Jason Friedberg
Encyclopedia
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (born January 12, 1974 in Mississauga, Ontario
, Canada
) are a film director and screenwriter team known for making parody
films. They were part of the writing team for Scary Movie
and Spy Hard
and have written and directed films such as Date Movie
, Epic Movie
, Meet the Spartans
, Disaster Movie
and Vampires Suck
. The duo's films have received consistently terrible reviews, with particular criticism paid to their films containing almost no actual jokes and instead being a series of pop culture references.
Date Movie has been the pair's best-selling movie so far. It opened with $19.1 million and earned $48.5 million overall. Disaster Movie opened with $5.8 million and earned $14.2 million total in the United States. Vampires Suck, which opened on a Wednesday, earned an estimated $18.7 million in its first five days. A new movie, called The Biggest Movie of All Time 3D, is currently being filmed and will be in theaters somewhere in 2012. It will mainly be a spoof of Avatar.
newspaper. Additionally, every film they have directed has made it into Rotten Tomatoes' "Worst of the Worst" for the 2000s, only scoring one spot outside of the bottom 25. The duo received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Screenplay for Epic Movie at the 2007 Razzies
and were nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for both Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie at the 2008 Razzies
, as well as nominated for 'Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel
at the 2011 Razzies for Vampires Suck. The pair appears on noted British film magazine Empire
s fan voted top 50 worst movies of all time more often than any other person. Almost all of their movies appear with a rank, and all are mentioned in the full review text.
Critic Josh Levin
of Slate commented that "Friedberg and Seltzer.. are not filmmakers. They are evildoers, charlatans, symbols of Western civilization's decline..." Josh Rosenblatt of the Austin Chronicle
said that "Writer/directors Friedberg and Seltzer are a scourge. They’re a plague on our cinematic landscape, a national shame, a danger to our culture, a typhoon-sized natural disaster disguised as a filmmaking team, a Hollywood monster wreaking havoc on the minds of America’s youth and setting civilization back thousands of years." Korey Coleman of Spill.com
has claimed that he is "bothered" by the duo's films, as he believes they are dumbing down the film industry and popular culture in general.
alumni Crista Flanagan
and Ike Barinholtz
.
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! Date Movie
! Epic Movie
! Meet the Spartans
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! Vampires Suck
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Diedrich Bader
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Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) are a film director and screenwriter team known for making parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
films. They were part of the writing team for Scary Movie
Scary Movie
Scary Movie is a 2000 comedy-parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, as part of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It is an American dark comedy which heavily parodies the horror, slasher, and mystery genres...
and Spy Hard
Spy Hard
Spy Hard is a 1996 American spy comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond films and other action films. The introduction to the song is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic-Plot:...
and have written and directed films such as Date Movie
Date Movie
Date Movie is a 2006 American parody film, which was directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, two of the writers of the first Scary Movie. Much of the story line was based on that of the well-known romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Meet The Fockers...
, Epic Movie
Epic Movie
Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the...
, Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, Date Movie, and most recently Epic Movie, it directs parodies at various films. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it...
, Disaster Movie
Disaster Movie
Disaster Movie is a 2008 parody film. It is written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, and stars Carmen Electra, Kim Kardashian, Matt Lanter, Nicole Parker, Crista Flanagan, Vanessa Minnillo, and Ike Barinholtz...
and Vampires Suck
Vampires Suck
Vampires Suck is a 2010 vampire spoof film based on the Twilight film series and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It stars Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Christopher N...
. The duo's films have received consistently terrible reviews, with particular criticism paid to their films containing almost no actual jokes and instead being a series of pop culture references.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Directors Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... |
Producers Film producer A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The... |
Writers Screenwriter Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:... |
RT Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance... Approval Rating |
Metacritic | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 1996 in film Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:... |
Spy Hard Spy Hard Spy Hard is a 1996 American spy comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond films and other action films. The introduction to the song is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic-Plot:... |
7% | 25/100 | $26,960,191 | |||
| 2000 2000 in film The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor .... |
Scary Movie Scary Movie Scary Movie is a 2000 comedy-parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, as part of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It is an American dark comedy which heavily parodies the horror, slasher, and mystery genres... |
53% | 48/100 | $278,019,771 | |||
| 2006 2006 in film - Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006... |
Date Movie Date Movie Date Movie is a 2006 American parody film, which was directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, two of the writers of the first Scary Movie. Much of the story line was based on that of the well-known romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Meet The Fockers... |
6% | 11/100 | $84,795,656 | |||
| 2007 2007 in film This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007... |
Epic Movie Epic Movie Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the... |
2% | 17/100 | $86,865,564 | |||
| 2008 2008 in film This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008... |
Meet the Spartans Meet the Spartans Meet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, Date Movie, and most recently Epic Movie, it directs parodies at various films. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it... |
2% | 9/100 | $84,646,831 | |||
| Disaster Movie Disaster Movie Disaster Movie is a 2008 parody film. It is written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, and stars Carmen Electra, Kim Kardashian, Matt Lanter, Nicole Parker, Crista Flanagan, Vanessa Minnillo, and Ike Barinholtz... |
2% | 15/100 | $34,816,824 | ||||
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Vampires Suck Vampires Suck Vampires Suck is a 2010 vampire spoof film based on the Twilight film series and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It stars Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Christopher N... |
4% | 18/100 | $79,658,108 | |||
| 2012 2012 in film The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2012... |
The Biggest Movie of All Time 3D | ||||||
Date Movie has been the pair's best-selling movie so far. It opened with $19.1 million and earned $48.5 million overall. Disaster Movie opened with $5.8 million and earned $14.2 million total in the United States. Vampires Suck, which opened on a Wednesday, earned an estimated $18.7 million in its first five days. A new movie, called The Biggest Movie of All Time 3D, is currently being filmed and will be in theaters somewhere in 2012. It will mainly be a spoof of Avatar.
