James Lyons (October 8, 1960 – April 12, 2007) was an American
film editor
Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology.
The film edit ...
,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
and
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
who frequently collaborated with
Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...
. He is probably best known for editing ''
The Virgin Suicides
''The Virgin Suicides'' is a 1993 debut novel by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides. The fictional story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sisters, the Lisbon girls. The novel is wr ...
'' and editing and co-writing ''
Velvet Goldmine
''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star B ...
''. He also had a minor role in the 1996 film ''
I Shot Andy Warhol
''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lil ...
'' as
Billy Name
William George Linich (February 22, 1940 – July 18, 2016), known professionally as Billy Name, was an American photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer. He was the archivist of The Factory from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequ ...
.
Filmography as editor
* ''
Poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
'' (1991)
* ''
The Debt'' (1993)
* ''
Late Fall'' (1994)
* ''
Safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
'' (1995)
* ''
Ratchet
Ratchet may refer to:
Devices
* Ratchet (device), a mechanical device that allows movement in only one direction
* Ratchet, metonomic name for a socket wrench incorporating a ratcheting device
* Ratchet (instrument), a music instrument and a ...
'' (1996)
* ''
Strawberry Fields'' (1997)
* ''
Shooting Porn'' (1997)
* ''
First Love, Last Rites
''First Love, Last Rites'' is a collection of short stories by Ian McEwan. It was first published in 1975 by Jonathan Cape, with cover designed by Bill Botten, and re-issued in 1997 by Vintage.
Context
The collection is McEwan's first pu ...
'' (1997)
* ''
Velvet Goldmine
''Velvet Goldmine'' is a 1998 musical drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes from a story by Haynes and James Lyons. It is set in Britain during the glam rock days of the early 1970s, and tells the story of fictional bisexual pop star B ...
'' (1998)
* ''
The Virgin Suicides
''The Virgin Suicides'' is a 1993 debut novel by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides. The fictional story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sisters, the Lisbon girls. The novel is wr ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Spring Forward
''Spring Forward'' is a 1999 film and the directorial debut of Tom Gilroy, starring Ned Beatty, Liev Schreiber and Campbell Scott. Shot in sequence over the course of one year, it was the first film released by IFC Films, the Independent Film Cha ...
'' (1999)
* ''
The Château'' (2001)
* ''
Prozac Nation
''Prozac Nation'' is a memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel published in 1994. The book describes the author's experiences with atypical depression, her own character failings and how she managed to live through particularly difficult periods while compl ...
'' (2001)
* ''
Far from Heaven'' (2002)
* ''
Ghostlight
Poets of the Fall (POTF) is a Finnish rock band from Helsinki. The group consists of Marko Saaresto (lead vocals), Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar), Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen (keyboards, production), Jani Snellman (bass), Jaska Mäkinen (rhythm gu ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Imaginary Heroes
''Imaginary Heroes'' is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Dan Harris. It focuses on the traumatic effect the suicide of the elder son has on a suburban family.
Plot
Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best com ...
'' (2004)
* ''
A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory'' (2007)
Personal life
Lyons was involved in a long-term relationship with filmmaker Todd Haynes.
[Guthman, Edward]
`Postcards' From a Traumatic Life
''SF Gate'', 28 July 1995. Accessed 4 July 2020.
Death
He died in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
of
squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs), also known as epidermoid carcinomas, comprise a number of different types of cancer that begin in squamous cells. These cells form on the surface of the skin, on the lining of hollow organs in the body, and on the ...
, at the age of 46, after more than a decade of treatment for
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
.
References
Further reading
* Following a short obituary, this article reproduces several remembrances of Lyons.
*
External links
*
1960 births
2007 deaths
American male actors
American film editors
AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from squamous cell carcinoma of skin
LGBT people from New York (state)
20th-century American screenwriters
20th-century LGBT people
{{US-film-editor-stub