The WORST Directors of All Time
List activity
76K views
• 67 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
396 people
- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Lucifer Valentine is known for Slow Torture Puke Chamber (2010), Slaughtered Vomit Dolls (2006) and Black Metal Veins (2012).- Producer
- Director
- Actor
A graduate of Wesleyan University, Michael Bay spent his 20s working on advertisements and music videos. His first projects after film school were in the music video business. He created music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls. His work won him recognition and a number of MTV award nominations. He also filmed advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Coca-Cola, Budweiser and Miller Lite. He won the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for his "Got Milk/Aaron Burr" commercial. At Cannes, he has won the Gold Lion for The Best Beer campaign for Miller Lite, as well as the Silver for "Got Milk". In 1995, Bay was honored by the Directors Guild of America as Commercial Director of the Year. That same year, he also directed his first feature film, Bad Boys (1995), starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, which grossed more than $160 million, worldwide. His follow-up film, The Rock (1996), starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, was also hugely successful, making Bay the director du jour.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Widely known for his frequent collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a creative partnership which lasted 10 years and produced over 20 films, Ulli Lommel is one of the most consistently creative filmmakers to come from the New German Cinema movement.
The son of German comic performer Ludwig Manfred Lommel, Ulli Lommel began his career in show business as a child. His second feature film as a director Tenderness of the Wolves (1973) brought Lommel to New York, where he began working with Andy Warhol at The Factory. The Warhol / Lommel years spawned several features, including Cocaine Cowboys (1979) and Blank Generation (1980), both of which were directed by Lommel and feature Warhol in an acting role.
In the summer of 2013 Lommel went for nine months to Brazil, where he wrote a book and also made a film about Campo Bahia, the official camp for the German National Soccer Team. His autobiography, entitled Tenderness of the Wolves, is due out in late 2015.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
James Nguyen is director & creator of the successful film franchise, BIRDEMIC. Currently, he is directing SEA RISING - Mavericks. James has been in the movie business for over 20 years. His films are influenced by Hitchcock's cinema & they are often about the harms of climate change (Climate Fix, Birdemic - Shock & Terror, Birdemic - Sea Eagle, Sea Rising - Mavericks, Cosmic Beauty).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Craig Moss is known for Bad Ass (2012), Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2014) and Bad Asses on the Bayou (2015). He is married to Heidi Kramer.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jason Friedberg was born on 16 January 1970 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Disaster Movie (2008), Epic Movie (2007) and Meet the Spartans (2008).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Aaron Seltzer was born on 12 January 1974 in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He is a writer and director, known for Disaster Movie (2008), Date Movie (2006) and Epic Movie (2007).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
George Walton Lucas, Jr. was raised on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. His father was a stationery store owner and he had three siblings. During his late teen years, he went to Thomas Downey High School and was very much interested in drag racing. He planned to become a professional racecar driver. However, a terrible car accident just after his high school graduation ended that dream permanently. The accident changed his views on life.
He decided to attend Modesto Junior College before enrolling in the University of Southern California film school. As a film student, he made several short films including Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) which won first prize at the 1967-68 National Student Film Festival. In 1967, he was awarded a scholarship by Warner Brothers to observe the making of Finian's Rainbow (1968) which was being directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Lucas and Coppola became good friends and formed American Zoetrope in 1969. The company's first project was Lucas' full-length version of THX 1138 (1971). In 1971, Coppola went into production for The Godfather (1972), and Lucas formed his own company, Lucasfilm Ltd.
In 1973, he wrote and directed the semiautobiographical American Graffiti (1973) which won the Golden Globe and garnered five Academy Award nominations. This gave him the clout he needed for his next daring venture. From 1973 to 1974, he began writing the screenplay which became Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). He was inspired to make this movie from Flash Gordon and the Planet of the Apes films. In 1975, he established ILM. (Industrial Light & Magic) to produce the visual effects needed for the movie. Another company called Sprocket Systems was established to edit and mix Star Wars and later becomes known as Skywalker Sound. His movie was turned down by several studios until 20th Century Fox gave him a chance. Lucas agreed to forego his directing salary in exchange for 40% of the film's box-office take and all merchandising rights. The movie went on to break all box office records and earned seven Academy Awards. It redefined the term "blockbuster" and the rest is history.
Lucas made the other Star Wars films and along with Steven Spielberg created the Indiana Jones series which made box office records of their own. From 1980 to 1985, Lucas was busy with the construction of Skywalker Ranch, built to accommodate the creative, technical, and administrative needs of Lucasfilm. Lucas also revolutionized movie theaters with the THX system which was created to maintain the highest quality standards in motion picture viewing.
He went on to produce several more movies that have introduced major innovations in filmmaking technology. He is chairman of the board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. In 1992, George Lucas was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his lifetime achievement.
He reentered the directing chair with the production of the highly-anticipated Star Wars prequel trilogy beginning with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) . The films have been polarizing for fans and critics alike, but were commercially successful and have become a part of culture. The animated spin-off series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) was supervised by Lucas. He sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, making co-chair Kathleen Kennedy president. He has attended the premieres of new Star Wars films and been generally supportive of them.- Producer
- Editor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Eric Stanze is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning director, writer, producer, and editor. He also has Director of Photography and 2nd Unit Director credits to his name. Stanze's work spans independent feature films, music videos, documentaries, short films, and more.
Stanze's first film was Savage Harvest (1994), which today has an enthusiastic cult following. But it was the wildly inventive fever-dream film Ice From The Sun (1999) that put him on the map as a standout filmmaker with a unique and always evolving approach. His fan base began to expand dramatically with the release of Stanze's intense, brutal, controversial, and critically-acclaimed film Scrapbook (1999) which was named Best Independent Film Of The Year by Rue Morgue Magazine.
Stanze was hired to direct 2nd Unit for two Jim Mickle films, Stake Land (2010) and We Are What We Are (2013). Both films went on to collect numerous film festival awards as well as remarkable acclaim from both critics and horror fans.
Eric Stanze is the editor and co-producer of several Paramount Pictures behind-the-scenes documentaries, produced for the studios' Blu-ray releases.
From October of 2007 through April of 2014, Eric Stanze wrote professionally for FEARnet.com, at the time one of the biggest horror film websites in the world.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Jon is an alumni of the USC School of Cinema-Television. There, he won the Princess Grace Award, the Dore Schary Award presented by the Anti-Defamation league, the Jack Nicholson directing award, and recognized as an honoree for the IFP/West program Project: Involve.
After making his student short, "When the Kids Are Away", Jon was scooped up by the William Morris Agency and attached to several high profile projects.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Fred Vogel was born on 18 April 1976 in Warren Township, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Final Interview (2018), August Underground (2001) and Sella Turcica (2010). He has been married to Shelby Lyn Vogel since 13 October 2006.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
As a youth, he produced a number of short films on Super 8 and video. After short stints as guest auditor at Filmacademy Vienna and Filmhochschule Munich, Boll studied literature and economics in Cologne and Siegen. He graduated from university in 1995 with a doctorate in literature. From 1995-2000, he was a producer and director with Taunus Film-Produktions GmbH. Boll was Chief Executive Officer of Bolu Filmproduction and Distribution GmbH which he founded in 1992. He continued to direct, write and produce feature films until 2016. His main companies are Event Films in Vancouver and Bolu Film in Germany. A longtime resident of Canada, Boll owned the restaurant "Bauhaus" in Vancouver from 2015 to 2020. Returned to Germany and resumed filming in 2020.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Shane Van Dyke was born on 28 August 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Titanic II (2010), Don't Worry Darling (2022) and The Silence (2019).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in Puducherry, India, and raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots.
He is the son of Jayalakshmi, a Tamil obstetrician and gynecologist, and Nelliate C. Shyamalan, a Malayali doctor. His passion for filmmaking began when he was given a Super-8 camera at age eight, and even at that young age began to model his career on that of his idol, Steven Spielberg. His first film, Praying with Anger (1992), was based somewhat on his own trip back to visit the India of his birth. He raised all the funds for this project, in addition to directing, producing and starring in it. Wide Awake (1998), his second film, he wrote and directed, and shot it in the Philadelphia-area Catholic school he once attended--even though his family was of a different religion, they sent him to that school because of its strict discipline.
Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999's The Sixth Sense (1999), which was a commercial success and later nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Shyamalan team up again with Bruce Willis in the film Unbreakable (2000), released in 2000, which he also wrote and directed.
His major films include the science fiction thriller Signs (2002), the psychological thriller The Village (2004), the fantasy thriller Lady in the Water (2006), The Happening (2008), The Last Airbender (2010), After Earth (2013), and the horror films The Visit (2015) and Split (2016).- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Tommy Wiseau is an American actor, director, screenwriter & producer. He trained to be an actor at: American Conservatory Theater, Vince Chase Workshop, Jean Shelton Acting Lab, Laney College and Stella Adler Academy of Acting.
In 2001 he wrote, produced, directed and starred in The Room (2003), a feature film that received the 2003 Audience Award at the New York International Film Festival. In 2004, he produced the documentary Homeless in America (2004), which received the 2004 Social Award.
He is now working on several more projects.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Guillermo del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from the legendary Dick Smith (The Exorcist (1973)) and worked on making his own short films. At the age of 21, del Toro executive produced his first feature, Dona Herlinda and Her Son (1985). Del Toro spent almost 10 years as a makeup supervisor, and formed his own company, Necropia in the early 1980s. He also produced and directed Mexican television programs at this time, and taught film.
Del Toro got his first big break when Cronos (1992) won nine Ariel Awards (the Mexican equivalent of the Oscars), then went on to win the International Critics Week Prize at Cannes. Following this success, del Toro made his first Hollywood film, Mimic (1997), starring Mira Sorvino.
Del Toro had some unfortunate experiences working with a demanding Hollywood studio on Mimic (1997), and returned to Mexico to form his own production company, The Tequila Gang.
Next for del Toro, was The Devil's Backbone (2001), a Spanish Civil War ghost story. The film was hailed by critics and audiences alike, and del Toro decided to give Hollywood another try. In 2002, he directed the Wesley Snipes vampire sequel, Blade II (2002).
On a roll, Del Toro followed up Blade II (2002) with another successful comic-book inspired film, Hellboy (2004), starring one of Del Toro's favorite actors, Ron Perlman.
