Originally meant to direct
Borat (2006);
however, he quit the production after shooting the infamous rodeo/"Star
Spangled Banner" scene, due to creative differences with
Sacha Baron Cohen.
He is the first director to receive an Oscar nomination for directing a comic book film.
A co-creator of the New York Underground Film Festival (along with
Andrew Gurland), Phillips was an expert at playing the media and
causing sensation. He made a name for himself with Hated: GG Allin & the Murder Junkies (1993) and latched
on to the controversy surrounding the documentary ChickenHawk (1994).
His father Peter was born in Blaby, Leicestershire, England, to Jewish emigrant parents, Norbert E. Bunzl, who was born in Prague, and Anna (Fuchs), who was born in Zboriv, Ukraine.
Attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts with Andrew Gurland.