Jozef K. Richards

Last updated
Jozef K. Richards
BornJuly 9, 1989
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, children's author, illustrator
Years active2002–present

Jozef K. Richards (born July 9, 1989) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, children's author, and illustrator. He founded Kintou Media Company, which controls numerous other entertainment-based companies, including King's Tower Productions, and has distributed media through YouTube, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other international retailers.

Contents

Career

King's Tower Productions

Jozef K. Richards is the founder and owner of King's Tower Productions and the writer and director of the 2011 film, The Amateur Monster Movie; [1] [2] the 2013 film, The Wayward Sun; [3] and the 2014 short film, "Un Jardín Adentro de La Violencia". [4]

From 2015-2017, Richards produced and starred in the satirical web series, "Holy Shit", [5] [6] which took aim at religious dogma, its lack of credibility, and pokes fun at the lesser-known absurdities of The Bible and similar religious texts, including many of those taken literally by some sects of the Christian faith. The show often features skits with atheist scholars and celebrity guests, which have included comedian Paul Provenza, theologian Robert M. Price, historian Richard Carrier, actress Heather Henderson, author David Fitzgerald, and American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Killah Priest. [7]

In 2016, the teaser trailer for Richards' third feature film, Batman & Jesus, [8] [9] was unveiled and used as the lead-in video by members of the Wu-Tang Clan (GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Cappadonna, Killah Priest, and DJ Mathematics) during their first ever performance at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. where they appeared as the headlining act for Reason Rally, one of the world's largest secular and religious skeptic gatherings. Richards' Batman & Jesus is an atheist-leaning documentary on the historicity of a Jesus of Nazareth [10] that stars Provenza [11] and features interviews with many who Richards worked with previously on "Holy Shit", including Price, Carrier, Fitzgerald, and Killah Priest, as well as activist and podcaster Aron Ra. The film premiered at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater on September 30, 2017 following Mythinformation Conference IV which featured a live debate on "The Future of Islam in the Age of Trump" between Asra Nomani and Faisal Saeed Al-Mutar, who appears as an interviewee in Richards' film as well. [12]

Beyond religious examination, Richards has also released several broader projects and series within the comedy genre, including the web-series "Friday Night Weekly" [13] that ran for two seasons, traveling to Colombia, Egypt, and the UAE in that time. Richards starred as himself in "Friday Night Weekly" and was joined by co-hosts Matt Henry, a Milwaukee area comedian, and future WYMS Radio Milwaukee deejay Makenzie Boettcher. Satirist Reuben Glaser was featured as the special reporter, and Aaron Fronk, Vince DeGaetano, and Cooper Johnson of FND Films guest starred in one of the series' most viewed episodes, "FND for Vendetta". Richards also worked with fellow Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt of American Movie on his first film, The Amateur Monster Movie, [14] which premiered at the Oriental Theatre on January 1, 2011 and was featured in the 2012 Wisconsin Film Festival with a double screening on 4/20 and 4/21. [15]

Richards would later go on with Reuben Glaser, creator of 2012's "Little Face Mitt" meme, [16] to create a widely covered segment at a political rally in Appleton, Wisconsin for then-candidate Donald Trump during his 2016 Presidential Campaign where they managed to get into the press box alongside reporters from CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and others, despite the Trump campaign's rigid entrance requirements and Richards and Glaser's blatant lack of adequate credentials. [17] [18]

In 2018, Richards' fifth short film "Nicolas Cage Mother Mary" premiered at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival on September 8 [19] where it won an Audience Favorite award. Richards was also featured on a filmmaker panel at the event discussing film in Wisconsin, hosted by Michael Viers of "The Shamelist Picture Show".

Kintou Media Company

In 2019, Richards announced on the official site of King's Tower Productions that control of its assets would be assumed by a new company, Kintou Media. Kintou Media Company was officially formed in 2020. In 2021, Richards completed and released his first children's picture book as author and illustrator, The Tocks on the Clock, which became available in hardcover and ebook formats on December 1, 2021. [20] [21]

In 2023, Richards began releasing his first new series with Kintou Media, "Japan by Foot."

Filmography

Since 2006, Jozef K. Richards has independently produced, directed, and released 3 feature films, 5 short films, and 4 web series.