Del Toro is divorced, has a daughter and a son and lives in Los Angeles and Toronto.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Hacks are nothing new in Hollywood. Since the beginning of the film industry at the turn of the 20th century, thousands of untalented people have come to Los Angeles from all over America and abroad to try to make it big (as writers, producers, directors, actors, talent agents, singers, composers, musicians, artists, etc.) but who end up using, scamming and exploiting other people for money as well as using their creative ability (either self-taught or professional training), leading to the production of dull, bland, mediocre, unimaginative, inferior, trite work in the forlorn hope of attaining commercial success. Had Edward D. Wood, Jr. been born a decade or two earlier, it's easy to imagine him working for some Poverty Row outfit in Gower Gulch, competing with the likes of no-talent and no-taste producers and directors--such as Victor Adamson, Robert J. Horner and Dwain Esper--for the title of all-time hack. He would have fit in nicely working at Weiss Brothers-Artclass Pictures in the early 1930s in directing low budget Western-themed serials, or directing low budget film noir crime drama features at PRC (Producers Releasing Corporation) in the following decade from 1940 to 1946. Ed Wood is the probably the most well known of all the Hollywood hacks because he is imprisoned in his own time, and in the 1950s, Ed Wood simply had no competition. He was ignored throughout his spectacularly unsuccessful film making career and died a penniless alcoholic, only to be "rediscovered" when promoters in the early 1980s tagged him "The Worst Director of All Time" (mostly thanks to the Medveds' hilarious book, "Golden Turkey Awards") and he was given the singular honor of a full-length biopic by Tim Burton (Ed Wood (1994)). This post-mortem celebrity has made him infinitely more famous today than he ever was during his lifetime.
Wood was an exceedingly complex person. He was born on October 10, 1924, in Poughkeepsie, NY, where he lived most of his childhood. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1943 at the height of World War II and was, by all accounts, an exemplary marine, wounded in ferocious combat in the Pacific theater (a transgender, he claimed to have been wearing a bra and panties under his uniform while storming ashore during the bloody beachhead landing at Tarawa in November 1943). He was habitually optimistic, even in the face of the bleak realities that would later consume him. His personality bonded him with a small clique of outcasts who eked out life on the far edges of the Hollywood fringe.
After settling in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, Wood attempted to break into the film industry, initially without success, but in 1952 he landed the chance to direct a film based on the real-life Christine Jorgensen sex-change story, then a hot topic. The result, Glen or Glenda (1953), gave a fascinating insight into Wood's own personality and shed light on his transgender identity (an almost unthinkable subject for an early 1950s mainstream feature). Although devoutly heterosexual, Wood was an enthusiastic cross-dresser, with a particular fondness for angora. On the debit side, though, the film revealed the almost complete lack of talent that would mar all his subsequent films, his tendency to resort to stock footage of lightning during dramatic moments, laughable set design and a near-incomprehensible performance by Bela Lugosi as a mad doctor whose presence is never adequately explained. The film deservedly flopped miserably but Wood, always upbeat, pressed ahead.
Wood's main problem was that he saw himself as a producer-writer-director, when in fact he was spectacularly incompetent in all three capacities. Friends who knew Wood have described him as an eccentric, oddball hack who was far more interested in the work required in cobbling a film project together than in ever learning the craft of film making itself or in any type of realism. In an alternate universe, Wood might have been a competent producer if he had better industry connections and an even remotely competent director. Wood, however, likened himself to his idol, Orson Welles, and became a triple threat: bad producer, poor screenwriter and God-awful director. All of his films exhibit illogical continuity, bizarre narratives and give the distinct impression that a director's job was simply to expose the least amount of film possible due to crushing budget constraints. His magnum opus, Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), features visible wires connected to pie-pan UFOs, actors knocking over cardboard "headstones", cars changing models and years during chase sequences, scenes exhibiting a disturbing lack of handgun safety and the ingenious use of shower curtains in airplane cockpits that have virtually no equipment are just a few of the trademarks of that Edward D. Wood Jr. production. When criticized for their innumerable flaws, Wood would cheerfully explain his interpretation of the suspension of disbelief. It's not so much that he made movies so badly without regard to realism--the amazing part is that he managed to get them made at all.
His previous film with Lugosi, Bride of the Monster (1955), was no better (unbelievably, it somehow managed to earn a small profit during its original release, undoubtedly more of a testament to how cheaply it was produced than its value as entertainment), and Wood only shot a few seconds of silent footage of Lugosi (doped and dazed, wandering around the front yard of his house) for "Plan 9" before the actor died in August 1956. What few reviews the film received were brutal. Typically undaunted, Wood soldiered on despite incoherent material and a microscopic budget, peopling it with his regular band of mostly inept actors. Given the level of dialog, budget and Wood's dismal directorial abilities, it's unlikely that better actors would have made much of a difference (lead actor Gregory Walcott made his debut in this film and went on to have a very respectable career as a character actor, but was always embarrassed by his participation in this film)--in fact, it's the film's semi-official status as arguably the Worst Film Ever Made that gives it its substantial cult following. The film, financed by a local Baptist congregation led by Wood's landlord, reaches a plateau of ineptitude that tends to leave viewers open-mouthed, wondering what is it they just saw. "Plan 9" became, whether Wood realized it or not, his singular enduring legacy. Ironically, the rights to the film were retained by the church and it is unlikely that Wood ever received a dime from it; his epic bombed upon release in 1959 and remained largely forgotten for years to come.
After this career "peak," Wood went into, relatively speaking, a decline. Always an "enthusiastic"--for lack of a better word--drinker, his alcohol addiction worsened in the 1960s due to his depression of not achieving the worldwide fame he had always sought. He began to draw away from film directing and focused most of his time on another profession: writing. Beginning in the early 1960s up until his death, Wood wrote at least 80 lurid crime and sex paperback novels in addition to hundreds of short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines and daily newspapers. Thirty-two stories known to be written by Wood (he sometimes wrote under pseudonyms such as "Ann Gora" and "Dr. T.K. Peters") are collected in 'Blood Splatters Quickly', published by OR Books in 2014. Novels include Black Lace Drag (1963) (reissued in 1965 as Killer in Drag), Orgy of the Dead (1965), Devil Girls (1967), Death of a Transvestite (1967), The Sexecutives (1968), The Photographer (1969), Take It Out in Trade (1970), The Only House in Town (1970), Necromania (1971), The Undergraduate (1972), A Study of Fetishes and Fantasies (1973) and Fugitive Girls (1974).
In 1965, Wood wrote the quasi-memoir 'Hollywood Rat Race', which was eventually published in 1998. In it, Wood advises new writers to "just keep on writing. Even if your story gets worse, you'll get better", and also recounts tales of dubious authenticity, such as how he and Bela Lugosi entered the world of nightclub cabaret.
In the 1970s, Wood directed a number of undistinguished softcore and later hardcore adult porno films under various aliases, one of which is the name "Akdov Telmig" ("vodka gimlet" spelled backwards; it helps to imagine that you're a boozy dyslexic, as Ed Wood was). His final years were spent largely drunk in his apartment and occasionally being rolled stumbling out of a local liquor store. Three days before his death, Wood and his wife Kathy were evicted from their Hollywood apartment due to failure to pay the rent and moved into a friend's apartment shortly before his death on the afternoon of December 10, 1978, at age 54. He had a heart attack and died while drinking in bed.
Due to his recent resurgence in popularity, many of his equally interesting transgender - themed sex novels have been republished. The gravitational pull of Planet Angora remains quite strong.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Director
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Peter Chelsom is a member of the British Academy, the American Academy, The Directors Guild Of America, and The Writers Guild Of America. Peter was born in Blackpool in the North of England. He is a US and UK citizen. (Trivia: he is an Honorary Citizen of a small town in Tuscany, Italy, called Fivizzano). He is married with three sons. He trained at London's Central School of Drama and worked as an actor playing leading roles in TV, films, and in the theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and the Royal Court Theatre. At 30, Peter became a film director/writer. His first film, Treacle, won a BAFTA nomination and invitations to festivals all over the world, including New York. His first full-length feature was the successful romantic comedy, Hear My Song. The film is a wild and highly entertaining tale inspired by the life of the charismatic Irish tenor, Josef Locke, played in the film by Ned Beatty. Locke disappeared in the late fifties to be secretly replaced by an imposter who passed himself off as the great man for thirty years. Hear My Song was praised universally by critics and was a hugely optimistic crowd-pleaser. Princess Diana attended its Royal Premiere, and the Evening Standard British Film Awards awarded the film Best Newcomer. Peter's second feature was Funny Bones, a film about comedy. Made for Hollywood Pictures and starring Oliver Platt, Jerry Lewis, Leslie Caron, Freddie Davies, and newcomer Lee Evans, it once again won rave reviews in the States and the rest of the world. It won Best Picture at five European Film Festivals. Bigger, richer and darker than the first, it tells the story of two half brothers - one American and the other British - who will stop at nothing to get a laugh... even murder. Peter's third feature, The Mighty, was based on the best-selling book, Freak The Mighty. It stars Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, Gena Rowlands, and Harry Dean Stanton. It received two Golden Globe Nominations. Chelsom followed with Town and Country and Serendipity, which grossed $52m at the US Box Office. His next film, Shall We Dance, starred Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, and Stanley Tucci. The film grossed $170m worldwide. His next film, Hector and the Search for Happiness, had its US Premiere in a special presentation at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It was distributed by Relativity Media, and the cast included Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard, and Jean Reno. It is the story of a disillusioned psychiatrist traveling the world to research what makes people happy. Chelsom's latest film, The Space Between Us, will open on December 16th, 2016. It stars Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, and Carla Gugino. It tells the story of the first boy to be born on Mars. A love story wrapped in sci-fi.- Music Artist
- Writer
- Actor
Robert Bartleh Cummings, more famously known as Rob Zombie, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on January 12, 1965. He is the oldest son of Louise and Robert Cummings, and has a younger brother, Michael David (aka Spider One; b. 1968), who is the lead singer of Powerman 5000. Growing up, Zombie loved horror movies, which have greatly influenced his music and filmmaking career; in 1983, he graduated from Haverhill High School. After graduating, he moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design, also briefly working as a production assistant on Pee-wee's Playhouse (1986).
Zombie and his then-girlfriend, Sean Yseult, co-founded the band White Zombie, named after the Bela Lugosi classic horror film of the same name (White Zombie (1932)). The band released their debut studio album, 'Soul-Crusher', in 1987; their second, 'Make Them Die Slowly', followed in 1989, but generated little buzz.
Following the release of their fourth extended play, however, White Zombie caught the attention of Geffen Records, who in 1992 went on to release their third studio album, 'La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One'. This album sold over two million copies in the U.S., becoming the band's breakout hit. White Zombie's fourth and final album, 'Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head', was released in 1995 to critical and commercial success, ultimately becoming their most successful album. The band released a remix album in 1996 and disbanded the same year, officially breaking up in 1998.
