Jeff Ayars

Last updated
Jeff Ayars
Born
Media, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Education Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Filmmaker and actor
Known forCannibal Milkshake
Notable workPhiladelphia, Ti Amo (2011)
An Auteur Is Born (Comedy Central) (2019)
This Is Our Home (2019), FBI: International

Jeff Ayars is an American filmmaker and actor known for writing, directing, and performing in the comedy duo Cannibal Milkshake alongside Dan Rosen. He is also known for the film Philadelphia, Ti Amo (2011) starring Rebecca Rittenhouse, [1] his Tribeca Film Festival selection The Snapstory, his acting in FBI: International and his horror feature This Is Our Home. [2]

Contents

Education

Ayars grew up in Media, Pennsylvania, where he attended Penncrest High School and was one of 595 students in the country to receive a national writing award from the NCTE during his senior year. [3] Ayars went on to attend Cornell University from 2008 to 2013, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. [4] [5] [6] During his time at Cornell, Ayars produced videos for the The Cornell Daily Sun and other companies and campus organizations. While on a brief hiatus from Cornell, Ayars studied creative writing at The University of Pennsylvania, where he published a satire of Franz Kafka. [7] Ayars' film and pop-culture thesis was an exploration of personas in film using Ryan Gosling quotations. [8]

Career

As a child, Ayars was in two television commercials for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993 and 1994. His father, NBC Sports executive and Emmy Award winner Robert Ayars, [9] who at the time worked for the PRISM television network, shot and directed the commercials. [10]

Ayars has gone on to act, produce, direct, edit, and write for various forms of media such as online content, film, television, documentary, short film, and commercial. [10]

Cannibal Milkshake

Cannibal Milkshake is a comedy partnership between Jeff Ayars and his Cornell University classmate Dan Rosen. The duo produces, writes, directs, edits, and acts in their videos, and are frequent contributors to The New Yorker . [11] Ayars and Rosen's sketches have also been featured by CollegeHumor, Funny or Die, Comedy Central, Fortune Magazine , and Elizabeth Banks' WhoHaHa network. Their work is largely tech-world satire and movie parodies, notably featuring Ayars performing as a crazed Bradley Cooper, Oscar Awards-hungry Leonardo DiCaprio, finance-bro Ryan Gosling, and James Bond as a stressed-out dad. [12] Ayars and Rosen have also performed live at New York City venues like the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre [13] and The People’s Improv Theater, where Ayars performed live [14] with actor Richard Kind and comedian Judy Gold in 2021. [15]

Film

Ayars' first short film during college starred Rebecca Rittenhouse and went on to screen at the Philadelphia Film Festival. [16] [1] His work has subsequently been featured at the NYC Web Fest, New York City Independent Film Festival, Manhattan Film Festival, New Filmmakers Los Angeles, Cinequest Film Festival, The Lower East Side Film Festival, [17] and the Tribeca Film Festival. [18] [10] [19]

Ayars produced and starred in the 2019 psychological thriller feature, This Is Our Home. Written by Rob Harmon and directed by long-time friend and collaborator Omri Dorani, the film co-stars Simone Policano and tells the story of a struggling couple on a weekend away that takes a turn with the arrival of a mysterious child. [20] The film was executive produced by former Paramount Pictures executive Inga Vainshtein Smith, known for Hardcore Henry .

The subject of mental health is an important theme in Ayars' work. [21] He was one of 75 creators selected to attend the Kindred Mind Matters mental health summit sponsored by HBO. [22]

Ayars is developing a romantic comedy feature film GOLD BOY that deals with the subject of mental health and is inspired by his own struggles at Cornell University. [23] The film pitch was a finalist in the Yes, And Laughter Lab initiative to combine comedy and social justice sponsored by Comedy Central. [24]

Television

Since 2013, Ayars has worked at Comcast NBCUniversal, and is currently working as a writer and producer for Morning Joe on MSNBC. [25] [26] He previously worked producing EPKs and promos for NBCUniversal.

In 2022, Ayars made his network television debut as a guest star on Dick Wolf’s CBS procedural FBI: International. 

Ayars has also starred in national television commercials, including a campaign for the Ad Council. [27] He starred as Thomas Jefferson in the 2022 Super Bowl ad for Clickup project management software. [28]

