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IMDbPro

Joe Dante(I)

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Additional Crew
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Joe Dante in Burying the Ex (2014)
The Birth of Hammer Horror is a 45 minute-long documentary that digs deep into Hammer's first Gothic horror sequel, The Revenge of Frankenstein, which changed the course for the company, and gave birth to the "Hammer Horror" brand. The documentary features new exclusive interview footage with filmmaker Joe Dante, and film historians who specialize in Gothic horror.
Play trailer2:18
The Birth of Hammer Horror (2020)
18 Videos
20 Photos
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 for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his directorial debut in 1976 with Hollywood Boulevard (1976) (co-directed with Allan 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 with Piranha (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 edited Ron Howard's directorial debut Grand Theft Auto (1977) and co-wrote the original story for Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979).

For Avco-Embassy Dante next directed the highly praised werewolf thriller The Howling (1981), followed by the It's a Good Life segment of the episodic Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983).

Having worked with Steven Spielberg on 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 with Explorers (1985) for Paramount, a sci-fi fantasy about three kids who build their own spaceship, and then Innerspace (1987) for Guber/Peters, Amblin and Warner Bros., an action comedy in which miniaturized test pilot Dennis Quaid is injected into the body of supermarket clerk Martin Short.

Tom Hanks starred in Dante's next film for Imagine/Universal, The 'Burbs (1989), which was followed by Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) for Warner Bros. in 1990. Matinee (1993) featuring John Goodman as a huckster showman premiering his new horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis, was a production of Dante and partner Michael 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's Homecoming (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 includes The Screwfly Solution (2006), and Boo (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-part Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) spoof produced by John Landis, and directed various episodes of the tv series Amazing Stories (1985), The Twilight Zone (1985), Police Squad! (1982), Night Visions (2001) and Picture Windows (1994). He also directed the network pilots for The Osiris Chronicles (1998) and the NBC series Eerie, Indiana (1991), on which he was creative consultant throughout its run.

Dante received Cable Ace nominations for his direction of Showtime's Runaway Daughters (1994) and HBO's The Second Civil War (1997).
BornNovember 28, 1946
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornNovember 28, 1946
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 20 wins & 13 nominations

Photos20

Joe Dante, Bill Hader, and Barbara Muschietti in Monsters (2020)
Joe Dante in The Birth of Hammer Horror (2020)
Joe Dante in Frankenstein and the Two Faces of Eve (2020)
Joe Dante in Masters of Horror (2005)
Beast Wishes (2012) at Dark Delicacies event in Burbank, California
Joe Dante in The Hole (2009)
Joe Dante in Matinee (1993)
John Landis, Joe Dante, Cynthia Garris, and Jim Haynie in Sleepwalkers (1992)
Joe Dante and Joe Alaskey in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Heather Locklear, Joe Dante, and Jeff Bennett in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Joe Dante and John Hora in Gremlins (1984)
Tom Hanks, Joe Dante, and Bruce Dern in The 'Burbs (1989)

Known for

Innerspace (1987)
Innerspace
6.8
  • Director
  • 1987
The Howling (1981)
The Howling
6.5
  • Director
  • 1981
Gremlins (1984)
Gremlins
7.3
  • Director
  • 1984
Tommy Lee Jones, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Frank Langella, and Clint Walker in Small Soldiers (1998)
Small Soldiers
6.2
  • Director
  • 1998

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes
    • Director
    • Pre-production
  • Labirintus
    • Director
    • Pre-production
  • Nightmare Cinema (2018)
    Nightmare Cinema
    • Director (segment Mirari)
    • 2018
  • Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
    Hawaii Five-0
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2011–2017
  • Salem (2014)
    Salem
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2015–2016
  • Lucas Till in MacGyver (2016)
    MacGyver
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Dominic Purcell, Olivia Swann, Shayan Sobhian, Nick Zano, Matt Ryan, Adam Tsekhman, Caity Lotz, Tala Ashe, Jes Macallan, and Lisseth Chavez in DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016)
    DC's Legends of Tomorrow
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick, Rachel Boston, and Jenna Dewan in Witches of East End (2013)
    Witches of East End
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2014
  • Anton Yelchin, Alexandra Daddario, and Ashley Greene in Burying the Ex (2014)
    Burying the Ex
    • Director
    • 2014
  • Corey Feldman in Splatter (2009)
    Splatter
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2009
  • The Movie Orgy (2009)
    The Movie Orgy
    • Director
    • 2009
  • The Hole (2009)
    The Hole
    • Director
    • 2009
  • The Greatest Show Ever (2007)
    The Greatest Show Ever
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2007
  • Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes in CSI: NY (2004)
    CSI: NY
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2007
  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2006
  • Trapped Ashes (2006)
    Trapped Ashes
    • Director (story segments "Wraparound")
    • 2006
  • Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
    Looney Tunes: Back in Action
    • Director
    • 2003

