About

In 2007, brothers Jason and Matthew Ellsworth shoved everything they owned into the backseat of their black Pontiac Grand Prix and, with literally no plan whatsoever, left their New Jersey suburbs to drive across the country to that Mecca of dreamers, Los Angeles. Upon arriving, they spent their empty days perusing craigslist, looking for first places to stay and then, once that was acquired, jobs, both traditional and creative.

Responding to an ad looking for comedy writers led Jason to be introduced to Matteo Molinari, an Italian transplant who also knew a thing or two about leaving his home base to chase a dream, and who showed up to that first chance encounter in a blue NASA jacket spouting ideas for visual gags. Joined by another writer, Justin Bryant, and brought there by the ad-posting, stage-named Random Vaughn, Matteo and Jason were now officially part of writing group Monkeys on Keyboards, and began immediately working on comedy scripts as a foursome.

While giving Jason a ride home, Matteo offered a turkey sandwich to the new Angelino, and once Jason caught his first glimpse of Matteo’s condo, the rest was history. Resembling a book/movie store more than a place of residence, Jason instantly saw himself and his brother in the labyrinth of toys and DVD’s that sprawled before him. He knew he had to invite Matthew over, and the regular movie binging and friendship bonding began.

Then known simply as MJM, MaJaMa kicked things off with American Graffetus, a web cartoon that showcased what would later become common themes for the group: mainly, the brothers’ trying to fit their head-butting sibling shtick into a project, and Matteo’s overwhelming love of puns. The views were middling, but the guys got their first taste of dragging the collective weirdness infecting their brains into reality.

They trudged along for a decade, with project after project being birthed, obsessively worked on, and then discarded for various reasons. The only actual gig was a TV pilot named Potluck they all scored a role in, which, beyond giving them the rare entertainment-spawned paycheck, is mainly notable for Matteo playing a marijuana chef who uses terms like ‘sour diesel’ (if you know Matteo, you’re already chuckling at this).

Eventually the idea for Bad CGI Sharks was born (read all about it in the ‘Production’ section), the name was changed to MaJaMa (at Jason’s insistence that ‘MJM’ was simply far too unoriginal and probably used ad nauseam), and their first legit project was starting to enter the public’s consciousness.

With the group feeling that Bad CGI Sharks is wildly indicative of who they are as people, writers, and comedians, they are beyond happy to bring their vision to the world, with hopes of many more movies to follow, including Bad CGI Sharks 2.

Stay tuned!