Age, Biography and Wiki
Who is it? | Director, Actor, Writer |
Birth Place | American |
Alma mater | UC Davis USC School of Cinematic Arts |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Net worth: $100K - $1M
Biography/Timeline
Class Act, released in 1992, is a modern-day comedic take on The Prince & the Pauper, about a pair of teenagers with switched identities.
In 1993, Miller was nominated for CableACE Awards for his writing and direction of a short children's musical entitled Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (later remade as a feature film with the same title). In 2000, he was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Children's Programs for the Wonderful World of Disney episode "H-E Double Hockey Sticks". He then directed a number of independent films, including his self-distributed 2008 film Bottle Shock which premiered at the Sundance Film festival in 2008. His previous film Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005; Nobel Son premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 and CBGB in 2013.
In 1995, Miller helmed Houseguest, another movie about mistaken identities. The Los Angeles Times said of it, "Houseguest, a rowdy fish-out-of-water comedy, is as good-natured as its big, beefy star, Comedian Sinbad." The film debuted at No.3 and went on to gross $26 million in North America, making it a modest commercial success considering its 10.5 million budget.
In 2005, Miller wrote and directed Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, a full-length feature of his 1990 short film of the same name. Nobel Son was written and directed by Miller, and was a 2007 American black comedy release about a dysfunctional family dealing with the kidnapping of their son for ransom following the father's winning of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It featured Alan Rickman in the leading role.
Alan Rickman returned in a leading role for Miller's movie Bottle Shock in 2008, a dramedy about a 1976 wine competition where a California wine defeated a French wine in a blind taste test. Miller and wife, Jody, were introduced to Marc and Brenda Lhormer, the founders of the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, in 2006 at the opening night of Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. In 2008, the founder couple presented the screenplay of a story involving the 'Judgement of Paris' to Miller and his wife. This story interested Miller and Jody and they took the story on board. They ended up writing, directing and producing Bottle Shock.
Rickman returned for the third time to play Hilly Kristal in CBGB, a 2013 historical film about the former New York music venue of the same name. Miller wrote the screenplay, produced and directed the film revolving around the life of Kristal, musician and owner of the CBGB club.
In 2014, during production of Miller's film Midnight Rider, camera assistant Sarah Jones was killed during the filming of a scene. A police investigation concluded that Miller and crew were trespassing on an operating railway line. Miller ultimately took a plea deal, pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and serving a year in prison. Miller is the first Director to receive a prison sentence due to the death of a cast or crew member. As part of his plea agreement he is prohibited from working as a Director or assistant Director or in any supervisory role that includes safety responsibility of a film production.
On July 17th, 2017, Sarah Jones' family won a significant legal victory when they were awarded $11.2 million in damages. "The jury found that CSX (the train's operator) was primarily liable for the accident and should pay 35% of the total judgment. Miller was found responsible for 28% of the amount of the latest ruling. Rayonier Performance Fibers, owners of the land where the accident occurred, are responsible for 18% and the rest of the liability is divided between individual members of the film's production company."