
Rod Lurie
Directing
Biography
Rod Lurie is an Israeli-American director, screenwriter and former film critic. Lurie's first foray into filmmaking, as writer and director, was the low-budget political thriller Deterrence (1999), with Kevin Pollak as the first Jewish President of the United States. The characters (in his films) of President Jackson Evans (The Contender), prison inmate Lt. Gen. Eugene Irwin (The Last Castle), FBI agent Paige Van Doren (Line of Fire), and vice presidential nominee Gen. (ret.) Warren Keaton (Commander in Chief) are all fictional graduates of the "Long Gray Line".
Known For

The epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a Confederate soldier who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who killed his wife. His journey takes him west to Hell on Wheels, a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot of a town that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, an engineering feat unprecedented for its time.
Hell on Wheels

Mackenzie Allen has a lot on her plate -- she has twin teenagers, a 6-year-old at home and an ambitious husband at the office, and she is about to become the first female president of the United States. Before that happens, however; Mackenzie, who serves as vice president, has to decide whether or not to go against the dying wishes of the current president, who has asked her to step down and let someone "more appropriate" fill his shoes in the Oval Office. Not only does the president want her to resign, so does the entire party that elected her in the first place. But when the moment of truth arrives, Mackenzie isn't willing to be a mere footnote in history. Instead of allowing her detractors to keep her down, she decides to trust her instincts and accept the most powerful job in the world.
Commander in Chief

A small unit of U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating, located deep in the valley of three mountains in Afghanistan, battles to defend against an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters in a coordinated attack. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 and Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conflict.
The Outpost

In this "Traffic"-like action drama, an international conspiracy explodes when three strangers' lives unexpectedly collide - a female soldier, a corporate lawyer and a political activist.
American Odyssey

A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
The Last Castle

Welcome to the war between the FBI and organized crime. One side enforces the law as the other breaks it, but brains, brawn and intimidation are often the tools of both trades. The Richmond-based Malloy Crime Syndicate is run by Jonah Malloy, a charismatic but dangerous father figure. The Richmond FBI branch has its own dynamic leader in Special Agent-In-Charge Lisa Cohen. Like any business, they must justify operations and produce results while wrangling lieutenants who are as flawed as they are hard-working.
Line of Fire

A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.
Straw Dogs

When reporter Rachel Armstrong writes a story that reveals the identity of a covert CIA operative, the government demands that Rachel reveal her source. She defies the special prosecutor and is thrown in jail. Meanwhile, her attorney, Albert Burnside argues her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nothing But the Truth

The vice president is dead, and as the president makes his choice for a replacement, a secret contest of wills is being waged by a formidable rival. When Senator Laine Hanson is nominated as the first woman in history to hold the office, hidden agendas explode into a battle for power.
The Contender

Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
Resurrecting the Champ

Killing Reagan explores the events surrounding the assassination attempt on president Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. Based on the best-selling book, the film begins in the final months leading up to the 1980 presidential election, and explores the challenges Reagan faced to define himself as a leader. Meanwhile, an aimless and deranged Hinckley is unraveling, leading to the fateful day in March 1981 when these disparate figures collided.
Killing Reagan

Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.
Black Butterfly

A wounded American soldier fights to survive behind enemy lines during WWII's Battle of the Bulge against the Germans, relying on his instinct, spy craft and a hand-radio to evade capture and find his way back to his unit.
Lucky Strike

Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.
What Doesn't Kill You

A young man about to get married earns extra cash by driving a local mobster, but things go awry when the mobster is shot dead by a rival crime boss.
Scenes of the Crime

HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers and critics and ask some interesting questions of people such as George Lucas, Bill Maher, Mike Ditka, Rob Zombie, Howie Mandel and many more. This fast moving, hilarious documentary pulls no punches as you see an uncensored look at just how nasty and mean the fight is between those in the spotlight and those in the dark.
Heckler

The President of the United States must deal with an international military crisis while confined to a Colorado diner during a freak snowstorm.
Deterrence

At 59, Mike Flynt may be too old to be on a college football field, but not too old to feel the weight of unfinished business. After nearly four decades, he returns to his alma mater to take the hit that changed everything. Bruised, doubted, and nearly broken, he pushes for one more game, not for glory, but for the teammates he lost, the family he fractured, and the ending he still believes is possible.
The Senior

Matthew Barnes is a young exec on the move up who finds himself a pawn in corporate in-fighting when he's sent to London to oversee a merger.
The Search for John Gissing

A documentary film that explores the relationship between publicists and journalists in Hollywood.