Year(s)TitleFormatDirectorProducerWriterActorEditorD.P.Soundtrack
2006"Three Suits"Short✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2008"Seffy D"Short✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2010"Rodents"Short✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2011The Amateur Monster MovieFeature✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2013The Wayward SunFeature✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2013–15"Friday Night Weekly"Series✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2014"Un Jardín Adentro de La Violencia"Short✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2015"Poké Men & Women"Short Series✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2015–17"Holy Shit"Series✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2016"King's Tower Quarterly"Series✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2017Batman & JesusFeature✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2018"Nicolas Cage Mother Mary"Short✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎
2023–"Japan by Foot"Series✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎✔︎

Bibliography

Year(s)TitleStyleAuthorIllustratorPublisher
2021The Tocks on the ClockPicture Book✔︎✔︎✔︎

Related Research Articles

A brickfilm is a film or Internet video made by either shooting stop motion animation using construction set bricks like Lego bricks or using computer-generated imagery or traditional animation to imitate the look. They can sometimes also be live action films featuring plastic construction toys. Since the 2000s The Lego Group has released various films and TV series and brickfilms have also become popular on (social-) media websites. The term “brick film” was coined by Jason Rowoldt, founder of the website brickfilms.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School of Visual Arts</span> Art school in New York

The School of Visual Arts New York City is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.

<i>Van Helsing</i> (film) 2004 film by Stephen Sommers

Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. Van Helsing is both an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, of which Sommers is a fan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Borchardt</span> American independent filmmaker

Mark Borchardt is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known as the subject of the 1999 film American Movie, which documented three years he spent writing, shooting and editing his horror short, Coven (1997).

Steven Craig Banks is an American actor, musician, comedian, and writer of television, plays, books and cartoons, including CatDog, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Can't Always Get What You Want</span> 1969 single by the Rolling Stones

"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in its 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" before dropping a place the following year.

Alpine Valley Music Theatre is a 37,000-capacity amphitheater located on County Highway D in East Troy, Wisconsin. The seasonal venue was built in 1977 and it features a characteristic wooden roof, covering the 7,500-seat pavilion and a sprawling lawn. It was the largest amphitheater in the United States until 1993, when the Glen Helen Pavilion was built in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pabst Theater</span> Theater and music venue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

The Pabst Theater is an indoor performance and concert venue and landmark of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Colloquially known as "the Pabst", the theater hosts about 100 events per year. Built in 1895, it is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States, and has presented such notables as pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, actor Laurence Olivier, and ballerina Anna Pavlova, as well as various current big-name musical acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Watts</span> American comedian, actor and musician

Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinformationist" who aims to disorient his audience in a comedic fashion. He was the regular house musician on the spoof IFC talk show Comedy Bang! Bang!. From 2015 to 2023, Watts led the house band for The Late Late Show with James Corden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental Theatre (Milwaukee)</span> Movie theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Oriental Theatre is a theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin operated by Milwaukee Film. The theater was built and opened in 1927 as a movie palace with East Indian decor. It is said to be the only movie palace to incorporate East Indian artwork. Designed by Gustave A. Dick and Alex Bauer, the theater has two minaret towers, three stained glass chandeliers, several hand-drawn murals, six bigger-than-life Buddhas, dozens of original draperies, eight porcelain lions, and hundreds of elephants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Vincent</span>

Francis Fitzgerald "Larry" Vincent was an American television horror host, famed for his character Seymour, who presented—and heckled—low-budget horror and science fiction movies on Fright Night on KHJ-TV and Seymour's Monster Rally on KTLA, both local stations in Los Angeles between 1969 and 1974. He was noted for his style of criticizing the movies he presented in an offbeat and funny manner, usually appearing in a small window which would pop up in the corner, tossing a quip, then vanishing again. Sometimes he would, using blue-screen, appear in the middle of the movie, apparently interacting with the characters in the movie.

<i>The Running Man</i> (1987 film) 1987 dystopian action film by Paul Michael Glaser

The Running Man is a 1987 American dystopian action film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Richard Dawson, Yaphet Kotto, and Jesse Ventura. The film is set in a dystopian United States between 2017 and 2019, featuring a television show where convicted criminal "runners" must escape death at the hands of professional killers is very loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Jefferies</span> Australian stand-up comedian, actor and writer

Geoff James Nugent, known professionally as Jim Jefferies, is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer who holds dual Australian and American citizenship. He created and starred in the American FX sitcom Legit (2013–2014) and the Comedy Central late-night show The Jim Jefferies Show (2017–2019).

