James Merendino

James Merendino
Merendino at the 2011 New York Comic Con
Born	James Anthony Merendino (1969-01-11) January 11, 1969 (age 48) Long Branch, New Jersey
Occupation	Film director, film producer, screenwriter
Years active	1991–present

James Anthony Merendino (born January 11, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter who is best known for directing the 1998 film SLC Punk!.

Merendino was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah when he was six years old. He graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School in 1985 and went to college in Rome and Los Angeles, California where he studied Western philosophy and theology. Merendino moved Hollywood, California when he was 19 and found work with Hollywood mogul Dan Melnick.

In 1991, Merendino was hired to direct Witchcraft IV. His fourth film, Toughguy (1995), is a psychological thriller starring Heather Graham and introducing Carrie-Anne Moss and Balthazar Getty. His next film was A River Made to Drown In (1997). Merendino's most successful film, SLC Punk!, was released in 1998. SLC Punk! is semi-autobiographical SLC Punk screenplay was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 2000.

The 2000 film Magicians was a European co-production with Alan Arkin and Claire Forlani. Amerikana was part of the Dogma 95 movement by Lars Von Trier. Merendino directed (with Lisa Hammer) the drama film The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch in 2009. He wrote and directed the sequel to 1998's SLC Punk!, Punk's Dead, which was released in February 2016.