James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...
with ''
Tromeo and Juliet
''Tromeo and Juliet'' is a 1997 American independent transgressive romantic black comedy film and a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo & Juliet'' from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a screenplay ...
'' (1997). He then began working as a director, starting with the horror-comedy film ''
Slither'' (2006), and moving to the superhero genre with ''
Super
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butt ...
'' (2010), ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'' (2014), ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...
'' (2017), ''
The Suicide Squad'' (2021), and ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' (2023). In 2022,
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...
hired Gunn to become co-chairman and co-CEO of
DC Studios
DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, am ...
.
He also wrote and directed the web series ''
James Gunn's PG Porn
''James Gunn's PG Porn'' is a web series created by brothers James Gunn, Brian Gunn, and Sean Gunn. It consists of a series of pornography spoofs, with a humorous event occurring just before the supposed commencement of pornographic sexual acts. ...
'' (2008–2009), the
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
original series ''
Peacemaker
Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to:
Individuals and groups
* UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators
* Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...
'' (2022–present), and the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
original special ''
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
''The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special'' is an American television special written and directed by James Gunn for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy. It is the sec ...
'' (2022). Other projects he is known for is writing for
the 2004 remake of
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...
's ''
Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), writing the live-action adaptation of ''
Scooby Doo'' (2002), and its sequel ''
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' (2004), writing and producing the horror-action film ''
The Belko Experiment
''The Belko Experiment'' is a 2016 American horror thriller film directed by Greg McLean and written by James Gunn, who also produced the film with Peter Safran. It stars John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Melon ...
'' (2016), producing the superhero-horror film ''
Brightburn
''Brightburn'' is a 2019 American superhero horror film directed by David Yarovesky, written by Brian and Mark Gunn, and produced by James Gunn and Kenneth Huang. Starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones and Mered ...
'' (2019), and contributing to comedy-anthology film ''
Movie 43
''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundie ...
'' (2013) (directing the segment "Beezel") and the 2012 hack-and-slash video game ''
Lollipop Chainsaw
is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...
''.
Early life
James Francis Gunn, Jr. was born on August 5, 1966
in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
,
to parents James F. Gunn, an attorney, and Leota "Lee" (Hynek).
[Additional on May 5, 2017.] He was raised between St. Louis and
Manchester, Missouri
Manchester is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 18,333 at the 2020 census.
History
Manchester was named by an English settler after Manchester, England.
Geography
Manchester is located at (38.584244, -90. ...
. He has five siblings — actor
Sean
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...
, actor and political writer
Matt, screenwriter
Brian
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...
, Patrick, and Beth. His father was from an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrant family. Gunn has stated that his family's surname was originally the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
name MacGilgunn and that it means "sons to the servants of the god of the dead"; it actually means "son of the brown youth." Gunn was raised
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, despite being of partial
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
descent.
Growing up, Gunn was influenced by low-budget films such as ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...
'' and ''
Friday the 13th''. He read magazines like ''
Fangoria
''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr.
The magazine was originally released i ...
'' and attended genre movie screenings, including the original ''
Dawn of the Dead'' at the
Tivoli Theatre in St. Louis. At the age of 12, he began making
8 mm zombie film
A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror g ...
s with his brothers in the woods near their home.
Gunn and his brothers all attended the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
St. Louis University High School, where he graduated in 1984.
He went on to earn a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...
. While at Saint Louis University, Gunn created political cartoons for the school's student weekly, ''The University News''.
Gunn said that, at an unspecified time in his college education, "I went to two years undergraduate film school at
Loyola Marymount in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. But I was pretty screwed up at the time, and had to leave. Years later I went to graduate school at the
Columbia University School of Fine Arts
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
but I studied prose writing, not film writing." He earned a
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...
from Columbia University in 1995.
Career
Music
While living in St. Louis, Gunn founded a band, The Icons, in 1989, serving as lead vocalist. The group released the album ''Mom, We Like It Here on Earth'' in 1994, and its songs "Sunday" and "Walking Naked" were featured in the film ''
Tromeo and Juliet
''Tromeo and Juliet'' is a 1997 American independent transgressive romantic black comedy film and a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo & Juliet'' from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a screenplay ...
''. The Icons disbanded in the mid-1990s. Gunn has continued to work in music, composing songs for ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...
