Bryan Michael Stoller
Encyclopedia
Bryan Michael Stoller is an award winning independent filmmaker whose popular films include Turn of the Blade, The Random Factor, Miss Cast Away
, Undercover Angel
, and Light Years Away.
Stoller is the author of Filmmaking for Dummies, and the editor of Screenwriting for Dummies. He frequently lectures at various university film classes throughout California
, Nevada
and Canada
.
and television
industry, when he was 11 years old, was as the host of a TV show on CBC
called Film Fun in which he showed kids how to make their own Super-8 movies. He was later able to transform that talent into preparing commercials for various Ottawa businesses that were used on-air in the 1970s. Stoller moved to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute
as a Director Fellow.
Stoller directed an episode of the classic George A. Romero
TV series, Tales from the Darkside
, entitled "The Bitterest Pill", starring Mark Blankfield. Stoller also wrote for The Ice Queen
animated feature, starring the voices of Lauren Bacall
and Bryan Adams
. Stoller's other animation writing credits include story editor on the Cinar animation series, Animal Crackers.
He directed the international music video Hands Across America, produced by Ken Kragen which featured appearances by Barbra Streisand
, Drew Barrymore
and Robin Williams
.
commercial which features Michael Jackson
. The parody, The Shadow of Michael, caught Jackson's attention and he telephoned Stoller, a phone-call which launched a twenty-year friendship. They were friends until Jackson's untimely passing in 2009. Michael Jackson was featured in Stoller's feature film Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (a.k.a. Silly Movie 2). This was Michael's last appearance in a film.
Bryan Michael Stoller and Michael Jackson were scheduled to co-direct the motion picture They Cage the Animals at Night, based on the best-selling novel by Jennings Michael Burch
. Mel Gibson
hired Stoller to write the screenplay adaptation of Burch's book, with Stoller and Jackson signed to co-direct. Stoller was also mentoring Jackson and his three children on filmmaking.
Miss Cast Away
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls is a 2004 American spoof anarchic comedy B movie written and directed by Bryan Michael Stoller, produced on a $2 million budget...
, Undercover Angel
Undercover Angel
Undercover Angel, also known as Un vrai petit ange , is a 1999 film by writer/director Bryan Michael Stoller...
, and Light Years Away.
Stoller is the author of Filmmaking for Dummies, and the editor of Screenwriting for Dummies. He frequently lectures at various university film classes throughout California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Early life and career
After moving to Ottawa, Ontario at age 6, Stoller began experimenting with movies and animation. His first job in the filmFilm industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
industry, when he was 11 years old, was as the host of a TV show on CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
called Film Fun in which he showed kids how to make their own Super-8 movies. He was later able to transform that talent into preparing commercials for various Ottawa businesses that were used on-air in the 1970s. Stoller moved to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
as a Director Fellow.
Stoller directed an episode of the classic George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
TV series, Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series produced by George A. Romero; it originally aired from 1983 to 1988. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot...
, entitled "The Bitterest Pill", starring Mark Blankfield. Stoller also wrote for The Ice Queen
The Ice Queen
The Ice Queen is a novel by Alice Hoffman, published by Vintage Books in 2006."Wishes... burn your tongue the moment they're spoken and you can never take them back."-The Ice Queen-Plot summary:...
animated feature, starring the voices of Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
and Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. Stoller's other animation writing credits include story editor on the Cinar animation series, Animal Crackers.
He directed the international music video Hands Across America, produced by Ken Kragen which featured appearances by Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
.
Friendship with Michael Jackson
Bryan Michael Stoller directed the famous parody of the 1980s PepsiPepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
commercial which features Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. The parody, The Shadow of Michael, caught Jackson's attention and he telephoned Stoller, a phone-call which launched a twenty-year friendship. They were friends until Jackson's untimely passing in 2009. Michael Jackson was featured in Stoller's feature film Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (a.k.a. Silly Movie 2). This was Michael's last appearance in a film.
Bryan Michael Stoller and Michael Jackson were scheduled to co-direct the motion picture They Cage the Animals at Night, based on the best-selling novel by Jennings Michael Burch
Jennings Michael Burch
Jennings Michael Burch spent most of his childhood in foster homes and wrote the 1984 best selling autobiography They Cage The Animals At Night....
. Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
hired Stoller to write the screenplay adaptation of Burch's book, with Stoller and Jackson signed to co-direct. Stoller was also mentoring Jackson and his three children on filmmaking.
Films
Director, Writer, Producer, Self, Actor| Year | Title | As | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Undershorts: The Movie | |
|
| 1994 | Turn of the Blade | |
Cameo appearance as "Stroller couple." |
| 1995 | The Random Factor | |
Cameo appearance as "Van Passenger." |
| 1996 | Dragon Fury II | |
|
| 1999 | Undercover Angel Undercover Angel Undercover Angel, also known as Un vrai petit ange , is a 1999 film by writer/director Bryan Michael Stoller... |
|
Cameo appearance as "Speedy Messenger." |
| 2004 | Miss Cast Away Miss Cast Away Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls is a 2004 American spoof anarchic comedy B movie written and directed by Bryan Michael Stoller, produced on a $2 million budget... |
|
Cameo appearance as "Courier" Featuring Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records... . |
| 2007 | Light Years Away | |
|
| 2010 | First Dog | |
(Also editor and music supervisor) Cameo appearance as "Letter Carrier Paul" Featuring original songs by Dolly Parton Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk... |
Television
- Tales From The Darkside - Writer, Director - Episode: “The Bitterest Pill”
- A Canadian Werewolf In Hollywood - Writer, Director, Producer - Bravo Television
- Hollywood Goes To Las Vegas - Writer, director - Bravo Television
- Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders - Writer, Director, Producer - Featured segments on ABC
- TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes - Writer, Director, Producer - Featured segments on NBC
- The American Comedy Awards - Writer, Director - Featured segments on ABC
- Off the Wall - Writer, Director, Producer - Featured segments on Fox
- SuperChannel - Writer, Director, Producer - Featured segments
- The Movie Network - Writer, Director, Producer - Featured Segments
- Sunday Comics - Writer, Director - Featured Segments on Fox
- FilmFun - Director, Host - CBC Television
- Animal Crackers - Story Editor, Writer - Animated Series, Cartoon Network