In 1995 James McCarthy won the Carl Foreman Scholarship for screen writing given in association with BAFTA. The prize was a year's tuition at California State University, Long Beach. In 1999/2000 he worked for Warner Bros International TV and UFA. In 2001 he was sponsored by Working Title Films to write a supernatural thriller "The Rising" for the First Feedback scheme. In 2002 he wrote a screenplay "Cool" for director Jeremy Wooding. In 2003/4 - with co-writer J Blakeson - he pitched, sold and wrote a conspiracy thriller "Unreality Inc" to Working Title Films. In 2004/5 he wrote a stalking thriller for director Mel Smith and producer James Gay-Rees (Midfield Films). In 2006/7 he co-wrote The Descent 2 with J Blakeson for Celador Films. In summer 2008 James and J Blakeson completed a teenage psychological drama/thriller The Poison Tree. In 2010 James wrote a drama-thriller "I'm On Fire".. In 2012 his European spec thriller "Safe From Harm" was optioned by Element Pictures. James lives and writes in South East London.
