Biographie
Luca Bercovici, a third-generation filmmaker, was born in New York and grew up in diverse locations including London, Rome, New York, and California. He studied at College of the Redwoods, Santa Monica College, and Loyola Marymount University. In 1979, Bercovici spent six months in Japan working as Dialogue Director on the miniseries Shogun (1980), collaborating closely with Japanese actress Yôko Shimada (Golden Globe Winner, Emmy Nominee). After returning to the U.S., he began an acting career, appearing in numerous films such as American Flyers (1985) alongside Kevin Costner (directed by John Badham), Clean and Sober (1988) with Michael Keaton (directed by Glenn Gordon Caron), Pacific Heights (1990) starring Michael Keaton and Melanie Griffith (directed by John Schlesinger), K2 (1991) featuring Michael Biehn (directed by Franc Roddam), Drop Zone (1994) with Wesley Snipes (directed by John Badham), The Big Squeeze (1996) with Lara Flynn Boyle, the Shanghai-produced series Flatland (2002) starring Dennis Hopper, and most recently Stag Night (2008), starring Vinessa Shaw and Kip Pardue.
Bercovici began his professional writing career in 1982, developing new series ideas for MGM, which led to a pilot script for CBS and MGM titled The Storytellers. He has also written for Aaron Spelling Productions, Trimark, Warner Bros., Tapestry Films, and others. In 1984, he co-wrote the feature film script New Deal, later acquired by 20th Century Fox. That same year, he made his directorial debut with Ghoulies (1984), which he co-wrote; the film became the highest-grossing independent film of 1985 and spawned three sequels. In 1988, Bercovici directed his second feature, the musical comedy Rockula (1990), which he also co-wrote. His third film, Dark Tide (1994), an action thriller starring Chris Sarandon, Richard Tyson, and Brigitte Bako, was directed for Trimark Pictures and Tapestry Films and achieved the #1 return on investment at Showest 1994.
In 1994, Bercovici directed and wrote the horror-comedy The Granny (1995), featuring Stella Stevens and Shannon Whirry, produced by Tapestry Films and WarnerVision Films. His fifth feature, The Chain (1996), an action drama starring Gary Busey, was well received at AFM and acquired by HBO for a world premiere; Bercovici also co-wrote the script. His sixth film, Convict 762 (1997), was made for EGM International. In 1997, he directed BitterSweet (1999), starring James Russo, Angie Everhart, Brian Wimmer, and Eric Roberts. His eighth feature, Luck of the Draw (2000), featured William Forsythe, Dennis Hopper, Eric Roberts, Ice-T, and Michael Madsen. Additionally, Bercovici has recently completed writing a four-hour miniseries about a notorious WWII-era broadcaster, along with two documentaries and several music videos.
Prior to co-founding BlueDanube Films with Gábor Váradi, Bercovici served as Head of Production at Raleigh Film Budapest for two years. In 2012, he worked as Production Supervisor on the latest Die Hard film, A Good Day to Die Hard (2013). He produced two episodes of the second season of the popular South Korean TV series Iris (2009) and, with Gábor Váradi, produced the entire second season of the critically acclaimed HBO series Terápia (2012). In 2014, Bercovici co-produced the film Fallen (2016).
