Todd Phillips

{{For-multi|the double bassist|Todd Phillips (musician)|the American basketball coach|Todd Phillips (basketball)|the rock drummer|The Juliana Hatfield Three}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Todd Phillips

| image = Todd Phillips-64847.jpg

| caption = Phillips in 2024

| birth_name = Todd Philip Bunzl

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|12|19}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|producer|screenwriter}}

| education = New York University

| yearsactive = 1993–present

}}

Todd Phillips (born Todd Philip Bunzl; December 19, 1970){{Cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/people/todd-phillips/3/|title=Todd Phillips|website=Empire|access-date=August 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905123609/https://www.empireonline.com/people/todd-phillips/3/|archive-date=September 5, 2020|url-status=live}} is an American filmmaker. Phillips began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and School for Scoundrels. He came to wider prominence in the early 2010s for directing The Hangover film series. In 2019, he co-wrote and directed the psychological thriller film Joker, based on the DC Comics character of the same name, which premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival where it received the top prize, the Golden Lion. Joker went on to earn Phillips three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, with his co-writer Scott Silver, his second, third, and fourth Academy Award nominations after also being nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat at the 79th Academy Awards.

Early life

Phillips was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Jewish family.{{cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2010/10/zach_galifianakis_breaks_his_s.html|title=Zach Galifianakis Breaks His Silence About Mel Gibson|last=Paskin|first=Willa|date=October 26, 2010|website=Vulture.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.jweekly.com/2016/08/25/celebrity-jews0826/|title=Celebrity Jews|first=Nate|last=Bloom|author-link=Nate Bloom|date=August 26, 2016|work=J Weekly}} He was raised in Dix Hills, New York, on Long Island. He attended New York University Film School, but dropped out because he could not afford to complete his first film and pay tuition simultaneously.{{cite podcast|url= https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rumble-with-michael-moore/id1490354763?i=1000460547628|title=Rumble with Michael Moore, Ep. 6: Everything Must Go (feat. Todd Phillips)|last=Moore|first=Michael|date=December 23, 2019|website=apple.co/rumble}} Around that time, he worked at Kim's Video and Music.

Phillips appeared as one of the drivers in the first season of the HBO hidden camera docu-series Taxicab Confessions.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-may-22-la-ca-todd-phillips-20110522-story.html|title=Todd Phillips keeps 'em laughing|date=2011-05-22|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-07}} In a New York Times profile, Phillips said he had gotten in trouble for shoplifting as a young man.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/movies/31itz.html | work=The New York Times | title=Finding the Fun in Eternal Frat Boys | first=Dave | last=Itzkoff | date=May 31, 2009 | access-date=May 25, 2010|quote=Mr. Phillips, 38,...was born Todd Bunzl in Brooklyn and raised in Dix Hills, N.Y., on Long Island, by his mother and two older sisters.}}

Career

Phillips's first documentary film, Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies, centered on the life and death of controversial punk rocker GG Allin, while as a junior at NYU. It went on to become one of the highest grossing student films at the time, even getting a limited theatrical release.{{cite web|url=https://suicidegirls.com/interviews/HATED%20Director%20Todd%20Phillips/|title=HATED Director Todd Phillips by Erin_broadley|date=September 13, 2007|publisher=SuicideGirls}} Phillips wrote a letter to convicted serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, an acquaintance of GG, asking if he could paint a movie poster for the film. Phillips stated that "Gacy is really the executive producer" of the film, having raised $10,000 from selling replicas of his artwork.{{cite web |last1=Maurer |first1=Daniel |title=9 Things Todd Phillips Revealed About Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies |url=https://bedfordandbowery.com/2014/06/9-things-you-might-notve-known-about-hated-gg-allin-and-the-murder-junkies/ |website=Bedford and Bowery |date=June 27, 2014 |access-date=30 March 2022}}

Next, he co-directed with then-partner Andrew Gurland for Frat House, a second documentary about college fraternities; it premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize for documentary features.{{cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/interviews/todd_phillips_d.html|title=Todd Phillips- Director of Road Trip|publisher=DVD Talk}} It was produced by HBO, but never aired on its channel because many of the film's participants claimed they were paid to re-enact their activities. It was never proven either way.

