Joe Penna facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Penna
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Penna in concert, June 2012
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| Born |
Jônatas de Moura Penna
May 29, 1987 São Paulo, Brazil
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| Known for | Stop motion, animation, music, and videography |
| Spouse(s) |
Sarah Penna
(m. 2011) |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, vocals |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Joe Penna, born Jônatas de Moura Penna on May 29, 1987, is a talented filmmaker and musician from Brazil. He is famous for his YouTube channel, MysteryGuitarMan, and for directing movies. Joe lives in Los Angeles, California.
Contents
Joe Penna's Film Career
Early Films and Recognition
In March 2016, Joe's short film Turning Point was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival. This is a big film festival!
In February 2017, Penna started making his first full-length movie, Arctic. It was filmed in Iceland and stars actor Mads Mikkelsen. Arctic received great reviews and was chosen for the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. The movie first came out in theaters on February 1, 2019.
Directing Major Movies
In June 2019, Penna began filming the science fiction movie Stowaway. This film features well-known actors like Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette.
The release of Stowaway was delayed from summer 2020. Later, Netflix bought the rights to the movie. Stowaway became the number one movie watched worldwide on Netflix. Because of this success, Netflix also bought the rights for Joe's earlier film, Arctic, for the US. Arctic also became the number one movie in the country on Netflix.
In August 2022, Penna agreed to direct a science fiction thriller called Trespasser. This movie is about a father and daughter living alone who meet a strange creature.
In December 2022, Penna also helped produce Anna Kendrick's first movie as a director, Woman of the Hour. This thriller is based on a true story. The film was bought by Netflix for $11 million and got a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Joe Penna's YouTube Journey
MysteryGuitarMan Channel
Joe Penna runs a popular YouTube channel called MysteryGuitarMan. He started this channel on June 16, 2006.
By January 2011, MysteryGuitarMan became the most subscribed channel in Brazil. As of July 2025, his channel has over 2.6 million subscribers. His videos have been watched nearly 400 million times.
On September 11, 2005, Penna launched a second YouTube channel. On this channel, he shares videos about how he makes his main videos and also vlogs. Within just six hours, it became the third most subscribed channel in Brazil.
Media Attention and Awards
In 2007, Joe Penna's channel was one of the first YouTube channels to get attention from major news outlets. His video The Puzzle was even featured on the front page of YouTube.
In 2009, his video Guitar: Impossible was again featured on YouTube's front page. This video was also shown on a popular TV show in the Netherlands. On December 6, 2009, Penna was featured on a national radio station in Austria. His "Guitar: Impossible" video was also shown on the front page of MSN.com.
Best Buy awarded Penna $15,000 for winning their Tech-U-Out Video Challenge. He was also a finalist in the "Oreo Global Moments" video competition. Ford chose Penna as a Fiesta Agent for their 2009 Ford Fiesta Movement. YouTube also featured Penna's "Guitar: Impossible" video as one of the best videos of 2009.
In 2010, Penna's video Root Beer Mozart was shown on CNN's morning show. It was also featured on a national TV show in Germany.
Joe Penna's Television Work
Directing Commercials
In 2009, Penna directed a commercial called T-Shirt War starring Rhett and Link. This commercial gained international attention. Soon after, Penna was chosen as one of the top 10 new directors at a big advertising festival in Cannes.
Because the first commercial was so successful, Penna and the original actors were hired to make a national TV and cinema ad for Coca-Cola and McDonald's. A year later, Penna directed and starred in another commercial for these two companies.
In June 2010, CNN Money featured Penna in their "Best Jobs" series.
His stop-motion short film Guitar: Impossible was chosen to be shown at the Guggenheim museum.
TV Series and Hosting
In 2012, Penna helped write and direct an interactive thriller series called Meridian. It starred actors Orlando Jones and Rick Overton.
In August 2014, Penna was announced as the host of Xploration Earth 2050. This was a TV series focused on technology. The show later received eight Daytime Emmy Award nominations.
Joe Penna and AI Technology
In May 2023, Penna was part of a team that wrote a scientific paper about text-to-image generation. They introduced something called PickScore. This is a way to score how well AI models create images based on what people prefer. The team suggested using PickScore to test future AI image models. They also suggested using "Pick-a-Pic prompts" as a better way to measure AI performance.
After these papers were reviewed and accepted as scientific publications, Penna will have an Erdős–Bacon number of 7. This number connects people who have worked with both famous mathematicians and actors.
See also
In Spanish: Joe Penna para niños
