David Mickey Evans Explained

David Mickey Evans
Birth Place:Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Birth Date:20 October 1962
Yearsactive:1987present

David Mickey Evans (born October 20, 1962) is an American film director and screenwriter. His films tend to focus on children and the challenges of childhood. A baseball fan, Evans directed and co-wrote The Sandlot (1993).[1]

Life and career

Evans was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1962. In 1980 he moved to Los Angeles for college. He attended Loyola Marymount University and graduated with a film degree in 1984. He got his start writing action-thriller films, but found his niche in the 1990s with family-oriented films that appealed to adults, children and critics alike.

He became one of the highest paid screenwriters during this time, selling the screenplays to both Radio Flyer and The Sandlot for over $1,000,000 each. Radio Flyer was originally to be directed by Evans, but he was replaced by Richard Donner due to his inexperience. Reshoots followed after poor test screenings and the film budget jumped from $15,000,000 to $30,000,000. The original script called for more fantasy sequences involving a worm man and zombies but these ideas were scrapped when Richard Donner replaced Evans. Radio Flyer opened to mostly mixed reviews from critics while The Sandlot received much more positive reviews and better box office results.

Success for Evans became fleeting by the late 1990s, with films like First Kid and Ed bombing with critics and at the box office. Evans switched to more adult-oriented humor and material with After School Special, but didn't fare much better. Since then, he has written and directed numerous made-for-TV and direct-to-DVD films, including The Sandlot 2, the sequel to the popular film The Sandlot.

Filmography

Year! scope="col"
TitleDirectorWriterNotes
1987Open House
Terminal Entry
1992Radio Flyer Also executive producer
1993Journey to the Center of the EarthTV movie
Also executive producer
The SandlotAlso narrator
1996Ed
First Kid
1999My Teacher, My FriendAlso narrator
2000Beethoven's 3rd
2001Beethoven's 4th Also actor:Hammet
2003National Lampoon's Barely Legal Also associate producer and actor: Dave
My Teacher, My Friend IIAlso narrator
Wilder DaysTV film
2004
2005The Sandlot 2 Also narrator
2007The Final Season
2009
2010Tranced
2011Glastonbury: Isle of Light
2012Smitty

Notes and References

  1. News: The New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20080621114204/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/89189/David-Mickey-Evans. dead. 2008-06-21. Movies & TV Dept.. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2008.