Denise Di Novi (born March 21, 1956) is an American film producer and director.

Early life

The daughter of jazz musician Gene DiNovi, when Di Novi was three years old her family moved to Los Angeles from New York, where her father made music for the TV shows of

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running sitc ...

, Dick Van Dyke and

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his character ...

. In the late 1960s, the family moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada.

Career

Di Novi studied communications at Simmons College in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and received a degree in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

. After working as a copy editor at the '' National Observer'' and staff writer for

Canada AM ''Canada AM'' was a Canadian morning television news show that aired on CTV from 1972 to 2016. Its final hosts were Beverly Thomson and Marci Ien, with Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports. The program aired on weekdays, an ...

, she became a reporter for Toronto's Citytv, but quit in 1980, taking a job as a unit publicist for '' Final Assignment''. She became a principal in the Montreal-based production company Filmplan International, acting in various production capacities on nine major studio releases, including '' Scanners'' (1981) and ''

Videodrome ''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO of a small UHF televis ...

'' (1983). In 1983, Filmplan relocated to Los Angeles and merged with Arnold Kopelson's Film Packages. Di Novi joined New World Pictures as Executive Vice President of production. She later shifted into an overall deal as an independent producer, producing ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1989 American black comedy film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, and ...

'' (1988) starring

Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...

. Di Novi then headed

Tim Burton Productions Tim Burton Productions is an American film production company, founded by Tim Burton in the late 1980s. Denise Di Novi once headed the banner from 1989 to 1996. The company was not usually credited on films directed or produced by Burton. Film ...

and was responsible for producing several films. She set up her own production company, Di Novi Pictures, in 1993, at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. She then entered into a producing deal with

Warner Brothers Pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. Di Novi has produced 35 films. These include six from her partnership with

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

, ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American fantasy romance film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Antho ...

'' (1990), ''

Batman Returns ''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman'' (1989) and the second installment in the 1989–1997 ''Batman ...

'' (1992), ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increme ...

'' (1993), '' Cabin Boy'' (1994), ''

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

'' (also 1994) and ''

James and the Giant Peach ''James and the Giant Peach'' is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of ...

'' (1996). She produced four films based on books by

Nicholas Sparks Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He has published twenty-three novels and two non-fiction books, some of which have been ''New York Times'' bestsellers, with over 115 m ...

, ''

Message in a Bottle A message in a bottle (abbrev. MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water). Messages in bottles have been used to send distres ...

'' (1999), ''

A Walk to Remember ''A Walk to Remember'' is a 2002 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Adam Shankman and written by Karen Janszen, based on Nicholas Sparks' 1999 novel of the same name. The film stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote an ...

'' (2002), '' Nights in Rodanthe'' (2008) and '' The Lucky One'' (2012). For four years, Di Novi was executive producer of '' The District'', a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

primetime series created by Terry George. Di Novi made her directorial debut on the thriller '' Unforgettable'' (2017), for Warner Bros.

Filmography

She was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As director ;Miscellaneous crew ;Script and continuity department ;Thanks

Television

;As executive producer ;As director ;Thanks

References

External links

*
Profile of Di Novi
Lukeford.net
Profile of Di Novi
Filmbug.com
''Movieline'' 1994 profile article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Novi, Denise 1956 births Living people American film producers American film directors of Italian descent People from Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles Simmons University alumni Film producers from California American women film producers American women film directors Film directors from Los Angeles 21st-century American women