Peter Farrelly American film director Date of Birth: 17.12.1956 Country: USA

Biography of Peter Farrelly

Peter Farrelly is an American film director who, along with his brother Bobby, forms one of the most famous duos in the history of contemporary cinema. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1985, Peter lived a fairly unremarkable life and struggled to establish his career. However, the move changed everything. Soon after, the brothers met Bennett Yellin and began working together. From that moment on, Peter was almost never without work; one project immediately followed another.

Peter is credited with being responsible for the first relatively well-known project the brothers collaborated on, a special episode of the NBC show 'Our Planet Tonight' in partnership with the Zucker brothers. However, their major project was released five years later when Peter was allowed to write the script for a couple of episodes of the incredibly popular series 'Seinfeld'.

After some time, the brothers released their first feature film, the comedy 'Dumb and Dumber'. Despite the fact that neither of the brothers had ever picked up a camera before, the film was remarkably successful. According to Peter, he was tired of the classic comic book heroes who were lucky and all-knowing, which is why the protagonists of their first film were simply idiots. The film's success was incredible, with a budget of sixteen million dollars bringing in three hundred million in revenue.

The brothers' next work, 'Kingpin', released in 1996, was directed by them but not based on their own script. The film barely managed to recoup its twenty-five million dollar budget. Many blamed the weak advertising campaign, and others, including the legendary film critic Roger Ebert, criticized the vulgarity of the Farrellys.

After some time, the brothers settled into their respective roles on set, with Peter directing the actors from behind the camera, and Bobby standing behind the monitors. They worked with actors such as Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and Bill Murray. Despite the jokes about rotten teeth, unattractive women, and vomit that often appeared in their films, they continued to be loved by audiences.

The Farrelly brothers took their jokes to a new level in the 1998 film 'There's Something About Mary', which became another box office hit despite pushing the boundaries with its humor. Their earlier works were mainly aimed at sixteen-year-old teenagers, but this romantic comedy attracted a completely new audience.

In 1999, the brothers released the film 'Outside Providence' based on Peter's novel. In 2001, the semi-animated film 'Osmosis Jones' was released, which told the story of human-like bacteria and microorganisms in Bill Murray's body; the film was a commercial disappointment. The comedy film 'Shallow Hal' in 2001, starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow, had slightly better success. The brothers partially redeemed themselves in 2003 with the film 'Stuck On You' starring Matt Damon.

In 2007, the fairly successful film 'The Heartbreak Kid' was released. The Farrelly brothers continue to contribute to the film industry to this day.