James Ford Robinson (also billed as J. F. Robinson and JFRobinson) (born December 2, 1955) is an American filmmaker whose independently produced 1997 romantic comedy-drama '' Still Breathing'' was nominated for the Grand Prix des Amériques (Grand Prize of the Americas) at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

. A

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

, whose birthplace, San Benito, is located near the Mexican border, Robinson began his career in the state's second-largest city,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, in 1980 by making short films and documentaries for his production company, White Lion Pictograph. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, he created television fare, both dramatic and documentary, along with corporate films, commercials and music videos. ''Still Breathing'', his first dramatic theatrical feature, which he wrote, directed, and produced was filmed on location in San Antonio and

San Marcos Springs San Marcos Springs is the second largest natural cluster of springs in Texas. The springs are located in the city of San Marcos, Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Austin and 46 miles (74 km) northeast of San Antonio. Althoug ...

, 46 miles northeast of the city, as well as in Hollywood. The film starred Canadian

Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor known for his leading roles in blockbusters, comedies, and dramatic films. Having graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts in 1990, he made his film debut in '' ...

as an impractical, daydreaming San Antonio puppeteer, and

Joanna Going Joanna Catherine Going (born July 22, 1963) is an American actress known for the television series ''Kingdom'', ''House of Cards'', ''Mad Men'' and the movie ''Wyatt Earp''. Early life Going was born in Washington, DC, the eldest of six childre ...

as a cynical Los Angeles con artist, The film, which featured

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

Ann Magnuson Ann Magnuson (born January 4, 1956) is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer. She was described by ''The New York Times'' in 1990 as "An endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lil ...

and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to th ...

as Brendan Fraser's grandmother, was distributed theatrically in the U.S. by

October Films October Films was a major U.S. independent film production company and distributor founded in 1991 by Bingham Ray and Jeff Lipsky as a means of distributing the 1990 film '' Life Is Sweet''. A series of mergers and acquisitions began when Un ...

and internationally via

Lakeshore Entertainment Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquart ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, and

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. In addition to the film's generally enthusiastic notices, Brendan Fraser was honored with the "Golden Space Needle award" for "Best Actor" at the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Film Festival. The film was also chosen by

Blockbuster Video Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: * Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Blo ...

as its first "Only at Blockbuster" exclusive release. In 1999, Robinson pioneered a new form of

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

when he founded CinemaElectric, a new media entertainment company to create "PocketCinema" for mobile phones. He became known as an innovator in this arena. He left CinemaElectric in 2006 to resume his film career.

External links

* *
Production Company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, James F. American male screenwriters Film producers from Texas American documentary filmmakers American television writers People from San Benito, Texas 1955 births Living people Film directors from Texas American male television writers Screenwriters from Texas