Robert A. Masciantonio / Biography

Robert was always a shifty little kid. When he was eight years old he snuck around to watch "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" on cable. But he didn't care about the story then, he didn't even understand it. What he understood was that he liked what he saw. He knew it was "pretend". And he knew that he thought it was magical. The next day he began writing. It was in 1989, at the Episcopal Academy, that Robert began to hone his abilities. He was active in the school's theater program. It was a program that had been revitalized only a year before by his soon-to-be-advisor and mentor Robert N. Cronin. Robert did everything from act to stage manage to direct. After Mr. Cronin suffered an eye injury that kept him out of school for a few weeks, Masciantonio helmed the production of "Steel Magnolias". It was his first true taste of direction. Robert went on to Temple University where he learned the behind-the-scenes art of film making. After being under the tutelage of such renowned proffesors such as Jeff Rush and Eran Preis, Robert set out on his own to create a film. In late November 1997, Shifty'z went corporate. From there, he set out to have a film of his own hit the big screen. Robert also earned acclaim for his homage "Jerks", a spoof of Kevin Smith's "Clerks". After this, Masciantonio and Smith formed a friendship which lead to Robert's work on Smith's feature, "Chasing Amy". Following his mentor's advice Robert decided to create a work of his own. And, thus, "Cold Hearts" was born. Every once and a while Robert can be heard as his imfamous alter-personality Roger Rogier on 91.7 WKDU in Philadelphia.

Robert Angelo Masciantonio has been writing since the age of eight. He continued his love of creativity through high school appearing in and stage managing theater productions. Robert studied film at Temple University where he won the Silver Reel Award for his short film, "Jerks". From there he went on to write, direct and executive produce the feature film, "Cold Hearts". The film had a theatrical run in Los Angeles and New York before hitting video and DVD to a world wide audience. Since it's release, "Cold Hearts" has become a cult favorite with fans turning out everywhere from Florida, Chicago and New York to show support at conventions such as Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors. "Cold Hearts" also won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the Atlantic City Film Festival. Robert has also written and directed two shorts for the 48 Hour Film Project. The second, "How 'bout This?", won the coveted Audience Award in Los Angeles. Robert also serves as an associate professor at Drexel Univerity, teaching screen writing.