Brian Yuzna

Last updated

Brian Yuzna
Brian Yuzna Cropped Picture.jpg
Yuzna in 2022
Born
Manila, Philippines
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Film producer
film director
screenwriter
SpouseCathy Cherry Yuzna
Children5, including Logan Yuzna

Brian Yuzna is an American film producer, director, and writer. He is best known for his work in the science fiction and horror film genres. Yuzna began his career as a producer for several films by director Stuart Gordon, such as Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), before making his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society (1989).

Contents

He also served as a co-writer for the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Yuzna was the first American filmmaker to adapt a manga, Bio Booster Armor Guyver , into a live-action feature, The Guyver (1991). He has directed several adaptations of the work of H. P. Lovecraft, and has assisted many first time directors, including Stuart Gordon, Christophe Gans, and Luis De La Madrid, in getting their projects made.

Early life

Yuzna was born in Manila, Philippines, to American parents. [1] [2] He grew up in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and Panama, before moving to the United States in the 1960s, settling in Atlanta, Georgia. [1] Yuzna was raised a Roman Catholic. [1] Throughout the 1970s, Yuzna lived on a commune in North Carolina and worked jobs as a carpenter and at a restaurant. [1]

Career

Yuzna began his career as a producer, co-producing the horror films Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dolls (1987) for his friend, director Stuart Gordon. [3] He also co-wrote From Beyond. [4] The same year, Yuzna co-wrote the comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids alongside Gordon. In 1989, he made his directorial debut with the satirical body horror film Society , which focuses on a wealthy Beverly Hills community who are of a mutant species who feed on the social classes beneath them. [5]

Yuzna went on to direct a series of horror sequels, including Bride of Re-Animator (1990), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990), and Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993), [6] before directing The Dentist (1996), a horror film about a murderous Los Angeles dentist who dentally tortures his victims. [7] Yuzna also directed its sequel, The Dentist 2 (1998). [8]

Having collected a large following in Europe, Yuzna started Fantastic Factory, with Julio Fernández, a label under the Barcelona film company Filmax, in the early-2000s. His goal was to produce "modestly budgeted genre (horror, science fiction, fantasy) films for the international market (shot in English language) using genre talent from all around the world and to develop local talent". [9]

He was last working as the producer of the Wehrmacht zombie movie Worst Case Scenario , directed by Richard Raaphorst, which takes place after a fictional World Cup 2006 finale between Germany and Netherlands where Germany loses and seeks revenge with a zombie invasion. In May 2009, it was announced that this project was dead. [10] The film eventually became Frankenstein's Army and was released in 2013. After four years, he returned to the director's chair and filmed Amphibious 3-D [11] which stars Michael Paré and Francis Magee. [12] [13]

In 2014, in Hollywood, the Cinefamily screened and celebrated the 25th anniversary of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with Yuzna as guest of honor. [14] In 2015, a retrospective of his work of 30 years, Brian Yuzna, A Retrospective, was presented and screened at the theater in the Soho House West Hollywood, curated by Diana Lado and produced by Logan Yuzna. [15] In 2016, a new Yuzna-directed film was announced, The Plastic Surgeon, starring Corbin Bernsen and producer by Yuzna's production house, Dark Arts Entertainment. [16] By the end of 2023, he was working on a novelization of the film Society. [17]

Distinctions

Personal life

He is married to Cathy Cherry Yuzna. They have four children: Conan Yuzna, Zoe Yuzna, Noah Yuzna and Logan Yuzna.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1978Self Portrait in BrainsYesYesYesCo-directed with Jimmy Dobbins
1985 Re-Animator NoNoYes
1986 From Beyond NoNoYes
Dolls NoNoYes
1989 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids NoStoryCo-producer
Society YesNoNo
1990 Bride of Re-Animator YesYesYes
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation YesStoryNoDirect-to-video
1991 The Guyver NoNoYes
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker NoYesYesDirect-to-video
1993 Return of the Living Dead 3 YesNoYes
Necronomicon YesYesYesSegments "The Library" and "Whispers"
1995 Crying Freeman NoNoYes
1996 The Dentist YesNoNo
1998 Progeny YesNoNo
The Dentist 2 YesNoNo
2000 Faust: Love of the Damned YesNoYes
2001 Arachnid NoNoYes
Dagon NoNoYes
2002 Darkness NoNoYes
2003 Beyond Re-Animator YesUncreditedYes
2004 Rottweiler YesNoYes
Romasanta NoNoYes
2005 Beneath Still Waters YesNoYes
The Nun NoNoYes
2008Takut: Faces of FearNoStoryYes
2010 Amphibious YesYesYes
2011 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero YesNoNo

Executive producer

Associate producer

Television

YearTitleNotes
1996 Tarzan: The Epic Adventures Episode "Tarzan's Return"
1997 Conan the Adventurer Episode "The Heart of The Elephant”

Guest appearances

Related Research Articles

<i>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids</i> 1989 film by Joe Johnston

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kristine Sutherland. In the film, a struggling inventor accidentally shrinks his kids, along with the neighbors' kids, down to the size of a quarter-inch. After being accidentally thrown out with the trash, they must work together and venture their way back through a backyard wilderness filled with dangerous insects and man-made hazards.

<i>Re-Animator</i> 1985 film by Stuart Gordon

Re-Animator is a 1985 American science fiction comedy horror film loosely based on the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft serial novelette "Herbert West–Reanimator". Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzna, the film stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a medical student who has invented a reagent which can re-animate deceased bodies. He and his classmate Dan Cain begin to test the serum on dead human bodies, and conflict with Dr. Carl Hill, who is infatuated with Cain's fiancée and wants to claim the invention as his own.

