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Don Coscarelli is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor and Cinematography American born on 17 february 1954 at Tripoli
Don Coscarelli, Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for horror films. His credits include the Phantasm series, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep.
At the age of nineteen, Coscarelli became the youngest director to have a feature film distributed by a major studio when he sold his independently produced and critically acclaimed drama, Jim the World's Greatest, to Universal Pictures. The film was the first collaboration for Coscarelli with the accomplished actor Lawrence Rory Guy, who went on to achieve legendary horror icon status under the screen name Angus Scrimm. Jim the World's Greatest was an official selection of the USA Film Festival.
Coscarelli is best known for the Phantasm films. Phantasm and its three successful sequels spawned a huge cult of fans around the world and have become staples in the home video and DVD market. The original Phantasm was a worldwide critical and box-office success and won the Special Jury Prize at the Festival du Cinema Fantastique at Avoriaz, France.
Mr. Coscarelli also co-wrote (with Paul Pepperman) and directed The Beastmaster, which was described recently in Entertainment Weekly as "one of the most popular films of all time on cable television." The Beastmaster has spawned two sequels and a television series. He was the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay for his film Bubba Ho-Tep, which he also directed. Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-Tep stars Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis and frequent Coscarelli collaborator Reggie Bannister. In addition to being a critical hit, Bubba Ho-Tep was also a festival favorite, playing in such prestigious international film festivals as the Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW, Florida Film Festival, Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films, and the Hong Kong International Film festival. At HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival, Coscarelli was the recipient of the Best Screenplay Award. At Montreal's FantAsia Festival Bubba Ho-Tep was the recipient of the Best International Film award.
Coscarelli also directed the premiere episode of the American TV series Masters of Horror entitled Incident On and Off a Mountain Road and co-wrote the teleplay with Stephen Romano. In 2008 Coscarelli purchased film rights to the horror novel and internet series John Dies at the End by David Wong. The film was completed in 2011 and released in 2013.
Source : Wikidata
Don Coscarelli
Biography
Coscarelli was born in Libya and raised in Southern California. Although his family was not connected with the motion picture business, he was fascinated with cameras and filmmaking at an early age. Long before he was old enough to attend film school, his short films, made with the help of neighborhood friends in his home town of Long Beach, California, were winning prizes on television.At the age of nineteen, Coscarelli became the youngest director to have a feature film distributed by a major studio when he sold his independently produced and critically acclaimed drama, Jim the World's Greatest, to Universal Pictures. The film was the first collaboration for Coscarelli with the accomplished actor Lawrence Rory Guy, who went on to achieve legendary horror icon status under the screen name Angus Scrimm. Jim the World's Greatest was an official selection of the USA Film Festival.
Coscarelli is best known for the Phantasm films. Phantasm and its three successful sequels spawned a huge cult of fans around the world and have become staples in the home video and DVD market. The original Phantasm was a worldwide critical and box-office success and won the Special Jury Prize at the Festival du Cinema Fantastique at Avoriaz, France.
Mr. Coscarelli also co-wrote (with Paul Pepperman) and directed The Beastmaster, which was described recently in Entertainment Weekly as "one of the most popular films of all time on cable television." The Beastmaster has spawned two sequels and a television series. He was the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay for his film Bubba Ho-Tep, which he also directed. Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-Tep stars Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis and frequent Coscarelli collaborator Reggie Bannister. In addition to being a critical hit, Bubba Ho-Tep was also a festival favorite, playing in such prestigious international film festivals as the Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW, Florida Film Festival, Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films, and the Hong Kong International Film festival. At HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival, Coscarelli was the recipient of the Best Screenplay Award. At Montreal's FantAsia Festival Bubba Ho-Tep was the recipient of the Best International Film award.
Coscarelli also directed the premiere episode of the American TV series Masters of Horror entitled Incident On and Off a Mountain Road and co-wrote the teleplay with Stephen Romano. In 2008 Coscarelli purchased film rights to the horror novel and internet series John Dies at the End by David Wong. The film was completed in 2011 and released in 2013.
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Filmography of Don Coscarelli (15 films)
Actor
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Digging Up the Marrow (2015)
, 1h28Directed by Adam Green
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Horror
Actors Ray Wise, Adam Green, Kane Hodder, Mick Garris, Rileah Vanderbilt, Tom Holland
Roles Self
Rating57%
Filmmaker Adam Green begins a documentary about artwork that features monsters. Green is surprised when William Dekker, a retired police officer, contacts him and claims to have proof of the existence of monsters. Green's wife reacts skeptically, but he reworks his documentary to focus on Dekker and his efforts to expose the monsters' underground home, which he calls the Marrow.
