Biography
Bryan Michael Stoller (born 1960 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) is an acclaimed filmmaker known for works such as Turn of the Blade, The Random Factor, Miss Cast Away, Undercover Angel, and Lightyears Away, completed in June 2007.
After relocating to Ottawa, Ontario at age six, Stoller began exploring filmmaking and animation. At eleven, he secured his first role in the film and television industry as the host of CBC's Film Fun, a show teaching children how to create their own Super-8 movies. He later applied these skills to producing commercials for various Ottawa businesses that aired during the 1970s. Stoller moved to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute as a Director Fellow.
He directed an episode titled "The Bitterest Pill" for the classic George A. Romero TV series Tales from the Darkside, featuring Mark Blankfield. Stoller also contributed as a writer for The Ice Queen animated feature, which starred the voices of Lauren Bacall and Bryan Adams. His other animation writing credits include serving as story editor on the Cinar series Animal Crackers. He directed the international music video "Hands Across America," produced by Ken Kragen, which included appearances by Barbra Streisand, Drew Barrymore, and Robin Williams.
Stoller authored Filmmaking for Dummies and edited Screenwriting for Dummies. He frequently lectures at university film programs throughout California, Nevada, and Canada.
He is known for directing a parody of the 1980s Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial titled The Shadow of Michael, which caught Jackson's attention and led to a twenty-year friendship until Jackson's passing in 2009. Michael Jackson appeared in Stoller's feature film Miss Cast Away & the Island Girls (also known as Silly Movie 2), marking Jackson's final film role. Stoller and Jackson were slated to co-direct They Cage the Animals at Night, a motion picture adaptation of Jennings Michael Burch's best-selling novel. Mel Gibson had hired Stoller to write the screenplay, with both Stoller and Jackson attached to direct. Stoller also mentored Jackson and his three children in filmmaking.
Stoller's most recent film, First Dog, stars Eric Roberts and includes three original songs by Dolly Parton.
