00:00If you were on the internet 10 years ago, you probably watched Potion Seller.
00:03Hello, Potion Seller.
00:05Justin Kuritzges used his Max Photo Booth app as his brush and YouTube as his canvas.
00:09The art he gave the world was the Potion Seller sketch.
00:13My strongest potions will kill you, traveler. You can't handle my strongest potions.
00:18He played both characters himself using different filters to change his face.
00:21But his story now may surprise you. In fact,
00:23he's probably one of the most successful meme alums.
00:26He studied literary arts at Brown University and during that time,
00:29uploaded a few now iconic self-taped skits online.
00:32The first big skit being a video called Dolores about an old woman.
00:36It's not so bad, but life used to be better.
00:40Kuritzges began to gather a reputation for using simple photo booth filters to create
00:44characters out of thin air. His quick improvisational style often made him
00:47suppress a giggle mid-sketch. Like in his 2013 hit In a Perfect World,
00:51he spends a nearly minute-long video repeating one phrase while tilting his face to create
00:55caricatures of his own features. In a perfect world, men like me would not exist.
01:02In a perfect world, men like me would not exist.
01:07Far and away, his breakout hit, though, was Potion Seller.
01:10In the skit, a brave and square-jawed knight pleads for a strong potion from
01:13a curmudgeonly wizard who insists he could not handle it.
01:16A world of fan art and fan remakes of the skit littered the internet.
01:19An entire subreddit dedicated to the video was created.
01:22In his interview with KnowYourMeme, he mentioned that the year Potion Seller took off was the year
01:26he had just moved to New York and was struggling to make inroads in the theater scene there while
01:30attempting to become a playwright. Potion Seller, enough of these games.
01:34I'm going into battle, and I need your strongest potions.
01:39His loyal fans, however, were saddened to see his ceasing of uploads in 2020.
01:43Little did they know he was cooking up bigger things.
01:46In 2022, it was announced that Luca Guadagnino was to direct a movie starring megastars like Zendaya.
01:51But attached was a familiar name, written by Justin Kuritskis.
01:55His script was eventually turned into the Hollywood hit Challengers.
02:02His wife also directed the film Past Lives.
02:04In a slew of interviews, everyone wanted to ask Justin how his YouTube skits led to
02:08his Hollywood writing career. Kuritskis is kicking off from his Challengers victory to
02:12work on a host of new projects, including an adaptation of Don Winslow's best-selling
02:17cartel trilogy City on Fire starring Austin Butler.
02:20It just goes to show you that a success story can come from anywhere,
02:23and that you should never let your memes be dreams.
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