Peter Farrelly | |
---|---|
Born | Peter John Farrelly December 17, 1956 |
Alma mater | Providence College Columbia University |
Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, novelist |
Years active | 1988–present |
Spouse | Melinda Kocsis (m. 1996) |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Bobby Farrelly (brother) |
Website | www |
Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and romantic comedy films [1] such as Dumb and Dumber ; Shallow Hal ; Me, Myself and Irene ; There's Something About Mary ; and the 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid.
Farrelly solo-directed and co-wrote the comedy-drama Green Book (2018), which won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018, [2] the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, and the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Farrelly was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, to Mariann (née Neary), a nurse practitioner, and Robert Leo Farrelly, a doctor. [3] [4] His grandparents were Irish immigrants, and he also has Polish ancestry. [5] [6] He was raised in Cumberland, Rhode Island. [7] He graduated from Kent School in 1975 and from Providence College where he studied accounting. [8] In 1986 he earned a master's in fine arts from Columbia University. [9]
Farrelly decided to pursue writing full-time, which prompted him to quit his sales job and relocate to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where he got a job as a waiter. On one of the tables he was waiting, Farrelly struck up a conversation with a writing professor from UMass Amherst, who encouraged Farrelly to apply to graduate school. Farrelly said he did not think his chances were good, considering he did poorly in college but the professor said not everything is judged by grades. With what would later be Outside Providence , Farrelly submitted the work and was pleasantly surprised that he was accepted. He studied writing for a time at UMass Amherst, but was ultimately dissatisfied with the program, and transferred to Columbia University in New York City, which Farrelly said he found very satisfying. He later became interested in screenwriting, which led him to directing. He made this career decision after many of his screenplays sold but were not produced.
He is a published novelist, with works including Outside Providence (1988) [10] and The Comedy Writer (1998). [11]
Together with his brother, Bobby Farrelly, he has written, directed, and produced several comedy films including There's Something About Mary , [12] Dumb and Dumber , [13] Kingpin , [14] Shallow Hal , [15] [16] Me, Myself & Irene , [17] Stuck on You , [18] and Fever Pitch . [19] They also conceived the 1992 Seinfeld episode "The Virgin" (Season 4.Episode:10). [13] [20]
In 2006, Farrelly directed the Man Laws series of television commercials for the Miller Lite beer brand, which featured actor Burt Reynolds, American football player Jerome Bettis, climber Aron Ralston, and professional wrestler Triple H. [21]
Peter worked on a film entitled, Movie 43 , which was released in 2013 and produced by the siblings' long-time producer Charles B. Wessler. He produced the anthology film and directed two of its segments. [22]
In 2011, the Farrellys produced and directed Hall Pass . [23] [24] [25]
The brothers produced and directed The Three Stooges in 2012. [26]
In 2012, Peter and his brother announced that the filming of Dumb and Dumber To would begin in 2013. [27] [28] The film was released on November 14, 2014. [29] [30]
In 2016, Audience announced that Loudermilk , a new half-hour scripted comedy co-created by Farrelly and Bobby Mort, would receive a straight-to-series order. [31] In 2018, the show was renewed for season 2, and in 2021 a third season was aired on Amazon Prime Video. [32] [33]
In 2018, Farrelly directed Green Book , which won the Toronto International Film Festival's People Choice Award. [34] At the 91st Academy Awards, he won the Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
In 2020, Farrelly directed alongside his brother, and co-wrote the Quibi comedy series The Now , starring Bill Murray, [35] [36] Dave Franco, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Daryl Hannah, and Jimmy Tatro. [37] [38]
Farrelly is a board member of Direct Sports Network (formerly DeskSite). [39]
Farrelly is married to Melinda Kocsis and has a son, Bob, [40] [41] [42] and a daughter, Apple. [43] He has two sisters, Beth and Cindy, and a third sister, Kathy, who died in 2017. [44] Peter lives in California, while brother Bobby lives in Massachusetts. [22]
In 1998, Farrelly's colleagues told Newsweek magazine that he and his brother Bobby "liked to use ruses to get people to look at Farrelly's penis" as a joke. [45] Those who had been tricked into seeing Farrelly's genitals include film executive Tom Rothman and actress Cameron Diaz. [46] In 2019 after the story resurfaced, Farrelly stated: "I did this decades ago, and I thought I was being funny, and the truth is I'm embarrassed, and it makes me cringe now. I'm deeply sorry." [47] [48]