Rob Zombie began working on a debut album in 1997; 'Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International' came out in 1998, selling over three million copies. Zombie formed his own record label, Zombie-A-Go-Go Records, in 1998.
Zombie composed the original score for the video game Twisted Metal III (1998) and designed a haunted attraction for Universal Studios in 1999. In 2000, he began working on his directional debut, House of 1000 Corpses (2003). Inspired mainly by classics such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), the film was delayed until 2003 due to distributional issues. Though criticized for its explicit depictions of violence and gore, it went on to gross over $16 million and has garnered a cult following.
Zombie's second studio album, 'The Sinister Urge', was released in 2001 and sold over a million copies. In 2002, he married his longtime girlfriend Sheri Moon Zombie, who has appeared in all of his movies to date and often accompanies him on tour to choreograph dance routines and create costumes. Zombie released a sequel to 'House of 1000 Corpses' in 2005, entitled The Devil's Rejects (2005). Although it received much more positive reviews than its predecessor, it was still criticized for its violent content. He released his third studio album, 'Educated Horses', the following year.
In 2007, Zombie decided to focus on his work as a filmmaker for a while; the same year, he would release his most polarizing movie to date: Halloween (2007), a remake of the 1978 classic of the same name (Halloween (1978)). It received a mixed reception, but was a box office hit, and still currently resides as the top Labor Day weekend grosser. Zombie directed a fictitious trailer entitled 'Werewolf Women of the SS' (inspired by the exploitation flick Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975)) for Grindhouse (2007). In 2009, Zombie directed Halloween II (2009), which was critically panned, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009), which was based upon one of his comic book series.
Also in 2009, Zombie began working on a new album; 'Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool' came out the following year. In 2011, he directed a horror-themed commercial for Woolite, and began work on a new film, The Lords of Salem (2012). Unlike Zombie's previous efforts, 'The Lords of Salem' focused more on building suspense and a nightmarish, surreal atmosphere and less on brutal violence and excessive profanity. It ultimately received mixed reviews; just after its release, Zombie came out with his fifth studio album, 'Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor', his lowest-selling to date.
Zombie lent his voice to the superhero movie Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). He also began work on 31 (2016), which tells the story of five carnival workers who are trapped and forced to fight for survival against a gang of murderous clowns. It premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in January, and will be released in September. In April, Zombie's sixth studio album, 'The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser', was released. Additionally, he has signed on to direct a film on the life of zany comic Groucho Marx, though a release date is uncertain.
Zombie is most recognized for his heavy metal style of music, influenced by his love of classic horror, and his exploitation/splatter-type movies. Overall, he has sold an estimated fifteen million albums worldwide, and his films have grossed over $150 million in total.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Todd Sheets is known for Dreaming Purple Neon (2016), Hi-8 (Horror Independent 8) (2013) and Bonehill Road (2017).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Born in Rome. His father gave him a passion for cinema, taking him to Cinecittà as a child. At the age of ten, the British brother-in-law, director of documentaries for the London BBC, gave him a camera in super 8. He began to shoot many films, involving his friends. He does everything by himself, writes, directs and edits. After completing his classical studies, he worked as an editing assistant and later as an assistant director. At 20 years he made his first feature film in Super 8: "Paure e Realtà". And at 25, "Pasaggi" won the Ischia film festival in 1979. In 1981, the 35 mm debut with the film: "Difendimi dalla Notte" that wins: the San Sebastian Film Festival, the Nice Film Festival and the festival of Annency. It is selected in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. But in Italy without political recommendations, nor previous in the family, does not find work, then "emigrate" turning the world, directing many films for the foreign market. All in English, with American and European actors. So he meets his friend, Bruno Mattei. Together they make all genres: horror, western, science fiction, adventure, thriller, war and detective. Later he divides himself from Bruno Mattei, but continues to travel the world, making other horror movies, science fiction and zombies. In 1984 an American production called him to direct the rock star Alice Cooper, as protagonist of the film: "Monster Dog". In 1985 he directed the cult "After Death" in the Philippines. In 1989 he directed in America, the film phenomenon that has lasted for almost thirty years, "Goblin", later called Troll2 from the American distribution, creating a misunderstanding that became the success of the film, because Troll2 was never the sequel of the first Troll, but a comic horror story for families, without blood, called Goblin. In 1993 he returned to Italy, returning to his first love, the cinema of civil commitment. He created the award-winning "Teste Rasate", sold in many countries around the world. In 1995 he made his most successful work "Palermo Milano Solo Andata" with 20th Century Fox Italy. The film is in competition in Venice, and sold in 83 countries. He has made more than 40 films. He discovered many young actors who are stars today. He supervises young directors in their films and never stops, because cinema is his life. Claudio Fragasso is a versatile director, one of the few in Italy, to try his hand at all genres, always experimenting with new things.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Harmony Korine was born in 1973 in Bolinas, California. His family moved to the east coast of the United States when he was five, and he spent his early years in Nashville, Tennessee, and New York. At the age of nineteen, he wrote the critically acclaimed screenplay Kids (1995) for director Larry Clark. At the time of release of Gummo (1997), he was at work writing a new feature and a 10-part decalogue called "Jokes," which is to be financed through French investors.- Editor
- Director
- Editorial Department
Raja Gosnell started his film career as an assistant editor in the late 1970s. His first credit as a film's main editor was the romantic comedy "The Lonely Guy" (1984), for director Arthur Hiller. During the 1980s, Gosnell served as editor in films directed by Tom Laughlin, David Worth, Bob Dahlin, Bert Convy, Christopher Leitch, Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton, Phillip Schuman, and Chris Columbus.
For Columbus he edited the comedy film "Heartbreak Hotel" (1988), which features a 1970s teenager kidnapping singer Elvis Presley, to bring home as a gift for his mother. During the 1990s, Gosnell would serve as editor in several more film by Columbus.
The 1990s started with Gosnell working as editor in two high-profile projects: "Pretty Woman" (1990) by Garry Marshall, and "Home Alone" (1990) by Chris Columbus. Both turned out to be among the major hits of the year 1990. He then worked in the Columbus' films "Only the Lonely" (1991), "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992), "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993), and "Nine Months" (1995). Gosnell had few other editing credits during the 1990s and retired as an editor in 1995.
Gosnell resurfaced as a film director in his own right, hired to direct "Home Alone 3" (1997). The film was intended to continue the "Home Alone" franchise with a new set of characters and no connection to the events of the previous films. The film was a minor box office hit, and the series next continued with a television film. Gosnell was not asked to direct further "Home Alone" films.
His next directorial credit was the romantic comedy film "Never Been Kissed" (1999). The premise of the film is that a 25-year-old female newspaper editor poses as high school student to get a story. She ends up revisiting traumas from her teenage years and finding new love interests. The film was another minor box office hit.
Gosnell's next film was the action comedy "Big Momma's House" (2000). The premise is that a young, male FBI agent impersonates the elderly grandmother of a suspect, in order to investigate a case. The film was an unexpected box office hit (earning about 174 million at the worldwide box office), and received two sequels of its own. Gosnell had nothing to do with the sequels, but the film cemented his reputation as a commercially successful director.
Gosnell was next hired to direct "Scooby-Doo" (2002), an adventure comedy-film, combining live action with computer animation. The film earned about 275 million at the worldwide box office, and became one of the most commercially successful films released in 2002. It was the biggest hit yet in Gosnell's career.
Gosnell was next assigned to direct the sequel film "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" (2004), which also combined live action with computer animation. The film performed decently at the box office, but failed to match the commercial success of the original. Gosnell was not asked to direct further "Scooby-Doo films", and no further live-action "Scooby-Doo" productions were released for several years.
Gosnell's next film was the family comedy "Yours, Mine & Ours" (2005). The premise was the difficulties faced by a newlywed couple, whose children from previous relationships stand opposed to their marriage. The film stood out for an unusually large cast of child actors, as the premise was that the couple has 18 kids from previous relationships. Its box office performance was unremarkable.
Gosnell returned with a relatively low-budget film. the comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (2008). The premise of the film is that the pet dog of a wealthy American heiress is dog-napped and ends up wandering in Mexico. The film features live-action dogs with voice actors providing their dialogue. The film was an unexpected box office hit, and received two sequels. Gosnell was not involved with the sequels.
Gosnell's next film was more high-profile: the comic book adaptation "The Smurfs" (2011), combining live-action with animation. The premise was that a small group of Smurfs and their opponents were accidentally transported to modern day New York City, resulting in a culture clash. The film earned about 564 million dollars at the worldwide box office, the greatest hit yet in Gosnell's career.
Gosnell was next assigned to direct the sequel "The Smurfs 2" (2013). which has the Smurfs be confronted by the Naughties, evil counterparts of them created by magic. While the film earned about 347 million dollars at the worldwide box office, it failed to match the success of the original and performed bellow expectations at most markets. The live-action Smurf films were discontinued and Gosnell was left with no ongoing projects for a while.
Gosnell is supposed to make a comeback in 2018 with new comedy films. Most of his films as a director have been comedy films and he is strongly associated with the genre.- Make-Up Department
- Director
- Writer
Ryan Nicholson was born in 1971 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was a director and writer, known for The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Andromeda (2000) and Dreamcatcher (2003). He was married to Megan Nicholson. He died on 8 October 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Harold P. Warren was born on 23 October 1923 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966). He died on 26 December 1985 in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.- Producer
- Director
- Actor
William Heins is known for Pledge This! (2006), Humdinger (2011) and Complex Con(versations) (2018).- Director
- Producer
- Cinematographer
Bill Rebane was born on 8 February 1937 in Riga, Latvia. Bill is a director and producer, known for The Giant Spider Invasion (1975), Blood Harvest (1987) and Twister's Revenge! (1988). Bill was previously married to Barbara J. Rebane.- Producer
- Director
- Music Department
Strathford Hamilton was born on 20 September 1952 in Sydney, Australia. Strathford is a producer and director, known for Pledge This! (2006), Temptation (1994) and CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Bill Condon was born on 22 October 1955 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Dreamgirls (2006), Gods and Monsters (1998) and Kinsey (2004).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Tom Putnam was born on 25 March 1972 in Oregon, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Burn (2012), Marwencol (2010) and Broadcast 23 (2005).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Nick Palumbo attended film school in Los Angeles. He wrote, produced, and directed one of the most notorious horror cult films of all time; Murder-Set-Pieces. Shot on location in Las Vegas on 35mm and screened for its theatrical world premiere at the prestigious Sitges International Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain, it was the first unrated American horror film to hit theaters in twenty years. Murder-Set-Pieces was released in Europe and Asia by Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and The Weinstein Company. An edited version was released in the US by Lionsgate Films. As of 2012, Palumbo's uncut version of the enormously controversial film is still banned in several countries.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Dennis Barton Dugan is an American film director, actor, comedian and screenwriter from Wheaton, Illinois who directed several films featuring Adam Sandler including Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, Jack & Jill, Grown Ups, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and You Don't Mess With the Zohan. He also directed Beverly Hills Ninja and The Benchwarmers.- Art Department
- Director
- Writer
Academy Award winner Roger Christian has had an extensive film career. He won an Academy Award for set decoration on director George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), which began a long collaboration between the filmmakers. Christian subsequently worked with Lucas on Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and was hand-picked by Lucas to direct the second unit on the recent Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). It was through Lucas that Christian got his first opportunity to direct a film, the short feature entitled Ángel Negro (2000), which accompanied the UK release of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Christian followed "Black Angel" with another short, The Dollar Bottom (1981), which won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He followed that success with the thriller The Sender (1998), which received much critical acclaim and a nomination for Best Film by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
His directing credits include the 1994 Orion Pictures release _Nostradamus (1994/I)_, starring Julia Ormond and F. Murray Abraham, the HBO premiere movie The Final Cut (1995), Underworld (1996) starring Annabella Sciorra and Masterminds (1997) starring Patrick Stewart. Christian has also directed numerous high profile commercials, including worldwide campaigns for SEGA, Taco Bell, Jeep, Lancia, Fiat and Chrysler/Dodge, among others. Christian's work as an art director and production designer was highly regarded. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his art direction on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). His other art direction credits include Life of Brian (1979), Ken Russell's Mahler (1974) and Peter Hall's Akenfield (1974). Roger also directed Battlefield Earth (2000), with John Travolta and Forest Whitaker.
