Gregg Araki, born in Los Angeles, California, is an openly gay Japanese-Canadian independent filmmaker. Except for his first film, he has written and edited all of his features. Araki graduated USC School of Cinema-Television and worked as a music critic for L.A. Weekly. Shortly after the release of The Living End, Araki's stated age in interviews began to change anywhere from one to five years younger than his actual age. At one point, his given age would have him releasing his first film at age 23, while still in grad school. Press interviews conducted in 1991 or earlier contain his actual age.