Lance Hool

Last updated
Lance Hool
Born
Mexico
Alma mater Universidad de las Américas Puebla
Occupations
  • Film producer
  • film director
  • actor
Years active1970–present
Children3

Lance Hool is a Mexican film director, film producer, and actor. He directed the action films Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) and Steel Dawn (1987), the war film One Man's Hero (1999), and the romantic drama film 2 Hearts (2020). He also founded the Santa Fe-based film studio Santa Fe Studios in 2011.

Contents

Early life

Hool was born in Mexico [1] and grew up in Mexico City in a family largely involved in the film industry. According to him, his great-grandfather worked as a financier for Charlie Chaplin. [2] Hool and his brother were childhood friends of Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. [3]

Hool attended the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, graduating with a B.A. and an M.B.A. [4] [5]

Career

Hool made his acting debut in the Howard Hawks film Rio Lobo , which was released in 1970 and was Hawks's last film before his death. [6] He worked in the Mexican film industry for 20 years, [7] and was the US representative for the Mexican national film distribution company Pelmex between 1977 and 1980. [8]

He produced the thriller films Wolf Lake (1978), 10 to Midnight (1983), and The Evil That Men Do (1984), the adventure film Flipper (1996), and the comedy films Pure Luck (1991) with Sean Daniel and McHale's Navy (1997). [9] [10] [1] [11] [12] [13] Hool directed the Chuck Norris–starring action film Missing in Action 2: The Beginning , which was released in 1985. [14] He also directed the 1987 science fiction action film Steel Dawn . It starred Patrick Swayze and was produced by Hool with his brother, Conrad Hool. Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrote, "Steel Dawn, ... has been directed by Lance Hool to emphasize Mr. Swayze's biceps," and Los Angeles Times critic Michael Wilmington wrote, "Hool directs all this so lethargically you might suspect he's gone missing in action himself." [15] [16] Hool directed and produced the historical war film One Man's Hero , about John Riley and the Saint Patrick's Battalion's role in the Mexican–American War, which was released in 1999. [13] Hool cast his sons Brett and Jason in the film. [17] For the Los Angeles Times , Kevin Thomas wrote in a review of the film that it was "directed with vigor and passion by Hool", while Paul Cullum of LA Weekly called his direction "flaccid". [18] [7] Hool then executive produced the Simon Wincer film Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001) and the Tony Scott film Man on Fire (2004). [19] [6]

Lance founded the Santa Fe–based film studio Santa Fe Studios in October 2011, where his son, Jason, was hired as president. [20] [6] It became New Mexico's second-largest film studio, following Albuquerque Studios. [21] Negotiations to open the studio had taken place the year before, when, in an attempt to increase economic growth in Santa Fe, Richardson offered Hool a ten-million-dollar economic development grant to build the studio south of the city, while then–chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico structured the studio's land and financing package. [11] The project was considered controversial among residents of Santa Fe due to Hool's early ties to Richardson. Hool and his associates were sued by attorneys for Santa Fe County for the studio's unpaid debt of over $2.3 million in 2016. [3]

Hool directed the romantic drama film 2 Hearts , inspired by the story of Leslie and Jorge Bacardi of the Bacardi family after Hool's brother, Conrad, met Jorge on a cruise. It was co-written by Robin U. Russin with Hool's daughter, Veronica, and co-produced by Hool with Conrad with a score by Hool's son, Brett, and casting direction by his niece, Caral. [22] The film finished principal photography in July 2018. It was released in theaters in October 2020 and distributed by Freestyle Releasing. [2] After being released onto Netflix, the film became the platform's most-watched film for a week in 2021. [23]

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorProducerNotesRefs.
1979Survival RunNoYes
1979 Wolf Lake NoYes [10]
1980 Caboblanco NoYes
1983 10 to Midnight NoYes [12]
1984 The Evil That Men Do NoYesExecutive producer [1]
1984 Missing in Action NoYesExecutive producer and story writer [24]
1985 Missing in Action 2: The Beginning YesNo [25]
1987 Steel Dawn YesYes [15]
1988 The Tracker NoYesTelevision film [6]
1989OptionsNoYes [26]
1989 Damned River NoYes [27]
1991 Pure Luck NoYes [9]
1993 Gunmen NoYesExecutive producer [28]
1993Born to RunNoYesTelevision film; executive producer [29]
1993The Cover Girl MurdersNoYesTelevision film [30]
1994 The Air Up There NoYesExecutive producer [31]
1994 Roadflower NoYes
1994 Flashfire NoYes
1996 Flipper NoYesExecutive producer [11]
1997 McHale's Navy NoYesExecutive producer [13]
1999 One Man's Hero YesYes [18]
2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles NoYes [26]
2004 Club Dread NoYesExecutive producer and assistant director [32]
2004 Man on Fire NoYesExecutive producer [6]
2011 The Cup NoYesExecutive producer [33]
2020 2 Hearts YesYes [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Norris</span> American martial artist and actor (born 1940)

Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Shortly after, in Hollywood, Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris went on to appear in a minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became a hit, and he soon became a popular action film star.

