About
Born in central Florida, Justin James spent his youth with a video camera glued to his hand directing music videos. After writing his first script at age twelve, he set his sights on becoming a screenwriter. At 19, he moved to LA where he lived out of his car for two months before spending a decade climbing the production ladder during which he worked as a camera operator, editor, location scout, and director, until a family emergency forced him back to the east coast sidelining his dreams. With a sobering $132 to his name and two thousand miles between him and the industry, he entered his first screenwriting contest and walked away with Script Pipeline’s Top Prize, earning $25,000 and beating out over 10,000 applicants. Following his win, he landed at the top of The Black List where his pilot, Powerhouse, stayed at number one for an unprecedented seventeen week run. Capitalizing on the momentum, he was staffed on an upcoming MGM and Amazon Prime family drama before exiting to adapt another TV series for MGM. Later that year, he set up a psychological thriller at Escape Artist, optioned an inspiring survival story, and began developing a soapy dramedy with Amazing Spider Man producer, Pam Williams. After relocating to Nashville, he wrote three movies for Lifetime under his pen name, set up a feel-good medical procedural with Candace Cameron-Bure attached to produce, and began developing a soapy limited series with Gabrielle Unions’ I’ll Have Another banner. In the fall of 2022, he hit a selling streak, selling two thrillers to A&E Networks, two romcoms to Hallmark, and a soapy YA series to a streamer with Untitled Ent. producing. In the first half of 2023 prior to the writer’s strike, he sold a mother, daughter drama with Cartel Pictures, sold a Christmas romcom to Candace Cameron-Bure’s CandyRock Productions, set up an original thriller with Jenna Dewan attached to produce and star, optioned a female buddy comedy to Holly Hines’ Happy Accidents, and began developing a children’s animated series with Untitled Entertainment. In the fall of 2023, he began developing a thriller with Netflix, sold a Christmas romcom to Hallmark, and wrote a baseball comedy with Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge attached to direct. In early 2024, he set up a contained thriller at Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat and began developing an action comedy starring Taylor Lautner. Up next, he is set create and executive produce a series alongside Untitled Entertainment based on the incredible true story of Walker Hayes, the Grammy-nominated country singer of the viral hit, Fancy Like, which is being packaged as a family drama in the vein of Friday Night Lights meets Nashville.