Damian Nieman

When in film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Damian became a member of the world famous Magic Castle, where he was lucky enough to befriend and study with the greatest sleight of hand artists in the world. As a result of that time well spent, Damian is now considered one of the top exponents of the art himself, performs frequently at The Magic Castle, and created 'Fast Company', an instructional DVD on the techniques and art of card cheating for magicians and card men. As a life long student of sleight of hand, Damian was in a unique position to create a film about the underground world of con men, grifters, poker hustlers and magic. So, when it came to his first screenplay, he combined both his loves to write and eventually direct the feature film Shade (2003), starring Sylvester Stallone, Jamie Foxx, Thandiwe Newton, Gabriel Byrne, Melanie Griffith and Hal Holbrook. Damian also created and produced the Court TV reality show The Takedown (2005), in which a team of con men pull real life hustles and cons on unsuspecting people and casinos.