Biografi
Jim Mitchell (James Douglas Mitchell) was born at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. His father, Douglas, was initially a research engineer at Formica Corporation in Cincinnati, while his mother, Linda, taught high-school English. When Jim was six months old, Douglas decided he didn't want him growing up in Cincinnati. He quit his job, built a homemade trailer, attached it to their family car (a 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook club coupe), packed their belongings, and moved the family to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. There, Douglas joined Jim's grandfather, Orville Anderson Mitchell, in the oil and gas production, ranching, and farming business. (Bartlesville is on the eastern edge of the Osage Nation Reservation.) From an early age, Jim was involved in drilling new oil and gas wells, often using old "cable-tool" rigs, maintaining older wells, salvaging oilfield equipment, and trading oil and gas properties. He operated century-old oilfield rod-line powerhouses, horse-drawn pulling units, and vacuum plants, sharpened cable-tool drill bits with a sledgehammer after heating them in a crude oil-fired forge, worked with cattle, baled hay, and performed blacksmithing, welding, and mechanical tasks. When not engaged in these activities, he worked for his grandmother, Nora Vickers Mitchell—a well-known Bartlesville antique dealer—repairing and refinishing Victorian and Edwardian furniture. Despite this rugged upbringing, Jim always aspired to Hollywood, inspired by his great-uncle Floyd Blackman, who acted in two silent films after World War I and later worked as a cameraman throughout the 1920s and ’30s. Growing up, Jim also knew actors Gretchen Wyler and Ben Johnson from Bartlesville; Gretchen was in his father’s high school class, and Ben was a close friend of his paternal grandmother.
Jim’s first film job came when he boldly inserted himself onto Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!" (1996) set as a Production Assistant. The shoot was in Burns, Kansas, a small Mennonite town surrounded by wheat fields. Jim removed the Oklahoma plates from a black 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, replaced them with expired California plates, packed extra clothes, food, and supplies, put the top down, and drove to Burns. Upon arrival, despite a crowd of reporters, fans, and numerous Kansas State Troopers guarding the town’s entrances, Jim introduced himself, claimed he was running late but needed to get to work, and was unexpectedly allowed through. He parked and began working alongside Tim Burton’s crew, going unnoticed by security until noon the next day. An empathetic Assistant Director intervened, preventing Jim from being expelled, allowing him to remain on set. His final day there was spent assisting Joe Don Baker, after which he was invited to continue working with Burton’s crew in Kingman, Arizona.
The region where Jim grew up has produced many notable film figures, including Tom Mix, Sid Jordan, Emmett Dalton of the Dalton Gang fame, Will Rogers, Clark Gable, Flora Campbell, Nancy Barrett, Terrence Malick, and Larry Sellers.
