Ovidio Gabriel Assonitis (born January 18, 1943) is an Egyptian-born
Greco-Italian entertainment executive, film producer, screenwriter,
and director best known for his numerous B-horror films including
Beyond the Door, Tentacles, The Visitor, and Piranha II: The
Spawning.Catering to the South East Asia market, Assonitis began an
extensive distribution network company in the mid-1960s and in the
10-year period distributed more than 900 films from offices in
Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. His former
partners and associates include HRH Prince Anusom Yukol (brother of
the King of Thailand), John Litton (President of Mever Films, theater
owner and former President of the Philippines Film Festival), the Shaw
Brothers, Alexander Tedja, and Kong Cho Yee (of Edko Films).From the
1970s to 2000s Assonitis has financed and produced some 53 films. Many
of these were joint ventures with American International Pictures
(USA), Kadokawa Pictures and Toho Co., Ltd. (Japan), with worldwide
releases through Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and
United Artists. The 1974 horror film Beyond the Door, produced as a
cash-in on the success of "Satanic panic" films like Rosemary's Baby
and The Exorcist, distributed by Film Ventures International grossed
worldwide in excess of US$40 million.In 1980, Assonitis produced and
co-directed Piranha II: The Spawning, which was released through
Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures. This was the movie that launched
the career of director James Cameron, who went on to direct the
blockbuster hit Titanic. In 1989, he became the second major
stockholder chairman and CEO of Cannon Pictures Inc. (USA).
Greco-Italian entertainment executive, film producer, screenwriter,
and director best known for his numerous B-horror films including
Beyond the Door, Tentacles, The Visitor, and Piranha II: The
Spawning.Catering to the South East Asia market, Assonitis began an
extensive distribution network company in the mid-1960s and in the
10-year period distributed more than 900 films from offices in
Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. His former
partners and associates include HRH Prince Anusom Yukol (brother of
the King of Thailand), John Litton (President of Mever Films, theater
owner and former President of the Philippines Film Festival), the Shaw
Brothers, Alexander Tedja, and Kong Cho Yee (of Edko Films).From the
1970s to 2000s Assonitis has financed and produced some 53 films. Many
of these were joint ventures with American International Pictures
(USA), Kadokawa Pictures and Toho Co., Ltd. (Japan), with worldwide
releases through Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and
United Artists. The 1974 horror film Beyond the Door, produced as a
cash-in on the success of "Satanic panic" films like Rosemary's Baby
and The Exorcist, distributed by Film Ventures International grossed
worldwide in excess of US$40 million.In 1980, Assonitis produced and
co-directed Piranha II: The Spawning, which was released through
Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures. This was the movie that launched
the career of director James Cameron, who went on to direct the
blockbuster hit Titanic. In 1989, he became the second major
stockholder chairman and CEO of Cannon Pictures Inc. (USA).
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