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In 1997, Simon West moved from directing commercials to features. His first major film was the international blockbuster “Con Air” starring Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich. He then followed that up in 1999 with the critically acclaimed “The General's Daughter” starring John Travolta.

In 2001, he directed “Lara Croft : Tomb Raider” starring Angelina Jolie.  Also in 2001 West originated the project "Black Hawk Down" after reading Mark Bowden's newspaper articles on the failed US mission in Somalia. West spent 2 years developing the script with the writer Ken Nolan. Due to scheduling conflicts with West's other film "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" and a threatened SAG strike, he was not able to direct the movie but served as an executive producer on the Oscar nominated “Black Hawk Down”.

Blue Star Entertainment is one of Hollywood’s most exciting and innovative production companies. Its two founding partners, WILLIAM SHERAK and JASON SHUMAN, have establishing themselves as forces within the entertainment industry. They founded their company in 1998 with their first feature, an independent film entitled Four Dogs Playing Poker.  Since then the two have produced over 15 films with a worldwide gross of nearly $400 million.