Jerry Macaluso
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Jerry Macaluso (born July 12, 1967 in Hartford, Connecticut) is a U.S. sculptor, film producer and entrepreneur.
[edit] Biography
In 1986, at the age of 19, Macaluso entered the field of special effects makeup assisting Norman Cabrera on the set of the horror film Scarecrows. A year later he became the special makeup designer on the film The Unholy. Shortly thereafter, Macaluso was hired to re-create Toxie for The Toxic Avenger II, Troma's sequel to the cult classic Toxic Avenger.
In 1990 Macaluso moved to Los Angeles, California and formed SOTA FX with partner Roy Knyrim. The next several years were spent creating effects for such films as Darkman, The Indian in the Cupboard, Spawn, the Weird Science television series and Gods and Monsters.
In the late 1990s, Macaluso formed a toy development company called SOTA Sculpture and Design which designed and created action figure prototypes for Hasbro, Mattel, Toy Biz, ReSaurus and Palisades Toys, among others.
In 2001 a new company called Plastic Fantasy was created. Plastic Fantasy designed and manufactured action figures of porn stars including Jenna Jameson, Brianna Banks, Christy Canyon and Asia Carrera. The company's products have been featured on The Tonight Show, Nightline and Newsweek. Following the success of Plastic Fantasy, Macaluso formed SOTA Toys to manufacture action figures and collectibles based on such properties as Capcom's fighting game series Street Fighter, the Universal film Chronicles Of Riddick starring Vin Diesel, Blizzard Entertainment's World Of Warcraft and music legend Johnny Cash. SOTA Toy's horror themed line, Now Playing, featuring characters from such iconic films as The Thing, Darkman, Tremors, Saw and Dog Soldiers.
In 2005 Macaluso began producing horror films under the Karza Productions and Centuri Films labels. The first film, Night Skies, is based on the true story of six travellers in Phoenix, Arizona who are terrorized by an unknown creature during the night of the infamous Phoenix Lights incident on March 13, 1997.
In fall of 2006, Macaluso sold SOTA Toys to pursue his interest in producing and directing films.
