James Jacks
# James Jacks

James "Jim" Jacks (December 29, 1947 – January 20, 2014) was an American film producer of several blockbuster films, and was also known for cultivating visionary independent film auteurs, having produced the first Hollywood films of Richard Linklater, Joel and Ethan Coen (the Coen Brothers), and Kevin Smith.

Born December 29, 1947, Jacks grew up in a military family. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and from Cornell University with an MBA. He was working as a Wall Street financial analyst when he decided to be a screenwriter. Unsuccessful, he became head of production at Circle Films in the early- to mid-1980s and then senior vice-president of production at Universal Studios from the late-1980s into the early-1990s. In 1992, he became an independent producer with Alphaville Films, which he co-founded with Sean Daniel. He left Alphaville Films in 2004.

The shrimp parmigiana at the Los Angeles restaurant Dan Tana's is named for him.

Jacks died on January 20, 2014, of a heart attack at his Los Angeles home at the age of 66.

## Selected filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

### Film

| Year | Film | Credit | Notes | Other notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1987 | Raising Arizona | Executive producer | | |
| 1993 | Dazed and Confused | | | |
| 1993 | Heart and Souls | Executive producer | | |
| 1993 | Hard Target | | | |
| 1993 | Tombstone | | | |
| 1995 | Village of the Damned | Co-executive producer | | |
| 1995 | Mallrats | | | |
| 1996 | Michael | | | |
| 1997 | The Jackal | | | |
| 1998 | A Simple Plan | | | |
| 1999 | The Mummy | | | |
| 2000 | The Gift | | | |
| 2001 | Down to Earth | | | |
| 2001 | The Mummy Returns | | | |
| 2001 | Rat Race | Executive producer | | |
| 2002 | The Scorpion King | | | |
| 2002 | Dark Blue | | | |
| 2003 | The Hunted | | | |
| 2003 | Intolerable Cruelty | Executive producer | | |
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | | | |
| 2008 | The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior | | Direct-to-video | |
| 2012 | The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption | Executive producer | Direct-to-video | Final film as a producer |
| 2015 | The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power | Executive producer | Direct-to-video | Posthumous release |
| 2018 | The Scorpion King: Book of Souls | Executive producer | Direct-to-video | Posthumous release |

**Thanks**

| Year | Film | Role |
| - | - | - |
| 1995 | Mallrats | The director would like to thank: For treating us like the Coens as opposed to the twenty-something know-nothings we really are |
| 2000 | Attention Shoppers | Special thanks |
| 2016 | Everybody Wants Some!! | In remembrance: A guy who loved movies |

### Television

| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1996 | Don't Look Back | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2001 | Attila | Executive producer | |
