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James Schamus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Schamus
Schamus in 2016
Born
James Allan Schamus

(1959-09-07) September 7, 1959 (age 65)
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA, MA, PhD)
Occupations
  • Producer
  • screenwriter
  • director
SpouseNancy Kricorian
Children2

James Allan Schamus (born September 7, 1959) is an American screenwriter, producer, business executive, film historian, professor, and director. He is a frequent collaborator of Ang Lee, the co-founder of the production company Good Machine, and the co-founder and former CEO of motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company Focus Features, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal. He is currently president of the New York–based production company Symbolic Exchange,[1] and is Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University, where he has taught film history and theory since 1989.

Life and career

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Schamus was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a Jewish family.[2] He is the son of Clarita (Gershowitz) Karlin and Julian John Schamus, and was raised in Los Angeles. He is married to writer Nancy Kricorian, with whom he has two children.

His output includes writing or co-writing The Ice Storm, Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hulk (all directed by Ang Lee), and producing Brokeback Mountain and Alone in Berlin. At Focus he oversaw the production and distribution of Lost in Translation, Milk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Coraline, and The Kids Are All Right. In addition to his tenure at Columbia University, he has also taught at Yale University and at Rutgers University. He is the author of Carl Theodor Dreyer's Gertrud: The Moving Word, published by the University of Washington Press. He earned his BA, MA, and Ph.D. in English from University of California, Berkeley.[3]

Schamus made his feature directorial debut with Indignation, an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel of the same name. Schamus also wrote the script for the film, which stars Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, and Tracy Letts, and is the story of a Jewish student at an Ohio college in 1951.[4] The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and was theatrically released by Roadside Attractions on July 29, 2016.[1]

He was president of the jury for the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.[5] He has also been on the jury of the New York International Children's Film Festival,[6] and has served on the editorial boards of Film Quarterly and Cinema Journal, as well as on the board of Creative Capital and the Heyman Center for the Humanities.[7] In 2016, Outfest established the James Schamus Ally Award to honor individuals who give prominence to LGBTQ narratives, with winners including James Franco,[8] Rita Moreno,[9] Sandra Oh,[10] Octavia Spencer,[11] Andra Day,[12] Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone,[13] and Shirley MacLaine.[14]

Filmography

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Year Title Producer Writer Director Notes
1990 The Golden Boat Yes No Raúl Ruiz
1991 Pushing Hands Yes Yes Ang Lee Also additional scenes
Poison Executive No Todd Haynes
Keep It For Yourself Yes No Claire Denis
Angry Yes No Nicole Holofcener Short film
Homage By Assassination Yes No Elia Suleiman
Thank You and Good Night Co-producer No Jan Oxenberg Documentary
I Was on Mars Co-producer No Dani Levi Also line producer
Chicken Delight Yes No Adam Isidore Short film
Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier Executive No Suzie Baer Documentary
1992 Swoon Executive No Tom Kalin
Punch and Judy Get Divorced[15] Yes No David Gordon and Mark Pellington
Ambition[16] Yes No Hal Hartley Short film
Surviving Desire Executive No
In the Soup Associate No Alexandre Rockwell
1993 Terminal USA Executive No Jon Moritsugu
Dottie Gets Spanked Executive No Todd Haynes Also line producer
Night Ride Executive No Andy Garrison Also line producer
The Secret Life of Houses[17] Executive No Adrian Velicescu
A Psychic Mom Executive No Steve Busa
Love Potion Executive No Ayoka Chenzira
Family Remains Executive No Tamara Jenkins
The Wedding Banquet Yes Yes Ang Lee
1994 Eat Drink Man Woman Associate Yes
Dark Waters Yes No Kutluğ Ataman
Roy Cohn/Jack Smith Yes No Jill Godmilow
What Happened Was Executive No Tom Noonan
1995 Sense and Sensibility Co-producer No Ang Lee
Greetings from Africa Yes No Cheryl Dunye
Safe Executive No Todd Haynes
The Brothers McMullen Executive No Edward Burns
1996 She's the One Yes No
Walking and Talking Yes No Nicole Holofcener
1997 Love God Executive No Frank Grow
The Myth of Fingerprints Executive No Bart Freundlich
Arresting Gena Executive No Hannah Weyer
Wonderland Executive No John O'Hagan Documentary
Office Killer Executive No Cindy Sherman
The Ice Storm Yes Yes Ang Lee
1998 Happiness Executive No Todd Solondz
1999 Lola and Billy the Kid Executive No Kutluğ Ataman
The Lifestyle Executive No David Schisgall Documentary
Ride with the Devil Yes Yes Ang Lee
2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Executive Yes Also songwriter
2001 Buffalo Soldiers Executive No Gregor Jordan
2002 Auto Focus Executive No Paul Schrader
2003 Hulk Yes Yes Ang Lee
2005 Brokeback Mountain Yes No
2007 Lust, Caution Yes Yes Also songwriter
2009 Taking Woodstock Yes Yes
2014 That Film About Money[18] Yes Yes Himself Short film
2015 Alone in Berlin Yes No Vincent Perez
Suffragette Executive No Sarah Gavron
Junction 48 Executive No Udi Aloni
2016 Indignation Yes Yes Himself Directorial debut
2017 Casting JonBenet[19] Yes No Kitty Green Documentary
Dayveon[20] Executive No Amman Abasi
A Prayer Before Dawn[21] Executive No Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
2018 Benji Executive No Brandon Camp
Furlough Executive No Laurie Collyer
2019 Adam Yes No Rhys Ernst
The Tomorrow Man Yes No Noble Jones
Driveways Yes No Andrew Ahn
The Assistant Yes No Kitty Green
Frames[22] Yes Yes Himself Short film
2022 The King's Daughter No Yes Sean McNamara
2024 We Grown Now Executive No Minhal Baig
2025 The Wedding Banquet Yes Yes Andrew Ahn Post-production

