This Day in Horror History: Happy Birthday, Lexi Alexander!
Mike Sprague
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On this day in horror history, Punisher: War Zone director Lexi Alexander, (Alexandra Mirai) was born in Mannheim, Germany in 1974
Alexander studied acting at Joanne Baron’s acting school in L.A. and filmmaking at UC. She began studying martial arts when she was 8 years old and has a third-degree black belt in karate. After two years of kickboxing, she joined the German National Team and won the German point fighting championships four times and the European championships two times. At 19, she became the World Kickboxing Association world champion in karate-point fighting in Atlantic City.
Chuck f*cking Norris encouraged Alexander to come to Hollywood and even sponsored her immigration. She worked as a stunt person for years specializing in fighting, motorcycles, falls from high-rises, and precision driving. She also trained f*cking Marines in hand-to-hand combat.
Self-financed for $35,000 and filmed in 5 days, Alexander’s first short film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
This success led Alexander to direct Green Street Hooligans with Charlie Hunnam and Elijah Wood. Alexander co-wrote a screenplay with Dougie Brimson, and Joshua Shelov based on a story about West Ham United. It was only the second in the history of SXSW to win the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and Audience Award for Narrative Feature.
Next, she Made history as the first woman to direct a Marvel adaptation with Punisher: War Zone with Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle. She has also directed shows such as Arrow, Supergirl, and Taken. Alexander is currently working on a Blumhouse TV series You Bury Me, which will be a war-torn love story set in modern-day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Alexander is a vocal advocate for equality in Hollywood and speaks out against gender discrimination and sexism, and promotes diversity, including a more positive and visible representation of Arabs.
What’s your favortie Lexi Alexander motion picture? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
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