Jolyon Rubinstein
2011 Gold Lovie Award for Branded Content for Don’t Panic Online
The face and razor sharp wit of the viral video ‘ Can I Be Your Friend?’. Created for the ENO production of ‘Two Boys’, the viral peaked at no 2 in the UK for over 7 days and was 5th globally. It reached 1,000,000 views in less than two weeks and is now the highest viewed video ever for an arts organisation and continues to be shared.
Jolyon also achieved success with a political viral in the run up to the 2010 general election, clocking up over 200,000 hits on YouTube & Yahoo before polling day. He was described by one web enthusiast as Jamie Theakston and Charlie Brooker’s illegitimate love child!
Jolyon aims to pick up the torch that Sasha Baron Cohen’s comic creations have left burning and stoke the fire with political satire & a current affairs agenda. He was given his first break in the Industry straight out of University by his comedy hero, Chris Morris. Jolyon comes with elephant sized balls and a whale thick skin. But then he had to really, with a name like Jolyon he was never going to be part of the herd!
He is as comfortable taking on the persona of a Tory activist in the midst of a police kettle as he is in a studio environment. Whether it be political parties, the military or the dubiously ethical private contractors who profiteer off the tax payer, no topic is off limits.
After producing for a number of years, Jolyon was reunited with his long time friend and collaborator Heydon Prowse. The pair worked together throughout 2010 with Jolyon often providing the onscreen bang to Heydon’s directorial buck for a great number of films for Don’t Panic Online.
2011 saw Jolyon beginning development on 'The Revolution Will Be Televised', a new series for Hat Trick Productions which turns the spotlight on politicians, self-obsessed narcissistic celebrities and bonus-guzzling bankers. He and Heydon are aiming to bring their unique brand of humour, established with 'Don’t Panic Online' owner and journalist Joe Wade, to a broader TV audience. The show, described as 'Trigger Happy TV meets Newsnight', will will go into production in late March for BBC3.
Jolyon is also a regular blogger for the Huffington Post.
