Dimitri Logothetis

Dimitri Logothetis is a Greek-American[2] actor, director and producer.

Dimitri Logothetis
Born
Athens, Greece[1]
OccupationProducer/Director/Writer/Actor
Websitedimitrisite.com

Early life

Logothetis was born in Athens, Greece,[3] and immigrated to the United States of America at the age of six with his mother, Anna, and his father, Euthymios. During World War II, Dimitri's father was captured after the Nazis invaded Greece and was sent to a work camp in Berlin. He remained there for the duration of the war. After moving to the United States to join his family, Dimitri's father spent eight years working as a mechanic in Los Angeles and became an American citizen.

Logothetis attended Beverly Vista Grammar School and Lawndale High School in the Los Angeles South Bay area where he played football and ran track. In 1975, Logothetis received a black belt in Tang Soo Do from world champion martial arts Master Howard Jackson.[4] He then studied Kempo from master Ed Parker, who trained Elvis Presley and Chuck Norris. Logothetis received his black belt in Kempo in 1978.

Career

Logothetis appeared in several films, including New York, New York, Victory at Entebbe, and The Choirboys. While he was working on New York, New York, Martin Scorsese suggested that he attend film school because of his skillful storytelling. He got a scholarship and attended Loyola Marymount University, where he received a Master of Arts in film and television directing. There he adapted a Woody Allen short story, "Mr. Big," and made it his thesis short film, calling it Call Me Kaiser.[5] He directed, produced and starred in the film, which won prizes at the Athens, Ohio International Film Festival and in 1979 the award for "Best Short Film" at the Samuel Z. Arkoff film festival.

In his last year at Loyola, Logothetis was hired by Capitol Records to direct a documentary about the US tour of the rock band The Knack. He was then hired by Columbia Pictures to produce his first film, Hardbodies 2.

In 1987 he directed his first feature film for New World Pictures, Pretty Smart, and developed a horror film, Slaughterhouse Rock, for United Artists. In 1989 he made a documentary about five heavyweight boxers who dominated the sport in their time, Champions Forever, with 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,[6] a film noir thriller starring Robert Patrick, for HBO. He then moved into the Western genre and produced and directed Cheyenne,[7] starring Bo Svensen and Gary Hudson.

In 1999 Logothetis was hired by Warner Brothers and directed the pilot for the television series Robin Hood.[8]

He directed Mike Hammer,[9] 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.

He then developed, produced and directed a Lifetime world premier film, The Lost Angel,[10] starring Alison Eastwood, Judd Nelson and John Rhys Davies. Logothetis, along with his long-time friend Nick Celozzi, acquired the life story rights to Sam Giancana, the 1960s Chicago mob boss, and set up as well as wrote a six-hour mini-series on him for Mark Wolper and TNT.[11]

In 2010, Logothetis became President of Production at Kings Road Entertainment,[12] which had previously made The Best of Times with Robin Williams, Kickboxer with Jean-Claude Van Damme, and All of Me with Steve Martin. He then re-developed and wrote a series called The Outfit,[13] 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,[14] which he is set to produce.

In 2013, Logothetis took up Giancana again, and along with his project partner Nick Celozzis, wrote, produced and directed a documentary on him, Momo: The Sam Giancana Story, which won The 2013 Monaco Film festival, "Best Feature Documentary" award[15] and the 2012 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival "Best Feature Documentary" award.[16] In 2015, he produced Kickboxer: Vengeance,[17] 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.

Kickboxer: Vengeance was such a successful independent feature on the global market and generated a sequel. In 2016, Logothetis wrote and directed the sequel, Kickboxer: Retaliation, which introduced new characters played by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Christopher Lambert.

2020 saw the release of Dimitri's science fiction martial arts film Jiu Jitsu starring Alain Moussi, Nicolas Cage, and Tony Jaa. Jiu Jitsu is the beginning of a new martial arts franchise.[18]

Future projects

Dimitri has acquired the rights to Man of War, a Gary Scott Thompson original screenplay. Gary wrote and created the six-billion-dollar Fast and Furious Universal Pictures film franchise. Dimitri is developing two other Kings properties as well, All of Me, a remake of the original film that starred Steve Martin and Lilly Tomlin, and The Best of Times, a remake of the original film that starred Kurt Russell and Robin Williams. Dimitri is producing these projects with Todd Garner, former President of production of Disney. Dimitri is also in the pre-production process for the third and final film in his Kickboxer reboot trilogy, Kickboxer: Armageddon.

References
  1. https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/40500-greek-american-producer-optimistic-about-shooting-films-in-cyprus.html
  2. https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/40500-greek-american-producer-optimistic-about-shooting-films-in-cyprus.html
  3. https://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/thematic-tourism/40500-greek-american-producer-optimistic-about-shooting-films-in-cyprus.html/
  4. Durand, Michel. "USA karate story : Chuck Norris – Joe Lewis – Bill Wallace: Howard Jackson, a very talented champion". Karate-in-english-lewis-wallace.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  5. "Biography for Dimitri Logothetis". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  6. "Body-Shot – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes – NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. 2013-08-31. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  7. "Cheyenne – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes – NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  8. "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.
  9. "Mike Hammer, Private Eye: Season 2, Episode 10: The Maya Connection (26 April 1998)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  10. "Reviews & Ratings for The Lost Angel More". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  11. "Giancana coming to TNT". The Chicago Syndicate. 2005-09-08. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  12. Des Lauriers Communications | Past And Future Both Alive At Kings Road Entertainment. Newswire.ca (2011-03-16). Retrieved on 2013-09-11.
  13. McNary, Dave. (2010-10-14) Ted Field teams with pair on Chicago mob story. Variety. Retrieved on 2013-09-11.
  14. "DreamWorks to Remake All of Me". ComingSoon.net. 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  15. "Awards 2013 – MONACO CHARITY FILM FESTIVAL". Monacofilmfestival.de. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  16. "Giancana doc snares awards, screens Friday in Hollywood — Film Noir Blonde". Filmnoirblonde.com. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  17. Yamato, Jen. "Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'Kickboxer' & 'Bloodsport' Get Reboots". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  18. https://nerdist.com/article/jiu-jitsu-director-dimitri-logothetis-interview/
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