Francis Veber

Last updated
Francis Veber
Francis Veber 2012.jpg
Veber in 2012
Born
Francis Paul Veber

(1937-07-28) 28 July 1937 (age 88)
Occupations
SpouseFrancoise Veber
Awards Academy Award nominee, La cage aux folles
César Award winner, Le dîner de cons , and four-time nominee
Lumière Film Award winner, Le dîner de cons

Francis Paul Veber (born 28 July 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and playwright. [1] He has written and directed both French and American films. Nine French-language films with which he has been involved, as either writer or director or both, have been remade as English-language Hollywood films: Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire (as The Man with One Red Shoe ), L'emmerdeur (as Buddy Buddy ), La Cage aux Folles (as The Birdcage ), Le Jouet (as The Toy ), Les Compères (as Fathers' Day ), La chèvre (as Pure Luck ), Les Fugitifs (as Three Fugitives ), Le dîner de cons (as Dinner for Schmucks ) and La Doublure (as The Valet ). He also wrote the screenplay for My Father the Hero , the 1994 American remake of the French-language film Mon père, ce héros .

Contents

Some of his screenplays started as theater plays (for instance, Le dîner de cons ). This theatrical experience contributes to his films' tight structure, resulting in what has been called "marvels of economy". [2]

Many of his French comedies feature recurring types of characters, named François Pignon (a bungler) and François Perrin (a bully).

Biography

Veber was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, [3] the son of a writer mother and Pierre-Gilles Veber, a screenwriter. Veber's father was Jewish and his mother was Armenian-Russian (Veber was baptized at birth). [4] [5] His grand-uncle was writer Tristan Bernard. [6]

His parents were both authors: his father writer and journalist Pierre-Gilles Véber and his mother novelist Catherine Agadjanian, who wrote under the name Georgette Paul (1901-1990). He is the great-nephew of playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer Tristan Bernard, grandson of playwright Pierre Véber and nephew of screenwriter, director and hit songwriter Serge Veber. He is the uncle of Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian, young adult author of the Tara Duncan series. His son, Jean Véber, is also a screenwriter.

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
1969Appelez-moi MathildeNoYesNo
1972 Il était une fois un flic  [ fr ]NoYesNo
The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe NoYesNo
1973 La Valise  [ fr ]NoYesNo
L'Emmerdeur NoYesNo
Le Magnifique NoYesNo
1974 Fear Over the City NoYesNo
The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe NoYesNo
1975 Le Téléphone rose  [ fr ]NoYesNo
The French Detective NoYesNo
1976 On aura tout vu NoYesNo
The Toy YesYesNo
1978 La Cage aux Folles NoYesNo
1979Cause toujours... tu m'intéressesNoYesNo
Coup de tête NoYesNo
1980La cage aux folles IINoYesNo
Sunday Lovers NoYesNo
1981 Buddy Buddy NoYesNo
La Chèvre YesYesNo
1982 Partners NoYesExecutive
The Toy NoYesNo
1983 Les Compères YesYesUncredited
1985 The Man with One Red Shoe NoYesNo
Hold-Up NoYesNo
1986 Les Fugitifs YesNoNo
1989 Three Fugitives YesYesExecutive
1991 Pure Luck NoYesExecutive
1992 Out on a Limb YesYesNo
1994 My Father the Hero NoYesNo
1995 Fantôme avec chauffeur  [ fr ]NoYesNo
1996 The Birdcage NoYesNo
Le Jaguar YesYesNo
1997 Fathers' Day NoYesExecutive
1998 The Dinner Game YesYesNo
2000 The Closet YesYesNo
2003 Ruby & Quentin YesYesNo
2006 The Valet YesYesAssociate
2008L'emmerdeurYesYesNo
2010 Dinner for Schmucks NoNoExecutive

Honors

References

  1. New York Times
  2. Terry Keefe (2008-01-19). "Francis Veber: The Hollywood Interview". The Hollywood Interview. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  3. Schneider, Steven Jay, ed. (2007). 501 Movie Directors. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 402. ISBN   9781844035731. OCLC   1347156402.
  4. Insdorf, Annette (1985-07-28). "French Films, American Style". The New York Times.
  5. "Humour with a trademark French twist".
  6. "INTERVIEW: The Cruel Comedy of Francis Veber's "The Dinner Game"". IndieWire. July 9, 1999. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  7. "ORDRE DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR Décret du 3 avril 1996 portant promotion et nomination". JORF . 1996 (84): 5438. 1996-04-07. PREX9610753D. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  8. 1 2 "Décret du 21 mars 2008 portant promotion et nomination". JORF . 2008 (71): 5024. 2008-03-23. PREX0804596D. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  9. "Décret du 14 mai 2001 portant promotion et nomination". JORF . 2001 (112): 7695. 2001-05-15. PREX0104833D. Retrieved 2009-03-22.