Don Coscarelli

Don Coscarelli, Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for horror films.

Biography
Coscarelli was born in Tripoli, Libya and raised in Long Beach, Southern California. At an early age, he was fascinated with cameras and filmmaking. His fascination translated in him making short films, this with the help of neighborhood friends. Several of these short films were winning prizes on television. He would later attend film school.

At the age of nineteen, he sold his independently produced and critically acclaimed drama, Jim the World's Greatest, to Universal Pictures. This made him the youngest director to have a feature film distributed by a major studio. Jim the World's Greatest was an official selection of the USA film Festival. The film would be the first of many collaboration between Don Coscarelli and the actor Lawrence Rory Guy, better known by his screen name, Angus Scrimm.

Coscarelli made his mark in the horror world, with his Phantasm films. The films spawned a huge cult of fans around the world, the original Phantasm was even a worldwide critical and box-office success and won the Special Jury Prize at the Festival du Cinema Fantastique at Avoriaz, France. In later years he made fantasy films, the The Beastmaster.

In 2002, he won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay, the HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival's Best Screenplay Award and the Montreal's FantAsia Festival's Best International Film, all for his horror film, Bubba Ho-Tep. The film quickly became a critical hit and a festival favorite. The film was based on a story by Joe R. Lansdale and started Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis and Reggie Bannister. This wouldn't be the last time that Coscarelli would adapt a story of Lansdale, as for the Masters of Horror series, Coscarelli adapted his story Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road was the premiere episode of the first season of Masters of Horror.

In 2008 Coscarelli purchased film rights to the horror novel and internet series John Dies at the End by David Wong, the film was completed in 2011 and released in 2013.

Personal
Coscarelli is married with costume designer, Shelley Kay. He frequently collaborates with her on a professional level. Together, they have one daughter, Chloe Corscarelli, who made a name for herself as an award-winning vegan chef and author.

Filmography
List of Horror Films, directed by Don Coscarelli:
 * Phantasm (1979)
 * Phantasm II (1988)
 * Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
 * Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)
 * Bubba Ho- Tep (2002)
 * Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005)
 * John Dies at the End (2012)

Festival du Cinema Fantastique at Avoriaz

 * Won: Special Prize for Phantasm

Bram Stoker Awards:

 * Won: Best Screenplay for Bubba Ho- Tep

Chainsaw Awards:

 * Won: Best Limited-Release/Direct-to-Video Film for Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead

Fangoria

 * Won: Fangoria Horror Hall of Fame

Fantasporto

 * Nominated: Best Film for Bubba Ho- Tep

Philadelphia Film Festival

 * Honourable Mention: Audience Award for John Dies at the End