Creator / Jim Cummings (Filmmaker)

Jim Cummings (born October 31, 1986) is an American actor, director, writer, and producer known for his advocacy in independent film.

After briefly working for CollegeHumor, Cummings decided to make a short film about a police officer mourning the death of his mother, with himself in the lead role. The short, Thunder Road, went on to win awards at several film festivals, including the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and was promptly adapted into a feature of the same name that hit select theaters in 2018.

The success of Thunder Road led to a production deal between Cummings and the streaming platform Fullscreen to create six single-take short films in the style of Cummings' film, which were released as a series under the title Minutes throughout 2017. He has continued his filmmaking career with 2020's The Wolf of Snow Hollow and 2021's The Beta Test, both of which he wrote and directed (jointly with PJ McGabe for the latter) as well as starred in.

Here's his Twitter.

Not to be confused with Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh.

Jim Cummings' Filmography:

• 13 Cameras (2015) as Paul
• Thunder Road (2016-2018) as Officer Jim Arnaud; also writer and director
• Greener Grass (2019) as Rob
• The Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020) as Officer John Marshall; also writer and director
• The Block Island Sound (2020) as Dale
• Halloween Kills (2021) as Pete McCabe
• The Beta Test (2021) as Jordan; also co-writer and co-director
• Barry (2023) as Movie Barry Berkman

Tropes frequently associated with Jim Cummings:

• Actor Allusion: His biggest role is a police officer, whom he played for his short and its feature adaptation. His cameos in "The Robbery" and "The Stop" are both as a police officer.
• Cosmic Plaything: In addition to literally everything that could go wrong going wrong for Officer Arnaud in Thunder Road, the Minutes shorts also typically focus on bad things happening to their protagonists, such as "Parent Teacher."
• Dramedy: This guy loves off-beat dramedies that make you question whether to laugh or cry.
• Drugs Are Bad: Played for Drama at the end of Thunder Road, but averted in "The Stop," which plays comedically into a Higher Understanding Through Drugs.
• Higher Understanding Through Drugs: Cummings utilizes both this trope and The Oner in "The Stop" to impressive effect, even if that was one of the shorts he didn't direct.^note He's credited as only a writer, though it was part of the Minutes series that he basically produced.
• Manchild: Officer Jim Arnaud certainly falls into this in both versions of Thunder Road.
• One of Us: Cummings, being a young and almost accidentally successful indie darling, is an avid film geek and Letterboxd patron. If you're an aspiring filmmaker, you'll find his Twitter feed very encouraging and relatable.
• The Oner: How the original Thunder Road short was shot, followed by the series of shorts Cummings helped write and produce for Fullscreen. The feature is also relies heavily on this.
• Prone to Tears: He blubbers quite a bit in a number of his screen roles, including both versions of Thunder Road, his two short films Us Funny and The Mountains Of Mourne as well as The Wolf of Snow Hollow. Needless to say, his characters could typically use a hug.