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David Richard Ellis (born September 8, 1952 in Hollywood, California) is an American film director and former stuntman.

Movie career

Ellis began his career in the film industry as a supporting actor in juvenile roles; his big screen debut was in the 1975 Kurt Russell film The Strongest Man in the World. One year later, he switched to stunts in the film Baby Blue Marine and worked from then on as a stuntman. His next career move came in 1981 with the promotion to stunt coordinator. After a successful five years in this position, he worked from 1986 on as an assistant director or second assistant director, in charge of action sequences from films such as The Matrix Revolutions and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

In 1996, Ellis made his debut as a director in the Disney live-action film Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco, and has attained more attention for directing Final Destination 2 (2003), the continuation of the financially successful horror film franchise. He has also directed the fourth film, which revolves around death stalking audience members of a crash at a motor speedway that sends debris into the stands. Ellis' next work as director, the thriller Cellular, was a moderate success at the box office, which he attributed to competition from Resident Evil and bad marketing. His most recent film, Snakes on a Plane, gained unusual hype on the Internet.

Filmography as director

• Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996)
• Final Destination 2 (2003)
• Cellular (2004)
• Snakes on a Plane (2006)
• Asylum (2007)
• The Final Destination (2009)
• Humpty Dumpty (2010)
• Bad Luck (2010)
• Milwaukee (2010)

External links

• David R. Ellis at the Internet Movie Database