A DGA assistant director for many years, Jono Oliver has had a career in film and television production that has included more than 40 projects, including the films The Great Debaters, Notorious, Guess Who, Barbershop 2, John Tucker Must Die, Snake Eyes, Last Action Hero, and Soul Food.
In 1999 he wrote, produced, and directed the highly acclaimed short film, The Window. An official selection of over 25 film festivals, including the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, it won a number of awards and honors and has been sold for broadcast on both foreign and domestic television.
The following year, Jono was a participant in the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriter’s Labs and Director’s Lab with his feature-length screenplay, The Other Ones, where the script was one of eight projects chosen from approximately 2,500 submissions. Later that year, the screenplay won the Independent Feature Project’s Gordon Parks Award for Screenwriting.
In 2007 he created Brooklyn Psych, a dramatic series for television about mental health workers and their patients. The pilot script, which he wrote, was bought and developed by CBS/Paramount with Jono hired as the writer.
In 2007 and 2008 Jono directed Second Unit for the network television shows Six Degrees(ABC), New Amsterdam(FOX), & Cashmere Mafia(ABC).
In 2011, he began writing for the hit CBS television show Blue Bloods and his latest project, Home, marks his feature film directorial debut.
Jono grew up in Brooklyn before attending Stanford University where he received a B.A. in Political Science. He currently lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Partial List of Credits and Grosses
Notorious – First Assistant Director 2009 $36.8M
The Great Debaters – First Assistant Director 2007 $30.2M
John Tucker Must Die – First Assistant Director 2006 $41M
Guess Who – First Assistant Director 2005 $68M
Barbershop 2 – First Assistant Director 2004 $65M
Brown Sugar – First Assistant Director 2002 $27.4M
Snake Eyes – Second Assistant Director 1998 $55.6M
Soul Food – Second Assistant Director 1997 $43.5M
Bulletproof – Second Assistant Director 1996 $21.2M
Virtuosity – Second Assistant Director 1995 $24M