James Cotten (born February 12, 1974) is an American actor, film director, film producer, and writer.

Early life

Cotten was born in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

.,
– James Cotten, IMDb later moving to Sallisaw, Oklahoma. While working at a local television station in

, Cotten produced a story on a film being shot in the area, ''

The Tuskegee Airmen ''The Tuskegee Airmen'' is a 1995 in television, 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African-American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps, that fought in World War II. The film ...

'' (1995). He was cast as a bomber pilot.

Film career

Cotten first studied film making at the London International Film School, in London, England. He later studied at

The Los Angeles Film School The Los Angeles Film School (informally LA Film School) is a for-profit college in Los Angeles, California offering associate and bachelor's degrees in majors relating to the entertainment industry. The school encompasses the Los Angeles Recordin ...

, graduating in 2002. He studied cinematography with many working professionals: Rex Metz (''

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'', ''

I Spy I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players a ...

''), Dave Klein (''

Chasing Amy ''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...

'', ''

Clerks II ''Clerks II'' is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the sequel to his 1994 film ''Clerks'', and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. The film stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawso ...

''), and Michael Barrett ('' CSI'', ''

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

'', ''

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy mystery thriller film written and directed by Shane Black (in his directorial debut), and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen. The scrip ...

''). He studied production design with Lawrence Paull (''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'', ''

Escape from L.A. ''Escape from L.A.'' (stylized on-screen as ''John Carpenter's Escape from L.A.'') is a 1996 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-scored, and directed by John Carpenter, co-written and p ...

'', ''

Unlawful Entry Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding ...

'') and direction with

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

(''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

'', ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...

''),

Donald Petrie Donald Mark Petrie (born April 2, 1954) is an American film director and actor. Life and career Petrie was born in New York City, New York, the son of Dorothea (née Grundy), a television producer, actor, and novelist, and Daniel Petrie, a dir ...

(''

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days ''How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days'' is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. It is based on the picture book of the same name by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long. The book has no narrat ...

'', ''

Miss Congeniality Miss Congeniality may refer to: * ''Miss Congeniality'' (film), 2000 film, directed by Donald Petrie, starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt **'' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', a 2005 sequel *A special award, the "Miss Congeniality A ...

''),

Danielle Suissa Danielle is a modern French female variant of the male name Daniel, meaning "God is my judge" in the Hebrew language. Variants *Dana – Czech, German, Romanian Polish *Danette – English *Daniela – Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, English, Germ ...

(''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

'', '' Neowolf''), and

Brad Battersby Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

('' Red Letters'', ''

Jesus the Driver Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

''). Shortly after graduating from the L.A. Film School, Cotten directed a

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

film called '' Demon Slayer'', a co-production with the school. The movie was released direct to DVD in 2003. It currently appears on the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

. After the completion of ''Demon Slayer'', Cotten returned to

Van Buren, Arkansas Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the Interstat ...

and formed Dark Highway Films, an independent film company which produced its first direct to video release in 2007. '' Sugar Creek'' is a low-budget film that is part fairy tale and part morality tale. ''Sugar Creek'' was nominated at the

Bare Bones International Film Festival The Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival was founded in 1999 by the Darkwood Film Arts Institute (DFAI) in the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States to showcase independent motion picture projects with budgets of less than 1 milli ...

for Best Drama/Thriller, and was best in state at the

Little Rock Film Festival The Little Rock Film Festival (LRFF) is an annual film festival held in Downtown Little Rock, Arkansas each spring. Based in the historic River Market District, home to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, the Little Rock Film Fes ...

. Its direct to DVD release was on July 24, 2007. Cotten was cast in an acting role opposite

Ashley Judd Ashley Judd (born Ashley Tyler Ciminella; April 19, 1968) is an American actress. She grew up in a family of performing artists: she is the daughter of the late country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country music singer Wynonna ...

Joey Lauren Adams Joey Lauren Adams (born January 9, 1968) is an American actress and director. Adams starred in ''Chasing Amy'', for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and played smaller role ...

' ''

Come Early Morning ''Come Early Morning'' is a 2006 American film starring Ashley Judd and Jeffrey Donovan. It marked the List of directorial debuts, directorial debut of Joey Lauren Adams. The film was shot throughout the metropolitan Little Rock, Arkansas area incl ...

