William Lustig

For the American gang leader and labor racketeer, see Billy Lustig.
William Lustig
Born (1955-02-01) February 1, 1955
New York City, New York, U.S.
Other namesBilly Bagg
Alma materNew York University
Occupations
Notable work
RelativesJake LaMotta (uncle)

William Lustig (born February 1, 1955) is an American filmmaker and film distributor, known for his work in the horror genre.[1] His best-known films include Maniac (1980), Vigilante (1982), and Maniac Cop (1988) and its sequels.[1] He is also the founder of the boutique home video label Blue Underground.[2]

Early life and education

Lustig was born and raised in New York City. His uncle was middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. He studied filmmaking New York University while working as a production assistant on the films The Seven-Ups (1973) and Death Wish (1974).[3][4]

Career

Early in his career, Lustig worked in sexploitation and adult films under the alias "Billy Bagg".[4] He was also the US production manager for the Italian horror films Inferno (1980) and Tenebrae (1982), by Dario Argento.[4][5]

As a film director, Lustig is best known for his low-budget horror films Maniac,[6] Vigilante, Uncle Sam, and the Maniac Cop series.[7] Lustig has also worked as an actor playing small roles in his own films as well as in films by Sam Raimi, most notably as a fake shemp in Army of Darkness and a dockworker in Darkman.[5]

He also produced a remake of his film Maniac (2012) and is rumoured to be producing a new upcoming Maniac Cop with Nicolas Winding Refn.[8] In an interview with Vulture in January 2023, Refn, when asked whether the creation of the series was still under discussion, said: "All I can say is, unfortunately, it’s not going to happen."[9]

Blue Underground

Lustig is the founder of Blue Underground; a boutique DVD and Blu-ray label.[2]

Filmography

Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Writer Producer
1977 Hot Honey Yes Yes No Credited as 'Billy Bagg'
The Violation of Claudia Yes Story No
1980 Maniac Yes No Yes
1982 Vigilante Yes No Yes
1988 Maniac Cop Yes No No
1989 Hit List Yes No No
Tripwire No Story No
Relentless Yes No No
1990 Maniac Cop 2 Yes No No
1993 Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence Yes No No
1995 The Expert Yes No No Uncredited; replaced by Rick Avery
1996 Uncle Sam Yes No No
2012 Maniac No No Yes

Other production credits

Year Title Director Notes
1973 The Seven-Ups Philip D'Antoni Production assistant
Hypnorotica Peter Savage
1974 Death Wish Michael Winner Apprentice editor: New York
1976 The Zebra Force Joe Tornatore Stunt performer
1977 Sylvia Peter Savage Production manager/assistant director
1980 Bella Alexander Kubelka Production manager
1978 The Squeeze Antonio Margheriti Production manager: U.S.
1980 Inferno Dario Argento
1982 Tenebrae

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1980 Maniac Motel Manager
1982 Vigilante Man Exiting Elevator
1988 Cameron's Closet Man Eating Ice Cream
1989 Relentless Cop
1990 Darkman Dockworker
1992 Trepanator Man With Nightmares
Army of Darkness Fake Shemp
2016 222 Mad Hatter Short film
2023 Raven Van Slender Saves Christmas! Billy

References

  1. ^ a b Lustig, William; Steve Voce (Spring 1995). "William Lustig; Interview by Steve Voce". Psychotronic Video. 20: 52–59.
  2. ^ a b Cultfilms en Kutfilms Interview with Bill Lustig (April 13, 2007)
  3. ^ "William Lustig interview". THE FLASHBACK FILES. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  4. ^ a b c "Greasy Kidstuff Magazine". Greasy Kidstuff. Retrieved 2026-01-08.
  5. ^ a b March 2008 Interview Archived 2019-10-17 at the Wayback Machine with L.A. Record
  6. ^ Canby, Vincent (1981-01-31). "Maniac". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
  7. ^ "NYC Horror Film Festival Announces 2009 Lineup and Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient". DreadCentral. November 6, 2009.
  8. ^ "'Maniac Cop' Sales Art Presented by Nicolas Winding Refn!". Bloody Disgusting. 13 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Nicolas Winding Refn Answers Some Questions, Leaves the Rest to His Shrinks". Vulture. 9 January 2023.
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