Age, Biography and Wiki
James Gunn is an acclaimed American filmmaker, born in St. Louis, Missouri. He began his filmmaking career at a young age, creating homemade films with his brother. Gunn's rise to fame involved early work with Troma Entertainment, where he co-wrote Tromeo and Juliet (1996), a production that laid the groundwork for his mainstream success. His Wikipedia page provides extensive details about his life and career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gunn.
| Occupation | Film Producer |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 5 August 1966 |
| Age | 59 Years |
| Birth Place | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Specific details about James Gunn's height, weight, and measurements are not widely published. However, he is often recognized for his distinctive public presence, which includes his creative and outspoken personality.
| Height | |
| Weight | |
| Body Measurements | |
| Eye Color | |
| Hair Color |
Dating & Relationship status
James Gunn was previously married to actress Jenna Fischer from 2000 to 2008. In 2022, he married actress Jennifer Holland, who appeared in his series Peacemaker .
James Francis Gunn Jr. Louis, Missouri, to parents James F. Gunn, an attorney, and Leota "Lee" (Hynek). He was raised Catholic in the St. Louis suburb of Manchester, Missouri. He has five siblings — actor Sean, actor and political writer Matt, screenwriter Brian, Patrick, and Beth. Gunn is of Irish descent his father coming from an Irish immigrant family. Gunn has stated that his family's surname was originally the Irish name MacGilgunn and that it means "sons to the servants of the god of the dead"; it actually means "son of the brown youth."
Gunn's first major Hollywood screenplay was Scooby-Doo in 2002. In 2004, he wrote the screenplays for the remake of Dawn of the Dead and the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. With these films, Gunn became the first screenwriter to have two films top the box office in consecutive weeks. That same year, he executive produced and starred in the mockumentary LolliLove, directed by and starring his then-wife Jenna Fischer. His film directorial debut was the 2006 horror-comedy Slither, which was included on Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 50 Best Ever Reviewed Horror Movies.
Gunn has been in a relationship with actress Jennifer Holland since 2015. In February 2022, Holland and Gunn became engaged, and were married at the end of September 2022.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Jenna Fischer (m. 2000-2008) Jennifer Holland (m. 2022) |
| Sibling | |
| Children |
Net Worth and Salary
As of 2024, James Gunn's net worth is estimated at $70 million, reflecting his successful career in filmmaking and his current role as co-CEO of DC Studios . His annual salary as a director is reported to be $4 million . His net worth is expected to increase with his involvement in upcoming DC projects, including the Superman film .
Career, Business and Investments
James Gunn's career spans multiple genres, from horror to superhero films. He gained widespread recognition with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and its sequels, which became a beloved franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has also directed The Suicide Squad and created the Peacemaker series. In 2022, he became co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, where he is reshaping the DC Universe with projects like Creature Commandos and Superman .
James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with Tromeo and Juliet (1996). He then began working as a director, starting with the horror-comedy film Slither (2006), and moving to the superhero genre with Super (2010), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), The Suicide Squad (2021), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
Gunn began his career in filmmaking with Troma Entertainment in 1996, for which he co-wrote the independent film Tromeo and Juliet. Working alongside his mentor Lloyd Kaufman, the co-founder of Troma, Gunn learned how to write screenplays, produce films, scout locations, direct actors, distribute films, and create his own poster art. After contributing to several other Troma films, Gunn in 2000 wrote, produced and performed in the superhero comedy The Specials, directed by Craig Mazin and featuring Rob Lowe, Thomas Haden Church, Paget Brewster, Judy Greer and Jamie Kennedy.
Walt Disney Studios's decision received criticism from many entertainers and journalists, including actors Dave Bautista, Selma Blair, Patton Oswalt, David Dastmalchian, Michael Ian Black, Mikaela Hoover, Mike Colter, Alex Winter, David Hasselhoff, directors Joe Carnahan and Fede Álvarez, comics artist Jim Starlin, musician Rhett Miller, comedian Jim Jefferies, Rick and Morty creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, journalist David A. French and Troma Entertainment founder and president Lloyd Kaufman. Bobcat Goldthwait, who worked as a voice actor on the 1997 Disney film Hercules, responded to the incident by asking Disney to remove his voice from an upcoming park attraction based on the film.
