Tom Shadyac

Infobox Actor

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name = Tom Shadyac
imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = December 11, 1958
location = Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
occupation = comedian, film director, producer and screenwriter
birthname = Thomas Peter Shadyac
spouse = Jennifer Barker (1997-present)
parents = Richard Shadyac
Julie Shadyac

Tom Shadyac (born December 11, 1958 in Falls Church, Virginia) is an American comedian, producer, director and writer of Lebanese Christian origins from the family Chidiac. He is mostly famous for his partnership with the comedian actor Jim Carrey.

Early life

Tom graduated from J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, Virginia, in 1976.

As a student at the University of Virginia, he produced a poster entitled "Are You a Preppy?" Borrowing from the style of National Lampoon and from the fact that preppies were in strong supply in Charlottesville and nearby Richmond, Virginia, the poster preceded the more famous The Official Preppy Handbook. The poster went into multiple printings and served as a fund-raiser for his fraternity, Sigma Chi.

He graduated from UVA in 1981 and later from UCLA Film School.

Career

Shadyac moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and, at age 24, become the youngest staff joke writer ever for comedian Bob Hope.

He had a brief stint at acting, appearing in an episode of "Magnum, P.I." and in the 1987 film, "Jocks". Also received his master's degree in film from UCLA in 1989 after completing the critically acclaimed short, Tom, Dick and Harry. He then worked on movies-of-the-week, rewrote and directed for Fox.

His hit films with Carrey include "Bruce Almighty", "Liar Liar", and the "" movie series. He collaborated with Eddie Murphy to write "The Nutty Professor" movie series. He produced "Patch Adams" starring Robin Williams and "Dragonfly" with Kevin Costner. He was also the executive producer to the ABC TV series "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter". His most recent directing stint was for "Evan Almighty", the sequel to "Bruce Almighty". In October 2006, at a Virginia Film Festival event [ [http://www.thehook.net/2006/10/30/shadyac-shows-off-two-minutes-of-evan/ Shadyac concedes cost] ] , he conceded that "Evan Almighty" would end up being the most expensive comedy ever made.

Shadyac is also currently a professor at Pepperdine University teaching a screenwriting course.

Frequently casts Jim Carrey in lead roles, often collaborates with Steve Oedekerk in working on a film and hires Don Zimmerman as the editor. Tom has his own production company for his movies called Shady Acres Entertainment.

Personal life

Shadyac has stated that he is a Lebanese Christian.

Filmography

As director:
* "Dr. Sensitive" (2009) (attached)
* "Evan Almighty" (2007)
* "Bruce Almighty" (2003)
* "Dragonfly" (2002)
* "Patch Adams" (1998)
* "Liar Liar" (1997)
* "The Nutty Professor" (1996)
* "" (1994)

As producer:
* "The Richest Man in the World" (2008) (in production)
* "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" (2007)
* "Accepted" (2006)
* "" (2000)

As actor:
* "Jocks" (1987)
* "Magnum, P.I." (1984) (as Danny)

As writer:
* "The Nutty Professor" (1996)
* "" (1994)

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0001723|name=Tom Shadyac
* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/fof_shadyac.html From "Ace" to the "Almighty"] "Christianity Today" Movies article - [http://www.ericdavid.info/default.asp?id=70&newsaction=newsdetail&articleid=73 Be the Miracle] extended version