Abel Ferrara

Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951)[1] is an American Following his television work, Ferrara directed several
filmmaker, known for the provocative and often contro- feature films: China Girl (1987), a modern retelling of
versial content in his films, his use of neo-noir imagery West Side Story as a gang war between the Chinese tong
and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent film- and the Italian Mafia; the made-for-television vigilante
maker, some of his best known films include Ms. 45 action thriller The Gladiator (1987) with Nancy Allen;
(1981), King of New York (1990), Bad Lieutenant (1992) and Cat Chaser (1989), starring Peter Weller.
and The Funeral (1996). Next, Ferrara created one of his most well-known films,
King of New York (1990), starring Christopher Walken
as gangster Frank White, who runs a group of black drug
1 Early life dealers, including one played by Laurence Fishburne.
The cast included Wesley Snipes and David Caruso. As
Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish with most of Ferrara’s films, the screenplay was written
descent.[2] He was raised Catholic, which had a later ef- by Nicholas St. John.
fect on much of his work.[3] At 15 he moved to Peekskill Ferrara next directed Harvey Keitel in an acclaimed per-
in Westchester, New York. He attended the film con- formance as the titular Bad Lieutenant (1992). Keitel
servatory at SUNY Purchase, where he directed several plays a foul-mouthed, sex-addicted drug-using cop who
short films, most of which are all available on The Short wrestles with guilt and eventually seeks redemption in a
Films of Abel Ferrara collection. Soon finding himself Catholic church. The script was co-written by Ms. 45 star
out of work, he directed a pornographic film titled 9 Zoë Tamerlis. Both Ferrara and Keitel were nominated
Lives of a Wet Pussy in 1976,[4] which starred his then- for Spirit Awards and, despite its controversial content,
girlfriend. Interviewed by The Guardian in 2010, he re- the film was lauded by critics. Director Martin Scorsese
called having to step in front of the camera for one scene also named it one of his top 10 films of the 1990s.[6]
to perform in a hardcore sex scene: “It’s bad enough pay-
ing a guy $200 to fuck your girlfriend, then he can't get it Ferrara was then hired for two Hollywood studio films: a
up.”[5] second remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, titled
Body Snatchers (1993), for Warner Bros.; and Dangerous
Game (1993), starring Keitel and Madonna, for MGM.
2 Early career In the mid-1990s Ferrara returned to independent film-
making, directing two well-received movies: The Ad-
diction (1995)[7] and The Funeral (1996).[8] The Addic-
Ferrara first drew a cult audience with his grindhouse
tion, photographed in black-and-white, starred Lili Tay-
movie The Driller Killer (1979), an urban slasher in the
lor as a New York University philosophy student who
mold of Taxi Driver (1976), about an artist (played by
succumbs to a vampire as she studies the problem of
Ferrara himself under the alias Jimmy Laine) who goes
evil and philosophical pedagogy, represented by the most
on a killing spree with a drill in hand. He followed
violent events of the 20th century. The film also fea-
it with Ms. 45 (1981), a “rape revenge” film starring
tures Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco,
Zoë Tamerlis, who later scripted Bad Lieutenant. Fer-
Paul Calderon, Kathryn Erbe and Michael Imperioli. It
rara was next hired to direct Fear City (1984), starring
was also co-produced by Russell Simmons. The Fu-
Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Rae
neral starred Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Isabella
Dawn Chong and María Conchita Alonso. True to form,
Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo and others.
it depicted a seedy Times Square strip club, where a
“kung fu slasher” stalks and murders the girls after work. In 1996 he directed a music video for French singer
Berenger portrayed a disgraced boxer who has to use his Mylène Farmer's song "California".
fighting skills to defeat the killer.
Ferrara then worked on two Michael Mann-produced
television series, directing the two-hour pilot for Crime 3 Later career
Story (aired 18 September 1986), starring Dennis Farina,
along with two episodes of the series Miami Vice: “The After making The Blackout (1997) with Matthew Modine
Home Invaders” (aired 15 March 1985, in season 1) and and Dennis Hopper, he contributed to the omnibus HBO–
“The Dutch Oven” (aired 25 October 1985, in season 2). television movie Subway Stories. Ferrara then made New

