Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (born February 19, 1978) is an American director, writer, actor, and musician. He is a founding member of the East Bay punk band Link 80 and co-creator of the filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence. He is best known for his work in horror films, including V/H/S, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI, Abigail and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin | |
|---|---|
 Bettinelli-Olpin at the 2024 WonderCon | |
| Born | February 19, 1978 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1993–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Instruments |
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| Label | Asian Man |
| Website | Radio Silence |
Early life
Raised in Oakland, California, Bettinelli-Olpin attended Chabot Elementary, Claremont Middle School and Bishop O'Dowd High School. He attended college at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Career
Music
Bettinelli-Olpin formed the Bay Area punk band Link 80 in 1993. On the band's first two albums, 17 Reasons and Killing Katie, Bettinelli-Olpin played guitar, sang backing vocals and co-wrote the lyrics with singer Nick Traina. After leaving Link 80, Bettinelli-Olpin worked as a music journalist and interviewed bands including Alkaline Trio, Dropkick Murphy's, Lawrence Arms, Avail, Blur, Violent Femmes, the Breeders, the Mars Volta and the Psychedelic Furs.
In 2016, Bettinelli-Olpin played guitar in a Link 80 reunion for the Asian Man Records 20th Anniversary. On June 17 and 18, the band played two sold-out shows at the San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill. Before the shows, a video tribute to singer Nick Traina was shown. On May 21, 2021, a Link 80 cover of Rancid's "Junkie Man" was released from Lavasock Records' upcoming 25th anniversary tribute to Rancid's punk rock classic ...And Out Come the Wolves featuring Bettinelli-Olpin on vocals.
Film
In 1999, Bettinelli-Olpin directed Alkaline Trio's first music video ("Goodbye Forever") while attending the University of California, Santa Cruz and, in the early 2000s, was roommates with The Lonely Island and appeared in many of their early shorts. While working in the mailroom at New Line Cinema, he formed the filmmaking collective Chad, Matt & Rob in 2007 and Radio Silence in 2011.
Chad, Matt & Rob
Bettinelli-Olpin co-founded Chad, Matt & Rob with Chad Villella and Rob Polonsky in 2007. The group is known for their unique blend of comedy, adventure, sci-fi and horror. According to an interview in IndieWire, Bettinelli-Olpin worked in the mailroom and later as the office manager at New Line Cinema, where the group would sneak in after hours to use the offices as their sets. Among their numerous short films is the viral found footage style video Roommate Alien Prank Gone Bad and five installments of their first-of-its-kind series of Interactive Adventures. Their work online has over 100,000,000 views.
Radio Silence
After the dissolution of Chad, Matt & Rob, Bettinelli-Olpin formed Radio Silence with Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella. The group co-directed the 10/31/98 segment of the feature film V/H/S. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures in October 2012. The following year, they made Devil's Due for 20th Century Fox and in 2015, their film Southbound premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was released theatrically by the Orchard on February 5, 2016.Paul Thomas Anderson called the film "a hidden gem."
In 2019, Bettinelli-Olpin co-directed the well-reviewed comedic thriller Ready or Not with Tyler Gillett for Fox Searchlight. The film stars Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Andie MacDowell, and Mark O'Brien. The film was nominated for Best Horror Film at the 46th Saturn Awards.
In March 2020, it was announced that Bettinelli-Olpin would co-direct the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, alongside Tyler Gillett, with Kevin Williamson serving as executive producer. The film was released on January 14, 2022. The film was nominated for Best Movie at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.
In 2022, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett directed Scream VI which was released on March 10, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The film won Best Movie at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards and ranked #3 on The Hollywood Reporter's list of "The Best Slasher Movies of the Decade".
In 2023, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett directed Abigail which was released on April 19, 2024, by Universal Pictures. The film was nominated for Best Wide Release Movie at the 2024 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. and included on many best of 2024 lists including Variety's "The Best Horror Movies of 2024", Screen Rant's "10 Best Horror Movies Of 2024", Bloody Disgusting's "The 10 Best Horror Movies Released in the First Half of 2024", Time Out's "The Best Horror Movies of 2024" and SlashFilm's "The 19 Best Horror Movies Of 2024 So Far".
Filmed in Toronto during the spring of 2025 and released on March 20th 2026 by Fox Searchlight, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come stars Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood. The film premiered at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 13, 2026, received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $41 million against a $14 million budget.
In almost all of their films, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have used music from Asian Man Records artists including Alkaline Trio, Link 80, MU330 and Laura Stevenson and the Cans as well as music from the Bay Area including Too Short, The Atom Age, Link 80, The Jacka, Kamaiyah and P-Lo.
Bettinelli-Olpin portrays Michael Myers in Scream in the film within a film Stab 8 and Ghostface on the TV news segment in Scream VI.
Bettinelli-Olpin is also a producer on V/H/S, V/H/S/94, V/H/S/99 and V/H/S/85.
Discography
- The Link 80 & Wet Nap Split (1995)
- Remember How It Used To Be EP (1995)
- Rumble At The Tracks EP (1996)
- 17 Reasons (1996)
- Killing Katie (1997)
Filmography
| Film | Year | Director | Writer | Actor | Editor | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V/H/S | 2012 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Segment "10/31/98", Role: Matt |
| Devil's Due | 2014 | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Southbound | 2015 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Role: Jack |
| Ready or Not | 2019 | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Phobias | 2021 | No | No | No | No | Executive | |
| V/H/S/94 | 2021 | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Scream | 2022 | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| V/H/S/99 | 2022 | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Scream VI | 2023 | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| V/H/S/85 | 2023 | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
| Abigail | 2024 | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Fountain of Youth | 2025 | No | No | No | No | Executive | |
| Scream 7 | 2026 | No | No | No | No | Executive | |
| Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | 2026 | Yes | No | No | No | Executive |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SXSW | Midnight Audience Award (shared with Ti West, Adam Wingard, et al.) | V/H/S | Nominated |
| Sitges Film Festival | Best Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | iHorror | Best Direct Release Horror(shared with David Bruckner, Roxanne Benjamin, et al.) | Southbound | Nominated |
| 2019 | Sitges Film Festival | Best Motion Picture | Ready or Not | Nominated |
| Fright Meter Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Biggest Surprise of the Year | Nominated | ||
| IGN Summer Movie Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| Fantasy Filmfest | Best 1st or 2nd Feature | Nominated | ||
| St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Wide Release | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| Columbus Film Critics Association Awards | Best Overlooked Film | 2nd Place | ||
| Music City Film Critics Association Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | Saturn Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| 2022 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Movie | Scream (2022) | Nominated |
| People's Choice Awards | Best Movie | Nominated | ||
| Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards | Best Horror | Nominated | ||
| The Queerties | Best Studio Movie | Nominated | ||
| St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Film Wide Theatrical Release | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Movie | Scream VI | Won |
| Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards | Best Horror | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| MTV Millennial Awards | Best Movie | Nominated | ||
| 2024 | People's Choice Awards | The Drama Movie of the Year | Nominated | |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| Golden Schmoes Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| Music City Film Critics' Association Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| Astra Film Awards | Best Horror Feature | Nominated | ||
| DiscussingFilm Critic Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Wide Release | Abigail | Nominated | |
| 7th Astra Midseason Movie Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | ||
| 2025 | Saturn Awards | Best Horror Movie | Nominated | |
| 2026 | South by Southwest | Headliner Audience Award | Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | Nominated |