Producer

  • Sequel
    • executive producer
    • Pre-production
  • The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes
    • producer
    • Pre-production
  • The Dead Don't Lie
    • executive producer
    • In Production
  • Teddy Bears Are for Lovers
    • executive producer
    • In Development
  • Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (2022)
    Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
    • consulting producer
    • TV Series
    • 2022–2023
  • Danielle Harris, Chad Michael Murray, Doug Van Liew, Candice De Visser, and Mary Kathryn Bryant in Camp Cold Brook (2018)
    Camp Cold Brook
    • executive producer
    • 2018
  • Ashley Judd, Anne Archer, and Sean Patrick Flanery in Trafficked (2017)
    Trafficked
    • executive producer
    • 2017
  • Dark (2015)
    Dark
    • executive producer
    • 2015
  • Trail of Blood (2011)
    Trail of Blood
    • executive producer
    • 2011
  • Trailers from Hell (2007)
    Trailers from Hell
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 2007
  • Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in Jeremiah (2002)
    Jeremiah
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2002–2003
  • John Corbett, Elisabeth Harnois, Carolyn McCormick, and John Pyper-Ferguson in The Osiris Chronicles (1998)
    The Osiris Chronicles
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1998
  • Billy Zane in The Phantom (1996)
    The Phantom
    • executive producer
    • 1996
  • Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)
    Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror
    • associate producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1994

Additional Crew

  • This Island Earth: 2 1/2 Years in the Making
    • images
    • Video
    • 2013
  • Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in Jeremiah (2002)
    Jeremiah
    • executive consultant
    • TV Series
    • 2003–2004
  • Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994)
    Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror
    • film clips courtesy of
    • TV Movie
    • 1994
  • Time Machine: The Journey Back (1993)
    Time Machine: The Journey Back
    • special contributor
    • Video
    • 1993
  • Eerie, Indiana (1991)
    Eerie, Indiana
    • creative consultant
    • TV Series
    • 1991–1992
  • Pat Anderson, Lenore Kasdorf, and Lyllah Torena in Fly Me (1973)
    Fly Me
    • dialogue director
    • 1973
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos19

Late-Breaking Summer of '85 Movie News
Clip 3:07
Late-Breaking Summer of '85 Movie News
The Howling
Clip 3:21
The Howling
American Grindhouse
Clip 3:26
American Grindhouse
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:01
Official Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
Trailer 1:37
Theatrical Trailer
The Hole - Teaser Trailer
Trailer 1:55
The Hole - Teaser Trailer
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time- Vol. 3 Comedy and Camp
Trailer 1:16
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time- Vol. 3 Comedy and Camp
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film
Trailer 2:15
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film
24X36: A Film About Film Poster Art
Trailer 1:51
24X36: A Film About Film Poster Art
Out of Print
Trailer 2:35
Out of Print
The Howling
Trailer 1:35
The Howling
Piranha: Roger Corman's Cult Classics
Trailer 0:17
Piranha: Roger Corman's Cult Classics

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Trailers From Hell
    • Twitter
  • Alternative names
    • Dante
  • Height
    • 5′ 5½″ (1.66 m)
  • Born
    • November 28, 1946
    • Morristown, New Jersey, USA
  • Parents
      Jane Dante
  • Other works
    Wrote the foreword for "The Video Watchdog Book" by Tim Lucas.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 32 Interviews
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He was scheduled to direct a Jaws (1975) parody (under the National Lampoon banner) in the early 1980s called "Jaws 3 People 0". Universal Pictures dropped this concept in favor of a straight film (which became the critical flop Jaws 3D).
  • Quotes
    [in "Halliwell's Filmgoers and Video Viewers Companion", on producing movie trailers for Roger Corman] We did all kinds of things in trailers to help sell films. We had a famous exploding helicopter shot from one of those Filipino productions that we had cut in every time a trailer was too dull because that was always exciting.
  • Trademarks
      His films often take place in small towns and suburbs.
  • Salaries
      The Howling
      (1981)
      $1 .000

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