Tony Randel

This article is about the film director. For the actor, see Tony Randall.

Tony Randel (born May 29, 1956) is a Portuguese/American film director and screenwriter.^[1][2]

Early life

Randel grew up in West Los Angeles and attended University High School. He went on to study at Santa Monica College before transferring to California State University, Northridge, where he majored in film production. During his high school and college years, Randel worked as a grocery clerk at Lucky Market, with locations in both the Palms and Brentwood neighborhoods of Los Angeles. To this day, Randel maintains friendships with people he met during his supermarket days.

He loves to tell the story of meeting a very engaging woman while checking out her groceries. She mentioned she worked in the motion picture business for Anne Bancroft. Before she revealed the name, Randel was already suspicious—her mannerisms and presence reminded him of Anne Bancroft, one of his favorite actors. Her mention of the name confirmed his suspicions. Years later, Randel met her husband, Mel Brooks, to whom he recounted the encounter and passed along his regards.

Film career

Randel began his career working in the mailroom for B movie icon Roger Corman. Within a few weeks, he transitioned into editorial work on Battle Beyond the Stars—a film more famous for the careers it launched than for the film itself.

In 1985, Randel (credited as Anthony Randel) produced the New World Pictures rework of the Japanese The Return of Godzilla into the English film Godzilla 1985. Randel's breakthrough into directing came when Randel, who had supervised the production of Clive Barker's Hellraiser, was hired by New World's President of Production, Steve White, to direct the sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II.^[3] It received mixed reviews, but was a financial success. Randel also directed the live-action film adaptation of the manga Fist of the North Star.^[4] The film premiered on HBO and was released to video. He also directed one of Fangoria's low-budget films, Children of the Night (1991), which one critic described as obviously low budget, but with striking scenes.^[5]

Personal life

Randel is married and has three children. In addition to his film career, he has stated his "other love" is radio. He has been a licensed amateur radio operator^[6] since 1968.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1985	Def-Con 4	Yes	No	No	Uncredited
	Godzilla 1985	No	Yes	Yes	U.S. Version, Uncredited
	Grunt! The Wrestling Movie	No	Yes	Yes	credited as Anthony Randel
1988	Hellbound: Hellraiser II	Yes	No	No
1991	Inside Out	Yes	Yes	No	segments: "Brush Strokes" & "The Leda"
	Children of the Night	Yes	Yes	No
1992	Inside Out 2	Yes	Yes	No	segment: "The Freak"
	Amityville 1992: It's About Time	Yes	No	No
	Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth	No	Yes	No	Story by
1993	Ticks	Yes	No	No
1995	Fist of the North Star	Yes	Yes	No
1996	One Good Turn	Yes	No	No
	Rattled	Yes	No	No	TV movie
1998	Assignment Berlin [de]	Yes	No	No
2006	Sleeping Dogs Lie	No	No	Yes
2008	The Double Born	Yes	Yes	No
2015	Hybrids	Yes	No	Yes
2016	A Doggone Christmas	No	No	Yes
2017	A Doggone Hollywood	No	No	Yes
2018	A Doggone Adventure	Yes	No	Yes