<html> <head> <title>Bryan Singer</title> </head> <body bgcolor="#000000" text="#ffffff" link="#ffffff" alink="#ffffff" vlink="#ffffff"> <basefont size="3"> <p align="center"><img border="0" src="singer_logo.jpg" width="298" height="142"></p> <p align="center"><img src="singer.jpg"></P> <p align="center">Bryan Singer - Exciting New Talent</p> <p> Bryan Singer Hailed as one of the film industry's most exciting and provocative new talents after the huge success of The Usual Suspects (1995), director Bryan Singer has built his reputation on making films that are essentially lengthy, verbally captivating flirtations with the darker side of human nature. <p></p> Born in 1966, Singer was brought up in southern New Jersey. Raised in a Jewish household, his early childhood was in part marked by his formation, with a couple of non-Jewish friends, of a so-called "Nazi Club." The existence of the club - which, Singer has said, was formed more out of a fascination with WWII than an insult to his own heritage - was unsurprisingly put to a quick end by his mother. The incident channeled Singer's own awareness of his Jewish identity, and caused one interviewer to label him as "young Hollywood's great Jewish hope." <p></p> Singer's upbringing was also marked by his interest in filmmaking, something he began pursuing as a teenager. Following his high school graduation, he was admitted to New York City's School of Visual Arts, but he transferred to the University of Southern California to finish his studies. <p></p> After graduation, Singer wrote and directed a short film called Lion's Den. Starring high school friend Ethan Hawke and filmed for a cost of $16,000, it told the story of a group of high school friends who reunite a few years after graduation and find that they are not as close as they once were. Lion's Den paved the way for Singer's next effort, Public Access. <p></p> His first independent feature was an examination of the dangers wrought by mass media upon a small town community, and won an award at the 1993 Sundance Festival. <p></p> Two years later, Singer had his true breakthrough with The Usual Suspects. A twisting, insanely intricate whodunit that was as remarkable for the strength of its cast as its obsessive complexity, the film was an unanticipated commercial and critical success, earning a slew of awards. <p></p> Singer followed up The Usual Suspects three years later with Apt Pupil. The film, which was adapted from Stephen King's novel about a young boy who enters into an unholy pact with a Nazi war criminal was marked by hype from the beginning but ultimately proved to be a disappointment. <p></p> Singer resurfaced in 2000 with X-Men. A much-anticipated adaptation of the beloved Marvel comic, it was Singer's most high-profile project to date, with a budget of $75 million. <p> </body> </html>