Doug Lefler (born in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer and

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mark ...

, best known as director of the ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...

'' fantasy adventure film sequel '' Dragonheart: A New Beginning'' and ''

The Last Legion ''The Last Legion'' is a 2007 historical action adventure film directed by Doug Lefler and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It stars Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya ...

''.

Career

Lefler was born in Southern California, and started making his first home movies at the age of twelve. He started in the film industry as an animator, having made short films as a child and then attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

. His classmates included

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...

, John Musker and

Brad Bird Phillip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning forty years in both animation and live-action. Bird was born in Montana and grew up i ...

. After two years, he worked for Disney and other studios for several years as a

and animator, before progressing to directing. He worked for many years as a writer and storyboard artist on live-action features before getting his first chance to direct second unit on Sam Raimi's '' Army of Darkness'' in 1991.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (2007) (director) *'' Dragonheart: A New Beginning'' (2000) (director) *''

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

'' (episode, 1998) (director) *'' Cold Reality/ Mortal Kombat: Conquest'' (episode, 1998) (director) *''

The Road to Calydon ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is a television series that was filmed in New Zealand and the United States, starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules. It is very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles. It ran for 11 ...

'' (episode of

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...

, 1995) (director) *'' The Wrong Path'' (episode of

, 1994) (director) *''

Hercules and the Circle of Fire ''Hercules and the Circle of Fire'' is the third television movie in the syndicated fantasy series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''. In the film, when all the Earth's fire begins to go out, Hercules and Deianeira must go in search for fire ...

'' (episode, 1994) (director) *'' Army of Darkness'' (1991) (second unit director) *'' Steel Dawn'' (1987) (screenwriter)

References

External links

* *
Doug Lefler's Online Graphic Novel
American animators Film producers from California American male screenwriters American television directors California Institute of the Arts alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American film producers American storyboard artists Screenwriters from California {{US-animator-stub