Biography
Director Damon Santostefano began his show business career in the fertile comedy scene of his native Boston, home of future stand-up stars like Steven Wright and Jay Leno. But after graduating from the film department of New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, he abandoned the stand-up stage in favor of a Hollywood career. His first credit was as a member of the production crew on Abel Ferrera's cult 1982 revenge thriller "Ms. 45," but only three years later, Santostefano scored his first writing and directing credit for a segment of the horror-comedy anthology "Fright Show." His affinity for cult horror led to directing credits on two straight-to-video documentaries produced by the popular magazine Fangoria the following year; in 1992, Santostefano directed his first horror feature, "Severed Ties," co-starring former "Saturday Night Live" star Garrett Morris. Santostefano spent the rest of the '90s working primarily in television, helming episodes of popular series like the cult tween comedy "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" and the short-lived but well-liked television adaptation of the hit romantic comedy "Clueless." In 1999, Santostefano scored his highest profile credit as the director of the romantic comedy "Three To Tango," starring Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell and Dylan McDermott. In the 2000s, he began working in the lucrative world of direct to video sequels, helming films including "Bring It on Again" and "Another Cinderella Story." He also wrote and directed television movies including the 2008 Rachel Dratch vehicle "The Consultants."
