Eric Louzil (born September 1, 1952) is an American

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

film director and producer.

Career

Louzil began his career as a

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

film student, when he served as associate producer of the short film ''Sonic Boom'' starring

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination f ...

and

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

in 1975. He soon made a career for himself as a low-budget producer and later director, most notably for infamous independent film company

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

. His early productions ''

Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. ''Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.'', also known as ''Malibu Hot Summer'', is an independent film directed by Richard Brander, and starring Robert Acey, Kevin Costner (in his film debut), Terry Congie, Leslie Brander and Roselyn Royce. It was not released unti ...

'' (aka ''Malibu Hot Summer'') and '' Shadows Run Black'' are notable as the first two films to feature film star

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

. Louzil also directed the 1987 film, ''

Lust for Freedom ''Lust for Freedom'' is a 1987 "women in prison" film directed, produced and co-written by Eric Louzil, and starring Melanie Coll. The film was originally shot at a cost of $50,000 in 1985, under the title of ''Georgia County Lock-up''. In 1986 ...

''. His other credits include the

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

Fortress of Amerikkka ''Fortress of Amerikkka'' is a 1989 American action film directed by Eric Louzil and distributed by Troma Entertainment. The movie follows John Whitecloud, a criminal rebel who's out for revenge against a corrupt Sheriff and a militia run by a cr ...

'' (1989), '' Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown'' (1991) and '' Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid'' (1994), both a part of the ''

Class of Nuke 'Em High ''Class of Nuke 'Em High'' (also known as ''Atomic High School'') is a 1986 American science-fiction horror comedy film made by B-movie production company Troma Entertainment. It was directed by Richard W. Haines and Lloyd Kaufman under the pseu ...

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

. He was noted for having been among the independent filmmakers who gravitated to

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Lili DeBarbieri, ''Location Filming in Arizona: The Screen Legacy of the Grand Canyon State'' (2014), p. 79: "Yuma's golden era of filmmaking is the late 1980s to the early 1990s, according to Yvonne Taylor, longtime director of the Yuma Film Office. Independent filmmaking increased during this time, bringing filmmakers such as Eric Louzil to town".

Footnotes

External links

* 1952 births English-language film directors American film producers Living people American film directors {{US-film-producer-stub