James Merendino

Directing

James Merendino

Born 1969-01-11 · Long Branch, New Jersey, USA

James Merendino is an American movie director and scriptwriter. He was born in New Jersey, and moved with his family to Salt Lake City, Utah when he was six years old. After pursuing post-secondary education in Rome and Los Angeles, California, studying Western philosophy and theology, Merendino settled in Hollywood, California when he was 19 years old, and began a tenure with Hollywood mogul Dan Melnick. In 1991, Merendino was hired for his first motion picture, Witchcraft IV. His second film, A River Made to Drown In (1997), is a movie that was pivotal to the gay community in the United States, with Richard Chamberlain coming out publicly after the film's release. Merendino's most successful film, SLC Punk, was released in 1998. The film is centered on two punk rockers living in Salt Lake City and follows their daily nihilistic lives. SLC Punk is semi-autobiographical. The 2000 film Magicians was a European co-production with Alan Arkin and Claire Forlani. Amerikana was produced as part of the Dogma 95 by Lars Von Trier. In 2016, the sequel long awaited sequel to SLC Punk, Punk's Dead was released. James Merendino has directed 18 movies also served as the writer on the majority of them. He was nominated for best original screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Acting credits

ivans xtc. poster
5.5

Ivan Beckman, Hollywood's most sought-after talent agent, the darling and crown prince of La La Land, is dead. How and why did it happen? Was it drugs, murder, or perhaps something altogether more mundane? We begin with an ending and then catapult back a number of days to the apex of Ivan's brilliant career as he bags international megastar Don West onto his company's books. We then follow Ivan through the highs, lows, and extreme excesses of his final days.

ivans xtc.

2000

No artwork available
8.0

Homo Cinematographicus is a human species whose unit of measurement and point of reference is the cinema and its derivative, television. Filmed at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, the film offers an unspecified number of statements, talking about memories and a thousand fragments of stories, titles and film scenes, the warp of a gigantic collective Chanson de geste.

Homo Cinematographicus

1998

Amerikana poster
6.6

Peter and Chris, two young American friends in their late 20s, go from South Dakota to California on a scooter, and as they travel across the American landscape they see their country through different eyes, ranging from Peter's cynically nihilistic point of view, to Chris' high expectations and romantic notions of the United States.

Amerikana

2001

Great Kills poster
NR

"Great Kills" is a dark comedy/mockumentary about a lonely small time hit man who is the subject of a documentary filmmakers. The show reveals a pathetically empty and misguided man and the callousness of the film makers who just want to get the shots, unmoved by torture and murder. The contradiction between personal life and job, and the apathy of the people making the documentary reflects satirically the dispassion of content creators in their relentless pursuit of content.

Great Kills

2022

No artwork available
9.0

A documentary about first time film makers going to the Cannes Film Festival.

Waiting for Harvey: A Beginner's Guide to Cannes

2000

Behind the camera

SLC Punk poster
7.1

Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.

SLC Punk

1998

SLC Punk poster
7.1

Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.

SLC Punk

1998

Witchcraft IV poster
2.5

Rock musicians are selling their souls to the devil for fame and fortune. An attorney with magical powers attempts to stop it.

Witchcraft IV

1992

Witchcraft IV poster
2.5

Rock musicians are selling their souls to the devil for fame and fortune. An attorney with magical powers attempts to stop it.

Witchcraft IV

1992

Magicians poster
5.8

A con-man and a wannabe professional magician team up with a waitress and an old professional on their way to Vegas.

Magicians

2000

Magicians poster
5.8

A con-man and a wannabe professional magician team up with a waitress and an old professional on their way to Vegas.

Magicians

2000

Amerikana poster
6.6

Peter and Chris, two young American friends in their late 20s, go from South Dakota to California on a scooter, and as they travel across the American landscape they see their country through different eyes, ranging from Peter's cynically nihilistic point of view, to Chris' high expectations and romantic notions of the United States.

Amerikana

2001

Amerikana poster
6.6

Peter and Chris, two young American friends in their late 20s, go from South Dakota to California on a scooter, and as they travel across the American landscape they see their country through different eyes, ranging from Peter's cynically nihilistic point of view, to Chris' high expectations and romantic notions of the United States.

Amerikana

2001

Trespassing poster
4.8

A graduate student preparing his thesis on mythology leads his friends on a research expedition to an old plantation estate on the outskirts of the Big Easy. The site is reputed to mysteriously cause madness and death to all who enter it.

Trespassing

2004

Trespassing poster
4.8

A graduate student preparing his thesis on mythology leads his friends on a research expedition to an old plantation estate on the outskirts of the Big Easy. The site is reputed to mysteriously cause madness and death to all who enter it.

Trespassing

2004

The Real Thing poster
7.2

Their plan was simple...Get the Cash. As Rupert, an ex-con, tries to go straight, his younger brother James pursues a life of delinquency. Days after being released from jail, James is gunned down and lies waiting in a hospital for a liver transplant. In a desperate attempt to save his brother's life, Rupert decides to execute a heist at a downtown club on New Year's Eve that will give him the money he needs. Rupert assembles an eclectic crew of ex-cons, including his best friend and his ex-girlfriend. Rupert and his gang converge on the nightclub for a climax that spins out of control. New Year's Eve has never been so explosive!

