John Thomas Schrad is a filmmaker and artist living in Los Angeles, California. John Thomas Schrad was born in Aurora, Colorado, to Dr. Steve and Mary Schrad. Soon thereafter, the family moved to Mary's hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, where Schrad would spend the remainder of his formative years. It can be said that Schrad grew up in the stereotypical nuclear American family, comprised of his father, a periodontist; his mother a school teacher turned stay-at-home mother; his one older sibling Anna, and the family dog (several over the years). He led a happy suburban childhood and attended Pyrtle Elementary and Lux Middle Schools. In high school he played rugby for Lincoln City Rugby Club, was active in the art community, and started the Film Club at East High. He was accepted on site to the Art Institute of Chicago for his illustration and multimedia art. Though a life long film-goer, his interest in making movies himself bloomed late in his secondary school years. He filmed a 17-minute short film, split into three parts, for the school's talent show in his senior year and filmed two more shorts before his graduation in 2004. Due to the change in creative interests, and the general disinterest in the monumental tuitions of the Chicago-based art school, John attended the local University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He made his first feature film in his sophomore year, which had a write up in the local newspaper. The Empty Temple, a haunted house movie, was shown at the local independent movie house, The Ross Theater to decent reviews. “Its not a good movie. The story was rushed, the ending was terrible, but I was proud of it. People were really excited by the fact we had made a feature length movie for practically nothing.” Schrad shot several shorts and a never completed second feature during his time at the University. He graduated in 2009 with a Bachelors Degree in Film and a second in Fine Art. In the summer of 2009, Schrad moved to Des Moines, Iowa for an internship as a Marketing Specialist at Marsh. During this time he became a member of the Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) , and moonlighted as a Production Assistant on movies being shot in the Des Moines area, while working in the riveting world of insurance. After the collapse of the Tax Incentives in Iowa, the films returned west and after a dazed two years in Des Moines, Schrad left for California, where he remains to this day…
