James Isaac

For the footballer, see Jimmy Isaac.

James Isaac (June 5, 1960 – May 6, 2012) was an American film director and visual effects supervisor.

James Isaac
Born	(1960-06-05)June 5, 1960
Died	May 6, 2012(2012-05-06) (aged 51)
Occupation(s)	Film director, producer, special effects
Years active	1983–2012

Career

James Isaac worked on David Cronenberg's films The Fly, Naked Lunch and eXistenz

James Isaac was born June 5, 1960.^[1]

Isaac began work in film in the early 1980s creating the creatures in films such as Return of the Jedi and Gremlins.^[2] He continued his work into the 1980s with Enemy Mine, House II: The Second Story and DeepStar Six.^[2] He made his directorial debut on The Horror Show after the original director left the project a week into shooting.^[2][3]

He also worked with director David Cronenberg on his films The Fly, Naked Lunch and eXistenz.^[2] His other 1990s work included being a special effects supervisor for Chris Wales Inc. on Look Who's Talking Too and Virtuosity.^[2] He returned to directing in the 2000s, working on Jason X, Skinwalkers and Pig Hunt.^[2]

Isaac died of blood cancer on May 6, 2012.^[1]

Select filmography

Title	Year	Credited as			Notes	Ref(s)
		Director	Special effects	Other
Return of the Jedi	1983		Yes		Credited as Creature tech.	[4]
Gremlins	1984		Yes		Credited as part of the Creature crew	[5]
House II: The Second Story	1987		Yes		Special effects coordinator	[6]
The Kiss	1988			Yes	Make-up crew	[7]
Deepstar Six	1989		Yes		Credited as Visual effects supervisor	[8]
House III: The Horror Show		Yes				[9][3]
Arachnophobia	1990		Yes			[10]
Look Who's Talking Too			Yes		Credited as the Project Supervisor	[11]
eXistenZ	1999		Yes		Visual and special effects supervisor	[12][13]
Jason X	2002	Yes		Yes	Executive producer	[14][15][16]
Skinwalkers	2006	Yes				[17]
Pig Hunt	2008	Yes		Yes	Co-producer; final film
His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th	2009			Yes	Documentary film, himself	[18]
Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th	2013			Yes	Documentary film, himself, posthumous role	[19]