Mark L. Lester is an American writer, producer, and director of action films. Following his first film, Twilight of the Mayas, Lester worked on films such as Stunts, Steel Arena, and Bobby Jo and the Outlaw. His next film Roller Boogie with Linda Blair was a modest success, which he built on with reasonably received exploitation thriller Class of 1984, and Stephen King's Firestarter. His biggest hit came in 1985 with Commando, an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film that grossed over $57 million worldwide. He also produced Armed & Dangerous starring Meg Ryan and John Candy. In 1989 he directed Class of 1999, a very loose science fiction sequel to Class of 1984.