John Joshua Clayton

While watching an all day marathon of the Planet of the Apes movies back to back, he realized he wanted to work in film. The first opportunity came when his love for gymnastics led to coordinating the gymnastic stunts (and a small role as a young student wearing only a towel) in Making the Grade (1984). This experience whetted his appetite for the film world and he went on to work in almost every capacity available on a film set in the coming years, with the script department at the Mickey Mouse Club The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) being a highlight. While waiting tables, one of his customers told him about a program at Yale that matched his interests. As a student at Yale, his thesis project, the play American Southern, won the ISM Cross Cultural Symposium and was performed by the Yale School of Drama starring Paul Giamatti. At Yale, Faith Hubley became a friend and mentor. At New York University Film School, he met long time colleague and collaborator Stacey L. Holman. The film version of American Southern (1995) was the first film for Sundance winning cinematographer Enrique Chediak. The film became a mini cult phenomenon and won Clayton Best Director at AngelCiti 2001 in Los Angeles.