Andrew Van Slee (born 4 June 1962) is a Canadian-born independent

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

. His most successful work was the 2001 film ''

Totally Blonde Totally Blonde is a 2001 comedy film written and directed by Andrew Van Slee, and starring Krista Allen, Maeve Quinlan, and Michael Bublé. The musical soundtrack was released as the album '' Totally Bublé''. The airhead comedy was Bublé's ...

''.

Career

Van Slee was born on 4 June 1965 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. He was trained as an opera singer and pianist. As a young man he became an actor, appearing in various local TV and film productions in Vancouver. He then studied at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ar ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. At age 21 he moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

where he became a sales manager for the publisher

MacLean Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and Hu ...

. After winning a lottery, he returned to Vancouver with his wife and opened ATV Studios, an acting school, as well as the extra casting agency ''Moo-vie Kidz'' for child actors in

. Van Slee worked in the casting department for many TV movies between 1989 and 1994. In an article for the Independent Filmmakers Alliance Newsletter, he praised the value of the casting job as a way of learning the ropes in the film industry, working closely with the directors. He was a Line Producer/Production Manager on the 2001 film ''L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve'' with

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...

and

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

, and formed his own production company ''Extraordinary Media Group'' to make several independent films. He obtained a job with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

as a producer and composer. In this role, in 2008 he created ''Total Pop Star'', an online singing competition.

Work

Van Slee's successful 2001 film ''Totally Blonde'' starred

Krista Allen Krista Allen (born April 5, 1971) is an American actress, model and stand-up comic. She is best known for her work in the television series ''Days of Our Lives'', '' Baywatch Hawaii'', and the erotic TV series '' Emmanuelle in Space''. Allen als ...

Maeve Quinlan Maeve Quinlan (born November 16, 1964, Chicago) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Megan Conley for 11 years in ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' and for the series ''South of Nowhere''. Raised in Northfield, a North Shore sub ...

and the singer

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songb ...

. Van Slee produced the film's soundtrack, ''

Totally Bublé ''Totally Bublé: Original Songs from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Totally Blonde'' is an EP released by Canadian Jazz performer Michael Bublé. The EP features audio and video sections, containing all seven tracks on the EP in both audio and v ...

'', which was a

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Top 20 album for a few weeks in 2003. Most of the songs on the short album were written by Van Slee. The CD featured

(vocals), Ian Putz (saxophone), Neil Nicholson (trombone),

Bob Murphy Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Murphy may refer to: Sports Ice hockey *Robert Ronald Murphy or Ron Murphy (1933–2014), Canadian ice hockey player *Bob Murphy (ice hockey) (born 1951), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player *Rob Murphy (ice h ...

(piano), Miles Hill (bass) and Buff Allen (drums). Van Slee also produced Bublé's first music video DVD. Other films produced by Van Slee through his production company Extraordinary Media Group include ''Net Games'' and '' Adam & Evil''.

Films

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Slee, Andrew 1965 births Living people Film directors from Vancouver