Michael Mongillo
Michael Mongillo is an American feature film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the 2007 mockumentary Being Michael Madsen, which was selected for screenings at the Denver Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival.[1][2]
Career
Mongillo founded Mean Time Productions in 1997.[3] The production company credits include the Shriekfest award-winning psychological thriller The Wind (2001), the sci-fi dramedy Welcome to Earth (2005),[4][5] the mockumentary Being Michael Madsen (2007), and the supernatural whodunit Diane (2017).[3][6] His work has screened worldwide, including the Denver Film Festival, the Raindance Film Festival, San Francisco Independent, and the New Filmmakers Series, receiving positive press from The New York Times, Variety, BoxOffice, Fangoria, LA Weekly, Time Out, Film Threat, Londonist, and others. Mongillo has also directed several shorts, music videos, and commercials.
Mongillo co-founded the annual New Haven Underground Film Festival, which was launched with Todd Dzicek in 2004.[5] In 2009, Mongillo spearheaded its rebranding as the Maverick Movie Awards and, with Dick Boland, engaged in forming a diverse network of entertainment industry professionals to participate in this international “filmmakers honoring filmmakers” cooperative. Its exponential growth precipitated Maverick Awards for the films Sound City, The Imposter, Downloaded, The Maiden Danced to Death, and more celebrated features and shorts. Mongillo departed the MMA in 2013 to devote more time to his pursuits as a filmmaker.[7][8]
In 1993, Mongillo wrote the comic book The Philistine and co-creator Michael Zittel illustrated the series. The super-spy-turned-superhero saga was originally distributed by One Shot Press, which went out of business after publishing only three of the six issues in the mini-series. The Philistine was revived a decade later by United Comics and the original mini-series plus several subsequent stories were released as a graphic novel anthology in 2003. In 2012, Mongillo created and wrote the graphic novel The Lost Girl with artwork by Rob Ten Pas. This fantasy-horror romance was originally released by Arcana Studio and in 2015 it was republished in Heavy Metal and digital.[9]
Along with Chris Wiedemann (vocals/guitar), Bobby Judkins (drums), and John Thudium (guitar), Mongillo (bass) was a founding member of the Rock band, 50 Feet Tall (a.k.a. Fifty Feet Tall),[10] a mainstay of NYC's original music scene in the '90s. Band highlights include a release on Deep Elm Records with positive reviews from Alternative Press, CMJ, Hits, Magnet, and more.[9]
Awards and honors
| Year | Recipient/Nominated work | Event | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Diane | Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards | Best Independent Film Nominee[11] |
| 2017 | Diane | New York City Horror Film Festival, New York, NY | Competition Selection[12] |
| 2017 | Diane | FrightFest, London, UK | Competition Selection[13] |
| 2012 | Mockumentary Retrospective: Being Michael Madsen | New Horizons International Film Festival, Warsaw, Poland | Honoree [14] |
| 2009 | Opening Night Feature: Being Michael Madsen | Dances With Films, Hollywood, CA | Honoree |
| 2008 | Being Michael Madsen | Mockumentary Film Festival, Hollywood, CA | Best Director[15] |
| 2008 | Being Michael Madsen | Faux Film Festival, Portland, OR | Audience Award [15] |
| 2008 | Being Michael Madsen | San Francisco Independent Film Festival, San Francisco, CA | Competition Selection [16] |
| 2007 | Being Michael Madsen | Denver Film Festival, Denver, CO | Competition Selection[17] |
| 2007 | Being Michael Madsen | Raindance Film Festival, London, UK | Competition Selection[18] |
| 2007 | The Lost Girl | Shriekfest Film Festival, Hollywood, CA | Best Screenplay[19] |
| 2006 | Welcome to Earth | WorldFest Houston, Houston, TX | Bronze: Remi Award |
| 2006 | Welcome to Earth | Bare Bones International Film Festival, Muskogee, OK | Best Dramedy Feature Nominee |
| 2006 | Welcome to Earth | Bare Bones International Film Festival, Muskogee, OK | Best Ensemble Cast Nominee |
| 2003 | UnSeen (with James Charbonneau) | Shriekfest Film Festival, Hollywood, CA | Best Screenplay[20] |
| 2002 | The Wind | Bare Bones International Film Festival, Muskogee, OK | Best Picture: Horror/Sci-Fi[21] |
| 2002 | The Wind | Valleyfest Film Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee | Competition Selection |
| 2001 | The Wind | Shriekfest Film Festival, Hollywood, CA | Best Picture[22] |
| 2001 | The Wind | Dances With Films, Hollywood, CA | Competition Selection |
References
- ^ Leydon, Joe (6 December 2007). "Review: 'Being Michael Madsen'". Variety. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Saito, Steven (7 September 2008). "MICHAEL MADSEN LEARNS TO BE, ZOE KAZAN EXPLODES, AND MORE NEW ON DVD". IFC.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ a b Cookson, Chris (August 2015). "Award-Winning Producer/Director Michael Mongillo Discusses DIANE and His Passion for Indie Filmmaking" (PDF). Inktip. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Emirzian, Stephen. "Mike Mongillo:Connecticut Filmmaker Brings Aliens to Earth". imaginenews.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ a b Everleth, Mike (11 June 2007). "Welcome to Earth Makes Landing". undergroundfilmjournal.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Mongillo, Michael (2017-10-28), Diane, Jason Alan Smith, Carlee Avers, Margaret Rose Champagne, retrieved 2018-03-07
- ^ "New Haven Underground Film Festival has a new venue". filmfestivals.com. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Shriekfest Radio! Denise Gossett interviews filmmaker Michael Mongillo!". blogtalkradio.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Review of The Lost Girl and Interview with Michael Mongillo". The Quillery. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "FIFTY FEET TALL - Superhighway". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ "The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards – Honoring the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation". rondoaward.com. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ "Diane - NYC Horror Film Festival". NYC Horror Film Festival. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ "HORROR CHANNEL FRIGHTFEST | DIANE". www.frightfest.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ "Being Michael Madsen". New Horizons Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ a b Everleth, Mike (10 September 2010). "On DVD: Being Michael Madsen". undergroundfilmjournal.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Schieron, Sara (15 February 2008). "A mockumentary that 'plays both sides against the middle': Being Michael Madsen". boxoffice.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Emirzian, Stephen. "Being Michael Madsen". fandor.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Ballantyne, Suzanne. "Being Michael Madsen". Raindance Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "2007 Shriekfest Winners". Shriekfest Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ Cooke, Chris (1 October 2003). "Industry News". Shriekfest Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "BONEHEAD AWARDS & GLORY". Bare Bones Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ "Shriekfest Horror Film Festival". www.shriekfest.com. Retrieved 2018-03-07.