brothers TV Directing Workshop and in 2016 he was one of two PAGE Awards Fellows to the Stowe Story Labs for his feature script ‘Commitment’. That same year he co-wrote and co-produced the Brazilian feature film ‘Coração de Cowboy’ (released in 2018).
He has just finished co-writing and directing the short film ‘Chasing Fletcher Allen’ starring Heidi Cox, Yuri Lowenthal and Phil LaMarr.
Artist statement
To be honest, ‘Chasing Fletcher Allen’ is as much Heidi Cox’s film as it is mine. So although we didn’t co-direct the film, the initial pitch was hers and I simply helped write, produce and put it in front of the camera. But without Heidi, this film wouldn’t exist… and I’m very glad it does!
‘Chasing Fletcher Allen’ is a story about learning the value of inner strength. Life doesn’t always give you perfect role models to help guide you through the difficult times. In the end, it takes a lot of introspection and course correction to learn to stand on your own two feet and discover what you’re capable of. In both dramatic and comedic ways, our film has all of these things: misplaced role models, a series of ups and downs and the constant need for course correction.
Making a film completely centered on a female protagonist was exciting to me and I think Heidi did a great job on top of her co-writing and producing duties. This really was an “all hands on deck” sort of production and she took the reins many times and kept us going, even while delivering a performance that had to sometimes be funny, sometimes tear-filled, sometimes as part of an ensemble and sometimes all by herself. We had more locations and a larger cast than a typical short film but it allowed us to work with a lot of our favorite people.
Ultimately, ‘Chasing Fletcher Allen’ is a film that I’m very proud of, not just because of the circumstances through which we made it but because of the message we tried to deliver from the start. We’re all capable of discovering our inner strength in order to overcome life’s biggest obstacles. As easy as it is to look for answers in other people and outside places, the best answers come from looking inside ourselves.
