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Giovanni Zelko
www.giovannizelko.com
The son of European immigrants, Zelko was born and raised in N.Y. while spending many summers in his parent's native countries of Italy and Slovenia, giving him a unique mixture of European and American sensibilities that are pronounced in his various works as an artist. He was educated at Boston University where he earned a Bachelor of Science for Film, (see his book on film theory "Living the Dream," his ten screenplays, and six television scripts ,) as well as a Minor of Arts for English Literature, (see his book of poetry, "A Modern Decameron"). During his four years at Boston University, he also pursued studies in History where his field of concentration was European Medieval History, (see his documentary script, "The First Crusade & The Apocalypse"). An accomplished photographer, Zelko has shot commercial work as well as fine-art gallery work, and has traveled to 40 countries, (see his book "Body of Poetry" and online gallery with over 1,300 images).
"I never realized how helpful it was to be a "jack of all trades" until I began Directing!" says Zelko. His passion for filmmaking began to blossom at a very early age as a freshman in High School where he first started shooting 8mm stop-animation films and began editing: "my High School was great. We learned how to light and shoot 8mm film, edit current movies down into trailers, and learned different dark-room printing techniques for photography. I can't say enough about the profound effect that photography has had on me in relation to films. I always loved photography and quickly saw filmmaking as an extension of it. Photography forces you to become better at telling a story one image at a time. In movies, instead of perceiving 24 frames flying by each second, I see each and every frame of film as standing on its own. Obviously, as a photographer, I bring my expertise of creating worlds of still images into the arena of moving images. I have grown immensely as a filmmaker by perfecting my craft as a photographer."
His enthusiasm for filmmaking produced two early films: "Bloodline" and "My Shadow". "Although I intended it to be more of a horror film, I look at it today fifteen years later and can't help but laugh at some scenes!" he chuckles. At the age of 16, Zelko wrote, directed, produced, starred in, shot, stunt-coordinated, costumed, sound scored, and edited a 45 minute horror about vampires that he shot on video. This impressive early film, "Bloodline," helped earn him an academic scholarship to the prestigious Boston University Film School. Once there, Zelko wrote, directed, produced, shot, and edited his second film, "My Shadow," an 8 ½ minute long 16mm film. This second film helped him acquire his internship in Los Angeles at Roger Corman Studios, which began his film career in earnest. "I've worked on all sorts of movies and T.V. since arriving here in L.A, and have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from some of the world's finest directors and actors. It's one thing to study great filmmakers in a classroom, but absolutely nothing can compare to learning from great filmmakers on set, watching their every move, their every decision. I was in class studying John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate" one year in Boston, and a couple years later I was in Hollywood working with John Frankenheimer on "The George Wallace Story." He was kind and generous and answered all my youthful questions about filmmaking. That experience has always stuck with me as the most surreal!"
During the past fifteen years, Zelko has logged over twenty thousand hours on sets as a lighting technician for films, television, commercials, and music videos for some of the world's greatest directors and actors, including James Cameron, Sam Raimi, Barry Levinson, Michael Mann, John Frankenheimer, Clint Eastwood, Brett Ratner, Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Willis, Will Smith, Billy Bob Thorton, Bill Murray, Michael Cain, Tim Robbins, Martin Sheen, Jack Black, Dan Aykroid, Randy Quaid, Alec Baldwin, Ben Stiller, Patrick Stewart, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Sellick, Gary Sinise, Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway, Kate Blanchet, Susan Sarrandon, Glen Close, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Amanda Peet, Julia Stiles, and Madonna:
FILMS:
Avatar (2008) Directed by James Cameron
Tenacious D & The Pick of Destiny (2005) Jack Black and Tim Robbins
Cursed (2004) Directed by Wes Craven, starring Cristina Ricci
Along Came Polly (2003) Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Crossroads (2002) Britney Spears
Bandits (2001) Directed by Barry Levinson, starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob
Held for Ransom (2000) Dennis Hopper
Charlie's Angels (2000) Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray
The Next Best Thing (2000) Madonna
For Love of the Game (1999) Directed by Sam Raimi, starring Kevin Costner
The Debtors (1999) Randy Quaid and Michael Cain
Godzilla (1998) Directed by Roland Emmerich, starring Mathew Broderick
3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998) Hulk Hogan and Lonie Anderson
Wicked (1998) Julia Stiles
Eat Your Heart Out (1997)
Santa with Muscles (1996) Hulk Hogan
Safehouse (1996) Patrick Stewart
New Adventures of Emmanuel (1995)
TELEVISION:
Dollhouse (2009) Fox Studios
Prison Break (2008) Fox Studios
MadMen (2008) (Producers of Sopranos) AMC TV
Shark (2007) (James Woods) Fox Studios
Studio 60 (2006) (Mathew Perry & D.L. Huhgley) Warner Brothers
The West Wing (2005) (Martin Sheen & John Spencer) Warner Brothers
Book of Daniel (2005) Aiden Quinn, PILOT
House (2004) (Produced/Directed by Brian Singer) Fox Studios
Weeds (2004) PILOT
The West Wing (2003) (Martin Sheen & John Spencer) Warner Brothers
Angel (2002) Paramount Studios
The West Wing (2001) (Martin Sheen & John Spencer) Warner Brothers
Six Feet Under (2001) HBO
Replikate (2001) Ali Landry
The Beast (2000) PILOT, Disney
Running Mates (2000) Tom Sellick and Faye Dunaway
Providence (1999) NBC
Annie (1999) Directed by Rob Marshall
Jack and Jill (1998) PILOT
George Wallace (1997) Directed by John Frankenheimer (Angelina Jolie) TNT
Total Security (1997) Steven Bochco Productions, starring Jim Belushi Fox Studios
Babylon 5 (1996)
MUSIC VIDEOS: Madonna, Usher, Emminem, Insync, Aliyah, Snoop Dog, Dr.Dre, Brian Setzer
COMMERCIALS: Nascar, Progressive Insurance, Taco Bell, General Mills Cereals, Citibank, etc.
DOCUMENTARY: (videographer) Usher, Mariah Carey, Sean P. Diddy, Jay-Z
PARTIAL FILMS:
Space Cowboys (Clint Eastwood), Ali (Will Smith), Family Man (Nicholas Cage), The Insider (Al Pacino), Beauty Shop (Queen Latifa), Mystery Men (Ben Stiller), Mr. Woodcock (Susan Sarandon)