His third documentary Bittersweet Motel centered on the jam band Phish, covering its summer and fall 1997 tours, plus footage from their 1998 spring tour of Europe. It ends at The Great Went, a two-day festival held in upstate Maine which attracted 70,000 people. While at Sundance with Frat House, Phillips met director-producer Ivan Reitman who led Phillips into writing and directing his comedy films, Road Trip and Old School, for Reitman's Montecito Picture Company.

Phillips also wrote and directed the 2004 film Starsky & Hutch starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, as well as the 2006 film School for Scoundrels, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder. In 2005, Details Magazine cited Judd Apatow, Adam McKay and Phillips as "The Frat Packagers".{{cite web|url=http://men.style.com/details/features/full?id=content_4990&pageNum=6|title=The Power 50: DETAILS Article on men.style.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229115039/http://men.style.com/details/features/full?id=content_4990&pageNum=6|archive-date=February 29, 2008|df=mdy-all}} He worked on the satirical comedy Borat (2006), but he resigned his position as a director in early 2005, due to creative differences.{{cite web|url = http://www.firstshowing.net/2006/09/27/school-for-scoundrels-director-todd-phillips-interview/|first= Alex|last= Billington|title=Interview with Todd Phillips|publisher = FirstShowing.net|date = September 27, 2006|access-date = June 14, 2009}} Nevertheless, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his role in fashioning the story.

After establishing Green Hat Films in 2008, Phillips directed and produced The Hangover. Made for a reported $35 million, it went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated comedy up to that time. Its worldwide gross stood at $480 million on February 3, 2012.{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hangover.htm|title=The Hangover (2009)|publisher=Box Office Mojo}} The film went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy).{{cite web|url=http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/2010-golden-globe-winners-sherlock-holmes-1-the-hurt-locker-0|title=2010 Golden Globe Winners: 'Sherlock Holmes' 1, 'The Hurt Locker' 0|author=Brad Brevet}} It also won Best Comedy at the 2009 Broadcast Film Critics Awards.[http://www.bfca.org/ccawards/2009.php CC Awards] bfca.org {{dead link|date=September 2023}} Phillips took almost no up-front salary in exchange for a large share of the film's profits, and has said that the movie's enormous success, combined with his deal, makes it "my Star Wars". After a worldwide gross of $467 million, his share in the film made Phillips around $50 million.{{cite web|last1=Fleming|first1=Mike Jr.|url=https://deadline.com/2011/05/200-million-opening-weekend-puts-warner-bros-on-course-for-third-hangover-136399/ |title=$200 Million Opening Weekend Has Warner Bros Thinking Third 'Hangover' |publisher=Deadline Hollywood |date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=May 31, 2011}}

In 2010, Phillips directed, produced and co-wrote the comedy Due Date, which starred Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. It was a box office success, grossing $211,780,324 worldwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=duedate.htm|title=Due Date (2010)|publisher=Box Office Mojo}}

In the fall of 2010, production on The Hangover Part II began in Bangkok, Thailand that Phillips directed, produced and co-wrote. The film shot for 63 days and broke various records upon its release on May 26, 2011. With the film debuting at midnight with showings in 2,600 theaters, the film earned $10.4 million, breaking the record for the biggest midnight opening for an R-rated film. The Hangover Part II went on to accrue a launch day total of $31.6 million;{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=hangover2.htm|title=The Hangover Part II (2011) - Daily Box Office Results|publisher=Box Office Mojo}} nearly doubling The Hangover{{'}}s Friday launch opening ($16.7 million). This amount broke two further records; the highest-grossing opening day for a live-action comedy and the highest-grossing opening day for an R-rated comedy film, replacing Sex and the City ($26.7 million). The three-day opening weekend accumulated $85,946,294—an average of $23,923 per theater{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=hangover2.htm|title=The Hangover Part II (2011) - Weekend Box Office Results|publisher=Box Office Mojo}}—becoming the highest grossing opening weekend for a comedy film, replacing The Simpsons Movie ($74 million). For the Memorial Day four-day weekend, the film amassed $103.4 million to become the fourth-highest-grossing Memorial Day weekend opening. Finally, the film's worldwide gross of $581,464,305 beat the previous R-rated comedy record holder The Hangover to become the highest-grossing R-rated comedy film of all time (now surpassed by both Deadpool movies).{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hangover2.htm|title=The Hangover Part II (2011)|publisher=Box Office Mojo}}

He returned to direct, write, and produce The Hangover Part III, which was released in 2013. It grossed over $300 million, pushing The Hangover Trilogy{{'}}s total box office gross to $1.4 billion.

