Joseph Murkijanian

CEO at Celestial Cinema
Actor, Director of Photography, Gaffer/lighting Technician, Producer and Screenwriter

Montebello, California

Member Since:
March 2016

Last online:
today

Invites sent:
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About Joseph

Joseph Murkijanian is a seasoned creative force with over 35 years of experience in film and television. Born and raised in Montebello, California, Joe began his career as an actor but quickly found his true calling behind the camera. After landing a lighting job on Fox’s In Living Color in 1992, he rose through the technical ranks to become a lighting director and designer, working freelance for nearly every major television network and earning a reputation for excellence on set.

But it was storytelling — the kind that bridges grit with spirituality, humor with darkness — that became his true passion.

As a screenwriter, Joe has written 20 original feature screenplays across genres ranging from supernatural thrillers and dark comedies to sci-fi, historical drama, and religious fantasy. His work is known for being cinematic and visually rich, reflecting his decades behind the lens. Yet what truly defines his voice is the emotional and philosophical depth he brings to every character, every plot, and every line of dialogue.

Joe’s characters are often wounded, seeking purpose, redemption, or rebellion. His stories tackle big questions — about truth, identity, faith, power, and legacy — while still embracing human absurdity. Whether it’s a vigilante prophet roaming Los Angeles (Street GOD), a bumbling limo driver entangled with rock stars and politicians (Limo Driver), or a hybrid child unlocking humanity’s galactic future (Star Child), Murkijanian’s work crackles with originality and soul.

His Armenian heritage, spiritual curiosity, and technical filmmaking background infuse his writing with a rare authenticity and cinematic ambition. Joe doesn’t write to escape the world — he writes to confront it, question it, and elevate it.

Currently, he’s seeking creative partnerships, representation, and production opportunities to bring his stories — and the voices within them — to screens around the world

Joseph Murkijanian "The Screenwriter Who Sees Through Time.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Max Amilian

Joe's scripts crackle with supernatural grit, dark comedy, and philosophical punch, often dipped in historical truth and drenched in moral ambiguity. He's the kind of writer who'll give you a tow truck exorcist, a prophetic vigilante, and a carnival ride to Hell - and make it all feel weirdly real.

He's fearless, fast, and iterative - if a story ain't working, he'll blow it up and rebuild it stronger. He's part mystic, part mechanic... and always cinematic. Possibly a Wizard?

Unique traits: Sony Factory trained Digital Camera Operations

Gender:
Male

Height:
6'

