Ovidio G. Assonitis
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Ovidio G. Assonitis | |
---|---|
Born | Ovidio Gabriel Assonitis January 18, 1943 |
Nationality | Greco-Italian |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1969–present |
Website | www.ovidioassonitis.com |
Ovidio Gabriel Assonitis (born January 18, 1943) is an Egyptian-born Greco-Italian[1][2] entertainment executive, film producer, screenwriter, and director best known for his numerous B-horror films including Beyond the Door, Tentacles, The Visitor, and Piranha II: The Spawning.
Early life and career
In the mid-1960s, Assonitis began an extensive distribution network company in the Far East and in the 10-year period distributed more than 900 films[3] from offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. His former partners and associates include HRH Prince Anusom Yukol (brother of the King of Thailand), John Litton (President of Mever Films, theater owner and former President of the Philippines Film Festival), the Shaw Brothers, Alexander Tedja, and Kong Cho Yee (of Edko Films).
Independent producing career
By the late 1960s, Assonitis began producing films himself with the
The following year, Assonitis produced
He returned to producing with Laure, an original film based on the experiences of Emmanuelle Arsan, who wrote the original story for the film. The film was originally set to star Linda Lovelace, but due to her personal problems at the time, she was recast in the secondary role of Natalie Morgan, before being dropped from the film completely.[12][3] The same year, he produced Take All of Me directed by Luigi Cozzi.[13][14] and co-written by Assonitis' wife, Sonia Molteni, based on her original idea.
Assonitis' sophomore directing effort came after the tremendous box office success of Jaws, when he and American International Pictures produced Tentacles. The film included a star-studded cast including John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins and Henry Fonda. The film grossed $3,000,000 on a budget of just $750,000.[15]
In 1979, Assonitis produced
Assonitis returned to directing in 1981 with
Assonitis continued to produce throughout the 1980s with the films,
Trans World Entertainment
In 1987, Assonitis signed a multi-picture deal with
Cannon Pictures Inc.
In 1989, he became chairman the newly relaunched
Return to independent producing
After his termination from
In the mid 90s, Assonitis worked as a consultant to Ibrahim Moussa's Stone Canyon Investments.[31] In 1998, Paul Guez bought into the company and soon after a deal was announced with MGM Animation to produce three films, beginning with Tom Sawyer and Night at the Opera,[32] however only Tom Sawyer was produced before MGM Animation folded.[33][34] The company entered into a first look deal with director Reginald Hudlin and his company Hudlin Bros.[35] However no films were produced from this deal and Stone Canyon Investments closed soon after.
After producing Sabrina Goes to Rome for Paramount Domestic Television and ABC in 1998, Assonitis produced the 2003 Italian slasher film Red Riding Hood directed by Giacomo Cimini.
Since 2003, Assonitis has concentrated on commercial and film distribution projects in South East Asia and Malaysia. In 2021, Assonitis was awarded the German Independence Honorary Award from
Filmography
Year | Title | Functioned as | Director | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | ||||
1969 | Nel labirinto del sesso (Psichidion) | No | No | Yes | Alfonso Brescia | a.k.a. The Labyrinth of Sex |
1972 | Who Saw Her Die?
|
No | No | Associate | Aldo Lado | Starring George Lazenby |
Man from the Deep River | No | No | Yes | Umberto Lenzi | a.k.a. Sacrifice! (original title: Il paese del sesso selvaggio) | |
1973 | Un amore cosi fragile, cosi violento | No | No | Executive | Leros Pittoni | |
The Last Snows of Spring | No | No | Yes | Raimondo Del Balzo | (original title: L'ultima neve di primavera) | |
1974 | Super Stooges vs the Wonder Women | No | No | Executive | Alfonso Brescia | (original title: Superuomini, superdonne, superbotte) |
Beyond the Door | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ovidio Assonitis and Roberto Piazzoli | a.k.a. The Devil Within Her (original title: Chi Sei?) | |
1975 | Abicinema | No | No | Yes | Giuseppe Bertolucci | documentary |
1976 | Laure | No | Yes | Yes | Emmanuelle Arsan (credited as Anonymous) | a.k.a. Forever Emmanuelle. Shadow directed by Louis-Jacques Rollet-Andriane and Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli
|
Take All of Me | No | No | Yes | Luigi Cozzi | co-written by Sonia Molteni | |
Bertolucci secondo il cinema | No | No | Yes | Gianni Amelio | documentary | |
1977 | Tentacles | Yes | No | Executive | Ovidio Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) | Starring John Huston, Shelley Winters, Claude Akins and Henry Fonda |
1978 | Last Touch of Love | No | No | Executive | Filippo Ottoni | co-written by Sonia Molteni |
1979 | The Visitor | No | Story | Yes | Giulio Paradisi | (original title: Stridulum) |
1981 | Madhouse | Yes | Yes | Yes | Ovidio Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) | a.k.a. There Was a Little Girl |
Rollerboy | Yes | No | Yes | Ovidio Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) | a.k.a. Desperate Moves a.k.a. Steigler, Stiegler | |
Piranha II: The Spawning | Yes | Yes | Executive | James Cameron and Ovidio G. Assonitis | a.k.a. Piranha 2: Flying Killers | |
1986 | Choke Canyon | No | Yes | Yes | Charles Bail (as Chuck Bail) | a.k.a. On Dangerous Ground |
