Joseph Zito is a well known action film director. Three of hismovies--Missing in Action (1984),Invasion U.S.A. (1985) andFriday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)--eachreached the #1 box office position of top grossing film in the countryin their opening weeks of U.S. theatrical release. "Missing in Action"isChuck Norris' most successful movie and,along with "Invasion U.S.A.", set new box-office records for the actionstar. "Missing in Action" not only spawned a series of sequels but alsoturned martial arts veteran -+Norris into a legitimate movie star andhousehold name.
Zito attended the City University of New York where, as anundergraduate, he majored in economics and went on to earn a MastersDegree in psychology. He has worked in the motion picture industry as adirector, producer and writer. He even dabbled in exhibition,fulfilling a childhood fantasy: he owned a grand old movie palace, theSanders Theatre in New York.
He also had a post-production editorial service and became well knownas a film "doctor," performing emergency surgery on ailing films toturn them into healthy box office prospects. As a director, Zitostarted by making documentaries and then soon segued into directingfeature films:Abduction (1975) andThe Prowler (1981).
Zito often makes movies in exotic lands, having directed "Missing inAction" in Southeast Asia,Red Scorpion (1988) (starringDolph Lundgren) in Africa,Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (1999)in the Middle East andPower Play (2003) in South America."Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol", made on a grand scale, is ahard-hitting action adventure about a team of internationalpeacekeepers on a perilous search for a missing convoy of soldiers."Power Play", starringDylan Walsh andAlison Eastwood, is the story ofa newspaper reporter who, while investigating the mysteriousdisappearance of three radical environmentalists, uncovers unorthodoxscientific testing that is causing devastating earthquakes throughoutLos Angeles.
Zito is a frequent lecturer at universities and colleges around thecountry including USC, University of Ohio at Bowling Green and UCLA. Heis working in the Middle East as producer of a large-scale hospitaldrama television series.
Zito attended the City University of New York where, as anundergraduate, he majored in economics and went on to earn a MastersDegree in psychology. He has worked in the motion picture industry as adirector, producer and writer. He even dabbled in exhibition,fulfilling a childhood fantasy: he owned a grand old movie palace, theSanders Theatre in New York.
He also had a post-production editorial service and became well knownas a film "doctor," performing emergency surgery on ailing films toturn them into healthy box office prospects. As a director, Zitostarted by making documentaries and then soon segued into directingfeature films:Abduction (1975) andThe Prowler (1981).
Zito often makes movies in exotic lands, having directed "Missing inAction" in Southeast Asia,Red Scorpion (1988) (starringDolph Lundgren) in Africa,Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (1999)in the Middle East andPower Play (2003) in South America."Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol", made on a grand scale, is ahard-hitting action adventure about a team of internationalpeacekeepers on a perilous search for a missing convoy of soldiers."Power Play", starringDylan Walsh andAlison Eastwood, is the story ofa newspaper reporter who, while investigating the mysteriousdisappearance of three radical environmentalists, uncovers unorthodoxscientific testing that is causing devastating earthquakes throughoutLos Angeles.
Zito is a frequent lecturer at universities and colleges around thecountry including USC, University of Ohio at Bowling Green and UCLA. Heis working in the Middle East as producer of a large-scale hospitaldrama television series.
BornMay 14, 1946
Producer
Director
Writer
- Alternative name
- Joseph Bigwood
- Born
- Spouse
- Bobbi Leigh Zito? - present
- Quotes[Talking aboutThe Prowler (1981)] It was extremely exciting, an absolutely wonderful time because what it did was it accessed audiences in movie theaters all over the world for very low-budget films that could be made by people without a great deal of experience. And that's a very very tough thing to accomplish today.
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