JoJo Scanlon is a Writer, Director, and Actor based out of Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago in May of 2022 and received his BA in Filmmaking with a focus on Writing and Directing. Growing up, JoJo struggled to find his place while under the stigma of being a Special Ed student. But after discovering his calling as a writer, he began devoting his life to storytelling. Since then, JoJo’s work has been shown in festivals in India, Italy, and the United States and have garnered awards like the Neo Futurist Theater’s “Lisa Buscani Award” and “Top 25 Most-Voted Podcast” in the MyRodeCast competition. JoJo aims to make people smile with his work and remind them that, no matter how tough it gets, there will always be better days ahead.
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An Open Letter to You... No, Not You- Yeah, You Right There,
Thank you for visiting my website! My name's JoJo Scanlon; I'm a Screenwriter, Director, and Actor currently based out of Chicago. I'm currently pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in Filmmaking with a focus on Writing and Directing at Columbia College Chicago. In this section, I hope to tell you a little bit more about my character so you can have a better understanding of who JoJo Scanlon really is before you explore all the wonderful projects I have to show you.
Growing up, I had no interest in Filmmaking as an art-form; I originally wanted to make comics like Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" and Jeff Smith's "Bone". In High School, after learning how to play guitar, I decided I wanted to be a rockstar and write prog-rock music. This would all change during the Spring of my Sophomore year when I first saw the film adaptation of Pink Floyd's 1979 concept album, "The Wall".
The movie blew my mind. I had never seen anything like that before, it felt alien and foreign. At that time, I was living in Las Vegas where a lot of film work wasn't really happening. The movies I saw at the theater were either for dates or to see major blockbusters so I could talk with my friends about it. "The Wall" completely changed that; the sets, the costumes, the music- everything took my breath away.
It wasn't until the credits that I understood why I had a stream of tears trailing down my face and onto my shirt; I had found my calling. I knew in that moment that this was my purpose- to make movies as mind-blowing as that movie was for me. Movies that would inspire people to be as creative as I felt in that moment.
I learned how to make movies through a lot of different mediums; Las Vegas had film schools, but there weren't any people or companies I could turn to for an education. So, like any reasonable person would, I turned to the Internet.
YouTube channels like Cinecom.net taught me the formal elements of making a movie like how to frame a shot and how to use color effectively while channels like Nerdwriter1 taught me why that stuff was important and why you should know what all of it means.
Through watching anime and playing D&D with my friends I learned how a story should feel but also how my stories should feel. I learned how to direct by reading books by famous artists that I enjoyed.
I took all of this new knowledge and set out to make a project; I had been vlogging with my friends for a little over a year and after watching Steven Suptic's web-series "Sugar Pine 7" I had an idea for how to turn those vlogs into a serious project. The result was season two of "RonaldoBasedGod", titled "RBG: Anomaly Agent".
The series was fun to make but never received by the public on a mass scale; I was popular in my hometown of Summerlin, Las Vegas, but outside of Nevada? Slim pickings. My friends played all of the characters and the entire project was shot on location. My hard work on this project would pay off when I used it to get into Columbia College Chicago's TV & Cinema program. The rest is history...
Currently, I'm working on writing a number of features and pilots that can be pitched to studios on the West Coast. My long-term goal is to write/direct my own films in Los Angeles and tell the stories I have a deep drive to tell. Short-term, though, I'm looking to get more experience in both the Film and TV industries.
Here's some more personal details about me:
-My current favorite album is "Nurture" by Porter Robinson followed close behind by "A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships" by The 1975
-I love anime; some of my favorites include Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam Build Fighters, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Hunter X Hunter, and Neo Yokio
-I'm a massive sneakerhead and very big into fashion. My favorite sneaker silhouettes are the Air Fear of God 1, YEEZY Quantum, and the Adidas Vadawam 326. Biggest fashion influences are Daniel Ashram, Virgil Abloh, and Tyler The Creator. My favorite brands include Off-White, MCQ, Uniqlo, Post Archive Faction, and YEEZY.
-I love Contemporary art; going to school in Chicago, I frequent the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Institute. My favorite artists include Ernest Chiriaka, Takashi Murakami, and Samuel Burgess-Johnson.
-Being a filmmaker I definitely have some favorites in my industry; the big three being Djibril Diop Mambety, Wes Anderson, and Alejandro Jodorowsky. I love Bollywood/Tollywood/Lollywood and I'm a big fan of Asian film as well.
-With my personal film work, I like to implement fashion and lots of color. I like stories with bombastic characters that still have backstories rooted in reality. A lot of my work going forward has these elements, but the two pieces I would showcase that have these elements are "Angus and Nico" and "Cosmic Debris" (see: Portfolio)
I hope this helped you gain some insight on me as a creative. If you have any questions or just want to get in touch, feel free to reach out to me via the Contact tab of my site. You can also get in touch with me on my social medias (see: Main Menu tab). Be sure to follow my Instagram and Twitter for updates on new projects!
Sincerely (with hugs and kisses),
JoJo Scanlon
