Born and raised in Hertfordshire, England, director Simon West began his career in 1981 when he joined the BBC as an apprentice film editor. During his four-year tenure there, he worked on a number of award-winning productions, including the documentary "Strangeways Prison" and the dramatic series "Bleak House" (both of which won BAFTA Awards). A 1985 grant from the British Arts Council enabled West to make his first short "Dolly Mixtures", which in turn led to a contract with Limelight London to direct music videos and commercials. Soon after winning the Best Video prize at the 1987 Montreux Music Festival for Mel and Kim's "Respectable", West transferred to Limelight's American offices and swiftly won a reputation for his TV commercials. Besides well-known spots for Little Caesar's (i.e., "Italian Feast"), West (who had switched to Satellite Films) helmed the "Ant" spot for Budweiser, as well as commercials for Sprint, MCI, AT&T and Ford Motor Company, several of which picked up industry awards. His work in this genre reached an apex when spots he shot for Pepsi and Budweiser both aired as part of the 1995 Super Bowl telecast.
West moved to Propaganda Films and began considering offers for his feature directorial debut. Having made his name in funny commercials, he found himself deluged with "slapstick comedies, romantic comedies and dinosaur comedies" but held out until Jerry Bruckheimer sent the script for "Con Air" (1997), a heady mix of testosterone and pyrotechnics in a slick 115-minute package. Though panned by critics, the non-stop spectacle of noise, fire and madness took in over $100 million, making it one of the year's top action films. A powerhouse roster of stars including Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich and John Cusack signed on to wear either a white or (more often) black hat, helping to lift this tale of dangerous convicts hijacking a plane mid-flight high above "Turbulence", its mayhem-in-the-sky counterpart. After reading endless scripts, West settled on "The General's Daughter" (1999), adapted from the best-selling Nelson De Mille novel, for his sophomore effort, hoping that its classic but dark story involving betrayal, honor and conspiracy would prove he was not merely a filmmaker specializing in guns and explosions.