James Schamus

James Schamus

James Allan Schamus is an American screenwriter, co-founder of Good Machine production company, and the CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company, until its merging with FilmDistrict. 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, The Kids Are All Right. He is Professor of Professional Practice in Columbia University's School of the Arts, where he teaches film history and theory.

  • Title: James Schamus
  • Popularity: 2.79
  • Known For: Production
  • Birthday: 1959-09-07
  • Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
img

James Schamus Movies

  • 2021
    imgMovies

    Attack of the Hollywood Clichés!

    Attack of the Hollywood Clichés!

    6 2021 HD

    One-man armies, meet-cutes, casual strolls away from huge explosions — stars and industry insiders toast and roast these cinematic chestnuts...

    img
  • 2013
    imgMovies

    Misfire: The Rise and Fall of the Shooting Gallery

    Misfire: The Rise and Fall of the Shooting Gallery

    1 2013 HD

    A documentary about the influential independent film production company The Shooting Gallery.

    img
  • 2011
    imgMovies

    These Amazing Shadows

    These Amazing Shadows

    7.4 2011 HD

    Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and...

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    Keep It for Yourself

    Keep It for Yourself

    5.7 1991 HD

    Sophie comes to New York from France with the intention of joining a man she met a few months before. She finds herself alone in the apartment of the...

    img
  • 2006
    imgMovies

    Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

    Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

    5.7 2006 HD

    A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback...

    img
  • 2011
    imgMovies

    Lost Forever: The Art of Film Preservation

    Lost Forever: The Art of Film Preservation

    5 2011 HD

    This documentary short takes you inside the fascinating world of film preservation and restoration.

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - A Retrospective

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - A Retrospective

    1 2016 HD

    A three-part feature in which Cultural Critic/Film Journalist Tasha R. Robinson interviews three key members of the filmmaking team. The first...

    img
  • 2019
    imgMovies

    Frames

    Frames

    1 2019 HD

    James’s film provides us with a thoughtful history of photography and the moving image that both pays tribute to the past and celebrates how...

    img
  • 2005
    imgMovies

    Brokeback Mountain

    Brokeback Mountain

    7.797 2005 HD

    In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they...

    img
  • 2000
    imgMovies

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    7.4 2000 HD

    Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is...

    img
  • 2003
    imgMovies

    Hulk

    Hulk

    5.555 2003 HD

    Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a...

    img
  • 2003
    imgMovies

    Hulk

    Hulk

    5.555 2003 HD

    Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a...

    img
  • 2003
    imgMovies

    Hulk

    Hulk

    5.555 2003 HD

    Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a...

    img
  • 1994
    imgMovies

    Eat Drink Man Woman

    Eat Drink Man Woman

    7.6 1994 HD

    A retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu and his family live in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. He lives with his three attractive daughters, all of...

    img
  • 2007
    imgMovies

    Lust, Caution

    Lust, Caution

    7.225 2007 HD

    During World War II, a secret agent must seduce then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission...

    img
  • 1998
    imgMovies

    Happiness

    Happiness

    7.5 1998 HD

    The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might...

    img
  • 1999
    imgMovies

    Ride with the Devil

    Ride with the Devil

    6.3 1999 HD

    Ride with the Devil follows four people who are fighting for truth and justice amidst the turmoil of the American Civil War. Director Ang Lee takes...

    img
  • 1999
    imgMovies

    Ride with the Devil

    Ride with the Devil

    6.3 1999 HD

    Ride with the Devil follows four people who are fighting for truth and justice amidst the turmoil of the American Civil War. Director Ang Lee takes...

    img
  • 2002
    imgMovies

    Buffalo Soldiers

    Buffalo Soldiers

    6.2 2002 HD

    A criminal subculture operates among U.S. soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall.

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    The Wedding Banquet

    The Wedding Banquet

    7.213 1993 HD

    A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order...

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    The Wedding Banquet

    The Wedding Banquet

    7.213 1993 HD

    A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order...

