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P·A
Dark capsule hardware drifting against the curve of the Earth, a lens flare below
A spacecraft in orbit high above the Earth
Four silhouetted figures walking out of a hangar toward a rocket
A night chase — truck and car headlights blazing at close quarters
A motorcycle sliding out in sparks and dust beneath a truck's wheels
A bank of paparazzi camera flashes under an ornate theater marquee ceiling

Paul Abascal

Director

Act I · The centerpiece

The Reel

2026 · 1:55 · 1080p · sound on click

All frames on this site are pulled from this reel.

Act II · Intermission

From the chair
to the chair

A career shaped by the people he learned it from — Richard Donner, Tony Scott, Kathryn Bigelow, Joel Silver. He spent years inside their frames before he stepped behind his own.

The set

Before he called action, he watched the best call it. As one of Hollywood's top hairstylists, Abascal spent years inches from the camera — Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Predator 2, Point Break — working alongside Richard Donner, Tony Scott, Kathryn Bigelow, and Joel Silver, learning how scale gets built one setup at a time.

The break

He started in comedy: behind-the-scenes documentaries for Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3, the second of which earned a CableACE nomination. Donner and Silver saw enough in them to hand him his first dramatic assignment — an episode of HBO's Tales from the Crypt.

The series

Then a long run of television: Nash Bridges, Witchblade, The Strip, Secret Agent Man, and Joel Silver's Freedom. He directed the pilot of ATL Homicide, the pilot and multiple episodes of National Geographic's American Genius, and built an educational cybercrime series for the FBI.

The features

When the Mel Gibson feature Payback needed a major creative overhaul, Abascal was assigned to direct and restructure it — reworking the story, the tone, and the shape of the film. He went on to direct Paparazzi for 20th Century Fox, with Cole Hauser, Tom Sizemore, Dennis Farina, and Robin Tunney.

Across all of it: command of performance, meticulous preparation, and the ability to put ambitious, visually dynamic work on the screen.

Selected hair credits

Lethal Weapon 1–3 · Die Hard 1–2 · Predator 2 · Point Break · The Last Boy Scout · Demolition Man · Judge Dredd · Ferris Bueller's Day Off · Pretty in Pink · Who's That Girl · Star Trek III

Four silhouetted figures walking out of a dark hangar toward a rocket on the pad

Frame · Director's Reel 2026

Act III · The feature

Paparazzi

20th Century Fox · 2004 · Produced by Mel Gibson · Icon

An action thriller for 20th Century Fox, produced by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions. Shot lean — and it returned many times its budget.

Cast — Cole Hauser · Robin Tunney · Dennis Farina · Daniel Baldwin · Tom Sizemore

Cinematography — Daryn Okada

Music — Brian Tyler

A man confronted at gunpoint between squad cars, lights flashing
A bandaged paparazzo firing his camera from a car window
A man vaulting a fire-escape railing on a brick tenement

Frames · Director's Reel 2026

The body of work

23 directing credits

1989 – 2018 · newest first

  1. 2018ATL HomicideTV series · 1 ep · credited as Paul Jensen
  2. 2016–17My Crazy SexTV series · 1 ep
  3. 2016Unusual SuspectsTV series · 1 ep
  4. 2015American GeniusTV mini-series · 4 eps
  5. 2012Happily Never AfterTV series · 2 eps
  6. 2007–12America's Most Wanted: America Fights BackTV series · 6 eps
  7. 2011LinsbrothersTV series · 1 ep
  8. 2004Complete SavagesTV series · 1 ep
  9. 2004PaparazziFeature · 20th Century Fox · Director
  10. 2002WitchbladeTV series · 1 ep
  11. 2001Special Unit 2TV series · 1 ep
  12. 2000–01FreedomTV series · 3 eps
  13. 2000Secret Agent ManTV series · 1 ep
  14. 1999The StripTV series · 1 ep
  15. 1999Nash BridgesTV series · 3 eps
  16. 1997–98ViperTV series · 2 eps · “Out of Oblivion”
  17. 1997NightManTV series · 1 ep
  18. 1997Silk StalkingsTV series · 1 ep
  19. 1996The SentinelTV series · 1 ep
  20. 1995–96Land's EndTV series · 3 eps
  21. 1993Tales from the CryptTV series · 1 ep
  22. 1992Mel Gibson's Video Diary 2: Lethal Weapon 3TV special · Cable ACE Award nomination
  23. 1989Mel Gibson's Unauthorized Video DiaryTV movie · Directing debut

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