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James Moll

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James Moll
An image of James Moll at the Movieguide Awards in February 2019.
James Moll at the Movieguide Awards in February 2019.
Born
James Moll

Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materUSC School of Cinematic Arts
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1987–present
Websitewww.allentownproductions.com

James Moll is an American director and producer of film documentaries and television documentaries. His documentary work has earned him an Academy Award, two Emmys, and a Grammy.[1] Moll's production company, Allentown Productions Inc., has been based at Universal Studios since 1994, primarily producing non-fiction film and television projects. Moll also serves on the executive committee of the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and serves as chair of the documentary award for the Directors Guild of America.

Early life and education

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Moll was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1987.

Career

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Film and television

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Moll began his professional career as an intern reading scripts for film producer Lauren Shuler Donner, who later hired him as an assistant to French writer-director Francis Veber for Veber's American remake of "Les Fugitifs", Three Fugitives.

In 1996, Moll's first documentary as producer, Survivors of the Holocaust, received two Prime Time Emmy Awards and a third nomination.[2]

In March 1999, James Moll received the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for directing The Last Days.[3] Steven Spielberg is executive producer of the film, which chronicles the lives of five Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.

He directed and produced the feature-length documentary Price for Peace, which premiered prime time on NBC in 2002 and was hosted by Tom Brokaw; the late author Stephen Ambrose and Steven Spielberg are its executive producers. The film focuses on America's involvement in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. It was produced in collaboration with DreamWorks and The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

Moll directed and produced the 2007 feature length documentary Running the Sahara about three men who ran 4,300 miles across the Sahara desert from Senegal to Egypt. Matt Damon is executive producer of the film, which promotes Water.org, formerly the H2O Africa Foundation, co-founded by Damon to raise awareness of clean water initiatives in Africa.

In 2009, Moll was nominated for two Emmy Awards[4] winning one of them, from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Inheritance. The film profiles Monika Göth Hertwig and her struggle dealing with her father's involvement in The Holocaust. Monika's father, S.S. Captain Amon Göth, who attained international notoriety after being portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List was executed for war crimes in 1946.

Moll directed the 2011 feature documentary Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, profiling rock band Foo Fighters' career. In 2012, Moll won a Grammy Award for "Best Music Video, Long Form" for the documentary.[5]

Moll directed the 2017 documentary Obey Giant, which chronicles artist Shepard Fairey's personal story from his Charleston, South Carolina origins through his emergence as an iconoclastic brand.[6] It also examines the relationship between street art, activism, punk rock, and politics.[6] Producers of the film include actor James Franco.[6]

In 2018, Moll completed his work[note 1] on the Netflix television docuseries Medal of Honor in concert with executive producer Robert Zemeckis.[8][9][7] The documentary miniseries profiles the acts of heroism and selflessness exhibited by eight American soldiers who were awarded the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest and most prestigious military honor for acts of valor.[8][9]

Shoah Foundation

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Moll is founding executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation's Institute for Visual History and Education, also known as the Shoah Foundation. He established the non-profit organization with June Beallor in 1994 for Steven Spielberg. Moll and Beallor ran the day-to-day operations the Shoah Foundation from its inception in 1994 until 1998, and later worked with the foundation on the production of documentaries. Shoah Foundation's objective was collecting tens of thousands of videotaped testimonies from survivors of The Holocaust around the world; within five years, the foundation collected over 52,000 such testimonies in 32 languages.

Filmography

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Selected credits in film and television[10]
Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Producer
2018 Medal of Honor Yes Yes TV series documentary; credited as executive producer (8 episodes) & director (3 episodes)
2018 Days That Shaped America No Yes TV series documentary; credited as executive producer
2017 Obey Giant Yes Yes Documentary
2017 Trenches of Rock No Yes Documentary; credited as executive producer
2015 Mully No Yes Documentary; credited as executive producer
2015 Living in the Age of Airplanes No Yes Documentary; credited as executive producer
2015 Auschwitz Yes No Documentary short[11]
2014 Farmland Yes Yes Documentary
2012 Always Faithful No Yes Documentary
2011 A Path to Honor No Yes TV series documentary; credited as executive producer
2011 Foo Fighters: Back and Forth Yes Yes Winner: Grammy Award for "Best Music Video, Long Form"[5]
2010 Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal No Yes Documentary
2010 When I Rise No Yes Documentary
2008 Running the Sahara Yes Yes Documentary
2008 New Kids on the Block: A Behind the Music Special No Yes TV movie documentary; credited as executive producer
2008 A Timeless Call No Yes Documentary short
2006 Inheritance Yes Yes Winner: Emmy Award for "Outstanding Interview"[4] – also credited as editor
2006 Ten Days that Unexpectedly Changed America: Massacre at Mystic Yes Yes TV series documentary
2004 The Four Chaplains: Sacrifice at Sea Yes Yes TV movie documentary
2004 A Remarkable Promise Yes Yes Short film
2004 Voices from the List No Yes Video documentary; credited as producer and executive producer
2003 Burma Bridge Busters Yes Yes TV movie documentary
2002 Price for Peace Yes Yes Documentary
2002 I Remember No Yes Documentary
2002 Broken Silence No Yes TV mini-series documentary
2000 Eyes of the Holocaust No Yes Documentary
1998 The Last Days Yes No Winner: Academy Award for "Best Documentary (Feature)"[3] – also credited as editor
1997 The Lost Children of Berlin No Yes Documentary; credited as executive producer
1996 Survivors of the Holocaust No Yes Winner: Emmy Award for "Outstanding Informational Special"[2]
1992 Out on a Limb No Yes Comedy; credited as associate producer

Notes

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  1. ^ Moll served as an executive producer of the entire docu-series and directed three of the eight episodes.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "James Moll: Awards". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Survivors Of The Holocaust". Emmys.com. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "THE 71ST ACADEMY AWARDS". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "30th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT NEW YORK CITY GALA" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 22, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "WINNERS: Best Music Video, Long Form". www.grammy.com. Recording Academy. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c Deborah Vankin (November 11, 2017). "Shepard Fairey: Have we lost the 'street' in street art?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Medal of Honor". Internet Movie Database. November 9, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Joel Jeller (November 9, 2018). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Medal Of Honor' On Netflix, Profiling The Selfless Acts Of Soldiers That Earned The U.S. Military's Highest Honor". Decider. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Denise Petski (October 4, 2018). "Netflix Sets 'Medal Of Honor' Military Docuseries Produced By James Moll & Robert Zemeckis". Deadline. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "James Moll". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Auschwitz on Youtube
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