"What What (In the Butt)" is a viral video created by Andrew Swant and Bobby Ciraldo for the song of the same name by Samwell. It is known for its numerous blatant and camp references to homosexuality and anal sex. The lyrics of the song, a production of Mike Stasny, mostly revolve around the title. The video was made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and uploaded on Valentine's Day 2007 to YouTube. As of November 2023, the video has over 75 million views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Smith (filmmaker)</span> American filmmaker

Chris Smith is an American filmmaker. He directed American Movie, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emery Emery</span> American comedian, film producer, and author

Emery Emery is an American comedian, film editor and producer, and outspoken atheist, known for his contribution to numerous comedy-related films and TV shows, his two podcasts, Skeptically Yours, and the award-winning Ardent Atheist. Further, he has the distinction of being a contributor to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas, and the editor of the documentary The Aristocrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FND Films</span> Sketch comedy group

FND Films is an American web-based sketch comedy trio consisting of Aaron Fronk, Vincent DeGaetano,, and Cooper "The Coop" Johnson.

Mythicist Milwaukee is the former name of a nonprofit atheist secular organization founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Sean Fracek and Antonio (Fritz) Blandon in January 2013, after viewing the film Zeitgeist: The Movie, directed by Peter Joseph, which claimed that today's Western religions are derived from ancient Sun and Nature worshipers. Fracek and Blandon made contact with the late author D. M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, who encouraged them to do their own independent research into the Christ myth theory. Several years after its founding, it changed its name to "Mythinformed Milwaukee" and changed its goal to "promoting viewpoint diversity in the social and political landscape." The organization continues to pursue projects "including filmmaking, conference organizing, comedy tours, talent management, podcasting, and vlogging."

<i>Impossible Monsters</i> (film) American film

Impossible Monsters is a 2019 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Nathan Catucci and starring Santino Fontana, Natalie Knepp, Devika Bhise and Dónall Ó Héalaí. The film had its world premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 9, 2019, and was released in selected theaters on February 14, 2020.

References

  1. Watch now: Director's Cut | Wisconsin 2012 Film Festival | WPT Video , retrieved 2017-02-05
  2. "Shepherd-Express by Wehaa". www.npaper-wehaa.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  3. "The Wayward Sun - BIFF - Beloit International Film Festival". BIFF - Beloit International Film Festival. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  4. "'Un Jardin Adentro de la Violencia's' Jozef K. Richards - LakeFrontRow". LakeFrontRow. 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  5. "Catch Holy Shit". Milwaukee Independent Film Society. 10 September 2014.
  6. "Amazon - instantwatcher - Holy Shit". instantwatcher.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  7. "Holy Shit". King’s Tower Productions.
  8. "Batman and Jesus the Movie". Mythicist Milwaukee.
  9. "Shouldn't It Be Obvious That All Superheroes Are Fictional?". www.patheos.com. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  10. "Hear Former President of AAoA's interview with Mythicist Milwaukee!". Atheist Alliance of America.
  11. "Reason Rally Recap Part 3/3 w/ Paul Provenza and Jozef Kyle Richards". Mythicist Milwaukee. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  12. "Mythinformation Conference". Mythicist Milwaukee. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  13. "New local comedy series is hitting the web with new episodes every Friday night. "Friday Night Weekly"". Milwaukee Independent Film Society. 20 November 2013.
  14. The Amateur Monster Movie (2011) , retrieved 2017-02-06
  15. "Wisconsin Film Festival 2012: "The Amateur Monster Movie" has a case of zombie love". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin. 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  16. "The 12 Best Pictures of Little Face Mitt". Funny Or Die. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  17. Nyman, Shane (23 June 2016). "Milwaukee comedian trolls Appleton Trump event". Post-Crescent. Gannett Wisconsin Media.
  18. Wild, Matt (21 June 2016). "Watch Reuben Glaser troll an Appleton Trump rally". Milwaukee Record.
  19. Ross (2018-07-14). "MKE Short Fest Blog: 2018 Films: Nicolas Cage Mother Mary". MKE Short Fest Blog. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  20. "The Tocks on the Clock by Jozef K. Richards | BookLife". booklife.com. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  21. THE TOCKS ON THE CLOCK | Kirkus Reviews.