From Arenas to the Underground, 1974-1980

Chris Smith was born in 1970 and attended University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Graduate Film Program in 1995 after completing his film American Job. He met Mark Borchardt while editing American Job, and began filming a documentary about the making of Mark's psychological thriller Coven. Both films played at the Sundance Film Festival, and American Movie won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary. Sony bought the picture for $1 million. In 2016 Chris collaborated with Jon Stewart on the book The Daily Show: An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests which made The New York Times Best Seller List.