'', ''
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'', and ''
Movie 43
''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundie ...
''.
Film and television
![James Gunn by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/James_Gunn_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
Gunn began his career in filmmaking with
Troma Entertainment
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...
in 1995, for which he wrote the independent film ''
Tromeo and Juliet
''Tromeo and Juliet'' is a 1997 American independent transgressive romantic black comedy film and a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo & Juliet'' from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a screenplay ...
''. Working alongside his mentor
Lloyd Kaufman
Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...
, the co-founder of Troma, Gunn learned how to write screenplays, produce films, scout locations, direct actors, distribute films, and create his own poster art.
After contributing to several other Troma films, Gunn in 2000 wrote, produced and performed in the superhero comedy ''
The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...
'', directed by
Craig Mazin
Craig Mazin (born April 8, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for creating the five-part HBO miniseries ''Chernobyl (miniseries), Chernobyl'', based on the Chernobyl disaster, nuclear disaster of the same name in ...
and featuring
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...
,
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom ''Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in ''Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work, ...
,
Paget Brewster
Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Speci ...
,
Judy Greer
Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...
and
Jamie Kennedy
James Harvey Kennedy (born May 25, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He has played Randy Meeks in the ''Scream'' franchise (1996–2000) and a multitude of characters in ''The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'' (2002–2004) on The WB. His othe ...
.
Gunn's first major Hollywood screenplay was ''Scooby-Doo'' in 2002. In 2004, he wrote the screenplays for the remake of ''
Dawn of the Dead'' and the sequel ''Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed''. With these films, Gunn became the first screenwriter to have two films top the box office in consecutive weeks. That same year, he executive produced and starred in the mockumentary ''
LolliLove'', directed by and starring his then-wife
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
. His film directorial debut was the 2006 horror-comedy ''
Slither'', which was included on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 50 Best Ever Reviewed Horror Movies.
Gunn's next projects included the comedy short film "Humanzee!" which was originally intended exclusively for the Xbox Live's ''Horror Meets Comedy'' series of short comedy films by horror directors, it was replaced with "Sparky and Mikaela" which debuted on Xbox Live on December 31, 2008. In an April 2009 interview on ''The
Jace Hall
Jason "Jace" Hall is an American film, television and video game producer.
Career
Hall was one of the founders of Monolith Productions and is CEO of record keeping platform Twin Galaxies. His music video "I Play W.O.W" was featured on IGN's Y ...
Show'', Gunn described "Sparky and Mikaela" as being "about a human
ndracoon crime fighting team and they fight crime in both the forest world, among the furry animals, and in the human world". Gunn also has a short-form web series for
Spike.com titled ''
James Gunn's PG Porn
''James Gunn's PG Porn'' is a web series created by brothers James Gunn, Brian Gunn, and Sean Gunn. It consists of a series of pornography spoofs, with a humorous event occurring just before the supposed commencement of pornographic sexual acts. ...
''.
In 2008, Gunn was a judge on the
VH1 reality television show ''
Scream Queens'', where 10 unknown actresses compete for a role in the film ''
Saw VI
''Saw VI'' is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sequel to 2008's ''Saw V'' and sixth installment in the ''Saw'' film series. The fil ...
''.
In 2009, Gunn announced he was going to write and direct ''Pets'', a comedy about a man who is abducted by aliens who want to turn him into a household pet, with
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
,
Stuart Cornfeld
Stuart Cornfeld (November 13, 1952 – June 26, 2020) was an American film producer. He was business partners with Ben Stiller in the company Red Hour Productions.
Biography
Cornfeld was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended the Universi ...
and Jeremy Kramer producing. However, by March 2009, Gunn announced, "''Pets'' unfortunately, is done. I'm gone. I left the project for various reasons. I hope it sees the light of day somehow, but it won't be with me attached as director."
In 2010, Gunn released ''
Super
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butt ...
'', a
dark comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
and
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
satire starring
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...
and
Elliot Page
Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...
. He also directed a segment of the 2013 comedy anthology film ''
Movie 43
''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundie ...
'' (2013); the segment starred
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perfe ...
and
Josh Duhamel
Joshua David Duhamel (; born November 14, 1972) is an American actor and former fashion model. After various modeling work, he made his acting debut as Leo du Pres on the ABC daytime soap opera ''All My Children'' and later starred as Danny McC ...
. The film was critically panned.
