Damion Dietz

Damion Dietz is a writer and film director known for his successful underground/independent films. He directed Neverland (2003), a surreal and modern retelling of the classic J. M. Barrie play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, starring Rick Sparks, Melany Bell, Gary Kelley, and anime voice actress Kari Wahlgren. The film also features appearances from Wil Wheaton and Scott Mechlowicz (later in Mean Creek and Euro Trip).

A graduate of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, Dietz' debut feature film was Fag Hag (1998), a politically incorrect, low-budget satire for Troma Entertainment. It has been described as "a punk, underground trash cinema classic" (New York Post / Page Six), "a savagely funny, deranged comedy of manners (Chicago Tribune), and "rollicking, trashy and clever" (Variety). The film stars Dietz and Stephanie Orff, and also features Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me and Star Trek:  TNG).

Dietz' subsequent films have also skewered popular culture and/or dealt with characters on the fringe. They include Beverly Kills (2005), a campy farce about a terrorist cult of failed Hollywood actors, and Love Life (2006), a melodrama about the marriage of convenience between a closeted former athlete and his lesbian wife, which premiered at the Frameline film festival in San Francisco and was selected as the benefit film for the Human Rights Campaign.

Dietz' film Dog Tags (2008), financed and distributed theatrically in the U.S. and U.K. by TLA Releasing, is a sharp departure from his satirical earlier work, prompting The Village Voice to note "in Dog Tags, Dietz gets serious and is all the better for it... he has freed himself as a writer". The acclaimed drama centers around a Marine on leave and the sexually confused man with whom he develops an intense bond. The film stars Paul Preiss, Bart Fletcher, Amy Lindsay, and Academy Award nominee Candy Clark (American Graffiti and The Man Who Fell To Earth).