James Nguyen

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
James Nguyen
Danang, South Vietnam
NationalityVietnamese[citation needed]
OccupationFilm director
Years active2003–present
ChildrenJennimai Nguyen

James Nguyen (born 1 September 1966)[1] is a Vietnamese filmmaker known for directing the 2010 romantic horror film Birdemic: Shock and Terror, as well as its sequels Birdemic 2: The Resurrection and Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle.

Life and career

Nguyen was born in

Danang, South Vietnam.[2] He and his family fled the country shortly before the Fall of Saigon.[3] He never received any formal training in filmmaking, but instead grew up watching the films of director Alfred Hitchcock, including 1958's Vertigo and 1963's The Birds.[4] Nguyen went on to be a software salesman in Silicon Valley. He first picked up a camera in 1999.[5]

In 2003, he directed the low-budget romantic film Julie and Jack. In 2005, he directed the science fiction thriller Replica, inspired by Vertigo, but it was not released until 2017;

Half Moon Bay, California, and much of the filming took place in the area surrounding the community.[7] The film's under $10,000 budget was financed with his own income.[8] Nguyen has cited The Birds and An Inconvenient Truth (2006) as inspiration for directing Birdemic.[9]

During and since its release, Birdemic has become famously considered one of the worst films of all time.[10][11] Birdemic was featured as a movie riffed on by the cast of RiffTrax both as a standalone product and during one of their live shows, drawing further attention to the film and Nguyen. In February 2012, Nguyen began production on a sequel to the film, entitled Birdemic 2: The Resurrection.[12] The film was released in 2013 to negative reviews.[9]

In a 2016 Vice interview, Nguyen said that he is hoping to eventually make Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle, which would be his last film in the Birdemic series.[13] Nguyen attempted to crowdfund for the film, first launching a project on Indiegogo which only raised $596 of its $500,000 goal[14] and later on Kickstarter only raising $230 of its $200,000 goal.[15] Despite this, it was announced in March 2021 that production on the third installment had begun with a planned release in late 2022. Birdemic 3 premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 25, 2022, and later released on streaming services on January 24, 2023.[16][17]

Due to the gain in popularity with Birdemic's showing through RiffTrax, Nguyen agreed to allow RiffTrax to give a similar treatment to his unreleased Replica. The un-riffed version was available through RiffTrax in January 2017 and the riffed version was released on February 10, 2017.[6]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2003 Julie and Jack Yes Yes Yes Also Director of Photography/Camera Operator/Lighting/Art Director/Costume Designer/Production Designer/Set Decorator/Songwriter - "Spiritual Love"/"Professor Tran"[18]
2010 Birdemic: Shock and Terror Yes Yes Executive Also uncredited cameo as "Patron looking at menu"[18]
2013 Birdemic 2: The Resurrection Yes Yes No Also cameo role as "Auteur Walking out of Vietnamese Restaurant" [18]
2017 Replica Yes Yes Yes[19] Shot in 2005
2022 Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle Yes Yes Yes

Documentary short films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Actor Notes
2017 The Man with the Wooden Face Yes Yes Yes Yes [20]
2019 Cosmic Beauty Yes Yes Yes No Also editor
"Cosmic Beauty". letterboxd.com.
2023 Climate Fix Yes No No Yes Also narrator

References

  1. ^ "James Nguyen – Biography". Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  2. ^ Savlov, Marc (2 July 2010). "When Bad Movies Attack: James Nguyen's underground oddity 'Birdemic' cries fowl". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (24 April 2010). "A Cheesy Horror Turkey Becomes a High-Flying Cult Hit". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. ^ Amy Rosner (producer), Patrick Lee (editor) (2 May 2010). The Worst Movie Ever Made? (Television production). CBS News. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b Riley, Jenelle (23 March 2010). "For the Birds". Backstage. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b Vanderbilt, Mike (January 12, 2017). "Exclusive: RiffTrax takes on another Hitchcock clone from the director of Birdemic". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Miska, Brad (11 March 2010). "Video Interview with 'Birdemic' Director Part 2, New York Premiere Announced!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. ^ O'Neill, Phelim (26 May 2010). "Why I'm looking forward to Birdemic: Shock and Terror". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  9. ^ a b Gilchrist, Todd (21 February 2011). "'Birdemic' Director on Shooting His Sequel… in 3-D". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Is Birdemic worst film ever made?". BBC News. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  11. ^ Fabio Periera (8 May 2010). "Review: Birdemic: Shock and Terror". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  12. ^ Barton, Steve (23 January 2012). "Exclusive Birdemic II: The Resurrection News Flys In: Casting News, Start Date, and More!". Dread Central. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  13. ^ The Worst Movie Ever Made? The True Story of 'Birdemic'
  14. ^ "BIRDEMIC 3 - Sea Eagle". Indiegogo. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  15. ^ Nguyen, James. "BIRDEMIC 3 - Sea Eagle". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  16. ^ Tabor, Dan (September 26, 2022). "Fantastic Fest 2022: BIRDEMIC 3: SEA EAGLE the Birds are BACK!". Medium. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  17. ^ "BIRDEMIC 3: SEA EAGLE Lands On Streaming Platforms This Week". FANGORIA. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  18. ^ a b c "James Nguyen". imdb.
  19. ^ "Rifftrax: Replica". Tubi.
  20. ^ "Birdemic Director James Nguyen Returns With The Man With The Wooden Face". The Reprobate.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Nguyen.
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