In 1998 I was handed the final script completed by the legendary American science fiction author Jerome Bixby, and I fell in love with it immediately. Unfortunately it took some years to secure the rights, but by the time I did, the Digital Age was upon us, and suddenly it was possible to make a truly micro-budget film using prosumer cameras. So we gathered a stellar cast, rehearsed for a week, and shot the film in one location over the course of eight days. “The Man from Earth” was immediately embraced by the worldwide file-sharing community, and became an online phenomenon, rising to the top of the IMDb MovieMeter in one week, before finding a permanent home amongst the most beloved science fiction films of all time at that site’s user ratings lists. It also appeared in film festivals all over the world, winning many prizes, and a live theatrical version has been performed in more than twenty languages across the globe.

Given the success of “The Man from Earth,” a sequel seemed only natural, but I was initially intimidated by the size of the task. Jerome Bixby had spent forty years ruminating about the idea of a 14,000 year-old man before setting pen to paper, so who was I to take it on? In the end, it was the suggestion that I turn the concept into a TV series that inspired me, and working with a number of friends and collaborators, I was able to craft a screenplay I believe honors the legacy of the original film, while moving the story of “John Oldman” into a new direction. “The Man from Earth: Holocene” works as a stand-alone feature film sequel, but it’s my hope that it doubles as a pilot for a series.

A friend called one day and asked if I’d help brainstorm ideas for a movie that would be entitled “Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies.” Who could resist? I suggested placing the story in the waning days of the Civil War, as Lincoln struggles to craft an uplifting message to deliver at the dedication of the new war memorial in Gettysburg. Our pitch was selected, and thus began my three-picture adventure writing & directing for The Asylum (the folks behind “Sharknado” and “Z Nation”). “A v Z” was shot on location at a real Civil War fort in Savannah, GA, and the experience was a delight, from start to finish. I’m very proud of the finished film, which is a total hoot, and I defy you to name another zombie picture which climaxes with the straight-faced and powerful delivery of perhaps the finest oration in American political history.

Like my favorite novelist, Donald E. Westlake, I occasionally work under a pseudonym for “genre” pictures, and this was the case with the Lifetime thriller, “Layover”, aka “Abducted” (my second Asylum film). Driven by a rather farfetched Russian mob/human trafficking plot, this quickie production allowed me to assemble a cast of surprisingly terrific actors, as well as a stellar crew, some of whom have become dear friends. I was able to introduce a good deal of humor into the script, and got to shoot some exciting scenes in downtown LA, including a rooftop shootout and a major sequence under the dearly departed 6th Street Bridge. It was a challenging but rewarding production, and I learned a lot making this movie.

“Mischief Night” was way more fun to make than it should have been, given the budget and subject matter. But we had a great cast & crew, a superb location, and excellent catering. This production was such a love-fest that people would come in on their days off just to hang around and have lunch. Producers Eric Wilkinson and Jesse Baget cooked up the story, then brought me on to write and direct. There’s a plot hole or two we never quite patched up, but the movie is fast, scary fun, with a couple of extremely suspenseful sequences and very subtle visual effects, all held together by a gorgeous score, and a wonderfully modulated performance by our young leading lady, Noell Coet. My dear friend and frequent collaborator Richard Vialet shot this one before going off to Atlanta to become the official in-house DP for a certain cross-dressing media mogul.

I’d known producer Lisa Hansen for many years, and we finally got the chance to work together on “Spit III: Vengeance is Mine,” the second sequel to her company’s successful re-boot of the 1978 cult fave, “I Spit on Your Grave”… but obviously this was a job for my alter-ego genre directing buddy R.D. Braunstein. Trying to walk a fine line between the ultra-violent revenge thriller fans of the series were expecting, and the more contemplative character study Lisa was aiming for, we achieved neither or both, depending upon whom you ask. But there were some fun stunts and at least one genuinely appalling “kill” involving a prosthetic so realistic an onlooker would have suspected we were shooting porn. I enjoyed learning more about how to stage a fight, and working with wonderful actors like Michelle Hurd and Jennifer Landon.

Another Lifetime thriller, and another job for Mr. Braunstein, “A Father’s Secret” landed its title only when the network decided to make it part of their Father’s Day-themed “Who’s Your Daddy?” weekend of women-in-jeopardy films. Until that point, it had an ever-changing litany of titles which was a direct reflection of the ever-changing script. One point of pride: I was able to introduce a little real-world intrigue by making the villain the person behind a Deepwater Horizon-type oil rig accident/coverup. The movie suffered from some unfortunate casting decisions made before my arrival. But it was (yet another) chance to practice my survival skills, solving daily location crises and finding a way to make on-the-fly creative choices work, while locating some interesting corners of L.A. in which to shoot.

“100 Degrees Below Zero” was my last Asylum picture; the sort of cheesy, low-budget “mockbuster” for which they are best known, but it got me to Budapest and Paris for six weeks, so I’m not complaining! Bonus points for getting to work with the legendary John Rhys-Davies, who will happily recite any of his famous lines for you. This production was a daily exercise in required resourcefulness, and the challenge was simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. The resulting film is very much a mixed bag, but I’m actually quite proud of several sequences, and of the production value we were able to achieve on a movie made for even less money than “Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies”! In the end, shockingly, it was the Asylum’s second-most profitable film that year (bested only by “Sharknado”).

