Tom DiCillo

Thomas A. DiCillo (born August 14, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer.

Tom DiCillo
Born
Thomas A. DiCillo

(1953-08-14) August 14, 1953
Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter, cinematographer
Years active1979–present

Early life

He was born in Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina. His father was Italian and his mother was from New England.[1] He studied creative writing at Old Dominion University[2] in Norfolk, Virginia and went on to study filmmaking at New York University's Film School alongside Jim Jarmusch, Howard Brookner, Sara Driver and Spike Lee. Subsequently, he worked as an actor, then cinematographer, before making his own films.

Career

For his first film, Johnny Suede (1991), DiCillo cast the then-unknown Brad Pitt and Catherine Keener in what would be their first starring roles. It received a nomination for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.[3]

For his second film, Living in Oblivion, DiCillo received acclaim for his satire of independent film-making. This 1995 black comedy, itself a low-budget independent film, features Steve Buscemi as a director driven to near-madness by his cast and crew, including a vain Hollywood actor. Describing the inspiration for and origin of Living in Oblivion in an interview with Salon, DiCillo described making a movie as "one of the most tedious, boring, painful experiences, and that's just when something goes right".[4]

In 2001, his film Double Whammy was released straight to video.[5] Delirious (2006), a comedy starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman and Elvis Costello, was screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival where it won three awards (Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and the Signis Award for originality).[6] The film also screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and won Best Director at the HBO Comedy Film Festival in Aspen, Colorado.

DiCillo wrote and directed When You're Strange (2009), a documentary about the rock band The Doors, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize. It was subsequently nominated for both an Emmy Award, after airing on PBS' American Masters series, and a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Video.

He has published books of two of his screenplays, Living in Oblivion and Box of Moonlight. Both books contain the full scripts along with commentary, stories and anecdotes.

DiCillo also directed "Weeping Willow", a sixth season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, inspired by the lonelygirl15 videos on YouTube.[7] In the episode, a vlogger named Weeping Willow (Michelle Trachtenberg) is kidnapped during a live Internet video, and the kidnappers demand ransom through additional videos.[8]

Filmography

As director

As cinematographer

References
  1. "As far as my Italian origins I wish no offense but I rarely think about it. I’m only half: my father was Italian, my mother New England American. I’m just a guy living in NYC, no more–no less than that.", from tomdicillo.com
  2. Tom DiCillo. "WHO at Tom DiCillo". Archived from the original on 2008-01-05.
  3. Johnny Suede at IMDb
  4. Jennie Yabroff (1997-08-08). "Adult juvenile delinquency". Salon. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006.
  5. John Mankiewicz (2003-02-10). "Straight to video". The New Yorker.
  6. Delirious at IMDb
  7. Starr, Michael (2006-11-24). "L&Onely Girl: Abducted web mystery gal". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2008-03-15. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
  8. "Weeping Willow". Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Season 6. Episode 10. 2006-11-28. NBC.
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