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Director of Austin Powers
Background:
“Why comedies can’t have as big budgets as action films is a long story, but
evidently they can’t.” Jay Roach
American movie producer and director Jay Roach found an instant success as the
director of the wildly successful Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
(1997) and its even bigger hit installment, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged
Me (1999). He also helmed the third sequel Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002),
as well as the blockbuster comedies Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers
(2004) starring Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller. His producing credits include The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America
for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Charlie Bartlett (2007)
and the forthcoming Smother (2007). He also has co-written the television film
Lifepod (1993) and the movie Blown Away (1994).
The New Mexico native is set to return to the director’s chair for an Untitled
Deep Throat Project (2009), penned by Peter Landesman.
Roach has been married to ex-The Bangles member Susanna Hoffs since 1993. They
have two children, Jackson and Sam. Roach is good friends with directors David
O. Russell, Alexander Payne and Spike Jonze. In 2005, he was member of the Jury
for AFI Awards For Motion Pictures.
USC Graduate
Childhood and Family:
Mathew Jay Roach was born on June 14, 1957, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He
received his BA degree from Stanford University in Stanford, California, and his
MFA from USC School of Cinema-Television in Los Angeles, California.
On April 17, 1993, Jay married actress-singer Susanna Hoffs, famous as member of
the 80s rock-pop band The Bangles. Together they welcomed two sons: Jackson
Roach in 1995 and Sam Roach on November 10, 1998. Jay is the son-in-law of
producer-writer-director Tamar Simon Hoffs and brother-in-law of John Hoffs and
Jesse Hoffs.
Meet the Parents
Career:
While trained at USC, Jay Roach made a student film, Asleep at the Wheel, and
earned praise for his work. Four years after he graduated, Roach acted as
consultant to director Jessi Wells on the independent film Zoo Radio (1990), and
went on to write and co-produce with Pen Densham the CBS science-fiction series
“Space Rangers” in 1993. The same year also saw Roach co-produce, co-write and
serve as second unit director on the television film Lifepod, adapted from
Alfred Hitchcock’s book of the same name. The sci-fi film starred Ron Silver and
Robert Loggia. Next, he teamed up with John Rice and Joe Batteer writing the
film Blown Away (1994), which starred Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones. The
action-thriller movie also credited Roach as associate producer.
After producing a psychodrama observing Adolf Hitler, The Empty Mirror (1996,
released theatrically in 1999), in which he was also a 2nd unit director, Roach
eventually made his feature directorial debut in Austin Powers: International
Man of Mystery (1997), starring Mike Myers. The action/comedy was a great box
office success and launched the director to prominence. Two years later, he
rejoined with Myers for the highly anticipated sequel Austin Powers II: The Spy
Who Shagged Me, which was far more successful than its predecessor. The same
year, the director showed his versatility by helming the hockey-themed Mystery,
Alaska. This gripping story of a gently shocking small town and its local hockey
team’s face off with the New York Rangers was a far howl than Roach’s
disgraceful Austin Powers effort. Mystery, Alaska was both written and produced
by David E Kelley and had ensemble cast including Russell Crowe, Burt Reynolds,
Mary McCormack, Hank Azaria, Lolita Davidovich and Ron Eldard.
Roach once again enjoyed a blockbuster hit with the comedy film Meet the Parents
(2000), which starred Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller and Teri Polo, before
returning to his franchise in 2002 with the third installment Austin Powers in
Goldmember, which stayed bright with the adding of Powers’ dad Nigel (played by
Michael Caine), ‘70s super spy Foxy Cleopatra (played by Beyonce Knowles) as
well as a more examination of the Dr. Evil-Mini-Me dynamic. This was followed by
another flourishing vehicle in 2004, titled Meet the Fockers, a sequel to the
2000 hit Meet the Parents. 2004 also saw Roach act as executive producer for the
Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore comedy romantic 50 First Dates and in the reality-TV
show “American Candidate.”
The following year, Roach produced the film The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy, adapted from Douglas Adams’ well-liked comic sci-fi novel of the same
name. Besides, he co-directed with Ron de Moraes the made-for-television comedy
Earth to America (2005). He went on to produce the controversial movie Borat:
Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
(2006), along with the movie star Sacha Baron Cohen, and Charlie Bartlett
(2007), a comedy helmed by Jon Poll and starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey
Jr. and Hope Davis.
Roach has recently completed Smother (2007), serving as producer. The
comedy/drama stars Dax Shepard, Mike White and Ken Howard with Vince Di Meglio
sitting on the director’s chair and co-writing the story with Tim Rasmussen.
Roach is scheduled to revisit the filmmaking as director for an upcoming drama
written by Peter Landesman.
Awards:
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