Gunn co-wrote and directed the
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
adaptation of ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'', which was released on August 1, 2014.
His brother, Sean, has a role in the film. Gunn has appeared as an actor, mostly in smaller roles or uncredited appearances in his own projects. After
Dan Gilroy
Daniel Christopher Gilroy (born June 24, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing and directing ''Nightcrawler (film), Nightcrawler'' (2014), for which he won Best Screenplay at the 30th Independent Spir ...
and
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
separately lamented the proliferation of superhero films, Gunn responded in a Facebook post, saying in part:
Gunn wrote and produced the
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
''
The Belko Experiment
''The Belko Experiment'' is a 2016 American horror thriller film directed by Greg McLean and written by James Gunn, who also produced the film with Peter Safran. It stars John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Melon ...
'', which was released in 2017. In 2016, he directed three
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
cameo scenes in one day, for the film ''
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
'' and two unrevealed projects.
[While ''Doctor Strange'' director Scott Derrickson believed Gunn directed four cameos, Gunn said on social media, "To be honest, I think I only did THREE cameos — one was shot by someone else. And my third probably isn't what you think it is….": ][Additional on May 5, 2017.]
Gunn wrote and directed ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ' ...
'' (2017). Gunn was slated to direct ''
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' in July 2018, but before the project started,
Disney
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 ...
severed ties with Gunn as the director amid controversy over
off-color jokes he had
tweeted
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Gunn was rehired in March 2019 after a mass public appeal, many saying he was the reason of the previous movies' successes.
In October 2018, Gunn was hired to write a completely new script for the
DC Extended Universe
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...
film ''
The Suicide Squad'', with the intention of also serving as director, after its original director
Gavin O'Connor left due to scheduling issues. In January 2019, he was officially confirmed to direct ''The Suicide Squad''. He also wrote, directed, and produced the spin-off
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
for the film centered on the character
Peacemaker
Peacemaker or The Peacemaker (in various forms) may refer to:
Individuals and groups
* UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators
* Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations inv ...
played by
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...
for
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
. Gunn will also co-write and co-produce a live-action/animated film titled ''
Coyote vs. Acme
''Coyote vs. Acme'' is an upcoming American legal drama comedy film directed by Dave Green, from a screenplay written by James Gunn, Jeremy Slater, Jon Silberman, Josh Silberman, and Samy Burch. Combining live-action and animation, the film ...
'', based on
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. character
Wile E. Coyote
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episod ...
, for the
Warner Animation Group
The Warner Animation Group (WAG) is an American animation studio serving as the computer-animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, th ...
.
He is also executive-producing a ''Peacemaker'' spin-off centered on
Amanda Waller
Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and ...
, with Christal Henry writing and
Viola Davis
Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...
reprising her role from previous DCEU projects. In addition, Gunn is writing and directing another project for DC.
Gunn is also involved in multiple other DC projects, including television series.
In October 2022, he deepened his ties with DC when he was named co-chairman and co-CEO (with
Peter Safran
Peter Safran (born 22 November 1965) is a British-American film producer and manager. He currently serves as the co-chairperson and CEO of DC Studios alongside James Gunn.
Early life
After growing up in the UK, Safran graduated from Princeton Un ...
) of
DC Studios
DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, am ...
. From this position, he will oversee creative development on most film, television and animated projects; the only exception as of date will be the film ''
Joker: Folie a Deux'', which will be overseen by Warner Bros. co-chairmen
Michael De Luca
Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. The former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks, De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best ...
and Pamela Abdy.
Other media
Gunn wrote a novel in 2000, ''
The Toy Collector
''The Toy Collector'' is a novel written by James Gunn, published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2000. It is the story of a hospital orderly who steals drugs from the hospital which he sells to help keep his toy collection habit alive. Although the w ...
'', a story of a hospital orderly who steals drugs from the hospital which he sells to help keep his toy collection habit alive. In 1998, he and Troma's President Lloyd Kaufman co-wrote ''
All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger'', about his experiences with Kaufman while working at Troma.
He wrote the story for
Grasshopper Manufacture
is a Japanese video game developer founded on March 30, 1998 by Goichi Suda. They are well known for creating titles such as ''killer7'' and the '' No More Heroes'' series.
History
The company was founded on March 30, 1998 in Suginami, Ja ...
