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Birthday:
11-26-1946
(78 years)
Birthplace:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Biography
Mark L. Lester is an American writer, producer, and director of action films. Following his first film, Twilight of the Mayas, Lester worked on films such as Stunts, Steel Arena, and Bobby Jo and the Outlaw. His next film Roller Boogie with Linda Blair was a modest success, which he built on with reasonably received exploitation thriller Class of 1984, and Stephen King's Firestarter. His biggest hit came in 1985 with Commando, an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film that grossed over $57 million worldwide. He also produced Armed & Dangerous starring Meg Ryan and John Candy. In 1989 he directed Class of 1999, a very loose science fiction sequel to Class of 1984.
Mark Lester married Dana Dubovsky, who he now works with and had two children, Jason and Justin. He also founded American World Pictures, and independent production and distribution company. Recent films include The Base, an action film, the thrillers Blowback and Hitman's Run, and television film Pterodactyl (produced for the Sci Fi Channel).
Other credits include Showdown in Little Tokyo starring Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee, Night of the Running Man, Extreme Justice, Misbegotten, The Ex, Double Take, and Truck Stop Women.
Mark Lester married Dana Dubovsky, who he now works with and had two children, Jason and Justin. He also founded American World Pictures, and independent production and distribution company. Recent films include The Base, an action film, the thrillers Blowback and Hitman's Run, and television film Pterodactyl (produced for the Sci Fi Channel).
Other credits include Showdown in Little Tokyo starring Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee, Night of the Running Man, Extreme Justice, Misbegotten, The Ex, Double Take, and Truck Stop Women.
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Their works
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Teen Spirit: Teenagers and Hollywood
Act like Himself
event2009 star_border 6
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Teen movies have had a great impact on the movie industry - especially in the 80s. This documentary takes a closer look at the genre's origins and the impact it has made up till today.
In Search of the Last Action Heroes
Act like Himself
event2019 star_border 6.8
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The most comprehensive retrospective of the '80s action film genre ever made.
Blood and Blackboards
event2006
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Director Mark L. Lestor, producer Merrie Lynn Ross and actor Perry King are interviewed about the making of CLASS OF 1984, the 1982 cult classic. At thirty-six minutes we get to hear all about the production from the how Lestor got the idea in his head to how they eventually got the movie made.
Masters of the Grind
Act like Self
event2023
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The shocking true story behind the most outrageous movies of all time and the directors who made them.
King on Screen
Act like Self
event2023 star_border 7.4
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1976, Brian de Palma directs Carrie, the first novel by Stephen King. Since, more than 50 directors adapted the master of horror's books, in more than 80 films and series, making him now, the most adapted author still alive in the world.
Commando
Director
event1985 star_border 6.7
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John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.
Firestarter
Director
event1984 star_border 6.3
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Charlene "Charlie" McGee has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency which wants to destroy her?
Class of 1984
Director
event1982 star_border 6.4
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Andy is a new teacher at an inner city high school that is unlike any he has seen before. There are metal detectors at the front door and the place is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
Class of 1999
Director
event1990 star_border 6
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The time is in the future and the youth gang violence is so high that the areas around some schools have become "free-fire zones", into which not even the police will venture. When Miles Langford, the head of Kennedy High School, decides to take his school back from the gangs, robotics specialist Dr. Robert Forrest provides "tactical education units". These are amazingly human-like androids that have been programmed to teach and are supplied with devastatingly effective solutions to discipline problems. So when the violent, out-of-control students of Kennedy High report for class tomorrow, they're going to get a real education... in staying alive!
Showdown in Little Tokyo
Director
event1991 star_border 6.4
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An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.
Pterodactyl
Director
event2004 star_border 4.5
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A dormant volcano deep with the Turkish forest holds within it a deadly secret. Perfectly preserved, a nest of pterodactyl eggs are ready to hatch...
Groupie
Director
event2010 star_border 3.6
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When a mysterious groupie joins legendary cursed band, "The Dark Knights", a series of unexplained murders derails their comeback tour.
White Rush
Director
event2003 star_border 5.3
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A group of young tourist couples comes across a drug deal gone bad while on vacation.
