Francis Veber Explained

Francis Veber
Birth Name:Francis Paul Veber
Birth Date:1937 7, df=y
Birth Place:Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Occupation:Film director, screenwriter, producer; theater playwright
Spouse:Francoise Veber
Awards:Academy Award nominee, La cage aux folles
César Award winner, Le dîner de cons, and four-time nominee
Lumière Film Award winner, Le dîner de cons

Francis Paul Veber (born 28 July 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and playwright.[1] He has written and directed both French and American films. Nine French-language films with which he has been involved, as either writer or director or both, have been remade as English-language Hollywood films: Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire (as The Man with One Red Shoe), L'emmerdeur (as Buddy Buddy), La Cage aux Folles (as The Birdcage), (as The Toy), (as Fathers' Day), La chèvre (as Pure Luck), (as Three Fugitives), Le dîner de cons (as Dinner for Schmucks) and La Doublure (as The Valet). He also wrote the screenplay for My Father the Hero, the 1994 American remake of the French-language film Mon père, ce héros.

Some of his screenplays started as theater plays (for instance, Le dîner de cons). This theatrical experience contributes to his films' tight structure, resulting in what has been called "marvels of economy".[2]

Many of his French comedies feature recurring types of characters, named François Pignon (a bungler) and François Perrin (a bully).

Biography

Veber was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine,[3] the son of a writer mother and Pierre-Gilles Veber, a screenwriter. Veber's father was Jewish and his mother was Armenian-Russian (Veber was baptized at birth).[4] [5] His grand-uncle was writer Tristan Bernard.[6]

His parents were both authors: his father writer and journalist Pierre-Gilles Véber and his mother novelist Catherine Agadjanian, who wrote under the name Georgette Paul (1901-1990). He is the great-nephew of playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer Tristan Bernard, grandson of playwright Pierre Véber and nephew of screenwriter, director and hit songwriter Serge Veber. He is the uncle of Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian, young adult author of the Tara Duncan series. His son, Jean Véber, is also a screenwriter.

Filmography

YearTitlewidth=65Directorwidth=65Writerwidth=65Producer
1969 Appelez-moi Mathilde
1972
The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
1973
L'Emmerdeur
Le Magnifique
1974Fear Over the City
The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe
1975
The French Detective
1976On aura tout vu
The Toy
1978La Cage aux Folles
1979 Cause toujours... tu m'intéresses
Coup de tête
1980La cage aux folles II
Sunday Lovers
1981 Buddy Buddy
La Chèvre
1982Partners
The Toy
1983
1985The Man with One Red Shoe
Hold-Up
1986Les Fugitifs
1989Three Fugitives
1991Pure Luck
1992Out on a Limb
1994My Father the Hero
1995
1996The Birdcage
Le Jaguar
1997Fathers' Day
1998The Dinner Game
2000The Closet
2003Ruby & Quentin
2006The Valet
2008L'emmerdeur
2010Dinner for Schmucks

Honors

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20080111054450/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/115245/Francis-Veber New York Times
  2. Web site: Francis Veber: The Hollywood Interview . Terry Keefe. 2008-01-19. The Hollywood Interview. 2011-06-03.
  3. Book: 501 Movie Directors. Steven Jay. Schneider. Cassell Illustrated. London. 2007. 402. 9781844035731. 1347156402.
  4. News: French Films, American Style . The New York Times . Annette . Insdorf . 1985-07-28.
  5. Web site: Humour with a trademark French twist .
  6. Web site: INTERVIEW: The Cruel Comedy of Francis Veber's "The Dinner Game" . IndieWire . March 31, 2022 . July 9, 1999.
  7. . 1996 . 84 . ORDRE DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR Décret du 3 avril 1996 portant promotion et nomination . 1996-04-07 . 5438 . PREX9610753D . 2009-03-22.
  8. . 2008 . 71 . Décret du 21 mars 2008 portant promotion et nomination . 2008-03-23 . 5024 . PREX0804596D . 2009-03-22.
  9. . 2001 . 112 . Décret du 14 mai 2001 portant promotion et nomination . 2001-05-15 . 7695 . PREX0104833D . 2009-03-22.