John Gulager

Director John Gulager's father Clu is a veteran character actor who also directed one influential short, 1969's impressionistic "A Day With The Boys." It was in that film that John made his screen debut at age 12, joining the family business (mother Miriam and brother Tom are also thespians). Gulager's adult acting career began in 1999, but his public profile was significantly raised in 2005, when he became the subject of the third season of reality series "Project Greenlight." The show assigns one novice director to a first-timer's screenplay, and Gulager was chosen to helm the horror comedy "Feast," in which a desert bar's patrons fight off deadly creatures. Series producer Matt Damon was unhappy about the choice of script and threw his weight behind Gulager, hoping he would make something out of the trashy material. Gulager's difficulties during production made for great reality television: the movie required no less than 17 producers to get made, as Gulager clashed with his cinematographer on the set and with studio executives over his decision to cast his father and wife. A domestic flop, it spawned two direct-to-video sequels, both helmed by Gulager, who frugally served as his own, uncredited cinematographer. All three movies were made for Dimension Films, who were so happy with the results they retained Gulager for the 2012 killer fish sequel, "Piranha 3DD."