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Peter Farrelly

Peter Farrelly and BOBBY FARRELLY (Directors, live action / Producers) grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Bobby majored in engineering at New York's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Peter studied business at Providence College before earning a degree in creative writing from Columbia. Their first professional break came when Eddie Murphy took a shine to Peter's first script, Dust To Dust, prompting the brothers to move to Los Angeles and become a screenwriting team. Among their early writing credits was Seinfeld's infamous virgin episode.

After a decade of work without having a film produced, they decided to take matters into their own hands and directed Dumb and Dumber from their own script. The low-budget comedy became an international blockbuster hit and established the Farrellys as hot Hollywood property. They followed this success with the bowling spoof Kingpin. In 1998 the Farrellys' special brand of humor took the world by storm when the riotous There's Something About Mary earned more than $350 million worldwide, won a New York Film Critics Circle Award (Best Actress, Cameron Diaz), the People's Choice Award for Best Comedy, two Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture, Comedy, and four MTV Movie Awards. In addition, the Farrellys were honored as 1999's ShoWest Screenwriters of the Year by the National Association of Theater Owners. The following year they wrote and produced the critically acclaimed coming-of-age comedy Outside Providence, adapted with director/co-writer Michael Corrente from Peter's debut novel.

The Farrellys are as well known for their loose and democratic sets as they are for their outrageous comedies. Their laid-back philosophy is at the heart of the Farrellys' aptly named company, Conundrum Productions, which is both home base for the brothers and a launching pad for emerging talent. Conundrum's first project was the romantic comedy Say It Isn't So, from first-time director and former Farrelly assistant director J. B. Rogers and produced by Peter and Bobby Farrelly.

Next on the horizon for Conundrum is director Barry Blaustein's comedy The Ringer, to be produced by the Farrellys, and the romantic comedy Shallow Hal, currently in production, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, which they are both directing and producing.

Additionally, the duo recently agreed to write and produce a feature version of The Three Stooges. As the standard bearers for the Stooges' brand of slapstick/sight-gag humor, the Farrellys are uniquely qualified to bring the misadventures of Moe, Curly and Larry to the big screen.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2000.

Peter Farrelly Facts

Birth Name Peter John Farrelly
OccupationDirector
BirthdayDecember 17, 1956 (67)
SignSagittarius
BirthplacePhoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA

Selected Filmography

Dumb and Dumber
Dumb And Dumber To
There's Something About Mary
Fever Pitch
Movie 43
Osmosis Jones
Hall Pass
Me, Myself & Irene
Shallow Hal
Me, Myself And Irene
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