Director James Mangold might well have been left to struggle as a novelist in a dank North Hollywood apartment had it not been for the encouragement he received to reinvigorate his film career. Prior to his isolation in the sun-bleached San Fernando Valley, his one-year deal to write and direct for Disney handed to him right after college was called off. Disillusioned by a studio system hell-bent on wallowing in mediocrity, the 21-year-old was baffled to learn that Disney was more interested in making commercial dreck rather than illustrious art. Added to the mix was his penchant for mouth-off to executives, and the studio quickly became a disgruntled employer. But after earning his master’s degree from Columbia University, Mangold returned to the Hollywood fold after getting noticed for his first feature, “Heavy” (1996), thus regaining the lost foothold that nearly plummeted his career.

Growing up in Washingtonville, New York, Mangold was an anomaly in the blue collar town. Both his parents were known painters—his dad, Robert, was an abstract minimalist and his mom, Sylvia, did landscapes. Meanwhile, the other kid’s parents were cops or firefighters, a reality that made the boy feel like an outsider. When he was 12, his dad bought the family a Super 8 camera which Mangold used to make short films. He even directed a short in high school starring the jocks that picked on him and the cheerleaders who wouldn’t give him the time of day. Called “Growing Up,” the short gave Mangold unusual control over elements from his life he previously had no control over. After high school, he attended California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1985. On graduation day, Mangold was chosen by Cal Arts’ president to sit at a table of trustees that included Michael Eisner, Barry Diller and agent Jeff Berg. The sit-down went swimmingly: Mangold was offered a contract by Eisner and representation by Berg. Just like that, he was in the door.

Almost as quickly, Mangold was tossed out the same door he came in. He did help write a moderately successful animated feature, “Oliver & Company” (1988), a revamping of Charles Dickens’ classic story starring a kitten taken in by a pack of pickpocket dogs. Though the movie took in over $50 million at the box office, Disney was no longer interested in working with Mangold. They fired him three days into his first directing gig—a television movie called “The Deacon Street Deer” (ABC, 1996)—and cast him aside once his contract expired. He retired to a North Hollywood apartment to write a novel, but soon realized that the same frustrations existed in publishing as they did in filmmaking. After a good talking-to from a writer friend, Mangold entered Columbia University with renewed vigor and earned his master’s degree under the tutelage of Oscar-winning director Milos Foreman. It was at Columbia that Mangold began writing the script for “Heavy.”

Mangold raised a few hundred thousand dollars and cast then-untested Liv Tyler for his low-budget drama about a college dropout-turned-waitress (Tyler) who starts work at a roadside diner in upstate New York, arousing a shy overweight pizza chef (Pruitt Taylor-Vince) from his mind-numbing drudgery. Though not a box office smash by any stretch of the imagination, “Heavy” toured the festival circuit—Cannes, Sundance, Toronto—and earned him a good deal of recognition. Most importantly, Mangold had taken his first important step towards reviving his failed career. His next film, “Cop Land” (1997), further increased his esteem in the eyes of critics and earned a hefty sum at the box office to boot. Set in Garrison, New Jersey, a fictional town under the shadow of the New York City skyline, “Cop Land” starred a beefed-up Sylvester Stallone (he gained 40 pounds for the role) as a partially deaf small town sheriff dragged into an internal affairs investigation of corrupt cops living in his town. Co-starring Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta, “Cop Land” offered Mangold the rare opportunity to direct his dream cast. The results were widely appreciated by critics and audiences alike.

For his next feature, “Girl, Interrupted” (1999), Mangold was responsible for creating a star and Oscar winner out of Angelina Jolie. Adapted from Susana Kaysen’s best-selling memoir and starring Winona Ryder as the semi-fictionalized narrator who lands in a mental institution after a suicide attempt, “Girl, Interrupted” was more a showcase for Jolie’s stunning portrayal as a charismatic sociopath who befriends Ryder’s character than anything else. While avoiding the trappings of “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest” (1975), the film proved mediocre at best, both with critics and at the box office. His next project, “Kate & Leopold” (2001), left critics scratching their heads wondering what became of the moody independent filmmaker. A mainstream romantic comedy between a 21st century woman (Meg Ryan) and a 19th century bachelor (Hugh Jackman), “Kate & Leopold” went on to do respectable business, but earned Mangold a share of scorn for his descent into mediocrity.

With “Identity” (2003), an ensemble thriller about ten strangers brought to an isolated motel during a driving rainstorm by forces unknown, Mangold churned out a traditional thriller while regaining his independent spirit. Shot almost exclusively on a back lot, “Identity” boasted strong performances from John Cusack, Ray Liotta and Amanda Peet, and a moody atmosphere reminiscent of “Psycho.” Though not as emotionally resonant as “Heavy” or “Cop Land,” the film was a well-crafted and deserving entry into the thriller oeuvre. Mangold shifted genres again for his next project, “Walk the Line” (2005), a biopic about the early years of outlaw country singer, Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix). Though the subject matter was built on a familiar story--poor but gifted social misfit's talents make him a star but, still empty inside, he almost loses it all to substance abuse--and Mangold boldly chose to use stars Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon's own vocals in place of Cash and June Carter's, the film was carefully crafted around Cash and Carter's involving (and protracted) love story, and Mangold made tremendous use of his skilled headliners.