Directory Profile

Jim Ruxin received an MFA from USC Cinema Dept. (as it was called then) after graduating from Dartmouth College.

While an undergrad he was an editor of the daily newspaper, supervising writers, critics, opinion pieces and photography.  His MFA thesis was a documentary on the cult leader, Jim Jones, and his followers in People's Temple.

This documentary is still in demand as source of primary footage of the years before the Jonestown massacres.

A follow up documentary film was a local Emmy nominee for Best Current Affairs special.

He started his Hollywood career as a trailer editor, then producer for studios and independents. He also produced one comedy feature next, 'Stoogemania" with Josh Mostel which he also edited.

He began editing feature films as his main pursuit for some time, while producing career documentaries of entertainment luminaries like Robert Redford, Gregory Peck, the cast of Star Trek, and Fred Zinnmemann.

In 1998 he edited and directed second unit for "After The Rain," an interracial hostage drama set in Apartheid South Africa and starring Paul Bettany in his last independent feature.

In 2011 he co-produced and edited a feature documentary on the career of Jerry Lewis which screened at Cannes in 2012.

He also edited the first four seasons of "The Apprentice" but asks that you not hold that against him.  Even producer Mark Burnett admitted "we created a monster" with that show.  The editing team in that series received two consecutive prime time Emmy nominations for best reality show.

He began teaching intermediate production to undergraduates and beginning production to incoming graduate students in 2021.  It's been an exciting experience working closely with students from all over the world, each with their own stories to tell.