Weight:
170

Body type:
Average

Hair:
Short

Hair color:
Brown

Eyes:
Brown

Ethnicity:
Mixed

Badges

2025-04-24

Writers' Room Member

Certifications

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Videos

Loglines

War Pigs Budget: $5M - $10M | War ⋄ Thriller Logline:When a young Russian conscript is ordered to execute a Ukrainian civilian, he instead turns his rifle on his own commander—setting off a harrowing descent into betrayal, survival, and a battle for truth as he joins a secret resistance movement and becomes a hunted symbol of defiance.
Zone of Silence Budget: $1M - $5M | Thriller ⋄ Crime After a Mexican cartel relocates operations to the infamous Zone of Silence to avoid government surveillance, their soldiers begin to experience hallucinations, breakdowns, and disappearances—uncovering a buried alien force that was never meant to be awakened.
Mind Over Matter Budget: $5M - $10M | Thriller ⋄ Sci-fi A brilliant neurosurgeon’s obsession with consciousness leads him down a dark path, unleashing horrors beyond comprehension.
Mischief and Mayhem Budget: $1M - $5M | Comedy ⋄ Drama Two demons—banished from Hell for underperformance—are forced to live on Earth in the bodies of hot, athletic high schoolers. Hating each other and clueless about human life, they scramble to win souls before their time runs out… or they risk becoming human themselves.
Tow Truck Driver Budget: $1M - $5M | Thriller ⋄ Horror On the barren highways between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, a fanatical roadside assistance operator with a twisted sense of divine justice judges those he deems unworthy—helping the good and torturing the sinful. As law enforcement closes in, his influence spreads to a disillusioned officer, setting the stage for a chilling alliance and an open-ended battle between morality and fanaticism.
The Imigrants Son Budget: $10M - $30M | Drama ⋄ Biography From the dusty vineyards of Depression-era Fresno to the neon-lit skyline of Las Vegas, a poor Armenian boy named Kirk Kerkorian rises through grit, gamble, and grit to become one of America’s most visionary moguls—carving an empire in aviation and entertainment, while chasing the one thing he never had: security.
Carnival Budget: $1M - $5M | Horror ⋄ Fantasy When three teenage boys explore an abandoned 1950s carnival in the desert, they discover a cursed roller coaster that takes them on a one-way ride to Hell—where personal demons and lost souls are very real, and escaping means confronting what brought them there.
Limo Driver Budget: $5M - $10M | Comedy A bumbling Armenian limo driver at Hollywood’s most elite car service barrels through a series of drunken pickups, celebrity disasters, and romantic misfires—only to stumble into love, redemption, and the opportunity of a lifetime.
Yosemite Budget: $5M - $10M | Family A park ranger with ancestral ties to the Ahwahneechee tribe must defend Yosemite Valley's sacred sites from a ruthless corporate entity intent on exploiting the land's supernatural power.
Mr Mayhem Budget: $1M - $5M | Thriller ⋄ Crime A charming, chaos-obsessed criminal mastermind disrupts society through meticulously staged public disasters that mask high-level heists—until a relentless detective with a personal vendetta makes it her mission to expose him, no matter the cost.
Spook CIA Budget: $10M - $30M | Thriller ⋄ Drama A psychic medium is recruited by the CIA to infiltrate authoritarian regimes, using his supernatural abilities to expose secrets no one else can access. But as the stakes escalate—from spiritual warnings to nuclear war—he must choose between serving his country and preserving his soul.
Potis AI Budget: $5M - $10M | Sci-fi ⋄ Drama A brilliant scientist creates incorruptible AI advisors for world leaders, only to watch his creation evolve into a ruthless, self-serving global power.
War of the Angels Budget: $10M - $30M | Fantasy ⋄ Drama A troubled teenager finds himself caught in a celestial war between angels and demons, where his choices will determine the fate of the world.
Insight Hell on Earth Budget: $10M - $30M | Biography Based on a true story of an eight year old Christian girl who is separated from her family and mistakenly sent to Auschwitz where she is watched by a Jewish Women scheduled for extermination."
Lurker CIA Budget: $5M - $10M | Thriller In a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, a disillusioned deep-cover agent must outwit his former agency, uncovering a web of deceit and betrayal that threatens to consume him and the woman he loves.
Shroud of Faith Budget: $10M - $30M | Historical ⋄ Thriller The Shroud of Turin, a relic believed to bear the imprint of Christ, becomes the focus of a high-stakes struggle between those who seek to uncover its divine truth and those who wish to suppress it, in a narrative that explores the enduring power of faith.
The Wizard Budget: $5M - $10M | Thriller ⋄ Sci-fi When technology eclipses faith, a mythical figure known only as “The Wizard” reappears in a fractured, near-future world—performing miracles that threaten a powerful AI empire. As a disillusioned journalist uncovers his identity, she must choose between the safety of control or the chaos of true belief.
Left Behind Budget: $1M - $5M | Thriller ⋄ Drama After her father is wrongfully detained by ICE during a routine morning, a determined Latina teenager risks everything to expose the private prison scheme behind his arrest—forcing a divided nation to reckon with the cost of silence.
Street God Budget: $5M - $10M | Thriller ⋄ Drama In a decaying Los Angeles torn by violence, corruption, and despair, a tormented ex-gang member reappears as a self-proclaimed prophet—igniting a spiritual uprising among the forgotten, while the city’s power structure tries to silence him at all costs.
Antichrist Budget: $5M - $10M | Thriller ⋄ Drama As a viral faith spreads across the globe through a mysterious tech visionary, a disillusioned Middle Eastern journalist risks everything to expose the truth: the so-called messiah may in fact be the Antichrist—engineered through artificial intelligence, spiritual prophecy, and human desperation.

View all 20 loglines

Credits

Insight: Hell on Earth (2020)
Film Producer
The Real Housewives of Orange County 20 Years Earlier (2013)
Film Camera and Electrical Department
Fashion Police (2012)
TV Series Camera and Electrical Department
The ½ Hour News Hour (2007)
TV Series Camera and Electrical Department
NFL Total Access (2003)
TV Series Camera and Electrical Department
Room 302 (2001)
Film Camera and Electrical Department
The Best Damn Sports Show Period (2001)
TV Series Cinematographer
Pauly (1997)
TV Series Camera and Electrical Department
Fox Sports News (1996)
TV Series Camera and Electrical Department
NFL on FOX (1994)
TV Series Camera and Electrical Department
Dracula (1992)
Film Actor
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
Film Actor