Juan Piquer Simón(1935-2011)

Juan Piquer Simon (who goes by "J.P. Simon" on foreign releases) resides in Madrid, Spain, where he has produced and directed "exploitation" pictures for two decades running. He owns his own studio and creates and/or designs many of the impressive special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings. He grew up loving American cinema as a child in Franco's Spain, and even worked with some famous American filmmakers when they shot in Spain in the 1960's before becoming a director himself. Recent global competition from American product in Spain has forced Piquer to severely reduce his output (he can't get the wide theatrical releases he once enjoyed), but he's proven resilient if nothing else over the years. And while his films have been universally panned by the "establishment" critics, they have a kind of loopy, Ed Wood quality that must be endured to be fully appreciated. Of Piquer it can be said, "He makes them because he loves making them, whatever the outcome."