Michael Dante DiMartino


Michael Dante DiMartino is an American animation director, author and best known as the co-creator, executive producer, and story editor of the animated TV series and The Legend of Korra, both on Nickelodeon.

Career

Before Avatar, DiMartino worked for twelve years at Film Roman, helping to direct King of the Hill, Family Guy, and Mission Hill in addition to his own animated short, Atomic Love, which was screened at a number of high-profile film festivals. The dedication to his father's memory can be seen in the penultimate episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. In a 2010 interview the president of Nickelodeon, Cyma Zarghami, confirmed that DiMartino and Konietzko were developing a new series for the network, called The Legend of Korra. The series premiered on April 14, 2012, running 12 episodes for the first book "Air" and 14 for the second book "Spirits", which premiered on September 13, 2013 to 2.60 million viewers in the U.S., then the third book "Change" and the fourth and final book "Balance" of 13 episodes each.
On October 4, 2016, DiMartino released a new original novel, Rebel Genius. The story features a 12-year-old protagonist, Giacomo, who discovers he has a magical 'Genius,' the living embodiment of an artist's creative spirit, in a world where artistic expression is outlawed.
In September 2018, it was announced that Konietzko and DiMartino would serve as executive producers and showrunners for Netflix's upcoming live-action adaptation series of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Personal life

DiMartino was born in Shelburne, Vermont. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design with Bryan Konietzko, with whom he created Avatar.

Filmography