James Merendino
Directing
Biography
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.
Known For
Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.
SLC Punk
A con-man and a wannabe professional magician team up with a waitress and an old professional on their way to Vegas.
Magicians
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
A man named Kaan Woo (James Lew) is escaping his dark past, having been involved with a cult of brown shroud-wearing, druid-like monk warriors that have mystical powers. He apparently wanted out, because their evil queen, Ling Li (Nancy Kwan), has sent her servant, Sir Xavier (Richard Norton), to do her bidding - i.e., eliminate Woo. During a battle with the dark forces, Woo's soul is transferred into the body of homeless drunkard Earl Stockman (Mark Pellegrino). Now this bum is as surprised as anybody to find out he has mystical kung-fu abilities. Now "Superbum" must take on the evil cult and win the day.
For Life or Death
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Sexual encounters and criminal mayhem occur when two people meet via their computers.
Hard Drive
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
Aliens who take on the form of humans are invading Earth, with the ability to manipulate women on a psychological level.
The First Man
An evil warlock takes over a rock club. He uses beautiful, large-breasted and frequently nude women to try to collect enough souls so that he may be able to bring Satan to Earth.
Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil
Rock musicians are selling their souls to the devil for fame and fortune. An attorney with magical powers attempts to stop it.
Witchcraft IV: The Virgin Heart
"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
Pulp novelist Eric lives in a bad neighborhood, and the guy upstairs annoys him with his noise. Gradually this escalates to pranksters phone calls and wire tapping which ticks off Eric's already unstable, nervous and paranoid personality.
The Upstairs Neighbour
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
The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch' is a dark comedy about a lonely small time hit man.
The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch
In the world of 1990s punk rock, a young singer, strapped for cash and struggling to maintain his sobriety, pushes his teenage brothers to hop into the family’s van and spend their summer performing chaotic shows across the country.