Michael Mongillo

Michael Mongillo

Michael Mongillo is an American feature film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the 2007 mockumentary Being Michael Madsen,[1][2] the 2017 supernatural mystery Diane,[3] and the 2021 sci-fi thriller The Changed.[4]

Career

Mongillo founded Mean Time Productions in 1997.[5] The production company credits include the Shriekfest award-winning psychological horror The Wind (2001), the sci-fi dramedy Welcome to Earth (2005),[6][7] the mockumentary Being Michael Madsen (2007), the supernatural mystery Diane (2017),[5][8] and the sci-fi thriller The Changed (2021).[9] His work has screened worldwide, including the Raindance Film Festival, the Denver Film Festival,[10] San Francisco Independent Film Festival, Screamfest,[11] FrightFest London,[12] 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.[7] 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.[13][14]

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.[15]

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),[16] 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.[15]

Awards and honors

Year Recipient/Nominated Work Event Award
2022 The Changed Award This!
  • Best Indie Sci-fi Nominee
  • Best Director Nominee
  • Indie Movie of the Year Nominee[17][18]
2022 The Changed Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Best Independent Film Nominee[19]
2021 The Changed Screamfest, Los Angeles, CA Competition Selection[11]
2021 The Changed FrightFest, London, UK Competition Selection[20]
2021 The Changed New York City Horror Film Festival, New York, NY Competition Selection[21]
2021 The Changed South African Horrorfest, Cape Town, South Africa Special Selection[22]
2018 Diane Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Best Independent Film Nominee[23]
2017 Diane New York City Horror Film Festival, New York, NY Competition Selection[3]
2017 Diane FrightFest, London, UK Competition Selection[24]
2012 Mockumentary Retrospective: Being Michael Madsen New Horizons International Film Festival, Warsaw, Poland Honoree[25]
2009 Opening Night Feature: Being Michael Madsen Dances With Films, Hollywood, CA Honoree
2008 Being Michael Madsen Mockumentary Film Festival, Hollywood, CA Best Director[26]
2008 Being Michael Madsen Faux Film Festival, Portland, OR Audience Award[26]
2008 Being Michael Madsen San Francisco Independent Film Festival, San Francisco, CA Competition Selection[27]
2007 Being Michael Madsen Denver Film Festival, Denver, CO Competition Selection[28]
2007 Being Michael Madsen Raindance Film Festival, London, UK Competition Selection[29]
2007 The Lost Girl Shriekfest Film Festival, Hollywood, CA Best Screenplay[30]
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
  • Best Ensemble Cast Nominee
2003 UnSeen (with James Charbonneau) Shriekfest Film Festival, Hollywood, CA Best Screenplay[31]
2002 The Wind Bare Bones International Film Festival, Muskogee, OK Best Picture: Horror/Sci-Fi[32]
2002 The Wind Valleyfest Film Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee Competition Selection
2001 The Wind Shriekfest Film Festival, Hollywood, CA Best Picture[33]
2001 The Wind Dances With Films, Hollywood, CA Competition Selection

References

  1. ^ Leydon, Joe (6 December 2007). "Review: 'Being Michael Madsen'". Variety. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  2. ^ Saito, Steven (7 September 2008). "MICHAEL MADSEN LEARNS TO BE, ZOE KAZAN EXPLODES, AND MORE NEW ON DVD". IFC.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Diane - NYC Horror Film Festival". NYC Horror Film Festival. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  4. ^ says, The Changed-Chimpy (2021-10-12). "The Changed | Film Threat". Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Emirzian, Stephen. "Mike Mongillo:Connecticut Filmmaker Brings Aliens to Earth". imaginenews.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b Everleth, Mike (11 June 2007). "Welcome to Earth Makes Landing". undergroundfilmjournal.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  8. ^ Mongillo, Michael (2017-10-28), Diane, Jason Alan Smith, Carlee Avers, Margaret Rose Champagne, retrieved 2018-03-07
  9. ^ "Tony Todd Stars in the Trailer for the New Horror Film 'The Changed'". ScreenAge Wasteland. 2021-06-04. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  10. ^ Leydon, Joe (2007-12-06). "Being Michael Madsen". Variety. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  11. ^ a b The Changed, 2021-09-02, retrieved 2022-05-05
  12. ^ "Eye For Film: Article about highlights of Frightfest 2021". www.eyeforfilm.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  13. ^ "New Haven Underground Film Festival has a new venue". filmfestivals.com. 27 February 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Shriekfest Radio! Denise Gossett interviews filmmaker Michael Mongillo!". blogtalkradio.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  15. ^ a b "Review of The Lost Girl and Interview with Michael Mongillo". The Quillery. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  16. ^ "FIFTY FEET TALL - Superhighway". Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  17. ^ "2022 Nominees & Winners". Film Threat's Award This!. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  18. ^ "Presenting the Award This! 2022 Nominees | Film Threat - Part 3". 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  19. ^ "The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards – Honoring the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation". rondoaward.com. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  20. ^ Ganiveta (2021-10-20). "Sci-fi horror "The Changed" screens today at Screamfest Horror Film Festival". Ganiveta. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  21. ^ "New York City Horror Film Festival Virtual Dec 2 - 9, 2021". nychff21.eventive.org. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  22. ^ "THE HORRORFEST FILM FESTIVAL". www.horrorfest.info. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  23. ^ "The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards – Honoring the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation". rondoaward.com. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  24. ^ "HORROR CHANNEL FRIGHTFEST | DIANE". www.frightfest.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  25. ^ "Being Michael Madsen". New Horizons Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  26. ^ a b Everleth, Mike (10 September 2010). "On DVD: Being Michael Madsen". undergroundfilmjournal.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  27. ^ Schieron, Sara (15 February 2008). "A mockumentary that 'plays both sides against the middle': Being Michael Madsen". boxoffice.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  28. ^ Emirzian, Stephen. "Being Michael Madsen". fandor.com. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  29. ^ Ballantyne, Suzanne. "Being Michael Madsen". Raindance Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  30. ^ "2007 Shriekfest Winners". Shriekfest Film Festival. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  31. ^ Cooke, Chris (1 October 2003). "Industry News". Shriekfest Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  32. ^ "BONEHEAD AWARDS & GLORY". Bare Bones Film Festival. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  33. ^ "Shriekfest Horror Film Festival". www.shriekfest.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2018-03-07.