Vernon Zimmerman is an American writer and director who made his feature debut as director with the 1962 short Lemon Hearts starring Andy Warhol associate Taylor Mead. Zimmerman wrote and directed the Claudia Jennings roller derby drive-in film Unholy Rollers and collaborated with Terrence Malick on the script to the road movie Deadhead Miles. He is most well known for his horror slasher film Fade to Black, a dark and despairing psychological study of an awkward and alienated hardcore film buff who exacts a harsh revenge on his cruel tormentors. Zimmerman received a Saturn Award nomination as Best Director for the film, a predecessor to more well-known modern parodies of the horror genre. Vernon also wrote the scripts for the horror-Western Hex, the redneck crime exploitation film Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw, the made-for-TV wrestling comedy/drama Mad Bull, the failed TV pilot film Shooting Stars, and the teen fantasy comedy Teen Witch. Zimmerman's latest film is the six-minute comic short Chuck and Wally on the Road. More recently Vernon has been working as a script analyst. He also teaches screen-writing courses at UCLA's Extension and Certificate Program.