Jim came to Los Angeles in 1979 as an artist, animator and musician. He began is career in computer graphics at a small start-up company in 1985 in Pasadena, CA. while simultaneously attending The Art Center College of Design. He worked hard, learning the engineering side of the craft over the next several years while garnering his first television, location-based entertainment and feature film credits in the 1980s.
In 1987, after helping a friend writing the ending of her film, he started writing his first screenplay.
In 1989, Jim was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation to be the Computer Graphics Supervisor of “Beauty and the Beast” in the company's first Computer Graphics Department.
His first screenplay option was for his second screenplay in 1990.
After leaving Disney, Jim began studying with Screenwriting Guru, Syd Field, in Master Classes at Fox and his home over the next decade.
In 1993, he was hired by Jim Cameron, Stan Winston and Scott Ross as the Director of Digital Production for Digital Domain. There he hired the first crew, created specs for all of the original software, including “Nuke” and went on to work as CG Supervisor on “Interview With the Vampire” and several other projects.
In 1995, Jim returned to the Walt Disney Company to head up technical and pipeline development of a new live-action animated project, called 'Dinosaur.'
After completing his work as Effects Compositing Supervisor and Animated Effects Supervision 'Dinosaur', he worked as a Writer-Director at Walt Disney Feature Animation Development, pitching five animated features and two shorts in his first year.
In 2000, Jim was elected by his peers into the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2006, Jim wrote the screenplay “AfterLife” with long-time mentor Syd Field.
In Addition to the films mentioned, Jim has also created Visual Effects for: Robo-Cop2, True Lies, Apollo13, Aladdin, Strange Days, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Spider-Man2, Ghostrider, Spider-Man3, I Am Legend, Beowulf, SpeedRacer, 2012, Priestand Jack, the Giant Killer.
He has recently joined the faculty of The Syd Field Screenwriting Academy, and the staff of visual effects startup, Lit Post, in Burbank, CA. where he is working on three films.
Jim is currently developing a new pipeline for Computer Graphics and writing his fifteenth screenplay.
