Brian Taylor

Director, cinematographer, and writer/producer Brian Taylor is best known for his collaborations with fellow filmmaker Mark Neveldine, most notably on the Jason Statham action film "Crank." A California native, Taylor attended UCLA and had brief stints as a punk musician and journalist before working as a cinematographer on a short film and the 2002 low-budget feature "The Keys," an action-comedy starring future collaborator Neveldine. Before becoming a director Taylor embraced many facets of the industry: he was second unit director on the romantic thriller "The Real Deal," created visual effects on the gang drama "Biker Boyz" and served as executive producer on the comedic short "The Great Pretenders" in '05. Taylor and Neveldine also became known in the industry for their innovative technical solutions, having invented "the roller dolly." In 2006 the filmmaking duo were handed the reins of the action film "Crank," which they also wrote and produced. The film, featuring a slightly outlandish plot that required the protagonist to continually stimulate his heart after being poisoned, proved a big cult hit. The pair followed that up with its sequel "Crank: High Voltage," which had a more comedic flavor. The team paired up again for the 2009 thriller "Gamer" and the 2011 fantasy thriller "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," which starred Nicolas Cage.