B movie Directors to remember
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Roger William Corman was born April 5, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan. Initially following in his father's footsteps, Corman studied engineering at Stanford University, but, while in school, he began to lose interest in the profession and developed a growing passion for film. Upon graduation, he worked a total of three days as an engineer at US Electrical Motors, which cemented his growing realization that engineering wasn't for him. He quit and took a job as a messenger for 20th Century Fox, eventually rising to the position of story analyst.
After a term spent studying modern English literature at England's Oxford University and a year spent bopping around Europe, Corman returned to the US, intent on becoming a screenwriter/producer. He sold his first script in 1953, "The House in the Sea," which was eventually filmed and released as Highway Dragnet (1954).
Horrified by the disconnect between his vision for the project and the film that eventually emerged, Corman took his salary from the picture, scraped together a little capital and set himself up as a producer, turning out Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954). Corman used his next picture, The Fast and the Furious (1954), to finagle a multi-picture deal with a fledgling company called American Releasing Corp. (ARC). It would soon change its name to American-International Pictures (AIP) and with Corman as its major talent behind the camera, would become one of the most successful independent studios in cinema history.
With no formal training, Corman first took to the director's chair with Five Guns West (1955) and over the next 15 years directed 53 films, mostly for AIP. He proved himself a master of quick, inexpensive productions, turning out several movies as director and/or producer in each of those years--nine movies in 1957, and nine again in 1958. His personal speed record was set with The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), which he shot in two days and a night.
In the early 1960s, he began to take on more ambitious projects, gaining a great deal of critical praise (and commercial success) from a series of adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories, most of them starring Vincent Price. His film The Intruder (1962) was a serious look at racial integration in the South, starring a very young William Shatner. Critically praised and winning a prize at the Venice Film Festival, the movie became Corman's first--and, for many years, only--commercial flop. He called its failure "the greatest disappointment in my career." As a consequence of the experience, Corman opted to avoid such direct "message" films in the future and resolved to express his social and political concerns beneath the surface of overt entertainments.
Those messages became more radical as the 1960s wound to a close and after AIP began re-editing his films without his knowledge or consent, he left the company, retiring from directing to concentrate on production and distribution through his own newly formed company, New World Pictures. In addition to low-budget exploitation flicks, New World also distributed distinguished art cinema from around the world, becoming the American distributor for the films of Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini, François Truffaut and others. Selling off New World in the 1980s, Corman has continued his work through various companies in the years since--Concorde Pictures, New Horizons, Millenium Pictures, New Concorde. In 1990, after the publication of his biography "How I Made A Hundred Movies in Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime"--one of the all-time great books on filmmaking--he returned to directing but only for a single film, Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
With hundreds of movies to his credit, Roger Corman is one of the most prolific producers in the history of the film medium and one of the most successful--in his nearly six decades in the business, only about a dozen of his films have failed to turn a profit. Corman has been dubbed, among other things, "The King of the Cult Film" and "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and his filmography is packed with hundreds of remarkably entertaining films in addition to dozens of genuine cult classics. Corman has displayed an unrivaled eye for talent over the years--it could almost be said that it would be easier to name the top directors, actors, writers and creators in Hollywood who DIDN'T get their start with him than those who did. Among those he mentored are Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, James Cameron, Robert De Niro, Peter Bogdanovich, Joe Dante and Sandra Bullock. His influence on modern American cinema is almost incalculable. In 2009, he was honored with an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.- Actor
- Producer
- Casting Department
Scott Atkins is an executive producer, producer and sales agent based in Beverly Hills, CA specializing on action, disaster, sci-fi, horror, thriller, and family films.
Scott Atkins success can be attributed to his ability to find the right stories and sign name talent to productions that are economical and ultimately attractive to distribution outlets worldwide.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
- 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.- 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
- Writer
- Producer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the North of England, Neil Marshall has been working successfully in both feature films and television since his feature debut 'Dog Soldiers' in 2001. His second feature as both writer and director,'The Descent' 2005 was an even bigger critical and commercial hit, winning several awards including the BIFA for Best Director, and the Empire award for Best Horror. He followed this success with the post-apocalyptic action movie 'Doomsday' 2008 for Universal and historical adventure 'Centurion' 2010. In 2012 Neil made his debut in the world of high-end television with 'Game of Thrones' S2 Ep9 'Blackwater', and followed that up with S4 Ep9 'The Watchers on the Wall' for which he received an Emmy Nomination for Best Director.
