Daniel Millican

Last updated

Daniel Millican (born June 6, 1965) is an American writer/director in the film industry and YouTube personality. His most recent film The Imposter , starring Kevin Max of dcTalk [1] was released in 2010. His previous movie, Striking Range, starring Lou Diamond Phillips, was released in 2006 by Sony Pictures. Millican's movies have played all around the world, distributed by companies Curb Entertainment, Artist View Entertainment, Sony Pictures, First Look Media and played on television, both cable and free TV like Lifetime Movie Network and Starz/Encore. Actors like Lou Diamond Phillips, Adam Baldwin, Sean Patrick Flanery, Mimi Rogers, Joey Lauren Adams, Yancy Butler and Tom Wright have starred in Millican's movies.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Millican was born in Austin, Texas and moved up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area before graduating high school. He began his interest in filmmaking while in junior high, writing skits and stories. While a junior in high school, Millican helped a college friend with a communications project and fell in love with the industry. He began writing scripts almost immediately. Millican attended three different high schools (Dripping Springs, Austin Anderson, and graduated from Kennedale south of Fort Worth, Texas).

College

Millican attended and graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington from 1983 to 1989 with a bachelor's degree in communications with a major in Radio/TV and a double minor in English and Drama. While at UTA, he was a member of Chi Alpha and met his wife Jill in the organization. He also took film electives and completed several short films.

Career

After graduating, Millican went to work in broadcasting and video/film production, in both small and large venue. Later Millican would be the General Manager for a production facility, directing and producing. Millican has won over 30 international awards for his writing, directing, editing and producing of films, television, music videos, commercials and corporate films.

Daniel Millican made the leap from Commercials and Music Videos to features in 2000. With his first film The Keyman: Finding Redemption , Millican explored the issues of regret and abandonment on the streets and the destructive power of unforgiveness. That movie starred Adam Baldwin and is being released worldwide by Artistview Entertainment out of LA. The movie was inspired by a near miss when Millican was a new parent. When the film was being cast, Millican chose veteran Los Angeles actor Tom Wright to play the role of a homeless man. Wright has gone on to have a role in every one of Millican's films.

Millican's sophomore project was the film A Promise Kept starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Joey Lauren Adams, Jeff Speakman and Mimi Rogers (The Gunman for US video). This movie asks the question, "Do we take justice into our own hands, even for the most noble causes"? Worldwide sales were strong and the movie was released on video in the summer of 2004. Lifetime Movie Network premiered the film on television in January 2005. The film was shot in and around Millican's birth city of Austin (even though he lives in the Dallas Fort Worth area) in the winter of 2002 and 2003.

Striking Range is drawn from Millican's experiences working in the corporate environment. In addition to Lou Diamond Phillips, the movie also stars Yancy Butler, Glenn Moreshower and Jeff Speakman. The working title of the movie was Bloodlines as Millican had weaved the central plot around a hereditary blood disease, porphyria. Later, as that plot point was moved back a little, the title was changed to Striking Range. The movie's central message is one of the devastating effects of narcissism. The movie opens with a quote from 19th century theologian Charles Finney "the natural state of man is selfishness." This was from Finney's sermon entitled True and False Conversion. [2]

The Imposter is Millican's fourth film and his first to be targeted for the Christian audience (although Christian themes are woven through all his movies). The movie's main character, Johnny C, played by Max, is a Christian rock star for a popular band called Grand_design. The plot mirrors the prodigal son story from the Bible with a few significant twists. The Imposter was released by PureFlix Entertainment in February 2010.

"Rising Stars" is the fifth film by Millican and stars Barry Corbin, Catherine Mary Stewart, Christian recording star Rebecca St. James and Fisher Stevens. The story centers on a group of older teens who are trying to make it big in film and music.

Millican has been compared to fellow Austin-native Robert Rodriguez-as far as the technical areas[ citation needed ]. Like Rodriguez, Millican writes, directs, produces and edits his own features and even occasionally composes and performs the musical score.

Millican in 2018 founded the Taking Off YouTube channel focusing on general aviation news, rambles and a show InTheHanger.

Personal life

Millican lives with wife Jill, his two children.

Related Research Articles

<i>She Done Him Wrong</i> 1933 American crime/comedy film by Lowell Sherman

She Done Him Wrong is a 1933 pre-Code American crime/comedy film starring Mae West and Cary Grant, directed by Lowell Sherman. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hudson, and Louise Beavers. The film was adapted from the successful 1928 Broadway play Diamond Lil by Mae West. The film is famous for West's many double entendres and quips, including her best-known, "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" She Done Him Wrong was a box-office success and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

<i>Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery</i> 1997 film by Jay Roach

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is a 1997 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the first installment in the Austin Powers series. It stars franchise co-producer and writer Mike Myers, playing the roles of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil, Powers' arch-enemy. Supporting roles are played by Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, and Michael York. The film is a parody of the James Bond films and other popular culture from the 1960s, centering on a flamboyant, promiscuous secret agent and a criminal mastermind, arch-nemeses who go into and come out of cryostasis at the same time as each other as their conflict spans decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Maltin</span> American film critic and film historian

Leonard Michael Maltin is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published annually from 1969 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimi Rogers</span> American actress

Miriam Rogers is an American actress. Her notable film roles are Gung Ho (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Desperate Hours (1990), and Full Body Massage (1995). She garnered the greatest acclaim of her career for her role in the religious drama The Rapture (1991), with critic Robin Wood declaring that she "gave one of the greatest performances in the history of the Hollywood cinema." Rogers has since appeared in Reflections on a Crime (1994), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Lost in Space (1998), Ginger Snaps (2000), The Door in the Floor (2004), and For a Good Time, Call... (2012). Her extensive work in television includes Paper Dolls (1984), Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997), The Loop (2006–2007), and recurring roles on The X-Files (1998–1999), Two and a Half Men (2011–2015), Wilfred (2014), Mad Men (2015), Bosch (2014–2021), and Bosch: Legacy (2022).