Roger Christian recently wrapped production on Bandido (2004), starring Angie Everhart, for Fries Film Group. Written by Carlos Gallardo, who also wrote El Mariachi, Bandidos continues the saga of the stylish Mexican thief who remains nameless. The same character was also portrayed by Antonio Banderas in Desperado (a remake of El Mariachi). In Bandidos, Carlos Gallardo reprises the starring role as the most infamous thief in Mexico.- Director
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Stewart Raffill's career includes 57 film and TV credits and 11 industry awards. As a writer/director he has worked with Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning talent. His films have been distributed by MGM/UA, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Disney ABC, New World Pictures, Orion, Netflix, Showtime, and Amazon. He wrote the original story for the action film Passenger 57 which opened number one at the box office. According to Variety Magazine, Raffill had four films on the All-Time Rental Champs List. His New Swiss Family Robinson film was the highest-rated Wonderful World of Disney Sunday night feature of the year.
Films written and directed by Stewart Raffill have starred: Michael Douglas, Richard Harris, Jodie Foster, Bryan Brown, James Brolin, Rod Steiger, Anthony Quinn, Anjelica Huston, James Coburn, Billy Zane, Jane Seymour, Juan Pablo Di Pace, and Paul Walker. He has directed episodic TV in the US and Europe. Raffill has filmed in multiple locations around the world including Europe, Canada, Mexico, Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
He qualifies for European productions and tax incentives. He is the co-founder of Code 7 Films with offices in the US and the UK.
Stewart supports the conservation of wildlife and has filmed grizzly bears, lions, tigers, orangutans, wolves, jaguars, and snakes in many of his action films. Harry Percy, the 11th Duke of Northumberland and Godson of the Queen of England, commissioned Stewart to write and direct the action-adventure film Lost in Africa to raise awareness of the conservation needs in Africa.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Vondie Curtis-Hall was born on 30 September 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Romeo + Juliet (1996), Falling Down (1993) and Waist Deep (2006). He has been married to Kasi Lemmons since 19 August 1995. They have two children.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Tom Green was born on 30 July 1971 in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. He is a producer and actor, known for Freddy Got Fingered (2001), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Road Trip (2000). He was previously married to Drew Barrymore.- Composer
- Actor
- Animation Department
Jimmy ScreamerClauz was born on 14 May 1983 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for When Black Birds Fly (2015), Reality Bleed-Through (2008) and Ascetic (2021).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.
His first movie, Clerks (1994), was filmed in the convenience store in which Smith worked. He was only allowed to shoot at night after the store closed. This movie won the highest award at the Sundance film festival and was brought to theaters by Miramax. The movie went over so well that Smith was able to make another movie, Mallrats (1995). This movie, as Kevin has said, was meant to be a "smart Porkys". Although it didn't do well at all in the box office, it has done more than well on video store shelves and is usually the favorite among many Smith fans.
During filming for the movie, Smith met his new close friends and stars of his next movie, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and his new girlfriend, Joey Lauren Adams. Smith has said that his relationship with Adams has been much of an inspiration for his next movie, Chasing Amy (1997), Smith's comedy drama which won two independent Spirit awards: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Role (for Jason Lee). Around the time that Chasing Amy (1997) was wrapping, Smith broke up with Adams and, then when the Spirit awards were approaching, he met his soon-to-be wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. After Chasing Amy (1997), Smith started on Dogma (1999), a controversial film about Christianity. Around this time, Smith's wife gave birth to their first baby girl, Harley Quinn Smith. Harley Quinn and Jennifer both have roles in Smith's next film,Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). In this road trip comedy, the cult heroes, Jay and Silent Bob, go on an adventure to stop the production of a movie being made about them, find true love, and save an orangutan.
In 2004, he wrote and directed Jersey Girl (2004), starring Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. Although there were some disappointing reviews and the movie was a disappointment at the box office, Smith says it did alright going up against the "Bennifer Massacre" known as Gigli (2003).
In 2005, Smith wrote the screenplay for Clerks II (2006), which he planned to start shooting in January of 2005. But then he got a call from Susannah Grant, who wanted Smith to audition for her new film. Smith went into the audition and, five minutes after finishing, he got a call saying he got the part. Filming began in January 2005 so Smith had to delay the filming of Clerks II (2006). After Catch and Release (2006) finished filming, Smith shot "Clerks II" in September 2005. After cutting "Clerks II", they submitted it to the Cannes film festival. It got accepted and, at Cannes, it got an 8 minute standing ovation.
In 2006, Smith also got offered a part in the fourth "Die Hard" film, Live Free or Die Hard (2007). Smith got to film a scene with one of his idols, Bruce Willis, the scene was supposed to take one day of filming, it ended up taking a week. In 2007, Smith was also hired to direct the pilot for the show Reaper (2007), which garnered favorable reviews.
In 2007 and 2008, Smith wrote two scripts: a comedy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), and a horror film called Red State (2011). Harvey Weinstein green-lighted "Zack and Miri", based just off the title, although they passed on "Red State", Smith plans to get "Red State" independently funded. Smith filmed "Zack and Miri" with comedy starSeth Rogen. The film did not meet expectations at the box office but got good reviews. It is Smith's highest grossing movie, although he says he was crushed by the disappointing box office of the film.
Smith was offered the chance to direct a film which was written by Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen called Cop Out (2010). Smith accepted, it would be two firsts; the first feature Smith has directed but not written and the first feature of Smith's that Scott Mosier has not produced (Mosier is trying to find a film to direct). Smith hired Bruce Willis for the film.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Roland Emmerich is a German film director and producer of blockbuster films like The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996) and The Patriot (2000). Before fame, he originally wanted to be a production designer, but decided to be a director, after watching the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Emmerich began his career in his native Germany. In his youth, he pursued painting and sculpting. While enrolled in the director's program at film school in Munich, his student film The Noah's Ark Principle (1984) went on to open the 1984 Berlin Film Festival. The feature became a huge success and was sold to more than 20 countries. In an amazing trivia, he directed his first feature, The Noah's Ark Principle (1984), in 1984. He is openly gay and a campaigner for the LGBT community.
A director/writer/producer with a flair for special effects-driven action, German Roland Emmerich made himself at home in blockbuster-hungry 1990s Hollywood. Born and educated in West Germany, Emmerich studied production design as well as direction at the Munich Film and Television School. After his student film, The Noah's Ark Principle, debuted at the 1984 Berlin Film Festival, Emmerich formed his production company Centropolis and directed supernatural fantasies Making Contact (1986) and Ghost Chase (1987), and the straight-to-video action film Moon 44 (1990). On the latter, he met actor Dean Devlin who subsequently switched jobs to become Emmerich's writing and producing partner once Emmerich set up shop in Hollywood.
After making his solo Hollywood debut directing Jean-Claude Van Damme in the cyborg action fest Universal Soldier (1992), Emmerich and Devlin revealed a talent for conjuring A-level action spectacles out of B-movie scenarios with their first film together, Stargate (1994). A space odyssey mixing ancient Egyptiana and high-tech wizardry, Stargate became an unexpected hit. Emmerich hit his blockbuster stride with his next film, Independence Day (1996). With its eye-popping destruction of major cities and climactic annihilation of a spacecraft via portable computer, Independence Day blew away its summer movie competition on the strength of its visual flash. Geared to repeat with the endlessly- and creatively-hyped version of Godzilla (1998), Emmerich instead faced the conundrum of directing a $100 million grossing film that did not live up to box office expectations. Emmerich and Devlin next turned their epic visions to the decidedly lower-tech (but still CGI-enhanced) action of the American Revolution in the Mel Gibson summer vehicle The Patriot (2000).- Director
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Robert Iscove was born on 4 July 1947 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for From Justin to Kelly (2003), She's All That (1999) and Romeo and Juliet on Ice (1983). He was previously married to Wendy Maltby.- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
A native of Utica, New York, Steven Brill studied film, theater and acting at Boston University. It was there that he became a student of acclaimed, Nobel Prize winning poet and playwright, Derek Walcott. Brill became a part of Mr. Walcott's first theater group in Boston, Playwright's Theater, where he wrote and directed original plays.
Brill continued to write plays and moved to Los Angeles where he began auditioning as an actor and writing screenplays as well. In his spare time, Brill would go skating at public ice rinks - which proved a fortuitous hobby. One day while watching a Pee Wee hockey practice, he was struck by the idea for The Mighty Ducks.
Brill scripted the film, recalling his own youth hockey experience, and sold it to Walt Disney Pictures. Emilio Estevez was cast as Coach Gordon Bombay in the 1992 release. One year later, "The Mighty Ducks" of Anaheim entered their first NHL season. Brill next wrote and executive produced the 1995 sequel "D2-The Mighty Ducks Are Back" and in 1997, "D3-The Mighty Ducks".
Brills directorial debut was the Disney film "Heavyweights", a comedy about a group of kids at a weight loss summer camp starring Ben Stiller,. He co-wrote the script with Judd Apatow, who also served as the executive producer.
