James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, director and business executive, and he’s been a mainstay of independent filmmaking for over three decades. In 2015, Schamus launched Symbolic Exchange, a New York based film development company focused on supporting diverse, emerging voices. Symbolic’s most recent films are Kitty Green’s “The Assistant,” starring Julia Garner (which was recently nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards), and Andrew Ahn’s “Driveways,” starring Hong Chau and Brian Dennehy. Schamus’ film directorial debut was the adaptation of Philip Roth’s “Indignation,” starring Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon and Tracy Letts. It premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival, and it was released by Roadside Attractions.
Previously, Schamus co-founded and served as CEO of Focus Features for twelve years. With him at the helm, Focus Features produced many critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Milk,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “The Pianist,” “Coraline” and “Dallas Buyers Club.”
Schamus’ long association with Ang Lee resulted in a dozen critically acclaimed films. He produced Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain,” which won three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards and the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. Schamus also received Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song for his work on Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Schamus and Lee’s other collaborations, many of which Schamus wrote, include: “Lust, Caution,” “Hulk,” “Ride with the Devil,” “The Ice Storm,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Eat Drink Man Woman,” “The Wedding Banquet” and “Pushing Hands.” Schamus was awarded the Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival for “The Ice Storm.”
In 2021, Schamus created his first ever television project, Somos, for which he served as writer, showrunner and executive producer. The 6-part series was launched globally on Netflix.
Before forming Focus Features, Schamus served as co-president of the independent production company Good Machine, which he co-founded in 1991. He is also a Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where he teaches film history and theory. He earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2003. He is also the author of “Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Gertrud: The Moving Word,” published by the University of Washington Press.