Rick Rosenthal

Director Rick Rosenthal is best known for his work on "Bad Boys"--the tough 1983 drama featuring a searing early performance by Sean Penn as a juvenile delinquent. Rosenthal graduated from Harvard before attending the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. He got his start directing features with 1981's "Halloween II," the follow-up to John Carpenter's genre-defining horror film. On the set, he met actress Nancy Stephens, whom he later married. In 2002, Rosenthal returned to Michael Myers territory with "Halloween: Resurrection," the eighth film in the un-killable franchise. After "Bad Boys," he directed the Cold War fable "Russkies" (1987), starring a very young Joaquin Phoenix, and the Vietnam veteran drama "Distant Thunder" (1988), starring Ralph Macchio and John Lithgow. Both were poorly received, and Rosenthal largely turned to TV work, presiding over episodes of "Life Goes On,""Providence,""Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Smallville." In 1994, he wisely took his name off "The Birds II: Land's End," and throughout the 2000s, he worked on hit shows like "Veronica Mars," "90210," and "Drop Dead Diva."