In much the same way that director 'George A. Romero has carved himself a true cult niche in modern horror film history, and his loyal fans eagerly await his next project.
Son of best-selling novelist Kate Coscarelli and Dac Coscarelli.
Is married with two children.
Father of award-winning vegan chef and author Chloe Coscarelli and son Andrew Coscarelli.
Profiled in "Hollywood Horror from the Directors Chair: Six Filmmakers in the Franchise of Fear" by Simon Wilkinson (McFarland, 2008).
Coscarelli attended UCLA, but upon learning he could not enter the film department until his third year, left UCLA to direct his first feature Jim The Worlds Greatest. Coscarelli calls the making of Jim The Worlds Greatest his college education.
His favorite movie of all time is 2001: A Space Odyssey .
Is a great admirer of the works of D.W. Griffith , Stanley Kubrick and George Lucas.
Admits that classic Universal monsters got him into the horror genre. In addition to that, he wanted to make a horror film because he enjoyed the audience reaction when he had a thrill in Kenny & Company . That horror film became Phantasm .
The main idea of Phantasm came to him in a dream. One night, he dreamed of fleeing down endlessly long marble corridors, pursued by a chrome sphere intent on penetrating his skull with a wicked needle. There was also a quite futuristic "sphere dispenser" out of which the orbs would emerge and begin chase.
Due to creative interferences with the producers of The Beastmaster , he was forcibly removed from the editing room and his version was entirely re-cut. Although he doesnt disown the movie, he is quite unhappy with the final result.
Hes a lover of science fiction, fantasy and horror books. His favorite authors are Philip K. Dick and Edgar Allan Poe.
He considers the Italian giallo movies, specially Suspiria as a great influence on the Phantasm films.
Hes a great fan of Asian horror films like Gin gwai and recent zombie movies such as 28 Days Later... and Shaun of the Dead . He also enjoys Eli Roth and admires Guillermo del Toro a lot.
His dream project is to direct a time-travel movie.
Was offered the chance to direct, but declined, Conan the Destroyer , A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddys Revenge , Silver Bullet , Warlock III: The End of Innocence and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre .
Never went to a film school.
Worked for a long time on the preproduction stage of Silver Bullet and was about to direct it. Eventually, he left the project due to creative differences with producer Dino De Laurentiis.
As a boy, he was a fan of Steve Reeves , Ray Harryhausen and sword and sandal films in general. He also loved Godzilla movies.
He enjoys science fiction films from the fifties and cites Invaders from Mars as a strong influence in Phantasm .
He reportedly admits that two of his favorite films are Point Break and Starship Troopers .
He likes backpacking and has always been fascinated with survival in the wilderness and the cult of survivalism in some parts of the United States. Coscarelli claims that his interest on those three things became the basis of Survival Quest .
In 2005, New Line Cinema entered into serious talks with Coscarelli to remake the Phantasm series as a new trilogy and offered him the chance to be the executive producer of the project. Coscarelli and Stephen Romano wrote a script which was a hybrid sequel/remake, having Mike, Reggie and the Tall Man pass the torch onto a new generation of characters. However, New Line didnt like the sequel aspect and wanted a more straight remake of the material. After serious consideration, Coscarelli rejected in favor of a fifth Phantasm movie with Anchor Bay on board to produce. In the end, Coscarellis wish to remain independent and have total creative control, together with the difficulties to come up with the budget needed for a fifth installment, caused the project to be halted indefinitely.
In early 1992, New Line Cinema offered him to fund and distribute a third and fourth Phantasm movies to be shot back to back. At that time, Coscarelli didnt feel he had enough material written to make two films at once, so he turned the offer down.
At the age of nineteen, became the youngest director to ever have a feature film distributed by a major studio when he sold his independently produced and critically acclaimed drama, Jim, the Worlds Greatest , to Universal Pictures, who released the movie in 1976.
(March 2008) Just bought the rights to David Wongs Novel "John Dies at The End" to make a big screen adaptation.
Working on two sequels at the same time: The most anticipated "Phantasm V" and Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires (????) .
Speaks fluent Spanish.
Getting movies made is difficult for everybody, independent or,mainstream.
I had no plans, when I made the first Phantasm, to create a myth. I was,only trying to make an effective low-budget movie, which might propel,an audience member or two out of their seats on occasion. If anything,it was the fans who elevated our little tale into myth.
At the beginning there was no master plan. The original Phantasm was,intended to be a stand-alone film. However, after seeing how Phantasm,II worked (starting the sequel the moment after the original ended),and the power of the fan response to the sequel and their speculations,the pattern of the storyline evolved easily.
(On Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man): Audiences have a fascination with his,character, and seem to actually enjoy watching him doing his nasty,deeds. I think this stems in large part from the subtle talents Angus,uses in portraying this wicked and complex character.
(On sequels to horror movies): Sequels have been with us from the,beginning in horror, from Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and The,Wolfman. Some of those sequels were better than the original films. I,think that, at its best, the concept of horror sequels allows us the,luxury of immersing ourselves in the nightmarish world of horror, and,experiencing these strange characters and bizarre situations over a,substantial time period.
Perhaps if I had focused my energies more on breaking into the system in,a conventional way, and not spent as much time on the Phantasm series,I could have made more, varied, and certainly bigger budgeted films.
