Producer of offbeat Hollywood hits best known for her association with director Tim Burton. Di Novi began as a print copy editor and segued to on-air reporting and film criticism for "City-TV" in Canada. She entered film in 1980 as a unit publicist on a Canadian feature, "Final Assignment". That year, she also joined Filmplan International, a Canadian production company, where she worked in various capacities. Di Novi moved to Los Angeles and received an associate producer credit on "Going Beserk" (1983), a raucous comedy starring John Candy. She next joined New World Pictures as vice president in charge of production. Di Novi received her first full producer credit on the teen black comedy "Heathers" (1989). She then joined forces with eccentric film stylist Tim Burton as head of his production company and subsequently produced "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), the successful sequel "Batman Returns" (1992) and "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993), a macabre animated fantasy. In 1992 Di Novi left Burton's company to form her own Di Novi Pictures in conjunction with Columbia.
Di Novi's first picture under her new banner, "Little Women" (1994), was a critically acclaimed adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel directed by Gillian Armstrong featuring an outstanding female ensemble headed by Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.
- Born:
in Canada
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Job Titles:
Producer, TV film critic, TV news writer, TV reporter, Associate producer, Unit publicist, Copy editor
Education
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Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, English and journalism, BA
Milestones
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1980 Served in various production capacities for Filmplan International
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1980 First film credit, as unit publicist for Final Assignment
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1983 Feature debut as an associate producer, Going Beserk
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1983 Moved to L.A.
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1985 Served as vice president of production for New World Pictures
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1989 First film as producer, Heathers ; first film with director Michael Lehmann and screenwriter Daniel Waters
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1990 First collaboration with director Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands
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1992 Founded Di Novi Pictures, in association with Columbia Pictures
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1999 Was producer of Message in a Bottle , based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks
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2000 Executive produced the NBC miniseries The 70 s
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2000 Served as executive producer of The District (CBS)
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2001 Was a producer of Original Sin , featuring Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie
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2002 Served as producer of A Walk to Remember , based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks
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Served as an on-air reporter and film critic for City-TV in Canada
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Served as head of Tim Burton Productions
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Signed deal with Turner Pictures; when Turner merged with Warner Bros. in 1997, Di Novi s company was based there
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Worked as a copy editor for The National Observer
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Worked as a staff writer for Canada AM
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Worked with Arnold Kopelson s Film Packages