Joe Augustyn (born ) is an American screenwriter, film producer, and author.
Early life
Born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Augustyn was the son of a factory worker and a hairdresser. Raised in the Port Richmond neighborhood of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Augustyn attended St. Adalbert's parochial grade school before attending the public magnet school
Central High School. He was briefly married to writer-editor Victoria Brownworth.
He pursued painting and cartooning before attending
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
where he studied film theory and production. As a college freshman he won a ''FOCUS Award'' in the film studies category for a paper analyzing the symbolism in
Francis Ford Coppola's ''
Apocalypse Now
''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph ...
''. The only undergrad among eleven winners, he was flown to Los Angeles for the ceremonies, and subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attend the
AFI Conservatory for Advanced Film Studies as a producing-fellow. At his graduation review he was told by school director Tony Vellani that he held the record for the number of student productions he'd worked on.
Career
Following graduation from AFI he worked as an associate of
Steve Golin
Steven Aaron Golin (March 6, 1955 – April 21, 2019) was an American film and television producer and the founder and CEO of Anonymous Content LLP, a multimedia development, production and talent management company and co-founder and CEO of Pr ...
and
Joni Sighvatsson
Joni may refer to:is
Given name
* Joni Anwar (born 1981), Thai singer and actor
* Joni Eareckson Tada (born 1949), American author and Christian ministry founder
*Joni Ernst (born 1970), American senator from Iowa
* Joni Haverinen (born 1987), Fin ...
, who later went on to found Propaganda Films. After producing two features he retired from producing to focus exclusively on screenwriting, completing assignments for such companies as Tristar, Propaganda and countless indie producers. Augustyn's first feature,
''Night of the Demons'', based on his original screenplay ''Halloween Party'', was remade in 2008 by 7 Arts Productions, starring
Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth Fadal (born September 7, 1973) is an American actress, conservationist, animal activist, model and poker player. A popular sex symbol and teen idol of the 1990s and 2000s, Elizabeth is best known for her roles in the films '' A ...
and
Edward Furlong
Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; which was followed by a mini-seque ...
. Augustyn was not involved creatively in the remake and has pointed that out in interviews.
His second feature film as writer-producer was ''Night Angel''. Based on Augustyn's original spec screenplay titled ''Lilith'', it was the first feature film based on the ancient legend of the arch-succubus Lilith. With his health compromised by the stress of this production, Augustyn subsequently retired from producing to focus on writing.
His next produced screenplay was ''Night of the Demons 2'' based on a story co-written with playwright
James Penzi.
In 2001 Augustyn returned to Philadelphia to care for his elderly parents and after completing a few screenplay writing assignments and specs he began writing novels and short stories.
Augustyn's first novel ''The Nine Lives of Felicia Miller'' was published by Wildcat Press in 2012.
Paranormal Research
Besides writing fiction, Augustyn is an advocate for serious paranormal research, believing that scientific investigation into the metaphysical will reap benefits for humanity by confirming a spiritual aspect to the universe which in turn will foster greater respect among people and nations. He holds a Vedic view of reality, which holds that spirit precedes corporality, in the same way that energy generates matter, as well as a quantum connection of everything that exists on a spiritual level.
In 2014 he published ''Dead Rain: A Tale of the Zombie Apocalypse'' and ''Ghostwriter: The Polaroid Ghost & Other True Tales of the Paranormal'', a non-fiction book of personal paranormal experiences including eyewitness accounts of events that took place in "the Wright House" (so named after the spirit that allegedly identified itself by name, writing on Polaroid film in ectoplasmic scrawl.) Augustyn was present at a Halloween party at which several guests who brought their own Polaroid cameras snapped remarkable photos. The case has been featured on several TV and cable shows including
''Sightings'', ''
My Ghost Story'', ''
Unexplained Mysteries'', and ''
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files''. It has been investigated by parapsychologist Kerry Gaynor of UCLA and photo experts from Polaroid Corporation and Brooks Institute, all of whom were baffled. Investigators from ''Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files'' attempted to debunk the ghostly Polaroids using carefully controlled experiments but instead got inexplicable results. Combined with voice stress analysis of the occupants of the house that indicated they were telling the truth, they declared the case authentic. On several occasions visitors brought their own Polaroid cameras loaded with their own film and also got ghostly results.
Actor and paranormal enthusiast
Dan Aykroyd contributed a glowing introduction to GHOSTWRITER, calling it "an essential volume for any serious seeker in the understanding of the paranormal."
Filmography
*''
Night of the Demons'' (1988 - also producer)
*''Night Angel'' (1990 - also producer)
*''
Night of the Demons 2
''Night of the Demons 2'' is a 1994 American horror film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and starring Amelia Kinkade, Cristi Harris, Rick Peters, Jennifer Rhodes and Christine Taylor. It is the sequel to '' Night of the Demons'' and was release ...
'' (1994 co-written with
James Penzi)
*''Exit'' (1996)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Augustyn, Joe
American male screenwriters
Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Temple University alumni
Writers from Philadelphia
Film producers from Pennsylvania
Screenwriters from Pennsylvania