Finnell has produced several
horror-
comedy films, particularly with the director
Joe Dante. Finnell worked for the American producer
Roger Corman before emerging as a producer in his own right. His first films were
Avalanche (1978) and ''
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979), with Corman. One of the first without Corman was the movie Airplane!, in which he was listed in the end credits as "generally in charge of a lot of things". Working with Dante, Finnell then produced the modest hit The Howling in 1981 and the blockbuster Gremlins'' in 1984. Dante and the special effects designer
Chris Walas have said that Finnell's producing style was influenced by Corman, in that Finnell was very concerned about budgeting and wanted to make sure even cheap purchases contributed to the final film. The anecdote Walas told was of Finnell engaging in long phone calls over the purchase of a
kitchen knife to be used in
Gremlins. Finnell continued to produce several of Dante's films, including
Explorers (1985), ''
The 'Burbs (1989), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Matinee (1993) and Small Soldiers'' (1998). Without Dante, Finnell's films include
Milk Money (1994) and
Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999). For one of his films produced without Dante,
Newsies, Finnell was nominated for a
Razzie Award for Worst Picture. ==Filmography==