James Fox

Born and raised in Central California, James Fox was pulled into the film industry shortly after finishing high school. In offering a friend a ride to an audition, Fox was mistakenly taken to an audition himself and paired with a scene partner. Feeling incredibly guilty for his scene partner, he decided to give it his best shot. The next day he received a call, he was to play the lead character's Vietnam flashback, and was in more of the film than the lead actor. He quickly learned that acting was the most challenging job on the planet and gravitated to the storyteller role of Director. After wrapping that feature film, he quickly dropped out of the Genetic Engineering major he was in and pursued further education and exposure within the film industry. Upon his graduation from the Academy of Art in San Francisco, with a BFA in both Directing and Producing, he became the Founder and CEO of Dawnrunner Inc. With 15 action-packed years in the film industry, he has led the company through numerous award-winning projects, across the world. His most recent project SOL, a pilot script he wrote, just finished a successful festival tour and has attracted the interest of several networks. He is currently working on adapting multiple best-selling novels to TV series. He is in pre-production to direct two large feature films scheduled to enter production Summer 2020. He has been recognized for his passion and determination to advance the industry through education and outreach, and has spoken at events like, GPU Technology Conference, NAB, Seattle International Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, and dedicates his time and energy on several advisory boards, and through partnerships with children's arts education organizations. His creativity and technical street-smarts have labeled him a visionary for the future of visual storytelling through new methods and technological innovations. With his deep-rooted love of science and technology, every project is approached with a focus on creating believable worlds anchored in real science. As a Director, he provides strong charismatic leadership and an inexhaustible well of excitement and energy. When not on set that energy is channeled into several hobbies and tends to go "crazy deep" into everything, from SCUBA diving to martial arts, sports, brewing, cooking, and reading fantasy/sci-fi novels - he is constantly moving and learning. Whenever he is asked why he wanted to be a filmmaker, James always responds the same way, "To make the world a better place." From first-hand experience, he has seen the power the Media & Entertainment Industry has over influencing the world. By creating entertaining stories rich with empathy and compassion, he hopes to create positive change in the world.