John Lafia (April 2, 1957 â€" April 29, 2020) was an American film and
television writer, director, producer and musician. He attended UCLA,
where he received his BFA in Motion Picture/Television. Lafia has over
thirty produced credits and has written scripts or directed shows for
Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures,
Columbia Pictures, MGM/UA, Warner Bros., NBC, CBS, PolyGram Filmed
Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate and many other independent
companies.Lafia's first feature film was The Blue Iguana, which he
wrote and directed as well as producing the soundtrack. It was
selected to screen at a special midnight showing in the Palais des
Festivals at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. Lafia co-wrote the
screenplay for Child's Play (1988). As a credited screenwriter he was
responsible for coining the name “Chucky†and contributing
trademark dialog such as “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?†Upon its
release, Child’s Play was number one at the North American box
office. The film won a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, as well as a
nomination for best writing. The film was also an Official Selection
at the Festival International du Film Fantastique d'Avoriaz. Lafia
went on to direct Child's Play 2 (1990). The film debuted at number
one on the North American box-office charts. It was nominated for a
Saturn Award as well as chosen to be an Official Selection at the
Festival International du Film Fantastique d'Avoriaz. Lafia followed
Child's Play 2 with Man's Best Friend (1993), which he both wrote and
directed for New Line Cinema. The film debuted at number two on the
North American box-office charts. Man's Best Friend won the Special
Prize at the Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer
voted on by a jury led by Terry Gilliam and Walter Hill. Man's Best
Friend also garnered a Saturn Award Nomination for best Science
Fiction Film as well as being an Official Selection at the Brussels
International Fantastic Film Festival and the Beauvais Film Festival
Cinemalia.In the mid-90s, Lafia became an early pioneer of new media.
He directed the live-action video game Corpse Killer (1994) for
Digital Pictures/Sega, and an interactive featurette, Bombmeister
(1995), for Sony/Interfilm. Both works married computer technology
with live-action imagery and digital graphics to present the audience
with an interactive world that was just beginning to appear on the
horizon. Lafia also became active in episodic and longform television,
directing multiple episodes of Babylon 5 and TV movies: The Rats,
Chameleon 3: Dark Angel, Monster, Firestorm: Last Stand at
Yellowstone, and Code 1114 for Paramount, Fox, A&E and CBS. This
culminated in the NBC mini-series 10.5 (2004) and its sequel 10.5:
Apocalypse (2006) which Lafia wrote, directed and produced. Upon its
release, 10.5 became the highest rated mini-series of the year,
drawing viewers of twenty million for two nights, and is among the top
five mini-series of the decade.
television writer, director, producer and musician. He attended UCLA,
where he received his BFA in Motion Picture/Television. Lafia has over
thirty produced credits and has written scripts or directed shows for
Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures,
Columbia Pictures, MGM/UA, Warner Bros., NBC, CBS, PolyGram Filmed
Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate and many other independent
companies.Lafia's first feature film was The Blue Iguana, which he
wrote and directed as well as producing the soundtrack. It was
selected to screen at a special midnight showing in the Palais des
Festivals at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. Lafia co-wrote the
screenplay for Child's Play (1988). As a credited screenwriter he was
responsible for coining the name “Chucky†and contributing
trademark dialog such as “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?†Upon its
release, Child’s Play was number one at the North American box
office. The film won a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, as well as a
nomination for best writing. The film was also an Official Selection
at the Festival International du Film Fantastique d'Avoriaz. Lafia
went on to direct Child's Play 2 (1990). The film debuted at number
one on the North American box-office charts. It was nominated for a
Saturn Award as well as chosen to be an Official Selection at the
Festival International du Film Fantastique d'Avoriaz. Lafia followed
Child's Play 2 with Man's Best Friend (1993), which he both wrote and
directed for New Line Cinema. The film debuted at number two on the
North American box-office charts. Man's Best Friend won the Special
Prize at the Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer
voted on by a jury led by Terry Gilliam and Walter Hill. Man's Best
Friend also garnered a Saturn Award Nomination for best Science
Fiction Film as well as being an Official Selection at the Brussels
International Fantastic Film Festival and the Beauvais Film Festival
Cinemalia.In the mid-90s, Lafia became an early pioneer of new media.
He directed the live-action video game Corpse Killer (1994) for
Digital Pictures/Sega, and an interactive featurette, Bombmeister
(1995), for Sony/Interfilm. Both works married computer technology
with live-action imagery and digital graphics to present the audience
with an interactive world that was just beginning to appear on the
horizon. Lafia also became active in episodic and longform television,
directing multiple episodes of Babylon 5 and TV movies: The Rats,
Chameleon 3: Dark Angel, Monster, Firestorm: Last Stand at
Yellowstone, and Code 1114 for Paramount, Fox, A&E and CBS. This
culminated in the NBC mini-series 10.5 (2004) and its sequel 10.5:
Apocalypse (2006) which Lafia wrote, directed and produced. Upon its
release, 10.5 became the highest rated mini-series of the year,
drawing viewers of twenty million for two nights, and is among the top
five mini-series of the decade.
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