Why Horror? (2014)
Origin Canada
Genres Documentary
Themes Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry
Actors John Carpenter, Eli Roth, Alexandre Aja, Rodrigo Gudiño, Simon Barrett, George A. Romero
Roles Self
Rating61%
The documentary follows horror movie fan and journalist Tal Zimerman as he tries to look at the reasons why people enjoy the horror genre. The genre is globally popular and is present in a wide variety of formats such as films, books, music, graphic novels, artwork, and video games, yet reactions to it can sometimes be polarized and in some instances Tal feels that the genre's fans are misunderstood. At the same time, Tal is conflicted over how he can be "disturbed by gruesome imagery showcased in the news, but thrives on blood and guts found in movies, books, music, graphic novels and video games" and as such sets out to try to find how horror affects his mind. For his research Tal interviews several different people, from genre filmmakers and writers to scientists and psychologists, to uncover why people enjoy horror and how perception, traditions, and beliefs help impact how horror is perceived and displayed in various countries and globally as a whole.
Director
John Dies at the End (2013)
, 1h39Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Comedy, Horror comedy, Horror
Themes Comedy science fiction films, Comedy horror films, Alternate history films
Actors Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Chase Williamson, Glynn Turman, Rob Mayes, Daniel Roebuck
Rating63%
Slacker David Wong beheads a zombie skinhead with an axe and asks whether an axe that had its handle and head replaced over time is still the same axe. David next appears in a restaurant and recounts his story to reporter Arnie Blondestone. When David claims to have psychic powers, Arnie reacts skeptically but listens to a story about how David and his friend John try to help a woman harassed by her dead boyfriend. When they realize that they're perceiving her differently, she explodes into snakes and reforms into a monster made of frozen meat. The monster demands a showdown with its nemesis, TV infomercial psychic Albert Marconi, who destroys it over the telephone.
Bubba Ho-tep (2002)
, 1h32Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Fantastic, Comedy, Horror comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Films about families, Films about music and musicians, Films about television, Musical films, Political films, Comedy horror films
Actors Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Bob Ivy, Heidi Marnhout, Paul Giamatti
Rating68%
An elderly man at The Shady Rest Retirement Home in East Texas is known to the staff as Sebastian Haff, but claims to be Elvis. He explains that during the 1970s, Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) grew tired of the demands of his fame and switched places with an Elvis impersonator named Sebastian Haff (also Campbell). He claims it was Haff who eventually died in 1977, while he, the real Elvis, lived in quiet, happy anonymity and made a living pretending to be himself. After a propane explosion destroyed documentation which was the only proof that he was actually Elvis, he was unable to return to his old lifestyle.
Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
, 1h31Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Horror
Actors Reggie Bannister, Bob Ivy, Angus Scrimm, Heidi Marnhout, A. Michael Baldwin, Roger Avary
Rating54%
The film opens where its predecessor left off. Mike flees from Boulton mortuary in the hearse, while Reggie is trapped inside by The Tall Man's spheres. Rather than kill Reggie, The Tall Man lets him go, saying he is doing so "to play one last game", then The Tall Man leaves Boulton.
, 1h31Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Horror comedy, Action, Horror
Themes Comedy horror films
Actors Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Gloria Lynne Henry, Cindy Ambuehl, John Davis Chandler, Angus Scrimm
Rating59%
Immediately after his apparent demise at the end of Phantasm II, a new Tall Man emerges from a dimensional portal. At the same time, the hearse that carries Liz and Mike explodes. Reggie finds Liz dead but saves Mike from the Tall Man by threatening to kill them all with a grenade. The Tall Man retreats with Liz's body and threatens to return for Mike when he's well again. After Mike spends two years comatose in the hospital, he has a near death experience in which his dead brother Jody and the Tall Man appear. As he wakes from his coma, he is attacked by a demonic nurse, but Reggie appears and helps him to fight her off. Back at home, the Tall Man arrives via dimensional fork, fights off Reggie, transforms Jody into a charred sphere, and draws Mike through the gate with him.
Phantasm II (1988)
, 1h37Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Horror
Actors Angus Scrimm, James LeGros, Reggie Bannister, Paula Irvine, Sam Phillips, Kenneth Tigar
Rating63%
Picking up where the first film left off, the Tall Man and his minions attempt to kidnap Mike, but Reggie manages to save him by blowing up the house. Six years later, the film introduces Liz Reynolds, a young woman whose psychic bond to Mike and the Tall Man manifests in the form of prophetic nightmares. Liz pleads for Mike to find her, as she fears that when her grandfather dies, the Tall Man will take him. Mike, who has been institutionalized after the events of the first film, fakes his recovery to make contact with Liz. When Mike returns to Morningside Cemetery to exhume the bodies of his parents, Reggie interrupts him and explains that the earlier attack never took place. However, Mike reveals the coffins are empty and urges Reggie to help him hunt down the Tall Man. En route to Reggie's house, Mike has a premonition and frantically tries to warn Reggie seconds before an explosion kills Reggie's entire family. Convinced by Mike's futile warning, Reggie agrees to accompany Mike. They break into a hardware store and stock up on supplies and weapons. Traveling country roads, they encounter abandoned towns, pillaged graveyards, and a few of the Tall Man's traps; one is an apparition of a nude, deceased young woman. The clues lead them to Périgord, Oregon.