Awards and nominations

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Year Title Awards/Nominations
1997 The Ice Storm Prix du Scénario (Best Screenplay Award)[23]
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated – WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Nominated – Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Original Song
Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated – WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominated – Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media

2005 Brokeback Mountain BAFTA Award for Best Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama[24]
Independent Spirit Award for Best Film[25]
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture
2007 Lust, Caution Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
2016 Indignation Nominated – Berlin International Film Festival Best First Feature Award

Career recognition and honors

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Writing

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Books

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  • Taking Woodstock. New York: Newmarket Press, 2009. Screenplay and Introduction.
  • Carl Theodor Dryer's Gertrud: The Moving Word. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008.
  • Lust, Caution. New York: Pantheon, 2007. Screenplay (with Wang Hui-Ling) and Introduction.
  • The Hulk. New York: Newmarket Press, 2003. Screenplay and Introduction.
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Portrait of the Ang Lee Film. New York: Newmarket Press, 2000. Screenplay (with Wang Hui-Ling) and Notes.
  • Ride With the Devil. London: Faber & Faber, 1999. Screenplay, Introduction, and Notes.
  • The Ice Storm. New York: Newmarket Press, 1997. Screenplay, Introduction, and Notes.
  • Two Films By Ang Lee: "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "The Wedding Banquet". New York: The Overlook Press, 1994. Introduction and Screenplays (with Ang Lee, Neal Peng, and Wang Hui-Ling).

Essays and articles

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Profiles and interviews

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References

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  1. ^ a b McNary, Dave (March 24, 2016). "Logan Lerman's 'Indignation' Gets July Release". Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  2. ^ Rotella, Carlo (November 26, 2010). "The Professor of Micropopularity". The New York Times. The story of America, of Western culture, is often the story of queer culture, of being Jewish" — Schamus is Jewish — "of being outsiders and refugees who find a place that is the not-place.
  3. ^ "The Man Behind the Movies".
  4. ^ "James Schamus Directorial Debut Indignation Acquired By Lionsgate's Summit Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "Berlinale 2014: International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  6. ^ "NYICFF Jury". Gkids.com. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  7. ^ "James Schamus to be Honored at San Francisco International Film Festival - MovieMaker Magazine". www.moviemaker.com. February 25, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Kizu, Kyle (July 18, 2016). "James Franco On How A Prosthetic Penis Brought Him Closer to the LGBTQ Community". IndieWire. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Washington, Arlene (September 28, 2017). "Rita Moreno, Laverne Cox and Weinstein Co. to Receive Outfest Legacy Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  10. ^ Jackson, Angelique (March 31, 2022). "Sandra Oh and Stephanie Beatriz to Be Honored at 2022 Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  11. ^ Malkin, Marc (August 2, 2021). "Octavia Spencer to Be Honored With Outfest's Ally Award". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  12. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (April 7, 2021). "Michaela Coel And Andra Day To Be Honored At Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  13. ^ Complex, Valerie (June 22, 2023). "Outfest LGBTQ+ Festival Announces Full Lineup For 2023; Fest To Award Melissa McCarthy And Ben Falcone With James Schamus Ally Award On Closing Night". Deadline. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  14. ^ Gardner, Chris (September 21, 2023). "Shirley MacLaine and Trace Lysette to be Honored at Outfest Legacy Awards in Los Angeles". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  15. ^ O'Steen, Kathleen (July 2, 1992). "Alive Tv Punch and Judy Get Divorced". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  16. ^ "ALIVE FROM OFF-CENTER: THEORY OF ACHIEVEMENT; AMBITION (TV)". The Paley Center. Retrieved January 8, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Hornaday, Ann (February 20, 1994). "FILM; A Film Scholar Conjures Up A Hit Machine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  18. ^ "The Economy, Explored on Film". The New York Times. May 26, 2014.
  19. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 15, 2016). "JonBenet Ramsey Murder Case Chronicled In Kitty Green-Directed 'Casting JonBenet'". Deadline. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  20. ^ Hipes, Patrick (January 17, 2017). "'Dayveon' Clip: First Look At Sundance NEXT Opener From First-Time Director Amman Abbasi". Deadline. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  21. ^ "James Schamus, China's Meridian board 'A Prayer Before Dawn'". Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  22. ^ Sharf, Zack (November 27, 2019). "James Schamus' New Short Film Explains the 124-Year-Old Art of Cinema in 3 Minutes —Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  23. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Ice Storm". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  24. ^ Glaister, Dan (January 17, 2006). "'Brokeback Mountain rides high at the Globes'". The Guardian. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  25. ^ Germain, David (March 4, 2006). "'Brokeback' named best independent film". Associated Press (via USA Today). Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  26. ^ Clarke, Donald (June 25, 2019). "The new Once? The next Adam & Paul? Galway Film Fleadh unveils 2019 line-up". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 7, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "2001 Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. September 3, 2001. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  28. ^ "Three Schools Honor Faculty, Staff and Public Figures". Columbia University. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
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