Meet Jon Campbell Rose | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Campbell Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
This fluctuates, but one thing I seem to stubbornly stick by is my sense of identity and “self”. How very modern, I know – but it seems to me the only thing you can really own. I’ve always been pretty rebellious and extremely suspicious of rules; supplicating myself to something that’s arbitrary always felt like a waste of a life. Of course I’m not jaywalking and committing petty crimes for shits and giggles. There are certain things I feel are strongly vital to our society, but besides things that are truly ethically dubious, life is pretty much up for grabs. When it comes to art, one thing I learned along the way was that there were no rules, really. There are the basics of a craft, but once you get past that, it all opens up in a way. Sure, you can try to emulate or “homage” in the final product, but your process, how you actually do the thing, has to be true to you, and then ultimately your “self” -your vision, to put it in a way that I detest – will naturally emerge, no matter how strange or unorthodox the path may be. My way just happens to be obsessive, critical and borderline pathological….I’m kidding….slightly….

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It’s been a long and winding journey, for sure. When I was younger I started acting; something I saw as a way to correct a little speech impediment I had, and that was something I immediately fell in love with. As I went along, I sort of accumulated these other little interests as one does; reading a lot, writing short stories/plays, then getting into photography pretty obsessively. Ultimately all these interests fused into the more nebulous act of filmmaking. I thought: “wow, if I can do all the things I love all the time and pay rent, that’s the ticket. I can pretend for a living?!”. So, I did. I started shooting little music videos, live shows, funny skits that I would force my friends to act in. I didn’t have the capital for film school, and to be honest, it wasn’t really my cup of tea, so I explored literature and philosophy, whilst making films on the side. Up in the Bay, I made a bunch of short films with a crew of 3 – I was often holding the boom, operating the camera and gaffing simultaneously. It gave me an understanding of the entire production process, which has been indispensable. I have a love and respect for every department now. I set a goal for myself at 20 to make my first feature before I was 30 and I ended up shooting it (Molar, our feature film) at 28. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m very proud of the baby me and my collaborators made… and if that sounds strangely intimate, that’s because it was.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Are they paying or am I? Kidding… I’m still pretty new to the city so I can’t say that I have a very comprehensive lay of the land…but I guess they don’t either do they? I can do whatever I want ha ha! I’d probably start by taking them for a home shaken martini on my roof. It’s a pretty beautiful view of the whole city (you can see downtown, Hollywood sign, Griffith). I spend a lot of time up there writing (don’t tell my landlord, please). One of the unexpected benefits of living in the the less elite parts of town is that you get to enjoy the beauty from afar. This being said, I think often once you’re inundated in something you’ve been convinced is wonderful, the cracks start to show… everything is so much prettier from afar. Beauty is overrated anyway….Food wise, I would probably take them for some delicious Korean BBQ, topped with Soju, and more soju, and more soju. Perhaps, a wander around The Grove for a nice materialistic palette cleanser, then some cocktails at one of the many spots in Echo Park – maybe a walk around the lake? There are some wonderful old theaters here too, so definitely little matinee. Also, they just HAVE TO try the traffic; no LA experience is complete without a 57 minute ride to get cashew milk and plant-based butter. ..Yeah, traffic for an hour with an album blasting; that’s the life!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh man, I’m basically a Frankenstein’s monster of other people’s accomplishments. Making a movie is so collaborative, so I really see myself as a person that tries to find the brilliance in people, and do my best to elevate and foster it. I’m essentially throwing a party, and get to hire my best friends to be there with me – it’s a lovely responsibility. I truly do believe in people, especially the ones I work with… whilst I ride the coat tails of their talent to the top! So, I guess, any crew I’ve worked with, any actor I’ve cast; I am so grateful to them and owe them the world (and actually some residuals from my latest project). On top of that, it’s all the family; my parents, my cousins, my girlfriend, my grand parents, my dad, my uncles, who ultimately introduced me to movies when I was a wee lad of about 11 (Fargo, Jaws, Squid and The Whale, and Coffee and Cigarettes all in one night!). They have had an undying faith in me my whole life, despite my obvious shortcomings. What else? Oh, and if we can shoutout abstract concepts: getting a good nights sleep…. that has been crucial.

Website: www.molarthemovie.com

Instagram: Jeanrows

Facebook: Jonathan rose

Other: www.joncampbellrose.com