# Matthew F. Leonetti

Matthew Frank Leonetti A.S.C. (born July 31, 1941) is an American cinematographer.
Accomplished and highly prolific, he has worked on dozens of well-known and acclaimed films spanning numerous genres, including Poltergeist, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Weird Science, Jagged Edge, Strange Days, and Star Trek: First Contact.

## Early life

Leonetti was born in Los Angeles, California in 1941. His father Frank was a filmmaker and cinematographer who served as a gaffer and lighting technician on low-budget B-movies like The Violent Years, Frankenstein's Daughter, and Beyond the Time Barrier.

## Career

Leonetti began his career working on a number of projects with his father, serving as a camera operator on films like Adam at 6 A.M. and The Organization. He soon fell in with Jerry Jameson, a prolific television director who dabbled in feature films.
His debut as cinematographer was The Bat People, a horror B-movie directed by Jameson and starring Stewart Moss and Michael Pataki, on which he also served as an executive producer. Though the film came and went with little fanfare, it did gain a minor cult following years later after being featured on an episode Mystery Science Theater 3000. Leonetti spent much of the 1970s shooting made-for-television films directed by Jameson.
In 1979, Leonetti shot his first big-budget theatrical film in the form of the Academy Award-winning Breaking Away, directed by Peter Yates. Three years later, he shot the Academy Award-nominated Poltergeist, where he was responsible for creating many of the film's iconic images. This proved to be his big break, and in the following years he quickly became one of the most prolific and accomplished DPs in the film industry, shooting films like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Weird Science, Commando, and Jagged Edge. In 1987, he began a collaboration with director Walter Hill, which would continue of the course of several films into the 1990s. Throughout that decade, he would work with directors like Kenneth Branagh, Kathryn Bigelow, and William Dear. His work on the cult science fiction noir Strange Days earned him a nomination for Best Cinematography from the Chicago Film Critics Association. He shot two entries in the Star Trek film franchise, and served as DP on his brother John R. Leonetti's directorial debut, Mortal Kombat Annihilation.
In the early 2000s, Leonetti shot a string of blockbuster thriller and action films; including Along Came a Spider, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Rush Hour 2, and The Butterfly Effect. He shot the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, which served as the feature film debut of director Zack Snyder. Since 2006, he has mostly worked on comedy films, many of which are directed by the Farrelly Brothers. In 2015, he was the recipient of a Special Honor Prize, the President's Award, from the American Society of Cinematographers.

