Doug Lefler (born in

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 ...

) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer and

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and marke ...

, best known as director of the ''

Dragonheart ''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pet ...

'' fantasy adventure film sequel '' Dragonheart: A New Beginning'' and ''

The Last Legion ''The Last Legion'' is a 2007 historical action adventure film directed by Doug Lefler and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It stars Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwary ...

''.

Career

Lefler was born in Southern California, and started making his first home movies at the age of twelve. He started in the film industry as an animator, having made short films as a child and then attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...

. His classmates included

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios ...

John Musker John Edward Musker (born November 8, 1953) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He often collaborates with fellow director Ron Clements and is best known for writing and directing the Disney films '' The Great ...

and

Brad Bird Phillip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning forty years in both animation and live-action. Bird was born in Montana and grew up in ...

. After two years, he worked for Disney and other studios for several years as a

and animator, before progressing to directing. He worked for many years as a writer and storyboard artist on live-action features before getting his first chance to direct second unit on

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the '' Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1990 superhero film ''Darkman' ...

's ''

Army of Darkness ''Army of Darkness'' is a 1992 American comedy horror film directed, co-written and co-edited by Sam Raimi, co-produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell and co-written by Ivan Raimi. Starring Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it is the third ins ...

'' in 1991.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (2007) (director) *'' Dragonheart: A New Beginning'' (2000) (director) *''

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

'' (episode, 1998) (director) *'' Cold Reality/ Mortal Kombat: Conquest'' (episode, 1998) (director) *''

The Road to Calydon '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is a television series that was filmed in New Zealand and the United States, starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules. It is very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles. It ran for ...

'' (episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, 1995) (director) *'' The Wrong Path'' (episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, 1994) (director) *'' Hercules and the Circle of Fire'' (episode, 1994) (director) *''

'' (1991) (second unit director) *''

Steel Dawn ''Steel Dawn'' is a 1987 American post-apocalyptic science fiction action film directed by Lance Hool and starring Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi. The working title of the film, which mixes the genres of science fiction and western, was ''Desert ...

'' (1987) (screenwriter)

References

External links

* *
Doug Lefler's Online Graphic Novel
American animators Film producers from California American male screenwriters American television directors California Institute of the Arts alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American film producers American storyboard artists Screenwriters from California {{US-animator-stub