Ovidio G. Assonitis

Ovidio Gabriel Assonitis (born January 18, 1943) is an Egyptian-born Greco-Italian[1][2] entertainment executive, film producer, screenwriter, and director best known for his numerous B-horror films including Beyond the Door, Tentacles, The Visitor, and Piranha II: The Spawning.

Ovidio G. Assonitis
Born
Ovidio Gabriel Assonitis

(1943-01-18) January 18, 1943
Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
NationalityGreco-Italian
Occupation
  • Director
  • producer
  • writer
Years active1969–present

Biography

Catering to the South East Asia market, Assonitis began an extensive distribution network company in the mid-1960s and in the 10-year period distributed more than 900 films from offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. His former partners and associates include HRH Prince Anusom Yukol (brother of the King of Thailand), John Litton (President of Mever Films, theater owner and former President of the Philippines Film Festival), the Shaw Brothers, Alexander Tedja, and Kong Cho Yee (of Edko Films).

From the 1970s to 2000s Assonitis has financed and produced some 53 films. Many of these were joint ventures with American International Pictures (U.S.), Kadokawa Pictures and Toho Co., Ltd. (Japan), with worldwide releases through Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and United Artists. The 1974 horror film Beyond the Door, produced as a cash-in on the success of "Satanic panic" films like Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist, distributed by Film Ventures International grossed worldwide in excess of US$40 million.

In 1980, Assonitis produced and co-directed Piranha II: The Spawning, which was released through Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures. This was the movie that launched the career of director James Cameron, who went on to direct the blockbuster hit Titanic. In 1989, he became the second major stockholder chairman and CEO of Cannon Pictures Inc. (U.S.).[3]

In 1990 Assonitis assigned to Universal Pictures the remake of the European classic Scent of a Woman, which was released worldwide in 1993, starring Al Pacino and directed by Martin Brest. Since his resignation as CEO of Cannon Inc., Assonitis has produced six films, become President of Titan Inc (U.S.), Titan Serendib Inc (Malaysia and Sri Lanka), Ka Film Investment (KFI) (Rome) and stockholder of Buskin film (Rome). Aside from the Entertainment Industry, Assonitis has commercial projects in South East Asia, including Malaysia.

Filmography
Year Title Functioned as Director Notes
Director Writer Producer
1969 Nel labirinto del sesso (Psichidion) No No Yes Alfonso Brescia aka The Labyrinth of Sex
1972 Who Saw Her Die? No No Associate Aldo Lado Starring George Lazenby
Man from the Deep River No No Yes Umberto Lenzi aka Sacrifice! (original title: Il paese del sesso selvaggio)
1973 Un amore cosi fragile, cosi violento No No Executive Leros Pittoni
The Last Snows of Spring No No Yes Raimondo Del Balzo (original title: L'ultima neve di primavera)
1974 Super Stooges vs the Wonder Women No No Executive Alfonso Brescia (original title: Superuomini, superdonne, superbotte)
Beyond the Door Yes Yes Yes Ovidio Assonitis and Roberto Piazzoli aka The Devil Within Her (original title: Chi Sei?)
1975 Abicinema No No Yes Giuseppe Bertolucci documentary
1976 Laure No Yes Yes Emmanuelle Arsan (credited as Anonymous) aka Forever Emmanuelle. Shadow directed by Louis-Jacques Rollet-Andriane and Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli
Take All of Me No No Yes Luigi Cozzi co-written by Sonia Molteni
Bertolucci secondo il cinema No No Yes Gianni Amelio documentary
1977 Tentacles Yes No Executive Ovidio Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) Starring John Huston, Shelley Winters, Claude Akins and Henry Fonda
1978 Last Touch of Love No No Executive Filippo Ottoni co-written by Sonia Molteni
1979 The Visitor No Story Yes Giulio Paradisi (original title: Stridulum)
1981 Madhouse Yes Yes Yes Ovidio Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) aka There Was a Little Girl
Steigler and Steigler Yes No Yes Ovidio Assonitis (as Oliver Hellman) aka Desperate Moves
Piranha II: The Spawning Yes Yes Executive James Cameron and Ovidio G. Assonitis aka Piranha 2: Flying Killers
1986 Choke Canyon No Yes Yes Charles Bail (as Chuck Bail) aka On Dangerous Ground
Lone Runner No No Yes Ruggero Deodato aka Fistful of Diamonds and Flash Fighter
1987 Iron Warrior No No Yes Alfonso Brescia uncredited
The Curse No No Yes David Keith associate producer Lucio Fulci
1989 Sonny Boy No No Yes Robert Martin Carroll starring Paul L. Smith, David Carradine and Brad Dourif
Curse II: The Bite No No Executive Frederico Prosperi aka The Bite
Beyond the Door III No No Executive Jeff Kwitney starring Bo Svenson
1990 Midnight Ride No No Yes Bob Bralver produced by Cannon Pictures Inc.
American Ninja 4: The Annihilation No No Yes Cedric Sundstrom produced by Cannon Pictures Inc.
Lambada No No Executive Joel Silberg produced by Cannon Pictures Inc.
1992 Out of Control Yes No Yes Ovidio Assonitis and Roberto Piazzoli produced by Cannon Pictures Inc.
Scent of a Woman No No Executive Martin Brest nominated for Best Picture at the 65th Academy Awards
1993 No Place to Hide No No Yes Richard Danus produced by Cannon Pictures Inc.
1995 American Ninja V No No Yes Bob Bralver (as Bobby Gene Leonard) produced by Cannon Pictures Inc.
2003 Red Riding Hood Yes Yes Executive Giacomo Cimini based on Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault and by Brothers Grimm

References
  1. "Tentacles, Demons, and a Psycho Twin: A Q&A with Ovidio Assonitis | The Terror Trap". www.terrortrap.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29. A Greek national born in Alexandria, ...
  2. Kennedy, Michael (November 10, 2020). "How Piranha 2 Inspired James Cameron's The Terminator". Screen Rant. Unfortunately for him, working with Italian producer Ovidio G. Assonitis proved to be hellish, ...
  3. "Where'd You Go? 10 Horror Stars We Want Back!!!". BloodyDisgusting. 2010-02-28.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.