Erik Nelson is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

documentary film director and television producer. Nelson has produced and directed several films,

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

s and television programs such as ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feat ...

'', ''

Mega Disasters ''Mega Disasters'' is an American documentary television series that originally aired from May 23, 2006 to July 2008 on The History Channel. Produced by Creative Differences, the program explores potential catastrophic threats to individual cit ...

'', ''When Good Times Go Bad'', ''What Were You Thinking?'', ''

Unsolved History ''Unsolved History'' is an American documentary television series that aired from 2002 to 2005. The program was produced by Termite Art Productions, Lions Gate Television, and Discovery Communications for the Discovery Channel. The series last ...

'', ''Prehistoric Predators'' and '' More than Human''. He has a production company called

Creative Differences Productions Creative Differences Productions, Inc. (formerly known as Termite Art Productions from 1995 to 2004) is an American film and television production company that is headquartered in Pasadena, California and was founded in 1995 by Erik Nelson. His ...

(formerly known as Termite Art Productions), owned by Lionsgate from 1998 to 2004. In 2008 he released a documentary he produced and directed, about prolific and controversial author

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

, entitled ''

Dreams with Sharp Teeth ''Dreams with Sharp Teeth'' is a 2008 biographical documentary film about writer Harlan Ellison. It is composed of original and archive footage of Ellison and talking head segments from colleagues and fans including Robin Williams, Peter David, an ...

''. Nelson started working on this film in 1981. The film included interviews with many respected collaborators and admirers of Ellison. Nelson collaborated with

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

on several films. He produced ''

Grizzly Man ''Grizzly Man'' (2005) is an American documentary film by German director Werner Herzog. It chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell and the death of his girlfriend Amie Huguenard at Katmai National Park, Alaska. The fil ...

'', a film Herzog directed about an eccentric naturalist who wanted to live with grizzly bears. In 2016, Herzog executive produced ''

A Gray State ''A Gray State'' is a 2017 documentary film directed by Erik Nelson and executive produced by Werner Herzog, first broadcast on the A&E Network. It explores the death of aspiring filmmaker David Crowley and the murders of his wife and child in 20 ...

'', a film Nelson directed about an eccentric American veteran and aspiring film-maker, David Crowley, who was admired by fans of Alex Jones, whose death triggered conspiracy theories. In 2017, Nelson uncovered and reversioned 15 hours of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

footage, filmed by respected

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

director

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for ''Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of O ...

, of the 8th Air Force to create a new documentary entitled ''

The Cold Blue ''The Cold Blue'' is a 2018 documentary composed from 90 hours of "lost" footage director William Wyler used for his 1944 documentary '' The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress''. The ''Memphis Belle'' documentary was very highly regarded. ...

''. This film premiered at the AFI Film Festival in June 2018, and was the first of the theatrical documentary genre Nelson has referred to as “Big Screen History”. Other films released later that year in this genre included Peter Jackson’s "They Shall Not Grow Old" and Todd Miller’s "Apollo 11". In 2020, Nelson completed and theatrically released “Apocalypse '45.” Another example of "Big Screen History", this film documents the final year of the war in the Pacific in 1945, and was released on Discovery+ on May 27, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Erik American film directors American film producers American documentary film directors American documentary film producers American television producers Living people 1955 births