Tony Leech (born May 28, 1968) is an American director, screenwriter and editor who currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Tony attended

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, evangelist Oral Roberts. Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. While a student there, Leech and fellow ORU student Mark Steele (comedian/producer), along with some friends, wrote and performed a sketch comedy show called Standing Room Only, or SRO. Leech acted, wrote, directed, and edited for the '' Fire By Nite'' Christian variety show that was based at

Willie George Ministries Willie George is the founding pastor of Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Born and raised in Texas, George converted to Christianity while in high school. He and his wife, Deleva, have been married over 30 years. In addition to two sons and t ...

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. He also worked on projects with

Teen Mania Ministries Teen Mania International was an Evangelical Christian youth organization located in Dallas, Texas (formerly Garden Valley, Texas). Teen Mania focused primarily on four key programs, with a few additional smaller endeavors. It was one of the larges ...

, then based in Tulsa and headed by ORU-alumnus

Ron Luce Ronald Allan Luce, (born July 11, 1961) is the co-founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries which was located in Garden Valley, Texas. Together with his wife Katie, Ron founded Teen Mania in 1986 and led the organization until its bankruptc ...

. Tony acted in the 1990 music video/short film '' Beyond Belief'' by the

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

. He was a writer for the Christian variety show ''Carman: Time 2'' hosted by singer

Carman (singer) Carmelo Domenic Licciardello (January 19, 1956 – February 16, 2021), known by his stage name Carman, was an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, television host and evangelist. He was nominated for four Grammys, and sold ...

. In 1999, Leech acted in 3 feature films, ''Pit of Vipers'', ''

Holy Hollywood Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

'' (along with

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

and

Camille Keaton Camille Keaton (born July 20, 1947) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hills in the controversial 1978 film ''I Spit on Your Grave''. She began her career in Italy, making her film debut as Solange Beaur ...

) and '' Chillicothe'', a

Todd Edwards Todd Edward Imperatrice (born December 9, 1972), known professionally as Todd Edwards, is an American garage house record producer, DJ and singer from Bloomfield, New Jersey. He began producing primarily for New York's Nervous Records in the 19 ...

film on which he also served as first assistant director. Leech later served as co-writer, co-director, and editor of the 2005 animated feature film ''

Hoodwinked! ''Hoodwinked!'' is a 2005 computer-animated musical comedy mystery film. It retells the folktale ''Little Red Riding Hood'' as a police procedural, using backstories to show multiple characters' points of view. It was produced independently by ...

'', in conjunction with friends

Cory Edwards Cory Edwards (born August 21, 1968) is an American film director, screenwriter, and stand-up comedian. He is probably best known for directing, co-writing, and voice acting in '' Hoodwinked'' (2005), and for co-writing and voice acting in the ...

and

. The film was released by

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

. In 2006, he created and sold the animated project ''

Escape from Planet Earth ''Escape from Planet Earth'' is a 2013 computer animated comedy-adventure science fiction film produced by Rainmaker Entertainment and distributed by The Weinstein Company in the United States and Entertainment One in Canada, directed by Cal Bru ...

'' — a story about a group of aliens from around the universe who attempt a prison break from Area 51 — to

. He then collaborated with the Edwards brothers again to write ''

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil ''Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil'' (also known as ''Hoodwinked 2'') is a 2011 3D computer-animated spy comedy film and the sequel to 2005's ''Hoodwinked!'', directed by Mike Disa in his theatrical feature directorial debut. The film was also wr ...

'', the 2011 sequel to ''

''. Leech has also written, directed and edited a number of short films, including "Squared," selected as Horror Short of the Week by

Blumhouse Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum. It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as ''Paranormal Activity'', ''Insidiou ...

, "Gene," an official selection of the 2010

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...

, and "Exit Interview," winner of Chapter 7 for

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

's "The Story Beyond the Still" contest. Several of Leech's short films can be seen on

References

External links

* *http://vimeo.com/tonyleech *http://www.blumhouse.com/2017/04/27/horror-short-of-the-week-face-the-stranger-within-in-squared/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Leech, Tony Oral Roberts University alumni Living people 1968 births American male actors American film producers