Jonathan R. Betuel

Jonathan Betuel had his first Novel "The Dogfighter" published when he was 21. Shortly thereafter with friends at NYU Film School, he began reading screenplays. Expressive. Visual. Minimal. Jonathan abandoned novel writing and became a fan of these movie blueprints leading to a desire to pursue a career in screenwriting. After many starter scripts, in the mid-eighties, Jon wrote an original spec screenplay entitled "THE LAST STARFIGHTER". It was a warm story about a boy from a backwater trailer park who dreams to escape and find his destiny. When he scores on an arcade video game, he is recruited by aliens to save a benign civilization. A studio bidding war for the rights erupted. The film was produced by Lorimar, distributed by Universal Pictures. Audiences responded. Betuel's life changed. The Last Starfighter was and continues to be, a very popular cult film with a multi-generational fan base. Jonathan next moved to Hollywood where he wrote original screenplays and became known as a reliable hired gun to doctor other scripts. He grew attracted to stories that dealt with love, dreams, and challenges. He was ready to direct his original screenplays. Soon, his aspiration was realized and Jonathan was hired by Disney to direct another one of his original screenplays entitled "MY SCIENCE PROJECT" A unique science-fiction comedy set in an Arizona high school about misfit students who discover the warp drive of a crashed UFO and enter it in their high school science fair. Chaos ensues with time travel VFX and the teens must save the world from destruction. While prepping his next feature film, Betuel met his future partner and co-founded a computer graphic visual effects studio, LUMA PICTURES. From the beginning, he believed that the artist team is the central ingredient of all masterworks. Over time, Luma grew from a team of two to a current staff of over 300 artists. Jon's artist-first philosophy remains central to his vision. Betuel has learned how to build artistic families. Like an orchestra that comes together, works in unison, crafts sound moments for all to enjoy and experience. Experience taught him that a screenplay, like a composer's original music score, provides the first step - the roadmap for artists to rally around and travel. At a screenplay's heart is the emotional core that binds everyone to the filmmaking process. When perfect pitch is achieved, a magic carpet appears to carry us away transporting us, the audience to times and places that only exist in our imagination.