Lone Runner | No | No | Yes | Ruggero Deodato | a.k.a. Fistful of Diamonds and Flash Fighter | |
1987 | Iron Warrior | No | No | Yes | Alfonso Brescia | uncredited |
The Curse | No | No | Yes | David Keith
|
associate producer Lucio Fulci | |
1989 | Sonny Boy | No | No | Yes | Robert Martin Carroll | starring Paul L. Smith, David Carradine and Brad Dourif |
Curse II: The Bite | No | No | Executive | Frederico Prosperi | a.k.a. The Bite | |
Beyond the Door III | No | No | Executive | Jeff Kwitney | a.k.a Amok Train, starring Bo Svenson | |
1990 | Midnight Ride | No | No | Yes | Bob Bralver | produced by Cannon Pictures Inc. |
American Ninja 4: The Annihilation | No | No | Yes | Cedric Sundstrom | produced by Cannon Pictures Inc. | |
Lambada | No | No | Executive | Joel Silberg | produced by Cannon Pictures Inc. | |
1992 | Scent of a Woman | No | No | Executive | Martin Brest | nominated for Best Picture at the 65th Academy Awards |
1993 | No Place to Hide | No | No | Yes | Richard Danus | produced by Cannon Pictures Inc. |
Out of Control
|
Yes | No | Yes | Ovidio Assonitis and Roberto Piazzoli | produced by International Movie Service s.r.l. | |
American Ninja V | No | No | Yes | Bob Bralver (as Bobby Gene Leonard) | produced by International Movie Service s.r.l. | |
2003 | Red Riding Hood | No | Yes | Executive | Giacomo Cimini | based on Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault and by Brothers Grimm |
2023 | Embryo | No | Yes | Yes | To Be Announced | sequel to Beyond the Door |
References
- ^ "Tentacles, Demons, and a Psycho Twin: A Q&A with Ovidio Assonitis | The Terror Trap". www.terrortrap.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
A Greek national born in Alexandria, ...
- ^ Kennedy, Michael (November 10, 2020). "How Piranha 2 Inspired James Cameron's The Terminator". Screen Rant.
Unfortunately for him, working with Italian producer Ovidio G. Assonitis proved to be hellish, ...
- ^ a b c d e AA. VV. Beyond the Screen. Il cinema di Ovidio G. Assonitis. "Nocturno dossier" N. 82, May 2009, Cinemabis.
- ^ Mackenzie, Michael. "Giallo in Venice, a video interview with author and critic Michael Mackenzie" (Interview). Interviewed by Arrow Video.
- ^ Lenzi, Umberto. "Man from Deep River DVD Extras" (Interview). Interviewed by Shriek Show.
- ^ David Carter. "Savage Cinema". Savage Cinema. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
- ^ Mark Martinez. "Kult Movies". Kult-movies.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
- ^ Cannibal Ferox (inset). Umberto Lenzi. United States: Grindhouse Releasing. 2000 [1981]. GRID 9658 DVD.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Man from Deep River (back cover). Umberto Lenzi. United States: Shriek Show (Media-Blasters). 2004 [1972]. SSDVD 0421.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Cestiè: se il cinema chiama dico sì". TGCom. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Beyond the Door". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019.
- ISBN 8820029197.
- ISBN 8876059350.
- ISBN 8820029197.
- ISBN 9781441143167.
- ^ Comici, Lou, Interview with Screenwriter Lou Comici, interviewed by Arrow Video
- ^ Husney, Evan (June 19, 2013). "Drafthouse Films Rediscovers The Sci-Fi/Horror Epic That 1979 Couldn't Handle". Drafthouse Films. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
- ^ "The VIsiter (1979) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ "Critics Reviews for The Visiter (1980) - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-415-23003-2.
- ^ "Fishy Business: The behind-the-scenes story of the 'Piranha' movies (Part II)". ew.com. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
- ^ a b c "Fishy Business: The behind-the-scenes story of the 'Piranha' movies (Part II)", www.ew.com, retrieved 2021-07-02
- ^ "The Curse (1987)". London, England: British Film Institute. 2021-07-02. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
- ^ "The Curse (1987)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- ^ Interview on Shriek Show "Amok Train" Documentary, 2008. Last accessed: October 2009.
- ^ "Where'd You Go? 10 Horror Stars We Want Back!!!". BloodyDisgusting. 2010-02-28.
- ^ a b "Pathe breached contract with Assonitis, Judge Rules". Variety. 9 February 1998. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
- ^ Fox, David J. (1992-12-29). "Weekend Box Office Holiday Take a Nice Gift for the Studios". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ Fox, David J. (1993-01-26). "Weekend Box Office 'Aladdin's' Magic Carpet Ride". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ Welkos, Robert W. (1993-02-02). "Weekend Box Office 'Sniper' Takes Aim at 'Aladdin'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2011-04-05. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
- ^ "Moussa re-revs Canyon". Variety. 16 July 1997. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
- ^ "Guez pumps $50 mil into Canyon". Variety. July 1998. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
- ^ "Television". Animation World Network. March 1998. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ "Home Video". Animation World Network. June 1998. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ "Hudlin pacts with Canyon". Variety. April 1998. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
- ^ "Oldenburg Film Festival to Honor "King of the Rip Offs" Ovidio Assonitis". The Hollywood Reporter. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
- ^ "Cult Director Ovidio G. Assonitis Returns to Filmmaking With 'Beyond the Door' Sequel (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2022-09-05.