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    Pushing Hands

    Pushing Hands

    7.3 1991 HD

    Mr. Chu is an elderly widower who teaches tai chi chuan in Beijing. He moves to America to live with his son's family, but finds the cultural...

    img
  • 2009
    imgMovies

    Taking Woodstock

    Taking Woodstock

    6.2 2009 HD

    The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the...

    img
  • 2009
    imgMovies

    Taking Woodstock

    Taking Woodstock

    6.2 2009 HD

    The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the...

    img
  • 1994
    imgMovies

    What Happened Was...

    What Happened Was...

    7.042 1994 HD

    Jackie and Michael are coworkers at a large law firm. They decide to meet at Jackie's for dinner one night.

    img
  • 2024
    imgMovies

    We Grown Now

    We Grown Now

    6.5 2024 HD

    In 1992 Chicago, a story of two young legends in their own right begins. As wide-eyed and imaginative best friends Malik and Eric traverse the city,...

    img
  • 1992
    imgMovies

    Ambition

    Ambition

    5.5 1992 HD

    Follows a day in the life of a young artist who longs for professional success and the attention of beautiful women, but who encounters only...

    img
  • 1995
    imgMovies

    Roy Cohn/Jack Smith

    Roy Cohn/Jack Smith

    1 1995 HD

    When Jill Godmilow’s documentary Roy Cohn/Jack Smith premiered at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival, the number of AIDS-related...

    img
  • 1995
    imgMovies

    The Brothers McMullen

    The Brothers McMullen

    6 1995 HD

    Deals with the lives of the three Irish Catholic McMullen brothers from Long Island, New York, over three months, as they grapple with basic ideas...

    img
  • 2023
    imgMovies

    Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms

    Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms

    7.1 2023 HD

    Based on the most well-known classical fantasy novel of China, Fengshenyanyi, the trilogy is a magnificent eastern high fantasy epic that recreates...

    img
  • 1996
    imgMovies

    Walking and Talking

    Walking and Talking

    6 1996 HD

    Just as Amelia thinks she's over her anxiety and insecurity, her best friend announces her engagement, bringing her anxiety and insecurity right back.

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    The Ice Storm

    The Ice Storm

    6.9 1997 HD

    In the weekend after thanksgiving 1973 the Hood family is skidding out of control. Then an ice storm hits, the worst in a century.

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Indignation

    Indignation

    6.353 2016 HD

    In 1951, Marcus Messner, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with anti-Semitism, sexual...

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Indignation

    Indignation

    6.353 2016 HD

    In 1951, Marcus Messner, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with anti-Semitism, sexual...

    img
  • 2002
    imgMovies

    Auto Focus

    Auto Focus

    6.4 2002 HD

    A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his...

    img
  • 2022
    imgMovies

    The King's Daughter

    The King's Daughter

    7.1 2022 HD

    King Louis XIV's quest for immortality leads him to capture and steal a mermaid's life force, a move that is further complicated by his illegitimate...

    img
  • 2007
    imgMovies

    Lust, Caution

    Lust, Caution

    7.225 2007 HD

    During World War II, a secret agent must seduce then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission...

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    Office Killer

    Office Killer

    5.2 1997 HD

    When Dorine Douglas' job as proofreader for Constant Consumer magazine is turned into an at-home position during a downsizing, she doesn't know how...

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Junction 48

    Junction 48

    5.8 2016 HD

    Set against a backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestinian rapper Kareem and his singer girlfriend Manar struggle, love and make music...

    img
  • 1992
    imgMovies

    In the Soup

    In the Soup

    6.5 1992 HD

    An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.

    img
  • 1999
    imgMovies

    Love God

    Love God

    7.6 1999 HD

    Manhattan, 1996. All mental hospitals must cut their patient load by a third, and LaRue (Will Keenan) is sent out onto the streets with "chronic...

    img
  • 2014
    imgMovies

    That Film About Money

    That Film About Money

    1 2014 HD

    What is the real value of a dollar? You think that a dollar bill is money and that banks are where your cash is stored and safeguarded. Well,...

    img
  • 2014
    imgMovies

    That Film About Money

    That Film About Money

    1 2014 HD

    What is the real value of a dollar? You think that a dollar bill is money and that banks are where your cash is stored and safeguarded. Well,...

    img
  • 2014
    imgMovies

    That Film About Money

    That Film About Money

    1 2014 HD

    What is the real value of a dollar? You think that a dollar bill is money and that banks are where your cash is stored and safeguarded. Well,...

    img
  • 1992
    imgMovies

    Surviving Desire

    Surviving Desire

    7 1992 HD

    Jude, a college professor, is obsessed with Sophie, his student. She, in turn, is intrigued by his scholarly charm. Flirtation turns to lust and the...

