Chris Bell (born November 3, 1972) is an American director, producer and writer, known for his documentaries ''
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*'' (2008 as Christopher Bell), ''
Trophy Kids'', ''Prescription Thugs'' (2015), and ''A Leaf Of Faith'' (2018). His work is focused on the impact that society has on our consumption and addictions, especially to prescription drugs.
In the 1980s, purportedly during or after high school, Bell sold gym memberships and became a writer for the
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, composing storylines for
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
,
Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
and
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...
.
[
----This is an interview with Chris Bell; however, the citation only draws from the preface material before the content of the interview.]
Personal life
Bell is the brother of Mark Bell and
Mike Bell, both of whom were featured in ''
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*''. All three were overweight as children and strove, through competitive living and wrestling and, in the case of Bell, steroid use to emulate celebrities
Hulk Hogan
Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...
,
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
and
Arnold Scharzenegger.
In 1997, Bell obtained his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in Film Production from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
.
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
wrote a recommendation letter for Bell supporting his enrollment in the University, following Bell's composition of a music video for an
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
competition that Coppola had judged.
Bell currently resides in California. He founded his film production company Bigger Stronger Faster Inc, which is devoted to producing educational documentaries, films, and TV shows. Following a hip replacement surgery in his younger years, he began using prescription drugs, which he struggled with for many years as an addiction. The struggle went on for many years until he had gotten clean during the filming of his recent documentary, ''Prescription Thugs''.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
1972 births
American documentary film directors
Film directors from California
Film producers from California
Living people
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
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