PJ Liguori
PJ Liguori | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Born | 11 December 1990 (age 27) Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England |
Nationality | |
Education | University for the Creative Arts (BA) |
Occupation | |
YouTube information | |
Channels | |
Years active | 2007–present |
Subscribers | 1.4+ million[1] |
Total views | 90+ million[1] |
PJ Liguori (born 11 December 1990) is a British-Italian YouTuber and Film Producer. He is best known for his YouTube channel KickThePj which has over one million subscribers. PJ specializes in many different artistic areas such as screenplay, directing, songwriting, creating props, acting, producing, editing, sound, drawing, and costume. His most notable work is the comedy fantasy web series Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures.
Early life
Liguori was born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire on 11 December 1990 to Italian parents.[2] He has a sister.[3] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Digital Film and Screen Arts from the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham, Surrey in 2013.[4] Liguori became a British citizen in March 2015.[5]
Career
Liguori uploaded his first video in early 2007 at age 16. He was inspired by fellow YouTuber, Phil Lester, and the two became quick friends.[6][third-party source needed] He reached 1 million YouTube subscribers on his main channel KickThePJ on 29 July 2016.[citation needed] As of March 2018, he has over 1.4 million subscribers.
Liguori also has a second channel, PJTheKick, which has over 400,000 subscribers as of March 2018.[7]
On 7 October 2011 Liguori released an album titled "Stories from Somewhere." [8][third-party source needed] The album is a collection of short stories told in song.
In November 2012, PJ won a Virgin Media award for his short film PJ, Tiny Planet Explorer.[6][third-party source needed] Liguori has also been awarded for Best Director for his film series Oscar’s Hotel for Fantastical Creatures in the 2016 Streamy Awards.[9] In October 2016, PJ was nominated for the British Online Creator Awards (BONCAs) as the British Creator of the Year but lost to Phil Lester. [10] Liguori was also nominated for the BONCAs Series of the Year for his film series Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures but lost to Adrian Bliss.[10]
Liguori has appeared in two episodes of Benjamin Cook's twelve part web series Becoming YouTube,[11][12] and was interviewed on the various topics Cook covered.[third-party source needed]
Filmography
Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures
In late 2014, Liguori partnered with New Form Digital to create a 10 minute short film pilot entitled Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures.[13] The film follows a young man named Oliver who goes to visit his uncle's hotel, which turns out to host unusual guests: monsters. A particular monster suddenly wreaks havoc in the hotel, and Oliver—amongst newfound friends—conquer the beast. Liguori announced in April 2015 that Oscar's Hotel would be funded and picked up as a six-episode web series by Vimeo, entitled Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures.[14] The series was produced by New Form Digital and The Jim Henson Company. The first episode of the web series aired on Vimeo on 15 September 2015, and one episode aired per week over the course of six weeks.[15][16]
Colour Bandits
In June 2013, Liguori released a video on his YouTube channel by the title Colour Bandit.[17] This film depicts Liguori as a "Colour Bandit" wearing all white and caked in white makeup. The film was developed by PJ Liguori, Sophie Newton, Jamie Swarbrick, and Louis Grant.
The Forever Train
In October 2013, Liguori released a short 8 minute film entitled The Forever Train.[18] This short film was created by PJ Liguori, Sophie Newton, Jamie Swarbrick, and Louis Grant. The film tells the story of a passenger (played by Chris Kendall) on "The Forever Train," a train that travels through time. While on board, the passenger has humorous interactions with the fellow monsters and creatures as he tries to find his suitcase and ticket. Several YouTubers acted in this film, including Chris Kendall, Thomas Ridgewell, Daniel Howell, Phil Lester, and Dodie Clark.
Hair And Brimstone
Hair and Brimstone is an 18 minute short film released on June 24, 2016, and the teaser was released on June 19, 2016. This film depicts Simon Hades, the owner of a hair salon, who has to deal with some troubling customers. This Short was directed by PJ Liguori. It was Written, Created, Sound designed, and produced by: PJ Liguori, Sophie Newton, Louis Grant and Jamie Swarbrick.[19]
Cast
Simon Hades is played by Chris Kendall, Aubrey is played by Andrea Valls, Robin is played by Dean Dobbs, and Kale is played by Jack Howard.
References
- ^ a b "About KickThePj". YouTube.
- ^ Vacacines (2013-04-04), are you italian in the my family is speak italian or the i have italian roots kind of way, retrieved 2017-11-20
- ^ KickThePj (2017-11-12), STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING TO ME, retrieved 2017-11-12
- ^ KickThePj (2013-06-25), I graduated, yo!, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ KickThePj (2015-03-29), I am now officially a british citizen!, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ a b KickThePj (2013-02-21), Draw My Life, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ KickThePj, Channel Link, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ KickThePj (2011-10-07), Stories from Somewhere, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ Ten Eighty Magazine (2016-10-05), Oscar’s Hotel Wins Three Streamy Awards, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ a b CelebMix, BONCAs 2016: Recap and List of Winners, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ Benjamin Cook (2013-02-25), Girls on YouTube, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ Benjamin Cook (2015-01-08), BECOMING YOUTUBE 2 TRAILER, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ KickThePj (2014-10-16), Oscar's Hotel, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ KickThePj (2015-04-18), SUPER HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures, 2015-09-15, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ Colour Bandits, 2013-06-14, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ The Forever Train, 2013-10-25, retrieved 2017-05-28
- ^ "Hair and Brimstone". 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
Further reading
- "PJ Liguori: YouTube star had an 'amazing' experience working with Sir Patrick Stewart in Oscar's Hotel". International Business Times.
- "PJ Liguori's Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures Interview". People.
- David Bloom. "YouTube Stars KickThePj, Sawyer Hartman To Launch Vimeo Series On Demand". Deadline Hollywood.
- Todd Spangler. "Jim Henson Co. Creates Creatures for 'Oscar's Hotel' Series from YouTube Filmmaker PJ Liguori". Variety.