'', playing a past one night stand named Steve. In 2008, Cotten directed the film ''La Linea'' (''The Line''). Set in the rich and atmospheric backdrop of Tijuana, Mexico, ''La Linea'' is full of action and drama and finds its soul in the plight of the characters that inhabit the most dangerous city in North America. The film stars

Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), known professionally as Andy García, is a Cuban-born American actor, director and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's ''The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside ...

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primeti ...

Armand Assante Armand Anthony Assante Jr. (; born October 4, 1949) is an American actor. He played mobster John Gotti in the 1996 HBO television film '' Gotti'', Odysseus in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Nietzsche in ''When Niet ...

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

, and

Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips (1987). His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' ...

. ''La Linea'' premiered at the

American Film Market The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held each year in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than ...

in 2008, where it was touted by

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

as one of six films to watch. The film had limited theatrical release in July 2009, as part of a Latino Film Series sponsored by Blockbuster, followed by a Blockbuster exclusive release at the end of August. Cotten also wrote and produced another film in Arkansas, ''Resurrection County'', with his company Dark Highway Films. The film is a neo-gothic horror about two couples who accidentally get off the trail in the wrong part of Arkansas and anger the wrong people. The story is loosely based on an actual encounter Cotten had with a group of anti-government semi-militia living just outside his hometown of Sallisaw. ''Resurrection County'' played through 2008–2009 in numerous festivals across the country. In 2011, Cotten was an executive producer on the horror films ''

The Devil's Carnival ''The Devil's Carnival'' is a 2012 American musical horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, Paul Sorvino, Emilie Autumn and Terrance Zdunich. The film marks the second collab ...

'' and ''Madison County'', as well as acting in the latter. In 2012, Cotten produced the horror/comedy film ''

Hansel & Gretel Get Baked ''Hansel & Gretel Get Baked'' (also known as ''Black Forest: Hansel and Gretel and the 420 Witch'') is a 2013 American comedy horror film from Mark Morgan, producer of ''The Twilight Saga'' film series. Directed by Duane Journey, it stars Michael ...

''.
– Hansel & Gretel Get Baked, IMDb The film stars

Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Hayward in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). After portraying Stacy in Penelope Spheeris's comedy ''Wayne's World'' (1992), ...

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

Molly Quinn Molly Caitlyn Quinn is an American actress who has worked in theatre, film, and television. Her roles include Alexis Castle, daughter of the title character on ABC's ''Castle'', and the voice of Bloom, one of the main characters in the Nickelodeo ...

, and Michael Welch. A horror/comedy, the film takes the classic Hansel and Gretel story and adds the modern twist of the witch (Boyle) being a pot dealer in Pasadena. It was distributed through Tribeca Films. Cotten also acted as a second unit director on the film. Cotten was also a partner in Local Hero, a post-production facility in Santa Monica, California. There he was a visual effects and digital intermediate producer on a number of films, including ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knap ...

'', '' Dope'', '' Captain Fantastic'', '' The Bad Batch'', and many more. He also produced Local Hero's first feature film, ''I Remember You'', directed by Claudia Sparrow in 2015. In 2016, Cotten executive produced '' Alleluia: The Devil's Carnival 2'', the follow-up to Darren Bousman's successful musical. In 2017, Cotten wrote, produced and directed ''Painted Woman'', through his company Dark Highway Films, partnering with Chasing Sunsets Productions. The film stars Stef Dawson,

Matt Dallas Matthew Joseph Dallas (born October 21, 1982) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character on the ABC Family series ''Kyle XY''. Early life Dallas was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Arizona School for the Arts. He ha ...

Robert Craighead The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, David Thomas Jenkins, and Kiowa Gordon. It played at the Bentonville Film Festival, which Geena Davis founded with sponsor Walmart to champion women and diversity in film. It also won Best Romance at the Alaska International Film Awards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotten, James 1974 births Living people People from Fort Smith, Arkansas People from Sallisaw, Oklahoma Male actors from Oklahoma Film directors from Oklahoma Film directors from Arkansas Film producers from Oklahoma