Allan Ungar

Allan Ungar
Born
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active2012–present
Notable workUncharted, Bandit

Allan Ungar is a Canadian film director, producer, and screenwriter known for the true crime drama Bandit, Sympathy for the Devil, and the Uncharted Live Action Fan Film.

Career

When Ungar was 23 years old, he was hired to write and direct his first feature film Tapped Out, an MMA drama starring Michael Biehn, Anderson Silva, Krzysztof Soszynski and Martin Kove.[1] Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the film on May 27, 2014.[2] Ungar followed up his debut with the throwback action thriller, Gridlocked, starring Dominic Purcell, Danny Glover, Stephen Lang, Trish Stratus, and Saul Rubinek.[3][4][5] The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest where it was sold to Netflix after being well received by audiences. Variety praised it as "brutally and divertingly efficient" while other critics called it an authentic tribute to buddy cop films of the 80s and 90s. The film was released by Netflix on June 14, 2016.

On July 16, 2018, Ungar and Nathan Fillion released a live action short film based on the Naughty Dog franchise Uncharted. The short immediately went viral and received critical acclaim for its witty humor, action, and ability to stay true to the source material. Fans and critics began campaigning for Netflix or YouTube to turn it into a series while referring to it as one of the best adaptations of a video game.[6]

Ungar directed and produced the crime drama Bandit, a biopic based on the true story of The Flying Bandit starring Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, Nestor Carbonell, and Mel Gibson.[7] It was released theatrically by Quiver Distribution and Redbox Entertainment on September 23, 2022 to positive reviews. Critics declared it Josh Duhamel's career-best performance and gave praise to Ungar's stylish direction.[8][9] One month after the film was released, Redbox announced that it was the most watched original title of 2022 and their 2nd-best release ever. The film debuted at #1 on Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV Canada, topping streaming charts around the world.[10]

On December 16, 2022 it was announced that Ungar would be serving as an Executive Producer on the film adaptation of Death Stranding alongside Hideo Kojima and Barbarian producer Alex Lebovici.[11]

Filmography

Year Film Notes
2014 Tapped Out Director/Writer
2015 Gridlocked Director/Co-Writer
2015 The Sound Producer
2018 Uncharted Live Action Fan Film Director/Co-Writer/Producer
2022 Bandit Director/Producer
2023 Sympathy for the Devil Producer
2025 London Calling Director/Producer/Writer
TBA Death Stranding Producer

References

  1. ^ "Allan Ungar Interview". theactionelite.com. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  2. ^ Vlessing, Etan (November 4, 2013). "AFM: Lionsgate, Grindstone Take U.S. Rights to Allan Ungar's 'Tapped' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Vlessing, Etan (June 20, 2014). "Dominic Purcell Replacing Cuba Gooding Jr. in Canadian Indie 'Gridlocked'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  4. ^ Vlessing, Etan (July 2, 2014). "'Dark Angel's' Richard Gunn Joins Canadian Indie 'Gridlocked' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Vlessing, Etan (July 21, 2014). "Former TV Wrestling Diva Trish Stratus Joins 'Gridlocked'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Stephen, Bijan (July 16, 2018). "Nathan Fillion stars as Nathan Drake in what might be film's only good video game adaptation". theverge.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Lang, Brent (May 19, 2021). "Mel Gibson, Elisha Cuthbert Join Josh Duhamel in 'Bandit' (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Bandit Review: Josh Duhamel Steals The Show As A Legendary Canadian Bank Robber". The Wrap. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Josh Duhamel is superb in riveting new film Bandit". Markos Papadatos. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  10. ^ "In Brief: NBA stars, Wu-Tang rapper board Handle with Care". Playback Online. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  11. ^ "'Death Stranding' Film Adaptation in the Works From Kojima Productions". Variety. Retrieved 16 December 2022.