Scott Sanders (born June 10, 1968) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his work on the films ''

Black Dynamite ''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-star ...

'' and '' Thick as Thieves''.

Early life

Sanders was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina and raised in Washington, DC. His mother is Mrs. Estelle "Bunny" Sanders, the current mayor of

Roper, North Carolina Roper is a town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 611 at the 2010 census. It was known as Lee's Mill (named for Thomas Lee) until 1890, when the John L. Roper Lumber Company was established in the town and it ...

and a member of the UNC Board of Governors. His father, John Thomas Sanders (deceased), was an employee of IBM and also owned and operated a popular D.C. area barbecue pit, Scott's BBQ, which he named after his son. Scott's BBQ was a popular eatery for local politicians; regular patrons included Thurgood Marshall and Walter Mondale. Sanders attended Sidwell Friends School where he graduated in 1986. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1991 with a degree in Radio, TV, and Motion Pictures. One of Scott's closest childhood friends is actor Ben Shenkman. He went to middle school with '' Saturday Night Live'' cast member Ana Gasteyer; they had a scene together in a 7th-grade production of the play ''

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book is often desc ...

''.

Career

Television

Sanders first job upon arrival in Hollywood was working at United Talent Agency. When he was fired from that job, he started writing a spec script for a television show which led to him getting signed and becoming a television writer for TV shows such as '' A Different World'', '' Roc'', and '' The Wayans Brothers''. He also did a commercial for Motorola.

Thick as Thieves

Sanders' film directorial debut came in 1998 with '' Thick as Thieves'', starring

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

, Michael Jai White,

Rebecca De Mornay Rebecca De Mornay (born Rebecca Jane Pearch; August 29, 1959) is an American actress and producer. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred as Lana in ''Risky Business''. She is known for her role as Debby Huston in the Neil S ...

, and

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...

. Based on the novel of the same name by Patrick Quinn, the film was adapted for the screen by Sanders and

Arthur Krystal Arthur Krystal (born December 12, 1947, in Stockholm, Sweden) is an American essayist, editor, and screenwriter living in New York City. Early life and education Krystal's parents, Shloime and Mila Krystal, both from Warsaw, Poland, survived Wo ...

. It premiered at the 1998

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and was distributed by HBO. One reviewer noted "the distinctive contribution of young, gifted writer-director Scott Sanders."

Black Dynamite

'' premiered at the

2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Award winners *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - ''We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize: ...

and was picked up for distribution by

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...

for worldwide distribution. Scott Sanders directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay along with its star Michael Jai White and Byron Minns. One critic described Black Dynamite as, "Scott Saunders' wickedly silly '70s-style blaxploitation spoof…that's intentionally and often delightfully shlocky; not to mention murky-looking as if its been sitting on shelf for a few decades." In addition to Sundance'', Black Dynamite'' appeared in many film festivals throughout 2009, including Seattle International, Tribeca, Karlovy Vary International, Munich,

Edinburgh International The Edinburgh International is an annual bonspiel, or curling tournament, that takes place in late November at the Murrayfield Curling Club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The tournament is held in a round robin format. History The tournament was starte ...

, Copenhagen Film Festival, Melbourne International, and Deauville American. At the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival, ''Black Dynamite'' won the 2009

Golden Space Needle Award The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

for Best Film. ''Black Dynamite'' was released by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

on October 16, 2009. Sanders and others adapted ''Black Dynamite'' as an animated series for the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

. The animated ''Black Dynamite'' ran for two seasons from 2012 to 2014.

Aztec Warrior

In 2012, Sanders directed the comedy-action film, ''Aztec Warrior,'' starring Luis Guzman as a washed-up

Lucha Libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

wrestler who comes out of retirement The script was co-written by Sanders and Don Handfield, based on a story. ''Aztec Warrior'' was expected to be released in 2013, but "details on the Lionsgate project have been mum: production got underway in June of 2012, there is no release date and not much news in the in what should have been its year of release.". The film was finally released in 2016.

Personal

Sanders lives in Los Angeles, California. In addition to writing and directing, he is also a popular Los Angeles DJ, spinning under the name Suckapunch.

Filmography

''As writer/director:'' * '' Thick as Thieves'' (1999) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (TV series, 2012-2014) * ''Aztec Warrior'' (2016)

References

Notes

External links

Scott Sanders on ''Facebook''''Black Dynamite'' on ''Facebook''''Black Dynamite'' on ''Adult Swim''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Scott American male screenwriters African-American film directors Film directors from North Carolina Living people 1968 births University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina Screenwriters from North Carolina 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people People from North Carolina People from Washington, D.C. American film directors American screenwriters African-American screenwriters Television writers