'24's' Krantz moves behind camera

'Otis' director rides Flame to made-for-DVD fame

By ANNE THOMPSON

It's been a long strange trip from TV agent to TV producer to filmmaker.

Tony Krantz, who has wanted to direct ever since graduating from Beverly Hills High School, had moved from CAA's mailroom to running the TV department -- where he lays claim to packaging, among other shows, "ER," "The West Wing," "Twin Peaks" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" --to partnering with Brian Grazer as co-chairman of Imagine Television.

After six years, Krantz moved on from Imagine to produce TV shows under his Flame Ventures banner exclusively for Warner Bros. While he delivered five series, among them "24," "Wonderworld," and the "Mulholland Drive" pilot that morphed into David Lynch's feature film, Krantz was miserable when Warner wouldn't do what it would take to nab "Desperate Housewives," which landed at Touchstone.

Krantz yearned for something more. So he went indie, partnering with Warners on three made-for-DVD sci-fi and horror actioners budgeted at $2.5 million each for the Raw Feed label.

"Rest Stop" swiftly became Warner's top-selling direct-to-DVD. And Krantz, who had never looked through a camera lens, insisted on helming one, "Sublime," himself.

Warners asked for three more. And again, Krantz directed, this time the edgy horror pic "Otis," which gained notoriety at SXSW and hits DVD stores June 10.

Flame is also partnering with Jim Henson Studios, Prana Animation and the Weinstein Co. on "Unstable Fables," three animated direct-to-DVD fairy tales, and with TWC on three low-budget films for a new martial arts label, Qi, to be shot in Asia, in partnership with director-producer Andy Lau. "It's 'Infernal Affairs' meets '24,'" says Krantz.

But while he's ready to launch his own made-for-DVD studio, what Krantz really wants to do is keep on directing.

He's prepping a NASCAR Imax doc. And he's hoping to direct his first theatrical film, "The Big Bang," neo-noir drama written by frequent collaborator Eric Jendreson.

Says Krantz: "The hidden benefit of the Raw Feed movies was establishing a directing career for myself."