Resume
BROADCAST:
BLOOD, SEX & ROYALTY, NETFLIX / NUTOPIA, 2022
DIRECTOR
3 x 45' Episodes
Executive Producer: Ben Goold
A fresh, feminist re-telling of the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.
★★★★
"Blood, Sex & Royalty is terrific. Warm, witty and full of universally brilliant acting...intelligent, vivid, energetic, funny, full-blooded and good-hearted...it's an absolute triumph."
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
THE LAST KINGDOM, NETFLIX / CARNIVAL FILMS, 2019
SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR
Beach battle scene that opens Season 4.
Producer: Vicki Delow
CASUALTY, BBC, 2018/19
DIRECTOR
1 Hour Episode: Series 33, Episode 45
Producer: Kirsty Lane
2 X 1 Hour Episodes: Series 33, Episodes 23 and 24
2 X 1 Hour Episodes: Series 33, Episodes 11 and 12
Producer: Jayne Chard
'This was great! So absorbing and well shot...James did a beautiful job.'
Simon Harper, Executive Producer
HOLBY CITY, BBC, 2016
DIRECTOR
2 X 1 Hour Episodes: Black Dog and Somebody To Love
Executive Producer: Oliver Kent
NO MAN LEFT BEHIND, NGC / RAW TV, 2015
WRITER / DIRECTOR
2 X 1 Hour Episodes: The One That Got Away and The Battle Of Shok Valley
Executive Producer: Mark Lewis / Raw TV
2 high-end drama-documentary war films: SAS soldier Chris Ryan’s famous escape from Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War and a harrowing 2007 battle between US Green Berets and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Filmed in the deserts and mountains of South Africa.
★★★★
“...the recreations felt convincing and essential, adding a palpable sense of stress.”
James Jackson, The Times
★★★★
"...utterly engrossing...the reconstructions achieved unusually high levels of tension, atmosphere and emotional involvement...incredibly effective television.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Daily Telegraph
PARANORMAL WITNESS, SYFY / RAW TV, 2014
WRITER / DIRECTOR
2 X 1 Hour Episodes: Through The Eyes Of A Killer and A Ghostly Affair
Executive Producer: Mark Lewis / Raw TV
2 drama-documentary films, one a dark psychological thriller about a psychic housewife in 1980s New Jersey who helps detectives track down a serial killer; the other a haunted mansion story, featuring 1940s period flashbacks and a fright night in a dark attic.
“Paranormal Witness is good, scary fun.”
Linda Stasi, New York Post
“Easily the most terrifying supernatural series on TV.”
Huffington Post
THE FUGITIVE CHRONICLES, A&E / RAW TV, 2010
WRITER / DIRECTOR / EDITOR
2 X 1 Hour Episodes: Christopher Dimeo and Larry Davis
Executive Producer: Bart Layton / Raw TV
2 drama-documentary films about New York criminals on the run, told by the Police officers who directed the hunts.
In 1986 Larry Davis was trapped in a Bronx apartment, surrounded by 20 heavily armed NYPD officers - but he chose to fight. The result was the largest single blood-letting in NYPD history.
Christopher Dimeo details the twisted relationship between Chris, his girlfriend and his mother, who together went on a robbery/homicide spree to feed their heroin addictions. The press dubbed them Bonny, Mommy and Clyde.
“Very good re-enactments … a terrific package, built around some incredibly frustrating and horrific tales.”
Linda Stasi, New York Post
KIDNAPPED ABROAD, CHANNEL 5 / RAW TV, 2008
WRITER / DIRECTOR / EDITOR
Episode: Fatal Mission
Executive Producer: Bart Layton / Raw TV
The tragic story of American missionaries Gracia and Martin Burnham, who were taken hostage in the Philippines by Islamic extremists. They were held for a year and endured 17 ferocious gun battles.
★★★★
“This is the last and best edition of what has proved to be a strong series.”
