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James Mangold has written and directed six feature films in eight years, exploring a wide range of genres while keeping constant the powerful ensembles, original characters, sterling performances and striking imagery that have come to define and unify his work. Mangold developed WALK THE LINE for seven years with producer, partner and wife, Cathy Konrad, under their shared production company TREE/LINE FILM. He co-wrote the screenplay in consultation with Cash and Carter and produced the soundtrack with T Bone Burnett.

Mangold's last film, the psychological thriller Identity starred John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Ray Liotta, Clea DuVall and Alfred Molina as travelers stranded in a desert storm. The film topped the box office on its opening weekend, and went on to gross over 90 million worldwide. In 2001, Mangold co-wrote and directed Kate & Leopold. Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Bradley Whitford, it was modeled after forties and fifties romantic comedies and fantasies Mangold admires. A film about love, destiny and the lost art of civility, it was nominated for two Golden Globes. Previously, Mangold wrote and directed Girl, Interrupted, adapted from Susanna Kaysen's best-selling memoir about her two-year stay at a mental hospital in the late sixties. The film featured another strong ensemble (Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Clea DuVall and Vanessa Redgrave), and Jolie went on to win the 1999 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. For his second feature, Mangold directed his original script for Cop Land, a virtual western set in modern day New Jersey. Featuring Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta, among others.

Heavy, Mangold's lyrical and nearly wordless debut, was hailed by critics. Written under the guidance of Milos Forman and featuring powerful performances by Pruitt Taylor Vince, Liv Tyler, Deborah Harry and two-time Oscar winner Shelley Winters, Heavy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival -- winning the jury prize for best direction -- and was selected to represent the United States at Director's Fortnight in Cannes.

The son of two celebrated painters, Mangold earned a B.A. in Film and Acting from the California Institute of the Arts, where he worked closely under Alexander Mackendrick (Sweet Smell Of Success, The Ladykillers). Thanks to an array of student shorts, at age 21, Mangold landed a writing and directing deal at Disney, where he penned both an ABC television movie and the animated feature musical Oliver & Company. He then went on to gain a Masters in Film from Columbia University. Mangold currently lives in Los Angeles with producer Cathy Konrad who has overseen all of Mangold's films since Heavy.