James Greer (writer)

Last updated

James Greer
James greer.jpg
Greer in 2010
Occupations
  • novelist
  • screenwriter
  • director
  • musician
  • critic
Years active1991–present
Notable workBad Eminence, Unsane, The Failure
StylePost-modernism, experimental literature

James Greer is an American novelist, screenwriter, director, musician, and critic. As a screenwriter, he is known for writing the 2018 thriller Unsane directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Claire Foy and Juno Temple, as well as the family comedies Max Keeble's Big Move , Just My Luck and The Spy Next Door . He lives in Los Angeles. [1]

Contents

Career

Musician/Critic

Greer was senior editor and senior writer at Spin [2] magazine in New York City in the early 1990s, during which time he helped define the generational cohort that became later widely-known as Generation X. [3]

He wrote and performed all instruments/vocals on the song "Trendspotter Acrobat" on the EP Sunfish Holy Breakfast by Guided By Voices. He was the bassist in the band from 1994 to 1996. [4] [5]

Greer started a band in 2012 with musician Lola G. called DTCV. [6] Pronounced "detective", it was an indie rock duo from Joshua Tree, California. The band released a double album called Hilarious Heaven in 2013 on Xemu Records, followed by a compilation of their early singles and EPs, The Early Year. The duo released their second studio album, Uptime!, in 2015. [7] In April 2016 the band released its third and final studio album, entitled Confusion Moderne, on Xemu Records. [8]

Novelist/Author

Greer has published three novels: Artificial Light (Little House on the Bowery/Akashic, 2006), [9] The Failure (Akashic, 2010). [10] Artificial Light won a California Book Award Silver Medal for First Fiction. [11] and Bad Eminence (And Other Stories, 2022), which Andrew Gallix in The Irish Times called "this year's cult classic," writing that the novel was "hilarious, exhilarating and mind-blowing". [12]

In 2013 Greer released his first book of short fiction, titled Everything Flows, via Curbside Splendor. Publishers Weekly said of the book "Halfway between the mind of God and a vivid dream, Everything Flows is proof that there remain new places to go, both on paper and in the known universe." [13]

FICTION

NON-FICTION

Screenwriter

Greer has written or co-written several movies, including Max Keeble's Big Move [14] (Disney, 2001), Just My Luck [15] (20th Century Fox, 2006) starring Lindsay Lohan, the Jackie Chan vehicle The Spy Next Door [16] (Lions Gate, 2010) and Unsane , [17] directed by Steven Soderbergh, and starring Claire Foy and Juno Temple (Fingerprint Releasing, Bleecker Street, Regency, 2018). In February 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that Greer was set to write a script called Planet Kill for Soderbergh to produce. [18] He also has adapted the John Barth novel The Sot-Weed Factor (novel) for a projected series from Soderbergh. [19]

Discography

Guided By Voices

DTCV

Filmography

Writer [20]

FILM

TV

Director [21]

Related Research Articles

Solaris may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Soderbergh</span> American filmmaker (born 1963)

Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventive films made within the studio system.

<i>Solaris</i> (novel) 1961 novel by Stanisław Lem

Solaris is a 1961 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It follows a crew of scientists on a research station as they attempt to understand an extraterrestrial intelligence, which takes the form of a vast ocean on the titular alien planet. The novel is one of Lem's best-known works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riley Keough</span> American actress (born 1989)

Danielle Riley Keough is an American actress. She made her feature film debut in a supporting part in the musical biopic The Runaways (2010), portraying Marie Currie. Keough subsequently starred in the independent thriller The Good Doctor (2011), before being cast in a minor role in Steven Soderbergh's comedy film Magic Mike (2012). She had her first big-budget release in the action feature Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Andersen</span> American writer and radio host

Kurt B. Andersen is an American writer, the author of novels and nonfiction as well as a writer for television and the theater.

Daniel Fuchs was an American screenwriter, fiction writer, and essayist.

<i>The Sot-Weed Factor</i> (novel) 1960 historical novel by John Barth

The Sot-Weed Factor is a 1960 novel by the American writer John Barth. The novel marks the beginning of Barth's literary postmodernism. The Sot-Weed Factor takes its title from the poem The Sot-Weed Factor: Or, a Voyage to Maryland. A Satyr (1708) by the English-born poet Ebenezer Cooke, about whom few biographical details are known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennett Miller</span> American film director (born 1966)

Bennett Altman Miller is an American film director, known for directing the films Capote (2005), Moneyball (2011), and Foxcatcher (2014). He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Savile</span> British writer

Steven Savile is a British fantasy, horror and thriller writer and editor living in Sweden. His published work includes novels and numerous short stories in magazines and anthologies.

