Anthony Waller (born 24 October 1959) is a Lebanese-born British filmmaker.

Early life

Waller was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

to English parents, and was raised there and in England. He attended

Sidcot School Sidcot School is a British co-educational private school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school is based in the Mendip Hills near the village of W ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...

, graduating in 1981.

Career

Waller began his professional career in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, and became a prolific commercial director, also writing commercial jingles. He made his feature film debut with the 1995 horror-thriller '' Mute Witness'', shot entirely on-location in

Moscow, Russia Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The film won Waller the Special Jury Prize at the

Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer, formerly known as Fantastica and then Fantastic'Arts, is an annual international film festival of horror and science fiction films. History The film festival has been held each yea ...

, and was nominated for Best Horror Film at the

22nd Saturn Awards The 22nd Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 1995, were held on June 25, 1996.An American Werewolf in Paris ''An American Werewolf in Paris'' is a 1997 comedy horror film directed by Anthony Waller, screenplay by Tim Burns, Tom Stern, and Waller, and starring Tom Everett Scott and Julie Delpy. It follows the general concept of, and was originally c ...

'', a sequel to the horror comedy classic ''

An American Werewolf in London ''An American Werewolf in London'' is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and ...

'' (1981). The film received generally negative reviews and was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

. Waller subsequently directed the crime film '' The Guilty'' (2000); starring

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...

, the horror film ''

Nine Miles Down ''Nine Miles Down'' is a 2009 horror film based on the Well to Hell, a widespread urban legend (spread mostly in the 1990s) that Russian scientists had drilled so deep that they had broken through into hell and recorded the screams of the damne ...

'' (2009); starring

Adrian Paul Adrian Paul Hewett (born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, martial artist and director best known for the title role of Duncan MacLeod on the television series '' Highlander: The Series''. In 1997, he founded the Peace Fund charitable organis ...

, and the docudrama ''

The Singularity Is Near ''The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology'' is a 2005 non-fiction book about artificial intelligence and the future of humanity by inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil. A sequel book, '' The Singularity Is Nearer'', was released on J ...

'' (2010). After a 13-year hiatus, Waller returned to directing with the 2023 Russian television series ''Treyder''. The same year, he directed the horror film ''The Piper''.

Personal life

He is signed up for

cryopreservation Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where biological material - cells, tissues, or organs - are frozen to preserve the material for an extended period of time. At low temperatures (typically or using liquid nitrogen) any cell ...

with the

Alcor Life Extension Foundation The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is an American nonprofit, federally tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Alcor advocates for, researches, and performs cryonics, the ...

, since 2003.

Filmography

Film

*'' Mute Witness'' (

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

) *''

An American Werewolf in Paris ''An American Werewolf in Paris'' is a 1997 comedy horror film directed by Anthony Waller, screenplay by Tim Burns, Tom Stern, and Waller, and starring Tom Everett Scott and Julie Delpy. It follows the general concept of, and was originally c ...

'' (

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

) *'' The Guilty'' (

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

) *''

'' (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

) *''The Singularity Is Near'' (

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

) *''The Piper'' (2023)

Television

* ''Treyder'' (2023)

References

External links

About Anthony Waller
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Anthony British film directors Cryonicists Living people 1959 births People educated at Sidcot School Alumni of the National Film and Television School British screenwriters British film producers British expatriates in Germany British film editors People from Beirut British television directors