Survival Quest (1988)
, 1h36Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action, Adventure, Horror
Actors Lance Henriksen, Mark Rolston, Steve Antin, Paul Provenza, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney
Rating59%
The Beastmaster (1982)
, 1h58Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Films about magic and magicians
Actors Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn, John Amos, Ralph Strait, Billy Jayne
Rating62%
Dar, fils du roi destiné à détruire le tyran des forces du mal d'après sa prophétesse, est marqué à la naissance avant d'être sacrifié, mais il est sauvé par un homme qui le ramène dans son petit village et l'élève comme son fils. Adulte, son petit village ainsi que sa famille adoptive sont détruits par l'armée du tyran. Seul survivant, il part à l'aventure dans le but de se venger, il devient un combattant qui sur son chemin rencontrera des alliés parmi lesquels des animaux (furets, aigle, panthère) avec qui il communique grâce à son don, la télépathie.
Phantasm (1979)
, 1h28Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Horror
Actors A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm
Rating65%
Following the death of his parents, 24-year-old musician Jody Pearson raises his 13-year-old brother Mike in a small town disturbed by the mysterious deaths of its citizens. Reggie, a family man and ice cream vendor, joins the brothers in their suspicions that the local mortician, dubbed the Tall Man, is responsible for the deaths. Mike relays his fears to a fortune teller and her granddaughter about the possibility of Jody departing and leaving him in the care of his aunt, along with his suspicions about the Tall Man. Mike is shown a small black box and told to put his hand into it. After the box grips his hand, Mike is told not to be afraid, and, as the panic subsides, the box relaxes its grip. The notion of fear itself as the killer is established, propelling Mike toward his final confrontation with the Tall Man.
Jim, the World's Greatest (1976)
, 1h34Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Actors Gregory Harrison, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Marla Pennington
Rating57%
Jim, a troubled teenager, lives with his alcoholic father and younger brother. When not protecting his brother from his abusive father, Jim engages in the usual teen activities of football, parties and girlfriends.
Kenny & Company (1976)
, 1h30Directed by Don Coscarelli
Genres Drama, Comedy
Actors A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister
Rating71%
Several days in the life of Kenny, a typical 12-year-old, and his friends. Kenny goes through all the activities that most of us went through as kids as he and his friends prepare for Halloween. Along the way, Kenny deals with such childhood issues as bullies and his first crush on a girl.
Scriptwriter
Phantasm: Ravager (2016)
, 1h27Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Horror
Actors Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Angus Scrimm, Daniel Roebuck, Jay Oliva, Gloria Lynne Henry
Roles Writer
Rating49%
The film follows the continued exploits of brothers Mike and Jody along with family friend Reggie as they battle the Tall Man, a supernatural undertaker and his evil minions from another dimension for the final time.
John Dies at the End (2013)
, 1h39Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Comedy, Horror comedy, Horror
Themes Comedy science fiction films, Comedy horror films, Alternate history films
Actors Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Chase Williamson, Glynn Turman, Rob Mayes, Daniel Roebuck
Roles Writer
Rating63%
Slacker David Wong beheads a zombie skinhead with an axe and asks whether an axe that had its handle and head replaced over time is still the same axe. David next appears in a restaurant and recounts his story to reporter Arnie Blondestone. When David claims to have psychic powers, Arnie reacts skeptically but listens to a story about how David and his friend John try to help a woman harassed by her dead boyfriend. When they realize that they're perceiving her differently, she explodes into snakes and reforms into a monster made of frozen meat. The monster demands a showdown with its nemesis, TV infomercial psychic Albert Marconi, who destroys it over the telephone.
Bubba Ho-tep (2002)
, 1h32Directed by Don Coscarelli
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Fantastic, Comedy, Horror comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Themes Films about families, Films about music and musicians, Films about television, Musical films, Political films, Comedy horror films
Actors Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Bob Ivy, Heidi Marnhout, Paul Giamatti
Rating68%
An elderly man at The Shady Rest Retirement Home in East Texas is known to the staff as Sebastian Haff, but claims to be Elvis. He explains that during the 1970s, Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) grew tired of the demands of his fame and switched places with an Elvis impersonator named Sebastian Haff (also Campbell). He claims it was Haff who eventually died in 1977, while he, the real Elvis, lived in quiet, happy anonymity and made a living pretending to be himself. After a propane explosion destroyed documentation which was the only proof that he was actually Elvis, he was unable to return to his old lifestyle.