John R. Leonetti

John R. Leonetti started working in the business at age 13 in the manufacturing and rental departments at Leonetti Cine Rentals. Frank M. Leonetti, John's father, started the equipment business in the mid-1950s to service Hollywood as it ventured out of the studios and onto locations. Frank Leonetti was the gaffer on Singin' in the Rain and one of the top gaffers of his day.

The younger Leonetti's experience at Leonetti Cine Rentals was well rounded in grip, electrical and camera. His exposure to lighting techniques came from his dad as well as his brother, Matthew F. Leonetti ASC. This was invaluable to his future career as a lighting cameraman.

Leonetti began his career as an assistant cameraman and camera operator. Coming up in these crafts, Leonetti worked for brilliant cinematographers such as Vittorio Storaro and great directors such as Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola. Leonetti was also director of photography on a music video directed by James Cameron.

In 1989 Walter Hill asked Leonetti to be the director of photography on one of HBO's first "Tales from the Crypt" episodes, "The Man Who Was Death." This earned Leonetti a nomination for a CableACE Award for Best Cinematography.

Leonetti subsequently worked from 1989 to 1993 with many "Tales" directors including Peter Medak, Tom Hanks and John Frankenheimer. He received three more CableACE Award nominations for his work on the show.

Leonetti proceeded to collaborate with John Frankenheimer on the HBO film "Against the Wall," for which Frankenheimer won an Emmy. They teamed up again to shoot HBO's "The Burning Season," which won the Golden Globe for Best Picture. Leonetti recognizes Frankenheimer as his mentor as well as an eternal friend.

In 1994 Leonetti was picked to shoot the New Line hit The Mask and went on to shoot Mortal Kombat as well. These films were so successful that in 1995 New Line hired Leonetti to direct Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. It opened No. 1 at the box office, bringing in $17.5 million the first weekend.

While pursuing a career in directing and development, Leonetti shot Detroit Rock City and Joe Dirt in 1999 and 2000. After shooting and directing the television series "Providence," he went back to the feature world and shot two films in a row for Universal Pictures: The Scorpion King, produced by Sean Daniel and Jim Jax, and Honey, produced by Marc Platt.

In 2003 Leonetti teamed up with Hillary Duff's family and shot two films with her: Raise Your Voice, for New Line, and The Perfect Man, for Universal. He then jumped into the independent scene and collaborated on a film directed by Lucky McKee, The Woods. Soon thereafter, Leonetti teamed up with another young and very talented director, James Wan (Saw) to shoot horror film Dead Silence in 2006.

Also in 2006 a producer with Film Engine, AJ Dix, asked Leonetti to direct the sequel to The Butterfly Effect. Leonetti developed the script with Film Engine and the movie was released by New Line.

Leonetti teamed up with James Wan again for Death Sentence, a revenge drama with Kevin Bacon. He then shot I Know Who Killed Me, starring Lindsay Lohan, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr. and directed by Chris Severtson.

In 2008 Leonetti shot Ca$h, an independent film starring Sean Bean, and another independent film, Super Hybrid. The latter film was the first Canadian production to use the Red One HD camera.

In the summer of 2009 Leonetti shot Piranha 3D at Lake Havasu for Dimension Pictures and director Alex Aja. In 2010 he shot the inspirational drama Soul Surfer, the Bethany Hamilton story, directed by Sean McNamara.

In 2011 he went to Puerto Rico to shoot the pilot for "The River," a television series produced by DreamWorks and ABC Television. Seven different types of digital cameras were used on the show, creating long-form dramatic "found footage" sci-fi.

John R. Leonetti lensed James Wan's supernatural thriller Insidious, for which he is credited as both co-producer and cinematographer. His follow-up project with Wan was The Conjuring, which has been hailed as a return to genuinely spooky filmmaking and a modern horror classic. Reviews cite Leonetti's deft and deliberate camerawork in relation to the film's atmosphere, intensity and expertly crafted suspense.

Sony Pictures