James Taylor (born 1962) is an American producer and screenwriter who has often collaborated on projects with

Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is noted for his satire, satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received List of awards and nominations rec ...

. The two are business partners in the

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

based Ad Hominem Enterprises, and are credited as co-writers of six films released between 1996 and 2007: '' Citizen Ruth'' (

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

), ''

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

'' (

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

), ''

Jurassic Park III ''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American Science fiction film, science fiction adventure film, adventure action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor (writer), Jim Taylor. It is the third ...

'' (

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, with Peter Buchman), ''

About Schmidt ''About Schmidt'' is a 2002 American comedy drama film co-written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. The film also stars Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates. It is loosely based on the 1996 no ...

'' (

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

), ''

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti), a de ...

'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

), and '' I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'' (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, with

Barry Fanaro Barry Fanaro is an American screenwriter of television and feature films. He has taught screenwriting seminars at USC, University of California, Santa Barbara, UCSB, AFI (band), AFI and Mercer University. Early life Fanaro graduated magna cum lau ...

and Lew Gallo). Taylor's credits as a producer include films such as ''

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

'' and ''

The Descendants ''The Descendants'' is a 2011 American tragicomedy film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the main role, Shail ...

''.

Early years

Taylor was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. He graduated from Bellevue High School in neighboring

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

, and subsequently from

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, a liberal arts school in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

that he attended instead of accepting an offer from the

USC School of Cinematic Arts The USC School of Cinematic Arts is an academic unit of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. With a history that dates to the first years of Sound film, talkies, the school descends from America's first ...

Career

Taylor began working for

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

in 1987. After visiting China on an Avery Foundation grant, Taylor returned to L.A. and spent three years working with Ivan Passer; he also worked for Devon Foster, a director at HBO, as Foster's assistant. 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 writing '' Citizen Ruth''. After winning money on the game show '' Wheel of Fortune'', Taylor entered

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

at the age of 30. He and Payne did further rewrites on '' Citizen Ruth'' while Taylor was a graduate student; the film got made during his third year there. Taylor received an M.F.A. in Filmmaking from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1996.

Awards and nominations

Taylor has received numerous awards and nominations (including an Oscar win for co-writing ''Sideways'', two

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

wins for co-writing ''About Schmidt'' and ''Sideways'', and additional Oscar nominations for co-writing ''Election'' and for producing ''The Descendants''); those listed below are for his work on ''Sideways'' (all shared with Alexander Payne):

Personal life

Taylor has been married to fellow screenwriter/director,

Tamara Jenkins Tamara Jenkins (born May 2, 1962) is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films '' Slums of Beverly Hills'' (1998), '' Private Life'' (2018), and '' The Savages'' (2007). She received an Academy Award f ...

, since 2002—herself an Academy Award nominee for '' The Savages'' (2007). They have one daughter and live in NYC . The couple co-wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film, '' Juliet, Naked'' (adapted from

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer. He is best known for his memoir '' Fever Pitch'' (1992) and novels ''High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work frequen ...

's homonymous novel), along with Evgenia Peretz—sister of the film's director,

Jesse Peretz Jesse Peretz (born May 19, 1968) is an American film and television director, TV producer and former musician. He first rose to prominence as a bass guitarist and founding member of The Lemonheads, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based band that form ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Jim American male screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Independent Spirit Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners Writers from Seattle 1963 births Living people Pomona College alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Golden Globe Award–winning producers Screenwriters from California