Jon Boogz has signed with production company Serial Pictures as a director for commercials, branded entertainment, and music videos in the U.S. market. This marks the first time being repped in the ad arena directorially for Boogz who is also known as an accomplished movement artist and choreographer.
Boogz, along with Lil Buck, is the cofounder of critically acclaimed creative collective MAI (Movement Art Is), which advocates for social change while elevating dance as a medium. Their first evening-length show, “Love Heals All Wounds,” which is currently touring globally, was profiled in The New York Times. Boogz wrote, directed, choreographed, and danced in MAI’s award-winning short Color of Reality, in collaboration with visual artist Alexa Meade, driven by dismay at police brutality toward minorities. The film won Great Big Story’s Art as Impact Award; Best Experimental at Toronto International Short Film Festival; and Concept Video of the Year from World of Dance, among other honors. MAI recently released a VR film Together in collaboration with Facebook and Terrence Malick which debuted at SXSW and Tribeca Film Festival.
Boogz’s latest project, the short film Funeral For America (which he directed, choreographed, and danced in), was released on July 4 as a challenge to Americans celebrating their nation’s birthday to come to terms with its past. As with his previous work, the film uses movement to urge viewers to examine and purge the flaws from our country’s fabric.
“Jon’s powerful filmmaking combines storytelling, art and activism in unique and creatively challenging ways,” said Violaine Etienne, founding partner of Serial Pictures. “He uses his authentic perspective and compelling voice to lift the veil on social issues and promote empathy, truth and awareness.”
Boogz shared, “I’m ecstatic to start this new journey with Serial Pictures. I’ve been creating and directing works independently and feel blessed to now have a great team working with me to take my vision to new heights.”
Boogz has choreographed, directed, and performed work for Cirque du Soleil and Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. He has served as creative consultant on campaigns for Adidas, Apple, Lexus, Dom Pérignon, and Marriott and has collaborated with icons including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Naomi Campbell and Gloria Estefan. Boogz’s other notable collaborators include the Tribeca Film Festival, DAIS, and Flying Lotus; and he was featured at the Geffen Playhouse’s “Backstage at the Geffen” with his dance company Control Freakz, Lil Buck, and spoken word artist Robin Sanders to honor Morgan Freeman and Jeff Skoll. Boogz is managed by Sozo Artists as a performer and choreographer.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More