Born in Massachusetts, raised in Kenilworth, Illinois and went to New Trier High School, like alumni Rainn Wilson, Ann-Margaret, Charlton Heston, Bruce Dern among many others. USC Film School alumnus, and American Film Institute intern on "Soylent Green". Worked on the original "Gone In 60 Seconds", and played the guitar and sang on "Benson, Arizona" in the John Carpenter classic "Dark Star". First American director to make a theatrical feature in Bulgaria following the fall of the Berlin Wall.