John Lafia
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John Lafia (April 2, 1957 – April 29, 2020) was an American
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
and
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. He was best known for co-writing the slasher film '' Child's Play'' (1988) with
Don Mancini George Donald Mancini (born January 25, 1963) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for creating and writing the Child's Play (franchise), ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present). Career Having been a horror ...
and
Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...
.


Career

Lafia's first feature film was '' The Blue Iguana'', which he wrote and directed as well as producing the soundtrack. It was selected to screen at a special midnight showing in the Palais des Festivals at the
1988 Cannes Film Festival The 41st Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1988. Italian filmmaker Ettore Scola served as jury president for the main competition. Danish filmmaker Bille August won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for his drama film ...
. Lafia co-wrote the screenplay for '' Child's Play'' (1988). As a credited screenwriter, he was responsible for coining the name " Chucky" and contributing trademark dialog such as "Hi, I'm Chucky, wanna play?" Upon its release, ''Child's Play'' was number one at the North American box office. The film won a
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
for Best Horror Film, as well as a nomination for best writing. The film was also an Official Selection at the Festival International du Film Fantastique d'Avoriaz. Lafia went on to direct '' Child's Play 2'' (1990). The film debuted at number one on the North American box office charts. It was nominated for a Saturn Award, and was an Official Selection at the Festival International du Film Fantastique d'Avoriaz. Lafia followed ''Child's Play 2'' with ''
Man's Best Friend "Man's best friend" is a common title given to both domestic dogs, referring to their multi-millennia-long history of Human-canine bond, close relations, loyalty, friendship, and companionship with humans. The first recorded use of a related ph ...
'' (1993), which he both wrote and directed for New Line Cinema. The film debuted at number two on the North American box office charts and was selected for the Special Prize at the Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer by a panel of judges led by
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...
and
Walter Hill Walter Hill (born January 10, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western (genre), Western genre. He has directed such films as ''The Driver'', ''The Warriors (film), The ...
. ''Man's Best Friend'' also garnered a Saturn Award nomination in the science fiction category. The film was an Official Selection at the
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (, ) was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, eve ...
, as well as the Beauvais Film Festival Cinemalia. In the mid-1990s, Lafia became an early pioneer of new media. He directed the live-action video game '' Corpse Killer'' (1994) for
Digital Pictures Digital Pictures was an American video game developer founded in 1991 by Lode Coen, Mark Klein, Ken Melville, Anne Flaut-Reed, Kevin Welsh and Tom Zito. The company originated from an attempt to produce a game for the cancelled VHS-based NEMO ...
/Sega, and an interactive featurette, ''Bombmeister'' (1995), for Sony/Interfilm. Both works married computer technology with live-action imagery and digital graphics to present the audience with an interactive world that was just beginning to emerge. Lafia also became active in episodic and long-form television, directing multiple episodes of ''
Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...
'' and TV movies: '' The Rats'', '' Chameleon 3: Dark Angel'', ''Monster'', ''Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone'' and ''Code 1114'' for Paramount, Fox, A&E and CBS. This culminated in the NBC miniseries '' 10.5'' (2004) and its sequel '' 10.5: Apocalypse'' (2006), which Lafia wrote, directed and produced. Upon its release, ''10.5'' became the highest-rated miniseries of the year, drawing viewers of twenty million for two nights, and is among the top five miniseries of the decade. Prior to his career as a filmmaker, Lafia was involved in the underground Los Angeles music scene. Going by the name John J. Lafia, his early work ''Prayers'' (1984) was released on the cassette-only label Tranceport Tapes, featuring an album cover by
Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bat ...
and original artwork by Lafia. This was followed by tracks on ''LA Mantra Two'' (1984) and ''Phantom Cuts'' (1985). Lafia was also featured on the spoken word anthology ''English as a Second Language'' (1983) alongside Los Angeles poets
Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German Americans, German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambien ...
, Wanda Coleman and
Exene Cervenka Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X. Music career The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old m ...
. He has a track on the German compilation ''Voices from North America'' (1994), recorded with producer/musician Ethan James. In 2008, Lafia began to focus on composing and recording once again. He created the short rock opera ''The Ballad of Frank and Cora'' (2013), for which he wrote the music and performed vocals for the title role. In 2019, a limited edition double LP of John's music was issued by Discos Transgenero and released by Aguirre Records. This compilation, ''John Lafia 1980–1985'', was released digitally shortly thereafter. He was preparing more releases covering the same time period and continuing to record new material in his studio in the Los Angeles area of Silver Lake, California.


Death

John Lafia died by hanging himself on April 29, 2020. He is survived by his children and former wife.


Filmography


Theatrical films


Television

TV series TV movies


Video game

* '' Corpse Killer'' (1995)


Discography

*''English as a Second Language: Odyssey Girls'' (1983) – composer, producer *''Prayers'' (1984) – composer, performer *''LA Mantra 2: Queen of the Nile'' (1984) – composer, performer *''Phantom Takes: The Moth'' (1985) – composer, performer *''Voices from North America: The Confession'' (1986) – composer, performer *''John Lafia 1980–1985'' (2019) – composer, performer


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafia, John 1957 births 2020 deaths 2020 suicides Film directors from New York City Film producers from New York City American television directors American television writers English-language film directors American horror film directors American male television writers Place of birth missing Suicides by hanging in California UCLA Film School alumni Mass media people from Philadelphia