Jim Taylor (born 1962) is an American producer and screenwriter who has often collaborated on projects with Alexander Payne. The two are business partners in the Santa Monica based Ad Hominem Enterprises, and are credited as co-writers of six films released between 1996 and 2007: ''

Citizen Ruth ''Citizen Ruth'' is a 1996 American satirical black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne, in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, Kurtwood Smith, Mary Kay Place, Kenneth ...

'' (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

), ''

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

'' (

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

), '' Jurassic Park III'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, with Peter Buchman), '' About Schmidt'' (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

), '' Sideways'' (

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

), and '' I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'' (

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, with

Barry Fanaro Barry Fanaro is an American screenwriter of television and feature films. He has taught screenwriting seminars at USC, UCSB, AFI and Mercer University. Early life Fanaro graduated magna cum laude with a dual major from Mercer University, Macon Ge ...

and Lew Gallo). Taylor's credits as a producer include films such as '' Cedar Rapids'' and '' The Descendants''.

Early years

Taylor was born in

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 region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He graduated from Bellevue High School in neighboring Bellevue, and subsequently from Pomona College, a liberal arts school in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

that he attended instead of accepting an offer from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Career

Taylor began working for Cannon Films in 1987. After visiting China on an Avery Foundation grant, Taylor returned to L.A. and spent three years working with Ivan Passer; he also worked for Devon Foster, a director at HBO, as Foster's assistant. Taylor met Payne while working temporary jobs in Los Angeles, eventually moving in with him for financial reasons. While roommates the two wrote short films and started writing ''

''. After winning money on the game show ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or '' Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-J ...

'', Taylor entered Tisch School of the Arts at the age of 30. He and Payne did further rewrites on ''

'' while Taylor was a graduate student; the film got made during his third year there. Taylor received an M.F.A. in Filmmaking from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1996.

Awards and nominations

Taylor has received numerous awards and nominations (including an Oscar win for co-writing ''Sideways'', two

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

wins for co-writing ''About Schmidt'' and ''Sideways'', and additional Oscar nominations for co-writing ''Election'' and for producing ''The Descendants''); those listed below are for his work on ''Sideways'' (all shared with Alexander Payne):

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Jim American male screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Independent Spirit Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners Writers from Seattle 1963 births Living people Pomona College alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Golden Globe Award-winning producers Screenwriters from California