Jason Cuadrado is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, known for directing the first

j-horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...

feature film in the United States, ''

Tales from the Dead ''Tales from the Dead'' is a 2007 horror film, written and directed by Jason Cuadrado. The film is an anthology of four ghost stories as told by Tamika, a strange young girl with the ability to communicate with the dead. Each tale deals with loss, ...

''. After directing television news in New York City, he transitioned to film by starting as a personal assistant to American actor,

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

. He wrote and directed the thriller ''

Devil May Call ''Devil May Call'' is a 2013 horror film directed by American filmmaker Jason Cuadrado and written by Cuadrado and Wyatt Doyle. The film stars Corri English as Samantha, a crisis hotline counselor. Plot Blind telephone counselor Sam (Corri En ...

''.

Biography

Cuadrado was born in New York City, the son of Juan Jose Cuadrado, a high school teacher and Clementina Tang-Cuadrado, a university professor. He's the second born of three sons and is of Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Chinese descent. He was named after the Greek demagogue

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

after nearly being named after

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. He is a graduate of

Townsend Harris High School Townsend Harris High School at Queens College (THHS) is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites." Townsend Harris consistently ranks a ...

and attended Queens College and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

where he studied video and film production. After directing new segments for Bloomberg Television and heading the new media department for Deloitte and Touche's New York branch, Cuadrado relocated to Los Angeles where he focused on feature film directing, writing, and editing. It was in California where he was inspired by trends in Japanese horror to write and shoot the

anthology film ''

''. The film features a cast of Japanese actors speaking their native tongue. Many of whom worked together on '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' by Clint Eastwood. Cuadrado did not know Japanese at the time so the original English script was translated into Japanese for the actors. When interviewed, Cuadrado said, ''"I had to direct the actors based on their performances instead of the script. If I could tell where they were in the dialogue without understanding what they were saying then that was a good take".'' The film was embraced by j-horror fans who were intrigued by the Western take on Japanese horror tropes. Cuadrado went on to write and direct the short film ''Monstrous Nature''. The short took top honors at numerous North American horror film festivals. His experiences as a hostel manager in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

were the inspiration for the feature ''Harlem Hostel'' by writer/director Nestor Miranda. After the death of his mother in 2009, Cuadrado took time off from film production to focus on his passion for design and programming. He co-founded Kulture Kick, a boutique web design and new media company. The company partnered with

Tommy Wiseau Thomas P. Wiseau ( or ) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the 2003 film '' The Room'', which has been described by many critics as one of the worst films ever made and has gaine ...

to create officially licensed products for Wiseau's cult hit ''

The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amia ...

''. Cuadrado returned to filmmaking after actress/producer Camillia Sanes (Camillia Monet) introduced him to entrepreneur Urs Brunner, the CEO of Boncafe, a Thai/Swiss coffee company. Brunner had been interested in investing in motion pictures so he purchased Cuadrado's feature script ''Dark Desert Highway'' and financed the thriller ''

'' starring

Corri English Corri English (born Corri Englisby; May 10, 1978) is an American actress. Life and career As a young girl during the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was a frequent host of '' Kid's Beat'' and a few other kids shows on TBS (prior to the merg ...

Tyler Mane Daryl Karolat (born December 8, 1966) is a Canadian character actor and retired professional wrestler, better known by the name Tyler Mane. He is known for playing Sabretooth in ''X-Men'', Ajax in ''Troy'', and Michael Myers in the remake of '' ...

, and

Traci Lords Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She entered the adult film industry using a fake birth certificate to conceal that she was two years under the legal age of eighteen. Lords starred in adult f ...

. ''Devil May Call'' was directed by Cuadrado and written with Wyatt Doyle. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he continues to develop and direct features with manager/producer

Deborah Del Prete Deborah Del Prete is an American producer. Her son, actor and musician Terence Jay has appeared in/composed a number of films that she has produced. She is the cofounder of OddLot Entertainment along with Gigi Pritzker Gigi Pritzker (born Ju ...

and Coronet Entertainment.

Filmography

* King of the Jungle (film) (2000) – Special thanks * ''Rock Steady'' (2002 Short) – Cinematographer/Editor * ''Juicy'' (2004 short) – Cinematographer * ''Damaged Goods'' (2006 short) – Sound * ''Chalk'' (2006 short) – Writer/Director/Editor * ''

'' (2008) – Writer/Director * ''Monstrous Nature'' (2009 Short) – Writer/Director/Editor * ''Harlem Hostel'' (2010) – Editor/Associate producer * ''Time Trippers'' (2012 Short) – Director/Editor * ''

'' (2013) – Writer/Director * ''Dark Desert Highway'' (2014) – Writer * ''Tales from the Dead'' (2014 Thai Remake) – Writer

References

External links

* * http://www.devilmaycall.com * http://www.kulturekick.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuadrado, Jason American film directors American male screenwriters Living people Year of birth missing (living people)