Encircle Films to screen 50-state road trip ‘Rebel With A Clause’ Nov. 20

from Encircle Films

One fall day, Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on a Manhattan sidewalk with a homemade sign that said “Grammar Table.” Right away, passersby began excitedly asking questions, telling stories, and filing complaints.

Her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, said he sat nearby to watch “the hilarious and heartfelt interactions she had with people from every imaginable background. In a time of social and political division, the Grammar Table was a place of unity and connection. I needed to share with the world what I was witnessing, so I began filming.” 

Ellen and Brandt took the table on the road, visiting all 50 states as Brandt shot the grammar action. But this story transcends grammar. It’s the story of an epic quest in a divided time to bring us all closer together.

Encircle Films is pleased to announce the showing of Rebel With A Clause for our Nov. 20, 6:30 p.m. film at Art House in Eugene. This is a fun, uplifting, and joyful film celebrating the diversity of individuals and their interactions.

Ellen Jovin is an internationally acclaimed grammar and language expert. Her most recent book, called Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian, was published by HarperCollins in 2022 and quickly became a national bestseller. The paperback edition came out in May 2025.

Ellen has written three other books on writing/grammar (Hachette) and is a co-founder with Brandt of the communication skills consulting and training firm Syntaxis. Ellen has studied more than 25 languages with a total of nine different writing systems, which she blogged about for years as part of a project she called “Words & Worlds of New York.”

Earlier in her career, she worked as a freelance reporter and taught writing at New York University and other area colleges. She has a B.A. in German studies from Harvard University and an M.A. in comparative literature from UCLA.

This is Brandt Johnson’s feature film debut. Before this project, he was the writer, director, and star of Brad Advice, a comedy web series — the New York Daily News raved, “Brad Advice knocks it out of the park.”

Brandt has written and produced three plays (the New York Times praised his “sharp writing”), and he is the author of the book Practical Presentation Skills: Authenticity, Focus & Strength (Hachette).

Brandt is a co-founder with Ellen of the communication skills consulting and training firm Syntaxis. A former investment banker and speechwriter, he has trained executives of major corporations around the world. Also a lifelong athlete, Brandt played professional basketball in Europe and on tour against the Harlem Globetrotters.

He graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in mathematics and earned an M.B.A. in finance from the NYU Stern School of Business.