Randall Miller (born July 24, 1962)[1] is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and occasional actor.
In his 40s, Miller ventured into independent film, taking money out of his house to direct and produce Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005), an expansion of his 1990 short into a full-length feature.
Miller followed this with the indie films Nobel Son (2007), Bottle Shock (2008), and CBGB (2013), all starring Alan Rickman in the lead role.
[2] In 2015, Miller pled guilty in the train crash death of film crew member Sarah Jones in a plea deal so that his wife, also charged, could go home to their two school-aged children.
His mother, Leona Miller, was an internist and professor at USC County Medical Center and President of the Diabetes Association.
Miller attended UC Davis, where he played football and studied biochemistry, inspired by his own parents' careers in medicine.
[13] Miller made his Hollywood directorial debut in 1992 with Class Act,[8] is a modern-day comedic take on The Prince and the Pauper about a pair of teenagers with switched identities.
The Los Angeles Times said "Houseguest, a rowdy fish-out-of-water comedy, is as good-natured as its big, beefy star, comedian Sinbad."
Following the death of Miller's father and Savin's mother,[12] the couple risked pursuing their dream of making serious films by taking money out of their Pasadena home to finance the movie.
Miller and his wife, Jody, were introduced to Marc and Brenda Lhormer, the founders of the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, in 2006 at the opening night of Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School.
Miller wrote the screenplay, produced and directed the film revolving around the life of Kristal, musician and owner of the CBGB club.
A police investigation in the town of Jesup, Georgia, concluded that Miller and his crew were trespassing on an operating railway line and that the train was unscheduled.
[40][failed verification] Charges for criminal trespassing and involuntary manslaughter were eventually brought against Miller, his wife, producer Jody Savin, producer/UPM Jay Sedrish, and 1st assistant director Hillary Schwartz for Jones's death.
Rayonier Performance Fibers, owners of the land where the accident occurred, are responsible for 18% and the rest of the liability is divided between individual members of the film's production company.
[48][49] After being made aware of this early in 2020, the Jones family alerted Georgia's district attorney's office that Miller was directing a film, in apparent violation of his probation.
Former Georgia Assistant District Attorney John Johnson said that Miller had violated the terms of his probation and requested a warrant for his arrest.
At the hearing, the defense called several witnesses, including Miller's California parole officer, his sister, and his father-in-law, who each testified that was also their understanding.
[48] At the close of the hearing, Judge Anthony L. Harrison ruled that Miller had not knowingly broken his probation, but said that the agreement should be understood to forbid him from directing any more films for the duration of his sentence.