James 'Jim' Jennewein is an American screenwriter, author, teacher and writer, best known for writing several major Hollywood comedies of the 1990s, including the feature film adaptation of The Flintstones. He collaborates with Tom S. Parker.

James 'Jim' Jennewein
Jim Jennewein at Vancouver Film School in October 2011
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Notre Dame
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, educator
Known forThe Flintstones
Getting Even with Dad

Career

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Jennewein graduated from the University of Notre Dame, and worked as a copywriter in advertising before becoming a screenwriter. With fellow copywriter Parker, the duo wrote Stay Tuned on spec. Within two days, the pair had signed with the Bauer Benedek agency and sold it for $750,000.[1]

With Parker, Jennewein wrote the first draft of the film version of Super Mario Bros., which was a comedic fairy tale, focusing on Mario and Luigi attempting to rescue a princess named Hildy from Koopa. That draft would be rejected and scrapped after former director Greg Beeman was replaced due to the failure of Mom and Dad Save the World.[2] On The Flintstones, their most commercially successful project, they were part of a record 35 writers attached to the project before it was shot. Conversely, Ri¢hie Ri¢h underperformed at the North America box office, making back less than its $40 million budget,[3][4] but made $125 million in VHS rentals.[5]

In 2008, he partnered with Parker and together they wrote their first novel, Runewarriors: Shield of Odin, which is based on Norse mythology. The Runewarriors series was continued with 2010's Sword of Doom and 2011's Ship of the Dead. He taught screenwriting at CSU Northridge,[6] and is currently a professor at Fordham University, teaching screenwriting and TV Drama.[7]

Film credits

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References

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  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog".
  2. ^ "Super Mario Bros: Scripts". Super Mario Bros. The Movie Archive. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  3. ^ Natale, Richard (1995-01-03). "New Year Box Office Starts Off With Bang Movies: At $15.5 million, 'Dumb' stole the show during the long holiday weekend. But many other movies filled the seats as well". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  4. ^ "Richie Rich (1994) - Box Office Mojo". Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  5. ^ Harvey Capitalizes on Ghost, Rich Kid, Billboard
  6. ^ "James Jennewein". 15 January 2013.
  7. ^ "James Jennewein". Fordham University. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2023 – via Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (14 November 2008). "'HOW ABOUT YOU'; Film in Review". The New York Times. p. 10. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
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