Claudio Castravelli is a Canadian motion picture producer. He is independently producing the Walter Hill directed crime thriller ''St. Vincent'' alongside Jon Turtle starring

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

and

Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), ''Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (201 ...

Walter Hill Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

is noted as one of Hollywood's master action directors, lensing such modern action classics as '' 48 Hrs.'', ''

The Long Riders ''The Long Riders'' is a 1980 American Western film directed by Walter Hill. It was produced by James Keach, Stacy Keach and Tim Zinnemann and featured an original soundtrack by Ry Cooder. Cooder won the ''Best Music'' award in 1980 from the L ...

'', '' The Warriors'' and ''

Broken Trail ''Broken Trail'' is a 2006 Western television miniseries directed by Walter Hill and starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church. Written by Alan Geoffrion, who also wrote the novel, the story is about an aging cowboy and his nephew who tra ...

''. Castravelli has produced more than thirty feature films, over 200 hours of television programming, and has worked with many major Hollywood studios and television networks.

Early life

Castravelli became involved in the film industry at an early age. His father was head technician for

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

in Paris. Castravelli made his first screen appearance at the age of three in a Pathe promotional film. He has lived in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

; he chose to settle in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with his parents at the age of fifteen, where he has lived ever since.

Education

Castravelli studied Science and Mathematics at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

before switching to Communication Arts at

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène S ...

(now

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

). He completed his cinema studies at the

Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film. The centre is the oldest film school in ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he had the opportunity to study under such illustrious filmmakers as

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

and

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

. Castravelli's first professional film employment was as an assistant to the producer on

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

's ''

Brother Sun, Sister Moon ''Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' ( it, Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna) is a 1972 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is an examination of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. Plot Francesco, the sp ...

''.

Career

Some of Castravelli's most notable production credits include: "Undressed" 52 x 30 min.

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

award-winning series co-produced with Academy Award winner

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits inclu ...

(''

The Killing Fields A killing field is a concept in military science. Killing field may also refer to: * Killing Fields, a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of ...

'', '' The Mission'') in association with MTV Networks; "Hysteria", the

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

story, the official bio-pic of the iconic British band (Viacom/MTV); "A Diva's Christmas Carol", starring Vanessa L. Williams, James Taylor and Rozonda "Chili" Thomas (Viacom/VH1); "Snow in August", which was co-produced with multiple Academy Award winner

Jake Eberts Jake Eberts, OC (July 10, 1941 – September 6, 2012) was a Canadian film producer, executive and financier. He was known for risk-taking and producing a consistently high caliber of movies including such Academy Award-winning titles as ''Chari ...

(

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ...

, A River Runs Through It)) and which garnered three nominations at the Emmy Awards for Best Director, Best Children's Special and Best Actor for Stephen Rea (Showtime); "Love Song" with Monica Arnold and Christian Kane (Viacom/MTV); "Time at the Top", starring Timothy Busfield and Elisha Cuthbert (Showtime/Hallmark) *Finalist at the Worldfest Houston (theatrical Feature Film Awards); "The Second Arrival", starring Patrick Muldoon, Michael Sarrazin and Jane Sibbett (HBO Premier); "The Minion", starring

Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...

(Buena Vista); "Provocateur", starring Jane March, Lilo Brancato and Cary Tagawa (Live Entertainment and Capella International); "

Snowboard Academy ''Snowboard Academy'' is a 1997 independent slapstick comedy film directed by John Shepphird and starring Corey Haim, Jim Varney and Brigitte Nielsen. Plot A competition is held between two brothers on their father's ski slopes; one is a skier, ...

", starring

Brigitte Nielsen Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...

Jim Varney James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his broadly comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and n ...

, Joe Flaherty and

Corey Haim Corey Ian Haim (December 23, 1971 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian actor. He starred in a number of 1980s films, such as '' Lucas'', ''Silver Bullet'', ''Murphy's Romance'', ''License to Drive'' and '' Dream a Little Dream''. His role alongsi ...

(Columbia/Tri-Star); "Demon House", starring Amelia Kinkaide (Republic Pictures); "Silent Hunter", starring Miles O'Keeffe and Fred Williamson (New Line Cinema); "Equinox", starring

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...

Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Donna Hayward in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). After portraying Stacy in Penelope Spheeris's comedy ''Wayne's World'' (1992), ...

and

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...

(Columbia/Tri-Star). Video and TV releases include: "Dangerous Dreams", "A Touch of Murder", "With Friends Like These", and the syndicated TV series "Unknown Dimensions" and "Dementia", as well as "Les Transistors" (a France/Canada co-production)

Filmography

* "Undressed" (1999–2002) TV series * '' Snow in August'' (2001) (TV) * ''Hysteria – The

Story'' (2001) (TV) * '' A Diva's Christmas Carol'' (2000) (TV) * Love Song (2000) (TV) * ''

Time at the Top ''Time at the Top'', is a 1999 cable television film for Showtime that was directed by Jimmy Kaufman and written by Linda Brookover and Alain Silver based on the book by Edward Ormondroyd. It stars Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Busfield, and Lyn ...

'' (1999) * The Second Arrival (1998) - aka ''Arrival II'' * ''

The Minion ''The Minion'' is a 1998 Action film, action supernatural horror film directed by Jean-Marc Piché and starring Dolph Lundgren and Françoise Robertson. It was released to television and video in various countries. Plot The film's plot revolves a ...

'' (1998) - aka ''Fallen Knight'' - Canada (English title) * Provocateur (1998) - aka ''Agent provocateur'' - Canada (English title) * ''

Night of the Demons 3 ''Night of the Demons 3'' (released as ''Demon House'' in the UK) is the third and final film in the ''Night of the Demons (film series), Night of the Demons'' series before the Night of the Demons (2009 film), 2009 remake. It was released in 199 ...

'' (1997) - aka ''Demon Night'' - Canada (English title) * Snowboard Academy (1996) * Silent Hunter (1995) * Equinox (1992) * With Friends Like These... (1991) * You're Driving Me Crazy (1990) (as Claude Castravelli) * A Touch of Murder (1990) (as Claude Castravelli) * The Scorpio Factor (1990) * Evil Judgment (1984) (as Claude Castravelli) * Deux super-dingues (1982) (as Claude Castravelli) * Les jeunes Québécoises (1980) (as Claude Castravelli) - aka "The Young Quebecers" - Canada (English title) * Up Uranus! (1971) (as Claude Castravelli)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castravelli, Claudio Living people Canadian film producers Canadian film executives Year of birth missing (living people) McGill University alumni Sir George Williams University alumni