Critical reception
The critical reception of Friedberg and Seltzer's movies has been consistently very negative. Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans were rated the two worst films of 2008 by The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper. Additionally, every film they have directed has made it into Rotten Tomatoes' "Worst of the Worst" for the 2000s, only scoring one spot outside of the bottom 25. The duo received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Screenplay for Epic Movie at the 2007 Razzies
28th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 28th Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies were held on February 23, 2008 in Santa Monica, California to honor the worst films of 2007. The nominations were announced on January 21...
and were nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay for both Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie at the 2008 Razzies
29th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 29th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation to "honor" the worst films of 2008 on February 21, 2009 at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Hollywood, California. Nominations were announced on January 21, 2009; The Love Guru was the most nominated film...
, as well as nominated for 'Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel
at the 2011 Razzies for Vampires Suck. The pair appears on noted British film magazine Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
s fan voted top 50 worst movies of all time more often than any other person. Almost all of their movies appear with a rank, and all are mentioned in the full review text.
Critic Josh Levin
Josh Levin
Josh Levin is a senior editor at Slate magazine. He also hosts the magazine's sports podcast Hang Up and Listen.-Early life:Levin was born and raised in New Orleans...
of Slate commented that "Friedberg and Seltzer.. are not filmmakers. They are evildoers, charlatans, symbols of Western civilization's decline..." Josh Rosenblatt of the Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
said that "Writer/directors Friedberg and Seltzer are a scourge. They’re a plague on our cinematic landscape, a national shame, a danger to our culture, a typhoon-sized natural disaster disguised as a filmmaking team, a Hollywood monster wreaking havoc on the minds of America’s youth and setting civilization back thousands of years." Korey Coleman of Spill.com
Spill.com
Spill.com is an award-winning video game and movie review, discussion, and news website created by cartoonist and animator Korey Coleman. It is the continuation of the 9 year old Austin, Texas based Public-access television cable TV show called The Reel Deal...
has claimed that he is "bothered" by the duo's films, as he believes they are dumbing down the film industry and popular culture in general.
Recurring cast members
Among all of their films, Friedberg and Seltzer had cast MADtvMADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
alumni Crista Flanagan
Crista Flanagan
Crista Flanagan is an American comedic actress best known for her work as a cast member on the FOX sketch comedy series MADtv from 2005 to 2009 and for her recurring role as Lois Sadler on the AMC series Mad Men.-Early life:...
and Ike Barinholtz
Ike Barinholtz
Isaac "Ike" Barinholtz is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. Barinholtz is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv from 2002-2007.-Early life:...
.
! Actor
! Date Movie
Date Movie
Date Movie is a 2006 American parody film, which was directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, two of the writers of the first Scary Movie. Much of the story line was based on that of the well-known romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Meet The Fockers...
! Epic Movie
Epic Movie
Epic Movie is a 2007 American parody film directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Paul Schiff. It was made in a similar style to Date Movie, Friedberg and Seltzer's previous film. The film mostly references The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the...
! Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, Date Movie, and most recently Epic Movie, it directs parodies at various films. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it...
! Disaster Movie
Disaster Movie
Disaster Movie is a 2008 parody film. It is written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, and stars Carmen Electra, Kim Kardashian, Matt Lanter, Nicole Parker, Crista Flanagan, Vanessa Minnillo, and Ike Barinholtz...
! Vampires Suck
Vampires Suck
Vampires Suck is a 2010 vampire spoof film based on the Twilight film series and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It stars Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Christopher N...
! The Biggest Movie of All Time 3D
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Diedrich Bader
Karl Diedrich Bader , better known as Diedrich Bader, is an American actor, voice artist and comedian. Many know him for his roles as Oswald Lee Harvey on The Drew Carey Show, Lawrence from the film Office Space, the Tae Kwon Do instructor Rex from Napoleon Dynamite, Tank "Shredder" Evans in Surf's...
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Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer...
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Adam Campbell (actor)
Adam Campbell is an English actor. Among his credits are roles in the American film parodies Date Movie, Epic Movie, and portrayed Cal Vandeusen in the horror miniseries Harper's Island.-Career:...
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Tony Cox
Joseph Anthony "Tony" Cox is an American dwarf and actor known for his comedic performances in Bad Santa, Me, Myself and Irene, Date Movie and Disaster Movie. He is also known for his work in George Lucas's Willow and as an Ewok in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. In the two spin-off...
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Ike Barinholtz
Isaac "Ike" Barinholtz is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. Barinholtz is most notable for his membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv from 2002-2007.-Early life:...
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Crista Flanagan
Crista Flanagan is an American comedic actress best known for her work as a cast member on the FOX sketch comedy series MADtv from 2005 to 2009 and for her recurring role as Lois Sadler on the AMC series Mad Men.-Early life:...
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Nicole Parker
Nicole Frances Parker is an Emmy Award-winning actress and singer best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show MADtv. In July 2009, she concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked...
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Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Coolidge is an American actress best known for playing "Stifler's mom," the older woman in the film American Pie ; Hilary Duff's stepmother in A Cinderella Story ; Paulette, the manicurist in Legally Blonde and its sequel; the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature Robots ; for her...
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Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
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