Jonathan Alpers was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio where he
discovered his love for film at a drive-in movie while watching Herbie
The Love Bug in the back of his fathers VW Bug.
Alpers went on to study writing, directing and acting at Chicago's
famed Columbia College where he staged his first play The One Who
Waits...Waits under Second City co-founder Sheldon Patinkin. After
college Jonathan went on to write over twelve screenplays and direct
his first film "Lamb" with Chicago's Braveworld Productions.
Jonathan's slightly slanted take on the world led him to work with some
of his cinematic heroes. Legendary Coen Brothers producer Ben
Barenholtz (Millers Crossing, Barton Fink, Eraserhead) acquired the
rights to Jonathan's first screenplay The Story of Savannah and Slide
and later Jonathan's beautifully life affirming redemption tale Peach.
Ben Barenhotlz was so taken by Jonathan's writing that he hired
Jonathan to pen the screenplay for "Azav", Barneholtz's own personal
survival story.
Ben Barenholtz and another Coen Brother's alum John Lyons (Boogie
Nights, Austin Powers) teamed to develop Jonathan's farcical social
satire Zombie Squad. Keeping it all in the family after John Lyons left
independent producing to become the head of production at Focus
Features. Jonathan's next few scripts, At The Devil's Table, and 18
were produced by John's producing partner Lucy Barzun Donnelly (Grey
Gardens, Friends with Kids) and Joshua Astrachan (Gosford Park).
Jonathan and Ben Barenholtz went on to acquire the rights to Kurt
Busiek's critically acclaimed comic book series, Astro City which
Jonathan adapted into his first television pilot with Johnny Depp's
company, Infinitum Nihi, and the project was later acquired by yet
another Coen brother alumni Eric Fullner and Tim Bevan's Working Title
Films.
Jonathan now lives in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighborhood and has
had a very busy year. His latest screenplay The Odd Symphony is being
packaged by the producing team of Pamela Rosenberg and Erin Martin and
he has just completed his second TV pilot Revival.
