James "Jim" Jacks (December 29, 1947 – January 20, 2014) was an American
film producer of several
blockbuster
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
** Bl ...
films, and was also known for cultivating visionary independent film auteurs, having produced the first Hollywood films of Richard Linklater, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Kevin Smith.
Born December 29, 1947, Jacks grew up in a military family. He graduated from
Carnegie Mellon University with a
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
in
Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information a ...
and from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
with an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
. He was working as a
Wall Street financial analyst
A financial analyst is a professional, undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job.
The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, ...
when he decided to be a screenwriter. Unsuccessful, he became head of production at Circle Films in the early- to mid-1980s and then senior vice-president of production at
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
from the late-1980s into the early-1990s. In 1992, he became an independent producer with Alphaville Films, which he co-founded with
Sean Daniel
Sean Peter Daniel (born August 15, 1951)
filmreference.com, January 21, 2014
. He left Alphaville Films in 2004.
The shrimp parmigiana at the Los Angeles restaurant
Dan Tana's is named for him.
Jacks died on January 20, 2014, of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at his Los Angeles home at the age of 66.
Selected filmography
''He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.''
Film
;Thanks
Television
References
External links
*
*
Rest in Peace, Mr. Mallrats... by Kevin SmithJames Jacksat
Find a Grave
1947 births
2014 deaths
American film producers
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management alumni
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