Jennifer Derwingson-Peacock

I grew up in Mt. Shasta, CA —  a small town at the foot of a 14,000 ft volcano, which is (reportedly) the home of Bigfoot, Aliens, the descendants of Atlantis, and a panther who turns into Jesus Christ. It was, and still is, a town full of urban refugees, seekers, outcasts and weirdos. I was raised among them by former hippies, surrounded by musicians, dancers and theatre folk. It was an environment of creativity, potential, and not a little bit of magic and supernatural energy.

I first got an inkling that I might have a talent for writing when a (completely fictional) story I wrote about a girl, a puppy and her grandfather who dies won a fourth grade writing competition, and one of the judges said to me, “I’m so sorry about your grandpa.” And I first remember wanting to direct when my 5th grade class performed an Easter play I wrote and I asked my teacher if I could also direct it. (She, wisely, said no, since my bossy-ness had not yet evolved into collaboration.)

As an adult I began training in Buddhist meditation —  training my mind to not believe reality as it normally appears to me — which creates an exciting crossover with my love for Sci-Fi and supernatural worlds  — anything with an alternative view on reality. 

My passion lies in the disruption of the status quo and the creation of these new worlds. In Buddhism we say that all our problems come from seeing the world the wrong way, and the solution is to create a new world based on love and compassion. A director friend I’ve worked with frequently calls me “a Buddhist who likes to blow shit up.” Which, I do both literally — I really dig action. My secret Hollywood goal is to employ as many stuntwomen as possible. To, you know, smash the patriarchy — and, figuratively, by disrupting my own and others’ normal way of looking at ourselves and the world.

Writing is how I learn to think about myself, how to think about the world. It’s how I answer questions I don’t yet know the answer to.

And directing is how I express my love for the world, for the people in it, and for the crazy ups and downs; suffering and joy; and unlimited creative potential of every living being.

Jen Derwingson-Peacock is a director and writer. She began her career as an international theatre director working in London and Bali, and running her own theatre company in San Francisco. Jen moved from theatre to film at USC School of Cinematic Arts where her thesis film, Roadside Assistance starring Rashida Jones and Adam Brody, played festivals around the world and earned numerous awards including the Student Emmy for Comedy. Jen sold her first feature script, the thriller/horror The Yellow Wood to Steven J. Cannell, and her first on-screen feature writing credit was And Soon the Darkness, starring Amber Heard and Karl Urban. She began working in television as an Executive Story Editor on Syfy Network’s horror comedy Z Nation, where she was quickly promoted to Supervising Producer, and was also assigned three episodes to direct. Jen was writer and Supervising Producer on the Netflix series Black Summer, and has directed episodes of  NCIS: New Orleans and Legacies.  Jen loves creating supernatural and sci-fi worlds, and building the intricate, illusory puzzle of a good thriller.  Jen primarily writes and directs thrillers, action, adventure, supernatural, SciFi, horror and genre/comedy. She is known for creating grounded, complex characters, sharp dialogue and moody suspense and visceral action and horror.