Randal Kleiser | |
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Born | John Randal Kleiser July 20, 1946 Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of Southern California |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1962–present |
John Randal Kleiser [1] (born July 20, 1946) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the films Grease (1978), The Blue Lagoon (1980), Flight of the Navigator (1986) and White Fang (1991).
John Randal Kleiser was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the son of Harriet Kelly (née Means) and Dr. John Raymond Kleiser. He has two younger brothers. [1] Kleiser attended Radnor High School on the Philadelphia Main Line. [2] [3]
As a freshman at the University of Southern California, he appeared in George Lucas' student film Freiheit . (Kleiser also lived in the house that Lucas was renting at the time.) [4] Kleiser graduated in 1968. [5] His award-winning Master's thesis film, the 1973 short Peege about a grandson's bond with his ailing grandmother, [6] launched his career and was selected for preservation by the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2007. [7] He also directed an animated short that year called Foot Fetish (which was later aired on Saturday Night Live a decade later). [8]
Kleiser directed several television movies in the mid-1970s, including Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1975), The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), which starred John Travolta, and the Emmy Award-winning The Gathering (1977). Kleiser was tapped to direct his first feature film, the 1978 film Grease , in large part because of Travolta's recommendation based on their work together on The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. [9]
Kleiser directed several more feature films, including The Blue Lagoon (1980) with Brooke Shields, Summer Lovers (1982) with Daryl Hannah, Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) with Jamie Lee Curtis, Flight of the Navigator (1986), featuring the first use of digital morphing in a film, Big Top Pee-wee (1988), White Fang (1991) and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992). In London, Kleiser directed the comedy Getting It Right (1989). [10] In 1996, he wrote and directed It's My Party . As a writer-producer, he was responsible for the surfing film North Shore (1987) for Universal Pictures. He also directed the thriller Shadow of Doubt (1998). In 1987, he had an agreement with upstart diversified film studio Management Company Entertainment Group to develop, direct and produce low-budget pictures that were financed by the studio, and he will shepherd indie projects of promising students and decided to build various international directors on its own. [11]
Working in 70mm 3-D, he directed Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (1995) for the Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo and Paris, re-teaming with most of the principal actors from Honey, I Blew Up the Kid .
Kleiser is openly gay. [12]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Street People | No | No | Yes | Italian: Gli esecutori |
1978 | Grease | Yes | No | No | Directorial debut |
1980 | The Blue Lagoon | Yes | Yes | No | |
1982 | Summer Lovers | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1984 | Grandview, U.S.A. | Yes | No | No | |
1986 | Flight of the Navigator | Yes | No | No | |
1987 | North Shore | No | Executive | Story | |
1988 | Big Top Pee-wee | Yes | No | No | |
1989 | Getting It Right | Yes | Yes | No | |
1991 | White Fang | Yes | No | No | |
Return to the Blue Lagoon | No | Executive | No | ||
1992 | Honey, I Blew Up the Kid | Yes | No | No | |
1996 | It's My Party | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1998 | Shadow of Doubt | Yes | No | No | |
1999 | How to Get There | Yes | No | Yes | |
2005 | Love Wrecked | Yes | No | No | |
2006 | Red Riding Hood | Yes | No | No | Also arranger of the song "Lil' Red Riding Hood" |
2020 | Life After the Navigator | No | Executive | No | Documentary film |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1981 | Rich and Famous | Literary Party Guest |
1988 | Big Top Pee-wee | Popcorn vendor |
1996 | Cannes Man | Himself |
1998 | Susan's Plan | Doctor No. 1 |
1999 | Crazy in Alabama | Bob |
2002 | Circuit | Doctor |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | Peege | Yes | Yes | No | Also editor |
Foot Fetish | Yes | Yes | Yes | Shortlisted for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film | |
1994 | Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! | Yes | No | No | Theme park film |
2017 | The Speech JFK Never Gave | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2019 | Defrost: The Virtual Series | Yes | Yes | Yes | 12-Episode VR Series |
2019 | Grease XR | Yes | No | No | Volumetric capture Short |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1962 | The Pursuit | The Pursuer | |
1964 | Captain America vs. The Mutant | Steve Rogers / Captain America | |
1966 | Freiheit | Boy |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1967 | Glut | Editor |
2001 | The Princess and the Pea | Production advisor |
2015 | Arctic Plunge | Technical advisor |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974–1975 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes |
1975 | Lucas Tanner | Yes | No | No | Episode: "Bonus Baby" |
All Together Now | Yes | No | No | TV movie | |
1975–1977 | Starsky & Hutch | Yes | No | No | 3 episodes |
1976 | The Rookies | Yes | No | No | Episode: "From Out of the Darkness" |
Family | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes | |
Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway | Yes | No | No | TV movie | |
The Boy in the Plastic Bubble | Yes | No | No | TV movie | |
1977 | ABC Weekend Specials | Yes | Yes | Yes | Episode: "Portrait of Grandpa Doc," also editor |
The Gathering | Yes | No | No | TV movie | |
1995 | New York News | Yes | No | No | Unknown episodes |
1999 | Royal Standard | Yes | No | No | TV movie |
2010 | The Nina Foch Course for Filmmakers and Actors | Yes | Yes | Yes |
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, singer, and producer. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Grease is a 1978 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser from a screenplay by Bronté Woodard and an adaptation by co-producer Allan Carr, based on the 1972 stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The film depicts the lives of greaser Danny Zuko and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson, who develop an attraction for each other during a summer romance.
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Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is a 1992 American science fiction comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and the second installment of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series. Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Amy O'Neill, and Robert Oliveri return as the Szalinski family, while Keri Russell makes her film debut as Mandy Park. In the film, the family's two-year-old son Adam is accidentally exposed to Wayne's new industrial-sized growth machine, which causes him to gradually grow to enormous size. Wayne's coworker, Dr. Charles Hendrickson, wants the giant Adam stopped at all costs, and wishes to take control of Wayne's invention. The franchise continued with a direct-to-home video sequel, a television series, and theme-park attractions.
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The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American coming-of-age romantic survival drama film directed by Randal Kleiser from a screenplay written by Douglas Day Stewart based on the 1908 novel of the same name by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. The music score was composed by Basil Poledouris, and the cinematography was by Néstor Almendros.
Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 American science-fiction adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser and written by Mark H. Baker, Michael Burton, and Phil Joanou. It stars Joey Cramer as David Freeman, a 12-year-old boy, who is abducted by an alien spaceship and transported from 1978 to 1986. It features an early film appearance by Sarah Jessica Parker as Carolyn McAdams, a key character who befriends David in a time of need.
Return to the Blue Lagoon is a 1991 American South Seas romantic adventure film directed and produced by William A. Graham and starring Milla Jovovich and Brian Krause. The film is a sequel to The Blue Lagoon (1980). The screenplay by Leslie Stevens was based on the 1923 novel The Garden of God by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The original music score was written, composed, and performed by Basil Poledouris. The film's closing theme song, "A World of Our Own", is performed by Surface featuring Bernard Jackson. The music was written by Barry Mann, and the lyrics were written by Cynthia Weil.
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