James Makichuk was born and raised in Swan River Manitoba, later moving to Southern Ontario where he attended college in Michigan. Makichuk began his career at CKLW-TV in Windsor/Detroit, working as newswriter, soundman and film cameraman covering Viet Nam War protests, Presidential visits and crime beats. During that time he attended film school at Banff, Simon Fraser University and University of Detroit. He went on to Global TV as a newscameraman, then to Vancouver where, after working as a film editor for BCTV, he began a film company, Rocky Mountain Films, with Phillip Borsos. They produced two short films, CADILLAC and COOPERAGE together as well as a number of corporate films. Cooperage won a Genie for Best Short in 1976 as well as several other international awards including finalist in the 1976 Academy Awards. They worked on several unproduced screenplays up until Borsos' untimely death in 1995. Makichuk joined Armadale Productions in Regina in 1976, as writer/producer/ director, completing numerous commercials and several corporate films. In 1977 he went to CFCN in Calgary to work as producer/director for commercials and corporate films. In 1979, he left to form Badland Pictures, and in 1980 wrote, produced and directed GHOSTKEEPER, a 35mm suspense thriller, distributed by New World Pictures and produced by his company, Badland Pictures. In the eighties, he wrote, directed and edited two television movies, THE TOWER and NIAGARA, for Visual Productions of Toronto. He also wrote BETRAYAL OF SILENCE, a courtroom drama about teen abuse, aired in Canada on CTV and in the US on Lifetime. Moving to Los Angeles in 1990, Makichuk has worked extensively in television both as a writer and story editor, while developing a number of feature films with companies like ABC Productions, Sony Pictures, Leonard Goldberg and others. In 1998, Makichuk wrote two science fiction television movies for Paramount's UPN network as well as rewriting five others. He also finished a television pilot script based on an adventure comicbook for FFP Productions. He also has productions in development as writer/director in both British Columbia and Saskatchewan.