- Longtime friends with Bill Maher.
- Suffering from dyslexia and ADHD, J.F. Lawton is an avid advocate for both issues.
- Is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- Wife Paola Lawton is a graduate from New York University.
- According to producer Arnon Milchan's book "Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon", J.F. Lawton only got paid $2,500 for his script, $500 less than his character Vivian got in the movie Pretty Woman (1990).
- His parents met at UC Berkeley.
- Son of famous novelist Harry Lawton and pianist Georgeann Lawton.
- Was in elementary school when his father's book "Willie Boy: A Desert Manhunt" (1960) was made into the movie Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), starring Robert Redford.
- Harry Lawton used to take him to the set during the making of Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969).
- He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- Graduated from California State University in Long Beach, California.
- Married to journalist, writer and LGBT activist Paola Lawton.
- Wrote every film he directed.
- Is the sole writer of every film he has directed.
- In 1993, he was going to write Howard Stern's planned movie The Adventures of Fartman... he even visited the studio to watch the process of the radio show... but the entire project fell through.
- According to a conversation on the Howard Stern Show, it was J.F.'s agent who wanted Julia Roberts for Pretty Woman despite the studio seeking well-known actresses.
- His original screenplay for The Adventures of Fartman, which would have starred Howard Stern, has been purposefully leaked and there are even reviews of it... Most reviewers point out how it's a satire on superhero films, especially Tim Burton's first Batman.
- When he was sitting in on the Howard Stern Radio Show, to prepare for writing the script for Fartman, actress Jennifer Tilly was the in-studio guest. Howard introduced her to "my scriptwriter Jonathan Lawton" and said, "He wrote Pretty Woman and Under Siege," after which Jennifer joked, "Are you schizophrenic? One's about a young nice prostitute, the other's about... Steven Seagal." Howard pointed out that Jonathon was an eclectic writer, hence why he was writing Fartman (which eventually fell through).
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