Marshall continued to work in the network, cable and streaming arenas directing projects such as the pilot episodes of 'Black Sails' for Starz, DC's 'Constantine' and 'Timeless' both for NBC. Marshall also directed notable episodes of 'Hannibal' for Showtime and 'Westworld' for HBO. In 2017 Neil developed, produced and directed the Netflix reboot of classic sci-fi series 'Lost in Space', quickly followed the same year by the feature film reboot of 'Hellboy' released in 2018.
In 2020 Marshall made his return to independent film and the horror genre with the multi-award winning witch-hunt saga 'The Reckoning' which was the opening movie at Fantasia festival in Canada that year. Marshall's next movie 'The Lair', an all action-creature-feature set in Afghanistan was the opening night presentation at Frightfest 2022 in London and also played Sitges in Spain before being released on Shudder in Feb 2023.
Marshall switched genres yet again for the violent gangster revenge movie 'Duchess', due to be released by Saban in the US in September 2024. Most recently Marshall directed the erotic giallo thriller 'Compulsion' and is developing several projects including WW2 alien invasion thriller 'Invaders', tense action thriller 'Dead Stop' and land speed record drama 'Mach One'.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Furst started his career in television, portraying a wide variety of characters in dozens of network and cable series, before gaining recognition for his role as the original Lucas Hood in Cinemax's Banshee. He then expanded to supporting and roles in films like The Magnificent Seven, The Founder, Terminator Genisys and Focus. For his work in I Love You Phillip Morris, Variety wrote of Furst's ability to make a large impact with just a few scenes in the article entitled 'Not Nominate But Definitely Memorable.' Furst made his directorial debut with the horror feature 30 Days to Die, distributed by Lionsgate. His second feature, Starve, premiered as an official selection at the Stiges Film Festival. His early success with independent film garnered the attention of Universal Television, which commissioned Furst's directorial services on over a dozen Movies of the Week for their various networks. As of 2022, Furst has produced 37 movies. You Might be the Killer premiered at the Fantastic Film Festival, and Alice was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Furst is the president of Curmudgeon Films. My Sister's Keeper was the first film produced under his banner, starring Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz. In 2018, he produced You Might be the Killer, starring Alyson Hannigan. Furst then went on to work on the cult franchise Tales from the Hood, producing Part 2 and Part 3. The son of actor Stephen Furst (Animal House), Griff lives in Los Angeles.- Director
- Editor
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
James Watkins was born in 1978 in the UK. He is a director and writer, known for Eden Lake (2008), The Take (2016) and McMafia (2018).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Blake Ridder is an award winning British director, writer and actor. He is best known for writing and directing in the multi-award winning directorial debut feature film Help (2021). During the early part of Ridder's filmmaking career, he wrote, directed and starred in various short films, including the multi-award winning The English Teacher (2020).
Blake was born in Shanghai, China, later moved to UK with his parents at the age of nine. He began his acting career in 2017 and wrote and directed his first short film a year later. He is also the founder of Ridder Films, an independent production company based in London.- Producer
- Writer
- Actress
Kyra Jessica Willis is known for Possession in the Box (2021), Enough (2020) and An Unrequited Haunting (2020).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Ovidio G. Assonitis was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He is an independent film producer and businessman with over fifty years of experience across all facets of the entertainment industry. Catering to the South East Asia market, Assonitis began an extensive distribution company in the mid-60's and in a 10-year period distributed more than 900 films from offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia.
From the 1970s to 2000s, he has financed and produced some 53 films, both independently and with major and mini-major studios, including American International Pictures, Film Ventures International, Trans World Entertainment, Nippon Herald Films Inc and Toho-Towa, with worldwide releases through Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and United Artists. In 1974, he direct the cult horror classic, Beyond the Door (1974), starring Juliet Mills and Richard Johnson. The film grossed worldwide in excess of $40 million(USD) becoming the highest grossing independent release of the year; a tremendous achievement at that time. He followed this triumph with a string of successful pictures; Tentacles (1977), The Visitor (1979) and Madhouse (1981). Also in 1981, Assonitis produced Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), which was released through Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, launching the career of celebrated director James Cameron. Choke Canyon (1986) followed along with The Curse (1987), Sonny Boy (1989), Curse II: The Bite (1989) and Beyond the Door III (1989) under an exclusive deal with RCA Columbia.