Gunn and frequent producing partner Peter Safran had advised David Zaslav, the CEO of the newly created Warner Bros. Discovery, during his search for a new head of DC Films. The duo impressed Zaslav who decided to appoint them as the co-chairpersons and CEOs of DC Films, rebranded as "DC Studios", with control over films, animation and television projects based on characters from DC Comics. Gunn was to oversee the creative aspects and will be exclusive to Warner Bros. Discovery during his tenure, except for his prior commitments to Disney. The two had first worked together on the 2000 superhero comedy film The Specials written by Gunn with Safran as co-executive producer, with subsequent collaborations including Gunn's 2008 short films Sparky & Mikaela and Humanzee!, the television series James Gunn's PG Porn (2008-2009), The Belko Experiment (2016) and the DCEU film The Suicide Squad (2021). The two assumed their positions on November 1, 2022.
Social Network
James Gunn is active on social media platforms, often using them to engage with fans and share his creative vision. He is known for being outspoken on social issues and uses his platform to advocate for compassion and justice.
Growing up, Gunn was influenced by low-budget films such as Night of the Living Dead and Friday the 13th. He read magazines like Fangoria and attended genre movie screenings, including the original Dawn of the Dead at the Tivoli Theatre in St. Louis. At the age of 12, he began making 8 mm zombie films with his brothers in the woods near their home.
While living in St. Louis, Gunn founded a band, The Icons, in 1989, serving as lead vocalist. The group released the album Mom, We Like It Here on Earth in 1994, and its songs "Sunday" and "Walking Naked" were featured in the film Tromeo and Juliet. The Icons disbanded in the mid-1990s. Gunn has continued to work in music, composing songs for Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and Movie 43.
Gunn co-wrote and directed the Marvel Studios adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy, which was released on August 1, 2014. His brother, Sean, has a role in the film. Gunn has appeared as an actor, mostly in smaller roles or uncredited appearances in his own projects. After Dan Gilroy and Jack Black separately lamented the proliferation of superhero films, Gunn responded in a Facebook post, saying in part:"Popular fare in any medium has always been snubbed by the self-appointed elite. ... What bothers me slightly is that many people assume because you make big films that you put less love, care, and thought into them than people do who make independent films or who make what are considered more serious Hollywood films. ... If you think people who make superhero movies are dumb, come out and say we're dumb. But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a 'serious' filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than the Russo Brothers do Captain America, or Joss Whedon does the Hulk, or I do a talking raccoon, you are simply mistaken."
Gunn wrote a novel in 2000, The Toy Collector, a story of a hospital orderly who steals drugs from the hospital which he sells to help keep his toy collection habit alive. In 1998, he and Troma's President Lloyd Kaufman co-wrote All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger, about his experiences with Kaufman while working at Troma.
In July 2018, in reaction to Gunn's public criticisms of President Donald Trump, commentator Mike Cernovich drew attention to controversial jokes that Gunn posted on social media between 2008 and 2012 involving pedophilia and the Holocaust. Amid criticism of the tweets, Disney severed ties with Gunn as the director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 film at the time; Gunn responded: "I have regretted [those jokes] for many years since. [...] Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now [is offer] my sincere and heartfelt regret [...] To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies."
A number of media outlets criticized Disney's decision, including Collider, Cartoon Brew, The Daily Dot, The Independent, National Review, MovieWeb, and Vulture. An online petition urging Disney to re-hire Gunn received over 400,000 signatures. On July 30, 2018, Guardians of the Galaxy cast members Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Sean Gunn, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and Michael Rooker released a joint statement through social media expressing their support for Gunn.
Education
Details about James Gunn's formal education are not extensively documented. However, his early experiences in filmmaking and his time at Troma Entertainment played a significant role in shaping his career skills.
Gunn and his brothers all attended the Jesuit St. Louis University High School, where he graduated in 1984. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Louis University. While at Saint Louis University, Gunn created political cartoons for the school's student weekly, The University News. Gunn said that, at an unspecified time in his college education, "I went to two years undergraduate film school at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. But I was pretty screwed up at the time, and had to leave. Years later I went to graduate school at the Columbia University School of Fine Arts but I studied prose writing, not film writing." He earned a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University in 1995.
