James D. Stern is an American film and Broadway producer. He won a 2003

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'', has been nominated for other awards, and was a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

Winner for ''Stomp''.

Life and career

Early life

Before starting Endgame, Stern co-directed and produced the IMAX film '' Michael Jordan to the Max'' and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

’s '' It’s the Rage''. On stage he produced the twelve-time Tony Award-winning

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...

show '' The Producers'' and the eight time Tony Award-winning ''Hairspray''. He produced ''Stomp'', ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

'' starring Natalie Portman, ''Legally Blonde'', the Tony Award-nominated ''Twilight 1992'', and the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

-winning play ''

The Weir ''The Weir'' is a play written by Conor McPherson in 1997. It was first produced at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London, England, on 4 July 1997. It opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on 1 April 1999. As well as several oth ...

''. He produced Alan Menken's ''

Leap of Faith A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason. Overview The phrase is commonly attributed to Søren Kierkegaard; however, he never used the term, as he ...

'' during the fall of 2010. Stern founded and ran the financial investment company and hedge fund Stern Joint Venture, L.P. (SJV). He produced with his company Endgame Entertainment and

FilmDistrict FilmDistrict Distribution LLC. was an American independent motion picture company based in Los Angeles. It specialized in acquisitions, distribution, production, and financing. It was founded in September 2010 by Bob Berney and Peter Schlessel in ...

the thriller ''

Self/less ''Self/less'' is a 2015 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, produced by Ram Bergman and James D. Stern and written by Alex and David Pastor. The film tells the story of a business tycoon and billionaire named ...

''. Stern directed the 2018 documentary ''American Chaos''. Stern has a B.A. in directing from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and a M.B.A. in marketing and finance from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Endgame Entertainment

In 2002, Stern founded Endgame Entertainment as an independent production company to produce, develop and finance films and other forms of entertainment properties. Under his leadership, Endgame Entertainment has financed or cofinanced more than 25 films. Endgame recently wrapped production on ''

Seeking Justice ''Seeking Justice'' (also known as ''Justice'', and formerly titled ''The Hungry Rabbit Jumps'') is a 2011 action thriller film starring Nicolas Cage, January Jones and Guy Pearce. The film was directed by Roger Donaldson and produced by Tobey Magu ...

'', directed by

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian-born List of New Zealand film makers, New Zealand film director, producer and writer whose films include the 1981 relationship drama ''Smash Palace'', and a run of titles shot in ...

and starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

January Jones January Kristen Jones (born January 5, 1978) is an American actress and model. She played Betty Draper in ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and a Pr ...

and

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...

. Recent releases include ''

An Education ''An Education'' is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby. It stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright school ...

'' (

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...

), which garnered three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations, and ''Every Little Step'' (Sony Pictures Classics), which Stern co-produced and co-directed. The documentary grossed more than $1.7 million and was short listed for an Academy Award. Previous Endgame releases include Summit's ''

The Brothers Bloom ''The Brothers Bloom'' is a 2008 American caper comedy-drama film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Maximilian Schell, and Robbie Coltrane. The film went into wide rel ...

'', Sony Pictures Classics' ''Easy Virtue'' and the Bob Dylan biopic ''

I'm Not There ''I'm Not There'' is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, and co-written by Haynes and Oren Moverman. It is an unconventional biographical film inspired by the life and music of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors de ...

'', featuring an Oscar-nominated performance by Cate Blanchett. Earlier releases include ''

Hotel Rwanda ''Hotel Rwanda'' is a 2004 drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay co-written by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana. Based on the ...

'' and ''

Lord of War ''Lord of War'' is a 2005 American crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol, and co-produced by and starring Nicolas Cage. The film was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, to positive reviews and grosse ...

'' for Lionsgate, ''Proof'' for Miramax, Universal's ''White Noise'', Hollywood Pictures’ ''

Stay Alive ''Stay Alive'' is a 2006 American supernatural horror film directed by William Brent Bell, who co-wrote it with Matthew Peterman. The film was produced by Joseph McGinty Nichol, and released on March 24, 2006 in the United States. It was the first ...

'', and New Line's ''

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' (released in some international markets as ''Harold & Kumar Get the Munchies'') is a 2004 American buddy stoner comedy film directed by Danny Leiner, written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, and starr ...

''. Stern also co-directed and produced the documentaries '' The Year of the Yao'' (New Line) and '' ...So Goes the Nation'' (IFC).

Filmography

''He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.''

Film

;As director ;Miscellaneous crew ;Thanks

Television

;As director ;Miscellaneous crew ;Thanks

References

External links

*
Endgame Entertainment

C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Stern and Adam Del Deo about ''...So Goes the Nation'', November 5, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, James D. American film directors Film producers from New York (state) Tony Award winners Living people University of Michigan alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Columbia Business School alumni American independent film production company founders