Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jonathan James . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jonathan , thanks for joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I can’t say that I’m necessarily, “happy” as an artist or creative. I think the word I would use is fulfilled.

I frequently dream about what it would be like to have a regular job with a stable income and schedule. The problem I find is that every time that happens, and I work a regular job, I feel suffocated. The days in and out of working a job to make someone else millions of dollars while they pay you and everyone else so little. The time spent in boring grey cubicles, in meetings that could have been emails, and so on.

The most frustrating part about being creative is that you’re putting in so many tireless hours of free work, but no one sees that. No one understands the struggle or why you are pursuing the goals that you are. They just wonder “Why aren’t you making money yet?” It’s only when success finally shines on you that everyone just thinks it happened. That you just appeared out of the blue one day and were chosen by the creative gods to finally earn your success.

It’s during those times, during the hustle and the trials and nights where you’re trying to stretch $20.00 into $100 that I have to remember why I do this, and my love for film and storytelling. It’s in the satisfaction when you finish a project, and people look upon it like “Wow, I can’t believe you actually accomplished what you set out to do,” it’s in the reactions from audience members when they watch my films, the way people are inspired not only by your film or project but the way you see the dreamer in them light up. Then suddenly you’re watching them wonder, is my boring real job worth it? Am I able to achieve such things?

Ultimately I’ve found that very few are able to leave the security of a real job to pursue their dreams. The real jobs will always be there, but we only have a limited time on this earth to try and achieve our dreams. I’d rather look back and say “I tried,” rather than think about all the dreams I never even tried to accomplish.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got my start shortly after graduating from Columbia College Chicago as a PA/Intern on the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. After moving to Los Angeles I worked for Walden Media, where I got my first taste of what working in Hollywood was like. While I was there I was accepted into the Screenwriting program at the American Film Institute (AFI) where I met my now producing partner, Sabrina Cooper. Since leaving AFI, I’ve had the privilege to work for many different production companies and was privileged to work under legendary producers such as Tom Sternberg (Apocalypse Now) and John David (Predator, Jungle Cruise, Prey). It was while working for Davis that I really caught the producing bug. After leaving Davis, I approached my producing partner Sabrina and came up with a plan to help push our production company Black Castle Productions LLC toward our goal of making feature films, only this time, instead of just being a writer I would partner with her in producing the projects. Since then, we have produced multiple short-form projects together which have premiered at film festivals around the world. This has now given us the opportunity to produce our first feature film, and we are looking forward to a very full slate for 2024.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That failure is a bad thing. As creatives, and especially in a high-stakes industry such as Hollywood, we are so focused on success. Everyone in Los Angeles is so concerned with inflating their journeys to look impressive, but what I find more impressive are the failures people have to overcome. In my journey, I’ve had many. Perhaps some of them were self-fulfilling prophecies, but I’ve had to overcome almost every single fear I’ve had about this journey. With each one, I’ve had to learn and pivot and try to overcome them. As an artist and creatives, I think failure is important. I used to have a professor in school who said “You can’t write a good script unless you’ve had your heart broken, been in a bar fight, or traveled outside of your hometown.” Which is to say, you can’t create great art without experiencing life. Without being able to experience and learn to overcome failure, we cannot create great art. After all, every great protagonist has immense obstacles to overcome.”

If you give up the moment you hit the slightest bit of adversity, then you’re never going to make it.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

As a creative producer, I’ve found CREATIVITY, Inc. by Ed Catmull, one of the founders of Pixar, to be one of the most insightful books about managing artists and working through creative setbacks.

Regardless if you’re an animator, producer, screenwriter, or whatever, I think this book has something for you. I think there are too many people in this town with poor management or leadership skills. I think people either choose to opt for the Hollywood cliche of screaming at people or for those looking to change the way the industry operates, they go too far in the opposite direction, where they are looking to create a touchy-feely space that lacks any semblance of professionalism or structure.

I think in Catmull’s book he describes a great balance of innovators working as a team where the stakes are high but they try to maintain a sense of decorum while still allowing creativity to thrive amongst even the smallest employees.

And I fully believe that Pixar’s journey to success also emulates the journey of many artists. The successes, the setbacks, and failures. It is a great example to all those who work in or aspire to work in the entertainment industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blackcastleproductionsca.com
• Instagram: @Jdubs22
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjwilliams12/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JonathanJamesFilm
• Other: http://www.youtube.com/@BlackCastleProductions

Image Credits
First Photo – Jonathan and Producing Partner Sabrina Cooper at Porcelain Premiere Second Photo – Jonathan and Producing Partner Sabrina Cooper at Outfits 2021 Third Photo: Ampersand Poster with screenshots starring Julian Laro, Breeanna Judy, and Renier Acosta Fourth Photo : Skin Deep Production Shot with Nathan Chin, Nacia Schreiner, Vinny Dang, Ari Fromm Fifth Photo: Screenshot from Porcelain – Starring Nicole Falk Sixth Photo – Skin Deep Production photo with Nathan Chin, Sabrina Cooper, Breeanan Judy, Joey Barnes Seventh Photo – Ampersand crew photo with (back row) Anthony Kim, Nathan Chin, Alex Niella, Justin Stakes, Sabrina Cooper, Nacia Schreiner, Kathrin Asmus (front row) Jonathan James, Sean Paul Franget, Breeanna Judy, Ranier Acosta, and Julian Laro