The character Jim Cunningham was created by Donald W. Mohr during an early web series episode which was shot using improvisation. The character had no name but was meant to sound as mid-western as possible. It is purely a coincidence to have the same name as the character from Donnie Darko (2001).
Jesse Thunderwake was originally intended as a series of YouTube videos in series, with a story arc then re-edited into a feature film. After the first 5 videos garnered very little attention, the idea was scrapped and the script that became the film began.