John Randal Kleiser (born July 20, 1946) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor, best known for directing the 1978 musical romantic-comedy film '' Grease''.
Biography
John Randal Kleiser was born in
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Lebanon () is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,814 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, east of Harrisburg and west of Reading.
...
, the son of Harriet Kelly ( Means) and Dr. John Raymond Kleiser. He has two brothers.Filmreference.com /ref> Kleiser attended Radnor High School.
As a freshman at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8. ...
, he appeared in
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...
' student film '' Freiheit''. (Kleiser also lived in the house that Lucas was renting at the time.) Kleiser graduated in 1968. His award-winning Master's thesis film ''
Peege
''Peege'' is a 1973 American short student film, written and directed by Randal Kleiser, about a family's visit to an elderly relative in a nursing home.
In 2007, The film was selected for preservation by the United States Library of Congress Na ...
'' launched his career and was selected for preservation by the United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...
. Kleiser was tapped to direct his first feature film, the 1978 film '' Grease'', in large part because of Travolta's recommendation based on their work together on ''The Boy in the Plastic Bubble''.
Kleiser directed several more feature films, including '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1980) with
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
, ''
Flight of the Navigator
''Flight of the Navigator'' is a 1986 American science fiction adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker, Michael Burton, and Matt MacManus. It stars Joey Cramer as David Freeman, a 12-year-old boy who is abducted by ...
'' (1986), featuring the first use of digital morphing in a film, ''
Big Top Pee-wee
''Big Top Pee-wee'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser. A stand-alone sequel to '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' (1985), the film stars Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman with Susan Tyrrell, Kris Kristofferson, Penelope Ann Mi ...
'' (1988), ''
White Fang
''White Fang'' is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) — and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in ''Outing'' magazine between May and October 1906, it was published in book form in Oct ...
'' (1991) and ''
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'' is a 1992 American science fiction comedy family film, and the second installment of the ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' film series. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, it stars Rick Moranis ...
'' (1992). In London, Kleiser directed the comedy '' Getting It Right'' (1989). In 1996, he wrote and directed ''
It's My Party
"It's My Party" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lesley Gore from her debut studio album ''I'll Cry If I Want To'' (1963). It was released as the lead single from the album on April 5, 1963, by Mercury Records. The song was collectively ...
''. As a writer-producer, he was responsible for the surfing film ''
North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to:
Geographic features Australia
*North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney
**Electoral district of North Shore
**North Shore railway line, Sydney
*Noosa North Shore, Queensland
* North Shore, New So ...
'' (1987) for
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
. He also directed the thriller '' Shadow of Doubt'' (1998). In 1987, he had an agreement with upstart diversified film studio
Management Company Entertainment Group
Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...
to develop, direct and produce low-budget pictures that were financed by the studio, and he will shepherd indie projects of promising students and decided to build various international directors on its own.
Working in 70mm
3-D
3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality
* Three-dimensional space
** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data
** 3D film, a ...
, he directed ''
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
''Honey, I Shrunk the Audience'' (known as ''MicroAdventure!'' in Tokyo Disneyland) was a 4D film spin-off of the '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' film series that was shown at several Disney theme parks. The audience wore 3D glasses, and the gimb ...
'' (1995) for the Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo and Paris, re-teaming with most of the principal actors from ''
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'' is a 1992 American science fiction comedy family film, and the second installment of the ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' film series. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, it stars Rick Moranis ...
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...
, the Emmy Award-winning '' The Gathering'' (1977) and '' Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway'' (1976).
He taught a graduate workshop at USC and Masters Directing Classes for European students at film festivals in Deuville and Sarlat, and Malaga. He serves as a judge on the Student Awards for the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
; and, as chairman of the Academic Subcommittee for the
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merg ...
, he inaugurated a videoconferencing program to connect film classes with working directors. Working with the Graphics Lab at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies, he helped develop a digital Cinerama-like process called Vistarama HD.
Kleiser was the main force in planning and filming '' Red Riding Hood'' (2004/2006). The work broke new ground in digital cinematography through the extensive use of interactive virtual sets. During 2006 in Lisbon, this movie was released for its debut at the 1st International Digital Cinema Festival.
Kleiser was inducted into Radnor High School'sHall of Fame on October 20, 2006. He was Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts' Filmmaker in Residence for Fall 2010.
Kleiser is openly gay.
Filmography
Feature films
Filmmaking credits
Acting credits
Other credits
Short films
Filmmaking credits
Acting credits
Other credits
Television
Awards
* Nominee, Best Director -
Saturn Awards
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 ...
, ''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid''
* Nominee, Best Director - Saturn Awards, ''Flight of the Navigator''