MATTHEW LEONETTI

#3: With dir Jonathan Frakes [left] - "Star Trek: First Contact" [1996]

MATTHEW LEONETTI ASC

Born: 31 July 1941, Los Angeles, Calif., USA, as Matthew Frank Leonetti, son of Frank M. Leonetti.

Education: Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles [Finance].

Career: 'Growing up in the Leonetti household was much like being raised in a film school for Matthew and John. In 1935, their father Frank began an illustrious career at MGM, with a duty roster that included stints as electrician, rigging gaffer, and best boy. A hobbyist by nature, Frank Leonetti began to invent compact lighting gear for the film industry in the 1950s, and his equipment found a niche on location assignments where small size was key. Within a few years, he developed the process known as wire diffusion. Recalls Matthew, "I remember working on this with him in the early 1960s. There was a need for it, because dad had developed the power globe for film applications, and then made the transformer that would boost the voltage of the globe to make it brighter. Normal cloths couldn't sit in front of the globes, as they put out such a concentrated amount of light, so he designed and developed a method of diffusing the light through wires, which has since become an industry standard." Frank Leonetti formed Leonetti Cine Rentals [now: Leonetti Company, Inc.]. The senior Leonetti co-owns the company with Matthew, who works out of its Pacoima [Calif.] headquarters when not shooting films. The company, which has grown to 40 employees, has two arms: the motion picture equipment rental house, and Sunray, which manufactures lighting products, most notably a product line of lightweight, high performance HMI lighting systems.' [From article by Robert Cashill, 1997.]

Served in the US Army. Became c.asst and c.op.

Ph commercials.

His son Matthew Jr. [b. 1975] is a prod & dir. His brother John Robert [b. 1956] is a dir & doph.

Appeared in the doc 'Cinematographer Style' [2005, Jon Fauer; ph: J. Fauer, Jeff Laszlo, Brian Heller & David Morgan].

Awards: ASC Presidents Award [2014].

