James D. Fields, right, with his wife Gabrielle Fields and Barry Corbin. James directed his first feature film, Magic Max, in which Barry played a role. James and Gabrielle moved to Canyon Lake five years ago and both are in the movie business. The debut directorial film has won several film festival awards and is available on the major streaming services. Photo provided by Silver Lining Pictures
CL film director winning awards
Awards from film festivals around the country keep rolling in for Canyon Lake’s James D. Fields’ feature movie, “Magic Max.” James relocated to Canyon Lake from Los Angeles in 2016 and says he’s found his safe haven.
The film director entered the movie, his first, into several film festivals and it has won 13 awards. One award at the Los Angeles Motion Picture Festival last year was the Grand Jury Prize Silver Award for Best Director.
Magic Max was officially released in November and is available for streaming on all of the major streaming services.
James D. Fields, right, with his wife Gabrielle Fields and Barry Corbin. James directed his first feature film, Magic Max, in which Barry played a role. James and Gabrielle moved to Canyon Lake five years ago and both are in the movie business. The debut directorial film has won several film festival awards and is available on the major streaming services. Photo provided by Silver Lining Pictures
Magic Max is about 11-year-old Tim Hart who, after losing his parents, balks at living with his immensely immature Uncle Max. Max is a second-rate magician who must grow up to be a father figure and, perhaps, find love while he’s at it.
“I wanted to create a perfect family-oriented film, where you can sit down with everyone in the family and don’t have to skip any scenes,” James said. “This is my first directing film and my first feature film. What an incredible experience! I got so lucky with the actors we had; they were so attuned with everything. It was just a blessing.”
Photo provided by Silver Lining Pictures
James came to Canyon Lake because he hated the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. He said he has been able to find solitude and inspiration inside of Canyon Lake.
“Well, I had heard about Canyon Lake for a long time before we moved here,” he said. “It is just so unique. There is an aura about it. It’s kind of a meant-to-be thing for me to be here. When my wife and I saw the house, we fell in love with it right away. It’s a dream come true to be here!”
James’s favorite places to seek inspiration and find peace are in the parks of Canyon Lake.
Photo provided by Silver Lining Pictures
“My favorite spot is the marina,” he said. “I’ll bring my dog to the dog park every night and just focus on what I’m doing. I love Indian Beach, too. I did my shot list over there. I really do enjoy it here. It’s such a unique place.”
James said he had wanted to shoot Magic Max inside of Canyon Lake, but with the restrictions and regulations, he was not able to.
“Canyon Lake is a community that values family,” he said. “Living here aligned me with these values and helped me apply them to my film. Just sitting in my golf cart with my dog, I find so much inspiration looking at these wonderful, colorful houses full of families.”
Photo provided by Silver Lining Pictures
James’ wife, Gabrielle, calls him the “Clint Eastwood of Canyon Lake.” Eastwood is also one of James’ favorite directors as are Quentin Tarantino, Ron Howard and many other iconic directors.
COVID-19 has limited theater releases of the film, but there will be special theater releases of Magic Max soon across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
With his debut film behind him, James is now eager to begin shooting his second film, which will take place in Old Tucson, Arizona. The new movie is also a very family-friendly film.