Jim Fields
Encyclopedia
James Wallace Fields is an American
film director
, producer
, playwright
and actor. Fields wrote, produced and directed the movies 416, Saving The Indian Hills, Preserve Me A Seat, Plain Living and, most recently Bugeaters, currently in production. Prior to his film work, Fields wrote and directed the musical comedy Little Red and the play Scarlett Fever.
Fields is a nationally known independent filmmaker who has championed issues of concern to the Midwest and of film lovers in general. He is the owner of the independent film production company Apartment 101 Films.
, Nebraska
, in September 1958. Fields was educated in the Omaha public schools. Starting in his childhood, Fields took an intense interest in film. An early photograph that appears in Saving The Indian Hills depicts Fields at age 16, standing in front of the Indian Hills Theater
, which housed the largest indoor movie screen ever constructed. Designed by the architect Richard L. Crowther
, the Cinerama
theater was considered his greatest achievement. Its unique curved screen provided a 3-D effect that caused moviegoers to feel themselves immersed in the film--especially wide screen movies such as Lawrence of Arabia
, Dr. Zhivago and Star Wars
.
about the 'Bugeaters', a 1915 University of Nebraska football team that went on to become the Cornhuskers. Fields himself produced and directed Little Red
in Omaha. The success of his first play led Fields to write, produce and direct Scarlett Fever, a dramatic play about a 76-year-old woman who wakes up one day and believes she is Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind
.
The success of Scarlett Fever led Fields to acquire his first digital video equipment which he used to produce and direct his first feature film: Plain Living.
was sold to Methodist Health Systems, which announced its intention to demolish the theater for a parking lot. A group of Omaha activists formed to save the Indian Hills Theater
and Fields was on hand, filming. The preservation fight became a cause célébre, resulting in letters from Hollywood legends pleading for the theater. Such legends included Kirk Douglas
, Leonard Maltin
, Charlton Heston
, Janet Leigh
, Ray Bradbury
and Patricia Neal
. Despite these pleas and a recommendation for the theater as a city landmark by the City of Omaha's Landmarks Preservation Commission, Methodist Health Systems began demolition of the theater shortly after the theater had been declared a landmark.
elements, the film's premier faced long delays while litigation got resolved. The world premiere occurred in Grand Island, NE Nebraska. After the feature a lively panel discussion occurred featuring the film-makers and theater developer, Paul Warshauer. The common thread of the theater preservation efforts within Preserve Me A Seat is their lack of success.
This film has seen wide distribution at film festivals across the country.
about the 1890 University of Nebraska football team, entitled Bugeaters.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
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...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and actor. Fields wrote, produced and directed the movies 416, Saving The Indian Hills, Preserve Me A Seat, Plain Living and, most recently Bugeaters, currently in production. Prior to his film work, Fields wrote and directed the musical comedy Little Red and the play Scarlett Fever.
Fields is a nationally known independent filmmaker who has championed issues of concern to the Midwest and of film lovers in general. He is the owner of the independent film production company Apartment 101 Films.
Early life
James Wallace Fields was born in OmahaOmaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, in September 1958. Fields was educated in the Omaha public schools. Starting in his childhood, Fields took an intense interest in film. An early photograph that appears in Saving The Indian Hills depicts Fields at age 16, standing in front of the Indian Hills Theater
Indian Hills Theater
The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States...
, which housed the largest indoor movie screen ever constructed. Designed by the architect Richard L. Crowther
Richard L. Crowther
Richard L. Crowther, FAIA was an architect and author who achieved international renown for his progressive holistic compositions, particularly his pioneering designs employing passive solar energy.- Career :...
, the Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
theater was considered his greatest achievement. Its unique curved screen provided a 3-D effect that caused moviegoers to feel themselves immersed in the film--especially wide screen movies such as Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
, Dr. Zhivago and Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
.
Early career
After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Fields wrote the play Little RedLittle Red
Little Red is a rock band from Melbourne, Australia consisting of Adrian Beltrame , Dominic Byrne , Quang Dinh , Tom Hartney and Taka Honda .-Biography:...
about the 'Bugeaters', a 1915 University of Nebraska football team that went on to become the Cornhuskers. Fields himself produced and directed Little Red
Little Red
Little Red is a rock band from Melbourne, Australia consisting of Adrian Beltrame , Dominic Byrne , Quang Dinh , Tom Hartney and Taka Honda .-Biography:...
in Omaha. The success of his first play led Fields to write, produce and direct Scarlett Fever, a dramatic play about a 76-year-old woman who wakes up one day and believes she is Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
.
The success of Scarlett Fever led Fields to acquire his first digital video equipment which he used to produce and direct his first feature film: Plain Living.
Saving The Indian Hills
In 2001 Fields found himself swept up in a brewing controversy in Omaha. The aforementioned Indian Hills TheaterIndian Hills Theater
The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States...
was sold to Methodist Health Systems, which announced its intention to demolish the theater for a parking lot. A group of Omaha activists formed to save the Indian Hills Theater
Indian Hills Theater
The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States...
and Fields was on hand, filming. The preservation fight became a cause célébre, resulting in letters from Hollywood legends pleading for the theater. Such legends included Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
, Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
and Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
. Despite these pleas and a recommendation for the theater as a city landmark by the City of Omaha's Landmarks Preservation Commission, Methodist Health Systems began demolition of the theater shortly after the theater had been declared a landmark.
416
The movie 416 is named after Initiative 416, a Nebraska law that allegedly protected marriage from attempts by gay activists to enshrine gay marriage. Fields takes a balanced approach to the issue as he plays the initiative's Christian backers against gay and lesbian Nebraskans who oppose the measure, which passed with support from 71% of Nebraska voters. 416 purported to give an objective view of the issue but most reviewers suggested the film was highly critical of the religious right.Preserve Me A Seat
Although the activists did not succeed in saving the theater, Fields captured their tumultuous efforts on film and this resulted in two films: Saving The Indian Hills and footage that later became the core of Preserve Me A Seat. The later film enlarges the focus of Saving The Indian Hills to the entire United States. It presents the story of the Indian Hills Theater Preservation Society, the Omaha group that formed to save the theater, in context with the companion stories of similar groups that formed in other cities with the intention of saving their own theater palaces from the wrecking ball. Because of the controversy surrounding its Indian Hills TheaterIndian Hills Theater
The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States...
elements, the film's premier faced long delays while litigation got resolved. The world premiere occurred in Grand Island, NE Nebraska. After the feature a lively panel discussion occurred featuring the film-makers and theater developer, Paul Warshauer. The common thread of the theater preservation efforts within Preserve Me A Seat is their lack of success.
This film has seen wide distribution at film festivals across the country.
Bugeaters
Fields' latest work is a documentary filmDocumentary 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...
about the 1890 University of Nebraska football team, entitled Bugeaters.