David Chater, The Times
TOP GEAR, BBC 2, 2003 - 2014
DIRECTOR / EDITOR
Executive Producer: Andy Wilman
According to the Guinness Book Of World Records, Top Gear was officially the most watched show in the world, with a global audience of over half a billion people. The show is 3 - time Bafta-nominated, has won the National Television Award 4 times and James personally collected the 2005 International Emmy Award for an episode featuring his work.
James joined the team on Series 2 and has been integral to the success of the show, including the much-copied style of the format (James is credited on over 70 episodes and edited most of his own films).
James has worked in a huge variety of difficult and extreme locations and situations, filming mini ‘action movies’ such as a bobsleigh racing a rally car in Norway or a Red Devil skydiver chasing a Porsche in Cyprus.
James also directed and edited three one-hour ‘Specials’:
Top Gear America, the first ever ‘Special’, the one where the crew were chased out of a petrol station by rock-throwing locals in Alabama.
Top Gear Botswana was a huge road trip, shooting on the Makgadikgadi salt flats and the Okavango Delta. Voted the best Top Gear Special of all time.
Top Gear Patagonia was the trip of a lifetime that turned into a terrifying escape from Argentina.
FEATURE FILM:
THE SWEENEY, VERTIGO FILMS, 2012
SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR
Feature film remake of the cult TV series, starring Ray Winstone. Directed the car chase sequence at the climax of the film.
“The car chase is epic…the dramatic finale through a caravan park is one of the best I’ve seen."
Gordon Smart, The Sun
“A seriously muscular and stylish bit of cops and robbers action.”
Mark Adams, Screen Daily
COMMERCIALS:
Signed to Ridley Scott Associates since 2006.
Highlights:
CASTROL, TITANIUM ICE - Director, 30/60” TVC and Online
In partnership with The Fate Of The Furious, a stunt driver evades virtual reality attackers whilst driving on an ice lake in Canada.
Producer: Garfield Kempton for Ridley Scott Associates/ The Brooklyn Brothers
GATES FOUNDATION, One Last Push - Director, Editor
Polio Awareness Campaign, shot in Pakistan with actors and street-cast talent.
Producer: Garfield Kempton for Ridley Scott Associates/ M&C Saatchi
FORD, Rear View Camera and SYNC With Emergency Assistance -
Director, 30/60” TVC
Stunt films shot for real, one featuring a car race in reverse.
Producer: Caspar Delaney for Ridley Scott Associates/ Blue Hive
CHEVROLET, Silverado HD to HD - Director, 10 films for TV and online
Producer: Lynne Pateman, for Ridley Scott Associates USA/ Goodby Silverstein
NISSAN, We Make Them Better - Director, 30/60” TVC
Shot around Los Angeles, vignette films featuring characters and their cars.
Producer: Pat Frazier, for Ridley Scott Associates USA/ TBWA/ Chiat Day
CHEVROLET, Get Out There - Director/ Editor - 30/60" TVC
Shot in Kuala Lumpur, two men in wingsuits race each other in a daredevil rooftop-skimming sky-dive. This kind of jump had never been done over a city before.
Producer: Caspar Delaney, for Ridley Scott Associates/ Leo Burnett
BRITISH ARMY,Leader - Director, 4 x 30” TVC and Online
Filmed in the UK and Cyprus, these are four personal scenarios featuring dramatic reconstructions with actors and real soldiers.
Producer: Caspar Delaney, for Ridley Scott Associates/ Publicis/ COI
NISSAN, _ADVENTURE - Director, 40” TVC and Online
Shot in Namibia, South Africa and Argentina, Saba Douglas Hamilton drives four Nissan 4x4s on four different missions on the 24th parallel.
Producer: Caspar Delaney, for Ridley Scott Associates/ TBWA
QUALIFICATIONS
1994-5
BRISTOL UNIVERSITY
Postgraduate MA/Diploma in Film & TV
1991-4
MANSFIELD COLLEGE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
BA (Oxon) English Language & Literature: 2:1