Robert Mandel
Robert Mandel (born 1945) is a film producer and director and television director from Oakland, California. He is best known for his film "School Ties", which launched the careers of Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Cole Hauser and Chris O'Donnell. Biography. Robert Mandel was born in Oakland, California, but grew up in Queens, New York, where he became interested in theater. Mandel attended Bucknell University and decided to pursue stage directing at Manhattan Theatre Club and The Public Theater during the early 1970s. During the late 1970s, Mandel attended M.F.A. studies at Columbia University and then at  the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated in 1979. During his studies at the American Film Institute, Mandel received the Alfred Hitchcock Award for his thesis film, "Night at O'Rears", which then went on to win the First Prize at Filmex in Los Angeles, First Prize at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, Texas; and was exhibited at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. Mandel went on to become a successful film director, as well as a television series director, having directed "Lost", "Nash Bridges" and "The Practice". He was the director of the pilot for "The X-Files  and the sixth episode of Prison Break". Mandel was the original director hired on for what was then titled "Carrie 2: Say You're Sorry" but quickly left the production over "creative differences." Katt Shea took over as director for the film, which was eventually released as "". Mandel was the dean of AFI Conservatory for nine years from 2005 to 2014. He was the first alumnus of the program to be selected a dean.