Justin Zackham is the writer and executive producer of "The Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes and Rob Morrow. The film, directed by Rob Reiner, was released on Christmas, 2007. The film tells the story of two men (Nicholson and Freeman) who are roommates in a cancer ward where they learn on the same day that they each have only months to live. When Freeman's character was nineteen, he wrote a list of all the things he wanted to do with his life before he "kicked the bucket." Nicholson plays a millionaire who adds his own wishes to Morgan's list and the two men are soon skydiving, driving vintage race cars and riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle along the Great Wall of China.[1]
A book by the same name includes Freeman, Yuichiro Miura (the oldest man to climb Mt. Everest), and playboy Hugh Hefner's list as well as younger people. People’s wish lists change over their lifetime.[2][3]
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Zackham graduated from NYU film school after which he moved to Los Angeles and wrote, directed and produced the fraternity comedy "Going Greek" before turning to dramatic stories.
Zackham is adapting the book Planetwalker for Universal Studios and director Tom Shadyac.[4] The biography tells the story of John Francis, a man who took a 17-year vow of silence while walking across North and South America. Francis obtained a bachelor and masters degrees along with a PhD, all while not speaking. He became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and was hired by the U.S. Coast Guard to write oil spill legislation.
The Bucket List: Things to Do Before I Kick It. Three Rivers Press (CA), 2007 ISBN 978-0307406712
Zackham is the Creator and Executive Producer of the FX drama series Lights Out, about a former heavyweight champion facing bankruptcy and Alzheimer's disease.
He wrote a 2007 television pilot, a coming of age semi-autobiographical drama about five guys and one girl in their late 20s who have been friends since they were kids and who struggle to maintain their tight-knit group in the face of adulthood.