Joe Dante

A consummate movie lover, Joe Dante is a devoted connoisseur of genre cinema, specifically horror, sci-fi and fantasy films. As a teenager, he wrote for magazines on genre films such as the fanzine Castle of Frankenstein, and The Movie Bulletin and the legendary Famous Monsters of Filmland

Like other great directors of his generation, Joe Dante made his directorial debut with Roger Corman’s production company helming films like Piranha and Hollywood Boulevard, and next, The Howling for Embassy Pictures. This led him to be approached by Steven Spielberg. As a producer, Spielberg hired Joe Dante to direct one of the four segments of the collective work The Twilight Zone - The Movie. Spielberg subsequently chose Joe Dante to direct Gremlins, which established his talent and rocketed the director to fame. In each of his works, his culture and love of cinema are apparent, and contribute in defining his style. Soon would follow films that would also achieve cult status, such as Explorers, Innerspace, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, The Burbs, starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher, Matinee, Small Soldiers and Looney Tunes: Back in Action. The Hole, his most recent film, was praised by critics upon its release. This 3D movie springs directly from the classic era genre movies that have influenced Joe Dante in his vocation as a filmmaker.

The brilliant composer of film music Jerry Goldsmith told in the late '80s, "There are two directors that I love working with, it's Franklin J. Shaffner and Joe Dante ... " That says it all!

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For more information on Joe Dante and his latest news, please go to his website: www.renfieldproductions.com.

You can also find out more about Joe Dante and his series Trailers from Hell at: www.trailersfromhell.com

Joe Dante Twitter: twitter.com/joe_dante

Trailers From Hell Twitter: twitter.com/TrailersFromHel

Joe Dante Facebook: facebook.com/directorjoedante

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Writer: AK