Jim Taylor (writer)


Jim Taylor 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,
Election,
Jurassic Park III,
About Schmidt,
Sideways, and
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. His credits as a producer include films such as Cedar Rapids and The Descendants.

Early years

Taylor was born in Seattle, Washington. He is a graduate of Bellevue High School and a 1984 graduate of Pomona College, a liberal arts school 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 Citizen Ruth. After winning money on the game show Wheel of Fortune, Taylor entered Tisch School of the Arts at the age of 30. He and Payne did further rewrites on Citizen Ruth 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 in 1996.

Awards and nominations

Taylor has received numerous awards and nominations ; those listed below are for his work on Sideways :
AwardCategoryRecipients and nomineesOutcome
77th Academy AwardsBest Writing
58th British Academy Film AwardsBest Adapted Screenplay
Writers Guild of America Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2004Best Screenplay
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2004Best Screenplay
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2004Best Screenplay
62nd Golden Globe AwardsBest Screenplay
20th Independent Spirit AwardsBest Screenplay
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2004Screenwriter of the Year
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2004Best Screenplay
National Board of Review Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
National Society of Film Critics Awards 2004Best Screenplay
2004 New York Film Critics Circle AwardsBest Screenplay
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Satellite Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay
Seattle Film Critics AwardsBest Adapted Screenplay
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2004Best Adapted Screenplay