Jimmy Hayward

James Hayward (born September 17, 1970) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and animator. He has written screenplays for Columbia, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers.

Biography

At a young age, Hayward began his career at Mainframe Entertainment animating and directing commercials. He was one of the original animators of the television series ReBoot in which he was the first animator to be hired and invited while the studio’s employees working on the series in Granville Island Hotel. He modeled the character Phong in the show. Throughout his career, he has worked at Pixar Animation Studios, 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, and was an animator for Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. He was the sequence director and story consultant for Robots.

His studio directorial debut, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, had a worldwide gross of $298.6 million.

Hayward's first live-action film, Jonah Hex, was released in June 2010. While it was a commercial failure, having grossed only $11 million against a budget of $47 million and received generally negative reviews from critics, it did succeed on several streaming platforms for years.

Hayward was also director and writer on an animated film Free Birds, starring Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson and Amy Poehler, which was released in 2013. The film was a financial success, grossing over $110 million.

In April 2023, a benefit for Hayward was put together to help pay medical bills in relation to a bone cancer diagnosis.

While in cancer treatment, Hayward directed projects with world renowned bands like Primus and Tool. After surviving multiple surgeries and radiation, Hayward was declared cancer free.

Filmography Animator Year Title Notes 1994 ReBoot Senior animator: episodes 1–4 1995 Toy Story 1996 Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story Video game 1996 Toy Story Activity Center 1998 A Bug's Life Additional animator 1999 Toy Story 2 2001 Monsters, Inc. 2002 Mike's New Car Short film 2003 Finding Nemo

Voice roles Year Title Role Notes 2008 Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! Obnoxious Who 2013 Free Birds Ranger/Leatherbeak/President/Hazmats Additional voices 2015 Transformers vs. G.I. Joe: The Commissary Narrator/Destro/Soundwave/Gung-Ho/Zartan 3 episodes

Director Year Title Notes 2008 Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! Also musician: guitar 2010 Jonah Hex Live-action role: Train Wood Tender 2013 Free Birds Also writer

Other credits Year Title Role 1995 NHL 96 Special thanks 1999 Toy Story 2 Additional story material 2005 Robots Director of additional scenes and story consultant