Neal Jimenez (May 22, 1960 – December 11, 2022) was an American screenwriter and film director, best known for the 1986 film ''

River's Edge ''River's Edge'' is a 1986 American crime drama film directed by Tim Hunter, written by Neal Jimenez, and starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye Leitch, Daniel Roebuck and Dennis Hopper. It follows a group of teenagers in a Norther ...

''. He was a member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994. He won

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

s for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay for ''

The Waterdance ''The Waterdance'' is a 1992 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Neal Jimenez and Michael Steinberg (filmmaker), Michael Steinberg and starring Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe (actor), William Forsythe, and He ...

''.

Biography

Jimenez was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

American family. He initially enrolled at Santa Clara University, studying English, but transferred to the

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

, where he wrote the script for ''

''. In 1984, while a film student, he went hiking with some friends and slipped on a rock, falling twenty feet into a shallow pool below. He was initially paralyzed from the neck down but subsequent surgeries restored movement to his upper body, making him paraplegic. The film ''

'', which he wrote and co-directed, was partly based on his experience in rehabilitation. It stars Eric Stoltz as a successful young writer who must deal with his new life confined to a wheelchair. It won Best First Feature and Best Screenplay at the 1993 Independent Spirit Awards. Jimenez wrote a number of films in the 1980s and 1990s, most notably ''

'', starring

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors' ...

, Keanu Reeves, and Dennis Hopper, as well as ''

For the Boys ''For the Boys'' is a 1991 American musical comedy-drama film that traces the life of Dixie Leonard, a 1940s actress/singer who teams up with Eddie Sparks, a famous performer, to entertain American troops. The film was adapted by Marshall Brickm ...

'', starring Bette Midler. He also worked as a script doctor on films such as ''

Outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

''. Jimenez died of heart failure in

Arroyo Grande, California Arroyo Grande (Spanish for "Big Creek") is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 18,441 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,252 as of the 2010 Census. History The earliest inhabitants of the Arroyo Gran ...

, on December 11, 2022, at the age of 62.

Filmography as writer

* '' Hideaway'' - 1995 * ''

Sleep with Me ''Sleep with Me'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Rory Kelly and starring Meg Tilly, Eric Stoltz and Craig Sheffer, who play good friends that become involved in a love triangle, a relationship complicated by the marriage of Tilly ...

'' - 1994 * ''

'' - 1992 * ''

The Dark Wind ''The Dark Wind'' is the fifth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, published in 1982. It is the second of the novels to feature Officer Jim Chee. Now working from Tuba City, Sgt. Chee ...

'' - 1991 * ''

Where the River Runs Black ''Where the River Runs Black'' is a 1986 film directed by Christopher Cain and starring Charles Durning, Peter Horton, and Dana Delany. The screenplay was written by Neal Jimenez and Peter Silverman, based on the novel ''Lazaro'' by David Kendal ...

'' - 1986 * ''

'' - 1986

Filmography as director

* ''

'' - 1992

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Neal 1960 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American screenwriters American film directors of Mexican descent American male screenwriters Deaths from congestive heart failure Film directors from California People with paraplegia Santa Clara University alumni Screenwriters from California UCLA Film School alumni Writers from Sacramento, California