FILMS
1973	The Bat People/IT Lives By Night/It's Alive [Jerry Jameson] c; + co-exec prod
1976	Mr. Billion/The Windfall [Jonathan Kaplan] c; aph: Jim Gavin
1977	The Chicken Chronicles [Francis Simon] c
1977	Prime Time/American Raspberry/Funny America [Bradley Swirnoff] c
1978	Breaking Away [Peter Yates] c
1979	Raise the Titanic [Jerry Jameson] tvi/c; Malta ph: Arthur Wooster; 2uc: Rex Metz; uwph: Jack Cooperman; high speed ph: Bruce Hill; model unit ph: Bob Steadman
1980	Eyewitness/The Janitor [Peter Yates] c; collab doph: Ron Lautore
1981	Poltergeist [Tobe Hooper] J-D-C Scope (+ 70bu)/c
1981	Fast Times at Ridgemont High/Fast Times [Amy Heckerling] c; addph: James Glennon
1983	The Ice Pirates [Stewart Raffill] c; spec pfx: Jonathan Seay
1983	The Buddy System [Glenn Jordan] c
1983	Songwriter [Alan Rudolph (replaced Steve Rash)] c; 2uc: Richard Kooris
1984	Fast Forward [Sidney Poitier] c
1984	Weird Science [John Hughes] c; ph Chicago: Joseph Calloway; addph: James Glennon & Jan Kiesser
1985	Jagged Edge [Richard Marquand] c
1985	Commando [Mark Lester] c
1985	Jumpin' Jack Flash [Penny Marshall (replaced Howard Zieff)] 35mm+s35-to-35mm/c; addph: Reynaldo Villalobos; 2uc: Dan Ducovny & Jon Fauer; took over from ph Jan de Bont (with dir H. Zieff) after a few weeks (some of the original footage is in the finished movie)
1986	Extreme Prejudice [Walter Hill] c
1986	Dragnet [Tom Mankiewicz] c; 2uc: Robert C. Thomas; aph: David Nowell
1987	Action Jackson [Craig R. Baxley] c; ph Detroit: Buddy Botham; 2uc: Bob Bergdahl & John R. Leonetti
1987	Red Heat [Walter Hill] c
1988	Elvira - Mistress of the Dark [James Signorelli] b&w (archive) & c; addph & Las Vegas/Game Show; ph: Hanania Baer
1988	Johnny Handsome [Walter Hill] c
1989	Hard to Kill/Seven Year Storm [Bruce Malmuth] c
1990	Another 48 Hrs. [Walter Hill] c
1991	Dead Again [Kenneth Branagh] c
1991	Freejack [Geoff Murphy] p/c; addph; ph: Amir Mokri
1991	Cool World [Ralph Bakshi] c; live action + anim; addph; ph: John Alonzo
1992	Leap of Faith [Richard Pearce] c; 2uc: Lloyd Ahern II & Roger Lee Smith
1993	Demolition Man [Marco Brambilla] p/c; co-addph; ph: Alex Thomson
1993	Angels in the Outfield/Angels [William Dear] c; 2uc: Robert LaBonge; remake of film (1951, Clarence Brown; ph: Paul Vogel)
1994	A Low Down Dirty Shame/Mister Cool [Keenan Ivory Wayans] c
1994	Strange Days [Kathryn Bigelow] s35/c; 2uc: Phil Pfeiffer; addph: Bing Sokolsky
1995	Fled [Kevin Hooks] c; 2uc: William Wages
1996	Star Trek: First Contact/Star Trek 8 [Jonathan Frakes] p/c; 2uc: Bing Sokolsky & Henryk Cymerman; miniature ph: Martin Rosenberg; add vfx ph: Pat Sweeney
1996	Mortal Kombat - Annihilation/Mortal Kombat 2 [John R. Leonetti] c; 2uc: Chris Faloona; vfx ph: Douglas Miller (+ digital compositor) & Russ Lyster
1997	Species II [Peter Medak] c; 2uc (+ Steadicam op): Kyle Rudolph; miniature efx ph: Steve Switaj & Eric Swenson
1998	Pushing Tin [Mike Newell] s35/c; Los Angeles ph; ph: Gale Tattersall
1998	Star Trek: Insurrection [Jonathan Frakes] p/c; 2uc: John R. Leonetti & Bing Sokolsky; aph: Dylan M. Gross
1999	Bear to the Right [Matthew F. Leonetti Jr.] c; short/5m; premiered on internet
2000	Along Came a Spider [Lee Tamahori] p/c; aph: Stan McClain
2000	Rush Hour 2 [Brett Ratner] p/c; 2uc: Bing Sokolsky; addph (Hong Kong): Dean Head; filmed 2000-01

[Left] with dir J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress - "The Butterfly Effect"

Photo by Shane Harvey

2002	The Butterfly Effect [Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber] c; 2uc: Gregory Middleton; addph: Vance Burberry
2002	2 Fast 2 Furious [John Singleton] s35/c; SpaceCam ph: Ron Goodman
2003	Dawn of the Dead [Zack Snyder] s35/c; 2uc: Miroslav Baszak
2004	Santa's Slay [David Steiman] c; cph: Matthew Leonetti Jr.; 2uc: John Clothier
2004	Fever Pitch [Peter & Bobby Farrelly] s35/c; 2uc: John R. Leonetti
2005	Accepted [Steve Pink] s35/c
2006	Pride [Sunu Gonera] s35/c; uwph: Pete Romano
2006	The Heartbreak Kid [Bobby & Peter Farrelly] s35/c; 2uc: Hugo Cortina; remake of film (1972, Elaine May; ph: Owen Roizman)
2007	Halloween [Rob Zombie] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; addph; ph: Phil Parmet; remake of film (1978, John Carpenter; ph: Dean Cundey)
2007	College Road Trip [Roger Kumble] s35/c; addph; ph: Theo van de Sande
2007	What Happens in Vegas [Tom Vaughan] s35/c; 2uc: David Knox
2008	Soul Men [Malcolm D. Lee] s35/c
2009	Cool Dog [Danny Lerner] RED/c/V; ph New York unit: Richard Rutkowski; as Matthew Frank
2009	The Expendables [Sylvester Stallone] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; co-2uc; ph: Jeffrey Kimball
2010	Hall Pass [Peter & Bobby Farrelly] s35/c
2010	Movie 43/Truth or Dare [seg 'The Pitch' & 'Truth or Dare' dir by Peter Farrelly] RED-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; 14 seg; other ph: William Rexer, Daryn Okada, Newton Thomas Sigel, Eric Scherbarth, Mattias Andersson Rudh, Steve Gainer, Frank DeMarco & Tim Suhrstedt; released in 2013
2011	The Three Stooges [Peter & Bobby Farrelly] s35-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; uwph: Pete Romano
2013	Dumb and Dumber To [Peter & Bobby Farrelly] HD (ARRI ALEXA)-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c

