Michael Dante DiMartino

Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, both on Nickelodeon.

Michael Dante DiMartino
DiMartino at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1974-07-18) July 18, 1974
Shelburne, Vermont, U.S.
Alma materRhode Island School of Design (BFA)
Occupation(s)Animator, producer, writer, director
Years active1993–present
Known forCo-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra
TitleCo-Chief Creative Officer, Avatar Studios
SpouseShoshana Stolove
Children2

Career

Before Avatar, DiMartino worked for twelve years at Film Roman, helping to direct King of the Hill, Family Guy and Mission Hill, in addition to his own animated short, Atomic Love, which was screened at a number of high-profile film festivals. The dedication to his father's memory can be seen in the penultimate episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In a 2010 interview the president of Nickelodeon, Cyma Zarghami, confirmed that DiMartino and Konietzko were developing a new series for the network, called The Legend of Korra.[1] The series premiered on April 14, 2012, running 12 episodes for the first book "Air" and 14 for the second book "Spirits", which premiered on September 13, 2013, to 2.60 million viewers in the U.S., then the third book "Change" and the fourth and final book "Balance" of 13 episodes each.

On October 4, 2016, DiMartino released a new original novel, Rebel Genius.[2] The story features a 12-year-old protagonist, Giacomo, who discovers he has a magical 'Genius,' the living embodiment of an artist's creative spirit, in a world where artistic expression is outlawed.

In September 2018, it was announced that Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as executive producers and showrunners for Netflix's upcoming live-action adaptation series of Avatar: The Last Airbender.[3] On August 12, 2020, Konietzko and DiMartino revealed on social media that they've both departed the show, due to creative differences with the Netflix team.[4]

In February 2021, ViacomCBS (the parent company of Nickelodeon) announced its formation of Avatar Studios, a division of Nickelodeon centered on developing newer animated series and movies set in the same universe as Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra with both DiMartino and Konietzko helming the studio as co-chief creative officers reporting to Nickelodeon Animation Studio president, Ramsey Ann Naito. Its first project will be an animated theatrical film which is set to start production later the same year.[5][6]

Personal life

DiMartino was born in Shelburne, Vermont.[7] He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design with Bryan Konietzko, with whom he created Avatar.

Filmography
Year Title Creator / Showrunner Director Writer Executive Producer Story Editor Actor Role Notes
1999–2002 Family Guy No Yes No No No No — 6 episodes
2000–2003 King of the Hill No Yes No No No No — 3 episodes
2002 Mission Hill No Yes No No No No — Episode "Unemployment: Part 2"
2005–2008 Avatar: The Last Airbender Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No —
2010 The Last Airbender No No No Yes No No —
2012–2014 The Legend of Korra Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Various Voices
2021 Adventures in Wonder Park No Yes No No No No — Episode "Pilot"

References
  1. Huff, Richard (March 12, 2010). "Testing Soap-y waters: Nickelodeon to use 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' to try out telenovelas". Daily News. New York. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
  2. Rebel Genius
  3. "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Live-Action Series in Works at Netflix". 18 September 2018.
  4. "Michael Dante DiMartino on Instagram: "@bryankonietzko also wrote a statement concerning our departure. 🌊⛰🔥🌪 . . . . . . #avatar #avatarthelastairbender #michaeldantedimartino #legendofKorra #avataraang #avatarkorra #avatarfandom #fantasytvseries #korra #uncleiroh #iroh #stoicphilosophy #irohquotes"".
  5. White, Peter (February 24, 2021). "'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Franchise To Expand With Launch Of Nickelodeon's Avatar Studios, Animated Theatrical Film In The Works". Deadline. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  6. Yang, Rachel (February 24, 2021). "Nickelodeon to expand Avatar: The Last Airbender with creators — first up is an animated film". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  7. DiMartino, Michael (April 29, 2012). "Heart of Art: Career of animator for 'Last Airbender' and 'Legend of Korra' was nurtured in Vermont". The Burlington Free Press. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.