An Arizona native, Douglas in 1989 decided to quell a promising start as an actor to focus entirely on filmmaking, something he had been doing since childhood.

While attending the University of Arizona for his B.F.A. in Media, Douglas created Oblivion, a narrative short that garnered many awards, including a 1992 Student Academy Award® nomination for Best Dramatic Film. Douglas went on to produce, write and/or direct several award-winning independent shorts.

In 1995, Douglas directed Catastroph, an independent feature-length film. He also co-wrote the feature Dog Years, which was purchased and distributed by Troma Pictures.