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Peter Farrelly

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Peter Farrelly
Farrelly in 2009
Born
Peter John Farrelly

(1956-12-17) December 17, 1956 (age 67)
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materProvidence College
Columbia University
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, novelist
Years active1988–present
Spouse
Melinda Kocsis
​
(m. 1996)​
Children2
RelativesBobby Farrelly (brother)
Websitewww.peterfarrelly.com

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.

Early life and education

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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]

Career

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Writer

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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]

Producer and director

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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]

Board member

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Farrelly is a board member of Direct Sports Network (formerly DeskSite).[39]

Personal life

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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]

Philanthropy and honors

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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]

Filmography

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Films

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With Bobby Farrelly

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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

Solo works

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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

Television

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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

Awards and nominations

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Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Peter Farrelly

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]

References

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  1. ^ "Interview: The Farrelly Brothers". CINEMABLEND. September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "Peter Farrelly's new movie wins People's Choice Award at Toronto film festival". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Bobby Farrelly Biography (1958?-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  4. ^ Dear, Pamela (June 1, 2000). Contemporary Authors New Revision Series: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, M. ISBN 9780787632120.
  5. ^ Moon, Aileen (June 15, 2010). "Q&A with Writer/Director Bobby Farrelly". The Irish Film & Television Network.
  6. ^ "Peter Farrelly Returns to 'Green Book's Toronto Awards Launch Pad for 'The Greatest Beer Run Ever' with Zac Efron, Bill Murray & Russell Crowe: Q&A". September 9, 2022.
  7. ^ "Peter Farrelly Thanks All Of Rhode Island Following Oscar Win". Smithfield, RI Patch. February 25, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "The DO Lectures - Peter Farrelly | Be Whoever You Want To Be". The DO Lectures. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ^ "Alumnus Peter Farrelly '86 Discusses Hit New Film 'Green Book'". Columbia - School of the Arts. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  10. ^ Hunter, Stephen (September 1, 1999). "'Providence': R.I. Confidential". Home Index Search Archives. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  11. ^ The Comedy Writer. Kirkus Reviews.
  12. ^ "20 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About There's Something About Mary!". Eighties Kids. October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "How The Farrelly Brothers Gave The World One Of Seinfeld's Greatest Episodes". Cinemablend. November 11, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  14. ^ Berkowitz, Joe (December 30, 2016). "The Farrelly Brothers' Oral History of "Kingpin," Twenty Years Later". Fast Company. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  15. ^ "Shallow Hal Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly". exclaim.ca. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "Shallow Hal". Time Out Worldwide. September 10, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Me, Myself & Irene movie review (2000) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  18. ^ "Stuck On You Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly". exclaim.ca. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  19. ^ "Fever Pitch Quotes, Movie quotes – Movie Quotes .com". www.moviequotes.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  20. ^ Domain, Master Of This (May 14, 2013). "The Virgin". Maps About Nothing. A global guide to Seinfeld. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  21. ^ "Burt Reynolds may star in Miller Lite ad". The Business Journal. Accessed on July 2, 2006
  22. ^ a b "Exclusive Interview: Peter Farrelly on Movie 43". ComingSoon.net. January 22, 2013.
  23. ^ Hall Pass (2011), retrieved November 15, 2020
  24. ^ "Hall Pass". Time Out Worldwide. March 8, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  25. ^ Radish, Christina (February 21, 2011). "Bobby and Peter Farrelly Exclusive Interview – Hall Pass". Collider. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  26. ^ Dargis, Manohla (April 12, 2012). "Wry and Subtle Jesting? Not Here, Knucklehead (Published 2012)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  27. ^ Barubto, Dana, "Peter Farrelly announces 'Dumb and Dumber' sequel" Archived September 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Massachusetts, April 3, 2012
  28. ^ Franich, Darren (April 3, 2012). "'Dumb and Dumber 2' filming this year, with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels". CNN. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  29. ^ Eby, Margaret (November 19, 2013). "'Dumb and Dumber To' release date set for November 2014". nydailynews.com. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  30. ^ "'Dumb And Dumber To Hit Theaters In November 2014". Deadline. November 19, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  31. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 20, 2016). "Peter Farrelly-Bobby Mort Comedy 'Loudermilk' Gets Straight-To-Series Order At Audience Network". Deadline. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  32. ^ "'Loudermilk' Renewed for Season 2 at Audience Network". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  33. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2021). "'Loudermilk' Season 3 Premieres Today On Amazon Prime Video – Update". Deadline. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  34. ^ Hammond, Pete (September 16, 2018). "'Green Book' Wins 2018 Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award". Deadline Hollywood.
  35. ^ Thorne, Will (November 15, 2019). "Bill Murray to Star in Peter Farrelly Comedy Series at Quibi". Variety. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  36. ^ Pedersen, Erik (November 15, 2019). "Bill Murray Joins Farrelly Brothers Comedy 'The Now' At Quibi". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  37. ^ Petski, Denise (July 9, 2019). "Peter Farrelly Comedy Series 'The Now' Set At Quibi". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  38. ^ Ray-Ramos, Dino (November 11, 2019). "Quibi Comedy 'The Now' Sets O'Shea Jackson, Daryl Hannah, And Jimmy Tatro In Lead Roles; Alyssa Milano, Rob Yang And Lex Scott Davis To Recur". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  39. ^ "DeskSite... A Video Ad Network". Desksite.com. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  40. ^ Kettmann, Steve (2004). One Day at Fenway: A day in the life of baseball in America. New York: Atria Books. p. 117. ISBN 1-4165-0515-6. Peter Farrelly brought his group through the concourse. His son Bob was playing it cool, but his nephews kept giving him looks...
  41. ^ "Peter Farrelly , wife Melinda Farrelly, and son Bob arrive at the AFI..." Getty Images. November 10, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  42. ^ "Ojai Short Festival". Twitter. September 6, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  43. ^ "76th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals". Getty Images. January 6, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  44. ^ "Kathryn Farrelly Obituary (2017) - Boston Globe". www.legacy.com. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  45. ^ "Peter Farrelly Apologizes for Flashing Cameron Diaz and More Stars". E! Online. January 10, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  46. ^ Newsweek Staff (July 19, 1998). "Sibling Ribaldry". Newsweek. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  47. ^ "'Green Book' Director Peter Farrelly Apologizes for Past Genital-Flashing | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. January 9, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  48. ^ "Peter Farrelly apologizes for exposing genitals to Cameron Diaz Boston.com". www.boston.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  49. ^ "Farrelly Brothers Honored with Morton E. Ruderman Award for Inclusion of People with Disabilities". Ruderman Family Foundation. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  50. ^ "Awards". Media Access Awards. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  51. ^ Daniels, Karu F. (June 13, 2020). "'Green Book' writer Peter Farrelly and star Viggo Mortensen may reteam for 'Beer Run' film". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  52. ^ "Oscar Winners and More From the 91st Academy Awards". The New York Times. February 25, 2019.
  53. ^ Lewis, Hilary (January 6, 2019). "Golden Globes: Peter Farrelly Praises "Hope" of 'Green Book' in Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical Win". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  54. ^ Kilgannon, Maddie (September 16, 2018). "Peter Farrelly's new movie wins People's Choice Award at Toronto film festival". Boston Globe. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  55. ^ Coyle, Jake (September 17, 2018). "Director Peter Farrelly's "Green Book" Wins Audience Award At Toronto Film Fest". shoot on line. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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