David Mickey Evans (born October 20, 1962) is an American film director and screenwriter. His films tend to focus on children and the challenges of childhood. A baseball fan, Evans directed and co-wrote ''

The Sandlot ''The Sandlot'' (released in some countries as ''The Sandlot Kids'') is a 1993 American coming-of-age sports comedy film co-written, directed, and narrated by David Mickey Evans. It tells the story of a group of young baseball players during the ...

'' (1993).

Life and career

Evans was born in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

on October 20, 1962. In 1980, he moved to

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, ...

for college. Evans attended

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

and graduated with a film degree in 1984. He got his start writing action-thriller films, but found his niche in the 1990s with family-oriented films that appealed to adults, children and critics alike. Evans became one of the highest paid screenwriters during this time, selling the screenplays to both ''

Radio Flyer Radio Flyer is an American toy company best known for its popular red toy wagon. Radio Flyer also produces scooters, tricycles, bicycles, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. History Antonio Pa ...

'' and ''

'' for over $1,000,000 each. The former was originally to be directed by Evans, but he was replaced by

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American film director, producer and actor. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters", Donner directed some of the mo ...

due to his inexperience. Reshoots followed after poor test screenings and the film budget jumped from $15,000,000 to $30,000,000. The original script called for more fantasy sequences involving a worm man and zombies, but these ideas were scrapped when Richard Donner replaced Evans. ''Radio Flyer'' opened to mostly mixed reviews from critics while ''The Sandlot'' received much more positive reviews and better box office results. Success for Evans became fleeting by the late 1990s, with films like ''

First Kid ''First Kid'' is a 1996 American slapstick comedy film directed by David Mickey Evans and starring Sinbad and Brock Pierce. It was mostly filmed in Richmond, Virginia. Plot Sam Simms is a Secret Service agent assigned by his superior, Wilkes, ...

'' and '' Ed'' bombing with critics and at the box office. He switched to more adult-oriented humor and material with '' After School Special'', but did not fare much better. Since then, Evans has written and directed numerous made-for-TV and direct-to-DVD films, including '' The Sandlot 2''.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, David M. 1962 births Living people Loyola Marymount University alumni 20th-century American male writers American male screenwriters Writers from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Film directors from Pennsylvania Screenwriters from Pennsylvania