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Brian Trenchard-Smith
Director

Brian Trenchard-Smith

1 Jun 1946Born
80Age
56Credits
England, UKBirthplace

Biography

Brian Trenchard-Smith is an Anglo Australian film and television director, producer, and writer, with a reputation for large scale movies on small scale budgets, many of which display a quirky sense of humor that has earned him a cult following. Quentin Tarantino referred to him in Entertainment Weekly as one of his favorite directors. His early work is featured in Not Quite Hollywood, an award winning documentary released by Magnolia. Among his early successes were the 20th Century Fox release The Man from Hong Kong, a wry James Bond/Chop Sockey cocktail, the Vietnam battle movie Siege of Firebase Gloria, and the futuristic satire Dead End Drive-In, a particular Tarantino favorite.

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BMX Bandits, showcasing a 15-year old Nicole Kidman, and Miramax's The Quest, starring ET's Henry Thomas, won prizes at children's film festivals in Montreal and Europe. He has also directed 35 episodes of television series as diverse as Silk Stalkings, Time Trax, The Others, and Flipper. Born in England, where his Australian father was in the RAF, Trenchard-Smith attended UK's prestigious Wellington College, where he neglected studies in favor of acting and making short films, before migrating to Australia. He started as a news film editor, then graduated to network promos before he became one of a group of young people that, as he recalls, "pushed, shoved, lobbied and bullied the government into introducing investment for Australian made films." He persuaded Australia's largest distribution-exhibition circuit at the time, the Greater Union Theater Organization, to form an in-house production company that he would run. The company made three successful films in a row, and his career was underway. In parallel careers, he was also founding editor of Australia's quarterly Movie magazine for 6 years, and has made over 100 trailers for other directors in Australia, Europe, and America. Among his 39 movies, 5 were commissioned by Showtime, including the remake of the World War II classic, Sahara, the highly rated, Happy Face Murders, starring Ann-Margret, and DC 9/11: Time of Crisis, with Timothy Bottoms as President Bush. His frequently repeated family drama for Lifetime, Long Lost Son starring Gabrielle Anwar, introduced future Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford to audiences in the title role." I knew from his first scene, he was going to be hot." In 2009, Trenchard-Smith shot Porky's - The College Years, a re-imagining of the famous 80's franchise of teen comedies. His recent ecological thriller Arctic Blast, starring Michael Shanks, was chosen to premiere at the 2010 Possible Worlds Canadian Film Festival in Sydney. Trenchard-Smith writes for filmindustrybloggers.com as The Genre Director, and is a contributing guru to trailersfromhell.com. He is married to Byzantine historian Dr. Margaret Trenchard-Smith, lives in Los Angeles, and is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Known for

Filmography

  1. 2024Game of Death: The Six Doors to HellFilm: Major Paul Anders
  2. 2023ThanatomaniaFilm
  3. 2014Drive HardFilm: Director, Screenplay
  4. 2014The Leprechaun ChroniclesFilm
  5. 2013Absolute DeceptionFilm: Director
  6. 2011ChemistrySeries: Director (7 episodes)
  7. 2011The CabinFilm: Director
  8. 2010Arctic BlastFilm: Director
  9. 2009Porky's: Pimpin' Pee WeeFilm: Director
  10. 2007Tyrannosaurus AztecaFilm: Director
  11. 2006Long Lost SonFilm: Director
  12. 2006In Her Line of FireFilm: Director
  13. 2005Tides of WarFilm: Director
  14. 2003DC 9/11: Time of CrisisFilm: Director
  15. 2003The Paradise VirusFilm: Director
  16. 2002Sightings: Heartland GhostFilm: Director
  17. 2002Seconds to SpareFilm: Director, Writer
  18. 2001Megiddo: The Omega Code 2Film: Director
  19. 2000The OthersSeries: Director (1 episode)
  20. 2000BritannicFilm: Director, Writer
  21. 1999Happy Face MurdersFilm: Director
  22. 1998Atomic DogFilm: Director
  23. 1998Voyage of TerrorFilm: Director
  24. 1997Doomsday RockFilm: Director
  25. 1997Leprechaun 4: In SpaceFilm: Director
  26. 1996Escape ClauseFilm: Director
  27. 1995FlipperSeries: Director (2 episodes)
  28. 1995Leprechaun 3Film: Director
  29. 1995SaharaFilm: Director
  30. 1994High TideSeries: Director (1 episode)
  31. 1994Night of the Demons 2Film: Director
  32. 1993Official DenialFilm: Director
  33. 1993Time TraxSeries: Director (2 episodes)
  34. 1991Silk StalkingsSeries: Director (5 episodes)
  35. 1989The Siege of Firebase GloriaFilm: Director
  36. 1989Strike of the PantherFilm: Director
  37. 1988Mission: ImpossibleSeries: Director (2 episodes)
  38. 1988Day of the PantherFilm: Director
  39. 1988Out of the BodyFilm: Director
  40. 1987DangerfreaksFilm: Director, Writer
  41. 1986Dead End Drive-InFilm: Director
  42. 1986Frog DreamingFilm: Director
  43. 1986Jenny Kissed MeFilm: Director
  44. 1984Special SquadSeries: Director (1 episode)
  45. 1983BMX BanditsFilm: Director
  46. 1982Turkey ShootFilm: Director
  47. 1980That Dangerous SummerFilm: Director
  48. 1979Day of the AssassinFilm: Director
  49. 1978Stunt RockFilm: Director, Screenplay
  50. 1978Hospitals Don't Burn DownFilm: Director
  51. 1976DeathcheatersFilm: Hit & Run Director
  52. 1975The Man from Hong KongFilm: Martial Arts Heavy, Director, Screenplay
  53. 1975The Love EpidemicFilm: Director, Writer
  54. 1974Kung Fu KillersFilm: Director, Writer
  55. 1973The StuntmenFilm: Writer, Director
  56. 1973The World of Kung FuFilm: Director

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.