James White (film)

James White
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Josh Mond
Produced by	Max Born Antonio Campos Sean Durkin Melody C. Roscher F.A. Eric Schultz
Written by	Josh Mond
Starring	Christopher Abbott Cynthia Nixon Scott Mescudi Ron Livingston Makenzie Leigh David Call
Music by	Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi
Cinematography	Mátyás Erdély
Edited by	Matthew Hannam
Distributed by	The Film Arcade
Release dates	January 23, 2015 (2015-01-23) (Sundance Film Festival) November 13, 2015 (2015-11-13) (United States)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$101,368[1]

James White is a 2015 American drama film written and directed by Josh Mond. The film stars Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Ron Livingston, Makenzie Leigh and David Call.

James White premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival^[2] where it won the NEXT Audience Award.^[3] The film received a limited release on November 13, 2015, by The Film Arcade.^[4]

Cast

• Christopher Abbott as James White
• Cynthia Nixon as Gail White
• Scott Mescudi as Nick
• Ron Livingston as Ben
• Makenzie Leigh as Jayne
• David Call as Elliot
• David Cale as Grief Counselor

Production

Josh Mond started writing the script to explore and understand his own feelings after losing his mother to cancer in 2011. During the writing of the script, Mond listened to Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi's albums. They served as inspiration and motivation.^[5]

In the middle of writing the script, Mond made an experimental short film precursor called ‘1009’ and had his close-friend, actor Christopher Abbott play the leading role. After the short, he decided that the part of James White was going to be written for Abbott.^[6] Abbott based his performance on people he'd met, especially New Yorkers, Josh Mond and himself. Cynthia Nixon met up with Mond after reading the script. Mond and Nixon bonded over the fact that they both were from Manhattan with artsy parents. Unfortunately, both Nixon and Mond's mother died of cancer, and Nixon herself being a cancer survivor.^[7] She based her performance on Mond's mother and her own mother as well, even wearing her mother's jewerly in the film.^[8] Actor-director Mark Webber, a friend of Mond's, sent his former colleague Mescudi the script. Mescudi joined the film and later scored the film.^[9]

The film started shooting in New York City in December 2013.^[10] The shooting lasted 18 days in New York and another 4 days were spent shooting in Mexico.^[11] Borderline Films reached out via Kickstarter to finance the film's post-production editing costs and music rights.^[12]

Release

The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival,^[13] where it won the NEXT Audience Award.^[14] It also screened at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival^[15] and at the 2015 AFI Fest where it won the American Independents Audience Award.^[16] The film received a limited release on November 13, 2015 by distributors, The Film Arcade.^[17][18]

Reception

James White has been met with critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 91% approval rating based on reviews from 53 critics, with an average rating of 7.4 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states: " Led by powerfully complementary performances from Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon, James White offers an affecting calling card for debuting writer-director Josh Mond."^[19] On Metacritic the film has received a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[20]

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• James White at the Internet Movie Database