Jamie Blanks

Early life and education Jamie Blanks was born on 29 November 1971 in Melbourne, where he was also raised. He attended Swinburne Film School (becoming the Victorian College of the Arts during his three years of study).

Career The path to landing the directing gig on Urban Legend began with Blanks receiving the screenplay for Scream – called Scary Movie at the time – from a manager who had seen his student film.

Blanks credited Phoenix Pictures, producer Neal Moritz and his team with taking a chance and providing him with the opportunity, despite his limited experience. “I think they responded to the fact that I loved the genre.

He gave commentaries on the Urban Legend and Valentine (2001) DVDs. His third feature Storm Warning won awards for Special Effects and Score at Screamfest 2007. Blanks shot, edited and composed the score for his fourth feature, Long Weekend (released on video in the United States as Nature's Grave), starring Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan, which was released in 2008.

Personal life and death Blanks was married to Simone Chin. The couple had one son,

Selected filmography Silent Number Silent Number was Jamie Blanks' first film. The film revolves around a babysitter as she spends the night at a creepy house during an electrical storm. During the night, she receives a number of telephone calls from an unidentified caller. The voice sounds scared and pleads with the babysitter for help. We eventually discover the calls are not coming from any normal source.

Silent Number is available to view on YouTube and can be viewed on-site at the VCA library in Melbourne, Australia. It may also be available for viewing at some other libraries.

Director Silent Number (1993) Urban Legend (1998) Valentine (2001) Storm Warning (2007) Long Weekend (2008)

Composer The Abbarant (1991) Storm Warning (2007) Long Weekend (2008) Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010) Needle (2010) Crawlspace (2012)