Jump to content

William Lustig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Lustig
Born (1955-02-01) February 1, 1955 (age 69)
Occupations

William "Bill" Lustig (born February 1, 1955, in The Bronx, New York) is an American film director[1] and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. He is the nephew of former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta.

Film career

[edit]

As a film director, Lustig is best known for his low-budget horror films Maniac,[2] Vigilante, Uncle Sam, and the Maniac Cop series.[3] Lustig has also worked as an actor playing small roles in his own films as well as in films by Sam Raimi, most notably as a fake shemp in Army of Darkness and a dockworker in Darkman.[4] As of 2009, Lustig is the CEO of Blue Underground; an entertainment company specializing in the release of obscure films and exploitation films on DVD.[5] He also produced a remake of his film Maniac (2012) and is rumoured to be producing a new upcoming Maniac Cop with Nicolas Winding Refn.[6] In an interview with Vulture in January 2023, Refn, when asked whether the creation of the series was still under discussion, said: "All I can say is, unfortunately, it’s not going to happen."[7]

Selected filmography

[edit]
Year Title Notes
1974 Death Wish Apprentice editor (uncredited)
1976 The Zebra Force Stunts (uncredited)
1977 Hot Honey Credited as Billy Bagg
The Violation of Claudia
Sylvia Production manager (uncredited)
Assistant director (uncredited)
1978 The Squeeze Production manager (uncredited)
1980 Inferno
Maniac Also producer
Uncredited role as Al the hotel manager
Bella Production manager (uncredited)
1982 Vigilante AKA Street Gang
Also producer
Uncredited role as First man exiting elevator
Tenebrae Production manager (uncredited)
1988 Maniac Cop Uncredited role as Motel Manager
Cameron's Closet Uncredited cameo appearance as Man eating ice cream
1989 Hit List
Relentless Also role as Cop #2
1990 Darkman Cameo appearance as Dockworker #4
Maniac Cop 2
1992 Army of Darkness Cameo appearance as Fake Shemp
1993 Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence Credited as Alan Smithee
1995 The Expert Uncredited
Co-directed with Rick Avery
1996 Uncle Sam Direct-to-video
2012 Maniac Producer
TBA Untitled Maniac Cop remake Executive producer

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lustig, William; Steve Voce (Spring 1995). "William Lustig; Interview by Steve Voce". Psychotronic Video. 20: 52–59.
  2. ^ Canby, Vincent (1981-01-31). "Maniac". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  3. ^ "NYC Horror Film Festival Announces 2009 Lineup and Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient". DreadCentral. November 6, 2009.
  4. ^ March 2008 Interview with L.A. Record
  5. ^ Cultfilms en Kutfilms Interview with Bill Lustig (April 13, 2007)
  6. ^ "'Maniac Cop' Sales Art Presented by Nicolas Winding Refn!". Bloody Disgusting. 13 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Nicolas Winding Refn Answers Some Questions, Leaves the Rest to His Shrinks". Vulture. 9 January 2023.
[edit]