<i>Red Dawn</i> 1984 action film directed by John Milius

Red Dawn is a 1984 American action drama film directed by John Milius with a screenplay by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. The film depicts a fictional World War III centering on a military invasion of the United States by an alliance of Soviet, Warsaw Pact, and Communist Latin American states. The story follows a group of teenage guerillas, known as the Wolverines, in Soviet-occupied Colorado. The film stars Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey, with supporting roles played by Ben Johnson, Darren Dalton, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron O'Neal, William Smith and Powers Boothe.

<i>From Dusk till Dawn</i> 1996 horror film

From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino from a concept and story by Robert Kurtzman. Starring Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Tarantino, Ernest Liu, and Juliette Lewis, the plot follows a pair of American criminal brothers who take a family as hostages in order to cross into Mexico, but ultimately find themselves trapped in a saloon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cannon Group, Inc.</span> Film studio

The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested heavily in the video market, buying the international video rights to several classic film libraries. Some of their best known films include Joe (1970), Runaway Train (1985) and Street Smart (1987), all of which were Oscar-nominated.

<i>Invasion U.S.A.</i> (1985 film) 1985 American film by Joseph Zito

Invasion U.S.A. is a 1985 American action film produced by Cannon Films, and starring Chuck Norris. It was directed by Joseph Zito. It involves the star fighting off a force of Soviet/Cuban-led guerrillas.

<i>Missing in Action</i> (film) 1984 film by Joseph Zito

Missing in Action is a 1984 American action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp ten years earlier, returns to Vietnam to find American soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The film was followed by a prequel, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), and a sequel, Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988). The first two Missing in Action installments had been filmed back-to-back with the intent to have the first film involve the POW years of Braddock be the first film. However, it was determined that the commercial prospects were stronger with the film directed by Zito involving the POW rescue. As such, Hool's film was turned into Missing in Action 2 and labeled as a prequel that detailed events before those in Missing in Action.

<i>One from the Heart</i> 1982 film by Francis Ford Coppola

One from the Heart is a 1982 American musical romantic drama film co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, and Harry Dean Stanton. Set entirely in Las Vegas and made independently by Coppola's own Zoetrope Studios, the film was a critical and commercial failure, though it has since received a positive critical reappraisal from critics.

<i>Surf Nazis Must Die</i> 1987 film by Peter George

Surf Nazis Must Die is a 1987 American post-apocalyptic exploitation action film directed by Peter George, and starring Gail Neely, Barry Brenner and Robert Harden. It was produced by The institute, a production company formed by George, Craig A. Colton and Robert Tinnell, and distributed by Troma Entertainment, a company known for low-budget exploitation films.

Dawn Leslie Steel was an American film studio executive and producer. She was one of the first women to run a major Hollywood film studio, rising through the ranks of merchandising and production to head Columbia Pictures in 1987.

<i>Jennifer 8</i> 1992 American film by Bruce Robinson

Jennifer 8 is a 1992 American neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Andy García, Uma Thurman, Lance Henriksen, Kathy Baker, and John Malkovich. Its plot focuses on a police detective investigating the murder of an unidentified young woman in a small Northern California town.

George Sherman was an American film director and producer of low-budget Western films. One obituary said his "credits rival in number those of anyone in the entertainment industry."

<i>Steel Dawn</i> 1987 film by Lance Hool

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 Warrior.

<i>Santa Fe Trail</i> (film) 1940 film

Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 American western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn as J. E. B. "Jeb" Stuart, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey as John Brown, Ronald Reagan as George Armstrong Custer and Alan Hale. Written by Robert Buckner, the film is critical of the abolitionist John Brown and his controversial campaign against slavery before the American Civil War. In a subplot, Jeb Stuart and George Armstrong Custer—who are depicted as friends from the same West Point graduating class—compete for the hand of Kit Carson Holliday.

<i>Missing in Action 2: The Beginning</i> 1985 film directed by Lance Hool

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a 1985 American action adventure film, and a prequel to Missing in Action, both of which star Chuck Norris. It was directed by Lance Hool, and written by Steve Bing, Larry Levinson and Arthur Silver. It is the second installment in the Missing in Action film series.

<i>Braddock: Missing in Action III</i> 1988 film directed by Aaron Norris

Braddock: Missing in Action III is a 1988 American action adventure film, and a sequel to Missing in Action, following the second film, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, which was a prequel. It is the third and final installment in the Missing in Action film series. The film stars Chuck Norris, who co-wrote the screenplay with James Bruner. The film was directed by Norris' brother, Aaron Norris.

<i>And God Created Woman</i> (1988 film) 1988 film by Roger Vadim

And God Created Woman is a 1988 American comedy-drama film directed by Roger Vadim in his final theatrical release and starring Rebecca De Mornay, Vincent Spano and Frank Langella. It has the same title as the 1956 French film Et Dieu… créa la femme starring Brigitte Bardot, also directed by Vadim, but has a completely different story.

