Matthew F. Leonetti

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Matthew Frank Leonetti A.S.C. (born July 31, 1941) is an American cinematographer.

Background

Leonetti was born in Los Angeles, California.

His younger brother, John R. Leonetti, is also a prolific cinematographer and occasional film director.

Their father Frank was a filmmaker and cinematographer, who served as a gaffer and lighting technician on low-budget films like The Violent Years, Frankenstein's Daughter, and Beyond the Time Barrier.

Leonetti is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.

Career

Leonetti began his career working on a number of projects with his father, serving as a camera operator on films like Adam at 6 A.M. and The Organization. He soon fell in with Jerry Jameson, a prolific television director who dabbled in feature films.

His debut as cinematographer was The Bat People, a low-budget horror movie directed by Jameson, on which Leonetti also served as an executive producer. Though the film came and went with little fanfare, it did gain a minor cult following years later after being featured at an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Leonetti spent much of the 1970s shooting TV films directed by Jameson.

In 1979, Leonetti worked on his first big-budget theatrical film with the Academy Award-winning Breaking Away, directed by Peter Yates.

Leonetti later shot the Poltergeist, where he was responsible for creating many of the film's iconic images. This proved to be his big break, and in the following years he quickly became one of the most prolific and accomplished DPs in the film industry, shooting a large number of iconic films of the 80s.

Leonetti served as DP on his brother's directorial debut, Mortal Kombat Annihilation.

In 2000s, Leonetti shot a string of blockbusters, from thrillers to action, as well as comedy films.

Filmography

Bibliography

• Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films, Band 4, Page 690, Berlin (2001) ISBN 3-89602-340-3

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Matthew F. Leonetti at IMDb