Filmography

YearTitleTypeDirectorWriterEditorProducerExecutive producerActorOtherNotes
2011Philadelphia, Ti AmoShortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Michael
2012QuantumShortNoYesNoNoNoYesAs Tyler
2013Coming 2getherShortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Bradley
2013Christopher WalkenomaShortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Jeffrey
2013A Guilty ManShortNoNoNoNoNoYesAs Dean
2014MacGuffinVideo shortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Jeffrey the Small-Town-Multi-Billionaire
2015IsolationShortNoNoNoNoNoYesAs Eric
2015Pound: The Woof Dawg StoryShortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Woof Dawg
2015Je Suis CharlieVideo shortYesYesYesNoYesYesAs Eric
2016Two Girls One ShowDigital seriesYesNoNoNoYesYesAs Sassy bartender
2016Ghost FriendTV PilotYesNoYesYesYesNo
2017The New Yorker: Shorts & MurmursTV seriesYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Millennial hoarder, Intern Maht, Startup founder
2017Hashtag FireworksVideo shortYesYesYesNoYesYesAs guy who hates fireworks
2017The Notebook SnapstoryVideo shortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Ryan Gosling
2017To My SonShortNoYesNoYesNoYes
2017AssholesNoNoNoYesNoNoassociate producer
2017NY NY LandVideo shortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs Finance Bro Gosling
2018I, NancyVideo shortYesYesYesYesNoYesAs Campbell's Soup Director
2018Masterclass: Marvel CGI ActingShortYesYesYesYesNoYesAs Chris Evans
2018Go Tell Your FathersShortNoNoNoYesNoNoassociate producer
2019All Hail BethTV seriesNoNoNoNoNoYesAs Holden Hans
2019DiagnosisShortYesNoYesYesNoNo
2019Final CallbackShortYesYesYesYesYesYesAs angry auditioner
2019Dorris 85ShortNoNoNoNoYesNo
2019On the RocksShortYesNoYesYesNoNo
2019DTFTV mini seriesYesNoYesYesNoNo
2019This Is Our HomeNoNoNoYesNoYesAs Cory
2019An Auteur Is BornShortYesYesYesNoNoYesAs Bradley Cooper
2020Borderline CoffeeShortYesNoYesYesNoNo
2020NeverthelessDocumentaryNoNoNoYesNoNoassociate producer
2021ActorsNoNoNoYesNoNoassociate producer
2021International FallsNoNoNoNoYesNo
2021Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial KillerTV specialNoNoNoNoNoYesJoel Rifkin
2021Being George Lucas: A Connor Ratliff StoryDocumentaryNoNoNoNoYesNoexecutive producerpost-production
2021No DyeShortNoNoNoYesNoYesAs Pat
2022FBI: InternationalTV seriesNoNoNoNoNoYesAs Henry Martin
2019-2022Morning JoeTV seriesNoNoNoYesNoNofield producer507 episodes
TBDImposter SyndromeDocumentaryYesYesNoYesNoNofilming
TBDThe Abaddon PitNoNoNoNoNoYesAs Dave
TBDMental Health and Horror: A DocumentaryDocumentaryNoNoNoYesNoNoassociate producerfilming
TBDWhat Are We?NoNoNoNoNoYes
TBDSuperniggaShortNoNoNoYesNoNoassociate producercompleted
TBDTrustShortNoNoNoYesNoYescompleted

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References

  1. 1 2 Love in Philadelphia. Cornell University. 2011-10-31. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ "This Is Our Home Review". That Moment In. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  3. ↑ School Notes. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Molly Messersmith, Jeffrey Ayars, and Da Ying: Inapprorpiation". Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. May 20, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Ayars '13 not horsing around in 'Revenant' parody". Cornell Chronicle. February 29, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  6. ↑ Stein, Jeff (February 26, 2015). "Cornell grads' 'American Sniper' parody makes national news". The Ithaca Voice. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  7. ↑ University of Pennsylvania
  8. ↑ Molly Messersmith, Jeffrey Ayars, and Da Ying: Inapprorpiation. Cornell Architecture Art Planning. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  9. ↑ Rockets, Astros Find New Home With Comcast SportsNet Houston. Sportsvideo. 2012-09-28. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 Biography. IMDb. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ Jeff Ayars. The New Yorker . Accessed June 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ Domanico, Anthony (2015-11-11). "James Bond faces his toughest challenge yet: Being a dad". CNET. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ Cannibal Milkshake. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ Cristi, A. A. "Photos: Richard Kind And Judy Gold Featured In Live-Reading Of New Indie Film VOICES". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  15. ↑ "Jeff Ayars & Dan Rosen: "Cannibal Milkshake"". Best New York Comedy. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  16. ↑ Dan Gross: Wendy Williams speaks out. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "This Is Our Home". The Lower East Side Film Festival. 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ Tribeca Film Festival. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Full Line-Up Announced for BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL". Dead Central. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  20. ↑ This Is Our Home (2019). Accessed June 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ Borderline Coffee. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ HBO Partners With Social Impact Organization Kindred For Mental Health Event. Deadline. June 19, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  23. ↑ No superpowers, just spandex: the other half of my story. Medium. Jul 14, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  24. ↑ 2019 winners. Yes, And Laughter Lab. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  25. ↑ 17 states submit proposals to host Hyperloop certification center. Morning Joe on MSNBC. Accessed June 22, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Jeff Ayars". Muckrack. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Drug-Impaired Driving Prevention". Ad Council. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  28. ↑ Fleming, Jameson (February 3, 2022). "How ClickUp Created Its First Super Bowl Ad" . Retrieved 2022-05-14.
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