Next, Brill wrote and directed "Late Last Night" for Screenland Pictures. "Late Last Night" stars Emilio Estevez, Steven Weber and Catherine O'Hara. It chronicles one intense night in the life of a man in Los Angeles.
Brill wrote Ready to Rumble for Warner Brothers. He also worked as a writer on "The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, and Doctor Dolittle" He then directed and co-wrote Little Nicky with Adam Sandler for New Line Cinema. Also starring in the picture are Harvey Keitel, Patricia Arquette and Reese Witherspoon.
Brill followed that up by directing "Mr. Deeds" with Adam Sandler.. Deed's, also starring Winona Ryder came out in June of 2002 and made over 170 million at the box office worldwide
Brill then re-wrote and directed "Without a Paddle," starring Burt Reynolds, Seth Green and Matthew Lillard, for Paramount Pictures. He directed "Drillbit Taylor" produced by Judd Apatow and starring Owen Wilson for Paramount Pictures.
His most recent film was "Walk of Shame," an original screenplay that directed, starring Elizabeth Banks, for Lakeshore Entertainment.
Aside from writing and directing, Brill has kept busy as an actor on such diverse films as "Sex, Lies, and Videotape", "Postcards from the Edge", "Edward Scissorhands", "Batman Returns", "When a Man Loves a Woman", "The Wedding Singer" and "Big Daddy", and "Knocked Up".- Director
- Producer
- Producer
- Director
- Music Department
Brett Ratner is one of Hollywood's most successful filmmakers. His diverse films resonate with audiences worldwide and, as director, his films have grossed over $2 billion at the global box office. Brett began his career directing music videos before making his feature directorial debut at 26 years old with the action comedy hit Money Talks. He followed with the blockbuster Rush Hour and its successful sequels. Brett also directed The Family Man, Red Dragon, After the Sunset, X-Men: The Last Stand, Tower Heist and Hercules.
Ratner has also enjoyed critical acclaim and box office success as a producer. He has served as an executive producer on the Golden Globe and Oscar winning The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp; and as a producer on Truth, starring Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett; I Saw the Light, starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen; and the upcoming film Rules Don't Apply, written, directed and produced by Warren Beatty. His other produced films include the smash hit comedy Horrible Bosses and its sequel, and the re-imagined Snow White tale Mirror Mirror.
His additional producing credits include the documentaries Author: The JT LeRoy Story, Catfish, the Emmy-nominated Woody Allen - A Documentary, Helmut by June, I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale, Chuck Norris vs. Communism, the 5-time Emmy nominated and Peabody Award winning Night Will Fall, Bright Lights and National Geographic's upcoming Untitled Leonardo DiCaprio Environmental Documentary, directed, produced by and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He also executive produced and directed the Golden Globe-nominated FOX series Prison Break, and executive produced the television series Rush Hour, based on his hit films.
Brett, along with his business partner James Packer, formed RatPac Entertainment, a film finance production and media company, in 2013. RatPac has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. and joined with Dune Capital to co-finance over 75 films including Gravity, The Lego Movie, American Sniper, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. RatPac Entertainment also co-financed The Revenant and Birdman with New Regency. Internationally, Warner Bros. and RatPac have formed a joint venture content fund with China's Shanghai Media Group to finance local Chinese content. In partnership with New Regency, RatPac also finances the development and production of Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment.
Since inception, RatPac Entertainment has co-financed 52 theatrically released motion pictures exceeding $9.3 billion in worldwide box office receipts. RatPac's co-financed films have been nominated for 51 Academy Awards, 20 Golden Globes and 39 BAFTAs and have won 21 Academy Awards, 7 Golden Globes and 17 BAFTAs.
Brett is a Board of Trustees member of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance. He sits on the boards of Chrysalis, Best Buddies and Do Something, while serving on the Dean's Council of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and on the Board of Directors at Tel Aviv University's School of Film and Television. In 2017, he will receive a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Peter Berg is an American actor, director, writer, and producer. His first role was in the Adam Rifkin road movie Never on Tuesday (1988). He went on to star in the World War 2 film A Midnight Clear (1992). Roles in Fire in the Sky (1993) and Cop Land (1997) followed, and the Tom Cruise films Collateral (2004) and Lions for Lambs (2007).
Peter has since moved behind the camera, directing films such as as Very Bad Things (1998) and Hancock (2008). He has also turned pen-to-paper and scripted many projects including Friday Night Lights (2004) and The Losers (2010). He is best known on-screen for his role as Dr. Billy Kronk in Chicago Hope (1994).- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Visual Effects
- Producer
- Director
Pitof started his career in 1976 as photographer, assistant director and editor for films and commercials. He then branched out into musical scoring, software design and graphic design for televisions, music videos and commercials.
A pioneer of digital imaging in France, Pitof made his debut in visual effect in 1986. Co-founder of Duran Duboi the digital postproduction company leader in France, Pitof worked on commercials, videos and feature films for recognized directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Lars Von Trier, Wim Wenders, Bertrant Travernier, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Jean-Paul Goude, Alain Chabat , Luc Besson...
Pitof then achieved the first French software for digital visual effects used in feature films.
In 1994, Pitof won the Technical Grand Prize for visual effects at the Cannes Film Festival for his work in "Dead Tired".
In 1995, the Minister of Culture in France honored him with the Medal of Arts and Letters.
Pitof went on to direct commercials and short films, most notably " A Tribute to Jessie Owens and Carl Lewis", for which he won the Gold Podium medal at MIFED in 1996 and the Gold Teapot medal at Imagina in 1996.
In 1997, Pitof took on the role of second unit director for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Alien: Resurrection", and consequently won second prize for visual effects at Imagina that year. It was Pitof's third collaboration with Jeunet after working together on the Jeunet-Caro films "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children".
In the meantime the immense success of Duran Duboi brought the company on the stock market in Paris.
In September 2001, "Vidocq", starring Gerard Depardieu and Guillaume Canet, premiered in France. It was Pitof's feature film directorial debut.
"Vidocq" was the first feature film ever made in High Definition. The film was an international commercial success and garnered many awards including five honors: The Citizen Kane Award, Best Film, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Music, and Best Makeup from the Catalonian International Film Festival in Sitges, Spain.
Pitof makes his Hollywood debut in 2003, directing "Catwoman" for Warner Brothers, starring Halle Berry and Sharon Stone.
While developing and shooting projects with major producers in Hollywood, in 2008 Pitof is called in Beijing, China to help the development and the pre-production of an epic effect driven feature film.
Back in Hollywood Pitof has been developing various film projects and producing cutting edge commercials and music videos as well as developing Virtual Reality content.
Recently he co-produced 3 feature films in Los Angeles and produced a 10' by 10 episodes Mobile-Ready Series for Studio Plus, a French studio pioneer in the mobile content for Vivendi.
Decorations
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 1995 One of the French highest cultural honors Awarded by the Minister of Culture
Awards
Kid's Choice Award (nominated) USA 2005 "Catwoman" dir. Pitof
CNOMA Award Best Make-Up Canada 2005 "Catwoman" dir. Pitof
World Stunt Award (nominated) USA 2005 "Catwoman" dir. Pitof
Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver Porto 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
International Fantasy Film Award Best Special Effects Porto 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
International Fantasy Film Award Best Film (nominated) Porto 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Film Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Citizen Kane Award to the Director Revelation Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Visuals Effects Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Make Up Effects Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Best Banda Original Soundtrack Sitges 2001 "Vidocq" dir. Pitof
Achievement in Post Production Solutions Productions 1999 "Asterix & Obelix vs Ceasar " dir. Claude Zidi
Saturn Award (nominated) USA 1998 « Alien Resurrection » dir. Jean Pierre Jeunet
Best Visual Effects 2nd prize in Imagina 1997 « Alien Resurrection » dir. Jean Pierre Jeunet
Golden Teapot in Imagina 1996 « Homage to Jesse and Carl » dir. Pitof
Golden Prize in MIFED 1996 « Homage to Jesse and Carl » dir. Pitof
Master Of Visual Effects in Paris 1996 « Orangina the flipper » dir. Alain Chabat
Best Use Of Visual Effects - Spotitalia 1995 « Mulino Bianco » dir. Jean Paul Seaulieu
Technical Grand Prize in Cannes Festival 1994 « Dead tired » dir. Michel Blanc- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Brett Kelly was born on 29 October 1972 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and actor, known for Raiders of the Lost Shark (2015), Thunderstorm: The Return of Thor (2011) and She-Rex (2009).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Anthony C. Ferrante was born in Antioch, California, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Sharknado (2013), Nix (2022) and Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch (2023).- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Paul W.S. Anderson gained a fair bit of notoriety in his native England when he directed the ultra-violent Shopping (1994) (which he also wrote), starring Jude Law and Sean Pertwee in a story about thieves who steal by ramming a car into storefronts. The film was banned in some cinemas in England, and became a direct-to-video slightly edited release in the United States.
Shopping (1994) allowed Anderson to get the chance to direct Mortal Kombat (1995), an adaptation of the hit video game, which showcased his directorial trademarks - visually stunning scenery and quick-cut editing. The film did well enough for him to choose his next project, which was Soldier (1998) with Warner Bros., with Kurt Russell in the lead. Unfortunately, Russell decided at the time to go on hiatus, pushing the release date of that film into 1998. In the meantime, Anderson directed Event Horizon (1997) from a script by Philip Eisner, which featured Anderson regulars Sean Pertwee and Jason Isaacs. The science fiction/horror film, a Gothic horror version of Solaris (1972), was stylish and scary, but was critically panned and did not do well in the box office, which Anderson blamed on studio-enforced cuts to the story. (Anderson has promised a Director's Cut, though none has been announced as of yet).
