Francis Veber

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), Le Jouet (as The Toy), Les Compères (as Fathers' Day), La chèvre (as Pure Luck), Les Fugitifs (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.

Francis Veber
Veber in 2012
Born	Francis Paul Veber (1937-07-28) 28 July 1937 (age 88) Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Occupations	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

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

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer
1969	Appelez-moi Mathilde	No	Yes	No
1972	Il était une fois un flic (fr)	No	Yes	No
	The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe	No	Yes	No
1973	La Valise (fr)	No	Yes	No
	L'Emmerdeur	No	Yes	No
	Le Magnifique	No	Yes	No
1974	Fear Over the City	No	Yes	No
	The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe	No	Yes	No
1975	Le Téléphone rose (fr)	No	Yes	No
	The French Detective	No	Yes	No
1976	On aura tout vu	No	Yes	No
	The Toy	Yes	Yes	No
1978	La Cage aux Folles	No	Yes	No
1979	Cause toujours... tu m'intéresses	No	Yes	No
	Coup de tête	No	Yes	No
1980	La cage aux folles II	No	Yes	No
	Sunday Lovers	No	Yes	No
1981	Buddy Buddy	No	Yes	No
	La Chèvre	Yes	Yes	No
1982	Partners	No	Yes	Executive
	The Toy	No	Yes	No
1983	Les Compères	Yes	Yes	Uncredited
1985	The Man with One Red Shoe	No	Yes	No
	Hold-Up	No	Yes	No
1986	Les Fugitifs	Yes	No	No
1989	Three Fugitives	Yes	Yes	Executive
1991	Pure Luck	No	Yes	Executive
1992	Out on a Limb	Yes	Yes	No
1994	My Father the Hero	No	Yes	No
1995	Fantôme avec chauffeur (fr)	No	Yes	No
1996	The Birdcage	No	Yes	No
	Le Jaguar	Yes	Yes	No
1997	Fathers' Day	No	Yes	Executive
1998	The Dinner Game	Yes	Yes	No
2000	The Closet	Yes	Yes	No
2003	Ruby & Quentin	Yes	Yes	No
2006	The Valet	Yes	Yes	Associate
2008	L'emmerdeur	Yes	Yes	No
2010	Dinner for Schmucks	No	No	Executive

Honors

• He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur^[7] on 21 September 1996,^[8] and promoted to Officier (Officer) in 2008.^[8]
• He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 2001.^[9]