Farrelly is a long-time supporter of disability rights. In 2020, he and his brother Bobby received the Morton E. Ruderman Award for Inclusion of People with Disabilities. Past winners include Michael Phelps and Marlee Matlin. [49] He won the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed by Media Access Awards. [50]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Dumb and Dumber | Yes | Yes | No | |
1996 | Kingpin | Yes | No | No | |
1998 | There's Something About Mary | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1999 | Outside Providence | No | Yes | Yes | |
2000 | Me, Myself & Irene | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2001 | Osmosis Jones | Yes | No | Yes | Live-action scenes |
Shallow Hal | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2003 | Stuck on You | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2005 | Fever Pitch | Yes | No | No | |
2005 | The Ringer | No | No | Yes | |
2007 | The Heartbreak Kid | Yes | Yes | No | |
2011 | Hall Pass | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2012 | The Three Stooges | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2014 | Dumb and Dumber To | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Dodge Law: Speak No Evil | Yes | No | No | Commercial/ short film |
2024 | Dear Santa | No | Yes | Yes |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Movie 43 | Yes | No | Yes | Segments: "The Pitch", "The Catch", "Truth or Dare"; Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture |
2018 | Green Book | Yes | Yes | Yes | Academy Award for Best Picture Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Film Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Director Nominated—Razzie Redeemer Award |
2022 | The Greatest Beer Run Ever | Yes | Yes | No | |
2024 | Ricky Stanicky | Yes | Yes | No | |
TBA | Balls Up | Yes | No | No | Filming |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Blitt Happens | Yes | Yes | No | TV pilot |
2008 | Unhitched | Yes | No | No | Episode: "Pilot" |
2015 | Cuckoo | Yes | No | No | TV movie |
2017–2021 | Loudermilk | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 Seasons |
2021 | The Now | Yes | Yes | No | TV series |
2023 | Lucky Hank | Yes | No | Yes | |
Farrelly won or was nominated for awards for his work in film and television, including winning two Academy Awards [51] [52] and winning two Golden Globe Awards out of five nominations for Green Book in 2019. [53] He also won or was nominated for several film festival awards. [54] [55]
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Dumb and Dumber is a series of comedy films starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. The films have been released from 1994 to 2014.
Loudermilk is an American comedy-drama television series created by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort. The series stars Ron Livingston, Will Sasso, Laura Mennell, Anja Savcic, Mat Fraser, Toby Levins, and Mark Brandon. The show premiered on October 17, 2017, on the AT&T Audience Network. In December 2018, it was announced that Audience had renewed the series for a third season. In April 2020, the series was left without a home after the network ceased operations.
Green Book is a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Farrelly. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, the film is inspired by the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by African American pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer and later actor Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga, who served as Shirley's driver and bodyguard. Written by Farrelly alongside Lip's son Nick Vallelonga and Brian Hayes Currie, the film is based on interviews with Lip and Shirley, as well as letters Lip wrote to his wife. It is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide book for African American travelers founded by Victor Hugo Green in 1936 and published until 1966.
The Now is an American comedy television series, directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Dave Franco, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Daryl Hannah and Jimmy Tatro. It was originally set to debut in 2020 on Quibi, but it moved to The Roku Channel due to Quibi's shutdown in December 2020. It premiered on The Roku Channel on December 10, 2021.
Bobby Mort is an American actor, writer, and producer known for co-creating, writing, and executive producing Loudermilk. From 2012 to 2014, Mort was a staff writer on The Colbert Report, for which he received a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a 2022 American biographical war comedy drama film co-written and directed by Peter Farrelly, based on the book of the same name by John "Chickie" Donohue and Joanna Molloy. The film stars Zac Efron and Russell Crowe, and follows the true story of Donohue, who as a young veteran sneaks into the Vietnam War to deliver some beer to his friends while they serve their duty.
Peter Farrelly brought his group through the concourse. His son Bob was playing it cool, but his nephews kept giving him looks...