James Scurlock
Encyclopedia
James Duncan Scurlock is an American director
, producer
, writer
and financial adviser
. He is probably best-known for his critically acclaimed documentary
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders
and his award winning book
, Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit.
Born in Seattle, Washington
, he attended the Wharton School
, University of Pennsylvania
, studying finance
, but left in his senior year without receiving a degree. While in college, he opened four restaurant
s, which he sold in 1994. He then moved to Dallas
, where he published
a successful investing
newsletter
titled Restaurant Investor and wrote freelance
for several magazine
s.
In 2002, Scurlock moved to Los Angeles
, to pursue a career in filmmaking
. His first documentary, Parents of the Year (2004
), was featured in over 25 film festival
s and won numerous awards, including the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival
and the Jury Awards at the Austin Film Festival
, the USA Film Festival
and the Palm Springs Short Film Festival. Parents of the Year was bought by HBO and broadcast extensively on HBO Latino. Scurlock's second short, Stumped! (2005
), follows three eccentric citizens who run against Arnold Schwarzenegger
for Governor of California
. His first feature length
documentary was the critically acclaimed Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders
(2006
), which he also produced.
Scurlock also wrote a major book based on Maxed Out. In conjunction with the global release
of the film, his book, Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit (2006
), was published
through Scribner
, a division of Simon & Schuster
.
In 2008, Scurlock received The Ridenhour
Book Prize for Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit (ISBN 1-416-53253-6).
James Scurlock lives in Santa Monica, California
.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and financial adviser
Financial adviser
A financial adviser, is a professional who renders financial services to individuals, businesses and governments. This can involve investment advice, which may include pension planning, and/or advice on life insurance and other insurances such as income protection insurance, critical illness...
. He is probably best-known for his critically acclaimed documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders
Maxed Out
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders is an independent feature-length documentary film and book that chronicles abusive practices in the credit card industry....
and his award winning book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit.
Born in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, he attended the Wharton School
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, studying finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, but left in his senior year without receiving a degree. While in college, he opened four restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, which he sold in 1994. He then moved to Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, where he published
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
a successful investing
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
newsletter
Newsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
titled Restaurant Investor and wrote freelance
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
for several magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s.
In 2002, Scurlock moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, to pursue a career in filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
. His first documentary, Parents of the Year (2004
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
), was featured in over 25 film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s and won numerous awards, including the Audience Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
and the Jury Awards at the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
, the USA Film Festival
USA Film Festival
-History:Founded in 1971, the USA Film Festival has presented the world, national and regional premieres of thousands of studio and independent feature films and short experimental, animated, documentary and dramatic films....
and the Palm Springs Short Film Festival. Parents of the Year was bought by HBO and broadcast extensively on HBO Latino. Scurlock's second short, Stumped! (2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
), follows three eccentric citizens who run against Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
for Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
. His first feature length
Feature length
Feature length is motion picture terminology referring to the length of a feature film. According to the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a feature length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes to be eligible for an Academy Award.The term may also...
documentary was the critically acclaimed Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders
Maxed Out
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders is an independent feature-length documentary film and book that chronicles abusive practices in the credit card industry....
(2006
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
), which he also produced.
Scurlock also wrote a major book based on Maxed Out. In conjunction with the global release
Film release
A film release is the stage at which a completed film is legally authorized by its owner for public distribution.The process includes locating a distributor to handle the film...
of the film, his book, Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit (2006
2006 in literature
The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...
), was published
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
through Scribner
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
, a division of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
.
In 2008, Scurlock received The Ridenhour
The Ridenhour Prizes
The Ridenhour Prizes comprise awards in three categories given annually in recognition of those "who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society." The awards are presented by The Nation Institute and The...
Book Prize for Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit (ISBN 1-416-53253-6).
James Scurlock lives in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
.
External links
- "Washington Post" - "Maxed Out' Man James Scurlock, Right on the Money"
- The Wall Street Journal - "The Wallet - Inside the Brain of...James Scurlock, Director of Maxed Out"
- Saipan Tribune - "Filmmaker focuses camera on Hillblom"
- San Francisco Chronicle - "In debt up to our eyeballs"
- Slate Magazine - "If You Knew Suze Like We Know Suze: You wouldn't listen to her advice"