Sheldon Lettich

Sheldon Lettich(/ˈlɛtɪtʃ/LET-itch;born January 14, 1951) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is best known for his collaborations withJean-Claude Van Dammeand his work in theaction film genre.

Early life

Born inNew York City,Lettich moved toCaliforniaat a young age and grew up in theLos Angelesarea. After graduating from high school, he spent nearly four years in theU.S. Marine Corps,serving as aradio operatorinSouth Vietnamwith3rd Battalion, 1st Marines,and later with the elite1st Force Reconnaissance Companybased atCamp Pendleton,California.

He worked his way through college as a professional photographer and attended theAFI Conservatory's Center for Advanced Film Studies as aCinematography Fellow.Although his initial career goal was to become adirector of photography,at the AFI his interests branched out to encompass writing and directing, which became the two fields where he found eventual success in the entertainment business.

Writing for the stage

Based partly upon his experiences in Vietnam, he co-authored the renowned playTracerswith a group of Vietnam vets who were also aspiring actors. First performed July 4, 1980 at the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles, the play then traveled toJoseph Papp's Public Theater in New York City, theSteppenwolf Theaterin Chicago (directed byGary Sinise), the Royal Court Theater in London, and numerous venues worldwide. It received bothDrama Desk Awardsand L.A. Drama Critics Awards, and is still being performed throughout the world.

Screenplays

Around the same time, Lettich was writing numerous spec screenplays. One of these, co-written withJosh Becker,subsequently became the cult classicThou Shalt Not Kill... Except(also known asStryker's War), which starredBruce Campbell,and directed by Becker, both frequent collaborators ofSam Raimi.

Eventually his screenplays began attracting the attention of producers in Hollywood. He co-authored theCold WardramaRusskies,which was the first starring role for a youngJoaquin Phoenix.Around the same time he wrote the screenplay for the now-classic martial arts filmBloodsport,which launched the career ofJean-Claude Van Damme.One of his Vietnam-based screenplays caught the eye ofSylvester Stallone,which resulted in an overall deal with Stallone's White Eagle Productions, and led to him co-writingRambo IIIwith Stallone.

The success ofBloodsportnot only turned Jean-Claude Van Damme into an international action star, but it also forged a long and ongoing friendship with the man who wrote it. Van Damme helped to launch Lettich's directing career with the filmLionheart,which became Van Damme's first movie to be released theatrically by a major U.S. studio. This was followed byDouble Impact,which was filmed in Hong Kong, with Lettich directing Van Damme in a challenging double role as twin brothers seeking revenge for their parents' murder.

Lettich next discoveredMark Dacascos,who made his starring debut inOnly the Strong,a film that introduced the Brazilian martial art ofcapoeirato international audiences. He also directedDolph LundgreninThe Last PatrolandDaniel BernhardtinPerfect Target.

Continuing his long association with Van Damme, Lettich was a writer and a producer on the historicalFrench Foreign Legionfilm,Legionnaire,which was filmed on location inMorocco.And he directedThe Order,an action-thriller starring Van Damme andCharlton Heston,which was filmed on locations inIsraelandBulgaria.

In 2006 he directed and co-wroteThe Hard Corps,an urban action-romance. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme andVivica Fox,the film was shot on locations aroundVancouver, British Columbia,Canada, and on sound stages inRomania,and was financed and released worldwide bySony Pictures Entertainment.

Lettich stated he has always wanted to make aVietnam Warmovie that he wrote, but after seeingTropic Thunderhe felt that no one would take a Vietnam war movie seriously anymore.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1983	Firefight	Director, written by	Short film
1985	Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except	Story by, second unit director	Co-wrote story withJosh Becker&Bruce Campbell
1987	Russkies	Screenplay by, story by	Co-wrote screenplay with Alan Jay Glueckman andMichael Nankin,co-wrote story with Alan Jay Glueckman
1988	Bloodsport	Screenplay by, story by	Co-wrote screenplay with Christopher Cosby & Mel Friedman
	Rambo III	Written by	Co-wrote withSylvester Stallone
1989	Cyborg	Editor	Uncredited
1990	Lionheart	Director, written by	Co-wrote withJean-Claude Van Dammeand S.N. Warren
1991	Double Impact	Director, screenplay by, screen story by, co-producer	Co-wrote screenplay with Jean-Claude Van Damme, co-wrote screen story with Jean-Claude Van Damme andSteve Meerson&Peter Krikes
1993	Only the Strong	Director, written by	Co-wrote with Luis Esteban
1996	From Dusk till Dawn	Special thanks	As Sheldon Lettich
	The Quest	Script polish
1997	Perfect Target	Director
1998	Legionnaire	Screenplay by, story by, executive producer	Co-wrote screenplay with Rebecca Morrison, co-wrote story with Jean-Claude Van Damme
2000	The Last Warrior	Director
2001	The Order	Director
2004	Straight Into Darkness	Special thanks
2006	Second in Command	Script polish
	The Hard Corps	Director, written by	Co-wrote withGeorge Saunders
2011	Calibre 9	Dedicatee
2014	Black Rose	Executive producer
2015	Max	Written by	Co-wrote withBoaz Yakin
2016	Watch This	Special thanks	Short film
2018	Ouija House	Special thanks

External links

• Official website
• Sheldon Lettich's posts on VanDammeFan.net
• Sheldon LettichatIMDb