Harsh Times is a 2005 American action crime film written and directed by David Ayer in his directorial debut. Set in South Central Los Angeles, the film stars Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez. The film was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Bauer Martinez Entertainment. Ayer says that the film's characters are largely based on the people he knew when he lived in South Central Los Angeles.
Theatrical release poster
David Ayer is an American filmmaker known for making crime films that are set in Los Angeles and deal with gangs and police corruption. His screenplays include Training Day (2001), The Fast and the Furious (2001), and S.W.A.T. (2003). He has also directed Harsh Times (2005), Street Kings (2008), End of Watch (2012), Sabotage (2014), and The Beekeeper (2024). In 2016, he directed the superhero movie Suicide Squad from the DC Extended Universe, and then the urban fantasy film Bright (2017) for Netflix. He has twice collaborated with actor Shia LaBeouf: first with the World War II drama Fury (2014), then the crime thriller The Tax Collector (2020). He has also collaborated with his friend Cle Shaheed Sloan who has appeared in four of his films.
Ayer at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
Ayer as a submariner in the U.S. Navy during the 1980s.
Image: David Ayer wearing coveralls in submarine's torpedo room
Image: David Ayer on submarine with a shotgun
