After studying production at the University of South Carolina, and working as an executive assistant at Columbia Pictures, he wrote and directed his debut film, Swimming with Sharks, which starred Kevin Spacey and Frank Whaley. Released in 1994, the film was a biting satire of Hollywood politics from the point-of-view of a studio underling. Although not a major box-office smash, the movie received huge critical acclaim. Since then he has directed Trojan War (1997) and How to Make a Monster (2001).