James Jacks left a career as a Wall Street stock analyst to try his hand at screenwriting. When that did not pan out, he turned to a career first as a successful studio executive at Universal and later as an independent producer with Alphaville Productions, formed with Sean Daniel. The producing pair has delivered such fare as the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle "Hard Target" (1993) and the box-office hit "Michael" (1996).

Although he had several screenplays optioned, Jacks really became immersed in show business when he became head of production for the Washington, DC-based Circle Films in the