Will Speck (born December 31, 1969)[1] and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination.
Speck and Gordon met while attending the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Their short film Culture (1997) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. They directed their first feature film, Blades of Glory, in 2007. Their works include the movies The Switch (2010), The Power Inside (2013), Office Christmas Party (2016), and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022), and the television shows Cavemen (2007) and Hit-Monkey (2021). They have one upcoming film, Distant.
Career
Will Speck and Josh Gordon met when they were paired for a group assignment at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. They became friends, and wrote screenplays together in Los Angeles in 1994. Gordon joined the writing staff of the sitcom Mad About You and Speck worked with Fox 2000 Pictures as a creative executive. They wrote and directed the short films Angry Boys and Culture in 1997. Culture starred Philip Seymour Hoffman and earned Best Narrative Short Film at the Chicago International Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Gordon said the two shorts were "the first times we expressed our sensibility on film."[1][2][3]
Speck and Gordon made their feature directorial debut in 2007 with the comedy Blades of Glory, starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, and Amy Poehler.[2] It was both a critical and commercial success, earning over $145 million at the box office.[4] Also in 2007, they worked on the sitcom Cavemen as writers, directors, and executive producers.[5][6] The distributor ABC struggled to promote the series, and it received mixed reviews; the Chicago Tribune called it one of the worst television shows ever made.[7][8] In 2010, Speck and Gordon directed Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman in the romantic comedy film The Switch; it was met with mixed reviews, particularly for its screenplay.[9] In 2013, they directed the interactive social film The Power Inside, which was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches in a Drama Series.[10][11]
Speck and Gordon also directed hundreds of commercials. Their most notable ones are the GEICO Cavemen campaign ("So easy, a caveman could it do") that inspired the show Cavemen,[12][13] a "Make Homosexuals Marry" commercial with Justin Long and Mike White,[14] and an advertisement promoting organ donation, titled "World's Biggest Asshole", starring Thomas Jane and the voice of Arnett.[15] Forbes magazine listed "World's Biggest Asshole" as one of the best advertisements of 2016.[16] At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the commercial's sponsor was awarded ten Golden Lions (three golds, two silvers, and five bronzes).[17] In 2016, Speck and Gordon directed two episodes of the series Flaked, starring Arnett,[18] and the movie Office Christmas Party, starring Aniston and Bateman.[19][20] In 2021, their animated television series Hit-Monkey, based on the Marvel Comics character, was released on Hulu.[21][22] Their next work, the musical film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile based on the children's book and starring Shawn Mendes, was released in 2022.[23][24] They directed a science fiction movie called Distant.[25]
Future and unrealized projects
Speck and Gordon were reported to direct many movies which were either canceled or in development hell. They include the movies I Want to ______ Your Sister (announced in 2008; abandoned by 2019),[26][27] The Pool (announced in 2011),[28] Parents Weekend (announced in 2015),[29] The Travelers (announced in 2017),[30] and War Driver (announced in 2020).[31] As of May 2021, Variety Insight reports The Pool, The Travelers, and War Driver have been canceled.[18]
In October 2022, it was announced they would direct and produce a musical adaptation of the video game The Oregon Trail.[32]
Filmography
Short film
| Year | Title | Directors | Writers | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Angry Boy | Yes | No | [2] |
| Culture | Yes | Yes | [2] |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Directors | Producers | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Blades of Glory | Yes | No | [33] |
| 2010 | The Switch | Yes | No | [34] |
| 2013 | The Power Inside | Yes | Executive | [10][11] |
| 2016 | Office Christmas Party | Yes | Executive | [19] |
| 2022 | Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile | Yes | Yes | [23] |
| TBA | Distant† | Yes | Executive | [25] |
Television
| Year | Title | Directors | Writers | Executive Producers |
Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cavemen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also developers with Joe Lawson Episodes
Directed: "Pilot", "The Mascot", "Nick Jerk, Andy Work" Written and produced: "Nick Get Job", "The Cavewoman" Written, directed, and produced: "Her Embarrassed of Caveman" |
[18] |
| 2016 | Flaked | Yes | No | No | Episodes "Rose" and "Palms" | [18] |
| 2021–present | Hit-Monkey | No | Yes | Yes | Also creators | [21][22] |
| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
References
- ^ a b "Will Speck". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Fagerholm, Matt (December 5, 2016). "Making Something Out Of Nothing: Will Speck and Josh Gordon on 'Office Christmas Party'". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (September 2, 1999). "Culturing comedy". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Blades of Glory". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave (December 9, 2007). "A Sitcom Battles Its Own Prehistory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Stransky, Tanner (October 3, 2007). "'Cavemen': The evolution of a sitcom". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Elber, Lynn (October 2, 2007). "ABC's 'Cavemen' undergoes a little pre-debut evolution". The Daily Journal. Vineland, New Jersey. p. 14. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Top 25 worst TV shows ever". Chicago Tribune. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ "The Switch". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Camp, Alexa (August 16, 2013). "Intel & Toshiba Team Up for New Social Film The Power Inside Starring Harvey Keitel". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Nordyke, Kimberly (June 22, 2014). "Daytime Emmy Awards: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Bianculli, David (May 11, 2017). "A sneak peek at this fall's lineup". New York Daily News. New York City, New York. p. 127. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (February 4, 2008). "Geico Brings Back Cavemen". Ad Age. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Glenn, David (December 6, 2017). "'Devin & Glenn': Justin Long And Mike White Team Up For 'Make Homosexuals Marry' Campaign". HuffPost. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Jardine, Alexandra (August 4, 2016). "Thomas Jane Plays the 'World's Biggest Asshole' in This Very Surprising Film". Ad Age. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Burns, Will (December 27, 2016). "In A Year Of Great Storytelling, My Top 5 Ads Of 2016". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Richards, Katie (June 19, 2017). "Why Cannes Is Ready to Fall in Love With the World's Biggest Asshole". Adweek. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c d
- "Will Speck". Variety Insight. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- "Josh Gordon". Variety Insight. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Kit, Borys (February 19, 2016). "Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman to Star in 'Office Christmas Party' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (February 19, 2016). "Dreamworks Invites Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston To 'Office Christmas Party'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Otterson, Joe (February 11, 2019). "'Howard the Duck' Among Four Marvel Animated Shows Ordered at Hulu". Variety. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (December 14, 2020). "'Helstrom' Canceled at Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 17, 2021). "Will Speck & Josh Gordon To Helm 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' At Sony Pictures". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (September 9, 2021). "Sony Sets Dates For Whitney Houston & George Foreman Biopics, Two Others; 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' On The Move". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Kit, Borys (August 22, 2019). "Blades of Glory Filmmakers Tackling Sci-Fi Adventure Distant for Amblin (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (February 20, 2008). "Speck, Gordon to direct 'Sister'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (June 4, 2019). "Glen Powell to Star in STX Comedy 'I Wanna F*** Your Brother'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 8, 2011). "'Blades Of Glory' Duo Dives Into 'The Pool'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Busch, Anita (June 1, 2015). "Lotus Entertainment Acquires Comedy Spec 'Parents Weekend'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 5, 2017). "Will Speck & Josh Gordon To Direct Amblin's 'The Travelers'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – War Driver". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ O'Rourke, Ryan (October 5, 2022). "The Oregon Trail: The Iconic Video Game is Being Made Into Movie Musical [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Grove, Martin A. (March 27, 2007). "'Glory' guys did well skating, filming on thin ice". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Lasker, Jake (August 19, 2010). "Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck Exclusive Interview THE SWITCH". Collider. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.