Matthew Frank Leonetti
A.S.C. (born July 31, 1941) is an American
cinematographer.
Accomplished and highly prolific,
he has worked on dozens of well-known and acclaimed films spanning numerous genres,
including ''
Poltergeist'', ''
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story ...
'', ''
Weird Science'', ''
Jagged Edge'', ''
Strange Days'', and ''
Star Trek: First Contact''.
He has collaborated with directors such as
Tobe Hooper
Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror fi ...
,
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 1 ...
,
John Hughes,
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
,
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...
,
Zack Snyder
Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...
, and
The Farrelly Brothers.
Life and career
Leonetti was born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in 1941. His father Frank was a
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
and
cinematographer who served as a
gaffer and
lighting technician
Electrical lighting technicians (ELT), or simply lighting tech, are involved with rigging stage and location sets and controlling artificial, electric lights for art and entertainment venues (theatre or live music venues) or in video, television, o ...
on low-budget
B-movies
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
like ''
The Violent Years
''The Violent Years'' is a 1956 American exploitation film directed by William Morgan and starring Jean Moorhead as Paula Parkins, the leader of a gang of juvenile delinquent high school girls. The film is notable for having an uncredited Ed ...
'', ''
Frankenstein's Daughter'', and ''
Beyond the Time Barrier
''Beyond the Time Barrier'' is a 1960 American science fiction film. It was released in September 1960 on a double bill with '' The Angry Red Planet''.Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 730 It sta ...
''.
Leonetti began his career working on a number of projects with his father, serving as a
camera operator on films like ''
Adam at 6 A.M.
''Adam at 6 A.M.'' is a 1970 American drama film directed by Robert Scheerer. It stars Michael Douglas, Lee Purcell, Joe Don Baker, Louise Latham, Charles Aidman, Grayson Hall, Marge Redmond, and Dana Elcar. The film did not receive much attenti ...
'' and
''The Organization''.
He soon fell in with
Jerry Jameson
Jerry Jameson (born November 26, 1934) is an American television and film director, editor and producer.
Biography
Highly prolific, he began career in 1964 as an editor on the episode " The Song Festers" of ''The Andy Griffith Show'', soon m ...
, a prolific
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...
who dabbled in
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
s.
His debut as cinematographer was ''
The Bat People
''The Bat People'' is a 1974 American horror film directed by Jerry Jameson, written and produced by Lou Shaw, and distributed by American International Pictures. Starring Stewart Moss and Marianne McAndrew, the film tells the story of a docto ...
'', a
horror B-movie directed by Jameson and starring
Stewart Moss and
Michael Pataki
Michael Pataki (January 16, 1938 – April 15, 2010) was an American actor.
Early life
Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio. His parents were Hungarians. He was the youngest of three children - one older brother and one older sister. He atten ...
, on which he also served as an
executive producer. Though the film came and went with little fanfare, it did gain a minor cult following years later after being featured on an episode ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000''. Leonetti spent much of the 1970s shooting
made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...
films directed by Jameson.
In 1979, Leonetti shot his first big-budget
theatrical film in the form of the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning ''
Breaking Away
''Breaking Away''
is a 1979 American coming of age comedy-drama film produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich. It follows a group of four male teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who have recently graduated from high sc ...
'', directed by
Peter Yates
Peter James Yates (24 July 1929 – 9 January 2011) was an English film director and producer.
Biography Early life
Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from ...
. Three years later, he shot the
Academy Award-nominated ''Poltergeist'', where he was responsible for creating many of the film's iconic images. This proved to be his big break, and in the following years he quickly became one of the most prolific and accomplished DPs in the film industry, shooting films like ''
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story ...
'', ''
Weird Science'', ''
Commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
,'' and ''
Jagged Edge''. In 1987, he began a collaboration with director
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 1 ...
, which would continue of the course of several films into the 1990s. Throughout that decade, he would work with directors like
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
,
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...
, and
William Dear
William Dear (born November 30, 1943) is a Canadian actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films ''Harry and the Hendersons'', '' If Looks Could Kill'', '' Angels in the Outfield'', '' Wild America'', and ''San ...
. His work on the
cult science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
noir ''Strange Days'' earned him a nomination for Best Cinematography from the
Chicago Film Critics Association. He shot two entries in the
''Star Trek'' film franchise, and served as DP on his brother
John R. Leonetti's directorial debut, ''
Mortal Kombat Annihilation''.
In the early 2000s, Leonetti shot a string of
blockbuster
Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to:
*Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived.
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain
** Bl ...
thriller and
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...
s; including ''
Along Came a Spider'', ''
2 Fast 2 Furious
''2 Fast 2 Furious'' is a 2003 action film directed by John Singleton from a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, from a story by Brandt, Haas, and Gary Scott Thompson. It is the sequel to ''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001), and is ...
'', ''
Rush Hour 2
''Rush Hour 2'' is a 2001 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the characters created by Ross LaManna. A sequel to '' Rush Hour'', it is the second installment in the ''Rush Hour'' ...
'', and ''
The Butterfly Effect
''The Butterfly Effect'' is a 2004 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, Logan Lerman, Ethan Suplee, and ...
.'' He shot the 2004 remake of
''Dawn of the Dead'', which served as the
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
debut of director
Zack Snyder
Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...
.
Since 2006, he has mostly worked on
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
s, many of which are directed by
the Farrelly Brothers. In 2015, he was the recipient of a Special Honor Prize, the President's Award, from the
American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
.
Personal life
Leonetti has a younger brother,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, who is himself a prolific cinematographer and occasional film director. He is a graduate of
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...
.
Filmography
Film
Additional photography
Television
TV movies
TV series
Literature
* Kay Weniger: ''Das große Personenlexikon des Films'', Band 4, Page 690, Berlin (2001)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonetti, Matthew F.
1941 births
Living people
American cinematographers
American people of Italian descent
Artists from Los Angeles
Loyola Marymount University alumni