Joe Dante

Known for: Directing
Born: November 28, 1946, Morristown, New Jersey, USA
Movies: 156

Joseph James Dante Jr. (born November 28, 1946) is an American filmmaker, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably Gremlins (1984) alongside its sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with 1960s radicalism and cartoon comedy.

Dante's output includes the films Piranha (1978), The Howling (1981), Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The 'Burbs (1989), Matinee (1993), Small Soldiers (1998), and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). His work for television and cable include the social satire The Second Civil War (1997), episodes of the anthology series Masters of Horror ("Homecoming" and "The Screwfly Solution") and Amazing Stories, as well as Police Squad! and Hawaii Five-0.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Dante, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Upcoming Joe Dante Movies

Mary Woronov: Cult Queen

Release date TBA

The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Release date TBA

Best-Known Movies

7.1

Gremlins

1984

6.5

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

1990

6.6

Small Soldiers

1998

5.9

Beverly Hills Cop III

1994

6.4

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

2003

6.8

Innerspace

1987

6.8

The 'Burbs

1989

6.6

The Howling

1981

6.5

Twilight Zone: The Movie

1983

6.0

Piranha

1978

Filmography

2026	Boorman and the Devil	Self
2026	Gremlins, an american nightmare!	Himself
2026	Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern
2026	Shrinkage: The Making of Innerspace	Self
2025	The Creeps	Uncle John
2025	The Vincent Price Legacy	Himself
2024	Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters	Self
2024	Sharksploitation	Self
2024	Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director	Himself
2024	The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee	Self
2022	In Search of Darkness: Part III	Self
2022	Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story	Self - Interviewee
2022	Razzennest	Joe Dante
2022	Soylent Green and Red Alert: When Reality Catches Up with Fiction	Self
2022	In Search of Tomorrow	Self - Interviewee
2021	Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida	Self [archival]
2021	Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster	Self
2021	Roger Corman, the Pope of Pop Cinema	Self
2020	Bugs Bunny's 80th What's Up, Doc-umentary!	Self (archive footage)
2020	Tales of the Uncanny	Self
2020	In Search of Darkness: Part II	Self
2020	Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies	Self
2020	Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp	Host
2020	Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi	Host
2020	Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness	Host
2019	Class of '79: 40 Years of Rock 'N' Roll High School
2019	Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf	Self
2019	Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters	Self
2019	Love, Antosha	Self
2019	In Search of Darkness	Self
2019	Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film	Self
2018	Sad Hill Unearthed	Self - Filmmaker
2018	The Fear Is Real	Self
2018	King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen	Self
2018	Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros. Years	Self
2017	Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur	Self
2016	Long Live the King	himself
2016	24×36	Self
2016	Unspeakable Horrors: The Plan 9 Conspiracy	Himself
2015	Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex	Self
2015	Tales of Halloween	Prof. Milo Gottlieb
2015	42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street	Self
2015	Eaten Alive! The Rise and Fall of the Italian Cannibal Film
2014	From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures	Self
2014	Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous: Making Gremlins	Self
2014	There Goes the Neighborhood: The Making of The 'Burbs	Self
2014	Out of Print	Self
2014	Clawing! A Journey Through the Spanish Horror	Self - Director
2014	We Come In Pieces: The Rebirth of the Horror Anthology Film	Self
2014	That Guy Dick Miller	Self
2013	House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before!	Self
2013	A Fuller Life	Self - Reader (segment "Sicily Black and Blue")
2013	Blast Vegas	Salesman #2
2012	Trailer War	Himself
2012	The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie	Self
2012	Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan	Self
2012	The Butterfly Room	Cab Driver
2012	The Flesh and the Fury: X-posing Twins of Evil	Self - Director
