Biography

Massimo Zeri, born in Rome, Italy, started shooting short films at the age of 12 with his father's 8mm camera. He was enrolled at the "Roberto Rossellini" Film School of Rome, where he graduated with a degree in camera operations and cinematography. He began working as a cameraman for several television networks in Rome but only after attending UCLA was he able to break into the Motion Pictures Industry. He began working as camera assistant and operator for such renowned cinematographers and directors as: Néstor Almendros, Jack Cardiff, Donald McAlpine,Vittorio Storaro, Luciano Tovoli, Vilmos Zsigmond, Bruce Beresford, Federico Fellini, Paul Mazursky, Alberto Sordi and Francis Ford Coppola. Massimo's credits include Tempest (1982) starring John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Vittorio Gassman and Raul Julia; Table for Five (1983) starring Jon Voight and Richard Crenna; King David (1985) starring Richard Gere; Cocktail (1988) starring Tom Cruise and New York Stories (1989) starring Giancarlo Giannini. Massimo has worked as Director of Photography in several films, commercials and music videos. His body of work includes: The Good Bad Guy (1997) directed by Ezio Greggio; Ancient Warriors (2003) directed by Walter von Huene and L'iguana (2004) directed by Catherine McGilvray. In 1996, Massimo met Director/Writer Martin Guigui. A great working relationship was born, bringing to the screen: My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception (1999) starring Dom DeLuise and Debbie Gibson; Changing Hearts (2002) starring Faye Dunaway and Lauren Holly and Swing (2003) starring Jacqueline Bisset, Jonathan Winters, Nell Carter and Tom Skerritt. Massimo lives in Los Angeles and is an active member of the International Camera Guild. His peers have welcomed him into the AIC, the Italian Association of Cinematographers and IMAGO, the European Federation of Cinematographers.
- IMDb mini biography by: Marc Balestrieri