<i>Solaris</i> (2002 film) American science fiction drama

Solaris is a 2002 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, and starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone. It is based on the 1961 science fiction novel of the same name by Polish writer Stanisław Lem.

James Goss is an English writer and producer, known both for his work in cult TV spin-off media, including tie-in novels and audio stories for Doctor Who and Torchwood, and for his fictional works beyond established universes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Iglesias</span> Spanish composer (born 1955)

Alberto Iglesias Fernández-Berridi is a Spanish composer. He was first noticed as a score composer for Spanish films, mostly from Pedro Almodóvar and Julio Medem. His career became more international with time and he eventually started to work also in Hollywood. Since then, he has been nominated four times for an Academy Award for his work in the films The Constant Gardener (2005), The Kite Runner (2007), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), and Parallel Mothers (2021). His other film credits include soundtracks for Steven Soderbergh's Che. and Hossein Amini's The Two Faces of January (2014). Iglesias also has worked for ballet and has done other classical music work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juno Temple</span> British actress (born 1989)

Juno Temple is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the comedy series Ted Lasso (2020–2023) and in the fifth season of the crime drama series Fargo (2023–2024). She earned Primetime Emmy Award nominations for both as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination for the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Foy</span> British actress (born 1984)

Claire Elizabeth Foy is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix drama series The Crown (2016–2023), for which she received various accolades such as a Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft science fiction</span> Sub-genre of science fiction emphasizing "soft" sciences or human emotions

Soft science fiction, or soft SF, is a category of science fiction with two different definitions, in contrast to hard science fiction. It explores the "soft" sciences, as opposed to the "hard" sciences. It can also refer to science fiction which prioritizes human emotions over scientific accuracy or plausibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed Farrel Coleman</span> American novelist

Reed Farrel Coleman is an American writer of crime fiction and a poet.

<i>Unsane</i> 2018 horror-thriller film by Steven Soderbergh

Unsane is a 2018 American psychological thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy Irving, and follows a woman confined to a mental institution after she is pursued by a stalker. The film was shot entirely on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Mosaic is a 2017 murder mystery by Steven Soderbergh, producer Casey Silver, and writer Ed Solomon, published via HBO. It was released in two forms: as an iOS/Android mobile app and as a 2018 television drama. The app works like an interactive film; while the user cannot affect the plot, they can choose from which perspective the same plot is viewed, and learn different facets of it. Users can also investigate on their own time background documents, emails, news clippings, voice mails, police reports, and the like in a "Discoveries" option.

Brad Greenquist is an American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Soderbergh's unrealized projects</span>

The following is a list of unproduced Steven Soderbergh projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

References

  1. "James Greer is comfy under the magnifying glass in new band Détective". Denverpost.com. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  2. Crew, Adrienne (August 8, 2006). "Interview in LAist discussing Greer's "influence on a generation of music journalists"". Laist.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  3. "Unsane writer James Greer on the death of Kurt Cobain and birth of Generation X". March 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  4. "James Greer: Making the World His Bitch (and Elephants)". www.vice.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. "Steven Soderbergh's 12-hour John Barth adaptation, via James Greer". Los Angeles Times. April 2, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  6. "DTCV AllMusic Biography". AllMusic.com. July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  7. "DTCV | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. "Consequence of Sound Advance Stream of Confusion Moderne". consequence.net. April 1, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  9. Jaime-Becerra, Michael (October 8, 2006). "Los Angeles Times review of Artificial Light". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  10. Baron, Zach (March 24, 2010). "Review of The Failure in the Village Voice". Villagevoice.com. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  11. Official California Book Awards Site Archived June 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  12. "James Greer's Bad Eminence: A wicked thrill opened at your peril".
  13. "Fiction Book Review: Everything Flows by James Greer".
  14. Max Keeble's Big Move IMDB page
  15. Just My Luck IMDB page
  16. The Spy Next Door IMDB page
  17. Kroll, Justin (July 18, 2017). "Juno Temple to Co-Star With Claire Foy in Steven Soderbergh's Next Movie (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  18. Busch, Anita (February 1, 2018). "Studio 8 Acquires 'Planet Kill' For Steven Soderbergh To Produce, May Direct". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  19. "Steven Soderbergh's 12-hour John Barth adaptation, via James Greer". Los Angeles Times. April 2, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  20. James Greer at IMDb
  21. James Greer at IMDb