Scott Sanders (born June 10, 1968) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his work on the films ''

Black Dynamite ''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-s ...

'' and '' Thick as Thieves''.

Early life

Sanders was born in

Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Pasquotank county, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and most populous city of Pasqu ...

and raised in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. His mother is Mrs. Estelle "Bunny" Sanders, the current mayor of

Roper, North Carolina Roper is a town in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. The population was at the Census. It was known as Lee's Mill (named for Thomas Lee) until 1890, when the John L. Roper Lumber Company was established in the town and its name ...

and a member of the UNC Board of Governors. His father, John Thomas Sanders (deceased), was an employee of

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and also owned and operated a popular D.C. area barbecue pit, Scott's BBQ, which he named after his son. Scott's BBQ was a popular eatery for local politicians; regular patrons included

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

and

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928April 19, 2021) was the 42nd vice president of the United States serving from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. He previously served as a U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976. ...

. Sanders attended

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a private, college preparatory, Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' (), alludi ...

where he graduated in 1986. He attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, graduating in 1991 with a degree in radio, TV, and Motion Pictures. One of Scott's closest childhood friends is actor

Ben Shenkman Ben Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series '' Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe ...

. He went to middle school with ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' cast member

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (; born May 4, 1967) is an American actress, comedian and singer. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory ...

; they had a scene together in a 7th-grade production of the play ''

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the Ward (law), ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book i ...

''.

Career

Television

Sanders first job upon arrival in Hollywood was working at

United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. ...

. When he was fired from that job, he started writing a spec script for a television show which led to him getting signed and becoming a television writer for TV shows such as ''

A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'', '' Roc'', and '' The Wayans Brothers''. He also did a commercial for Motorola.

Thick as Thieves

Sanders' film directorial debut came in 1998 with '' Thick as Thieves'', starring

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...

Michael Jai White Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, martial artist, and director. Though he has appeared in a variety of genres, White is best known for his Action film, action and martial arts films. His first major starring role an ...

Rebecca De Mornay Rebecca De Mornay (born August 29, 1959) is an American actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred in '' Risky Business''. De Mornay is also known for her roles in '' The Slugger's Wife'' (1985), '' Runaway Train'' (1985 ...

, and

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on Air America Radio's '' The Majority Report''. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Act ...

. Based on the novel of the same name by Patrick Quinn, the film was adapted for the screen by Sanders and Arthur Krystal. It premiered at the 1998

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and was distributed by HBO. One reviewer noted "the distinctive contribution of young, gifted writer-director Scott Sanders."

Black Dynamite

'' premiered at the

2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Awards *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize: Drama ...

and was picked up for distribution by

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

for worldwide distribution. Scott Sanders directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay along with its star

and Byron Minns. One critic described Black Dynamite as, "Scott Saunders' wickedly silly '70s-style blaxploitation spoof…that's intentionally and often delightfully shlocky; not to mention murky-looking as if its been sitting on shelf for a few decades." In addition to Sundance'', Black Dynamite'' appeared in many film festivals throughout 2009, including Seattle International,

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

, Karlovy Vary International, Munich,

Edinburgh International The Edinburgh International is an annual bonspiel, or curling tournament, that takes place in late November at the Murrayfield Curling Club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The tournament is held in a round robin format. History The tournament was starte ...

, Copenhagen Film Festival, Melbourne International, and Deauville American. At the 2009

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

, ''Black Dynamite'' won the 2009 Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film. ''Black Dynamite'' was released by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

on October 16, 2009. Sanders and others adapted ''Black Dynamite'' as an

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

series for the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

. The animated ''Black Dynamite'' ran for two seasons from 2012 to 2014.

Aztec Warrior

In 2012, Sanders directed the comedy-action film ''Aztec Warrior'' starring

Luis Guzman Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

as a washed-up

Lucha Libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

who comes out of retirement. The script was co-written by Sanders and

Don Handfield Don Handfield is an American filmmaker, author, and producer. Education and acting career Handfield studied theater and film at Ohio State University, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1993. His first job in media was as a production assi ...

, based on a story. ''Aztec Warrior'' was expected to be released in 2013, but "details on the Lionsgate project have been mum: production got underway in June of 2012, there is no release date and not much news in the in what should have been its year of release."

Personal life

Sanders lives in

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

. In addition to writing and directing, he is also a popular Los Angeles DJ, spinning under the name Suckapunch.

Filmography

''As writer/director:'' * '' Thick as Thieves'' (1999) * ''

'' (2009) * ''

'' (TV series, 2012–2014) * ''Aztec Warrior'' (unreleased)

References

Notes

External links

Scott Sanders
at IMDb
''Black Dynamite'' on ''Adult Swim''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Scott American male screenwriters African-American film directors Film directors from North Carolina Living people 1968 births University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina Screenwriters from North Carolina 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people People from North Carolina People from Washington, D.C. American male television writers African-American screenwriters African-American television writers American television writers