"Mine is a typical film-geek heritage; tons of Spielberg, Lucas and comic book superheroes as a kid. Superman the Movie, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Empire and Raiders are the movies that made me want to become a movie maker. In my teens, Carpenter, Kubrick, Raimi, Coppola, Romero and Argento were a huge influence. I also learned a lot reading Starlog and Fangoria magazines. In my twenties Lynch, Von Trier, the Coens, Jodorowsky, Rohmer, Allen and Scorsese had become a big part of my cinephile diet. Gigs directing and editing commercials and music videos, co-writing, editing and assistant-directing various shorts and features for filmmaker friends kept me alive during the long years trying to complete my own features."