Early life

David DeCoteau was born on January 5, 1962, in Portland, Oregon,^[4] where he was raised.^[1] DeCoteau was an only child and was adopted at birth.^[5] His father was of Native American heritage.^[5] DeCoteau's mother died of cancer when he was eight years old.^[5] As a teenager, DeCoteau developed a love for film, and worked as a theater projectionist beginning at age fifteen.^[5]

Career

He has worked professionally in the movie business since he was 18. He got his start through Roger Corman, who hired him in 1980 as a production assistant at New World Pictures. In 1986, DeCoteau directed and produced his first feature film for Charles Band. He is the founder of Rapid Heart Pictures, where his films include A Talking Cat!?! and the 1313 series. He has said of his working methods, "I always wanted to make what I could sell. So I just promised myself that I would not be set in my ways. If somebody said, ‘Look, we need a horror film, we need a creature feature, we need a Western, we need a period costume drama,’ I was able to put it together pretty quickly."^[6]

DeCoteau has produced and directed more than ninety motion pictures over the past twenty-five years. He resides in British Columbia and Los Angeles.^[7] He is openly gay.^[8]