Oren Peli
Encyclopedia
Oren Peli is an Israel
i-born American film director
, producer
and screenwriter
, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer
.
. Despite a $15,000 budget, he managed to create a box-office hit out of the horror film.
Peli moved into his first house all alone and without family nearby. Peli would hear creaks and knocks without having anyone around and it gave him the idea to make a movie about the weird noises you may hear in your home. Paranormal Activity came about with the idea that someone would have cameras running all over a house while the family slept to catch what was going on at night in the house.
After the success of Paranormal Activity, Peli began to play with the idea of doing similar low-budget horror films in order to capture audiences in a new and unique way. Peli was stuck on the idea of doing films in an "old-style" way. Peli and his production team approached director James Wan
and writer Leigh Whannell
with their idea; it only took five months for Peli and his collective team to get the film rolling. While Insidious was not shot in the characteristic Blair Witch-style, it incorporated some classic suspense elements from the earlier eras of horror films. Peli was mostly present in the post-production of this film, having handed over full creative control to Wan and Whannell; his formula of low-budget meets classic horror once again hit box offices with a strong positive response from audiences.
, Area 51
and The Bay
, all due for release in 2012. is also the acting screenwriter and director for his upcoming film, Area 51, a story of three friends set out to discover the secrets of the fabled Area 51. He is helping to produce The Bay, a Lionsgate biological-outbreak horror film told through characters' home-video footage; and The Lords of Salem, a production directed by Rob Zombie set in the town of Salem, MA as it is terrorized by a coven of witches.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-born American film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, producer
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity. He is also a video game programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
.
Biography
Oren Peli was born in Israel. When he reached the age of 19, he relocated to the United States. He was an intensive student of animation and graphic design and that helped him to become the successful director he is today. Peli is not only a film director but is also a screenwriter. In 2009, his film debut Paranormal Activity was released, with inspiration from The Blair Witch ProjectThe Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...
. Despite a $15,000 budget, he managed to create a box-office hit out of the horror film.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Writer | Cinematographer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 2007 in film This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007... |
Paranormal Activity | |||||
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Paranormal Activity 2 Paranormal Activity 2 Paranormal Activity 2 is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry. The film is a parallel prequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film... |
|||||
| Insidious Insidious (film) Insidious is a 2011 American independent supernatural horror film written by Leigh Whannell, directed by James Wan, and starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey. The story centers on a couple whose son inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for ghosts... |
||||||
| 2011 | Paranormal Activity 3 Paranormal Activity 3 Paranormal Activity 3 is a 2011 American supernatural horror film. It is the third film of the Paranormal Activity series and serves as a prequel, set 18 years prior to the events of the first two films... |
|||||
| 2012 | ||||||
| Lords of Salem | ||||||
| 2013 | Area 51 Area 51 (film) Area 51 is a science-fiction film picture written and directed by Oren Peli, the director of Paranormal Activity and starring Benjamin Rovner, Reid Warner and Darrin Bragg.-Cast:* Sandra Staggs* Ben Rovner as Ethan Cole... |
Career
Oren Peli started out as a computer software programmer and his first movie was Paranormal Activity. He took a stab at directing, aware of how to utilize filmmaking technology and confident that he could direct a movie that dealt a lot with technology.Peli moved into his first house all alone and without family nearby. Peli would hear creaks and knocks without having anyone around and it gave him the idea to make a movie about the weird noises you may hear in your home. Paranormal Activity came about with the idea that someone would have cameras running all over a house while the family slept to catch what was going on at night in the house.
After the success of Paranormal Activity, Peli began to play with the idea of doing similar low-budget horror films in order to capture audiences in a new and unique way. Peli was stuck on the idea of doing films in an "old-style" way. Peli and his production team approached director James Wan
James Wan
James Wan is a Malaysian-born Australian producer, screenwriter, and film director of Chinese heritage. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw and creating Billy the puppet. He also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.-Life and career:Wan was born in Kuching, Sarawak,...
and writer Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell
Leigh Whannell is an Australian screenwriter, producer, and actor, best known for his work on the Saw franchise.-Life and career:...
with their idea; it only took five months for Peli and his collective team to get the film rolling. While Insidious was not shot in the characteristic Blair Witch-style, it incorporated some classic suspense elements from the earlier eras of horror films. Peli was mostly present in the post-production of this film, having handed over full creative control to Wan and Whannell; his formula of low-budget meets classic horror once again hit box offices with a strong positive response from audiences.
Upcoming films
Peli has three movies in pre-production. The Lords of SalemThe Lords of Salem
"The Lords of Salem" is a song on Rob Zombie's third solo album, Educated Horses, from 2006. It can also be found on Zombie's greatest hits album, The Best of Rob Zombie, Zombie Live , and the soundtrack for The Covenant....
, Area 51
Area 51 (film)
Area 51 is a science-fiction film picture written and directed by Oren Peli, the director of Paranormal Activity and starring Benjamin Rovner, Reid Warner and Darrin Bragg.-Cast:* Sandra Staggs* Ben Rovner as Ethan Cole...
and The Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
, all due for release in 2012. is also the acting screenwriter and director for his upcoming film, Area 51, a story of three friends set out to discover the secrets of the fabled Area 51. He is helping to produce The Bay, a Lionsgate biological-outbreak horror film told through characters' home-video footage; and The Lords of Salem, a production directed by Rob Zombie set in the town of Salem, MA as it is terrorized by a coven of witches.