Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. His most famous films are those in the Puppet Master franchise and the Subspecies series, made by his company Full Moon Features. Before Full Moon Features, his earlier (and now defunct) company Empire Pictures made films like Ghoulies and the cult classic Re-Animator. One of the few non-horror films he worked on was the Prehysteria! trilogy, which was made by his family-oriented company Moonbeam Entertainment.
Band started in film in the 1970s with a company known as Charles Band Productions. Band was unhappy with the way his films were being distributed which led him to form the company known as Empire Pictures. Band formed Empire in the 1980s. This allowed for Band to distribute his movies his way. Soon Empire would team up with Wizard Video. Empire would go on to produce 12 theatrical and 12 direct to video films a year. In the late 1980s due to fall of the Italian lira Empire would close their doors being that they were based in Rome. This is when Band would return to the states and form Full Moon Features which would later become Full Moon Pictures.
Personal life[]
Band was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of director-producer Albert Band, and brother of the composer Richard. With his former wife Meda, he had two children, Alex, the vocalist for the band The Calling, and Taryn. He had two sons with his former wife Debra Dion. Band's grandfather was the artist Max Band.
Publication[]
In 2021 a book was released entitled "Confessions of a Puppetmaster: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking written by Adam Felber and Charles Band. The book takes you through the life and mind of Charles Band. It goes into how he got started in the industry and what led him to choose the path he took to get to where he is today in the film industry.