Biography

William "Bill" Lustig (born February 1, 1955, in The Bronx, New York) is an American film director and producer who has worked primarily in the horror film genre. He is the nephew of former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. As a film director, Lustig is best known for his low-budget horror films Maniac, Vigilante, Uncle Sam, and the Maniac Cop series. Lustig has also worked as an actor playing small roles in his own films as well as in films by Sam Raimi, most notably as a fake shemp in Army of Darkness and a dockworker in Darkman. As of 2009, Lustig is the CEO of Blue Underground; an entertainment company specializing in the release of obscure films and exploitation films on DVD. He also produced a remake of his film Maniac (2012) and is rumoured to be producing a new upcoming Maniac Cop with Nicolas Winding Refn. In an interview with Vulture in January 2023, Refn, when asked whether the creation of the series was still under discussion, said: "All I can say is, unfortunately, it’s not going to happen."