's video game ''
Lollipop Chainsaw
is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...
'', working with game designer
Suda 51.
Firing from Disney and reinstatement
In July 2018, in reaction to Gunn's public criticisms of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, commentator
Mike Cernovich
Michael Cernovich (born November 17, 1977) is an American right-wing social media personality, political commentator, and conspiracy theorist. Though he initially called himself alt-right, he dissociated from the movement after Richard Spence ...
drew attention to controversial jokes that Gunn posted on social media between 2008 and 2012 involving
pedophilia
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
and the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. Amid criticism of the tweets, Disney severed ties with Gunn as the director of the upcoming ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' film at the time;
Gunn responded: "I have regretted
hose jokesfor many years since.
..Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now
s offermy sincere and heartfelt regret
..To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies."
Walt Disney Studios's decision received criticism from many entertainers and journalists, including actors
Dave Bautista
David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. He had several stints in WWE between 2002 and 2019. In his acting career, he is most widely known for his portrayal of Drax the Destro ...
,
Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...
,
Patton Oswalt
Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...
,
David Dastmalchian
David Dastmalchian (; born July 21, 1975) is an American film and stage actor. He has had supporting roles in a number of superhero franchises; he portrayed Thomas Schiff in ''The Dark Knight'', Kurt in the first two Marvel Cinematic Universe ...
,
Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', ''Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: Fi ...
,
Mikaela Hoover
Mikaela Hoover (born July 12, 1984) is an American actress of Iranian and Italian descent.
Early life and education
Mikaela was born and raised in Colbert, Washington. She started taking dance classes at the age of two and starred in school pla ...
,
Mike Colter
Mike Randal Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018), '' The Defenders'' (2017), and ''Jess ...
,
Alex Winter
Alexander Ross Winter (born July 17, 1965) is a British-American actor and filmmaker. He played the slacker Bill in the 1989 film '' Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' and its sequels ''Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'' (1991) and '' Bill & Ted Face ...
,
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...
, directors
Joe Carnahan
Joseph Aaron Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor whose films include '' Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane''; '' Narc''; ''Smokin' Aces''; ''The A-Team''; '' The Grey''; and ''Boss Level''. He a ...
and
Fede Álvarez
Federico Álvarez (born February 9, 1978) is a Uruguayans, Uruguayan film director, filmmaker. He is known for directing ''Evil Dead (2013 film), Evil Dead'' (2013) and ''Don't Breathe'' (2016), as well as his short film ''Ataque de Pánico!'' ( ...
,
comics artist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...
Jim Starlin
James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and ...
, musician
Rhett Miller, comedian
Jim Jefferies, ''
Rick and Morty
{{Infobox television
, image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png
, alt =
, caption =
, genre = {{Plainlist,
* Animated sitcom
* Adult animation
* Science fiction
* Black comedy
* ...
'' creators
Justin Roiland
Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's ''Rick and Morty'' and its subsequent Rick and Morty (franchise), franchise. H ...
and
Dan Harmon
Daniel James Harmon (born January 3, 1973) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast ''Harmontown ...
, journalist
David A. French
David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American political commentator and former attorney who has argued high-profile religious liberty cases. He is a columnist for ''The New York Times''. Formerly a fellow at the National Review Insti ...
and Troma Entertainment founder and president
Lloyd Kaufman
Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...
.
Bobcat Goldthwait
Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched voice. ...
, who worked as a voice actor on the 1997 Disney film ''
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
'', responded to the incident by asking Disney to remove his voice from an upcoming park attraction based on the film.
A number of media outlets criticized Disney's decision, including ''
Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
'', ''
Cartoon Brew
Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004.
Cartoon Dump
It also created ''Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ''Mystery Sc ...
'', ''
The Daily Dot
''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown ...
'', ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'', ''
MovieWeb
MovieWeb is an entertainment news website and video brand.
Overview
MovieWeb reports on entertainment news through their long-running website and related social media and video platforms. The site also maintains a searchable database of films.
H ...
'', and ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
''.
An online petition urging Disney to re-hire Gunn received over 400,000 signatures.
On July 30, 2018, ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' cast members
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...
,
Zoe Saldana
Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to:
*ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life"
People
* Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name
Film and television
* ''Zoe'' (film)
* ZOE Broadcast ...
,
Dave Bautista
David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. He had several stints in WWE between 2002 and 2019. In his acting career, he is most widely known for his portrayal of Drax the Destro ...
