John Luessenhop

JOHN LUESSENHOP (Director) made a splash this past summer when his stylish action film Takers, produced and released by Sony Screen Gems, which opened #1 at the U.S. box office. Upon its video release, Takers followed its box office success by topping the US charts for sales, rentals and video-on-demand purchases.

Mr. Luessenhop made his directorial debut in the world of feature films with Lockdown, an independently produced urban prison drama acquired and distributed by Columbia Home Entertainment. The film struck a strong chord with urban audiences, opening the UrbanWorld Film Festival in New York City and closing the Hollywood Black Film Festival in Los Angeles. It also premiered internationally at the Toronto Film Festival.

A native of McLean, Virginia, and an alumnus of the University of Virginia and Georgetown Law School, Mr. Luessenhop began his film career by writing and directing the hard-edged 33-minute featurette TICK…TICK…TICK…, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Short Film at Universal’s Florida Film Festival.

Because of his gritty style, Luessenhop has directed more than 20 episodes of “America’s Most Wanted,” including two national cop-of-the-year stories.

Prior to making the leap to writing and directing, Mr. Leussenhop was a successful Wall Street attorney. He currently resides in Santa Monica, California with his wife Catherine and three sons.