About Wild At Heart Films

WILD AT HEART FILMS was founded by producer James Egan in July 2000 to create "Media that Makes a Difference." James Egan is a producer, screenwriter, and a former screenwriting professor at the USC Graduate School of Cinematic Arts.

In the production of Wild About Harry, a feature film directed by first-time director Gwen Wynne, Wild at Heart partnered with both emerging and recognized artists and filmmakers. The film stars Josh Peck (The Wackness, Red Dawn), Tate Donovan (Damages), Adam Pascal (Rent) and Stacey Dash (Clueless); the film’s World Premiere was at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival where it won "Best of the Fest".

The first project under the Wild at Heart Films banner was the critically acclaimed independent film Jackpot, winner of the John Cassavetes Award for best low-budget feature at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards. Written and directed by Mark and Michael Polish, the award-winning brothers who created a buzz at Sundance with their debut film Twin Falls Idaho, Jackpot was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and premiered in the fall of 2001.

Our Award-winning film, Angels in the Dust, premiered in New York City on September 10, 2007 and in Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Music Hall on September 20, 2007. Angels in the Dust was directed by Louise Hogarth and co-produced by Participant Productions, also known the Oscar Winning An Inconvenient Truth.

Kimjongilia a feature documentary Executive Produced by James Egan and Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) had its premiere at the Los Angeles Arclight on August 8th, 2009, and was selected for competition at Sundance 2009. Directed by N.C. Heikin, Kimjongilia won the 2010 One World Best Human Rights Documentary Film Award by the jury of the Human Rights & Democracy Network (HRDN) for the film’s artistic quality and powerful message. Following its theatrical release, Kimjongilia has been featured on the Documentary Channel and is being submitted for Emmy consideration.

More recently, “The Economist Film Project” - an initiative by The Economist, in partnership with PBS Newshour, featuring films whose new ideas, perspectives, and insights not only help make sense of the world, but also take a stand and provoke ideas - has selected Kimjongilia to be showcased on an episode of PBS Newshour.

James Egan, Producer

Award-winning producer/writer/professor James Egan began working in the film business by providing production insurance for films by renowned filmmaker John Waters, on Female Trouble and Desperate Living.  With John’s encouragement, James obtained his master’s degree from the UCLA School of Film and Television.  Before he graduated, he had written and sold a mini-series, The Huxleys, to the BBC.  While working for the BBC, James formed a successful working relationship with Zenith Entertainment. Wild at Heart Films continues to partner with Zenith Entertainment by producing Martin Scorsese’s The 12, a television series that has been sold to The SyFy Network.

James Executive-Produced Jackpot (2001) by the Polish Brothers for Sony Pictures Classics, which won the John Cassavetes Award for best low-budget feature at the 2001 Independent Spirit Awards.  In 2007, he produced Angels in the Dust with Participant Media (Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth) which won the Amnesty International VARA Award for Social Justice, and was distributed worldwide.  With Mike Figgis, he Executive-Produced Kimjongilia, which premiered at Sundance in 2009, had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Arclight in August of this year, and won the 2010 One World Best Human Rights Documentary Film Award by the jury of the Human Rights & Democracy Network (HRDN) for the film’s artistic quality and powerful message.

As a screenwriter, James has sold a Christmas movie, The Gem Cutter, to Sony, and his romantic comedy Witch Wars to Disney for Jon Avnet to direct, as well as Hold Back the Sun to FOX.  At the USC Graduate School of Cinematic Arts, James also nurtures the talent of up-and-coming screenwriters in his role as screenwriting professor.  Most recently, Professor Egan produced Wild About Harry, a feature film starring Josh Peck (The Wackness), Tate Donovan (Good Night And Good Luck), and Adam Pascal (Rent), which will be distributed in Fall 2011 by Freestyle Releasing.

Further, he has partnered with Stereoscope on his youth scifi action film MAXHI, which he developed with successful game designer Chris Roberts (Wing Commander).

James Egan is editor of John Waters Interviews, latest book in the prestigious series Conversations with Filmmakers. A collection of the most enlightening interviews and articles defining the career of iconic filmmaker John Waters, the book will serve as an invaluable resource for film scholars, and will be released in November of 2011 by the University Press of Mississippi.