James DeMonaco

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James DeMonaco
Born (1969-10-12) October 12, 1969 (age 54)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active1996–present

James DeMonaco (born October 12, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for creating the Purge franchise, writing all five films in the series and directing the first three, The Purge (2013),[1] Anarchy (2014), and Election Year (2016).[2]

DeMonaco's first produced screenplay was the Robin Williams comedy Jack (1996), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Personal life[edit]

DeMonaco grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island. He spent eight years in Paris, France, that led him to "put a microscope" on his life after seeing the difference in the relationship toward guns and violence in Paris compared to New York. DeMonaco is of Italian descent.[3][4]

He and his wife, a doctor, were almost killed by a drunk driver in Brooklyn. In anger, his wife said "I wish we could all have one free one [a murder] a year", something which helped inspire the Purge series.[5][6]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Film Director Writer Producer Notes
1996 Jack No Yes No Co-written with Gary Nadeau
1998 The Negotiator No Yes No Co-written with Kevin Fox
2005 Assault on Precinct 13 No Yes No
2006 Skinwalkers No Yes No Co-written with Todd Harthan and James Roday
2009 Staten Island Yes Yes No Directorial debut
2013 The Purge Yes Yes No
2014 The Purge: Anarchy Yes Yes No
2016 The Purge: Election Year Yes Yes No
2018 The First Purge No Yes Executive
2021 The Forever Purge No Yes Yes
This Is the Night Yes Yes No
2024 The Home[7] Yes Yes No

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Credit(s)
1999 Ryan Caulfield: Year One Creator, executive producer
2005 HBO First Look Himself
2007 The Kill Point Producer, writer
  • Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolf, Part 1 (July 22, 2007) – writer (creator) (written by), executive producer
  • Who's Afraid of Mr. Wolf? Part 2 (July 22, 2007) – writer (creator) (written by), executive producer
  • No Meringue (July 29, 2007) – writer (creator), executive producer
  • Pro Patria (August 5, 2007) – writer (creator) (written by)
  • Visiting Hours (August 12, 2007) – writer (creator) (written by)
  • The Great Ape Escape (August 19, 2007) – writer (writer)
  • Rabbit at Unrest (August 26, 2007) – executive producer
  • The Devil's Zoo (August 26, 2007) – writer (writer)
2009 Crash Writer, producer
  • You Set the Scene (September 18, 2009) – executive producer
  • Always See Your Face (September 25, 2009) – writer (written by), executive producer
  • The World's a Mess/It's in My Kiss (October 3, 2009) – executive producer
  • Can't Explain (October 9, 2009) – executive producer
  • You, I'll Be Following (October 16, 2009) – executive producer
  • No Matter What You Do (October 30, 2009) – executive producer
  • Johnny Hit and Run Pauline (November 6, 2009) – executive producer
  • Lovers in Captivity (November 13, 2009) – writer (written by), executive producer
  • Endangered Species (November 20, 2009) – executive producer
  • Master of Puppets (November 27, 2009) – executive producer
  • Calm Like a Bomb (December 4, 2009) – executive producer
  • Alone Again Or... (December 11, 2009) – writer (written by), executive producer
  • Los Angeles (December 18, 2009) – executive producer
2018-19 The Purge Creator, writer, producer
  • What is America? (September 4, 2018) - writer (written by), executive producer
  • Take What's Yours (September 11, 2018) - executive producer
  • The Urge to Purge (September 18, 2018) - executive producer
  • Release The Beast (September 25, 2018) - executive producer
  • Rise Up (October 2, 2018) - executive producer
  • The Forgotten (October 9, 2018) - executive producer
  • Lovely Deep and Dark (October 16, 2018) - writer (story), executive producer
  • Giving Time Is Here - (October 23, 2018) executive producer
  • I Will Participate - (October 30, 2018) executive producer
  • A Nation Reborn - (November 6, 2018) writer (story), executive producer
  • This Is Not a Test - (October 15, 2019) executive producer
  • Everything Is Fine - (October 22, 2019) executive producer
  • Blindspots - (October 29, 2019) executive producer
  • Grief Box - (November 5, 2019) executive producer
  • House of Mirrors - (November 12, 2019) executive producer
  • Happy Holidays - (November 19, 2019) executive producer
  • Should I Stay or Should I Go - (November 26, 2019) executive producer
  • Before the Sirens - (December 3, 2019) executive producer
  • Hail Mary - (December 10, 2019) executive producer
  • 7:01am - (December 17, 2019) executive producer

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dargis, Manohla (June 6, 2013). "'The Purge,' Starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Why The Purge 3 Doesn't Need Frank Grillo - Even Though He's Really, Really Awesome - Dread Central". www.dreadcentral.com. January 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "Exclusive Interview: 'The Purge' Trilogy Director James DeMonaco Talks About the Movies' Shocking Origin".
  4. ^ "'The Purge' creator has idea for another movie which will turn franchise 'upside down'". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ^ DeSalvo, Robert B. (October 3, 2016). "Exclusive Interview: 'The Purge' Trilogy Director James DeMonaco Talks About the Movies' Shocking Origin". Fandango. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "James DeMonaco interview: The Purge: Anarchy, genre filmmaking and more". Den of Geek. July 15, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Pete Davidson To Star In James DeMonaco's Horror Thriller 'The Home' For Miramax". Deadline Hollywood. January 12, 2022. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

External links[edit]

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