Jonathan Witte Stokes is a film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is also an entrepreneur who created ValueWiki which was acquired by Wikia in 2010.

Education

Stokes graduated from the Weston High School and majored in Philosophy at the Claremont Colleges. He then went on to study and perform improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Improv Olympic and The Second City.

Film career

Stokes has written scripts on assignment for actor-producers Will Smith,

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T.'' (2 ...

, and Hugh Jackman, as well as director-producer

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

. Stokes's script ''"Murders and Acquisitions"'' was purchased by Warner Brothers. Stokes' screenplay '' El Gringo'' was produced by Joel Silver and released in 2012. His script ''"Blood Mountain"'' was purchased with Academy Award winner Lawrence Bender producing, two time Academy Award nominee Sergei Bodrov attached to direct, and Benedict Cumberbatch attached to star. In 2020, Stokes's script ''"Murder in the White House"'' was purchased by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

with

Neal Moritz Neal H. Moritz (born June 6, 1959) is an American film producer and founder of Original Film. He has produced over 70 major motion pictures which have grossed a total of over $11 billion worldwide as of 2021. He is best known for the ''Fast & Fu ...

producing. In 2021, Stokes sold his script ''"The Vampire Asset"'' to Code Entertainment. Stokes is the author of the ''Addison Cooke'' series, published by Philomel Books at

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

, and ''The Thrifty Guide to the Past'' series, published by Viking Press, also at Penguin. Stokes is the only screenwriter to have five screenplays featured on the

Black List Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

, an annual survey of Hollywood executives' favorite screenplays. Stokes wrote and directed ''

The Last Hurrah ''The Last Hurrah'' is a 1956 novel written by Edwin O'Connor. It is considered the most popular of O’Connor's works, partly because of a 1958 movie adaptation starring Spencer Tracy. The novel was immediately a bestseller in the United Stat ...

'' starring Valerie Azlynn, Zack Bennett, Kate Micucci, Ravi Patel, and

Randy Wayne Randy Wayne Frederick (born August 7, 1981) is an Americans, American actor. Life and career Wayne was born and raised in Moore, Oklahoma. He attended Moore High School (Oklahoma), Moore High School and Campbellsville University. He appeared ...

, released in 2010. The movie is filmed in one continuous shot, and is considered representative of the mumblecore film movement in its improvisational feel and focus on dialog and Generation Y relationships. Stokes wrote and directed '' Wildcat'' starring Georgina Campbell, Mido Hamada, and Luke Benward, which was distributed by Saban Films in 2021. Stokes also wrote and directed several short films, including ''Men, Interrupted'' (starring Janina Gavankar, Ravi Patel, Zack Bennett, and

Jelynn Rodriguez Jelynn Rodriguez (born August 31, 1983) is a Filipino-American host of the American Sí TV show ''The Drop'', as well as an actress, dancer and singer. She has worked in show business since she was a teenager attending Rancho Bernardo High School. ...

), ''Wipe'' (starring

Kelly Perine Kelly Perine (born March 23, 1969) is an American television actor, writer, director, producer, and comedian. Perine attended Lake Forest Academy near Chicago, Illinois, where he studied stage acting. He spent his undergraduate years at Pomona Co ...

), ''Air'' (starring Greg Fellows and Brandon Scott), and "Victory" (starring Janina Gavankar and Kit Pongetti).

Entrepreneur

Jonathan Stokes co-created ValueWiki.com in 2006 along with high school friend Zach Greenberger. The finance wiki, a "Wikipedia for stocks," grew to over 200,000 articles covering stocks and funds from 10 world wide stock exchanges before being acquired by Wikia in 2010 in a cash-and-stock deal.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Jonathan W. Film producers from California American male screenwriters Living people Writers from Manhattan Pitzer College alumni Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) Film producers from New York (state) Screenwriters from California Year of birth missing (living people)