D. J. Caruso
Encyclopedia
Daniel John "D.J." Caruso (born January 17, 1965) is an American director and producer. Caruso has directed the films Disturbia
, Two for the Money
, Taking Lives
, The Salton Sea
, Eagle Eye
and I Am Number Four. He has also directed television episodes for shows such as The Shield
, Over There
, Smallville
, and Dark Angel
. He directed his first music video in 2007 for the song "Don't Make Me Wait" by This World Fair
. He was also a guest judge on the FOX
reality show On the Lot
for the episode of May 28/29. In 2009 he directed the music video for Airborne Toxic Event, Sometime Around Midnight
.
which starred Val Kilmer
. It was released in 2002.
In 2004, Caruso directed Taking Lives
with Angelina Jolie
, Ethan Hawke
and Kiefer Sutherland
. The film was released in theaters on March 16, 2004 but did not gross as much at box office as expected, only grossing $65,470,529. The film was later released on DVD the same year and was number one on the charts for three straight weeks.
Two for the Money was Caruso's next film which was considered "a well done sport thriller, but with too many details". The film was released on October 7, 2005 and was a moderate success, grossing $30,526,509 worldwide with a modest budget of $18 million. It was later released on DVD on January 17, 2006.
In 2007, Caruso was asked by Steven Spielberg
to direct Disturbia
. The movie was Caruso's first big hit grossing over $117 million, with only a $20 million budget. It starred Shia LaBeouf
, Sarah Roemer
, David Morse
, Aaron Yoo
, and Carrie-Anne Moss
. It was released April 13, 2007 in theaters and on DVD August 7.
Eagle Eye
was Caruso's second collaboration with Shia LaBeouf. It also starred Michelle Monaghan
, Billy Bob Thornton
, Rosario Dawson
and was released in theaters September 26, 2008. It was produced by Steven Spielberg. Critic reactions were mixed but, on its opening weekend the movie grossed $29.1 million dollars in 3,510 theaters in the United States and Canada. It has grossed $201 million worldwide with a movie budget of $80 million.
He directed 2011's I Am Number Four
, based on a book by Pittacus Lore.
Caruso is currently working on a film adaptation for Y: The Last Man
. It is rumored that it will be Caruso's third time working with LaBeouf. On July 24, 2009, it has also been announced that he will be working with Electronic Arts
on a movie based on the hit game Dead Space
. It was officially announced that he will directing the film adaptation of Preacher
.
. He graduated from Norwalk High School in 1983, and then Pepperdine University
. He is of Italian descent.
He married Holly Kuespert on July 6, 1991 and they have 5 children.
Disturbia (film)
Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window...
, Two for the Money
Two for the Money (film)
Two for the Money is a 2005 film directed by D. J. Caruso, starring Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey and Rene Russo. The film is about the world of sports gambling.-Plot:...
, Taking Lives
Taking Lives (film)
Taking Lives is a 2004 psychological thriller film starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. The film was marketed with the tagline "He would kill to be you."...
, The Salton Sea
The Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a 2002 American neo-noir film starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio directed by D. J. Caruso.-Plot:While playing the trumpet in a burning room, the protagonist's voice is heard in narration. His story begins with him posing as "Danny Parker", a speed freak addicted to...
, Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
and I Am Number Four. He has also directed television episodes for shows such as The Shield
The Shield
The Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
, Over There
Over There (TV series)
Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S...
, Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, and Dark Angel
Dark Angel (TV series)
Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...
. He directed his first music video in 2007 for the song "Don't Make Me Wait" by This World Fair
This World Fair
This World Fair was a rock act based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The line-up included the singer-songwriter Chris Kalgren , along with a touring band consisting of Alexander Young and Matt Lennander . This World Fair internationally released their first full-length album, self-titled This...
. He was also a guest judge on the FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
reality show On the Lot
On the Lot
On the Lot is a short-lived reality show competition produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, with the ultimate prize of a million dollar development deal at DreamWorks...
for the episode of May 28/29. In 2009 he directed the music video for Airborne Toxic Event, Sometime Around Midnight
Sometime Around Midnight
"Sometime Around Midnight" is a song by The Airborne Toxic Event from their self titled debut album, and was released as a UK single on February 2, 2009....
.
Directing career
His first feature film as a director was The Salton SeaThe Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a 2002 American neo-noir film starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio directed by D. J. Caruso.-Plot:While playing the trumpet in a burning room, the protagonist's voice is heard in narration. His story begins with him posing as "Danny Parker", a speed freak addicted to...
which starred Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
. It was released in 2002.
In 2004, Caruso directed Taking Lives
Taking Lives (film)
Taking Lives is a 2004 psychological thriller film starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. The film was marketed with the tagline "He would kill to be you."...
with Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
and Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
. The film was released in theaters on March 16, 2004 but did not gross as much at box office as expected, only grossing $65,470,529. The film was later released on DVD the same year and was number one on the charts for three straight weeks.
Two for the Money was Caruso's next film which was considered "a well done sport thriller, but with too many details". The film was released on October 7, 2005 and was a moderate success, grossing $30,526,509 worldwide with a modest budget of $18 million. It was later released on DVD on January 17, 2006.