,
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...
,
Vin Diesel
Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise.
Diesel began audition ...
,
Sean Gunn
Sean Gunn (born May 22, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Kirk Gleason on The WB series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Kraglin Obfonteri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this role, he has been in the films ''Gu ...
,
Karen Gillan
Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction seri ...
,
Pom Klementieff
Pom Alexandra Klementieff (; born 3 May 1986) is a French actress and model. She was trained at the Cours Florent drama school in Paris and appeared in such French films as '' The Easy Way'' (2008) and '' Sleepless Night'' (2011), before making ...
and
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955) is an American actor known for his roles as Henry in '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), Chick Gandil in ''Eight Men Out'' (1988), Frank Baily in ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), Terry Cruger in ''S ...
released a joint statement through social media expressing their support for Gunn.
Because of the situation,
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
decided to not promote the horror film ''
Brightburn
''Brightburn'' is a 2019 American superhero horror film directed by David Yarovesky, written by Brian and Mark Gunn, and produced by James Gunn and Kenneth Huang. Starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones and Mered ...
'', which Gunn produced, at the 2018
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
. However, when the first trailer for the film was released on December 8, 2018, Gunn's name was prominently featured. The film opened in May 2019.
In March 2019, Gunn was reinstated by Disney as director of the film after meeting with
Alan Horn
Alan Frederick Horn (born February 28, 1943) is an American entertainment industry executive. Horn became President and COO of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2012. Horn next served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2020. During his ...
, chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Gunn started production on ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'' in October 2021, after ''The Suicide Squad'' had been completed.
DC Studios
Gunn and
Peter Safran
Peter Safran (born 22 November 1965) is a British-American film producer and manager. He currently serves as the co-chairperson and CEO of DC Studios alongside James Gunn.
Early life
After growing up in the UK, Safran graduated from Princeton Un ...
had advised
David Zaslav
David Zaslav (born January 15, 1960) is an American media executive who currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zaslav spearheaded the transaction between AT&T and Discovery to combine with Warner ...
, the CEO of the newly-created
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...
, during his search for a new head of
DC Films
DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, am ...
. The duo impressed Zaslav who decided to appoint them as the co-chairpersons and CEOs of DC Films, rebranded as "DC Studios", with control over films, animation and television projects based on characters from
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. Gunn oversees the creative aspects and will be exclusive to Warner Bros. Discovery during his tenure, except for his prior commitments to Disney. The two assumed their positions on November 1, 2022.
In December 2022, Gunn announced that he was writing a film about a young Superman during his early years in
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
.
Personal life
Gunn married actress
Jenna Fischer
Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
on October 7, 2000.
After seven years of marriage, Gunn and Fischer announced their separation in a joint statement on September 5, 2007, divorcing in 2008. The two remained friends. In 2010, Fischer persuaded Gunn to cast
Rainn Wilson
Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...
, her co-star on ''
The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series of ...
'', in Gunn's film ''
Super
Super may refer to:
Computing
* SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player
* Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages
* Super key (keyboard butt ...
''.
Gunn has been in a relationship with actress
Jennifer Holland
Jennifer Holland (born November 9, 1987) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her work as Emilia Harcourt in the DC Extended Universe productions '' The Suicide Squad'' (2021), '' Peacemaker'', and ''Black Adam'' (both 2022 ...
since 2015. In February 2022, Holland and Gunn became engaged, and were married at the end of September 2022.
Gunn was raised in a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
family and has mentioned how prayer continues to play an important role in his life, but has also said that he is "in some ways, anti-religion".
Filmography
Film
Executive producer
Other roles
Short films
Acting roles
Television
Acting roles
Video games
Collaborators
Awards and nominations
Bibliography
Footnotes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, James
1966 births
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American screenwriters
Action film directors
Age controversies
American male novelists
American male screenwriters
American people of Irish descent
American people of Jewish descent
American Roman Catholics
Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
Columbia University alumni
Comedy film directors
English-language film directors
Fantasy film directors
Film directors from Missouri
Film producers from Missouri
Hugo Award-winning writers
Horror film directors
Living people
Loyola Marymount University alumni
Male actors from St. Louis
Nebula Award winners
Saint Louis University alumni
Science fiction film directors
Warner Bros. people