Jim Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 (age 63–64)[1] Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Education | Pomona College ('84)[1] |
| Alma mater | NYU (MFA '96)[2] |
| Occupations | Screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
James Taylor (born 1962)[1][3] is an American producer and screenwriter who has often collaborated on projects withAlexander Payne. The two are business partners in theSanta Monica based Ad Hominem Enterprises, and are credited as co-writers of six films released between 1996 and 2007:Citizen Ruth (1996),Election (1999),Jurassic Park III (2001, withPeter Buchman),About Schmidt (2002),Sideways (2004), andI Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007, withBarry Fanaro andLew Gallo). Taylor's credits as a producer include films such asCedar Rapids andThe Descendants.
I felt like I was too young, and I didn't have anything to make movies about. So very specifically, I went to Pomona to get a liberal arts education and not do filmmaking, even though I knew that was what I ultimately wanted to do.
— Taylor, in a 2005 interview forPomona College Magazine[1]
Taylor was born inSeattle,Washington.[4] He graduated fromBellevue High School in neighboringBellevue, and subsequently fromPomona College, a liberal arts school inCalifornia that he attended instead of accepting an offer from theUSC School of Cinematic Arts.[1]
Taylor began working forCannon Films in 1987.[5] After visiting China on an Avery Foundation grant, Taylor returned to L.A. and spent three years working withIvan Passer;[1] he also worked for Devon Foster, a director at HBO, as Foster's assistant.[5]
Taylor met Payne while working temporary jobs in Los Angeles, eventually moving in with him for financial reasons. While roommates the two wrote short films and started writingCitizen Ruth.[5] After winning money on the game showWheel of Fortune, Taylor enteredTisch School of the Arts at the age of 30.[5] He and Payne did further rewrites onCitizen Ruth while Taylor was a graduate student; the film got made during his third year there.[5] Taylor received an M.F.A. in Filmmaking fromNew York University in 1996.[2]
Taylor has received numerous awards and nominations (including an Oscar win for co-writingSideways, twoGolden Globe Award wins for co-writingAbout Schmidt andSideways, and additional Oscar nominations for co-writingElection and for producingThe Descendants); those listed below are for his work onSideways (all shared with Alexander Payne):
Taylor has been married to fellow screenwriter/director,Tamara Jenkins, since 2002—herself anAcademy Award nominee forThe Savages (2007).[6] They have one daughter and live inNYC as of 2019[update].[7] The couple co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film,Juliet, Naked (adapted fromNick Hornby'shomonymous novel), along with Evgenia Peretz—sister of the film's director,Jesse Peretz.[8]
Tamara Jenkins and Jim Taylor, who are married, have a slew of credits to their names individually. The couple also contributed to the adaptation of Nick Hornby's bookJuliet, Naked.
Jenkins lives in New York City with her husband—the screenwriter Jim Taylor—and their daughter, Mia.
Evgenia Peretz: 'So, Jim Taylor and Tamara Jenkins are a married couple. They did a first draft of it before I ever got involved, probably two or three years ago.'
