Jim Hemphill
Jim Hemphill is a filmmaker, film historian, and Ridley Scott disciple whose writing on film has appeared in Film Comment, American Cinematographer, Variety, Filmmaker Magazine, and many other outlets. After receiving his B.F.A. from Columbia College in Chicago and his graduate degree from the film school at USC, Jim began his career by writing and directing the micro-budget horror movie “Bad Reputation,” which had international distribution from Warner Bros. and Twentieth-Century Fox. He is also the writer-director of the award-winning romantic dramedy “The Trouble with the Truth” and has been a screenwriter for hire on several movies that he may or may not take responsibility for depending on his mood. His movies have screened at the Sundance Film Festival, American Cinematheque, Facets Multimedia, Alamo Drafthouse, and other festivals and art houses, and he is the author of “The Art and Craft of Directing TV: Conversations With Episodic Television Directors.” He has worked as a researcher for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and regularly moderates Q&As at Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema and the Egyptian and Aero Theatres in Los Angeles. His audio commentaries can be heard on Blu-rays and DVDs from the British Film Institute, Kino Lorber, Shout! Factory and other labels, and he was one of the original hosts of the American Cinematographer podcast. He now co-hosts IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast and is a features writer for the site specializing in filmmaking craft. He hopes to someday own his own 70mm print of “Boogie Nights.”
Latest by Jim Hemphill
The Correct Opinion
Ron Shelton's buddy film didn't find the audience it deserved in 2003, but it contains Harrison Ford's loosest, funniest performance and some of the best action set pieces of all time.
How ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ and an Ice Axe Inspired Peter Berg’s Epic Netflix Western ‘American Primeval’
The director of "American Primeval" stops by IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit podcast to talk about how he embarked on the toughest shoot of his career.
Ellis-Taylor and the crafts team talk creating her indelible performance as an anguished grandmother in RaMell Ross' adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel.
Interview
The stars of the 2018 action hit tell IndieWire about reuniting for a sequel that's faster, funnier, and bigger than the original.
Director of photography Drew Daniels tells IndieWire how he and director Sean Baker carefully crafted a visual style designed to give the impression of life happening on the fly.
David Fincher's breakthrough feature comes to 4K UHD in a new transfer supervised by the famously meticulous director, who finds his perfectionistic doppelgänger in the movie's diabolical serial killer.
Interview
The composer tells IndieWire about his seventh collaboration with Ridley Scott and how he paid tribute to the "Gladiator" score by Hans Zimmer while still writing 100 minutes of new music.
How James Mangold’s Early Experience with Robert De Niro Began a Career-Long Love Affair with Actors
The "A Complete Unknown" director tells IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit podcast how he consistently gets the best from his performers.
The director tells IndieWire how his 2005 film about Johnny Cash and June Carter gave him the confidence to insist on a risky approach to his Bob Dylan biopic.
The director tells IndieWire how he approached depicting the audience's reaction to the seminal moment when Bob Dylan went electric.
Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast
The director of "Inside Out 2" tells the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast about making his feature directorial debut on the Pixar sequel.
"The Room Next Door" cinematographer tells IndieWire about rising to the challenge of working for one of his childhood heroes.
