Michael Finnell is a film producer active from the

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

to the present. He has produced several

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

s, particularly with the director

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

. Finnell worked for the American producer

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

before emerging as a producer in his own right. His first films were ''

Avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

'' (1978) and ''

Rock 'n' Roll High School ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard and Dey Young. The film features the punk rock group Ramones ...

'' (1979), with Corman. One of the first without Corman was the movie ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...

'', in which he was listed in the end credits as "generally in charge of a lot of things". Working with Dante, Finnell then produced the modest hit ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner, first published by Fawcett as a paperback original. It was the inspiration for the film '' The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the film was only vaguely similar to that of the boo ...

'' in 1981 and the blockbuster ''

Gremlins ''Gremlins'' is a 1984 American black comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voic ...

'' in 1984. Dante and the special effects designer

Chris Walas Christopher James Walas (born 1955) is an American special effects artist, make-up effects artist, film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the film '' The Fly'' (1986), for which he won an Academy Award and was ...

have said that Finnell's producing style was influenced by Corman, in that Finnell was very concerned about budgeting and wanted to make sure even cheap purchases contributed to the final film. The anecdote Walas told was of Finnell engaging in long phone calls over the purchase of a

kitchen knife A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives — notably a large chef's knife and a smaller serrated blade utility knife — there ...

to be used in ''Gremlins''.DVD commentary; Steven Spielberg presents ''Gremlins''. Special edition. Warner Home Video, 2002. Finnell continued to produce several of Dante's films, including ''

Explorers Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some expectation of discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organisms capable of directed locomotion and the abilit ...

'' (1985), ''

The 'Burbs ''The 'Burbs'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Joe Dante and written by Dana Olsen. It stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The film pok ...

'' (1989), '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990), '' Matinee'' (1993) and ''

Small Soldiers ''Small Soldiers'' is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Joe Dante. It stars Kirsten Dunst and Gregory Smith, along with the voices of Frank Langella and Tommy Lee Jones. It depicts two factions of toys which turn sentient and sa ...

'' (1998). Without Dante, Finnell's films include '' Milk Money'' (1994) and ''

Teaching Mrs. Tingle ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' is a 1999 American teen black comedy thriller film written and directed by Kevin Williamson in his directorial debut, and starring Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Marisa Coughlan, Barry Watson, and Jeffrey Tambor. It fo ...

'' (1999). For one of his films produced without Dante, ''

Newsies ''Newsies'' is a 1992 American historical musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, it is loosely based on the ...

'', Finnell was nominated for a

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...

for Worst Picture.

Filmography

''He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.''

Film

;Miscellaneous crew ;As an actor ;Production manager ;Thanks

Television

;Miscellaneous crew

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnell, Michael Living people American film producers Year of birth missing (living people)