Joe Dante(I)
- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Joe Dante is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art. After a stint as a film reviewer, he began his filmmaking apprenticeship in
1974 as trailer editor forRoger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his directorial debut in 1976 withHollywood Boulevard (1976)(co-directed withAllan Arkush), a thinly disguised spoof of New World exploitation pictures, shot in ten days for $60,000.
In 1977 Dante made his solo debut as a film director withPiranha (1978),which went on to become one of the company's biggest hits and was distributed throughout the rest of the world by United Artists. During his tenure at New World, Dante editedRon Howard's directorial debutGrand Theft Auto (1977)and co-wrote the original story forRock 'n' Roll High School (1979).
For Avco-Embassy Dante next directed the highly praised werewolf thrillerThe Howling (1981),followed by the It's a Good Life segment of the episodicTwilight Zone: The Movie (1983).
Having worked withSteven Spielbergon Twilight Zone, Dante was chosen to helm one of the first Amblin Productions for Warner Bros.Gremlins (1984)became a runaway hit and grossed more than $200 million worldwide.
Dante followed up withExplorers (1985)for Paramount, a sci-fi fantasy about three kids who build their own spaceship, and thenInnerspace (1987)for Guber/Peters, Amblin and Warner Bros., an action comedy in which miniaturized test pilotDennis Quaidis injected into the body of supermarket clerkMartin Short.
Tom Hanksstarred in Dante's next film for Imagine/Universal,The 'Burbs (1989),which was followed byGremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)for Warner Bros. in 1990.Matinee (1993)featuringJohn Goodmanas a huckster showman premiering his new horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was a production of Dante and partnerMichael Finnell's Renfield Productions for Universal in 1993.
Dreamworks/Universal's Small Soldiers was released in 1998, followed in 2003 by Warner Bros.Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)featuring one of Dante's favorite actors, Bugs Bunny.
Dante'sHomecoming (2005),debuted in December 2005 to rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and was named to numerous "Top 10" critics lists. The Sitges and Brussels International Film Festivals both honored Homecoming with Special Jury Recognition Awards, and the New Yorker called it the best political film of 2005. More recent work includesThe Screwfly Solution (2006),andBoo (2007).His new 3D thriller,The Hole (2009),for Bold Films recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it garnered the first-ever award for Best 3D Feature.
Dante also produces the critically-acclaimed webisode/mobile phone series, Trailers from Hell.
Along the way Dante contributed several comedy segments to the multi-partAmazon Women on the Moon (1987)spoof produced byJohn Landis,and directed various episodes of the tv seriesAmazing Stories (1985),The Twilight Zone (1985),Police Squad! (1982),Night Visions (2001)andPicture Windows (1994).He also directed the network pilots forThe Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (1998)and the NBC seriesEerie, Indiana (1991),on which he was creative consultant throughout its run.
Dante received Cable Ace nominations for his direction of Showtime'sRunaway Daughters (1994)and HBO'sThe Second Civil War (1997).
In 1977 Dante made his solo debut as a film director withPiranha (1978),which went on to become one of the company's biggest hits and was distributed throughout the rest of the world by United Artists. During his tenure at New World, Dante editedRon Howard's directorial debutGrand Theft Auto (1977)and co-wrote the original story forRock 'n' Roll High School (1979).
For Avco-Embassy Dante next directed the highly praised werewolf thrillerThe Howling (1981),followed by the It's a Good Life segment of the episodicTwilight Zone: The Movie (1983).
Having worked withSteven Spielbergon Twilight Zone, Dante was chosen to helm one of the first Amblin Productions for Warner Bros.Gremlins (1984)became a runaway hit and grossed more than $200 million worldwide.
Dante followed up withExplorers (1985)for Paramount, a sci-fi fantasy about three kids who build their own spaceship, and thenInnerspace (1987)for Guber/Peters, Amblin and Warner Bros., an action comedy in which miniaturized test pilotDennis Quaidis injected into the body of supermarket clerkMartin Short.
Tom Hanksstarred in Dante's next film for Imagine/Universal,The 'Burbs (1989),which was followed byGremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)for Warner Bros. in 1990.Matinee (1993)featuringJohn Goodmanas a huckster showman premiering his new horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was a production of Dante and partnerMichael Finnell's Renfield Productions for Universal in 1993.
Dreamworks/Universal's Small Soldiers was released in 1998, followed in 2003 by Warner Bros.Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)featuring one of Dante's favorite actors, Bugs Bunny.
Dante'sHomecoming (2005),debuted in December 2005 to rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and was named to numerous "Top 10" critics lists. The Sitges and Brussels International Film Festivals both honored Homecoming with Special Jury Recognition Awards, and the New Yorker called it the best political film of 2005. More recent work includesThe Screwfly Solution (2006),andBoo (2007).His new 3D thriller,The Hole (2009),for Bold Films recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it garnered the first-ever award for Best 3D Feature.
Dante also produces the critically-acclaimed webisode/mobile phone series, Trailers from Hell.
Along the way Dante contributed several comedy segments to the multi-partAmazon Women on the Moon (1987)spoof produced byJohn Landis,and directed various episodes of the tv seriesAmazing Stories (1985),The Twilight Zone (1985),Police Squad! (1982),Night Visions (2001)andPicture Windows (1994).He also directed the network pilots forThe Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy (1998)and the NBC seriesEerie, Indiana (1991),on which he was creative consultant throughout its run.
Dante received Cable Ace nominations for his direction of Showtime'sRunaway Daughters (1994)and HBO'sThe Second Civil War (1997).
