James DeMonaco (born October 12, 1969) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for creating the
''Purge'' franchise, writing all five films in the series and directing the first three, ''
The Purge
''The Purge'' is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes, which are written and in some cases also ...
'' (2013), ''
Anarchy
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted ...
'' (2014), and ''
Election Year'' (2016).
DeMonaco's first produced screenplay was the
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
comedy ''
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
'' (1996), directed by
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
.
Personal life
DeMonaco grew up in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. He spent eight years in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 kmĀ² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France, that led him to "put a microscope" on his life after seeing the difference in the relationship toward guns and violence in Paris compared to New York. DeMonaco is of Italian descent.
He and his wife, a doctor, were almost killed by a drunk driver in Brooklyn. In anger, his wife said "I wish we could all have one free one
murdera year", something which helped inspire the ''Purge'' series.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
Living people
1969 births
American film directors
American male screenwriters
American male actors
American film producers
American television producers
American television writers
American male television writers
Horror film directors
American writers of Italian descent
American people of Italian descent
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