James O'Brien is an American independent film director, producer,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Early life and education

Raised in

Harrington Park, New Jersey Harrington Park is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,741, an increase of 77 (+1.7%) from the 2010 Uni ...

, O’Brien attended

Bergen Catholic High School Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. Bergen Catholic operates under the supervision of the Roman ...

, and was a captain of the cross country and track teams. He is a graduate of

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

, and competed in his early collegiate years for Ray Treacy's

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport exc ...

. Midway through college, O'Brien shifted gears from athletics to English and Drama, directing a number of university-screened short films and documentaries and acting in the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child ...

productions. After backpacking around Europe, and inspired by the DIY cinema of

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

and

Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...

, O’Brien moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, to make independent films.

Early career

The first film he made after moving to LA was ''Bastard,'' a B&W short about a schizophrenic hit man. It was selected by the

American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States that represents the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms. It presents festivals and retrospectives that ...

to open for

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

’s

Nosferatu the Vampyre ''Nosferatu the Vampyre'' () is a 1979 gothic horror film directed and written by Werner Herzog. The film serves as both a remake of the 1922 film ''Nosferatu'' and an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula''. Herzog’s film is set i ...

at a 1993

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

retrospective.

''Venice Bound''

O'Brien's debut feature '' Venice Bound'' follows the lives of three off-beat twenty-somethings who meet by chance on Venice Beach and agree to pull a robbery. The film debuted at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles before making its international premiere at Cannes. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called O'Brien a "talent in the raw" but said the film is "too narratively chaotic and technically hamstrung to connect commercially". ''Venice Bound'' was released theatrically in 1996–97, playing an extended run at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, as well as the Laemmle Sunset 5 (now Sundance Sunset Cinemas). It also played on the east coast at the Cable Car Cinema in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

''Wish You Were Here'' & ''Hyperfutura''

''Wish You Were Here'' stars Louie Sabatasso, Gary Douglas Kohn and Arroyn Ambrose in a road adventure film about the effects of addiction and the bond of family and friends. Jonathan Freeman-Anderson of ''LA Film and Music Magazine'' called the film "an entertaining and soul searching ride of comical and sobering proportions". Nelson Madison Films released the movie in 2013 . On the other end of the spectrum, O'Brien made the mashup ''

Hyperfutura ''Hyperfutura'' is a 2012 science fiction film from American filmmaker James O'Brien, starring Eric Kopatz, Karen Corona, Gregory Kiem, Scott Donovan, Celine Brigitte, Alysse Cobb, Lionel Heredia, Gary Kohn, Edward Romero and William Moore. It ...

''. Created with Eric Kopatz, producer and star of ''Bastard'', the science fiction film ''

'' involves

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

and

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

. It has polarized audiences since its 2013 worldwide digital release by PanGlobal Entertainment. Chris Garcia, the

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

culture specialist behind the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, ''Three Minute Modernist'' and the film journal ''Klaus at Gunpoint'', included the film in his ''52 Episodes to Science Fiction Literacy'', linking it to the works of artist

Bruce Conner Bruce Conner (November 18, 1933 – July 7, 2008) was an American artist who worked with assemblage, film, drawing, sculpture, painting, collage, and photography. Biography Bruce Conner was born November 18, 1933, in McPherson, Kansas. His w ...

and the

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, in the episode entitled: "''Hyperfutura'':

Avant-Garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

or Really Messed Up?"

''Western Religion''

O’Brien's most recent work is the independent Western film '' Western Religion''. It features Claude Duhamel, Peter Shinkoda and Miles Szanto, among others. The 'making of' story of the production was first picked up by ''

'' in 2013 as the filmmakers looked to overcome the government shutdown of all national parks just weeks before their scheduled shoot at

Paramount Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. Movie ...

. To remedy the situation, O'Brien and his producing partner Louie Sabatasso of 3rd Partner Productions enlisted Peter Sherayko, who had worked on ''

Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

''. Together, they built a Western tent city in the mountains of Agua Dulce, California. Sherayko, who played Texas Jack Vermillion in ''Tombstone'', is also featured in the film as Southern Bill. Sabatasso plays a lead as the eccentric, deadly dandy Salt Peter.

Selected filmography

* ''Bastard'' (short film, 1993) * ''Venice Bound'' (1995) * ''Hyperfutura'' (2013) * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2013) * ''Western Religion'' (2015) * '' The Night They Came Home'' (2024)

Bibliography

* (2021) political anthology, ''Parting the Washington Sea'' * (2025) novel, ''Alias John Titor'' '' Alias John Titor'' (2025).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, James Living people Film directors from New Jersey American male screenwriters American film producers Providence College alumni People from Harrington Park, New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)