Betrayal
Director
event2003 star_border 4
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When one of her hits goes wrong, a professional assassin ends up with a suitcase full of a million dollars belonging to a mob boss.
Public Enemies
Director
event1996 star_border 3.9
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Ma Barker and her sons rob banks, shoot people and wind up at the top of the FBI's Most Wanted list in the 1930s.
Stealing Candy
Director
event2003 star_border 5.1
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Three ex-cons kidnap a famous movie star and force her to film a sex tape live on the internet for a paying audience.
Stunts
Director
event1977 star_border 5.1
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After a stunt man dies while he is involved in the making of a motion picture, his brother takes his place in order to find out what really happened.
The Base
Director
event1999 star_border 4.6
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Major Murphy, a US Army Investigator, has received a new assignment. Sgt. Gammon is suspected of dealing cocaine from his base, and Murphy must gather enough evidence to shut down Gammon and his entire operation. Along with his partner, Lt. Andrews, the Major goes undercover to infiltrate the gang and find out just how far up the chain of command these activities are going.
Night of the Running Man
Director
event1995 star_border 5.7
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A Las Vegas cab driver finds a million dollars of stolen money in his cab after his fare is murdered. Soon after, a ruthless hitman is in persuit; he will stop at nothing to recover the money and dispose of all witnesses.
Truck Stop Women
Director
event1974 star_border 4.6
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A mother and daughter who run a brothel for truckers fight back when the Mafia tries to take over their operation.
Roller Boogie
Director
event1979 star_border 5.6
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Teen lovers Bobby and Terry band together with other roller skaters to try and prevent a powerful mobster taking over the land their favourite skating rink sits on, and compete in the Boogie Contest.
Extreme Justice
Director
event1993 star_border 4.9
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Jeff Powers is the newest member of a very elite and very secret LAPD division. Their mission is to target important criminals and to get them to stop. Police brutality is not a known term for the division and they will stop at nothing to get the job done, even if it means murder.
The Base 2: Guilty as Charged
Director
event2000 star_border 4.9
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US Army Investigator John Murphy (now a Lieutenant, although he was a Major in the previous Base movie) has been sent to look into a series of suspicious deaths that have been going on under the watch of Colonel Strauss. After going undercover and infiltrating Strauss's unit, Murphy discovers that Strauss and his men are leading a vigilante gang to dispense 'justice' to those they feel have been wrongly acquitted of various crimes.
Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw
Director
event1976 star_border 4.4
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A young country-star wannabe takes off from her carhop career to join with a young, modern Billy the Kid wannabe for an adventure in theft, murder and mayhem.
Hitman's Run
Director
event1999 star_border 4.9
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A former mob hitman, now in witness protection, is forced to come out of retirement when his family is threatened by his cohorts. He teams up with a skateboarding kid, who has a computer disk that the mob wants to get their hands on that has a list of new names for individuals in the FBI witness protection program. The list includes his dad, who separated from his mother years before and hadn't been seen since.
Day of Wrath
Executive Producer
event2006 star_border 4.2
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At the height of the Spanish Inquisition, high-ranking noblemen begin dropping like flies, with alarming frequency and unexplained violence. But can local 16th-century sheriff Ruy de Mendoza discern who's responsible when no one wants to cooperate? After all, before Mendoza can even identify the bodies, the crime scenes are mysteriously cleared - and the villagers pretend the murders never happened.
Blowback
Director
event2000 star_border 4.8
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After a psychotic religious killer is captured and sentenced to death, he is instead recruited by the US government and trained to become a professional assassin. He now seeks revenge on all those who participated in sentencing him to death.
Gold of the Amazon Women
Director
event1979 star_border 3.6
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An adventurer searches for the fabled Golden Cities of El Dorado and allies himself with a tribe of Amazon women against a murderous villain who is also after the treasure.
Double Take
Director
event1998 star_border 3.2
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A Writer identifies a murder, possibly mistakenly, in this tense plot twisting thriller.
