David DeCoteau (born January 5, 1962) is an American
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, where he was raised. DeCoteau was an only child and was adopted at birth. His father was of Native American heritage.
DeCoteau's mother died of cancer when he was eight years old. As a teenager, DeCoteau developed a love for film, and worked as a theater projectionist beginning at age fifteen.
Career
He has worked professionally in the movie business since he was 18. He got his start through
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
, who hired him in 1980 as a production assistant at
New World Pictures
New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...
. In 1986, DeCoteau directed and produced his first feature film for
Charles Band
Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies.
Career
Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...
.
He is the founder of Rapid Heart Pictures, where his films include '' A Talking Cat!?!'' and the ''1313'' series. He has said of his working methods, "I always wanted to make what I could sell. So I just promised myself that I would not be set in my ways. If somebody said, ‘Look, we need a horror film, we need a creature feature, we need a Western, we need a period costume drama,’ I was able to put it together pretty quickly."
Throughout his career DeCoteau has been credited under a variety of
pseudonyms
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...
: Ellen Cabot, Julian Breen, Victoria Sloan, Richard Chasen, Jack Reed, Martin Tate, Joseph Tennent, and Mary Crawford. DeCoteau revealed that he originally did not want his name to be associated with films that did not turn out as intended.
DeCoteau has directed 102 motion pictures between 1986 and 2014.
Personal life
He resides in
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...