## Personal life

Leonetti has a younger brother, John, who is himself a prolific cinematographer and occasional film director. He is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1974 | The Bat People | Jerry Jameson | Also credited as executive producer |
| 1977 | Mr. Billion | Jonathan Kaplan | |
| 1977 | The Chicken Chronicles | Frank Simon | |
| 1977 | American Raspberry | Bradley R. Swirnoff | |
| 1979 | Breaking Away | Peter Yates | |
| 1980 | Raise the Titanic | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1981 | Eyewitness | Peter Yates | |
| 1982 | Poltergeist | Tobe Hooper | |
| 1982 | Fast Times at Ridgemont High | Amy Heckerling | |
| 1984 | The Buddy System | Glenn Jordan | |
| 1984 | The Ice Pirates | Stewart Raffill | |
| 1984 | Songwriter | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1985 | Fast Forward | Sidney Poitier | |
| 1985 | Weird Science | John Hughes | |
| 1985 | Jagged Edge | Richard Marquand | |
| 1985 | Commando | Mark L. Lester | |
| 1986 | Jumpin' Jack Flash | Penny Marshall | |
| 1987 | Extreme Prejudice | Walter Hill | |
| 1987 | Dragnet | Tom Mankiewicz | |
| 1988 | Action Jackson | Craig R. Baxley | |
| 1988 | Red Heat | Walter Hill | |
| 1989 | Johnny Handsome | Walter Hill | |
| 1990 | Hard to Kill | Bruce Malmuth | |
| 1990 | Another 48 Hrs. | Walter Hill | |
| 1991 | Dead Again | Kenneth Branagh | |
| 1992 | Leap of Faith | Richard Pearce | |
| 1994 | Angels in the Outfield | William Dear | |
| 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame | Keenen Ivory Wayans | |
| 1995 | Strange Days | Kathryn Bigelow | Nominated- CFCA Award for Best Cinematography |
| 1996 | Fled | Kevin Hooks | |
| 1996 | Star Trek: First Contact | Jonathan Frakes | |
| 1997 | Mortal Kombat Annihilation | John R. Leonetti | |
| 1998 | Species II | Peter Medak | |
| 1998 | Star Trek: Insurrection | Jonathan Frakes | |
| 2001 | Along Came a Spider | Lee Tamahori | |
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 | Brett Ratner | |
| 2003 | 2 Fast 2 Furious | John Singleton | |
| 2004 | The Butterfly Effect | Eric Bress J. Mackye Gruber | |
| 2004 | Dawn of the Dead | Zack Snyder | |
| 2005 | Fever Pitch | The Farrelly Brothers | |
| 2005 | Santa's Slay | David Steiman | |
| 2006 | Accepted | Steve Pink | |
| 2007 | Pride | Sunu Gornea | |
| 2007 | The Heartbreak Kid | The Farrelly Brothers | |
| 2008 | What Happens in Vegas | Tom Vaughan | |
| 2008 | Soul Men | Malcolm D. Lee | |
| 2011 | Hall Pass | The Farrelly Brothers | |
| 2012 | The Three Stooges | The Farrelly Brothers | |
| 2014 | Dumb and Dumber To | The Farrelly Brothers | |
| TBA | At the Hop | John R. Leonetti | |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2000 | Bear to the Right | Matthew F. Leonetti Jr. | |
| 2013 | The Pitch | Peter Farrelly | Segments of Movie 43 |
| 2013 | Truth or Dare | Peter Farrelly | Segments of Movie 43 |

### Television

TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1974 | The Elevator | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1974 | Hurricane | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1974 | Terror on the 40th Floor | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1974 | It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy | Cy Howard | |
| 1975 | The Secret Night Caller | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1975 | Search for the Gods | Jud Taylor | |
| 1975 | The Deadly Tower | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1975 | The Lives of Jenny Dolan | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1976 | High Risk | Sam O'Steen | |
| 1976 | The Call of the Wild | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1977 | The Spell | Lee Philips | |
| 1977 | Flight to Holocaust | Bernard L. Kowalski | |
| 1977 | The Hostage Heart | Bernard McEveety | |
| 1978 | Superdome | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1978 | Ruby and Oswald | Mel Stuart | |
| 1978 | Special Olympics | Lee Philips | With John V. LaBarbera |
| 1978 | The Comedy Company | Lee Philips | |
| 1978 | A Fire in the Sky | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1979 | The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal | Mel Stuart | |
| 1979 | Willa | Joan Darling Claudio Guzmán | |
| 1979 | Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love | Glenn Jordan | |
| 1980 | Turnover Smith | Bernard L. Kowalski | |
| 1981 | Crazy Times | Lee Philips | |
| 1981 | Stand By Your Man | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1982 | Mae West | Lee Philips | |
| 1982 | Hotline | Jerry Jameson | |
| 1982 | E.T. and Friends: Magical Movie Visitors | Malcolm Leo Andrew Solt | Documentary film |
| 1983 | Happy | Lee Philips | |
| 1986 | American Geisha | Lee Philips | |
| 1986 | Under the Influence | Thomas Carter | |
| 1988 | Secret Witness | Eric Laneuville | |
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1975 | Bronk | Richard Donner | Episode "Pilot" |
| 1976 | Jigsaw John | Allen Reisner Reza Badiyi Charles S. Dubin | 3 episodes |
| 1978 | The American Girls | Lee Philips | Episode "The Phoenix Connection" |
| 1982 | Tucker's Witch | Peter H. Hunt | Episode "The Good Witch of Laurel Canyon" |
| 1983 | Lottery! | Lee Philips | Episode "Being a Winner" |
| 1984 | Jessie | Richard Michaels | Episode "Pilot" |
| 2008 | Unhitched | The Farrelly Brothers | Episode "Pilot" |

## Literature

* Kay Weniger: Das große Personenlexikon des Films, Band 4, Page 690, Berlin (2001) ISBN 3-89602-340-3