Jason Cuadrado is an American film director, producer, and
screenwriter, known for directing the first j-horror feature film in
the United States, Tales from the Dead. After directing television
news in New York City, he transitioned to film by starting as a
personal assistant to American actor, John Leguizamo. He wrote and
directed the thriller Devil May Call.Cuadrado was born in New York
City, the son of Juan Jose Cuadrado, a high school teacher and
Clementina Tang-Cuadrado, a university professor. He's the second born
of three sons and is of Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Chinese descent.
He was named after the Greek demagogue Jason after nearly being named
after Orson Welles.He is a graduate of Townsend Harris High School and
attended Queens College and New York University where he studied video
and film production. After directing new segments for Bloomberg
Television and heading the new media department for Deloitte and
Touche's New York branch, Cuadrado relocated to Los Angeles where he
focused on feature film directing, writing, and editing. It was in
California where he was inspired by trends in Japanese horror to write
and shoot the j-horror anthology film Tales from the Dead. The film
features a cast of Japanese actors speaking their native tongue. Many
of whom worked together on Letters from Iwo Jima by Clint Eastwood.
Cuadrado did not know Japanese at the time so the original English
script was translated into Japanese for the actors. When interviewed,
Cuadrado said, "I had to direct the actors based on their performances
instead of the script. If I could tell where they were in the dialogue
without understanding what they were saying then that was a good
take". The film was embraced by j-horror fans who were intrigued by
the Western take on Japanese horror tropes.Cuadrado went on to write
and direct the short film Monstrous Nature. The short took top honors
at numerous North American horror film festivals. His experiences as a
hostel manager in Harlem were the inspiration for the feature Harlem
Hostel by writer/director Nestor Miranda.
screenwriter, known for directing the first j-horror feature film in
the United States, Tales from the Dead. After directing television
news in New York City, he transitioned to film by starting as a
personal assistant to American actor, John Leguizamo. He wrote and
directed the thriller Devil May Call.Cuadrado was born in New York
City, the son of Juan Jose Cuadrado, a high school teacher and
Clementina Tang-Cuadrado, a university professor. He's the second born
of three sons and is of Puerto Rican, Colombian, and Chinese descent.
He was named after the Greek demagogue Jason after nearly being named
after Orson Welles.He is a graduate of Townsend Harris High School and
attended Queens College and New York University where he studied video
and film production. After directing new segments for Bloomberg
Television and heading the new media department for Deloitte and
Touche's New York branch, Cuadrado relocated to Los Angeles where he
focused on feature film directing, writing, and editing. It was in
California where he was inspired by trends in Japanese horror to write
and shoot the j-horror anthology film Tales from the Dead. The film
features a cast of Japanese actors speaking their native tongue. Many
of whom worked together on Letters from Iwo Jima by Clint Eastwood.
Cuadrado did not know Japanese at the time so the original English
script was translated into Japanese for the actors. When interviewed,
Cuadrado said, "I had to direct the actors based on their performances
instead of the script. If I could tell where they were in the dialogue
without understanding what they were saying then that was a good
take". The film was embraced by j-horror fans who were intrigued by
the Western take on Japanese horror tropes.Cuadrado went on to write
and direct the short film Monstrous Nature. The short took top honors
at numerous North American horror film festivals. His experiences as a
hostel manager in Harlem were the inspiration for the feature Harlem
Hostel by writer/director Nestor Miranda.
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