American director-producer Derek Frey began his career as an assistant for Tim Burton and worked on films like Mars Attacks (1996), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Planets of the Apes (2001) and Big Fish (2003). He went on to produce many Burton directorial films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010) Frankenweenie (2012) and Big Eyes (2014).

Meanwhile, Frey has also directed and produced several short films, under the banner of Lazer Film Production, like Verge of Darkness (1995), The Upper Hand (2001), The Curse of the Sacred Stone (2010), Sky Blue Collar (2013) and Motel Providence (2014). His 2016 short horror film Green Lake garnered him over forty awards and accolades. His other producing credits include Miss Peregrine`s Home for Peculiar Children (2016) and Dumbo (2018).