Philippe Mora

French-born Australian director Philippe Mora established himself as an important Pop artist in London, notably making illustrations for the Beatles, before turning to film. In 1969 Mora directed his first feature, acting in a small part. The following year he wrote and directed the well-received documentary "Swatstika" about Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, and other Nazis in Hitler's inner circle, and penned "Double Headed: Hitler's Rise to Power 1918-1933." In 1975 he made another documentary, "Brother Can You Spare a Dime," about the Great Depression. Nominated for a Golden Globe, the film marked Mora's arrival as a director. Venturing into fiction, Mora cast Dennis Hopper as Daniel Morgan in "Mad Dog Morgan," the true story of an Australian outlaw. In the '80s, he turned to genre films, exploring horror with projects such as "The Beast Within," "Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf " starring Christopher Lee, and the bizarre "Howling III" with creatures ranging from sympathetic werewolves to human marsupials. Exploring the occult, Mora cast Christopher Walken in the sci-fi film "Communion" in 1989. Adapted from the book of the same name, the screenplay was written by Mora's friend Whitley Strieber, based on his personal accounts of non-human encounters. In the '00s Mora returned to documentary writing and directing with "The Times They Ain't a Changin'" about the '60s, and the pseudo-documentary "The Gertrude Stein Mystery or Some Like It Art," a biographical comedy about Stein as a 21st century secret agent.