While "The Learning Curve" is his first film as a director, Schwab has spent years preparing himself for the challenge. As the protégé to master of suspense, Brian DePalma, Schwab has directed the second unit on such memorable films as "Mission: Impossible," "Casualties of War" and "Snake Eyes." In fact, Schwab designed and co-directed "Mission: Impossible's" climactic sequences, including the incredible climactic scene with Tom Cruise where the helicopter goes into the tunnel. During his work on "Mission Impossible," he worked closely with stars Tom Cruise and Jon Voight, and on "Mission To Mars," with Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins and Don Cheadle. As a second unit director, Schwab is one of DePalma's most trusted visual consultants and he has taken that tutelage to heart. In a special profile on Eric Schwab, the New York Times recently wrote, "Among the many ideas about movie making that Mr. DePalma has imparted to Mr. Schwab, the notion of a film's immortality is the central pillar. Simply put, don't do something that you're not proud of and by extension, that doesn't push filmmaking forward. This is the only concrete legacy, the only true measure of a director's craft." In his first film as a writer and director, Schwab's "The Learning Curve," follows the aimless adventures of two naive kids, who come from completely different upbringings and fall into a world without morals or values. Their lives take an unexpected series of sordid twists and turns when they decide to become scam artists. Ultimately, they become victims and pawns in a world full of trickery and corruption they cannot escape. Schwab's life-long love affair with film began in earnest while he was still a student at the prestigious Harvard School in Los Angeles. A competitive athlete who spent his nights and weekends going to the movies, Schwab began making short films with classmate Jon Lovitz of "Saturday Night Live" fame. After two years at Berkeley, Schwab transferred to UCLA film school, where he continued to make internationally recognized short subjects. Eric landed his first feature film job on "Golden Girl," a movie starring Susan Anton as an Olympic hopeful. It marked the beginning of a series of production roles for Schwab with notable directors, including Walter Hill, Ulu Grossbard. Schwab cleverly enhanced this experience by creating his own apprenticeship system. His tenacious desire to learn quickly set him apart from the pack. He was noted for his sense of professionalism and was always recommended for another project. Schwab's encyclopedic knowledge of film history eventually attracted the attention of the reticent DePalma. So impressed was DePalma, that he began to routinely rely on Schwab's evaluations of locations and his ability to fulfill his most difficult visual demands. When DePalma invited Schwab to Southeast Asia to work with him on "Casualties of War," Schwab agreed under the condition that he be allowed to direct the film's second unit. Soon after, DePalma sponsored Schwab's application to the Directors Guild of America and gave him carte blanche to shoot with his own crew. It was on "Casualties of War," with Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox, that Schwab was finally able to explore his own creative vision, experiment with different lenses, pyrotechnical effects and the principals of composition. That experience also led to his outstanding work as DePalma’s second unit director on "Bonfire of the Vanities." The legendary shots Schwab created and his contributions to the film are extensively detailed in former Wall Street Journal writer Julie Salamon's film industry book, "The Devil's Candy" (Houghton Mifflin, 1991). Schwab has also worked with DePalma as second unit director on "Carlito's Way," starring Al Pacino and Sean Penn, "Snake Eyes," and "Mission to Mars,” and on the Michelle Pfeiffer feature "Dangerous Minds." Schwab's ability to meet any filmmaking challenge has won him the admiration and respect of Hollywood's most exacting and demanding studio executives. Constantly in demand, Eric recently shot the action sequences for David Meet’s film “Spartan,” starring Val Kilmer, and he is currently acting as a Visual Consultant for “Mission Impossible III.” A straightforward personal style, a mischievous sense of humor and a pugnacious perfectionism have carried Schwab through filming in the midst of a student revolution in Ecuador, to the tough South Side of Chicago, to the jungles of Asia, to the deserts of Africa and the outback of Australia. Next up: Schwab is currently developing his next directorial effort, a Hitchcockian action thriller set in South East Asia.