James Lucas (screenwriter)

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James Lucas
Born
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, director
Years active2013–present

James Lucas is a British/New Zealand screenwriter and film director. He is best known for co-writing and producing the British short drama film The Phone Call (2013), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards. [1] Lucas was born in High Wycombe, England and grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand before moving back to London, where he has lived for the last 20 years. [2]

After graduating from film school at London Metropolitan, being a Writer/Researcher at Talkback Television and an Assistant Editor at Tank Magazine, James worked at Ridley Scott’s RSA Films for a number of years - a time he cites as his "Masters in Film".

Since winning an Oscar James has gone on to make several more short films, written the critically acclaimed, award-winning feature film 'Whina', starring Rena Owen, released in 2021 and is currently in pre-production for his hotly anticipated Kate Moss biopic 'Moss & Freud', starring Ellie Bamber and Sir Derek Jacobi playing Lucian Freud.

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<i>The Phone Call</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

The Phone Call is a 2013 British short drama film. It was directed by Mat Kirkby and written by Kirkby and James Lucas. It won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards.

Mat Kirkby is a Welsh filmmaker. In 2015, he won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for directing The Phone Call, a short drama film starring Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent. Kirkby wrote the film with his colleague James Lucas who both had family who worked on helplines. The short had its world premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, where it also won Best Short Film. He began his career as a director of commercials and music videos for artists including Adele, Muse and Basement Jaxx.

References

  1. Pulver, Andrew (19 February 2015). "How two British short film-makers turned rejection into an Oscars nod". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  2. Parton, Russell (26 February 2015). "Hackney filmmaker wins Oscar for short film The Phone Call". East End Review. Retrieved 3 February 2016.