- Born
- Nicknames
- Johnny Monster
- Johnny Five
- The Dashing Bastard
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Jonathan Morrill is an American film director, writer, producer, archivist, artist and actor.
He is known for directing and starring in the cult film "Johnny in Monsterland - The Director's Cut" (2020).
In the early 2000's he made several appearances representing the Hollywood Wax Museum in various new recaps on Entertainment Tonight.
Jonathan appears in the HBO original film; "The Young and The Dead" (2000), painting an oversized portrait of Rudolph Valentino.
Jonathan has appeared, as himself, on E! Entertainment Televison's; "Mysteries & Scandals: Bela Lugosi" (1998), and on "New Hampshire Chronicle" (2017), focusing in on his painting exhibit of Newmarket, New Hampshire.
Jonathan Morrill has produced over 200 short subjects, and music videos, since 1985.
His clients include Jan and Dean, The Smashing Pumpkins, Multi-Color House. Too Loose La Trek, Jenifer McKitrick, and Pictures of Reason.
He is the Chief Executive Director of the Independent Studio; Phaya Nak Pictures, in Hollywood, California.- IMDb Mini Biography By: R.C. Peri - Jonathan Morrill is an American film director, writer, producer, archivist, artist, and actor. He is known for directing and starring in the cult films "Johnny in Monsterland" (1990), and "Jailbait Summer" (1992).
With over fifty years of real-world experience in imaging and sound, from consumer to industrial to professional, Jonathan Morrill is the rare cinematic artist that understands the whole equation. He has brought innumerable audible and visual passage of the analog 20th Century, to the ever-changing front of the 21st Century digital realm.
Jonathan has appeared, as himself, in E Entertainment's televised series "Mysteries & Scandals: Bela Lugosi" (1998), "Entertainment Tonight" (2000 - 2002), "New Hampshire Chronicle" (2017), and the HBO original film; and "The Young and The Dead" (2000).
Jonathan Morrill was production manager at Composite Video Services, in St. Petersburg, Florida, from 1985 through 1990. During this time he produced edited, directed, and produced over 200 music videos, and short subjects. His clients include Jan and Dean, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pictures of Reason, Multi-Color House, Too Loose La Trek, and Jenifer McKitrick.
At Composite Video Services, Jonathan managed the film transfer department, and the week-end production teams, consisting of hundreds of weddings, social, and corporate events.
In the early 1990's, Jonathan lived throughout New England, and produced several features in Cape Cod, including; "Johnny in Monsterland" (1990), and its sequel; "The Brides of Johnny in Monsterland" (1992), "Drag Me To The Fair" (1991) and Jailbait Summer" (1992).
In the mid-1990's, Jonathan Morrill moved to Hollywood, California and began working, briefly, at the El Capitan theatre, in a variety of titles, including front door man, and tour guide. Soon he was employed just down and across the street at The Hollywood Wax Museum, as Assistant Curator, under the supervision of Ken Horn. During that time Jonathan and Ken created hundreds of wax effigies utilizing various old word techniques, and 21st century digital technologies to create, and recreate, in The Horror Chamber alone, the likenesses of Lon Chaney as The Phantom of The Opera, Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster, and "Skeleton Man" - based on an original motion picture by Jonathan Morrill . Outside of The Horror Chamber he helped create Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple, Mae West, W.C. Fields, and Hugh Hefner.
In 2000, Jonathan Morrill created his independent studio, Phayanak Pictures, in Hollywood, California, and is its Chief Executive Director. That same year he began his employ at The Director's Guild of America as a Theatre Manager, and associate coordinator for special projects, and their presentation. He was the requested personal assistant to Kirk Douglas, A.C. Lyles, and Robert Wise, when they presented there, during his employ.
In 2005, Jonathan Morrill was recruited by Film & Video Transfers in Chatsworth, California, as their Chief Preparatory Elements Engineer. He has transferred thousands of home movies and estate collections, including those of the Osmond family. He has transferred hundreds of television series for their DVD and Blu-ray releases. The list includes "The Beverly Hillbillies", "The Mothers In Law", the "Clutch Cargo" cartoon series, as well as collections for The Ronald Reagan Library and an extensive part of Something Weird Video's catalog.
February 2018, Jonathan Morrill was appointed to the UCLA Film & Television Archive, as an Assistant Museum Scientist, prepping, scanning, transferring, preserving and restoring Films and videos at the second largest film archive in the world.
His first assignment was to prepare screener DVD's of all the archive footage of the Manson Murders for "Untitled Tarantino Project #9" which would eventually become "Once upon A Time In Hollywood" (2019).
Another early UCLA special project which Jonathan was assigned to, was the restoration of the Poverty Row Series, which UCLA promoted as "Down and Dirty in Gower Gulch". The series ran on consecutive Saturdays from October 27, 2018, through December 8, 2018 at Raleigh Studios. "Down and Dirty in Gower Gulch" opened with a gala celebration of "The Vampire Bat" (1933 Larry Darmour Productions). restored from a 35mm composite acetate fine grain master and a 35mm nitrate print, and projected from a DCP. "The Vampire Bat" was preceded by Hearst Metrotone News, Vol. 4, No. 250 (1933) and by an Ib Iwerks cartoon, "Jack Frost" (1934). Additional features that were in this series which Jonathan assisted in the image restoration process were "The Sin of Nora Moran" (1933), "False Faces" (1932), "Damaged Lives"(1933), Mamba" (1930), and "Strange Illusion" (1945).
Jonathan was recruited by Advanced Digital Services to oversee their vault relocation from Hollywood's Media District to larger corporate offices on Cahuenga Boulevard.
While in the Media District he was contacted by Deluxe Entertainment and began his employ at Deluxe in October of 2021. Since he began in the preparatory elements department, the global growth of Deluxe entertainment, and their clients, including SONY, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, MGM, and Universal, has exceeded all expectations.
Jonathan has transferred all gauges of home movies for most of North America, since 1985. Celebrity clients include Kirk Douglas, Weird Al Yankovic, Quincy Jones, and Micky Dolenz. "He's done the full spectrum of family home movies, from the Mansons to the Osmonds."- IMDb Mini Biography By: R. C. Peri
- Jonathan Morrill was Theater Manager of The Director's Guild of America, in Hollywood, California, when HBO's "The Young and The Dead"(2001), a film that he is featured painting an original Valentino portrait in, made it's premier at the very theater that he was managing.
- Jonathan Morrill holds the world record, as producer, for the longest continually broadcast original cable programming for "Johnny in Monsterland". The feature monster movie has been broadcast at least twice a year since 1990, first on Cape Cod Continental Cable (1990- 2008), Orleans, Massachusetts, and then on PTV (2008 - Present), Provincetown, Massachusetts).
- Jonathan Morrill was the Assistant Curator of The Hollywood Wax Museum from 1997 - 2002. His appearance in "Mysteries & Scandals: Bela Lugosi" was shot on location in The Chamber of Horrors at The Hollywood Wax Museum.
- Is probably best remembered for playing Johnny Talbot in both Johnnyin Monsterland (1990), and it's sequel, The Brides of Johnny in Monsterland (1992).
- Was the personal assistant to Kirk Douglas, at The Director's Guild of America's special event screening of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), with a question and answer session, moderated by Tim Allen, in 2001.
- In Hollywood, you have to toot your own horn, because if you don't, someone will be tooting their horn at you, probably on the 405.
- Do art unto others, before they undo their art unto you.
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