Matt Maiellaro

Matthew Gerard Maiellaro (born August 17, 1966) is an American filmmaker, musician and voice actor best known as the co-creator and writer of the cult animated Adult Swim shows, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Perfect Hair Forever, and creator of 12 oz. Mouse. He is a native of Pensacola, Florida, and a graduate of Pensacola Catholic High School.

Prior to his work on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Maiellaro was a producer and writer for Space Ghost Coast to Coast since the show's inception in 1994. Maiellaro met friend and future writing partner, Dave Willis when Willis came on as a staff writer in 1995. The two have since made a few short independent films together, most notably the live-action short A Day Off, which follows a Michael Myers puppet and documents what he does on his day off from murder.

In 2000, Maiellaro and Willis created a spin-off from Space Ghost Coast to Coast – Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Seven years later, Maiellaro and Willis released a full-length Aqua Teen Hunger Force feature film on April 13, 2007. His writing is characterized by surreal humour and at times, a total disregard for traditional forms of storytelling.

Early career
One of Matt Maiellaro's earliest jobs was answering viewer mail for TBS in the late 1980's, where he met future Adult Swim executive Mike Lazzo (who was a program administrator for TBS at the time). Soon after, Maiellaro worked as a production assistant and assistant director on full-length feature horror films in the early 90's, such as Darkman, Basket Case 3: The Progeny, Children of the Corn II and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Some non-horror films he worked on were Kleptomania, Ring of Steel, Mr. McCallister's Cigarette Holder and Ruby in Paradise.

Voice work
Maiellaro provides the voice of Err the Mooninite, The Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past From the Future, and other various roles on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as well as various characters for the other Adult Swim shows he's involved with. When voice acting on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, he is sometimes credited as "The Amazing Voice of Matt Maiellaro". Maiellaro also provided the voice for Mouse Fitzgerald, the main protagonist in his series; 12 oz. Mouse. Most of the time, his voice is modified through Autotune.

In 2006, Maiellaro had a cameo as a cricket in the English dub of the anime; Ergo Proxy.

Music
Maiellaro has an undying love for rock music, and in his free time, he plays the electric guitar, and numerous Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes and DVD special features showcase this skill. Around 1999 Matt Maiellaro and longtime friend Barry Mills formed the rock band Donnell Hubbard, whose music was later used in a few episodes of Sealab 2021 (notably the song "Fishin' Hole"). In the opening credits of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, graffiti can be seen that reads "Donnell Hubbard is a dead man".

Matt also wrote the Squidbillies theme song, "Warrior Man". Mouse Fitzgerald, the protagonist from 12 oz. Mouse can be seen playing metal guitar in several episodes, with Maiellaro providing the actual guitar riffs himself. A caricature of Maiellaro (voiced by Maiellaro) depicted as a Chinese food delivery boy holding an electric guitar appeared in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Spacegate World". In the DVD special feature, "How To Score Big Writing For Television," he is shown with a red Stratocaster-type guitar, a Steinberger electric guitar, and a goldtop Gibson Les Paul. He has also been featured in Adult Swim promotional materials playing an Epiphone EDS-1275.

Inspiration and other works
Maiellaro has cited animator Don Hertzfeldt as a major inspiration and influence. He and Dave Willis paid tribute to Hertzfeldt in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "The Broodwich", with a scene animated in Hertzfeldt's signature style.

In 2012 Matt Maiellaro wrote and released his first graphic novel entitled Knowbodys, which centers around a family whose seemingly mundane life isn't all it that seems because the parents have the power to police the supernatural world (i.e. werewolves and poltergeists). This is one of Maiellaro's few projects that uses a traditional, non-absurd structure of writing.