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]
Jeff Ayars | |
|---|---|
| Born | Media, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker and actor |
| Known for | Cannibal Milkshake |
| Notable work | Philadelphia, Ti Amo (2011) An Auteur Is Born (Comedy Central) (2019) This Is Our Home (2019), FBI: International |
Education
editAyars 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 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
editAs 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
editCannibal 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
editAyars' 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
editSince 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
edit| Year | Title | Type | Director | Writer | Editor | Producer | Executive producer | Actor | Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Philadelphia, Ti Amo | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Michael | |
| 2012 | Quantum | Short | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | As Tyler | |
| 2013 | Coming 2gether | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Bradley | |
| 2013 | Christopher Walkenoma | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Jeffrey | |
| 2013 | A Guilty Man | Short | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | As Dean | |
| 2014 | MacGuffin | Video short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Jeffrey the Small-Town-Multi-Billionaire | |
| 2015 | Isolation | Short | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | As Eric | |
| 2015 | Pound: The Woof Dawg Story | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Woof Dawg | |
| 2015 | Je Suis Charlie | Video short | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | As Eric | |
| 2016 | Two Girls One Show | Digital series | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | As Sassy bartender | |
| 2016 | Ghost Friend | TV Pilot | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 2017 | The New Yorker: Shorts & Murmurs | TV series | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Millennial hoarder, Intern Maht, Startup founder | |
| 2017 | Hashtag Fireworks | Video short | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | As guy who hates fireworks | |
| 2017 | The Notebook Snapstory | Video short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Ryan Gosling | |
| 2017 | To My Son | Short | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| 2017 | Assholes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | associate producer | ||
| 2017 | NY NY Land | Video short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As Finance Bro Gosling | |
| 2018 | I, Nancy | Video short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | As Campbell's Soup Director | |
| 2018 | Masterclass: Marvel CGI Acting | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | As Chris Evans | |
| 2018 | Go Tell Your Fathers | Short | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | associate producer | |
| 2019 | All Hail Beth | TV series | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | As Holden Hans | |
| 2019 | Diagnosis | Short | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2019 | Final Callback | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | As angry auditioner | |
| 2019 | Dorris 85 | Short | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | ||
| 2019 | On the Rocks | Short | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2019 | DTF | TV mini series | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2019 | This Is Our Home | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | As Cory | ||
| 2019 | An Auteur Is Born | Short | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | As Bradley Cooper | |
| 2020 | Borderline Coffee | Short | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2020 | Nevertheless | Documentary | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | associate producer | |
| 2021 | Actors | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | associate producer | ||
| 2021 | International Falls | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |||
| 2021 | Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer | TV special | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Joel Rifkin | |
| 2021 | Being George Lucas: A Connor Ratliff Story | Documentary | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | executive producer | post-production |
| 2021 | No Dye | Short | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | As Pat | |
| 2022 | FBI: International | TV series | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | As Henry Martin | |
| 2019-2022 | Morning Joe | TV series | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | field producer | 507 episodes |
| TBD | Imposter Syndrome | Documentary | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | filming | |
| TBD | The Abaddon Pit | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | As Dave | ||
| TBD | Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary | Documentary | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | associate producer | filming |
| TBD | What Are We? | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | |||
| TBD | Supernigga | Short | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | associate producer | completed |
| TBD | Trust | Short | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | completed |
References
edit- ^ a b Love in Philadelphia. Cornell University. 2011-10-31. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ "This Is Our Home Review". That Moment In. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ School Notes. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Molly Messersmith, Jeffrey Ayars, and Da Ying: Inapprorpiation". Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. May 20, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Ayars '13 not horsing around in 'Revenant' parody". Cornell Chronicle. February 29, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ Stein, Jeff (February 26, 2015). "Cornell grads' 'American Sniper' parody makes national news". The Ithaca Voice. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ University of Pennsylvania
- ^ Molly Messersmith, Jeffrey Ayars, and Da Ying: Inapprorpiation. Cornell Architecture Art Planning. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ Rockets, Astros Find New Home With Comcast SportsNet Houston. Sportsvideo. 2012-09-28. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c Biography. IMDb. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ Jeff Ayars. The New Yorker. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ Domanico, Anthony (2015-11-11). "James Bond faces his toughest challenge yet: Being a dad". CNET. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ Cannibal Milkshake. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ Cristi, A. A. "Photos: Richard Kind And Judy Gold Featured In Live-Reading Of New Indie Film VOICES". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ "Jeff Ayars & Dan Rosen: "Cannibal Milkshake"". Best New York Comedy. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ Dan Gross: Wendy Williams speaks out. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ "This Is Our Home". The Lower East Side Film Festival. 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ Tribeca Film Festival. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Full Line-Up Announced for BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL". Dead Central. 14 September 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ This Is Our Home (2019). Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ Borderline Coffee. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ HBO Partners With Social Impact Organization Kindred For Mental Health Event. Deadline. June 19, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ No superpowers, just spandex: the other half of my story. Medium. Jul 14, 2019. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ 2019 winners. Yes, And Laughter Lab. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ 17 states submit proposals to host Hyperloop certification center. Morning Joe on MSNBC. Accessed June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Jeff Ayars". Muckrack. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ "Drug-Impaired Driving Prevention". Ad Council. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ Fleming, Jameson (February 3, 2022). "How ClickUp Created Its First Super Bowl Ad". Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- "An auteur is born". YouTube. 23 February 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- "CineQuest 2019 Review: This Is Our Home". Horrorbuzz. 2019-03-10. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- "Exclusive Clip From THIS IS OUR HOME". Dread Central. February 26, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- Miska, Brad (November 5, 2019). "Couple Tormented by Their New Child in 'This is Our Home'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- Huddleston Jr., Tom (2017-02-24). "This 'La La Land' Parody Skewers New York's Finance and Tech Industries". Fortune. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- Solomon, Dan (2015-02-19). ""Canadian Sniper" Offers A Complex Moral Exploration Of The Question Of What To Do When Moose Invade A Tim Hortons". Fast Company. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- Zoren, Neal (Oct 8, 2017). "Television: These guys know Media is perfect place for horror". Delco Times. Retrieved June 22, 2020.