1
2 7 RECURRING COLLABORATORS

Rose Hotel (1998), which reunited him with Christopher This is Dafoe’s third collaboration with Ferrara after
Walken. 1998’s New Rose Hotel and his last feature film, 2007’s Go
Go Tales. The film was shot in one location, an apartment,
set during the course of the last 24 hours before the bibli-
cal apocalypse. Ferrara’s longtime cinematographer Ken
Kelsch shot the film. 4:44 – Last Day on Earth competed
at the 68th Venice International Film Festival in Septem-
ber 2011 and released in theatres in March 2012.[11] In
April 2013, Ferrara began shooting a fictionalized ver-
sion of the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case
titled Welcome to New York. It stars Gérard Depardieu in
the role of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Jacqueline Bis-
set as Anne Sinclair.[12] It was released on May 17, 2014
on VOD because the film failed to be picked up for the-
atrical distribution.[13]
He recently finished shooting a biographical film titled
Ferrara in 2008.
Pasolini about the acclaimed Italian director, poet, jour-
nalist and intellectual who was murdered in 1975. The
[14]
Ferrara returned three years later with 'R Xmas (2001), film stars Willem Dafoe in the title role.
which starred Drea de Matteo and Ice-T. After record- It has been confirmed that Ferrara and Dafoe will col-
ing two commentaries for Driller Killer and King of laborate for a fifth time in a film inspired by Carl Jung's
New York, he made Mary (2005), the religious-themed The Red Book. The script has been written by Ferrara
film starring Forest Whitaker, Marion Cotillard, Juliette and Chris Zois and will be titled Siberia.[15][16] Isabelle
Binoche, Heather Graham, Stefania Rocca and Matthew Huppert and Nicolas Cage will co-star with Dafoe.[17]
Modine. The multi-plot film concerns an actress
(Binoche) who stars in a Passion of the Christ-like movie
about Jesus, where she plays Mary Magdalene, with
whom she subsequently becomes obsessed. Matthew Mo-
4 Personal life
dine portrays the director of the film, who bears striking
similarities to Mel Gibson. Mary premiered at the Venice Ferrara is married to Christina and they have a
[18]
Film Festival in 2005. It swept the awards ceremony, gar- daughter. He was previously married to Nancy
[19]
nering the Grand Jury Prize, SIGNIS Award and two oth- Ferrara. Ferrara also has two adopted children: Endira
[20][21]
ers. It was also seen at the Toronto International Film and Lucy.
Festival.[9] In 2007, he directed a comedy with Modine, Ferrara lives in Rome, Italy.[22] He moved there follow-
Bob Hoskins and Willem Dafoe, Go Go Tales. It pre- ing the 9/11 attacks because it was easier for him to find
miered at the Cannes Film Festival and was either highly financing for his films in Europe.[23]
acclaimed or vehemently disliked. Ferrara began prepa- [24]
rations for Jekyll and Hyde in 2009, which was to star In 2007, Ferrara converted to Buddhism.
Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent. After disagreements with
Warner Bros. the film was indefinitely shelved in 2010.
A Ferrara film, the docudrama called Napoli Napoli 5 Influences
Napoli, is scheduled to premiere at the Rome Film Festi-
val. Ferrara plays a small role as a mugger in the indepen- Ferrara has admitted that Pier Paolo Pasolini has served
dent film Daddy Longlegs (2010). Also in 2010, Ferrara as influence in becoming a filmmaker.[25] He also cred-
teamed up with Film Annex, an online film distribution ited Stanley Kubrick and Woody Allen as influences,[26]
platform and Web Television Network, to launch www. as well as Rainer Werner Fassbinder.[27]
abelferrara.com. In a press release about the new web
channel, Ferrara said, “We have been looking for a place,
a home to express what we are doing and to avoid the 6 Filmography
misinformation found when we are not active on a web-
site. With Francesco Rulli, the Founder of Film Annex,
we hope to create a distribution platform for the work, 7 Recurring collaborators
both past and present, while actively interacting with our
audience, collaborators and other filmmakers.”[10] Ferrara has recast many of the same actors in his films,
In April 2011, Ferrara began shooting his first feature in most notably Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and
four years, 4:44 – Last Day on Earth, starring Willem Willem Dafoe.[29] Other actors he has recast include
Dafoe and Ferrara’s longtime companion Shanyn Leigh. Annabella Sciorra and Matthew Modine as well as char-

