Tony Randel (born May 29, 1956) is a Portuguese/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 ...

Early life

Randel grew up in West Los Angeles and attended University High School. He went on to study at Santa Monica College before transferring to California State University, Northridge, where he majored in film production. During his high school and college years, Randel worked as a grocery clerk at Lucky Market, with locations in both the Palms and Brentwood neighborhoods of Los Angeles. To this day, Randel maintains friendships with people he met during his supermarket days. He loves to tell the story of meeting a very engaging woman while checking out her groceries. She mentioned she worked in the motion picture business for Anne Bancroft. Before she revealed the name, Randel was already suspicious—her mannerisms and presence reminded him of Anne Bancroft, one of his favorite actors. Her mention of the name confirmed his suspicions. Years later, Randel met her husband, Mel Brooks, to whom he recounted the encounter and passed along his regards.

Film career

Randel began his career working in the mailroom for B movie icon Roger Corman. Within a few weeks, he transitioned into editorial work on ''Battle Beyond the Stars''—a film more famous for the careers it launched than for the film itself. In 1985, Randel (credited as Anthony Randel) produced the

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...

rework of the Japanese ''

The Return of Godzilla , is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 16th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the last film ...

'' into the English film '' Godzilla 1985''. Randel's breakthrough into directing came when Randel, who had supervised the production of Clive Barker's ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut. Based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', the film's plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the ...

'', was hired by New World's President of Production, Steve White, to direct the sequel '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II''. It received mixed reviews, but was a financial success. Randel also directed the live-action film adaptation of the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 volumes ...

''. The film premiered on HBO and was released to video. He also directed one of ''Fangorias low-budget films, '' Children of the Night'' (1991), which one critic described as obviously low budget, but with striking scenes.

Personal life

Randel is married and has three children. In addition to his film career, he has stated his "other love" is

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

. He has been a licensed

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

operator since 1968.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Randel, Tony 1956 births American horror film directors Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Amateur radio people