In 2007, Caruso was asked by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
to direct Disturbia
Disturbia (film)
Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window...
. The movie was Caruso's first big hit grossing over $117 million, with only a $20 million budget. It starred Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
, Sarah Roemer
Sarah Roemer
Sarah Christine Roemer is an American model and actress. She is best known for her roles in the films Disturbia, Asylum, and Fired Up!.-Life and career:...
, David Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
, Aaron Yoo
Aaron Yoo
-Personal life:Aaron Yoo was born in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey to Korean parents. He has an older sister. He played the cello for the East Brunswick High School orchestra and ran track...
, and Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss
-External links:...
. It was released April 13, 2007 in theaters and on DVD August 7.
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye
Eagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
was Caruso's second collaboration with Shia LaBeouf. It also starred Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
, Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
, Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...
and was released in theaters September 26, 2008. It was produced by Steven Spielberg. Critic reactions were mixed but, on its opening weekend the movie grossed $29.1 million dollars in 3,510 theaters in the United States and Canada. It has grossed $201 million worldwide with a movie budget of $80 million.
He directed 2011's I Am Number Four
I Am Number Four
I Am Number Four is a 2011 American teen action science fiction film, directed by D. J. Caruso, starring Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Kevin Durand, and Callan McAuliffe...
, based on a book by Pittacus Lore.
Caruso is currently working on a film adaptation for Y: The Last Man
Y: The Last Man
Y: The Last Man is a comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra published by Vertigo beginning in 2002. The series is about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth...
. It is rumored that it will be Caruso's third time working with LaBeouf. On July 24, 2009, it has also been announced that he will be working with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
on a movie based on the hit game Dead Space
Dead Space (video game)
Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was made available on Steam on October 20, 2008...
. It was officially announced that he will directing the film adaptation of Preacher
Preacher (comics)
Preacher is a comic book series created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon, published by the American comic book label Vertigo , with painted covers by Glenn Fabry....
.
Personal life
Caruso was born in Norwalk, ConnecticutNorwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
. He graduated from Norwalk High School in 1983, and then Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
. He is of Italian descent.
He married Holly Kuespert on July 6, 1991 and they have 5 children.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | VR.5 VR.5 VR.5 was an American television program. It was broadcast on the Fox network from March 10 to May 12, 1995. Of the 13 episodes that were produced, only 10 aired during its original run.-Premise:... |
TV Series, unknown episodes |
| High Incident High Incident High Incident is a police drama series produced by DreamWorks Television for the ABC network. The show was created by Steven Spielberg, Michael Pavone, Eric Bogosian and Dave Alan Johnson... |
TV Series, unknown episodes | |
| 1997 | Cyclops, Baby | Short Film |
| 1998 | Black Cat Run | Made-for-TV Movie |
| Buddy Faro | TV Series, unknown episodes | |
| 1999 | Martial Law Martial Law (TV series) Martial Law was a TV crime drama that ran on CBS from 1998 to 2000, and was created by Carlton Cuse. The title character, Sammo Law, portrayed by Sammo Hung, was a Chinese law officer and martial arts expert who came to Los Angeles in search of a colleague and remains in the US.The show was a... |
TV Series, unknown episodes |
| Mind Prey | Made-for-TV Movie | |
| The Strip | TV Series, unknown episodes | |
| 2001 | Dark Angel Dark Angel (TV series) Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons... |
TV Series, 1 Episode, Season 1: Meow |
| Going to California Going to California (TV series) Going To California was an American comedic television series created for Showtime and airing from 2001 to 2002 on that channel. It starred primarily Sam Trammell and Brad William Henke as Kevin "Space" Lauglin and Henry "Hank" Ungalow respectively, two friends on a road trip across the continental... |
TV Series, unknown episodes | |
| 2002 | Robbery Homicide Division Robbery Homicide Division Robbery Homicide Division was an American police procedural television series on CBS, created by Barry Schindel with executive producer Michael Mann.-Premise:... |
TV Series, 2 episodes |
| The Salton Sea The Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a 2002 American neo-noir film starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio directed by D. J. Caruso.-Plot:While playing the trumpet in a burning room, the protagonist's voice is heard in narration. His story begins with him posing as "Danny Parker", a speed freak addicted to... |
Feature film debut | |
| Smallville Smallville (TV series) Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October... |
1 episode, Season 1: Shimmer | |
| 2002–2006 | The Shield | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 2004 | Taking Lives Taking Lives (film) Taking Lives is a 2004 psychological thriller film starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. The film was marketed with the tagline "He would kill to be you."... |
Film |
| 2005 | Two For The Money Two for the Money (film) Two for the Money is a 2005 film directed by D. J. Caruso, starring Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey and Rene Russo. The film is about the world of sports gambling.-Plot:... |
Film |
| Over There Over There (TV series) Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S... |
TV Series, 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Disturbia Disturbia (film) Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window... |
Film |
| 2008 | Eagle Eye Eagle Eye Eagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization... |
Film |
| 2011 | I Am Number Four | Film |
| Inside | Film |