Ovidio G. Assonitis

Ovidio G. Assonitis was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He is an independent film producer and businessman with over fifty years of experience across all facets of the entertainment industry. Catering to the South East Asia market, Assonitis began an extensive distribution company in the mid-60's and in a 10-year period distributed more than 900 films from offices in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, and Indonesia. From the 1970s to 2000s, he has financed and produced some 53 films, both independently and with major and mini-major studios, including American International Pictures, Film Ventures International, Trans World Entertainment, Nippon Herald Films Inc and Toho-Towa, with worldwide releases through Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and United Artists. In 1974, he direct the cult horror classic, Beyond the Door (1974), starring Juliet Mills and Richard Johnson. The film grossed worldwide in excess of $40 million(USD) becoming the highest grossing independent release of the year; a tremendous achievement at that time. He followed this triumph with a string of successful pictures; Tentacles (1977), The Visitor (1979) and Madhouse (1981). Also in 1981, Assonitis produced Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), which was released through Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, launching the career of celebrated director James Cameron. Choke Canyon (1986) followed along with The Curse (1987), Sonny Boy (1989), Curse II: The Bite (1989) and Beyond the Door III (1989) under an exclusive deal with RCA Columbia. In 1989, Assonitis became the second major stockholder, Chairman and CEO of Cannon Pictures Inc. where he single-handily turned the company back into profit with films such as Lambada (1990), Midnight Ride (1990), Fifty/Fifty (1992) and No Place to Hide (1992) as well as the sequels American Ninja 4: The Annihilation (1990) and American Ninja 5 (1993). In 1990, he assigned Universal Pictures the remake rights of the European classic, Scent of a Woman (1974). Scent of a Woman (1992) was released worldwide in 1992, starring Al Pacino and directed by Martin Brest, it was nominated for four Academy Awards, with Pacino winning for Best Actor. Aside from the Entertainment Industry, Assonitis has several major commercial projects in South East Asia, including Malaysia. He is a keen philanthropist and eager to combine business with a positive development of the economic and social needs. His first horror film in over twenty years is a sequel to one of his biggest hits, Embryo: Beyond the Door.