James Allen Mangold is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his debut as a film director with Heavy (1995), and is best known for the films Cop Land (1997), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Identity (2003), Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and two Wolverine films in the X-Men franchise with The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017), the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
For Disney, he directed and co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, replacing Steven Spielberg. For Miramax, he directed and wrote Cop Land and Kate & Leopold. For 20th Century Studios, he directed the sports drama film Ford v Ferrari, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the Searchlight Pictures film A Complete Unknown. Mangold will direct and write an Untitled Star Wars Film. He was also mentioned in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Early life[]
Mangold was born in New York City in 1963 and is the son of Jewish artists Robert Mangold and Sylvia Plimack Mangold. He was raised in Hudson Valley and graduated from Washingtonville High School. He attended the California Institute of the Arts film/video program where he studied under Alexander Mackendrick. During Mangold's third year, Mackendrick suggested that he should study at CalArts School of Theater as an actor, alongside his regular film studies.
Career[]
1985–2007[]
In 1985, Mangold secured a writer/director deal at Disney. He wrote a television movie and co-wrote the 1988 Disney animated feature film Oliver & Company. A few years later, Mangold moved to New York and applied to Columbia University's film school, where he graduated with an MFA in film. While there, he studied under film director Miloš Forman who helped him develop the scripts for Heavy and Cop Land.
He has worked as a feature writer and director since 1995, when his first feature, the independent film Heavy, won the best directing prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Mangold subsequently wrote and directed Cop Land, starring Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Liotta; Girl, Interrupted, which won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for Angelina Jolie; Kate & Leopold, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, for which Jackman was nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a musical or comedy in 2001; and the 2003 thriller Identity, which starred John Cusack.
In 2005, Mangold co-wrote (with Gill Dennis), produced (under his production banner, Tree Line Film), and directed Walk the Line, a film about the young life of singer-songwriter Johnny Cash and his relationship with June Carter Cash. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, it was released on November 18, 2005, to positive reviews and grossed $187 million worldwide. Phoenix and Witherspoon both won Golden Globe Awards for their performances as Cash and Carter Cash respectively. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Phoenix), Best Actress (Witherspoon), Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.
2008–present[]
In 2007, Mangold directed 3:10 to Yuma, a remake of the 1957 Western of the same name. Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, it received positive reviews from critics and grossed $70 million worldwide. It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Original Score and Best Sound Mixing.
In 2010, Mangold directed Knight and Day, an action comedy starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $262 million worldwide.
In 2013, Mangold directed The Wolverine, a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and the sixth installment in the X-Men film series. Starring Hugh Jackman as the titular character, it was set in Japan and explored Wolverine's past and his relationship with Mariko Yashida (Tao Okamoto). The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $415 million worldwide.
In 2017, Mangold directed Logan, a sequel to The Wolverine and the tenth installment in the X-Men film series. Starring Hugh Jackman as an aging Wolverine in a dystopian future where most mutants have been wiped out by a government program called Transigen. The film also featured Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23 (Wolverine's clone daughter), Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce (the leader of Transigen's enforcers called Reavers), Stephen Merchant as Caliban (a mutant tracker who helps Logan care for Professor X), and Richard E. Grant as Zander Rice (the head of Transigen). The film received critical acclaim for its dark tone, mature themes, emotional depth, and performances, especially from Jackman, Stewart, and Keen. It grossed $619 million worldwide and became the first live-action superhero film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In 2019, Mangold directed Ford v Ferrari, a biographical sports drama film about the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Starring Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby (an American automotive designer and racing driver) and Christian Bale as Ken Miles (a British racing driver and engineer), the film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $225 million worldwide. It was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. It won the latter two.
In 2023, Mangold directed and co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones film series. Starring Harrison Ford as the titular archaeologist and adventurer, the film also featured Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Toby Jones, and Antonio Banderas in supporting roles.
Trivia[]
- At one point he was going to write and direct a Boba Fett standalone film.[1] However this was ultimately cancelled and replaced with The Book of Boba Fett.
References[]
- ↑ "'Star Wars': Boba Fett Movie in the Works With James Mangold (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
External links[]
James Mangold on Wikipedia
James Mangold on IMDb
James Mangold on 𝕏