<i>Under the Volcano</i> (1984 film) Adaptation of Malcolm Lowry novel, directed by John Huston

Under the Volcano is a 1984 drama film directed by John Huston and starring Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, and Anthony Andrews, based on Malcolm Lowry's semi-autobiographical 1947 novel. The film follows the last 24 hours in the life of Geoffrey Firmin (Finney), an alcoholic British former consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac on the Day of the Dead in 1938. The film is an international co-production between Mexico and the United States.

<i>The Evil That Men Do</i> (film) 1984 film by J. Lee Thompson

The Evil That Men Do is a 1984 American action thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, Joseph Maher and José Ferrer. The film is adapted by R. Lance Hill and John M. Crowther from Hill’s 1978 novel of the same title. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and released by Tri-Star Pictures on September 21, 1984.

Gary Martin DeVore was an American screenwriter, best known for witty action films and for the mysterious circumstances of his 1997 death.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Talbot, Paul (February 1, 2014). "Cinema Retro Special Report: Paul Talbot on the Making of Charles Bronson's 'The Evil That Men Do'". Cinema Retro . Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Rifkin, Jesse (October 16, 2020). "Interview with 2 Hearts Director Lance Hool: 'We've Got To Get This Movie Into Theaters'". Boxoffice Pro . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Chacón, Daniel J. (February 6, 2016). "Santa Fe Studio owners caught by surprise with lawsuit". The Santa Fe New Mexican . Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Filmmakers". 2 Hearts. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  5. ↑ Holt, Conor (2023-08-02). "Interview: "One Man's Hero"". Medium. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Honoring Lance Hool: Producer, Director, Actor". Santa Fe Film Festival. September 26, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Cullum, Paul. "One Man's Hero". LA Weekly . Archived from the original on May 26, 2001. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Lance Hool - Santa Fe Studios". www.santafestudios.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  9. 1 2 Honeycutt, Kirk (November 11, 1990). "Odd couples are the name of the..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Miller III, Randy (March 29, 2017). "Wolf Lake". DVD Talk . Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 Alzayat, Dima (November 15, 2011). "On Location: New Santa Fe Studios beckons filmmakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Shepard, Richard F. (March 13, 1983). "'10 to Midnight'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 Kline, Chris (December 28, 1997). "Irish-Americans fight for Mexico, and a film is born". CNN . Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  14. ↑ Maslin, Janet (March 2, 1985). "Screen: Chuck Norris in 'Missing in Action 2'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Goodman, Walter (November 6, 1987). "Film: 'Steel Dawn'". The New York Times . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  16. ↑ Wilmington, Michael (November 6, 1987). "Movie Reviews : 'Steel Dawn': Iron-Age Concept in Film Making". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  17. ↑ Tracey, Olivia (February 16, 2011). "Tracings Eagerly awaiting Berenger film on San Patricios". The Irish Echo . Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Thomas, Kevin (September 24, 1999). "Movie Review: 'One Man's Hero' a Heartfelt History Lesson". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  19. ↑ Stratton, David (April 11, 2001). "Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  20. ↑ "A Recipe for Filmmaking Success: An Interview with Lance Hool, CEO Santa Fe Studios". Santa Fe Film Festival. May 3, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  21. ↑ Verrier, Richard (December 10, 2009). "New Mexico kicks in $10 million to build Santa Fe movie and TV studio". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  22. ↑ Ortega Law, Jeannie (October 16, 2020). "Hollywood filmmaker says 'faith is what should keep us going' in 2020; releases new movie '2 Hearts'". The Christian Post . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  23. ↑ Vitu, Teya (June 22, 2021). "No. 1 movie on Netflix, '2 Hearts,' has ties to Santa Fe Studios". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved February 12, 2024– via Yahoo! News.
  24. ↑ Maslin, Janet (November 17, 1984). "Screen: Norris in 'Missing in Action'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  25. ↑ Maslin, Janet (2 March 1985). "Screen: chuck norris in 'missing in action 2'". The New York Times . Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  26. 1 2 Pretorius, William (August 3, 2001). "Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles". News24 . Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  27. ↑ McCarty, John (November 5, 2016). The Official Splatter Movie Guide, Volumes: 1963-1992. Crossroad Press.
  28. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (February 4, 1994). "Movie Review : 'Gunmen' an Ultraviolent Buddy Film". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  29. ↑ Scott, Tony (August 2, 1993). "Fox Night at the Movies Born to Run". Variety. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  30. ↑ Everett, Todd (October 27, 1993). "USA World Premiere Movie the Cover Girl Murders". Variety. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  31. ↑ Lowry, Brian (January 5, 1994). "The Air Up There". Variety. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  32. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (February 27, 2004). "Laughter is not an option for 'Club Dread' visitors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  33. ↑ Allen, Rick (May 8, 2012). "'The Cup' a tale of tragedy and triumph". Ocala StarBanner . Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  34. ↑ Scheck, Frank (October 15, 2020). "'2 Hearts': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.