Greg Beville

Writing screenplays and making short films and comic books since junior high, Greg Beville was a film geek before it was mainstream. Two Uncles also helped him create crude but effective stop motion clay models one super 8 summer. The goal was to duplicate an early favorite: Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Beville was born and raised in "Sin City", Nevada. Both parents worked long hours in the casino industry. Mom and Dad were always able to attend Beville's school plays and art shows, however. Everyone in Beville's immediate family was either an artist, a painter, or a musician. Every day after school, and all summer, he would work on projects at his grandparents' house: comic books, short film scripts, and future movie posters. The excellent cinematography of Dean Cundey's films, chilling nightmares of nuclear Armageddon, and several volumes of DC horror comic book titles further inspired his artistic endeavors. Beville's grandfather, Richard, is an accomplished wildlife artist and was commissioned by the U.S. Navy to render several paintings for a nuclear submarine. Meeting musician Glen Danzig at the Las Vegas comic book store for Danzig's comic book signing; and hosting director John Landis at Beville's California arcade job for an evening of games and film talk with Landis and his family inspired Beville to pursue comic book writing and filmmaking as a legitimate career. Learning firsthand from such luminaries in the film industry as John Badham (Saturday Night Fever); Peter Hyams (Outland); and William Friedkin (The Exorcist) rounded out Beville's film education at Chapman Film School in Orange, CA. "My primary influences will always remain films and graphic art. Only recently has comic book illustration been considered legitimate art in American culture. Artists such as Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Jack Kirby, and Bernie Wrightson can convey more expression in one comic book page than an entire screenplay. Marv Wolfman and the late Dwayne McDuffie have also influenced my writing through their comic book stories." Beville recently achieved a personal goal. After a decade seeking missing footage from Clive Barker's original cut of Nightbreed-Beville convinced the showrunners at Los Angeles Comikaze Expo to host a panel for the newly restored horror masterpiece (at the eleventh hour). "Restoration editor Andrew Furtado and I screened footage for a rowdy audience on Sunday morning. Definitely felt a sense of accomplishment after hunting down the footage on my own for so long. Thanks to Seraphim Films, Clive Barker, and the cast & crew of Nightbreed." Beville also screened Phil Tippett's (Jurassic Park/Jurassic World) short film Mad God Part One on Halloween 2014. "At some point- I would love to screen several of the chapters of Tippet's long gestating and crowdfunded grand guignol of stop motion wizardry. Phil Tippett and his team are amazing artists and I will do anything to support Tippett Studio!" Moderating convention panels about special effects, writing screenplays and story consulting, and conceiving new comic book realms will continue to fuel Beville's dream quest for a long time.