Sheldon Lettich ( ; born January 14, 1951) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is best known for his collaborations with

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

and his work in the action film genre.

Early life

He was born in New York City, but moved to California at a young age and grew up in the Los Angeles area. After graduation from high school he spent nearly four years in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

, serving as a radio operator in South Vietnam with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, and later with the elite 1st Force Reconnaissance Company based at

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...

, California. He worked his way through college as a professional photographer, and attended the

AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private not-for-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on stor ...

's Center for Advanced Film Studies as a

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (o ...

Fellow. Although his initial career goal was to become a director of photography, at the AFI his interests branched out to encompass writing and directing, which became the two fields where he found eventual success in the entertainment business.

Writing for the stage

Based partly upon his experiences in Vietnam, he co-authored the renowned play ''Tracers'' with a group of Vietnam vets who were also aspiring actors. First performed July 4, 1980 at the

Odyssey Theater The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

in Los Angeles, the play then traveled to Joseph Papp's Public Theater in New York City, the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago (directed by Gary Sinise), the Royal Court Theater in London, and numerous venues worldwide. It received both

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

and L.A. Drama Critics Awards, and is still being performed throughout the world.

Screenplays

Around the same time, Lettich was writing numerous spec screenplays. One of these, co-written with Josh Becker, subsequently became the cult classic '' Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except'' (also known as ''Stryker's War''), which starred

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film '' Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low- ...

, and directed by Becker, both frequent collaborators of

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' ...

. Eventually his screenplays began attracting the attention of producers in Hollywood. He co-authored the Cold War drama ''

Russkies ''Russkies'' is a 1987 American comedy-drama film starring Whip Hubley and Leaf Phoenix, directed by Rick Rosenthal with cinematography by Reed Smoot. Plot A few nights before Independence Day, three 12-year old military brats (Danny, Adam, ...

'', which was the first starring role for a young

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...

. Around the same time he wrote the screenplay for the now-classic martial arts film '' Bloodsport'', which launched the career of

. One of his Vietnam-based screenplays caught the eye of

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

, which resulted in an overall deal with Stallone's White Eagle Productions, and led to him co-writing '' Rambo III'' with Stallone. The success of ''Bloodsport'' not only turned Jean-Claude Van Damme into an international action star, but it also forged a long and ongoing friendship with the man who wrote it. Van Damme helped to launch Lettich's directing career with the film '' Lionheart'', which became Van Damme's first movie to be released theatrically by a major U.S. studio. This was followed by '' Double Impact'', which was filmed in Hong Kong, with Lettich directing Van Damme in a challenging double role as twin brothers seeking revenge for their parents' murder. Lettich next discovered Mark Dacascos, who made his starring debut in '' Only the Strong'', a film that introduced the Brazilian martial art of

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th centur ...

to international audiences. He also directed Dolph Lundgren in '' The Last Patrol'' and

Daniel Bernhardt Daniel Bernhardt (born 31 August 1965) is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist. Career Bernhardt made his acting debut in the leading role in '' Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite'' (1996). He also appeared in two of its sequels and starred in ...

in '' Perfect Target''. Continuing his long association with Van Damme, Lettich was a writer and a producer on the historical

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

film, '' Legionnaire'', which was filmed on location in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. And he directed '' The Order'', an action-thriller starring Van Damme and

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film '' The Ten ...

, which was filmed on locations in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

. In 2006 he directed and co-wrote '' The Hard Corps'', an urban action-romance. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Vivica Fox, the film was shot on locations around

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada, and on sound stages in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

, and was financed and released worldwide by

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

. Lettich stated he has always wanted to make a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

movie that he wrote, but after seeing '' Tropic Thunder'' he felt that no one would take a Vietnam war movie seriously anymore.

Filmography

References

External links

Official website

Sheldon Lettich's posts on VanDammeFan.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lettich, Sheldon 1951 births Film producers from New York (state) Living people American male screenwriters Place of birth missing (living people) Writers from New York City AFI Conservatory alumni Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state)