D.A. Metrov

Born in Los Angeles, D. A. Metrov grew up in Ontario, California, the small, one-time dairy capital of the Inland Empire. Because his father was the town photographer and amateur filmmaker, Metrov acquired his first still camera at age 7, and his first super8mm movie camera at age 9. At the same time, his mother nurtured his artistic abilities, encouraging him to copy drawings and paintings of Michelangelo and DaVinci. Metrov attended the UCLA film school, then moved to New York City where he worked for ten years as a designer and fine arts painter. During this time, he spent a year painting in Rome, Italy. When Abel Ferrara shot his first feature [The Driller Killer] in Metrov's Noho artist loft, Metrov's interest in cinema was rekindled. He wrote a 32 page treatment with drawings for Solarbabies. The treatment evolved into a 12-minute, computerized slide presentation. With the help of Mark Johnson [Rainman], the project was sold to Mel Brooks's Brooksfilms. The movie was made and distributed by MGM. Metrov's early writing mentors were Menno Meyjes, Walon Green, and Bruce Joel Rubin [Ghost]. His first agent was Jack Rapke of CAA, now producer for Robert Zemeckis. Metrov wanted to direct. But because of his training as a fine arts painter (which means that you start with a blank canvas) he first began to write. He painted and wrote screenplays and novels for several years. Finally he wrote, produced and directed his first micro-budget feature, Dark Spiral in 1996, then another Little Eden in 2002. He has also made several short films, and continues to write screenplays and YA novels.