Was born in Rochester, NY and raised in Spencerport. His first word was
"Batman," which has led to a lifelong obsession with comic books and
super-heroes, and had intended to be a writer/artist. Though he always
loved movies, it wasn't until High School when he became fascinated
with film, discovering directors like Lina Wertmuller, Werner Herzog
and Peter Greenaway, which re-directed his interest from comic books to
cinema. After crewing on a few commercials, student shorts, a few
professional shorts and 2 features, as well as working for the
Rochester/Finger Lakes Film & Video Office, he moved to Los Angeles
where he crewed on a feature & several commercials, just prior to the
commercial actors' strike. Since then he has focused on writing.
He is the older brother of musician Jeff Mercel.