The Real Thing

1996

The Real Thing poster
7.2

Their plan was simple...Get the Cash. As Rupert, an ex-con, tries to go straight, his younger brother James pursues a life of delinquency. Days after being released from jail, James is gunned down and lies waiting in a hospital for a liver transplant. In a desperate attempt to save his brother's life, Rupert decides to execute a heist at a downtown club on New Year's Eve that will give him the money he needs. Rupert assembles an eclectic crew of ex-cons, including his best friend and his ex-girlfriend. Rupert and his gang converge on the nightclub for a climax that spins out of control. New Year's Eve has never been so explosive!

The Real Thing

1996

Terrified poster
4.3

Traumatized after witnessing her jealous husband kill her adulterous lover and then himself, an unbalanced, nymphomaniac young woman finds herself stalked by an unknown assailant, but she cannot make anyone believe her desperate situation.

Terrified

1995

Terrified poster
4.3

Traumatized after witnessing her jealous husband kill her adulterous lover and then himself, an unbalanced, nymphomaniac young woman finds herself stalked by an unknown assailant, but she cannot make anyone believe her desperate situation.

Terrified

1995

Hard Drive poster
3.0

Sexual encounters and criminal mayhem occur when two people meet via their computers.

Hard Drive

1994

Hard Drive poster
3.0

Sexual encounters and criminal mayhem occur when two people meet via their computers.

Hard Drive

1994

Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 poster
4.5

Punk's Dead, the sequel to 1999 cult hit SLC Punk, is a punk romp through the Utah hinterlands. Ross, Penny and Crash, young outsiders from different tribes, embark on a road trip to a huge punk show. Ross, 19, is the love child of Trish and Heroin Bob, who died before Ross was born. During their odyssey, and with the help of a healthy dose of drugs, alcohol and punk music, Ross shreds his darkly Gothic outlook and embraces life. His mother Trish, who raised Ross alone in her steam punk shop, discovers that he is in a crisis. She recruits his 'uncles,' Bob's old SLC gang, to help find him. When all collide at the concert, they are forced to deal with their unresolved relationships with Bob.

Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2

2016

Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2 poster
4.5

Punk's Dead, the sequel to 1999 cult hit SLC Punk, is a punk romp through the Utah hinterlands. Ross, Penny and Crash, young outsiders from different tribes, embark on a road trip to a huge punk show. Ross, 19, is the love child of Trish and Heroin Bob, who died before Ross was born. During their odyssey, and with the help of a healthy dose of drugs, alcohol and punk music, Ross shreds his darkly Gothic outlook and embraces life. His mother Trish, who raised Ross alone in her steam punk shop, discovers that he is in a crisis. She recruits his 'uncles,' Bob's old SLC gang, to help find him. When all collide at the concert, they are forced to deal with their unresolved relationships with Bob.

Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2

2016

Death club poster
NR

Death Club tells the story of a group of friends living in the margin of society. Following the recent suicide of one of them as part of an act of "Art", they decide to create altogether some "near death" experiences in order to feel alive. They become obsessed and addicted to this dangerous game and it leads them automatically to a tragic end.

Death club

2008

Death club poster
NR

Death Club tells the story of a group of friends living in the margin of society. Following the recent suicide of one of them as part of an act of "Art", they decide to create altogether some "near death" experiences in order to feel alive. They become obsessed and addicted to this dangerous game and it leads them automatically to a tragic end.

Death club

2008

River Made to Drown In poster
5.4

Thaddeus Mackenzie, a wealthy lawyer, learns that he is dying and decides to sell all of his property and visit his old friend Allen Hayden. Allen is a struggling artist with a passion for life who once survived by working the streets, but now is romantically involved with Eva, a wealthy European gallery owner living in L.A. Thaddeus implores Allen to find Jamie, a young street hustler that Thaddeus had once tried to rescue. Allen returns to the streets to face the dark corners of his past where he must choose between what he left behind and the uncertainty that lies ahead.

River Made to Drown In

1997

The Evergreen Fade poster
NR

After botching a bank job, a pair of intrepid skinheads lay low in an isolated cabin. After several weeks, living on booze and chips, their relationship regresses into a vicious struggle to destroy each other.

The Evergreen Fade

Great Kills poster
NR

"Great Kills" is a dark comedy/mockumentary about a lonely small time hit man who is the subject of a documentary filmmakers. The show reveals a pathetically empty and misguided man and the callousness of the film makers who just want to get the shots, unmoved by torture and murder. The contradiction between personal life and job, and the apathy of the people making the documentary reflects satirically the dispassion of content creators in their relentless pursuit of content.

Great Kills

2022

Great Kills poster
NR

"Great Kills" is a dark comedy/mockumentary about a lonely small time hit man who is the subject of a documentary filmmakers. The show reveals a pathetically empty and misguided man and the callousness of the film makers who just want to get the shots, unmoved by torture and murder. The contradiction between personal life and job, and the apathy of the people making the documentary reflects satirically the dispassion of content creators in their relentless pursuit of content.

Great Kills

2022