George Iida, born Joji Iida on March 1, 1959, in Suwa, Nagano, Japan, is a Japanese film and television director, screenwriter, manga author, and novelist. He has been a consistent presence in Japan's entertainment industries since the early 1980s, with his work spanning live-action film, television, anime, and manga, primarily within the horror and science fiction genres.

Iida's career began with the 8mm short film Intermission, which was screened at the 1980 PIA Film Festival. Following this early recognition, he gained experience working as a scriptwriter for pink films and as an assistant director on various productions. His first opportunity to direct came with the straight-to-video horror film Cyclops in 1987, followed by his theatrical debut, Battle Heater, in 1989, a horror comedy that has since become a cult classic.

In the 1990s, Iida expanded into television, creating the original series Night Head. Airing from 1992 to 1993, this live-action drama about two brothers with psychic abilities became a foundational work for him. The Night Head franchise grew to include a television movie, manga, novels, and later, the anime series Night Head Genesis, which was produced in 2006. This franchise exemplifies Iida's role as an original creator whose work is adapted across different media. More recently, a new anime version titled Night Head 2041 was released in 2021, demonstrating the lasting nature of his creation.

Beyond the Night Head franchise, Iida's other notable anime and manga work includes Sci-Fi Harry. This anime series, which aired from 2000 to 2001, was based on a manga of the same name that Iida created with artist Asami Tohjoh. His involvement with manga is also seen in his authorship of the Night Head Genesis manga and other book titles related to his franchises.

His career is marked by a versatility that extends beyond original creations. He directed the live-action film adaptation of the popular manga Tokyo Babylon in 1993. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1995 television movie Ring, based on Koji Suzuki's novel, and later directed Rasen in 1998, the official sequel to the seminal 1998 film Ring. His 2000 film Another Heaven was based on one of his own novels and was followed by a television spin-off series.

Throughout his work in film and television, recurring themes of horror, science fiction, and the supernatural are evident. Projects like Night Head and Sci-Fi Harry focus on characters with psychic or paranormal abilities, exploring the implications of such power. His film Battle Heater showed an early inclination toward blending horror with absurdist comedy, a thread that runs through some of his other genre works.

George Iida's industry significance lies in his multi-hyphenate career as a director, writer, and original creator who has successfully navigated both live-action and animated media. He is recognized in Japan as the creator of the long-running Night Head franchise and has contributed to major horror properties like the Ring series. While he may not have achieved the same level of international fame as some of his contemporaries, his steady output and ability to create and adapt content across different formats have established him as a notable figure in Japanese science fiction and horror.