<i>Dazed and Confused</i> (film) 1993 American film by Richard Linklater

Dazed and Confused is a 1993 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film features a large ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars, including Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Matthew McConaughey, Nicky Katt, Joey Lauren Adams, and Rory Cochrane. The plot follows different groups of Texas teenagers during the last day of school in 1976.

<i>Young Guns II</i> 1990 film

Young Guns II is a 1990 American Western action film and a sequel to Young Guns (1988). It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Christian Slater, and features William Petersen as Pat Garrett. It was written by John Fusco and directed by Geoff Murphy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Diamond Phillips</span> Filipino American actor and film director

Louis Diamond Phillips (born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film La Bamba (1987). For Stand and Deliver (1988), Phillips was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an Independent Spirit Award.

<i>The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles</i> American television series

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina and on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The series was a Lucasfilm/Amblin Television production in association with Paramount Network Television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Christian Olsen</span> American actor

Eric Christian Olsen, is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles, and of Austin in the film Not Another Teen Movie.

<i>The Man Who Fell to Earth</i> 1976 film by Nicolas Roeg

The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fantasy drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought, but finds himself at the mercy of human vices and corruption. It stars David Bowie, Candy Clark, Buck Henry, and Rip Torn. It was produced by Michael Deeley and Barry Spikings. The same novel was later adapted as a television film in 1987. A 2022 television series with the same name serves as a continuation of the film 45 years later, including featuring Newton as a character and showing archival footage from the film.

<i>The Front Page</i> (1974 film) 1974 film by Billy Wilder

The Front Page is a 1974 American black comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's 1928 play of the same name, which inspired several other films and televised movies and series episodes.

The Imposter is a 2008 Christian film that was shot in January and February 2008 in and around Burleson, Texas. The movie stars Kevin Max, Kerry Livgren, and Jeff Deyo, and is produced by Jeff Rodgers and Daniel Millican, who also wrote and directed it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Blair</span> American TV and film actress (1933–2013)

Patricia Blair was an American television and film actress, primarily on 1950s and 1960s television. She is best known as Rebecca Boone in all six seasons of NBC's Daniel Boone, with co-stars Fess Parker, Darby Hinton, Veronica Cartwright, and Ed Ames. She also played Lou Mallory on the ABC western series The Rifleman, in which she appeared in 22 episodes with Chuck Connors, Johnny Crawford and Paul Fix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Metcalf</span> American film director

Brian A. Metcalf is an American filmmaker. He wrote, directed and produced the Lionsgate crime thriller film Adverse, released in February 2021.

<i>Dangerous Touch</i> 1994 film

Dangerous Touch is a 1994 American erotic thriller film directed by Lou Diamond Phillips and written by Kurt Voss and Phillips. It stars Phillips and Kate Vernon. It was released direct-to-video on October 12, 1994.

<i>Dark Streets</i> (2008 film) 2008 American film

Dark Streets is a 2008 film adaptation of the play by Glenn M. Stewart, directed by Rachel Samuels from a screenplay by Wallace King. The film stars Gabriel Mann, Bijou Phillips, Izabella Miko, Elias Koteas, Michael Fairman and Toledo Diamond. The film's blues score is composed by George Acogny, featuring B.B. King. It premiered at the 2008 CineVegas Film Festival on June 14, winning a Special Jury Prize for "the collaborative craftsmanship in achieving its visual splendor and showmanship" and was given a limited release on December 12. Dark Streets received negative reviews from critics, praising the 1930s aesthetic and musical numbers, but criticized the use of film noir elements propping up an unengaging story.

<i>Con Express</i> 2002 American film

Con Express is a 2002 direct-to-video action film with a political edge, starring by Arnold Vosloo, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Tim Thomerson. It was written by Paul A. Birkett and Terry Cunningham and directed by Cunningham. The movie uses film footage from Runaway Train (1985) and Cliffhanger (1993).

<i>Blind Justice</i> (1986 film) 1986 American TV series or program

Blind Justice is a 1986 American drama television film directed by Rod Holcomb and starring Tim Matheson, Mimi Kuzyk, and Philip Charles MacKenzie. It was written by Josephine Cummings and Richard Yalem. The film first aired on March 9, 1986 on CBS. The film is based on a true story.

<i>Tremors</i> (franchise) American film series and television show

The Tremors franchise consists of a series of American monster comedy-horror films and a spin-off television show, with a plot centered around attacks from subterranean worm-like creatures known as Graboids. It began in 1990 with the release of Tremors, which spawned a series of direct-to-video films and the titular television series. In 2017, a second television series was ordered to air on Syfy, and a pilot was shot, but the project was ultimately cancelled.

<i>Born a Champion</i> 2021 American martial arts film

Born a Champion is a 2021 American martial arts drama directed by Alex Ranarivelo and written by Sean Patrick Flanery and Ranarivelo. It stars Flanery, Dennis Quaid and Katrina Bowden. The film also features mixed martial arts fighter Edson Barboza, with appearances by Renzo Gracie and Mickey Gall.

References