TELEVISION
1973	The Elevator [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1974	It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy [Cy Howard] tvm
1974	Search for the Gods [Jud Taylor] tvm
1974	The Secret Night Caller [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1974	Terror on the 40th Floor/The Blazing Tower [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1974	Hurricane [Hunters] [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1975	Bronk [Richard Donner] tvm
1975	The Deadly Tower/Sniper [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1975	The Lives of Jenny Dolan [Jerry Jameson] pilot; for NBC-tv
1975	High Risk [Sam O'Steen] pilot; for ABC-tv
1975	The Call of the Wild [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1976	Flight to Holocaust [Bernard Kowalski] pilot; for NBC-tv
1976	The Spell [Lee Philips] tvm
1977	Ruby and Oswald/Four Days in Dallas [Mel Stuart] tvm
1977	Special Olympics/A Special Kind of Love [Lee Philips] tvm
1977	Superdome [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1977	The Hostage Heart [Bernard McEveety] tvm
1978	A Fire in the Sky [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1978	Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love [Glenn Jordan] tvm
1978	The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal [Mel Stuart] tvm
1978	Turnover Smith [Bernard Kowalski] pilot; for ABC-tv
1978	Willa [Joan Darling & Claudio Guzman] tvm
1978	The Comedy Company [Lee Philips] tvm
1978	The American Girls/Have Girls Will Travel [various] 11-part series; other ph: Travers Hill & Robert C. Moreno
1980	Crazy Times [Lee Philips] pilot; for ABC-tv
1980	Stand by Your Man [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1981	Mae West [Lee Philips] tvm
1982	Hotline [Jerry Jameson] tvm
1982	Tucker's Witch [various] 12-part series, 1982-83; other ph: Harry J. May
1982	E.T. and Friends - Magical Movie Visitors [Andrew Solt & Malcolm Leo] special/47m; E.T. doc footage: John Toll & Benedict Coulter; time lapse ph: Louis Schwartzberg; for CBS-tv
1983	Happy [Lee Philips] tvm
1984	Jessie [pilot dir by Richard Michaels] 11-part series, 1984-85
1985	American Geisha [Lee Philips] tvm
1986	Under the Influence [Thomas Carter] tvm
1987	Secret Witness [Eric Laneuville] tvm
*2005*	Untitled Diamond/Weissman Project [Brett Ratner] pilot; for CBS-tv
2007	Unhitched/The Rules for Starting Over [pilot dir by Bobby & Peter Farrelly] 6-part series, 2008; other ph: Peter Smokler

MISCELLANEOUS
1970	Adam at Six A.M. [Robert Scheerer] co-c.asst; ph: Charles Rosher Jr.
1970	The Baby Maker [James Bridges] co-c.asst; ph: Charles Rosher Jr.
1971	Brute Corps [Jerry Jameson] c.op; ph: Michael Margulies
1972	Time to Run [James F. Collier] c.op; ph: Charles Rosher Jr.