Jonathan Worsley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
Jonathan Worsley is one of the most prominent young directorial voices in Australia today and is the protégé of acclaimed director Baz Luhrmann. Jonathan’s short films, documentaries, advertising campaigns and music video clips have been highly acclaimed in Australia and overseas including Best Documentary at the Australian Media Awards, Australian Young Achiever Award for Outstanding Achievement in Media and News Limited’s AWARD Supergroup, short-listed Best Unproduced Screenplay MTV Australia.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Jonathan was raised in the suburbs of New South Wales in what he has described on Australia's Today Show as a very ‘normal atypical upbringing growing up under a powerline’. During his youth, he wanted to be a performer and is trained as an actor, singer and dancer.
This experience would develop into a career in directing, his future work distinctly having both a certain theatricality and unusual realism to it. Jonathan is also a skilled graphic designer, creative director, photographer, editor and camera operator; the ability to multitask and understanding of different roles results in being offered very unusual opportunities.
It has been rumoured he was offered the opportunity in 2003 to direct a major fragrance launch for a French fragrance company but turned it down.
[edit] Early Career
At sixteen years old Jonathan won Best Documentary at the Australian Media Awards. He would then go on to do an internship at Channel 9, before getting into university at age 16 to complete an industry degree in Advertising while still at high school. Here he was mentored by some of the world’s top advertising creatives; an experience he has sometimes quoted influenced his philosophy to be ‘commercial enough to be accessible to watch, but interesting and artistic enough for people to want to watch.’ His advertising work received Finalist at the Young Guns International Advertising Awards, CFI Best Advertising Campaign.
Like advertising, Jonathan would be accepted into the prestigious VCA School of Film and Television at age seventeen, a course up until then never took students still at high school.
[edit] Cult Following
Jonathan has a large underground cult following and is often contacted by other individuals who want to work with him. As a result, and wanting to 'give something back', Jonathan reportedly created the website www.icantgetno.com [1] offering internships and job opportunities on his next project. Jonathan, also an accomplished writer, occasionally guest writes for magazines in the US and has an ongoing series in MAG magazine offering tips to other young people wanting to be involved in the film industry.
[edit] Future Projects
It has been rumoured that Jonathan is currently working on a feature with fellow collaborator, William Baker (Kylie Minogue's long time creative director). Although the film has an official website and is rumoured to be coming out in 2008, few details have been released of the project and his production company has not made any official press releases as of yet.
[edit] Music Video Clips
Originally discovered by Michael Gudinski, Jonathan has made top selling Australian video clips for artists at EMI, Mushroom and Liberation Records including Babybash, Kate Alexa, Bob Evans, Marcia Hienes and Deni Hienes.
[edit] Influences
Jonathan was at one point an assistant to acclaimed director Baz Luhrmann. Apparently Jonathan first approached Baz for an apprenticeship by sending him a series of elaborate pop-up books to get his attention, before sitting in Baz’s gutter with a cardboard sign.
He would then work alongside Baz Luhrmann and his wife, Production and Costume Designer Catherine Martin on La Boheme, the Chanel No 5 Commercial (starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro) and the development of Alexander the Great and his upcoming Australia.
