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