# James Ward Byrkit

James Ward Byrkit (also known as James Byrkit or Jim Byrkit) is an American filmmaker. Byrkit is perhaps best known for his collaborations with director Gore Verbinski, working together on films like Mouse Hunt and Rango. For Rango, Byrkit co-wrote the script and starred as several characters, most notably Waffles, a horned lizard.
Byrkit was hired by Verbinski as the conceptual consultant for the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films. He did three weeks of consultancy work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), the Black Pearl and other ships. In addition to the more than 3,000 storyboards that Byrkit created for Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007), he also bounced back and forth between departments, such as production design, props and the pre-visualization team, helping with simplified animatics of the overwhelmingly complex action sequences that were a blueprint for Verbinski on set, and later, for Industrial Light & Magic's visual effects. Byrkit also directed Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011), a short film and an immediate prequel to The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Byrkit is also known for directing the science fiction thriller Coherence, his debut feature which earned critical and audience praise and garnered attention for his unconventional approach in the making of the film as "proof that inventive filmmakers can do a lot with a little", and identifying him as a groundbreaking talent. Since its release, Coherence has become an international sensation and regularly appears on ranking lists of best films.
Byrkit's follow-up project, Shatter Belt, is an episodic series in the tradition of Twilight Zone. Production on the first four episodes was completed in 2022, with the world premiere scheduled for 2023 at the SXSW Film & TV Festival.
In the Disney+ series Prop Culture, Byrkit made a guest appearance with concept artist Crash McCreery to discuss their work in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

## Awards

* Breakthrough Director (nominated) at the Gotham Independent Film Awards 2014
* Next Wave Best Screenplay at the Austin Fantastic Fest for Coherence (2013)
* Maria Award for Best Screenplay at the Sitges Film Festival for Coherence (2013)
* Carnet Jove Jury Award for Best In Competition at the Sitges Film Festival for Coherence (2013)
* Black Tulip Award for Best Feature Debut at the Imagine Film Festival for Coherence (2014)
* Imagine Movie Zone Award, Special Mention at the Imagine Film Festival for Coherence (2014)
* Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production for Rango (2011, won, shared with John Logan and Gore Verbinski)

## Filmography

Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | No | No | No | Consultant | Credited as "Jim Byrkit" |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | No | No | No | Conceptual Consultant | |
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | No | No | No | Conceptual Consultant | |
| 2011 | Rango | No | Story | No | Waffles | |
| 2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | No | No | No | | Uncredited work on the Map |
| 2013 | Coherence | Yes | Yes | Executive | | |
| 2016 | The Forest | No | No | Co-producer | | |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 2005 | Yes, and... | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2005 | Fractalus | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked | Yes | No | No | Filmed in late 2006 |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Stop at Nothing | Yes | No | | TV movie |
| 2001 | Special Unit 2 | Yes | No | | Episode "The Rocks" |
| 2020 | Prop Culture | No | No | Himself | Disney+ docuseries; Episode: "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" |
| 2023 | Shatter Belt | Yes | Yes | | 4 episodes |
Video game
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
| 2011 | Rango | Yes | Yes |