Weirdsmobile Productions was created in 2005 by John V. Knowles & Lotti Pharriss Knowles.  Our first feature film, Chastity Bites, is currently in post-production. Previously Weirdsmobile produced the award-winning short films SHADOW.NET and Weak Species, the world premiere production of Ovation-nominated play Because They Have No Words, and the annual VAMPIRE-CON Film Festival. 

Company Bios

John V. Knowles recently directed the horror-comedy feature film CHASTITY BITES. Prior to that he directed the techno-thriller short film SHADOW.NET, based on a WIRED Magazine article about the underground world of internet movie piracy, which appeared in film festivals such as Cleveland International, Las Vegas (Golden Ace Award), Dragon*Con (1st Place, Thriller), Dances With Films, NewFilmmakers NYC, Action/Cut Short Film Competition (Semi-Finalist) and The Film Series at CineGear Expo (Finalist). His other short films have screened in festivals such as Austin, Chicago Comedy and Flux.

An “army brat,” John grew up on military bases all over the world, and he earned his BFA in graphic design from Drake University in Des Moines. In 2011 he formed Conceptive, Inc. with partners David Wendell and Dominique Brown, to create broadcast-quality branded entertainment for the web. Past clients for John's directing, editing and design services have included Walt Disney Feature Animation, Playboy Entertainment, The ACLU, Bella Pierre Cosmentics, and John Wells Productions, among others. John has also directed music videos for TL Forsberg, Waz, 80s pop star Deborah Gibson, and French techno artist Lewsor.

Lotti Pharriss Knowles wrote and produced the feature film CHASTITY BITES, which was a semi-finalist in the Acclaim Film & Television Screenwriting Competition. She is a co-producer of HBO Documentary Films' VITO, directed by Jeffrey Schwarz and executive produced by Bryan Singer. She is also co-producer on Schwarz's upcoming feature documentary I AM DIVINE.

Prior to making the leap to features, Lotti produced two short films with Weirdsmobile: SHADOW.NET (see John Knowles' bio for info), and Dan Faltz's WEAK SPECIES, based on the writings of cult author Dennis Cooper (Winner, Best Short – FilmOut San Diego and Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival). She is currently developing the feature version of WEAK SPECIES, as well as another gritty LGBT feature with Faltz entitled FIX.

In 2006 Lotti produced the world premiere run of her play BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO WORDS, co-written with Tim Maddock about his experiences as a volunteer in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The production was nominated for two 2007 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards for Best Ensemble and World Premiere Play. The play was published in 2011 by Northwestern University Press in an anthology titled Katrina On Stage.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Lotti earned a BS in Performance Studies at Northwestern University and an MA in Theatre at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, she developed her skills as a writer, solo performer and producer in the Chicago theatre scene, where she also served for two years as managing director of Live Bait Theater.