<i>Bride of Re-Animator</i> 1991 film by Brian Yuzna

Bride of Re-Animator is a 1990 American comedy horror film produced and directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Yuzna, Rick Fry, and Woody Keith. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Re-Animator and the second entry in the Re-Animator film series. Like its predecessor, it is loosely based on the serialized story "Herbert West–Reanimator" (1921-1922) by H. P. Lovecraft. Unlike its predecessor, it was released direct-to-video.

<i>Beyond Re-Animator</i> 2003 horror film

Beyond Re-Animator is a 2003 Spanish-American horror film directed by Brian Yuzna and starring Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Elsa Pataky, Simón Andreu and Santiago Segura. It is the third and final installment in the Re-Animator film series.

<i>Society</i> (film) 1989 film by Brian Yuzna

Society is a 1989 American body horror film directed by Brian Yuzna in his directorial debut, and starring Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez, Evan Richards, and Ben Meyerson. Its plot follows a Beverly Hills teenager who begins to suspect that his wealthy parents are part of a gruesome cult for the social elite.

<i>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show</i> American syndicated comic science fiction sitcom

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show is an American syndicated comic science fiction series based on the 1989 film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. It expands upon the original film's concept of a shrinking experiment gone wrong to include a myriad of experiments gone awry. It debuted in syndication on September 27, 1997, and ran for three consecutive seasons, concluding with the 66th episode on May 20, 2000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Gordon</span> American film and theatre director and writer (1947–2020)

Stuart Alan Gordon was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon began directing films in 1985. Most of Gordon's cinematic output was in the horror genre, though he also ventured into science fiction and film noir.

<i>The Dentist</i> 1996 film by Brian Yuzna

The Dentist is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, and Charles Finch. It stars Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman, Earl Boen and Ken Foree. It follows a successful but mentally unstable dentist in Los Angeles who begins committing murder. It is the first installment in The Dentist film series, followed by The Dentist 2.

<i>The Guyver</i> 1991 science fiction superhero film

The Guyver is a 1991 science fiction tokusatsu superhero film directed by Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, and produced by Brian Yuzna. Loosely based on the Japanese manga series of the same name by Yoshiki Takaya, the film was produced in conjunction with Shochiku Films, the film stars Mark Hamill, Vivian Wu, Jack Armstrong, Jimmie Walker, and David Gale.

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Joseph Eggleston Johnston II is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), The Rocketeer (1991), Jumanji (1995), Jurassic Park III (2001), The Wolfman (2010), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

<i>Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves</i> 1997 film by Dean Cundey

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves is a 1997 American science fiction comedy film, and the third installment in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series. The film marks the directorial debut of cinematographer Dean Cundey, who previously served as director of photography for a 4D ride known as Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! which debuted in 1994.

<i>From Beyond</i> (film) 1986 film by Stuart Gordon

From Beyond is a 1986 science-fiction body horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, loosely based on the short story of the same name by H. P. Lovecraft. It was written by Dennis Paoli, Gordon and Brian Yuzna, and stars Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree and Ted Sorel.

<i>Honey, I Shrunk the Kids</i> (franchise) American media franchise

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is an American media franchise consisting of a series of family-science fiction-comedy films and a television adaptation, among other works, based on a concept created by Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, and an original story co-written by Gordon, Yuzna, and Ed Naha. Following the release of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), and its subsequent financial and critical success, two sequels and a television series followed; titled Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997), and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, respectively. Another sequel titled Shrunk entered development in 2019.

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<i>Amphibious</i> (2010 film) 2010 Indonesian film

Amphibious is a 2010 thriller horror film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Yuzna, John Penney, Somtow Sucharitkul and San Fu Maltha. It stars Francis Magee, Janna Fassaert and Michael Paré.

<i>Return of the Living Dead 3</i> 1993 film by Brian Yuzna

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Towlson 2014, p. 187.
  2. Crussells 2009, p. 249.
  3. Towlson 2014, pp. 188–189.
  4. Towlson 2014, p. 189.
  5. Towlson 2014, p. 190.
  6. Towlson 2014, pp. 191–194.
  7. Towlson 2014, p. 194.
  8. Towlson 2014, p. 195.
  9. Yuzna profile Archived December 25, 2005, at the Wayback Machine , Comics2film.com; accessed September 25, 2015.
  10. "Welcome at Gorehound Canned Film". Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
  11. "First Creature Pics from Brian Yuzna's 'Amphibious 3-D'". November 9, 2009.
  12. "First Photos of Yuzna's Amphibious Sea Scorpions". June 8, 2012.
  13. "Italy Braces for Fantasy Horror Award Event". August 3, 2012.
  14. "HEAVY MIDNITES: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (25th Anniversary!)". www.cinefamily.org. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  15. "BRIAN YUZNA A RETROSPECTIVE PRESENTED BY FREIXENET". AP Images. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  16. Kieran Fisher (October 27, 2016). "Brian Yuzna and Corbin Bernsen to Reunite for The Plastic Surgeon". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  17. Michael Gingold (December 20, 2023). "Brian Yuzna On The Novelization Of His Cult Classic SOCIETY—And A Possible Sequel". Fangoria.com. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  18. "Parlament de Brian Yuzna al ser nomenat Membre d'Honor de l'Acadèmia del Cinema Català". academiadelcinema.cat. Retrieved January 8, 2016.

Sources