In 2016, following the successes of The Hangover trilogy, Phillips directed, produced, and co-wrote the crime film War Dogs, starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller.

File:Todd Philips Venezia 2019 (cropped).jpg for the film Joker at the 76th Venice Film Festival]]

In 2019, Phillips directed, co-wrote, and co-produced an origin story film based on DC Comics' supervillain the Joker, Joker (2019). The script, set in 1981, was co-written by Scott Silver, and the film starred Joaquin Phoenix in the title role.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/08/the-joker-origin-movie-todd-phillips-martin-scorsese-scott-silver-batman-dc-universe-1202154053/|title=The Joker Origin Story On Deck: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver, Martin Scorsese Aboard WB/DC Film|date=August 22, 2017|website=Deadline Hollywood}} It premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival and was released in October 2019. Its sequel, Joker: Folie a Deux, added Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn; released in 2024, the film was also directed, co-written, and co-produced by Phillips. The film was later panned by critics and audiences. After Joker: Folie à Deux was released, Phillips spent the weekend on his ranch in seclusion.{{cite magazine |last1=McClintock |first1=Pamela |last2=Crouch |first2=Aaron |date=October 7, 2024 |title=Why No One Will Get Fired Over 'Joker: Folie à Deux' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/joker-folie-a-deux-who-blame-dc-1236025585/ |access-date=October 8, 2024 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=October 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007213422/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/joker-folie-a-deux-who-blame-dc-1236025585/ |url-status=live }}

Phillips has announced that he will be producing and directing a film version of the John Grisham story The King of Torts and will star Adam Brody in title role.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Personal beliefs

When asked in a 2014 interview by the BBC if he believes in God, Phillips replied: "Personally I don't. But I believe there's a higher power, a collective energy in people that you might say is God."{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Neil|title=Getting Direct With Directors... No.13: Todd Phillips|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/callingtheshots/todd_phillips.shtml|website=BBC|date=24 September 2014|access-date=23 March 2017}}

Phillips said in 2019, in the aftermath of his dark drama Joker release, that he had stopped making comedy films because of the backlash of "woke culture", saying: "Go try to be funny nowadays... There were articles written about why comedies don't work anymore – I'll tell you why, because all the fucking funny guys are like, 'Fuck this shit, because I don't want to offend you'. It's hard to argue with 30 million people on Twitter."{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/joaquin-phoenix-cover-story|title=Cover Story: Joaquin Phoenix on Joker, Rooney, and River|last=Hagan|first=Joe|magazine=Vanity Fair|language=en|access-date=October 8, 2019|date=October 1, 2019}}

Filmography

=Film=

Documentary film

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! width="65"\| Director ! width="65"\| Producer ! width="65"\| Writer ! width="65"\| Himself ! Notes
1993 \|Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|
1998 \|Frat House \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Co-directed with Andrew Gurland
2000 \|Bittersweet Motel \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! width="65"| Director

