George Arthur "Rusty" Cundieff (born December 13, 1960) is an American film/television director, actor, and writer. His notable credits are as director/writer of and lead actor in the This Is Spinal Tap-like rap satire Fear of a Black Hat, as writer of the second installment to House Party, and as director of the horror anthology Tales from the Hood. He also directed the 1997 film, Sprung. He was also a director for Chappelle's Show and a correspondent on TV Nation. He also directed and starred in a U Can't Touch This parody titled Yes We Can, which focuses on Barack Obama. Cundieff was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Christina and John A. Cundieff, both of whom appeared in Tales from the Hood. He is married to Trina Davis Cundieff with whom he has two children. Cundieff is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. He also portrayed a fraternity brother (of the fictitious Gamma Phi Gamma) in Spike Lee's School Daze in which actual members of Alpha Phi Alpha were featured. Cundieff is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rusty Cundieff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 13, 1960 (65)
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Director, actor, writer and producer
- 20 on MovieCove · 28 credits in all
What are Rusty Cundieff's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 4 · Wry 1 · Earnest 9
Light 10 · Serious 2 · Dark 2
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 3
Gentle 5 · Charged 5 · Intense 4
Steady 5 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 4
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 5
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 1
Casual 9 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 10 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 1
Resolved 12 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 2 of 3 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Ice Cold in Fear of a Black Hat (1993)
- Tricksteras Ice Cold in Fear of a Black Hat (1993)
- Heroas Montel in Sprung (1997)
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Rusty Cundieff's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (11).
- Chappelle's Show (2003) · director · free
- Fear of a Black Hat (1993) · actor, director, writer · free
- Hollywood Shuffle (1987) · actor · free
- Tales from the Hood (1995) · actor, director, writer · free
- The Bernie Mac Show (2001) · director · free
- Creepshow (2019) · director · free
- Sprung (1997) · actor, director, writer · free
- 57 Seconds (2023) · director, writer · free
- Tales from the Hood 3 (2020) · director, writer, producer · free
- American Nightmares (2018) · actor, director, writer, producer · free
- Tales from the Hood 2 (2018) · actor, director, writer, producer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Rusty Cundieff's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
28 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Meet Me Next Christmas(2024)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
57 Seconds(2023)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Doing the Hollywood Shuffle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Christmas in Harmony(2021)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Tales from the Hood 3(2020)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Creepshow(2019)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all shows
American Nightmares(2018)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Tales from the Hood 2(2018)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
White Water (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Movie 43(2013)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Imagination Movers(2007)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows
Campus Ladies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Chappelle's Show(2003)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
The Bernie Mac Show(2001)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
The Wonderful World of Disney (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Sprung(1997)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Clueless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Tales from the Hood(1995)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
TV Nation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Fear of a Black Hat(1993)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Eddie Presley (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
House Party 2(1991)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
School Daze(1988)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Hollywood Shuffle(1987)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
3:15 the Moment of Truth(1986)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
MacGruder and Loud (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Career shape
A full career of 27 titles from 1985 to 2024.
Biggest box office
Movie 43 (2013)
Highest rated
In Search of Darkness 1995-1999: Journey Back Into Iconic '90s Horror (2025)
Most popular right now
Movie 43 (2013)
Film career
- 1987Screen debut· Hollywood Shuffle
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Rusty Cundieff's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 29th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 31st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
11 of their 20 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed11
Reviewers score the atmosphere 50/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Rusty Cundieff's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and sex & nudity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Rusty Cundieff work with?
People who share at least 2 of Rusty Cundieff's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Darin Scott shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Darin ScottShared titles: Tales from the Hood 3 (2020), American Nightmares (2018), Tales from the Hood 2 (2018), Sprung (1997), Tales from the Hood (1995), Fear of a Black Hat (1993)See all 6 shared titles with Darin Scott
Actors
- Clarence Williams IIIShared titles: American Nightmares (2018), Sprung (1997), Tales from the Hood (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Clarence Williams III
- Vivica A. FoxShared titles: A New Diva's Christmas Carol (2022), American Nightmares (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Vivica A. Fox
- Joe TorryShared titles: Sprung (1997), Tales from the Hood (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Joe Torry
- Tisha CampbellShared titles: Sprung (1997), House Party 2 (1991)See all 2 shared titles with Tisha Campbell
Cinematographers and editors
- John QuinnShared titles: 57 Seconds (2023), Tales from the Hood 3 (2020), American Nightmares (2018), Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)See all 4 shared titles with John Quinn
- Thomas L. CallawayShared titles: Tales from the Hood 3 (2020), American Nightmares (2018), Tales from the Hood (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Thomas L. Callaway
- Andrew StrahornShared titles: Meet Me Next Christmas (2024), 57 Seconds (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Strahorn
- Eric WycoffShared titles: A New Diva's Christmas Carol (2022), Christmas in Harmony (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Eric Wycoff
Producers
- Griff FurstShared titles: 57 Seconds (2023), Tales from the Hood 3 (2020), Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Griff Furst
- Spike LeeShared titles: Tales from the Hood 3 (2020), Tales from the Hood 2 (2018), Tales from the Hood (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Spike Lee
- Elaine DysingerShared titles: Tales from the Hood 2 (2018), Sprung (1997), Tales from the Hood (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Elaine Dysinger
- Robert AaronsonShared titles: Tales from the Hood 3 (2020), Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Aaronson
