(b. 1963) Former Francis Coppola apprentice who graduated to directing feature films after lensing music videos for such credible acts such as N.W.A, Husker Du, Black Flag, and SONIC YOUTH. After helming the stylish Guncrazy (a 1992 DREW BARRYMORE vehicle loosely fashioned after 1949's NOIR classic, Gun Crazy) in three weeks for less than $1 million, Davis was hired to direct the "feminist" western Bad Girls (1994, also starring Barrymore). With initial shooting already underway, Twentieth Century Fox replaced her with Jonathan Kaplan and allocated a larger budget; the film flopped.

Davis's next directed CB4, the 1993 film billed as a rap SPINAL TAP. (Davis's husband is BEASTIE BOY Mike Diamond.) Although this outing suggested that comedy was not Davis's metier, she did enjoy some success with 1995's Billy Madison, a lowbrow romp starring SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE'S ADAM SANDLER. Davis also stayed active in pop videos, helping launch bubblegum popsters Hanson to superstar status with the 1997 single "MMMBop." In early 1998 Davis put her name to Half Baked, a crude update on the '70s stoner-humor oevre of Cheech and Chong that featured appearances by SNOOP DOGGY DOGG and JANEANE GAROFALO.

(c) alt.culture)