Background
Scott Sanders was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina and raised in Washington, District of Columbia. His mother is Mistress Estelle "Bunny" Sanders, the current mayor of Roper, North Carolina. His father, John Thomas Sanders (deceased), was an employee of International Business Machines Corporation and also owned and operated a popular District of Columbia
Education
Scott Sanders attended Sidwell Friends School where he graduated in 1986 and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 1991 and majored in Radio, television, and Motion Pictures.
Career
He is best known for his work with the films Black Dynamite and Thick as Thieves. Sanders" Maternal grandfather East.V. Wilkins was the first black mayor of Roper, North Carolina and has a building named in his honor. "Scott"s Barbecue" was a popular eatery for local politicians.
Regular patrons included Thurgood Marshall and Walter Mondale.
He went to middle school with Saturday Night Live cast member Ana Gasteyer and they had a scene together in a 7th grade production of the play Auntie Mame. Sanders currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
His first job upon arrival in Hollywood was working at United Talent Agency as an assistant to Pat Dollard, a conservative filmmaker, blogger, and mentor to Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. In addition to writing and directing, Sanders is also a DJ, spinning under the name "Suckapunch".
Sanders began his career as a television writer working on television shows such as "A Different World", "Roc", and "The Wayans Brothers".
Sanders" directorial debut came on the 1998 Home Box Office film Thick as Thieves, starring Alec Baldwin, Michael Jai White, Rebecca De Mornay, and Janeane Garofalo. Based on the novel "Thick As Thieves" by Patrick Quinn, and adapted for the screen by Sanders and Arthur Krystal, the film premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by Home Box Office. Black Dynamite premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Entertainment for worldwide distribution. Scott Sanders directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay along with Michael Jai White and Byron Minns.
Black Dynamite appeared in many film festivals throughout 2009, including Sundance, Seattle International, Tribeca, Karlovy Vary International, Munich, Edinburgh International, Copenhagen Film Festival, Melbourne International, and Deauville American.
"Black Dynamite" was released by Sony Pictures on October 16, 2009.