David E.
Williams grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and discovered his father's
Super 8 camera in his early teens. He later earned a BA in film production and
theory at San Francisco State University, where he made experimental Super 8
and 16mm shorts. In 1989, Williams moved to Los Angeles to join the staff of
Film Threat magazine, a pioneering publication that documented the independent
film scene long before it was chic to do so.
While at FT,
Williams interviewed such indie filmmakers as Alejandro Jodorowsky, Jim
Jarmusch, Allison Anders, Dario Argento, Peter Jackson and John Waters.
Meanwhile, he edited the Film Threat Video Guide, a sister publication that
chronicled the burgeoning underground film and video scene, and oversaw the
company's video distribution company, which specialized in strange and unusual
films.
In 1995,
Williams joined the staff of American Cinematographer magazine as the associate
editor, in a sense resuming his education while picking the brains of noted
directors of photography and interrogating many other film professionals for
the sake of AC's readership.
He joined the
staff of The Hollywood Reporter in early 2000 as the Executive Editor of
Special Issues, covering such events as the American Film Market, the Sundance
Film Festival and Cannes, and specializing in such subjects as visual effects,
cinematography, film financing and distribution and DVD technology.
In 2003, Williams
became the editor of the venerable genre magazine Cinefantastique and its
sister publication, Femme Fatales, and immediately overhauled both titles
to reflect todays trends and interests in science fiction, fantasy and horror
media.
Williams has
also contributed to such diverse publications as Details, Empire, Sci-Fi Universe,
Wild Cartoon Kingdom and Avant Premiere.
Williams is
married to producer Corey Sienega, whose credits include the 1998 horror hit Bride
of Chucky, the controversial thriller Frailty and the forthcoming fantasy film
Secondhand Lions.