In 1989, Assonitis became the second major stockholder, Chairman and CEO of Cannon Pictures Inc. where he single-handily turned the company back into profit with films such as Lambada (1990), Midnight Ride (1990), Fifty/Fifty (1992) and No Place to Hide (1992) as well as the sequels American Ninja 4: The Annihilation (1990) and American Ninja 5 (1993). In 1990, he assigned Universal Pictures the remake rights of the European classic, Scent of a Woman (1974). Scent of a Woman (1992) was released worldwide in 1992, starring Al Pacino and directed by Martin Brest, it was nominated for four Academy Awards, with Pacino winning for Best Actor. Aside from the Entertainment Industry, Assonitis has several major commercial projects in South East Asia, including Malaysia. He is a keen philanthropist and eager to combine business with a positive development of the economic and social needs. His first horror film in over twenty years is a sequel to one of his biggest hits, Embryo: Beyond the Door.- Director
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- Actor
Jacob Ennis is known for Red River (2011), Haunted Kentucky: Spirits of the Bluegrass (2009) and The First House on the Right.- 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.- Producer
- Editor
- Actor
J.R. Bookwalter began his filmmaking career at the tender age of 11 years old in Akron, Ohio. Born August 16th, 1966, Bookwalter was raised on Dark Shadows (1966), the classic soap opera, which his mother used to watch religiously. After graduating high school in 1984, Bookwalter took photography classes at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. When his apartment was robbed a week into his second year there, the fledgling director took it as a sign to return home, and a mere month later he touched base with filmmaker Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead (1981)), who would wind up financing his first feature-length effort, The Dead Next Door (1989). That production dragged on for nearly four years, finally being completed in Los Angeles, where Bookwalter ran into David DeCoteau (Creepozoids (1987)), a producer who was in the early stages of starting a distribution company. From 1989 to 1992, Bookwalter wound up either writing, directing, producing, scoring or mixing the sound for nine features and four special interest videos for DeCoteau. In 1991, Bookwalter used what he learned from DeCoteau to start Tempe Entertainment and began self-distributing his features, such as the critically-acclaimed Ozone (1993). Bookwalter has taught himself the ins and outs of low-budget production; in addition to the duties above, he has also done a bit of acting, explosives work, makeup effects, lighting, cinematography...you name it, and J.R. Bookwalter has probably at least tried it. He feels that working with talents as varied as Raimi, DeCoteau, Night of the Living Dead (1990) co-creator John A. Russo and B-movie maven Charles Band has taught him when and where to cut corners in the name of a low-cost movie and when and where to work harder in the name of art.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
C. Courtney Joyner is known for Lurking Fear (1994), From a Whisper to a Scream (1987) and Doctor Mordrid (1992).- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Whit Whitman was born at Fort Knox, Kentucky. His father, Ken Whitman was a sergeant in the military, and his mother was Ruth (Benham), a born-again Christian who spent every Christmas baking cakes for over 50 neighbors that lived on Gumwell Rd. in the small town of Brandenburg.
After being introduced to Dunguns & Dragons at the age of 14, Whit left his small town of 2,400 people to play College Football for Murray State University where he studied to become an Art Teacher. However, his lifelong passion for Role Playing Games got him his first job at TSR, Inc. (makers of Dungeons & Dragons) in 1994. Having a love for writing and producing unique gaming worlds he went on to create hundreds of products, including games for the World Wrestling Federation (WWE), Ralph Bakshi's Wizards, The Three Stooges, Sergio Aragone's Groo, Dragonball Z, Dungeons and Dragons, and many, many more.
Whit started acting in community theater with his daughter and son in 2008. He moved to Atlanta Georgia and became active in Fimlaking in 2015. He was the founder and President of the Atlanta Actors Co-op, an active social group of upcoming actors in the Atlanta Georgia area.
