Dwight Little Biography

Passionate about film from a young age, Cleveland, Ohio native Dwight Little studied filmmaking at the University of Southern California. His senior thesis project, Americano, won the Focus Film Festival's top prize, the Chicago Film Festival's Golden Hugo Award, and the Cino-Golden Eagle Award.

After graduation, Little directed and co-wrote his first feature film, KGB: The Secret War (1986), starring Sally Kellerman. The same year, he directed and co-wrote another feature, Getting Even (1986), starring Edward Albert and Joe Don Baker. His first big Hollywood production was Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Little's success with the horror genre gave him the opportunity to direct for the TV series Freddy's Nightmares, which starred Robert Englund of the Nightmare on Elm Street horror movies as Freddy. His next feature film was The Phantom of the Opera (1989), starring Englund as the phantom.

Marked For Death (1990), an action flick starring Steven Seagal, was the most successful box office movie of Little's career at that time, staying in the number one spot for three consecutive weeks nationally. He wasn't as lucky with Rapid Fire (1992), starring Brandon Lee, and completely switched genres by helming the family-oriented Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995). Murder at 1600 (1997), starring Wesley Snipes and Diane Lane, was filmed in Toronto on a low budget and made a tidy profit at the box office. However, Little decided it was time to try his hand at television and directed episodes of series as diverse as The X-Files, The Practice, Millennium, Strange World, Wolf Lake, Citizen Baines and John Doe.

He returned to the big screen with the thriller Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004), set in the Borneo jungle but filmed in Fiji.

Filmography:

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
Murder at 1600 (1997)
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
Rapid Fire (1992)
Marked for Death (1990)
The Phantom of the Opera (1989)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Bloodstone (1988)
Getting Even (1986)
KGB: The Secret War (1986)