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Don Coscarelli is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his horror films, such as Phantasm, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep. He was born in Libya, won several awards, and published a memoir in 2018.
Don Coscarelli is a cult horror director, writer and producer, best known for the Phantasm series and Bubba Ho-Tep. IMDb provides his biography, filmography, awards, photos, videos and contact info.
- January 1, 1
- 1.93 m
- Tripoli, Libya
- Phantasm. "Phantasm" is Don Coscarelli's "Citizen Kane." He wrote, directed, photographed and edited this 1979 independent film, whose cast and crew were mostly amateurs.
- Bubba Ho-Tep. Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) faked his death, having switched places with an impersonator who overdosed in his place. President John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) didn't die from his attempted assassination, but was instead disguised as a Black man by those who'd sought to get rid of him.
- John Dies at the End. What if, instead of Marvel's Doctor Strange or the Ghostbusters (most of whom at least have doctorates) protecting humanity from supernatural threats, it was an aimless, perpetually traumatized slacker in his 20s and his idiot burnout best friend?
- Phantasm II. It took studio suits nearly a decade to recognize that Don Coscarelli had tapped into something fantastic with the first "Phantasm" film.
Learn about the life and career of Don Coscarelli, a cult horror director known for Phantasm, The Beastmaster and Bubba Ho-Tep. Find out his birth date, height, family, trademarks, trivia and quotes.
- February 17, 1954
- A Strange Universe
- Avoiding Success
- The Battles Continue
- A New Life For “Phantasm”
“Phantasm” defies traditional genre barriers. It’s not horror, fantasy, or science fiction, but a peculiar fusion of all three, driven as much by creepy mood as story. On the surface, the recurring showdowns between the Tall Man and our heroes, baldheaded badass Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and hunky Mike (Michael Baldwin), are ludicrous. Threats in t...
But plenty of people did. As Coscarelli faced his newfound popularity, he was determined to avoid cashing in. “I had no interest in making the sequel,” he said, explaining the nine-year gap between “Phantasm” and its followup. Instead, he went into production on the ill-fated sword-and-sorcery epic “Beastmaster,” clashed with producers over his cre...
“This is the horrible thing about my career,” Coscarelli said. “For some reason, the successful films of my mine don’t connect with people in power.” Years later, with two more “Phantasm” sequels behind him, Coscarelli went through a similar challenge with another would-be cult classic: “Bubba Ho-tep,” the 2002 genre-bender in which Bruce Campbell ...
Fortunately, Coscarelli still gets traction from his “Phantasm” days. A few years after “Bubba Ho-tep,” he received a call from “Phantasm” super-fan J.J. Abrams, who wanted to screen the film for his Bad Robot staff. At that point, there were no decent copies of the film available, so Abrams decided to rectify that problem. Coscarelli worked with s...
Sep 27, 2018 · The director of Phantasm, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep shares his stories and tips from four decades of indie filmmaking. Read about his experiences with Universal, technology, audiences, and more in True Indie.
Oct 5, 2016 · The director of the cult sci-fi horror series Phantasm talks about his creative process, the influence of JJ Abrams and the legacy of Angus Scrimm. He also reveals the secrets behind the iconic Tall Man, the flying spheres and the mash-up of genres.
