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Dimitri Logothetis

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Dimitri Logothetis
Logothetis in August 2023
Born
Athens, Greece
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • actor
Websitedimitrisite.com

Dimitri Logothetis is a Greek-American filmmaker and actor.

Early life

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Logothetis was born in Athens, the son of Anna and Euthymios Logothetis.[1] His father had previously lived with family in Los Angeles, where he became an American citizen and worked as a mechanic for eight years before returning to Athens. When Logothetis was six years old, he moved with his parents to Los Angeles; he attended Beverly Vista Grammar School and Lawndale High School, where he played football and ran track, before moving on to Loyola Marymount University.

Career

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In his last year of university, Logothetis was hired by Capitol Records to record the American tour of rock band The Knack.[citation needed] He was then hired by Columbia Pictures to produce his first film, Hardbodies 2. In 1987, he directed his first feature film Pretty Smart,[2] and developed the horror film Slaughterhouse Rock. In 1989, he made a documentary about five heavyweight boxers who dominated the sport in their time, Champions Forever, starring Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Danny Aiello then came to Logothetis with a stage play, Wheel Barrel Closers, which Logothetis adapted for the screen and directed under the title The Closer, starring Aiello, Diane Baker and Michael Paré. He then acquired the rights to a Stephen King script written specifically for the screen, and produced Sleepwalkers for Columbia Pictures.

In 1994, Logothetis directed and produced Body Shot,[3] a film noir thriller starring Robert Patrick, for HBO. He then moved into the Western genre and produced and directed Cheyenne,[4] starring Bo Svensen and Gary Hudson.

In 1999, Logothetis was hired by Warner Brothers and directed the pilot for the television series Robin Hood.[5]

He directed Mike Hammer,[6] starring Stacy Keach, for Franklin Waterman. He then directed the pilot episode for the action adventure series Air America, starring Lorenzo Lamas, and went on to direct eight more episodes.

In 2000, Logothetis was hired by Warner Brothers to be the executive producer of the science fiction action adventure TV series Code Name: Eternity. He was responsible for the creative look and feel of the series and for writing and directing the pilot episode. The next year, Warner Brothers asked him to serve as executive producer and to direct another TV anthology, The Dark Realm, where he edited the two-hour pilot episode and supervised the screenwriting.

In 2010, Logothetis became President of Production at Kings Road Entertainment.[7] He then re-developed and wrote a series called The Outfit,[8] again based on Giancana, that he set up with Radar Pictures and producer Ted Field. He then set up a remake of All of Me with John Davis and DreamWorks,[9] which he is set to produce. DreamWorks let the option on All of Me expire and Logothetis teamed up with Todd Garner to set up All of Me as a TV series at NBC Universal.[10]

In 2013, Logothetis took up Giancana again, and along with his project partner Nick Celozzi, wrote, produced and directed a documentary on him, Momo: The Sam Giancana Story, which won the 2012 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival "Best Feature Documentary" award.[11] In 2015, he produced Kickboxer: Vengeance,[12] a reboot of the Kickboxer franchise, with Ted Field and Radar Pictures.

Logothetis wrote and produced Kickboxer: Vengeance starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and the new kickboxer, Alain Moussi, with other talents such as Dave Bautista, Georges Saint-Pierre, and Gina Carano. Logothetis was attracted to the original Jean-Claude Van Damme's Kickboxer because of his martial arts background and that's what inspired him to pursue the rights to the original, develop a reboot of the franchise and ultimately write, produce and direct a contemporary version of the pop culture, iconic Kickboxer. It was important that Logothetis to convince Van Damme to step into the role of mentor to ordain a new, high octane Kickboxer who has a sixth degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, Alain Moussi. According to Den of Geek, “ Kickboxer: Vengeance is the nostalgic treat you'd hoped for, the cinematic equivalent of an old, warm, blood stained blanket, that you wrap yourself up in and then hope more people will want to join you under, but most likely won't. There is a strange comfort to watching familiar events unfold from a new perspective, but it's the respectful way it treats the original that makes it such good entertainment for long time Kickboxer fans”.[13] “Kickboxer: Vengeance is a pleasant surprise with a fun twist on the 80s action film but set in modern-day Thailand, and a knowing self-reflexive quality that actually makes it a really enjoyable twist. If you enjoy martial arts, action, a bit of tongue-in-cheek comedy or if you just enjoyed the original Kickboxer, then check out Kickboxer: Vengeance.” - Screen Jabber.[14]

