James Mercel

Was born in Rochester, NY and raised in Spencerport. His first word was "Batman," which has led to a lifelong obsession with comic books and super-heroes, and had intended to be a writer/artist. Though he always loved movies, it wasn't until High School when he became fascinated with film, discovering directors like Lina Wertmuller, Werner Herzog and Peter Greenaway, which re-directed his interest from comic books to cinema. After crewing on a few commercials, student shorts, a few professional shorts and 2 features, as well as working for the Rochester/Finger Lakes Film & Video Office, he moved to Los Angeles where he crewed on a feature & several commercials, just prior to the commercial actors' strike. Since then he has focused on writing. He is the older brother of musician Jeff Mercel.