Sinbad and the Minotaur
Producer
event2011 star_border 3.5
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Sinbad, armed with rumors of ancient gold, finds himself sneaking into the desert camp of the evil sorcerer Al-Jibar. Hidden among the many relics is an ivory scroll case containing the logs of the pirate Captain Minos, which will lead Sinbad to the golden head of the Colossus of Rhodes.
Misbegotten
Director
event1998 star_border 3
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Impatient to have a child, an infertile couple seeks help at a sperm bank and are thrilled when the procedure works. But their joy is cut short after they discover the donor is a psychopath willing to kill anyone who stands between him and his baby.
Sacrifice
Director
event2000 star_border 4.1
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A convicted bank robber breaks free as he is being transported to prison after learning that his daughter has been killed by a serial killer. Determined to find her killer, he joins with a female cop who is working the case. He quickly discovers that his daughter had recently had an abortion, an action common to all of the murdered women. Meanwhile the FBI agent that he escaped from is hot on his trail.
Poseidon Rex
Director
event2014 star_border 4.2
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Jackson Slate, famous treasure hunter, is out to find the legendary Lost Gold Of Cortez in the open waters off a secluded island in the Caribbean Sea. Using dynamite to blast his way through centuries of silt, new chasms are created reaching miles below the ancient ocean floor. From here, an ancient evil is released, that quickly, savagely, and without warning, destroys Jackson s boat and kills his crew. The sole survivor of the carnage, Jackson teams up with marine biologist, Sarah, to venture back to the site and investigate the horrific events. They extract an egg from the darkest depths of the ocean and take it back to the lab to investigate. But when it hatches, they realise they have awaken a deadly prehistoric monster, the P-Rex, which will stop at nothing until the entire island is destroyed...
Devil's Prey
Producer
event2001 star_border 4.4
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A group of young adults attend an all-night rave, only to discover that it's a trap for a satanic cult that requires flesh for bloody sacrifices.
The Ex
Director
event1996 star_border 4.4
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In order to get her husband back, an architect's psycho ex-wife kills everybody she can get her hands on.
Lost Colony: The Legend of Roanoke
Producer
event2007 star_border 5.2
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English colonists arriving on Roanoke Island in 1587 find the fort built years before deserted. Soon after, members of the colony begin to die in horrible ways. Before returning to England for provisions, leader John White puts his son-in-law Ananais Dare in charge, and Dare realizes the island is haunted by Norse spirits. Enlisting the aid of a friendly Native American, Dare attempts to free the spirits from their earthly captivity before the entire colony is lost.
Class of 1999 II: The Substitute
Original Series Creator
event1994 star_border 4.4
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In the original movie, the cyborg-teachers were all destroyed. Well that's what we thought, but there's one more rogue military robot out there determined to clean up the education system.
The Dragons of Camelot
Director
event2014 star_border 5
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The Kingdom of Camelot is plunged into darkness after the death of noble King Arthur, as the reign of his cruel sorceress sister, Morgan Le Fay, begins. Commanding three deadly dragons with her dark magic, she hunts the remaining Knights of the Round Table to the ends of the Earth.
Armed and Dangerous
Director
event1986 star_border 5.6
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After policeman Frank Dooley is framed for theft and loses his job on the force, he joins a security guard agency and teams up with inept former defense lawyer Norman Kane. When the two botch a job guarding a local warehouse, they begin to uncover corruption within the company and their union.
The Funhouse
Executive Producer
event1981 star_border 5.8
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Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy "Funhouse" horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy and her friends must evade the murderous carnival workers and escape before it leaves town the next day.
Jabberwock Dragon Siege
Producer
event2011 star_border 3.6
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Alec a courageous but impetuous knight returns to his home village having been summoned by his older brother Francis to care for their ailing father. The brothers' reunion is short-lived as a traveller terrified and half-crazed arrives to warn of an imminent attack by a winged creature with the body of a dragon the head of a gruesome insect and deadly claws. As the beast descends upon the peaceful town brash Alec draws his sword and the villagers arm themselves. Now the brothers must stand together to save their home and the people they love.
White House Madness
Director
event1975
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The Nixon Administration falls apart in a farcical manner in the time of the Watergate Scandal.