acter actors such as Victor Argo, Paul Calderón and
Giancarlo Esposito.[30] David Caruso is another one of
Ferrara’s frequent film collaborators.[31] Ms. 45 (1981)
star Zoë Lund collaborated with Ferrara again on Bad
Lieutenant (1992), which she co-wrote.[32] Gretchen
Mol has worked with Ferrara twice.[33] Forest Whitaker
starred in Ferrara’s films Mary (2005) and Body Snatchers
(1993).[34]
8 References
[1] Nicole Brenez, Abel Ferrara, University of Illinois Press,
2007 page 2
[2] Goldstein, Patrick (1990-10-28). “MOVIES The Prince
of Darkness Director Abel Ferrara practices a kind of
gonzo filmmaking, and his violent vision isn't a particu-
larly popular one in Hollywood”. Los Angeles Times. Re-
trieved 2009-11-21.
[3] Lim, Dennis (2008-10-12). “Struggling With Faith and
Gentrification”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-
04-23.
[4] Paszylk, Bartlomiej. "The Driller Killer". The Pleasure
and Pain of Cult Horror Films: An Historical Survey. Mc-
Farland. p. 153. ISBN 0-7864-3695-6.
[5] Abel Ferrara: 'I made Scarface look like Mary Poppins’.
interview, 5 August 2010, Guardian. Retrieved on 2012-
04-15.
[6] Roger Ebert & The Movies (show #1426), 26 February
2000. Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-
15.
[7] “The Addiction (1995): Awards”. Allmovie. Retrieved
Feb 9, 2014.
[8] “The Funeral (1996)". Allmovie. Retrieved Feb 9, 2014.
[9] “2005 TIFF Archives (10 posts)". Retrieved 10 May
2015.
[10] “Film Annex and Abel Ferrara Create Web TV Channel”.
May 26, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
[11] “Venezia 68: International competition of feature films”.
Venice. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
[12] Child, Ben (February 6, 2012). “Gerard Depardieu to
star in film inspired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn”. The
Guardian. London. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
[13] Donadio, Rachel (May 18, 2014). “Cannes Film Festi-
val: Strauss-Kahn Film Under Fire”. The New York Times.
Retrieved June 15, 2014.
[14] “Director Abel Ferrara on Mysterious 1975 Death of Pier
Paolo Pasolini: 'I Know Who Killed Him'". The Hol-
lywood Reporter. March 28, 2014. Retrieved June 15,
2014.
[15] Fleming Jr., Mike (14 May 2015). “He’s Back! Abel
Ferrara To Launch Willem Dafoe-Starrer 'Siberia' On
Croisette”. Deadline.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
3
[16] Rife, Katie (14 May 2015). “Get Involved, Internet:
Help Abel Ferrara and Willem Dafoe make a movie about
dreams”. The A.V. Club. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
[17] Murthi, Vikram (19 December 2016). “Isabelle Huppert,
Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe Star in Abel Ferrara’s
New Film 'Siberia'". IndieWire. Retrieved 7 January
2017.
[18] Shoard, Catherine (18 May 2015). “Abel Ferrera turns to
Kickstarter: 'I'm gonna hurt people with this film'". The
Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
[19] Maslin, Janet (19 November 1993). “Review/Film; A
Movie Within a Movie, With a Demure Madonna”. The
New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
[20] “Abel Ferrara Biography (1952?-)". Film Reference. Re-
trieved 20 December 2016.
[21] Hoban, Phoebe (1 February 1993). “Raising Cain”. New
York (magazine). Retrieved 23 December 2016.
[22] Righelato, Rowan (11 September 2015). “Abel Ferrara:
'Pasolini’s death is not some kind of fictional event'". The
Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
[23] Lim, Dennis (10 October 2008). “Struggling With Faith
and Gentrification”. The New York Times. Retrieved 25
July 2016.
[24] Shoard, Catherine (23 May 2014). “Abel Ferrara at
Cannes: 'You gotta be careful what you say … but I'm
not'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
[25] Kasman, Daniel (7 June 2014). “The Pursuit of Freedom:
Abel Ferrara Discusses “Welcome to New York"". Re-
trieved 6 October 2015.
[26] Carli, Vittorio. “Abel Ferrara Interview”. Retrieved 6 Oc-
tober 2015.
[27] Cryptekeeper 041 Abel Ferrara/4H44 dernier jour sur
terre at YouTube
[28] Hopewell, John (August 16, 2013). “Ferrara, Dafoe Re-
team for 'Pasolini'". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
[29] RUILOVA, AÏDA. “ABEL FERRARA”. Interview.
[30] Dee, Jake (7 January 2014). “DISSECTING DIRECTOR
ABEL FERRARA!".
[31] “Indie Filmmaker Abel Ferrara Will Bring Short Eyes
Back to Broadway”. 24 February 2010.
[32] Vestby, Ethan (9 December 2013). “Abel Ferrara On
Artistic Freedom, Collaboration, 'Ms. 45,' Pier Paolo Pa-
solini & More”.
[33] Hillis, Aaron (26 February 2009). “GRETCHEN MOL
INDULGES IN “AN AMERICAN AFFAIR"". Ifc.com.
[34] Nastasi, Alison (19 November 2009). “Abel Ferrara’s
'Jekyll and Hyde' Coming Soon From Warner Bros.”.
Moviefone.
4 9 EXTERNAL LINKS

9 External links
• Media related to Abel Ferrara at Wikimedia Com-
mons
• Abel Ferrara on IMDb

• Guardian interview, 5 August 2010

• Nicky’s Film sound design and remix contest

 5

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text
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