Les Mayfield

Last updated
Les Mayfield
Born (1959-11-30) November 30, 1959 (age 64)
Occupation(s) Film director, producer
Years active1981–2007

Les Mayfield (born in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American retired film director and producer.

Contents

Career

Shortly after graduating the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Les Mayfield formed the ZM Productions with schoolmate George Zaloom. Until its closure in 1998, the company had produced films and television programs such as Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse , The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes , and The Cape in 16 years. [1]

Mayfield made his feature-film debut in 1992 with the comedy Encino Man starring Pauly Shore and Brendan Fraser. [2] It was followed by Miracle on 34th Street , starring Richard Attenborough, in 1994, [3] and Flubber , starring Robin Williams, in 1997. [4] He directed the Martin Lawrence comedy Blue Streak in 1999. [5]

In the 2000s, Mayfield directed the Western American Outlaws starring Colin Farrell, [6] and the comedies The Man , starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eugene Levy, in 2005 [7] and Code Name: The Cleaner in 2007, starring Cedric the Entertainer. [8]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<i>Miracle on 34th Street</i> 1947 film by George Seaton

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 American Christmas comedy-drama film released by 20th Century-Fox, written and directed by George Seaton and based on a story by Valentine Davies. It stars Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn. The story takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York City, and focuses on the effect of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa. The film has become a perennial Christmas favorite.

<i>Super Fly</i> (soundtrack) 1972 soundtrack album by Curtis Mayfield

Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released on July 11, 1972 on Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. Widely considered a classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" and the title track. Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.

Slapstick films are comedy films using slapstick humor, a physical comedy that includes pratfalls, tripping, falling, practical jokes, and mistakes are highlighted over dialogue, plot and character development. The physical comedy in these films contains a cartoonish style of violence that is predominantly harmless and goofy in tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Lawrence</span> American actor and comedian (born 1965)

Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor and comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playing Maurice Warfield in What's Happening Now!! (1987–1988). He was a leading actor in the Fox television sitcom Martin, the Bad Boys franchise, and House Party, Boomerang, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Nothing to Lose, Life, Blue Streak, Big Momma's House, Black Knight, Open Season, and Wild Hogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Gondry</span> French film director (born 1963)

Michel Gondry is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers of the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which he also directed.

<i>Blue Streak</i> (film) 1999 film by Les Mayfield

Blue Streak is a 1999 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Les Mayfield. Inspired by the 1965 film The Big Job, the film stars Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene, Nicole Ari Parker and William Forsythe. Lawrence plays Miles, a jewel thief who tries to retrieve a diamond he left at a police station, whereupon he disguises himself as a detective and gets paired with a real policeman to investigate burglaries. The film was shot on location in California. The prime shooting spot was Sony Pictures Studios, which is located in Culver City, California.

Simon Jones is an English actor. He portrayed Arthur Dent, protagonist of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on radio in 1978 and again on television in 1981. Jones also appeared in the film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) in a cameo role. He also played the role of Donald Shellhammer in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), appeared in Brideshead Revisited as Lord Brideshead, and as King George V in the film Downton Abbey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauly Shore</span> American comedian and actor (born 1968)

Paul Montgomery "Pauly" Shore is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his roles in 1990s comedy films. Shore began as a stand-up comedian at the age of 17, before becoming an MTV VJ in 1989. This led to a starring role in the comedy film Encino Man in 1992, which was a modest hit. He followed this with leading man vehicles, including Son in Law (1993) and Bio-Dome (1996). Shore provided the voice of Robert "Bobby" Zimuruski in A Goofy Movie and its direct-to-video sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie.

<i>Flubber</i> (film) 1997 film by Les Mayfield

Flubber is a 1997 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Les Mayfield and written by Hughes and Bill Walsh. A remake of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), the film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and stars Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, Ted Levine, Raymond J. Barry, Wil Wheaton and Clancy Brown, with Jodi Benson providing a voice. The film grossed $178 million worldwide and received negative reviews from critics. In selected theaters, the Pepper Ann episode "Old Best Friend" was featured before the film.

<i>The Absent-Minded Professor</i> 1961 film by Robert Stevenson

The Absent-Minded Professor is a 1961 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is based on the 1943 short story "A Situation of Gravity" by Samuel W. Taylor. The title character was based in part on Hubert Alyea, a professor emeritus of chemistry at Princeton University, who was known as "Dr. Boom" for his explosive demonstrations. The film stars Fred MacMurray as Professor Ned Brainard, alongside Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid, and Edward Andrews. The plot follows Brainard as he invents a substance that defies gravity, which he later exploits through various means.

<i>Encino Man</i> 1992 film by Les Mayfield

Encino Man is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Les Mayfield in his directorial debut. The film stars Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser, Mariette Hartley, Richard Masur, and Pauly Shore with supporting roles by Megan Ward, Robin Tunney, Michael DeLuise, and Ke Huy Quan. In the film, two teenagers discover and thaw a frozen caveman, who has to adjust to 20th-century society while teaching them life lessons of his own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Fahey</span> American actor

Jeffrey David Fahey is an American actor. His notable roles include Duane Duke in Psycho III (1986), Pete Verill in Clint Eastwood's White Hunter Black Heart (1990), Jobe Smith in The Lawnmower Man (1992), and Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost (2008–2010). He is also known for his collaborations with director Robert Rodriguez, appearing in his films Planet Terror (2007), Machete (2010), and Alita: Battle Angel (2019).

<i>Code Name: The Cleaner</i> 2007 American film directed by Les Mayfield

Code Name: The Cleaner is a 2007 American action comedy film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Lucy Liu, Cedric the Entertainer, Callum Keith Rennie, Nicollette Sheridan and Mark Dacascos. The film was released by New Line Cinema on January 5, 2007. Upon its release, the film was met with negative reviews by critics.

Beau Starr is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is known for his film role as Sheriff Ben Meeker in the 1988 horror film Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers; he reprised his role in the 1989 sequel Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Many also remember him as Lt. Harding Welsh in Due South.

Sean Nelson is an American actor. Nelson began his career as a child actor, receiving notice after his film debut in Fresh (1994), as the eponymous title character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle Stanton</span> American television writer and producer

Gabrielle Gail Stanton is an American television writer and producer. She is known for her work on the ABC series Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty, for The CW's The Flash, and for Syfy's Stephen King adaptation series Haven.

<i>Miracle on 34th Street</i> (1994 film) 1994 Christmas film by Les Mayfield

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Les Mayfield and produced and co-written by John Hughes. The film stars Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J. T. Walsh, James Remar, Mara Wilson, and Robert Prosky. It is the first theatrical remake of the original 1947 film. Like the original, this film was released by 20th Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Blumenthal</span> American novelist and screenwriter

John Blumenthal is an American novelist and screenwriter, known for co-writing the screenplays for the films Short Time and Blue Streak.

References

  1. Paul Karon (September 25, 1998). "Zaloom, Mayfield splitting - Variety". Variety.
  2. Peter Travers (May 22, 1992). "Encino Man - Movie Reviews - Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone.
  3. Almar Haflidason (December 4, 2000). "BBC - Films - review - Miracle on 34th Street". BBC.
  4. Janet Maslin (November 26, 1997). "FILM REVIEW; High-Tech Gunk Returns: Splat!". The New York Times .
  5. Cynthia Fuchs. "Blue Streak (1999)". PopMatters.
  6. Michael Dequina (July 9, 2001). "American Outlaws (DVD)". Film Threat.
  7. Roger Ebert (September 9, 2005). "The Man". rogerebert.com.
  8. Scott Tobias (January 5, 2007). "Code Name: The Cleaner". The A.V. Club.