Cinderella's Revenge
Producer
event2024 star_border 4.3
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Cinderella finds freedom from her wicked stepmother with the help of her fairy godmother. Only this time, they unleash a plan of bloody vengeance.
The Wisher
Executive Producer
event2002 star_border 4.8
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Mary is a horror-movie junkie whose obsession is out of control, leading her over-protective father to ban her from seeing scary flicks. But when she and her friends sneak out to see a film called The Wisher, its creepy antagonist seems to escape into her life and make her darkest desires come true.
Ouija Witch
Executive Producer
event2023 star_border 2.8
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A woman scorned. A witch out for revenge. A small town not ready for what's coming.
The Gardener
Executive Producer
event2021 star_border 5.3
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A troubled wealthy family gathers in a quaint manor home for the holidays, never suspecting that bloodthirsty, sadistic Volker and his crew linger at the gates, ready to attack, rob, and maim them at nightfall. But they didn’t count on the estate’s quiet gardener, Peter Juhasz , who must return to the savage ways he learned as a soldier to save the family.
High Resolution
Producer
event2018 star_border 5.1
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An adaptation of Tao Lin’s beloved cult novel "Taipei". As one relationship collapses, another blooms for Erin, swept into the world of Paul Chen, a mysterious, charismatic author. When he proposes documenting every aspect of their courtship in an epic laptop-filmed “documentary”, the couple enter into a performative bad romance, fueled by substances and sleepless nights.
Sand Sharks
Producer
event2011 star_border 3.7
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Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the beach, it appears that our large fishy friends have found a way to chomp on you when you're chilling out on the sand too!
Dragon Wasps
Executive Producer
event2012 star_border 5
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A scientist enlists the help of the US army to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her father, deep in the Belizean jungle. Caught in the crossfire between a brutal guerrilla army controlled by a mystical warlord, they are also confronted by an even bigger terror giant mutated wasps that are, for some reason, thirsty for blood.
Hunt Club
Producer
event2023 star_border 4.5
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Follows a group of male hunters who regularly lure women to their island with the chance to win 100K in a hunt, only to discover that they are the hunted, but this time they mess with the wrong girls and must deal with the consequences.
Steel Arena
Director
event1973 star_border 4.7
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Dusty Russell shows off his talent as the greatest daredevil on the circuit. Later, he awaits the biggest challenge of his career.
Tricia's Wedding
Producer
event1971 star_border 4.9
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The world-famous Cockettes enact Tricia Nixon's wedding to Edward Cox on June 11, 1971. Hurtme O. Hurtme, television correspondent, covers the wedding and interviews celebrities in attendance such as Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, Jacqueline Onassis, Queen Elizabeth, and Elizabeth Taylor. Coretta King sings. During the reception, Eartha Kitt puts LSD in the punch. All hell breaks loose.
Sleeping With My Student
Producer
event2019 star_border 5.7
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New school headmaster and single mother Kathy discovers her vacation fling with charming 18-year-old Ian was no accident when he transfers to her school targeting Kathy and her teenage daughter Bree in a deadly scheme. Ian wants revenge as he believes Kathy is responsible for splitting up his family ultimately leading to his father's death. Kathy will need to uncover Ian's motives quickly if she hopes to protect herself and Bree from his dangerous threats.
Jurassic Attack
Executive Producer
event2013 star_border 4.7
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While returning from a military expedition a helicopter crash lands a commando unit in a dense, remote tropical jungle – a lost world populated by dinosaurs. Now they must find a way out of this isolated valley before becoming prey for prehistoric predators.
Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon
Executive Producer
event2008 star_border 4.3
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Surviving the plane crash was only the beginning ... After their plane crashes into uncharted territory in the Himalayas, the survivors set out to find help in the freezing cold. As the days pass and with no sign of a rescue, tensions begin to mount. The survivors wrestle with their consciences as they realise that in order to survive, they must use the bodies of the dead as food. But when it appears that something else is already feeding upon the dead, the survivors realise that their biggest danger is not hunger but something infinitely more sinister: a legendary Yeti is stalking them and is moving in for the kill. Can they outsmart the beast or will they die trying?
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