My friend and frequent collaborator Eric Wilkinson called me one day to say, “I have an idea…” Inspired by a contest co-sponsored by Eli Roth and the El Terror Network, he asked me to put together a teaser for proposed web series to be called “Contagion.” Our “Man from Earth” pal William Katt agreed to come down for a few hours and help us out, and L.A.’s Independent Shakespeare Company lent us their office for location. Thrown together with spit and glitter, we packed as much fun as we could into thirty seconds!

Sometimes I call Vanessa Williams to join a project, and sometimes she calls me. “And Then Came Love” falls into the latter category. She was working with a first-time writer/producer whom she’d met through college friends, and felt I could bring some experience to the project; flattered, I agreed immediately and I’m so glad I did. I hadn’t made a movie in New York City in ages, and it was thrilling to get that chance, especially for a comedy. I had the honor of directing the legendary Eartha Kitt in her final screen appearance, as well as the brilliant Michael Boatman, showbiz legend Ben Vereen, future “Pitch Perfect” star Anna Camp, and Broadway great Stephen Spinella! The only downside: we lost a hunk of prep and two shoot days when “Ugly Betty” got picked up for series by ABC. That hurt. This is the kind of picture that critics don’t adore, but the target audience loves it.

I doubt that anybody thinks of me as an “action director” per se, and I don’t know that I even think of myself that way. But the fact is that I love shooting action, and I’m actually pretty good at it, despite my limited opportunities. So I put together a reel to demonstrate what I can do when given the chance.

All I ever wanted to do, from the time I was a young man, was make movies. In 1995 I finally had the chance, thanks to Jon Cryer and Adam Oliensis, two dear friends who shared my passion. We co-wrote and co-financed “The Pompatus of Love,” drawing from our own experiences with women, work, and friendship to craft a deeply personal story that was also very funny. With the rapturous reviews and festival wins this film garnered, there is no good reason why it didn’t find a wider audience, except that the mid-‘90’s was a rich time for American indie film, with the explosion of the home video market, and there was just too much competition. The soundtrack is also really good, including a remarkable cover of Steve Miller’s “The Joker” by Sheryl Crow! We shot on 35mm film in NY and LA; we’d need triple the budget to do that today.

While in Cannes to help sell “Pompatus,” Jon Cryer and I began work on our next collaboration, based in large part on several painfully real episodes from our own lives. “Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God… Be Back by Five” is my best movie, or certainly the one I love best, and not just because it comes the closest to what I saw in my head during the scriptwriting phase. It’s also very funny, very honest, and heartbreaking in a way I find completely real. It was also a stupendously fun shoot, during which we captured the final moments of a very particular segment of Coney Island’s history. We shot on 35mm and with Technicolor developed a groundbreaking method to create the film’s unique look – which was promptly snapped up by Spike Lee to use on his next picture. The film features a soundtrack no indie film could ever assemble today, and a supporting cast populated with some of the best character actors NYC has to offer. I could not be more pleased that this movie has finally been re-released on HD.

When VH1 decided to produce original movies, I sold them one of their very first projects. Unfortunately in the end they didn’t shoot it, but they did hire me to rewrite the dramedy “Out of Synch”. Happy with that picture, they called me late in July of 2000 to pitch a take on a film to be titled “A Diva’s Christmas Carol,” to be shot in time for the upcoming holiday season. I very quickly turned around the pitch, then the treatment, and then the screenplay. September found me in Montreal, doubling for NY, with the legendary entertainer Vanessa Williams in the title role. I edited in October, and the movie aired in November, garnering such high ratings that it was repeated daily throughout the holiday season, and then every single year since, across a whole range of networks. There’s no feeling better than people saying, “We love that movie and watch it every year!” Bonus: Vanessa became a dear friend and we’ve collaborated on a number of projects since, including a comedy pilot we sold to NBC.

As Jon and I were struggling to finish “Coney Island,” I was hired to direct “October 22.” This movie presented the very exciting opportunity of making a picture for legendary B-movie mogul Avi Lerner, and in the end he liked it so much he made it the official first release under his new “prestige” banner, Millennium Films (a move that didn’t go over so well with Brad Weston, the recently installed head of the division). Unfortunately dismissed by some as “Tarantinoesque,” the very clever and heartfelt script by Fred Golan attracted a truly stellar cast, including Broadway megastar Donna Murphy in one of her first Hollywood movies, along with a pile of other actors with whom I was honored to work. Fun fact: the restaurant set was rescued from the scrap heap, having been originally built for Billy Crystal’s “Forget Paris.”

For decades I said that “The Pompatus of Love” was my first movie, but close friends have long known that two years before “Pompatus,” I directed “Angel IV: Undercover,” aka “Assault with a Deadly Weapon.” Why the obfuscation? Simply, I didn’t want my official “first film” to be a dreadful, low-budget B-movie I didn’t write, although I was very grateful for the chance to learn-by-doing and make my mistakes on a project less close to my heart. But in all fairness, even this was supposed to be a better movie – a “rock n’ roll murder mystery” – and it was, until the producer demanded that we shoot an “alternate version” of several scenes, enabling him to position the film as an “Angel” sequel in “a couple of Eastern European markets.” Naturally, only the “Angel” version ever saw the light of day. Still… I got to work with a good number of dear friends, plus the iconic Hollywood legend Roddy McDowall, as well as the brilliant, much-missed Kevin Gilbert, who did the songs and score.