David R. Ellis

DAVID R. ELLIS is a respected feature film director who has helmed successful projects including Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco, featuring voice acting by Michael J. Fox; Final Destination 2, starring Ali Larter; Cellular, starring Jessica Biel; Snakes on a Plane, starring Samuel L. Jackson; and Asylum, starring Sarah Roemer. His film, 3-D horror hit The Final Destination, grossed more than $200 million worldwide. He directed The Briar Lake Murders, with Sara Paxton attached to star. Ellis’ daughter, Tawny Ellis Lehman, is his producing partner and has worked on five of his films.

Ellis grew up in Malibu, California, where in his teens he excelled in swimming, surfing, water skiing and volleyball. At 19, he got his start in the movie business when he worked as a stuntman on Superdad (1973), starring Kurt Russell and Bob Crane.

Over the next 20 years, Ellis performed every possible stunt from fire gags to fights and horse work. He even jumped 15 cars on a motorcycle. Among his many credits for stunt work were such notable films as Smokey and the Bandit, Scarface, Fatal Attraction, Lethal Weapon, Road House and Sliver.

Ellis was one of the first five stuntmen to be invited into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He won awards for his specialty stunt work on the 1980s miniseries “V” and William Friedkin’s feature To Live and Die in L.A.

In his 40s, Ellis became a top second unit director in charge of action sequences on large-scale films such as Patriot Games, Waterworld, Saphere, The Negotiator, The Perfect Storm, Clear and Present Danger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Rock Star, The Matrix Reloaded and many other films.

For The Matrix Reloaded, Ellis was nominated for a Taurus Award for Best Stunt Coordination in a Feature Film. He shared the nomination with Glenn Boswell and R.A. Rondell. The film was also nominated for an MTV Movie Awards prize for best fight sequence.

When not in production, Ellis splits his time between Malibu and Kauai, Hawaii. His daughter Cheyenne Ellis is a top professional photographer and stunt double for Katherine Heigl.

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