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Indignation

    Indignation

    6.353 2016 HD

    In 1951, Marcus Messner, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with anti-Semitism, sexual...

    img
  • 1996
    imgMovies

    She's the One

    She's the One

    5.5 1996 HD

    Mickey, a free-spirited New York cabbie, and Francis, a materialistic Wall Street stockbroker, are extremely competitive and confused about women as...

    img
  • 2017
    imgMovies

    Dayveon

    Dayveon

    6.7 2017 HD

    In the wake of his big brother’s violent death, 13-year-old Dayveon struggles to find his way in an economically depressed Arkansas town. With...

    img
  • 2017
    imgMovies

    Casting JonBenet

    Casting JonBenet

    5.7 2017 HD

    Twenty years after the modern world's most notorious child murder, the legacy of the crime and its impact are explored.

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    Arresting Gena

    Arresting Gena

    1 1997 HD

    A directionless teenager (Aesha Waks) becomes involved with a headstrong runaway (Summer Phoenix) and her drug-dealing brother (Sam Rockwell).

    img
  • 1999
    imgMovies

    Lola and Billy the Kid

    Lola and Billy the Kid

    6.6 1999 HD

    Murat, a Turkish gay youth living in Berlin’s Turkish ghetto, decides to come out to his family. What he doesn’t know yet is that his...

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    I Was on Mars

    I Was on Mars

    7.3 1991 HD

    Silva fulfills herself a dream: from Poland she flies to USA. With only a few hundred dollars she arrives in New York, incapable of the language. Not...

    img
  • 2024
    imgMovies

    McVeigh

    McVeigh

    1 2024 HD

    After the Waco siege, an unthinkable plan brews in the mind of army veteran Timothy McVeigh. A psychological thriller based on the harrowing real...

    img
  • 1970
    imgMovies

    The Wedding Banquet

    The Wedding Banquet

    1 1970 HD

    After his boyfriend rejects his marriage proposal, Min convinces his best friend Angela to marry him for his green card and offers to pay for her...

    img
  • 1970
    imgMovies

    The Wedding Banquet

    The Wedding Banquet

    1 1970 HD

    After his boyfriend rejects his marriage proposal, Min convinces his best friend Angela to marry him for his green card and offers to pay for her...

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Alone in Berlin

    Alone in Berlin

    6.7 2016 HD

    Berlin in June of 1940. While Nazi propaganda celebrates the regime’s victory over France, a kitchen-cum-living room in Prenzlauer Berg is...

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier

    Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier

    1 1991 HD

    An intimate exploration of the circumstances surrounding the incarceration of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, convicted of murder in 1977,...

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    MOTV (My Own TV)

    MOTV (My Own TV)

    1 1993 HD

    A love story between a Jamaican immigrant and his wife that turns bittersweet when the search for the American dream goes awry.

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    The Ice Storm

    The Ice Storm

    6.9 1997 HD

    In the weekend after thanksgiving 1973 the Hood family is skidding out of control. Then an ice storm hits, the worst in a century.

    img
  • 2018
    imgMovies

    Furlough

    Furlough

    5.8 2018 HD

    In between caring for her mother, a young woman works part time at a prison. The rookie guard gets a chance to prove her mettle when she's tasked...

    img
  • 1995
    imgMovies

    Safe

    Safe

    7 1995 HD

    Carol White, a Los Angeles housewife in the late 1980s, comes down with a debilitating illness with no clear diagnosis.

    img
  • 1970
    imgMovies

    The Wedding Banquet

    The Wedding Banquet

    1 1970 HD

    After his boyfriend rejects his marriage proposal, Min convinces his best friend Angela to marry him for his green card and offers to pay for her...

    img
  • 2000
    imgMovies

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    7.4 2000 HD

    Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is...

    img
  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Driveways

    Driveways

    7.1 2020 HD

    Eight-year-old Cody is spending the summer in an unfamiliar setting with his mom Kathy. Though he can't relate to the neighbourhood kids, things take...

