meet Joe Fortunato!
Dr. Joe Fortunato is a Teaching Professor at The Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University. His professional journey encompasses a wide array of roles within the entertainment industry, including stints as a development executive and a writer, providing him with invaluable insights into the creative processes that underpin our cinematic experiences.
A native of Akron, Ohio, Joe began his entertainment career as a research assistant on NBC’s TODAY Show in the summer of 1988. After graduating from Yale University the following year, he came to Los Angeles and worked at ABC in Children’s & Family Programs where he oversaw the highly rated Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show. Joe then spent the next five years developing movies for television, starting at NBC and then as head of development at Steve Krantz Productions. From there, Joe joined the Creative Affairs team at Shukovsky English Entertainment (SEE) to help develop primetime series for the company. At SEE, he was involved with such comedies as The Louie Show, Ink, Murphy Brown and the CBS pilot Lawyers. While working closely with seasoned comedy writers, Joe became interested in pursuing a writing career of his own. He partnered with writer James Koonce, and together they spent a season as Staff Writers for the FOX comedy Living in Captivity under the tutelage of Murphy Brown creator Diane English. From there, the pair wrote several TV pilots and a feature film, Nowhere Man, which was being developed at Disney.
Joe then transitioned away from the daily Hollywood grind and pursued another passion – teaching. Taking his hard-won knowledge and expertise from the entertainment industry, he has developed film, media & screenwriting classes for secondary school students in Los Angeles and Arizona and has been a full-time faculty member with the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University for over 15 years. In addition to being on the faculty, Joe earned his Ph.D in Journalism and Mass Communication at The Walter Cronkite School at ASU. In addition to his main duties at ASU, Joe also teaches film classes at Cleveland State University, The University of Akron, and Walsh University.
In the realm of academic publications, Joe has made significant contributions. His doctoral dissertation is entitled The Haze, The Gaze, and The Zoom: An Examination of Steven Spielberg’s Style Through Statistical and Textual Shot Analysis (2025). His article "The Spielberg Face': How Steven Spielberg Uses Lacan's Mirror Stage to Influence Audiences" (2014), published in the peer-reviewed journal Visual Communication Quarterly, stands as a testament to his academic rigor. Furthermore, his work on the chapter "Steven Spielberg" in the collection Race in American Film: The Complete Resource (2017) for ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Press, continues to enrich the scholarly discourse on American cinema. Joe's multifaceted background in both industry and academia fuels his passion for shaping the future of film education and storytelling.
Beyond his academic pursuits, Joe is an active member of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA), where he collaborates with fellow educators and industry professionals to advance the standards of media education. Additionally, he is a member of the Writers Guild of America, which underscores his dedication to the craft of storytelling and scriptwriting in the industry. He is also the creator of "Fortunato Film School," a popular program where he hosts screenings of classic films with live commentary for cinema enthusiasts all around the country.
Joe recently moved back to his hometown of Green, Ohio, but still teaches full-time at ASU, where he is leading the growth of ASU Film Online. He is single, but shares his home with an extensive Jaws collection, a vintage KISS pinball machine, an Evel Knievel lunchbox, and his beloved dog, Hooper!