! width="65"| Producer

! width="65"| Writer

! width="65"| Himself

! Notes

1993

|Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

1998

|Frat House

|{{yes}}

|Co-directed with Andrew Gurland

2000

|Bittersweet Motel

|{{yes}}

Feature film

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! width="65"\| Director ! width="65"\| Writer ! width="65"\| Producer
2000 \|Road Trip \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}}
2003 \|Old School \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2004 \|Starsky & Hutch \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}}
rowspan=3\|2006 \|Borat \|{{no}}{{refn\|group=note\|name=first\|Principal photography on Borat was underway in January 2005, with Phillips as the director.{{cite magazine \|last1=Fleming \|first1=Michael \|title=Phillips out of 'Borat' pic \|url=https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/phillips-out-of-borat-pic-1117916478/ \|access-date=1 September 2024 \|magazine=Variety \|date=January 17, 2005}} Lead actor Sacha Baron Cohen caused a near riot while filming a rodeo scene.{{cite news\|title=Rodeo in Salem gets unexpected song rendition\|newspaper=The Roanoke Times\|date=9 January 2005\|first=Laurence\|last=Hammack\|url=http://ww2.roanoke.com/news/roanoke%5C16655.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410092259/http://ww2.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/16655.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=10 April 2013}} Phillips left production and replaced with Larry Charles after filming the scene due to creative differences with Baron Cohen, but was given a "story by" credit in the finished film.{{cite web \|last1=Billington \|first1=Alex \|title=School for Scoundrels' Director Todd Phillips Interview \|url=https://www.firstshowing.net/2006/school-for-scoundrels-director-todd-phillips-interview/ \|website=FirstShowing.Net \|access-date=1 September 2024 \|date=September 27, 2006}}}} \|{{Partial\|Story}} \|{{no}}
All the King's Men \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|{{yes}}
School for Scoundrels \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2009 \|The Hangover \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|{{yes}}
2010 \|Due Date \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2011 \|The Hangover Part II \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2012 \|Project X \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|{{yes}}
2013 \|The Hangover Part III \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2016 \|War Dogs \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2018 \|A Star Is Born \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|{{yes}}
2019 \|Joker \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}
2024 \|Joker: Folie à Deux \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}}

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! width="65"| Director

! width="65"| Writer

! width="65"| Producer

2000

|Road Trip

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

2003

|Old School

|{{yes}}

2004

|Starsky & Hutch

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

rowspan=3|2006

|Borat

|{{no}}{{refn|group=note|name=first|Principal photography on Borat was underway in January 2005, with Phillips as the director.{{cite magazine |last1=Fleming |first1=Michael |title=Phillips out of 'Borat' pic |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/markets-festivals/phillips-out-of-borat-pic-1117916478/ |access-date=1 September 2024 |magazine=Variety |date=January 17, 2005}} Lead actor Sacha Baron Cohen caused a near riot while filming a rodeo scene.{{cite news|title=Rodeo in Salem gets unexpected song rendition|newspaper=The Roanoke Times|date=9 January 2005|first=Laurence|last=Hammack|url=http://ww2.roanoke.com/news/roanoke%5C16655.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410092259/http://ww2.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/16655.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 April 2013}} Phillips left production and replaced with Larry Charles after filming the scene due to creative differences with Baron Cohen, but was given a "story by" credit in the finished film.{{cite web |last1=Billington |first1=Alex |title=School for Scoundrels' Director Todd Phillips Interview |url=https://www.firstshowing.net/2006/school-for-scoundrels-director-todd-phillips-interview/ |website=FirstShowing.Net |access-date=1 September 2024 |date=September 27, 2006}}}}

|{{Partial|Story}}

|{{no}}

All the King's Men

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

School for Scoundrels

|{{yes}}

2009

|The Hangover

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

2010

|Due Date

|{{yes}}

2011

|The Hangover Part II

|{{yes}}

2012

|Project X

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

2013

|The Hangover Part III

|{{yes}}

2016

|War Dogs

|{{yes}}

2018

|A Star Is Born

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

2019

|Joker

|{{yes}}

2024

|Joker: Folie à Deux

|{{yes}}

Acting credits

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role
2000 \|Road Trip \|Foot Lover
2003 \|Old School \|Gang Bang Guy
2009 \|The Hangover \|Mr. Creepy
2010 \|Due Date \|Barry
2013 \|The Hangover Part III \|Mr. Creepy

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

2000

|Road Trip

|Foot Lover

2003

|Old School

|Gang Bang Guy

2009

|The Hangover

|Mr. Creepy

2010

|Due Date

|Barry

2013

|The Hangover Part III

|Mr. Creepy

=Television=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! width="65"\| Director ! width="65"\| Producer ! Notes
1997 \|Taxicab Confessions \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|Field producer, 1 episode
2008 \|The More Things Change... \|{{yes}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|TV movie
2012 \|Matthew Broderick's Day Off \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Commercial for Honda
2015–2016 \|Limitless \|{{no}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|19 episodes

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! width="65"| Director

! width="65"| Producer

! Notes

1997

|Taxicab Confessions

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|Field producer,
1 episode

2008