Soldier (1998) didn't fare well with critics and box office either, and Anderson's planned 2000 remake of Death Race 2000 (1975) was canceled. This forced him to think smaller, which led to The Sight (2000), a supernatural mystery movie that was a minor hit. He then resurfaced to direct another video game adaption, Resident Evil (2002). Long rumored among fans to be a choice comeback vehicle for zombie grandfather George A. Romero, the writing and directing credits eventually transferred to Anderson. He next was given the helm for the long-awaited film adaption of the popular Dark Horse comic book, Alien vs. Predator (2004).- Animation Department
- Director
- Writer
Marvelously quirky and creative writer, director, producer and animator Savage Steve Holland was born in 1960. Holland earned the childhood nickname Savage after he kicked a kid in the teeth during a soccer game. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts. Holland's student project "Going Nowhere Fast" was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. Steve began his career animating the "Whammy" on the game show "Press Your Luck." He made his theatrical film debut as both writer and director with the wonderfully offbeat and uproarious cult favorite comedy "Better Off Dead." Holland followed this movie with the equally amusing "One Crazy Summer" and "How I Got Into College." Alas, both pictures flopped at the box office and received largely negative reviews from critics. Luckily, Steve has achieved greater success in the field of television. He created and produced the cartoon program "Eek! the Cat" for Fox Kids. Moreover, Holland has worked on many shows for both Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel. Steve has directed episodes of the TV series "Out of Jimmy's Head," "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide," "Unfabulous," "Zoey 101," "Phil of the Future," "Lizzie McGuire," "Even Stevens," "V.I.P.," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show," "Shasta McNasty," "Encyclopedia Brown," and "The New Adventures of Beans Baxter." In addition, Holland produced several episodes of "The Nick Cannon Show" and directed the made-for-TV family features "Shredderman Rules," "Stuck in the Suburbs," and "Safety Patrol." Steve manages his own studio called Savage Studios Ltd. After a regrettably long absence from the big screen, Savage Steve Holland has made a welcome comeback with "Ratko: The Dictator's Son" and "Legally Blondes."- Director
- Writer
- Producer
With Texas Chainsaw 3D, director/writer John Luessenhop successfully rebooted an iconic horror franchise while recording his 2nd #1 US box office opening in a little more than two years. Two summers before, Mr. Luessenhop made a splash when his stylish action film Takers surprised the field and opened #1. Upon its video release, Takers followed its box office success by topping U.S. charts for sales, rentals and video-on-demand purchases.
Mr. Luessenhop made his directorial debut in the world of feature films with Lockdown, an independently produced, urban prison drama acquired by Columbia Home Entertainment. The film struck a chord with urban audiences, opening the UrbanWorld Film Festival in New York City and closing the Hollywood Black Film Festival in Los Angeles. The film premiered internationally at the Toronto Film Festival.
A native of McLean, Virginia, and an alumnus of the University of Virginia and Georgetown Law School, Mr. Luessenhop began his film career by writing and directing the hard edged, 33-minute featurette TICK...TICK...TICK..., which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Short Film at Universal's Florida Film Festival.
Because of his gritty style, from 1997 to 2001, Mr. Luessenhop directed more than 20 episodes for "America's Most Wanted," including two national cop-of-the-year stories. Prior to making the leap to writing and directing, Mr. Luessenhop was a successful corporate attorney. He resides in Beverly Hills, CA with his wife and three sons.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in 15 March 1959 as Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola, he is the most successful Finnish film director in the history of Hollywood.
Harlin started his career in film business in the beginning of 1980s when he was directing commercials and company films for companies like Shell. Later he worked as a buyer for Finnish film distributor and met Finnish Markus Selin in Los Angeles. They became friends and started writing a screenplay called "Arctic Heat". The project started fast and soon they had Chuck Norris signed on leading role for the film. But with money problems shooting schedule didn't hold and Norris left the project, but Selin and Harlin got Mike Norris for the leading role. They wrote new script, Born American (1986), and got financial help from USA. In the year 1986 Born American (1986) was finished and the most expensive Finnish film ever opened in USA in over 1,000 theaters and reached no 9.
The film wasn't successful in Finland, where it was banned. Harlin moved to Los Angeles and got a job from Halloween (1978) producer Irwin Yablans who offered him script of "Prison" to film. Film was made with low budget and distributed with only 42 copies. In the same year 1988 he got a job from New Line Cinema to direct A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) after meeting producer Robert Shaye numerous times, who at the first didn't want Harlin to direct the film. It became the highest-grossing film in the series, though its budget was seven times greater than the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film.
20th Century Fox wanted Harlin to direct the Andrew Dice Clay rock'n roll comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) and also a sequel to Die Hard (1988). Harlin made the both, but only Die Hard 2 (1990) was commercially successful, with over 239 million dollar worldwide gross. Next he directed Cliffhanger (1993) with Sylvester Stallone which made $255 million worldwide and was nominated for 3 Oscar's. Before Cliffhanger (1993) Harlin was hired to direct "Alien³" but he left the project because of creative differences.
His next film Cutthroat Island (1995) was a pirate film made with $100 million budget. Unfortunately it came out without good promotion and flopped badly. It made only $10 million in USA and for a time became the biggest flop in Hollywood history. But for Harlin, it wasn't a total loss.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) was a critical success, but was a box office flop, grossing only $30 million domestically with a $65 million budget.
In year 1998, Warner Bros. wanted a summer blockbuster for the year 1999 and Renny Harlin was the right name to direct. Deep Blue Sea (1999) came to theaters after costing 60 million dollars to film and made $160 million worldwide. The film never hit the top spot in the USA but still grossed $73 millions in the USA alone.
Harlin was hired to direct Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) after John Frankenheimer left the job and died shortly after it, and Paul Schrader was fired. Producers knew that Harlin could made a blockbuster even with the weak script, and so he did. With $50 million budget the film opened in number 1 and grossed $80 million worldwide.
Probably most liked Harlin's film Mindhunters (2004) was released in 2004 after years post-production. It was released in USA in 2005 in over 1,000 theaters but it only reached 10th place. In 9 weeks it grossed only $4 million dollars.
The Covenant (2006) was released in 2006. With non-famous (but attractive) actors, the film hit the top in its opening weekend and became a successful film. With a $20 million budget, it grossed $37 million worldwide and DVD sale brought $20 million more.- Director
- Production Designer
- Producer
Hardwicke's first film as a director was the Sundance winner THIRTEEN which explored the transition into teenage years with an authenticity that still captures young audiences (1.3 billion Tik Tok engagements.) Hardwicke directed LORDS OF DOGTOWN before she became best known as the director of TWILIGHT, which launched the blockbuster franchise and has since earned over three billion dollars. Recently her indie film PRISONER'S DAUGHTER premiered at TIFF 2022 and DREAMS IN THE WITCHHOUSE dropped on Netflix October 2022 as part of Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. MAFIA MAMMA premieres in theaters on April 14 2023.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Marcus Nispel was born on 26 May 1963 in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. He is a director and producer, known for Friday the 13th (2009), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and Pathfinder (2007).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Lisa Azuelos was born on 6 November 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. She is a writer and director, known for LOL (Laughing Out Loud) (2008), Sweetheart (2019) and Dalida (2016). She was previously married to Patrick Alessandrin.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Samuel Alexander Mendes was born on August 1, 1965 in Reading, England, UK to parents James Peter Mendes, a retired university lecturer, and Valerie Helene Mendes, an author who writes children's books. Their marriage didn't last long, James divorced Sam's mother in 1970 when Sam was just 5-years-old. Sam was educated at Cambridge University and joined the Chichester Festival Theatre following his graduation in 1987. Afterwards, he directed Judi Dench in "The Cherry Orchard", for which he won a Critics Circle Award for Best Newcomer. He then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he directed such productions as "Troilus and Cressida" with Ralph Fiennes and "Richard III". In 1992, he became artistic director of the reopened Donmar Warehouse in London, where he directed such productions as "The Glass Menagerie" and the revival of the musical "Cabaret", which earned four Tony Awards including one for Best Revival of a Musical. He also directed "The Blue Room" starring Nicole Kidman. In 1999, he got the chance to direct his first feature film, American Beauty (1999). The movie earned 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Mendes, which is a rare feat for a first-time film director.- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Ms Breiman was born in San Francisco in 1964, youngest of five, to an architect father and mother who made children's television shows. When she was nine the parents split and she was brought up by her mother, who introduced her to her love of cinema. Acting and modelling in her teens she enrolled at the San Francisco State University to read journalism but dropped out and returned to acting, taking small parts in films before turning to directing television shows. Her big screen directorial debut was in 'Going Overboard,' Adam Sandler's film debut and she continued to direct throughout the 1990s before returning to infrequent screen roles in the twenty-first century. She is also an accomplished poker player.- Actor
- Director
- Composer
Jean-Louis Costes was born on 13 May 1954 in Paris, France. He is an actor and director, known for Irreversible (2002), I Love Snuff (1995) and Le Fils de Caligula (1992).- Producer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Ray was born on 30 July 1977 in Florida, Missouri, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Assault on VA-33 (2021), Minutes to Midnight (2018) and A House Is Not a Home (2015).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Thierry Zéno was born on 22 April 1950 in Namur, Belgium. He was a director and producer, known for Wedding Trough (1974), Eugène Ionesco, voix et silences (1987) and Des morts (1979). He died on 7 June 2017 in Belgium.- Editor
- Editorial Department
- Additional Crew
Lewis Schoenbrun was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, USA. He is known for The Golem (1995), Mystic Pizza (1988) and UHF (1989).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Perry was born and raised in New Orleans, to Willie Maxine (Campbell) and Emmitt Perry, Sr. His mother was a church-goer and took Perry along with her once a week. His father was a carpenter and they had a very strained and abusive relationship, which led Perry to suffer from depression as a teenager.
In 1991, he was working an office job, when he saw an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986) discussing the therapeutic nature of writing. This inspired him to begin writing and he worked through his bad experiences by writing letters to himself. He adapted his letters into a play, "I Know I've Changed", about domestic abuse. Unfortunately, after renting a theater in Atlanta to put on the play, he failed to attract audiences.
He took on a series of odd jobs and found himself living in his car. But, in 1998, he was given a second chance to stage his play and, this time, he was more business-savvy with his marketing. The play was sold-out and drew attention from investors.
Tyler has gone on to established a successful career as a writer, director and producer for stage, television and film.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Robert John Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, Illinois, to Barbara (Baier) and Walter Odenkirk, who worked in printing. His ancestry includes German and Irish. He grew up in Naperville, IL, the second of seven children. He worked as a DJ for WIDB, his college radio station at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Three credits shy of graduation, he moved to Chicago. He began work there in local improv workshops. He also did open-mic stand-up comedy for several years. In Chicago, he became friends with Robert Smigel, who would later help him become a writer for Saturday Night Live (1975).
In 1987, Bob was hired as a writer for Saturday Night Live (1975) and in 1989 he went on to win an Emmy for his writing work. He worked on the show from season 13 to 20 (1987-1995). However, he had trouble getting his work on the air, so he began work as a writer for Get a Life (1990) starring Chris Elliott. The show was quickly canceled, but he was soon hired as writer for The Dennis Miller Show (1992). On that show he made his acting debut and was noticed by Ben Stiller, who later hired him as a writer and actor for The Ben Stiller Show (1992). The show only lasted for 13 episodes, but Bob won another Emmy for his writing.
After The Ben Stiller Show (1992) was canceled, Bob made recurring appearances (1993-1998) on The Larry Sanders Show (1992) as Stevie Grant, Larry's hyperactive agent. He also wrote for Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) during 1993-94. During this time Bob hooked up with fellow The Ben Stiller Show (1992) writer David Cross, also a stand-up comedian. They started doing sketch-comedy shows together in Los Angeles. In 1995, they got their own show on HBO (Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995)). The show lasted for four seasons and 30 episodes.
After Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995) ended, Bob wrote Run Ronnie Run (2002) and directed three feature films (Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003), Let's Go to Prison (2006) and The Brothers Solomon (2007)), and appeared in . After 1998, he also made many guest appearances on TV shows like Just Shoot Me! (1997), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), Ed (2000), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), Less Than Perfect (2002), Arrested Development (2003), How I Met Your Mother (2005) and Weeds (2005). From 2009 to 2013, he appeared on 43 episodes of Breaking Bad (2008) as Saul Goodman, a shyster lawyer, and, starting in 2015, he reprised that role as the main character in Better Call Saul (2015).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Dave grew up in Mt. Lebanon, a suburb southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was in the marching band, and was the starting goaltender for half of his senior year on the hockey team. He graduated from high school in 1992 and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1996, where he played club hockey.
He served on animation staff on The Oblongs (2001) and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before working his way up to director on episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005). His work there stood out to Lucasfilm Animation when he was hired to oversee direction on Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). Due to his love for the franchise, he thought the initial phone call for the job was a practical joke. He worked alongside George Lucas on creating the series, which was canceled after six seasons when the Walt Disney Company acquired the studio. He was kept on staff to create Star Wars: Rebels (2014), which continued the character arc of fan favorite Ahsoka Tano, originally introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). In 2017, he became the executive producer of all animated Star Wars series, including Star Wars: Forces of Destiny (2017).- Director
- Producer
Julie Anne Robinson is a BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated director. Julie Anne has directed various network pilots that have gone to series, including "The Middle" and "Selfie".
Her American television credits include a variety of episodic work including "Nurse Jackie", "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", "Scandal", "Manhattan", Orange is the New Black", "Grey's Anatomy", "Pushing Daisies", "Weeds", and "Big Love".
Her British Television credits include the critically-acclaimed, BAFTA, RTE and Golden Globe nominated mini-series, "Viva Blackpool" for BBC; as well as the BAFTA-nominated television movie "Coming Down The Mountain".
Julie Anne also directed the features "The Last Song" and "One For The Money".- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
McG was born on 9 August 1968 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009) and The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Vince Offer is and actor, producer and infomercial star. He is one of the more famous infomercial pitchmen. His products the SHAMWOW, InVINCEable, SlapChop, Schticky and more have sold millions. He has also produced and starred in the films Underground Comedy Movie and The Inappropriate Comedy with Adrian Brody, Dante and Michelle Rodriguez.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Alejandro Jodorowsky was born in Tocopilla, Chile on February 17, 1929. In 1939 he moved to Santiago where he attended university, was a circus clown and a puppeteer. In 1953 he went to Paris and studied mime with Marcel Marceau. He worked with Maurice Chevalier there and made a short film, La cravate (1957). He also befriended the surrealists Roland Topor and Fernando Arrabal, and in 1962 these three created the "Panic Movement" in homage to the mythical god Pan. As part of this group Jodorowsky wrote several books and theatrical pieces. In the later 1960s he directed avant-garde theater in Paris and Mexico City, created the comic strip "Fabulas Panicas", and made his first "real" film, the surrealist love story Fando and Lis (1968), based on a play by Arrabal. In 1971, El Topo (1970) was released and became a cult classic, as did The Holy Mountain (1973). In 1975 he returned to France to begin work on a film that was never made: a colossal adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune", which was to star Orson Welles, Salvador Dalí and others, was to be scored by Pink Floyd, and which brought together the visionary talents of H.R. Giger, Dan O'Bannon, and 'Jean "Moebius' Giraud' (Giger and O'Bannon later collaborated on Alien (1979).) The project's financiers backed out, and "Dune" was eventually filmed by David Lynch. Jodorowsky's next film was 1979's Tusk (1980), a story of a young girl's friendship with an elephant, which quickly faded into obscurity. In the early 1980s he began working with Moebius and other artists on various comic strips, graphic novels and cartoons, and wrote several more books. He returned to film with 1989's Santa Sangre (1989), which was critically acclaimed and widely distributed. In 1990 he directed Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole in the fantasy film The Rainbow Thief (1990). Throughout the 1990s he continued to produce cartoons with a variety of graphic artists and is reportedly to begin work on another film, the long-awaited "Sons Of El Topo", sometime in 2002 or 2003. Jodorowsky's wife Valerie and sons Brontis, Axel and Adan have all at times appeared in his films.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Jay Chandrasekhar was born on 9 April 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a director and actor, known for Super Troopers (2001), Club Dread (2004) and Beerfest (2006). He has been married to Susan Clarke since 18 September 2005. They have three children.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Christopher John Weitz is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter who is known for Antz, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, American Pie, About a Boy, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and The Golden Compass. He is married to Mercedes Martinez since 2006 and has three children.- Director
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Joseph Kahn was born on 12 October 1972. He is a director and cinematographer, known for Bodied (2017), Detention (2011) and Torque (2004).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Walt Becker was born on 16 September 1968 in Hollywood, California, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Old Dogs (2009), Wild Hogs (2007) and National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002). He has been married to Lindsay Becker since 2005. They have two children.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Brian Michael Levant is an American filmmaker and producer known for directing many films such as The Flintstones, Jingle All the Way, Snow Dogs, Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins, The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas, Scooby-Doo: Curse of the Lake Monster, Are We There Yet?, The Spy Next Door and Max 2: White House Hero.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Philip A. Lord is an American filmmaker, producer and writer who collaborates with Christopher Miller. They both worked on Clone High, a cult classic animated sci-fi teen comedy show, The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Into the Spider-Verse is considered one of the best animated films of the 2010s and won Best Animated Feature.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Christopher Miller is an American filmmaker, producer and writer who collaborates with Philip A. Lord. They both worked on Clone High, a cult classic animated sci-fi teen comedy show, The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Into the Spider-Verse is considered one of the best animated films of the 2010s and won Best Animated Feature.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Xavier Gens was born on 27 April 1975 in Dunkerque, Nord, France. He is a director and assistant director, known for Frontier(s) (2007), The Divide (2011) and Cell (2016). He has been married to Mounia Meddour since 2005.- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Germán Magariños was born on 13 May 1978 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a director and editor, known for Starwars: Goretech (2018), They Call Him One Eye Faggot (2015) and Alan Smithee's Frankenstein (2012).- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
- Producer
John Moore was born in Dundalk, Ireland in 1970, a small town situated about 60 miles from the country's capital Dublin. Moore attended a technical college in Dublin where he studied filmmaking and after completing the school he went on to direct and write a series of short films all produced in his native Ireland. These include Jack's Bicycle (1990) which has been broadcasted on Irish TV channel RTV on occasion. Moore then was hired to make a series of commercials and ended up making the launch advertisement for the Sega Dreamcast, the ad was so bombastic and visually impressive that Twentieth Century Fox ended up offering him the job on Behind Enemy Lines (2001), a $40 million action film centered around the conflict in Bosnia. The film starred Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson. Whilst a modest box-office success the film fared only average with critics who varied in their opinions, and in later years Moore himself admitted that perhaps his approach had been to lightweight and a conflict of that scope required a more deep and thoughtful motion picture. On the set of Behind Enemy Lines (2001) Moore was nearly killed via a Tank in an action sequence and had his life saved in the last moment by a stuntman who dragged him from harm's way. Moore's next film was a remake of The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and shared the same name only dropping the "the" at the titles beginning. Flight of the Phoenix (2004) starred Dennis Quaid and Miranda Otto and told virtually the same story as the original, a group of people stranded in the desert after a plane crash. The picture was a huge box-office flop making just slightly over $21 million worldwide on a considerably larger budget. Critics showed the same unsure reaction to the film as they had on Behind Enemy Lines (2001), lavishing praise on certain aspects but harshly criticizing others. Moore himself was more pleased with the finished article on this occasion but the public's financial rejection suggests others weren't. After this Moore was involved with two other films one entitled "The last mission" which collapsed due to script issues and the 2006 smash X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In the end it was not Moore who directed the third in the X-Men trilogy but Rush Hour 2 (2001) director Brett Ratner. However Moore did manage to get a film into cinemas during Summer 2006 in the end, he remade The Omen (1976) and had it released on the 06/06/06, a gimmick associated with the films satanic plot. The Omen (2006) was a fairly faithful remake and starred Julia Stiles along with Liev Schreiber and David Thewlis. Moore agreed to make the film as he names the 1976 original among his all time favorite movies along with Jaws (1975) and Freaks (1932). The film made a worldwide $120 million from a $25 million budget and thus had to be considered a success in terms of box-office. The critics were once more split, most criticized the picture for following the original too closely but by the same token generally a kind word was spared for Moore's impressive visuals and the strong cast. This marked the director's third collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox, a fourth arriving in the form of video-game adaptation Max Payne (2008) in October 2008.
Moore currently resides with his son and partner, Fiona Connon in Los Angeles occasionally returning home to Ireland.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Giovanni Brass was born on 26 March 1933 into the family of a famous artist, Italico Brass, who was his grandfather. Italico gave his grandson a nickname "Tintoretto," which Giovanni later adapted into his cinematic name, Tinto Brass.
Tinto inherited his grandfather's artistic skills, but he applied them to film instead of canvas. When he joined the Italian film industry, he worked with such famous directors as Federico Fellini (his idol) and Roberto Rossellini. In 1963 he directed his first film, Chi lavora è perduto (In capo al mondo) (1963). Afterwards, he went on to make such avante garde art films as Attraction (1969) and L'urlo (1966). He was approached in 1976 to directed a sexploitation quickie, Madam Kitty (1976), but he wisely chose to have the script rewritten, turning it into a dark, political satire. The success of "Salon Kitty" lead Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione to choose Brass to helm Caligula (1979), the big-budget adaption of Gore Vidal's novel "Caligula." Tinto finished shooting the film, but when he refused to convert it into the "flesh flick" that Guccione wanted it to be by including footage of Penthouse centerfolds making out and romping, he was fired and locked out of the editing room. He later disowned the film when he saw the botched editing (the film was spliced together amateurishly from outtakes and rehearsal footage) and Guccione's hardcore sex scenes spliced in with his work. Ironically, "Caligula" remains Tinto's most famous film. After it became a huge international box-office hit, Brass was hired to shoot a spy thriller Snack Bar Budapest (1988). Afterwards, he decided that he should focus on erotica, as a way to rebel against the hypocrisy of censors, explaining that sex is a normal part of life and we should just deal with it.