2012	To Be... A Film Favorite
2011	Corman's World	Self - Filmmaker
2011	A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas!	Self - Interviewee
2011	The Future of Fear	Self
2011	Produce Your Own Damn Movie!	Self
2011	American Grindhouse	Himself
2010	The Bloodiest Show on Earth: Making Vampire Circus	Self
2010	Machete Maidens Unleashed!	Self
2010	The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry	Self
2010	RKO, A Story made in Hollywood	Himself
2010	The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth	Self
2010	Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.	Self
2009	Nightmares in Red, White and Blue	Self
2009	Fulci in the House: The Italian Master of Splatter	Self
2009	Direct Your Own Damn Movie!	Self
2009	Monsterland	Self
2009	Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer	Self
2008	RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”	Self
2008	Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX	Self
2007	Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story	Self
2007	Spider Stravinsky: The Cinema Sounds of Ronald Stein	Himself
2007	The Return of the Living Dead: The Decade of Darkness	Self
2007	Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman	Self
2007	The Hatching of Spider Baby	Himself
2006	Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon	Self
2006	Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet	Self
2006	Lugosi: The Dark Prince	Self
2006	Hitchcocked!	Self
2006	Karloff: The Gentle Monster	Self
2005	The Perfect Scary Movie	Self
2005	Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005	Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection	Self
2004	Männer im Trenchcoat, Frauen im Pelz	Self
2004	The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing	Self
2004	Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen	Self
2004	The Art of Crime	Himself
2004	Mario Bava: Operazione paura	Self / Host
2004	Il castello dell'orrore	self
2004	Welcome to Werewolfland
2003	Unleashing the Beast: Making ‘The Howling’
2002	Cinerama Adventure	Self
2001	Making The Earth Stand Still	Self
2001	It Conquered Hollywood! The Story of American International Pictures	Self
2000	Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation	Self
2000	Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre	Self
1999	Ray Harryhausen: Working with Dinosaurs	Self
1999	She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'	Self / Host
1997	Hollywood Rated 'R'	Self
1994	Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror	Self
1994	Beverly Hills Cop III	Jailer
1994	The Silence of the Hams	Dying Man
1994	A Century of Cinema	Self
1992	The Magical World of Chuck Jones	Self
1992	Sleepwalkers	Lab Assistant
1992	Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The 'Plan 9' Companion	Himself
1991	The Horror Hall of Fame II	Self
1991	Oscar	Face on the Cutting Room Floor
1991	Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy	Self
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Grandpa Fred Director (uncredited)
1987	Innerspace	Vectorscope Employee (uncredited)
1986	The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal	Self
1984	Gremlins	Mogwai / Gremlins (voice) (uncredited)
1982	Eating Raoul	Busboy (uncredited)
1981	Making a Monster Movie: Inside 'the Howling'	Self
1979	The Orson Welles Show	Member of Studio Audience
1978	Piranha	Scuba Diver #2 (uncredited)
1978	Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel	Self
1976	Cannonball	Kid
1976	Hollywood Boulevard	Party Waiter (uncredited)
1975	Tidal Wave

Directing, Writing & Producing

2018	Nightmare Cinema	Director
2014	Burying the Ex	Director
2011	Trail of Blood	Producer
2009	Splatter	Director
2009	The Hole	Director
2006	The Screwfly Solution	Director
2006	Trapped Ashes	Director
2005	Homecoming	Director
2003	Looney Tunes: Back in Action	Director
2003	Haunted Lighthouse 4-D	Director
1998	Small Soldiers	Director
1997	The Second Civil War	Director
1996	The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy	Director, Producer
1995	Picture Windows: Lightning	Director
1994	Runaway Daughters	Director
1994	The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - Preshow	Director
1993	Matinee	Director
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Director
1989	The 'Burbs	Director
1987	Amazon Women on the Moon	Director
1987	Innerspace	Director
1985	Explorers	Director
1984	Gremlins	Director
1983	Twilight Zone: The Movie	Director
1981	The Howling	Director
1978	Piranha	Director
1976	Hollywood Boulevard	Director
1968	The Movie Orgy	Director

Data from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.