In 2019, Whit moved to High Point North Carolina where he is developing several Film & Television projects with Brittano Studios.
Whit returned to Kentucky in 2022, following the state's new film incentives. He is the CEO of Little Monster Entertainment, Inc which produces films, and helps train youth who want to work in the film industry.- Director
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- Producer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Timur Bekmambetov is a Kazakh-Russian film director known for vampire franchise Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006).
He was born Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov on June 25, 1961, in Guryev, Soviet Union (now Atyrau, Kazakhstan). His father, Nuruakhit Bekmambetov, is a manager at Guryev Energy company; his mother, Mira Bogoslavskaya, was a journalist. Young Bekmambetov was raised along the Ural river in Kazakhstan, Soviet Union.
In 1978, aged 17, he moved to Moscow. There from 1978 to 1980 he attended the Moscow Energy Institute, but he was more interested in art and movies. Eventually, he dropped out of college, and joined the cultural milieu around such artists as Anatoli Zverev and Oskar Rabin. Then, from 1982 to 1987 he studied painting at Tashkent Theatrical Art Institute, graduating in 1987 as artist of theatre and film. From 1987 to 1988 he served in the Red Army stationed at artillery division near Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan. Then he worked as set designer at "Ilkhom" Drama Theatre in Tashkent, and at Uzbek Film Studio.
Since 1989 he has been directing commercials. In 1992 Bekmambetov made his directorial and writing debut with Peshawar Waltz (1994), a film about the Soviet war in Afghanistan which received awards at several festivals in Europe. From 1992 to 1997 he made 18 commercials for the Russian bank "Imperial" and was named best young director of 1997 by Russian Film Academy. In 1999 he started his own film company, Bazelevs Production.
His big break came with the success of the vampire franchise Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006), which he directed during 2003 - 2005. Both films became international blockbusters, and received several awards and nominations. The third installment, Twilight Watch (2009), is slated for release in 2009.
Since 2005, Bekmambetov has been working in Hollywood, writing, directing and producing several flicks, such as Wanted (2008), 9 (2009), and The Red Star. Back in Russia, he made another success directing The Irony of Fate 2 (2007), a romantic comedy based on the Soviet era characters and capitalizing on nostalgia among some of the post-Soviet audiences.
Timur Bekmambetov established himself as a master of dense narrative. His films often surprise the viewers with eerie details, hectic pace and unusual twists and turns, and remain a challenge even for experienced audiences.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Jeremiah Kipp is based in New York. His directing credits include the Shudder Original "Slapface" (Audience Award Winner at Cinequest), the horror-sci fi hybrid "Black Wake"; "Don't Pick Up" starring Keith David and Kathryn Erbe, "Draw Up and Stare" starring Michael O'Keefe and Melissa Leo, "The Sadist" starring Tom Savini and "The Pod": starring Larry Fessenden. His collaboration on "The Avant Gardener" with fellow filmmakers Lindsay Katt, Heather Matarazzo and Carl Byrd won the Flickers Rhode Island Experimental Grand Prize in 2017 and his work on "Pickup" won the Best Television Award at HollyShorts Film Festival in 2018.- Editor
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Rafael De Leon Jr. is known for Three Baths (2023), Momma, Don't Go (2019) and Goodbye Old Friend (2018).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Stephen Jones is known for Northern Lights (2023), The Intruder: Reading of the Play (2021) and Flora and Son (2023).- Director
- Editorial Department
- Editor
Mark Smyth is known for Leap of Faith (2017), Everything Looks Better in the Sunshine (2019) and The Bridge (2019).- Director
- Editor
- Actor
Mark Polonia was born on 30 September 1968 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a director and editor, known for Camp Murder (2021), Land Shark (2017) and Bigfoot Vs. Zombies (2016). He is married to Maria Davis.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Nabwana Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey (IGG) produces, directs, shoots, writes, and edits action films from his home in the slums of Wakaliga, Uganda.
A self-taught filmmaker, IGG's film education consists of one course in computer repair (he was forced to drop out after the first month due to lack of funds) and his own trial-and-error experiences with cameras and editing equipment. He began filmmaking at age 32, just after the birth of his first child.
