Jeffrey Roger Kanew American film director, screenwriter and editor Date of Birth: 16.12.1944 Country: USA

Biography of Jeffrey Roger Kanew

Jeffrey Roger Kanew, an American film director, screenwriter, and editor, was born on December 16, 1944. He started his career by creating trailers for films such as "All the President's Men" and "Rocky." Kanew worked as an assistant in the trailer department of "United Artists" in New York while he was still a freshman at Columbia University. In 1966, he opened his own production studio, "Utopia Productions," and soon created trailers for films like "The Graduate" and "Midnight Cowboy."

As he advanced in the field of production, Kanew became a director, screenwriter, producer, and editor for the documentary film "Black Rodeo" in 1971. The documentary, which depicted the events at a rodeo in Harlem, received positive reviews. Kanew then decided to try his luck in the world of feature films. In 1979, he sold his small company to fund his new project, which resulted in the drama film "Natural Enemies" in 1979, starring Hal Holbrook. Although this film did not bring much attention to Kanew as a director, Robert Redford asked him to be the editor for the drama film "Ordinary People" in 1980.

Afterward, Kanew had the opportunity to direct and write the crime action film "Eddie Macon's Run" in 1983, starring John Schneider. This was followed by the release of the comedy film "Revenge of the Nerds" in 1984, which had a modest budget of $8 million but achieved great success at the box office, earning $40 million. Kanew then chose Anthony Edwards as the lead actor for his next project, the comedy action film "Gotcha!" Unfortunately, this film was not as successful as its predecessor.

In 1986, Kanew brought together Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas to star in the comedy film "Tough Guys," where they portrayed ex-cons who refused to live a normal life after 30 years in prison. His next two films, "Troop Beverly Hills" and "V.I. Warshawski," failed to perform well at the box office. Afterward, Kanew seemed to disappear from the spotlight, but he occasionally worked in television, directing an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" in 1986.

In 1994, Kanew was part of the directing team for the series "Touched by an Angel," and in 2003, he directed the German-Belarusian drama film "Babiy Yar" about the horrifying events that took place in Kiev during World War II. In 2005, he directed the comedy film "Adam and Eve" about how long a truly in-love young man can go without sex. His most recent directorial project is the comedy film "The Legend of Awesomest Maximus" in 2010, starring Kristanna Loken.