David Giancola (born June 24, 1969) is a

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

-based American Filmmaker. Born in

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

he has Directed, Produced, and/or functioned as Director of Photography on over 35 feature films as of December 2019.

Career

Giancola's first short film was an adaptation of the comic-book ''

The Spirit The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16-page, tabloid (paper size), tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the Sunday editio ...

'', made with the blessing of comic-book legend

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

featuring original artwork from the master cartoonist. Later at age 19, with no film-school training, he wrote and directed his first feature, the meager-budgeted (now cult) sci-fi film ''

Time Chasers ''Time Chasers'' (originally released as ''Tangents'') is a 1994 science fiction film directed by David Giancola and starring Matthew Bruch, George Woodard, and Bonnie Pritchard. The film premiered in Rutland, Vermont on March 16, 1994 to three i ...

''. Giancola then directed over twenty feature films and TV-movies including ''

Icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

'', ''Lightning - Fire From The Sky'', ''Moving Targets'', ''Landslide'', and '' Moonlight & Mistletoe''. He was elected an IATSE 600

Cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

in 2002 and ran both the boutique editing facility Post Monsters as well as the lighting/grip rental company New England Light & Grip. Giancola cast the likes of Jessie Eisenberg, Chris Evans,

Kate Bosworth Catherine Anne Bosworth (born January 2, 1983) is an American actress. Following minor roles in the films '' The Horse Whisperer'' (1998) and ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), she rose to prominence with her role as a young surfer in the box-offi ...

Paul Dano Paul Franklin Dano (; born June 19, 1984) is an American actor. He began his career on Broadway before making his film debut in ''The Newcomers'' (2000). He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in '' L.I.E.' ...

Josh Peck Joshua Michael Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor and comedian. Peck began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had an early role on the Nickelodeon sitcom ''The Amanda Show'' from 2000 to 2002. Peck ...

, Todd G. Hutchinson, and even

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

in their first starring roles. He has also directed the likes of

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film ''Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low ...

Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fictiona ...

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (né Duke; February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Samwise Gamgee in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003), Mikey Walsh in ''The Goonies'' (1985), Daniel Ruettiger in ''Rudy'' (1993), Doug ...

Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

, and

Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in ''Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pendan ...

. In 2005, he attempted to continue his out-of-the-box casting style with the campy comedy ''

Illegal Aliens Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

'' starring WWF wrestler

Chyna Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – April 17, 2016) was an American professional wrestler, bodybuilder and television personality. She first rose to prominence in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1997, where sh ...

and

Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...

in her last performance. The film was a disaster due to the overdose death of Smith and her son (who is credited as a co-producer) and flopped badly. Later, (using extensive behind-the-scenes footage) Giancola turned his ill fortune into the critically acclaimed Documentary; ''

Addicted To Fame ''Addicted to Fame'' is a 2012 American documentary comedy film directed by David Giancola. The film stars Anna Nicole Smith, David Giancola, John James, Chyna, Larry King, Jesse Eisenberg and Sean Astin. Cast * Anna Nicole Smith * David Gi ...

'' (2012) which the late

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

called; “Probably the best movie about the making of a B-Movie ever made”. Giancola’s first film, ''

,'' that garnered him his largest fan base. The film continues to be popular around the world as T-Shirts, Soundtrack CDs, DVDs and other merchandise continue to be gobbled up by fans of the cult favorite which has been featured on

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

and on 1600 screens theatrically on

RiffTrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

. The film was re-released digitally in HD and on

Blu-Ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

in 2020. Giancola operates the production company Edgewood Studios which released the Award-Winning Sci-Fi/Action feature ''Axcellerator'' in 2020 which stars Ryan Wesen,

Sam J. Jones Samuel Gerald Jones (born August 12, 1954), known professionally as Sam J. Jones, is an American actor and former football player. He is known for playing the title character in the 1980 film ''Flash Gordon'' and for starring in the short-lived ...

Sean Young Mary Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress. She is particularly known for working in sci-fi films, although she has performed roles in a variety of genres. Young's early roles include the independent romance ''Jane Auste ...

, John James,

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (né Maxwell P.J. Newby; born 23 November 1959) is a British-American film, stage, and television actor and singer. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), '' The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The Su ...

, and Laura James. Giancola is also a co-owner of numerous businesses in central Vermont including ventures in commercial and residential real estate.

Filmography

: Ten Minutes (Short) (1989) *''

'' ( ''Tangents'') (1993) *'' Diamond Run'' (1996) *''

Pressure Point derive from the supposed meridian points in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, and martial arts. They refer to areas on the human body that may produce significant pain or other effects when manipulated in a specific ...

'' (1997) *''Moving Targets'' (1998) *

(1999) *Swimming on the Moon (a.k.a. Hatch) (1999) *''Peril'' (a.k.a. ''The Cursed a.k.a. A Woman In Jeopardy'') (2000) *Radical Jack (2000) *''

The Newcomers (film) The Newcomers may refer to: * ''The Newcomers'' (TV series), a 1960s British soap opera aired by the BBC * ''The Newcomers'' (TV miniseries), a 1970s Canadian television series aired by the CBC * ''The Newcomers'' (ballet), a ballet by Miri ...

'' (2000) *'' Lightning: Fire from the Sky'' (2001) *Trapped: Buried Alive (2002) *Frozen Impact *Psyclops (2002) *Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke (2003) * Arachnia (2003) *Landslide (2005) *Ice Queen (2005) *Zombie Town (2007) *''

'' (2007) *Moonlight & Mistletoe (2008) *''

Addicted to Fame ''Addicted to Fame'' is a 2012 American documentary comedy film directed by David Giancola. The film stars Anna Nicole Smith, David Giancola, John James, Chyna, Larry King, Jesse Eisenberg and Sean Astin. Cast * Anna Nicole Smith * David Gi ...

'' (2012) *'' Axcellerator'' (2020)

References

External links

*
Edgewood Studios

Austin Chronicle Interview 2019 - David GiancolaFreakSugar "Axcellerator" Austin Screening Review"Axcellerator" London Festival Review - Flickering Myth

Audio Interview at Your Video Store ShelfVariety - "Addicted To Fame" Review - Dennis Harvey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giancola, David American film producers 1969 births Living people People from Rutland (city), Vermont Film directors from Vermont