While supporting himself and his family as a school teacher, IGG founded Ramon Film Productions (the name is derived from his grandmothers, Rachel and Monica, who raised him and saw the family safely thru Uganda's civil war). Based in the small home he shares with his wife and co-editor, Harriet, and their three children. RFP has produced over 44 feature films since 2005 (as of Jan 2015) and is best-known for Who Killed Captain Alex: Uganda First Action-packed Movie and Tebaatusasula. Trailers for IGG's work have gone viral, but the films themselves remain largely unseen outside the slums surrounding Kampala, Uganda.
IGG shoots his films in Luganda, the dialect of Buganda, Uganda's largest tribe. As is the common in the ghettos of Uganda, his films are presented with a live Video Jockey (VJ), best described as part-narrator, cheerleader, comedian, and slum tour guide.
"Wakaliwood" is a combination of Wakaliga, the slum IGG calls home, and Hollywood. Over the years, IGG has assembled a dedicated team of actors, technicians, prop masters, martial artists, and stunt people who have traveled from all parts of Uganda to be part of his action films. When not shooting, they meet twice a week to rehearse, develop new projects, build equipment out of scrap metal, and distribute DVDs in the local markets. Surprisingly, IGG Nabwana himself has never been to a movie theater.
Selected credits: Who Killed Captain Alex: Uganda's First Action-packed Movie; Bukunja Tekunja Mitti: The Cannibals; Rescue Team; The Return of Uncle Benon; and a lost film, Tebaatusasula. Upcoming projects include Captain Alex 2: The Tiger Mafia; Ugandan Ninja; Bad Black, inspired by the controversial life of the Ugandan socialite and ex-con; and Plan 9 From Uganda, a cannibal-zombie-action film.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
MJ Dixon was born in Sunderland, North East England. He started his career in film working as a PA on local low budget indie productions and soon grew to have aspiration of creating his own feature length films. Studying a degree in both filmmaking and screen-writing at the University Of Central Lancashire. In 2004 Dixon created Independent Production Label Mycho Pictures which led to production of the companies first official feature in 2010 with Slasher House.
Since then Dixon has written and Directed 9 Film and numerous shorts set in the fictional, shared Mycho Universe and create spin off series for characters like Cleaver : Killer Clown, Thorn, Jacob The PandaHeaded Killer and Molly Bannister. Dixon has also Directed a growing list of official music videos for reputable artists including Michael Schenker of Scorpions and Blaze Bayley of Iron Maiden as well as working with genre legends such as Nicholas Vince of Hellraiser fame.
In 2019 Dixon announced a brand new slate of Movies set in the Mycho Universe. Including sequels for Thorn, Cleaver and others.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in Sydney Australia, Timothy began his career in television, presenting on a Saturday morning TV show "The Zone" during the early to mid 90's. He then moved into directing TVC's for Sony Music and Village Roadshow. Making his first feature film at the age of 23yrs old, Timothy now focuses on the process of story telling, writing, directing, producing and acting in various projects. Timothy is based between Sydney and Los Angeles.- Director
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- Producer
Jung Byung-gil gained international recognition with his action thriller THE VILLAINESS, which premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. While THE VILLAINESS may have gained him international acclaim, he was already a rising filmmaker in his home country of Korea. His directorial debut, a documentary about stuntmen titled ACTION BOYS earned Jung multiple awards including Best Independent Film Director at the 11th Director's Cut Awards; the Audience Award and CGV Korean Independent Feature Distribution Award at the 9th Jeonju International Film Festival; and the Best Independent Film Award at the 6th Max Movie Awards. His film CONFESSION OF MURDER was also a critical success earning him Best Screenplay at the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards and Best New Director at the 50th Grand Bell Awards.
Recently, Skybound Entertainment and Amazon Studios has partnered with Next Entertainment World to remake THE VILLAINESS as a scripted TV series in which Jung Byung-gil will reprise his role as Director with actress Pom Klementieff attached.- Director
- Producer
Also known as Alexanderthetitan. Graduated from Northern Arizona University after being a student athlete for 4 years. Found passion for film after watching the Happening by M. Night Shyamalan, while being sidelined from football with a serious knee injury. Turned down pro football contracts in the pursuit of being a horror filmmaker.