Dannelly wrote and directed short film " He Bop " in 2000 before his debut with 2004 's religious satire film '' Saved ! '' , which he directed and co-wrote with Michael Urban . He had begun to write the '' Saved ! '' script after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 , which he claims took him " back to his roots " in a Christian high school . He and Urban began writing the script while attending the American Film Institute Conservatory . Much of the story was drawn from his own experiences with " conservative Christian subculture " , including Christian rock concerts , being " this gay kid in a Christian school " and having visions of Jesus . He says , " In the Baptist school there was the one Jewish girl that everyone was trying to save , there was a girl who got pregnant , there was a gay kid " — all principal characters in '' Saved ! '' . He claims that nothing in the film came from his imagination : " Everything in the movie comes from either something I experienced , or something I witnessed , or something I researched . " After '' Saved ! '' was released , Dannelly went on to become a regular series director on the television show '' Weeds '' . He has also directed the 2006 pilot episode of '' Help Me Help You '' and '' Pushing Daisies ' '' 2007 episode " Corpsicle " . His most recent film , '' Runner Up '' , about a beauty pageant queen who organizes a pageant in a women 's prison , is currently in production . He is signed on to direct upcoming romantic comedy film '' The Guided Man '' , which he co-wrote with Michael Urban and Steve Adams based on a 1952 story by L. Sprague de Camp . He has written a spec script , '' Army Geek '' , about a Texan Napoleon Dynamite-like character who joins the military
Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
Brian Dannelly