John Birmingham is an American filmmaker, actor and musician who graduated Loyola Marymount University in 2000 with a BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Screenwriting and Chapman University in 2005 with a MFA in Film Production. He makes musical feature films in which he writes the original musical numbers, stars in the films and writes/directs/produces, and in some cases edits his own films. John is best known for making two feature films in this style: Crazy Animal and The Vampires of Zanzibar. Crazy Animal sneak previewed in Park City at Tromadance

TromaDance

The TromaDance Film Festival is a free annual independent film festival organized by Troma Entertainment. Founded in 1999, TromaDance was originally held in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, operating concurrently alongside the Sundance Film Festival in order to showcase an independent...

 2006. It has roles by John Birmingham, Ron Jeremy

Ron Jeremy

Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...

, Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman

Lloyd Kaufman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. With producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their feature films, including The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Kaufman also serves as...

 and Brinke Stevens

Brinke Stevens

Brinke Stevens is an American actress, model and writer.-Life and career:Born in San Diego, California, Stevens has studied several foreign languages, including Esperanto, and gained a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from San Diego State University and a Master of Science in Marine...

. It was released worldwide on March 31, 2009 by Troma Entertainment

Troma Entertainment

Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce...

. The Vampires of Zanzibar has roles by Brandon Dicamillo

Brandon DiCamillo

Brandon Ralph DiCamillo is an American actor, stuntman and screenwriter. He was a founding member of the CKY Crew and rose to fame through appearances in the CKY video series and MTV's Jackass, Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union.-Personal life:He previously worked for Neiman-Marcus, and is the...

 and Chris Raab

Chris Raab

Christian Joseph Raab, , better known by his stage name Raab Himself, is an American television personality, known as a former member of the CKY Crew featured in the MTV series Viva La Bam and Jackass ....

 ("Raab Himself") of Jackass

Jackass

A jackass is a male donkey.Jackass may also refer to:In entertainment:* Jackass ** Jackass: The Movie, 2002** Jackass Number Two, 2006 film** Jackass 2.5, a DVD release** Jackass: The Game, a video game...

/Viva La Bam

Viva La Bam

Viva La Bam is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show was a spin-off from MTV's Jackass, in which Margera and most of the main cast had appeared...

/CKY

CKY (band)

CKY is an American alternative metal band that formed in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1998. Centred around core members Deron Miller , Chad I Ginsburg and Jess Margera , the band shares its name with a skateboarding and stunt video series produced by Bam Margera, brother of drummer Jess...

 fame and Eerie Von

Eerie Von

Eerie Von, born Eric Stellman on is a musician best known as the original bassist for the metal band Danzig. Eerie Von's preferred bass is the Fender Jazz.-Early life:...

 of Samhain

Samhain

Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...

/Danzig

Danzig (band)

Danzig is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey. The band serves as a musical outlet for the singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig. Danzig can be seen as the third stage in Glenn Danzig's musical career, preceded by the horror punk bands The Misfits and Samhain...

 fame. The Vampires of Zanzibar is set to premiere at one of the "-dance" film festivals in Park City 2010. Aside from making these musical feature films, John has worked as a production designer and set decorator on feature films such as the Full Moon Studios release Horror Vision

Horror Vision

Horror Vision is a 2001 horror film directed by Danny Draven. The story for the movie was written by JR Bookwalter and the screenplay was written by Scott Phillips.-Plot:...

 and Mitch Rouse

Mitch Rouse

Edward Mitchell "Mitch" Rouse is an American film and television actor, director and screenwriter.Rouse was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he played football at Oak Ridge High School. He attended the University of Tennessee before developing an interest in...

's major independent feature Nobody Knows Anything with cameos by Mike Myers

Mike Myers (actor)

Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...

, Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller

Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

, Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...

 and many others. John has had the privilege to either star in or direct films involving Ed Asner

Ed Asner

Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...

 (PSA titled "The Potential"), Pauly Shore

Pauly Shore

Paul Montgomery "Pauly" Shore is an American comedian and actor who starred in several comedy films in the 1990s and hosted a video show on MTV in the late 1980s and early 1990s...

 (DVD Host for John's short film Rebel Fish), Peter Medak

Peter Medak

Peter Medak is a Hungarian-born film director of British and American films.-Early life:He was born in Budapest, Hungary to a Jewish family, but in 1956 fled his native country for England due to the Hungarian Revolution...

(John's professor at Chapman University) and many other Hollywood greats.

In late 2010, Birmingham alongside his partner and wife Danica DeCosto, created a web series called 'The Birmingham Zoo'.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Character
2001	Stiches	Production Designer
2001	Horrorvision	Production Designer
2002	Rebel Fish (short film)	Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Composer
2003	Nobody Knows Anything	Set Decorator
2005	Lava Lounge	Production Designer
2005	Blood, Guts & Cleaning Supplies	Actor	Lead Guitarist
2006	Crazy Animal	Writer, Director, Producer, Actor, Composer	Ricky
2009	Family Property	Actor	Sheriff Carter
2009	Arkusan Martinsson	Actor	Johnny Tex
2009	Direct Your Own Damn Movie!	Interviewee	Himself
2009	The Breeding	Actor	Accidental Victim
2010	The Vampires of Zanzibar	Writer, Director, Producer, Actor, Composer	Mabus / Rakeed
2010	We Bite!	Producer, Actor, Cinematographer	Himself
2010	The Birmingham Zoo!	Director, Producer, Actor, Cinematographer	Himself (8 episodes, 2010)
2011	Midnight Matinee Psycho	Actor	Tony Love
2012	Plan 9 From Outerspace	Producer, Actor	Bruce