    img
  • 2019
    imgMovies

    The Tomorrow Man

    The Tomorrow Man

    5.7 2019 HD

    Ed Hemsler spends his life preparing for a disaster that may never come. Ronnie Meisner spends her life shopping for things she may never use. In a...

    img
  • 2019
    imgMovies

    Adam

    Adam

    4.1 2019 HD

    Adam, an awkward teen, spends a summer with his older sister, who is part of New York City's lesbian and trans activist scene. He meets the girl of...

    img
  • 1994
    imgMovies

    Eat Drink Man Woman

    Eat Drink Man Woman

    7.6 1994 HD

    A retired and widowed Chinese master chef Chu and his family live in modern day Taipei, Taiwan. He lives with his three attractive daughters, all of...

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    Wonderland

    Wonderland

    7 1997 HD

    Welcome to Levittown, New York - America's first cookie-cutter community. From wife-swapping to bomb shelters, to flag burning, Wonderland takes a...

    img
  • 2020
    imgMovies

    The Assistant

    The Assistant

    6.3 2020 HD

    A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the...

    img
  • 2019
    imgMovies

    30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing

    30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing

    5 2019 HD

    Over 30 filmmakers and friends of Strand Releasing have come together to honor the company’s indelible contribution to independent cinema over...

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    Poison

    Poison

    6.1 1991 HD

    A trio of interweaved transgressive tales, telling a bizarre stories of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice, a mad sex experiment...

    img
  • 2019
    imgMovies

    Frames

    Frames

    1 2019 HD

    James’s film provides us with a thoughtful history of photography and the moving image that both pays tribute to the past and celebrates how...

    img
  • 1970
    imgMovies

    College Republicans

    College Republicans

    1 1970 HD

    A young Karl Rove vies for the position of chief campus conservative under the guidance of Lee Atwater.

    img
  • 1970
    imgMovies

    College Republicans

    College Republicans

    1 1970 HD

    A young Karl Rove vies for the position of chief campus conservative under the guidance of Lee Atwater.

    img
  • 1992
    imgMovies

    Thank You and Good Night

    Thank You and Good Night

    1 1992 HD

    Director Jan Oxenberg's docu-fantasy narrative about aging and death, and how it affects her family.

    img
  • 1991
    imgMovies

    Pushing Hands

    Pushing Hands

    7.3 1991 HD

    Mr. Chu is an elderly widower who teaches tai chi chuan in Beijing. He moves to America to live with his son's family, but finds the cultural...

    img
  • 2015
    imgMovies

    Suffragette

    Suffragette

    7.2 2015 HD

    Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and...

    img
  • 1997
    imgMovies

    The Myth of Fingerprints

    The Myth of Fingerprints

    4.8 1997 HD

    When a New England dysfunctional family gathers for Thanksgiving, past demons reveal themselves as one son returns for the first time in three years.

    img
  • 1995
    imgMovies

    Sense and Sensibility

    Sense and Sensibility

    7.423 1995 HD

    The Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne, whose chances at marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of fortune. When...

    img
  • 1993
    imgMovies

    A Psychic Mom

    A Psychic Mom

    1 1993 HD

    A psychic suburban mother--with an affinity for Doris Day films--begins a spiritual journey beyond the confines of her neighborhood and failed...

    img
  • 1970
    imgS1 E6

    7.5 1970 HD

    The lives of the people of Allende, a Mexican border town, are overtaken by a powerful cartel's operations, leading to tragedy. Inspired by true...

    img
  • 1970
    imgS1 E6

    7.5 1970 HD

    The lives of the people of Allende, a Mexican border town, are overtaken by a powerful cartel's operations, leading to tragedy. Inspired by true...

    img
  • 1970
    imgS1 E6

    7.5 1970 HD

    The lives of the people of Allende, a Mexican border town, are overtaken by a powerful cartel's operations, leading to tragedy. Inspired by true...

    img
  • 1970
    imgS1 E6

    7.5 1970 HD

    The lives of the people of Allende, a Mexican border town, are overtaken by a powerful cartel's operations, leading to tragedy. Inspired by true...

    img