With his latest films Black Angel (2002) (an update of the classic novella "Senso") and the erotic comedy Fallo (1988), Brass cemented his reputation of an undisputed master of erotica and avante-garde art films.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Timothy Kevin Story was born on March 13, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. Attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California with jazz pianist Eric Reed and actresses Regina King and Nia Long. Graduated from USC film school.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Raised on the back-streets of Jersey, Tom's award-winning fiction helped earn him a scholarship to Harvard College. Arriving in Cambridge, he landed a lead acting role opposite Amy Brenneman where they stripped naked and smeared ice cream and sprinkles on each other - and Tom knew a career in show business was his destiny. At Harvard, Brady acted in and directed dozens of theater productions, studied under Joe Chaikin, Sam Shepard, and David Mamet - and began writing his own plays and screenplays. Tom continued on to the University of Hawaii where he earned an MFA in Directing (and a minor in big waves). In the islands, Tom directed professionally, continued to write and direct his own original work, and landed a featured role in the CBS Viet Nam drama "Tour Of Duty." Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Tom worked as Assistant Director at the Mark Taper Forum's Mainstage and New Work Festival, directed at playhouses around Hollywood, and co-directed a very gratifying national tour showcasing the talents of children with disabilities and from impoverished backgrounds. As a writer, Brady was discovered by Al Jean & Mike Reiss at "The Simpsons", and went on to write and produce television shows such as The Critic (1994), The Simpsons (1989), Home Improvement (1991), Men Behaving Badly (1996), Sports Night (1998), Good Vibes (2011), and FX's Chozen (2014). Expanding his work to feature films, Tom's credits as a writer and/or director include The Animal (2001), The Hot Chick (2002), The Comebacks (2007), and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) written by Adam Sandler and Nick Swardson. Tom also Executive Produced the award-winning documentary, Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End (2017) the romantic thriller Frank and Penelope (2022). Most recently, Tom produced the American period piece, Long Shadows for Tiki Tane Pictures.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Andrew Bergman was born on 20 February 1945 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Striptease (1996), Blazing Saddles (1974) and Fletch (1985). He has been married to Louise Fay since 1973. They have two children.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating from Morehouse, Lee attended the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. He made a controversial short, The Answer (1980), a reworking of D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915), a ten-minute film. Lee went on to produce a 45-minute film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983) which won a student Academy Award. In 1986, Spike Lee made the film, She's Gotta Have It (1986), a comedy about sexual relationships. The movie was made for $175,000, and earned $7 million at the box office, which launched his career and allowed him to found his own production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. His next movie was School Daze (1988), which was set at a historically black school, focused mostly on the conflict between the school and the Fraternities, of which he was a strong critic, portraying them as materialistic, irresponsible, and uncaring. With his School Daze (1988) profits, Lee went on to make his landmark film, Do the Right Thing (1989), a movie based specifically his own neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The movie portrayed the racial tensions that emerge in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood on one very hot day. The movie garnered Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, for Danny Aiello for supporting actor, and sparked a debate on racial relations. Lee went on to produce and direct the jazz biopic Mo' Better Blues (1990), the first of many Spike Lee films to feature Denzel Washington, including the biography of Malcolm X (1992), in which Washington portrayed the civil rights leader. The movie was a success, and garnered an Oscar nomination for Washington. The pair would work together again on He Got Game (1998), an excursion into the collegiate world showing the darker side of college athletic recruiting, as well as the 2006 film Inside Man (2006). Spike Lee's role as a documentarian has expanded over the years, highlighted by his participation in Lumière and Company (1995), the Oscar-nominated 4 Little Girls (1997), to his Peabody Award-winning biographical adaptation of Black Panther leader in A Huey P. Newton Story (2001), through his 2005 Emmy Award-winning examination of post-Katrina New Orleans in When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) and its follow-up five years later If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010). Through his production company 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks, Lee continues to create and direct both independent films and projects for major studios, as well as working on story development, creating an internship program for aspiring filmmakers, releasing music, and community outreach and support. He is married to Tonya Lewis Lee, and they have two sons, Satchel and Jackson.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Steven A. Sandt is known for The Time Machine (I Found at a Yardsale) (2011), Supermunk: Munk Girl 2 (2017) and Dark of Night (2000).- Director
- Producer
A dual citizen of Canada and the USA, David DeCoteau has worked professionally in the movie business since he was 18 years old. He got his start through a generous offer from movie legend Roger Corman, who hired him in 1980 as a production assistant at New World Pictures. In 1986, DeCoteau directed and produced his first feature film for another generous film legend, Charles Band. DeCoteau has gone on to produce and direct more than 170 motion pictures over the past forty years. His passion lies in the creation of popular genre programming made for world consumption. DeCoteau's experience in creating content in countries all over the world makes him a proven choice for exceptionally challenging movie projects. He resides in British Columbia, Canada and Hollywood, California.- Director
- Writer
Tom Vaughan was born on 5 September 1969 in Scotland, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Starter for 10 (2006), What Happens in Vegas (2008) and Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned (2015).- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Bill Osco is known for The Being (1981) and Gross Out (1990).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Eli Raphael Roth was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Cora (Bialis), a painter, and Sheldon H. Roth, a psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and clinical professor. His family is Jewish (from Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland). He began shooting Super 8 films at the age of eight; after watching Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and vomiting, and deciding he wanted to be a producer/director. With his brothers and friends, ketchup for blood, and his father's power tools, he made over 50 short films before attending film school at NYU, where he won a student Academy Award and graduated summa cum laude in 1994.
Eli worked in film and theater production in New York City for many years, doing every job from production assistant to assistant editor to assistant to the director. At the age of 20, Roth was development head for producer Fred Zollo, a position he soon left to write full time. To earn a living, Roth did budgets and schedules for the films A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Illuminata (1998), and often worked as a stand-in, where he could watch directors work with the actors. In 1995, Roth co-wrote the script that would eventually become Cabin Fever (2002) with friend Randy Pearlstein, and the two spent many years unsuccessfully trying to get the film financed. Roth left New York in 1999 to live in Los Angeles, and within four months got funding for his animation series Chowdaheads (1999). Roth and friend Noah Belson (Cabin Fever (2002)'s Guitar Man) wrote and voiced the episodes, which Roth produced, directed, and designed. The episodes were due to run on WCW's #1 rated series WCW Monday Nitro (1995) but the CEO was fired a day before they were scheduled to air, and the episodes never ran. Roth used the episodes to set up a stop motion series called The Rotten Fruit (2003) which he produced, directed, and animated, as well as co-wrote and voiced with friend Belson. Between the two animated series, Roth worked closely with director David Lynch, producing content for the website davidlynch.com.
In 2001, Roth filmed Cabin Fever (2002) on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million, with private equity he and his producers raised from friends and their family. The film was the subject of a bidding war at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, eventually won by Lion's Gate, instantly doubling their investors' money. It went on to not only be the highest-grossing film for Lion's Gate in 2003, but the most profitable horror film released that year, garnering critical acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Empire Magazine, and such filmmakers as Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, and Tobe Hooper. Roth used the film's success to launch a slew of projects, including The Box (2009), a horror thriller he co-wrote with Richard Kelly. In May 2003, Roth joined forces with filmmakers Boaz Yakin, Scott Spiegel, and Greenestreet Films in New York to form Raw Nerve, LLC, a horror film production company.
In 2014, Eli married Chilean model and actress Lorenza Izzo.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, Colin Trevorrow started making short films when he was 12 years old. He studied film and dramatic writing at New York University. After graduation, he wrote and directed "Home Base" a digital short that became one of the early viral successes on the internet. His first feature film, "Safety Not Guaranteed" was written by fellow NYU graduate Derek Connolly, who met Trevorrow while they were both interns on Saturday Night Live.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Gaspar Noé is an Argentinian filmmaker and screenwriter who lives in France. He is the son of Luis Felipe Noé, an Argentinian artist. He directed I Stand Alone, Irréversible, Enter the Void, Love, Climax, Carne, Lux Æterna, Sodomites and Vortex. His films are known for having a sensory overload style, most notably in Enter the Void. He is married to Lucile Hadzihalilovic.- Music Department
- Writer
- Producer
Trey was born in Conifer, Colorado, on October 19, 1969 to Randy Parker, a geologist, and Sharon Parker, an insurance broker. He has an older sister, Shelley Parker. He met Matt Stone (co-creator of South Park (1997)) while attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he had a double major of music and Japanese. While at UCB he wrote, directed and starred in Cannibal! The Musical (1993) (aka "Cannibal: The Musical!") based on a true episode in Colorado's history. After graduation from UCB (rumors that he didn't due to skipping classes to work on the movie are false), he and Stone were asked by then-FoxLab executive Brian Graden to create an animated Christmas card for his friends and family. The now infamous short, titled The Spirit of Christmas (1995), led to South Park (1997).- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Director
J.B. Rogers is known for There's Something About Mary (1998), Green Book (2018) and American Pie (1999). He has been married to Gwendolyn Rogers since 9 September 1995. They have three children.- Music Department
- Writer
- Producer
Matthew Stone is a Jewish-American actor, writer, director, musician and animator who frequently collaborates with Trey Parker. They created and voiced in the South Park franchise. Matt voiced Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Butters Stotch and other characters. He and Parker also worked on The Book of Mormon, Baseketball, Cannibal the Musical, Team America: World Police and Orgazmo.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Alan Taylor is an American film and television director from San Francisco known for directing episodes of HBO shows such as The Sopranos, Deadwood, Game of Thrones, and Sex in the City. He directed the feature films Thor: The Dark World, Palookaville, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Many Saints of Newark, and Terminator Genisys.- Editor
- Producer
- Sound Department
Tony Malanowski was born on 26 January 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He is an editor and producer, known for Night of Horror (1981), The Curse of the Screaming Dead (1982) and Tales of Frankenstein (2018).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
John Stockwell is an American actor, director, producer and writer who is probably best known - as an actor - for his roles in the Tom Cruise vehicles Losin' It (1982) and Top Gun (1986), and the Stephen King - John Carpenter film Christine (1983).
John has since moved from acting into the director's chair. His directing credits include Blue Crush (2002), Into the Blue (2005), and Turistas (2006).
John was a close friend of Andy Warhol and is mentioned frequently in the latter's 'Warhol Diaries'.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Meir is a filmmaker most known for I Spit on Your Grave (1978) about one woman and a group of maniacs. In 2010, Steven R. Monroe directed the remake I Spit on Your Grave (2010) starring Sarah Butler & Jeff Branson. Meir executive produced the film and was an associate producer for the remake as well. Steven R. Monroe also directed I Spit on Your Grave 2 (2013) which Meir produced. He has produced two more sequels of the franchise.