In 2016, Logothetis wrote and directed the sequel, Kickboxer: Retaliation, which introduced new characters, Mongkut, played by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Thomas Moore, played by Christopher Lambert. Kickboxer: Retaliation got 92% from critics and 84% from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes.[15] Kickboxer: Retaliation is #6 Martial Arts Movie on Netflix with the Highest Rotten Tomatoes Score.[16] According to Men's Health, during the week of September 29, 2020, Kickboxer: Vengeance film was in the top 15 most viewed action films on Netflix.[17] "Kickboxer Retaliation" is one of the Best Action Movies of 2018"[18] and is in The Top 50 Action Gems of the Decade.[19] According to Forbes, “If you aren't watching the new Kickboxer movies, you're doing it wrong. As action reboots go, the Kickboxer remake films–Vengeance, and now Retaliation–nail the action vibe better than The Expendables movies ever did, and without necessarily pandering to nostalgia, either".[20]

2020 saw the release of Logothetis's science fiction martial arts film Jiu Jitsu starring Alain Moussi, Nicolas Cage, and Tony Jaa. Shot on the island of Cyprus, it was the beginning of a new martial arts franchise.[21] It was #4 on Netflix in the US and #1 on Netflix in Canada the week of its release.

Logothetis most recently completed production on Gunner, an actioner starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth.[22] Gunner has been released in US and Canada by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Gunner ranked #8 across all genres on Apple TV in the U.S. and reached #3 in the Action & Adventure category during its release week.

Future projects

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Logothetis is developing two Kings Road Entertainment properties: All of Me, a remake of the film that starred Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin; and The Best of Times, a remake of the film that starred Kurt Russell and Robin Williams. Logothetis is producing these projects with Todd Garner, former President of production of Disney.[citation needed] Logothetis is also in the pre-production process for the third and final film in his Kickboxer reboot trilogy, Kickboxer: Armageddon, a new action thriller, Flying Shadow, as well as a sequel to Jiu Jitsu.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Greek American producer optimistic about shooting films in Cyprus".
  2. ^ "Pretty Smart (1987)".
  3. ^ Hal Erickson (2008). "Body-Shot – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes – NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  4. ^ Cammila Albertson (2007). "Cheyenne – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes – NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  5. ^ "The New Adventures of Robin Hood (an Episode Guide)". Epguides.com. 2005-05-14. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  6. ^ "Mike Hammer, Private Eye: Season 2, Episode 10: The Maya Connection (26 April 1998)". IMDb.com. 26 April 1998. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  7. ^ Des Lauriers Communications | Past And Future Both Alive At Kings Road Entertainment Archived 2014-01-12 at the Wayback Machine. Newswire.ca (2011-03-16). Retrieved on 2013-09-11.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave. (2010-10-14) Ted Field teams with pair on Chicago mob story. Variety. Retrieved on 2013-09-11.
  9. ^ "DreamWorks to Remake All of Me". ComingSoon.net. 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  10. ^ "'All of Me' TV Series Remake in Works at NBC". 23 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Giancana doc snares awards, screens Friday in Hollywood — Film Noir Blonde". Filmnoirblonde.com. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  12. ^ Yamato, Jen (25 July 2013). "Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'Kickboxer' & 'Bloodsport' Get Reboots". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  13. ^ "Kickboxer: Vengeance review". Den of Geek. 4 October 2016.
  14. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190318083919/https://screenjabber.com/reviews/kickboxer-vengeance-2016-movie-review/. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "Kickboxer: Retaliation". Metacritic.
  16. ^ "The 13 Martial Arts Movies on Netflix with the Highest Rotten Tomatoes Score'". Desider. 9 July 2019.
  17. ^ "The 27 Best Action Movies on Netflix Right Now". Men's Health. 29 September 2020.
  18. ^ "The Best Action Movies of 2018'". Thrillist. 25 April 2019.
  19. ^ "The Top 50 Action Gems of the Decade'". Bulletproofaction. 10 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Review: 'Kickboxer: Retaliation' Brings The Spirit Of '80s Action Into A New Era'". Bulletproofaction. 22 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Dimitri Logothetis on the Martial Arts Magic of JIU JITSU".
  22. ^ Deadline. 17 August 2023 https://deadline.com/director/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ Deadline. 17 August 2023 https://deadline.com/director/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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