Columbia University School of the Arts Film Program Professor James Schamus was profiled in a feature in the New York Times Magazine this past Sunday, November 28. Schamus' prolific career as a film executive — he is the CEO of Focus Features — as well as a producer (Brokeback Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), screenwriter, and published film historian and theorist is detailed in the piece, as is his dedication to and passion for teaching.
"There really isn’t anyone else like Schamus. There’s no precedent for a real academic — he’s a professor of professional practice in Columbia’s School of the Arts, a teacher and scholar who has served on the editorial board of Cinema Journal — to have a first-rate career as a writer, a producer and an executive in the film industry," Carlo Rotello, the article's author, wrote.
Schamus will receive a tribute at the 20th Anniversary Gotham Independent Film Awards tonight, November 29, along with Darren Aronofsky, Robert Duvall, and Hilary Swank.