Will Speck and Josh Gordon

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Speck & Gordon
BornWill Speck
(1969-12-31) December 31, 1969 (age 51)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation
  • Directors
  • producers
  • screenwriters
Years active1997–present

Will Speck (born December 31, 1969)[1] and Josh Gordon are American directors, producers, and screenwriters who create most of their work together as Speck & Gordon, generally in the comedy genre.

The pair met while attending New York University and created the short films Angry Boys and Culture, the latter of which earned an Academy Award nomination for the Best Live Action Short Film. In 2007, they made their directorial debut with Blades of Glory and directed several episodes for Cavemen, a television series that received mixed reviews. After working on The Switch (2010) and The Power Inside (2013), the pair helmed Office Christmas Party in 2016.

Speck and Gordon have also established themselves as directors of hundreds of advertisements, and earned Donate Life America ten accolades at the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for their work on 2016's "World's Biggest Asshole". Most recently, the pair created Hit-Monkey, an animated series set to premiere on Hulu in 2021, and directed the feature films Distant and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.

Career[]

After being assigned to a group assignment, Will Speck and Josh Gordon met and became friends while attending the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. The pair would eventually begin writing screenplays together in Los Angeles in 1994, where Gordon joined the writing staff for the sitcom Mad About You and Speck worked with Fox 2000 Pictures as a creative executive. In 1997, they wrote and directed the short films Angry Boys and Culture, the latter starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, and earned accolades at the Chicago International Film Festival for Best Narrative Short Film. Furthermore, in 1998, Culture went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. On creating both shorts, Gordon said that they "were comedic, and they were the first times we expressed our sensibility on film."[1][2][3]

The pair made their feature directorial debut with the 2007 comedy film Blades of Glory, starring an ensemble cast including Will Ferrell and Jon Heder.[2] Produced by DreamWorks Pictures, the project received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing over $145 million.[4] That same year, Speck and Gordon wrote, directed, and executive produced several episodes of the sitcom Cavemen.[5][6] Filmed in L.A. despite being set in Atlanta, Georgia, ABC struggled to promote the series, which received mixed reviews and was called by the Chicago Tribune one of the worst television shows ever created.[7][8]

In 2010, Speck and Gordon directed the romantic comedy film The Switch, starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, which received mixed reviews for its screenplay written by Allan Loeb.[9] The pair later directed all six episodes of the interactive television miniseries The Power Inside in 2013, and also executive produced the first episode. The following year, the series was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches in a Drama Series.[10][11]

Actors Will Arnett (left) and Jason Bateman (right) have frequently collaborated with the filmmakers

Speck and Gordon have also directed hundreds of commercials for various companies and organizations. Most notably, the GEICO Cavemen campaign that inspired and was later used to promote Cavemen with the slogan "so easy, a caveman could do it",[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 Will Arnett.[15] Reviewing "World's Biggest Asshole", Forbes named it the second best advertisement of 2016 and wrote that it was "well cast, well shot, very well written, and builds from an emotionally satisfying insight."[16] At the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the commercial's sponsor, Donate Life America, was awarded ten Golden Lions consisting of 3 golds, 2 silvers, and 5 bronzes.[17]

Also in 2016, the pair helmed two episodes of the Netflix series Flaked,[18] and directed and executive produced Office Christmas Party, a comedy also starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman released by Paramount Pictures.[19][20] In August 2019, Speck and Gordon were attached to direct and executive produce the science fiction comedy film Distant for Amblin Entertainment, which was filmed in Hungary and is set to be released in 2022.[21] The pair also created the animated television series Hit-Monkey, which is set to be released on Hulu in 2021.[22][23] Their most recent venture is Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, an adaptation of the children's book of the same name, with Sony Pictures Releasing scheduled to theatrically release it on November 18, 2022.[24][25]

Future and canceled projects[]

Speck and Gordon have been attached to direct or produce several projects that have been canceled or are currently in pre-production. In 2008, it was reported that they would direct the feature film I Want to ______ Your Sister from a spec script written by Melissa Stack that reached the Black List and was bought by Paramount Pictures for $300,000.[26] However, the project was later rewritten a decade after into I Wanna F*** Your Brother with Stack attached to direct.[27] In 2011, 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment announced that the filmmakers would direct The Pool.[28] In 2015, Lotus Entertainment acquired the rights to the spec script Parents Weekend from Peter Scott and reported that the pair would executive produce.[29] Two years later, Amblin Entertainment revealed that Speck and Gordon would helm The Travelers, a thriller film and adaptation of Chris Pavone's novel of the same name.[30] In 2020, they were announced for the action film War Driver.[31]

Variety Insight has confirmed that the feature films The Pool, The Travelers, and War Driver are no longer active and have been canceled.[18]

Filmography[]

Short films[]

A curvy line forms the letters "S" and "G"
Official logo from the "Speck & Gordon" website
Year Title Directors Writers Ref(s)
1997 Angry Boy Yes Yes [2]
Culture Yes Yes [2]

Feature films[]

Year Title Directors Producers Ref(s)
2007 Blades of Glory Yes No [32]
2010 The Switch Yes No [33]
2016 Office Christmas Party Yes Executive [19]
2022 DistantProjects that have not yet been released Yes Executive [21]
Lyle, Lyle, CrocodileProjects that have not yet been released Yes Yes [24]

Television[]

Year Title Directors Writers Producers Notes Ref(s)
2007 Cavemen Yes Yes Executive
Episodes
 [18]
2013 The Power Inside Yes No Executive Directed all six episodes and produced the first [10][11]
2016 Flaked Yes No No Episodes "Rose" and "Palms" [18]
2021 Hit-MonkeyProjects that have not yet been released No Yes Executive Also creators [22][23]
Key
Projects that have not yet been released Denotes projects that have not yet been released

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Will Speck". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: 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 May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (September 2, 1999). "Culturing comedy". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "Blades of Glory". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Top 25 worst TV shows ever". Chicago Tribune. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Switch". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  11. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Steinberg, Brian (February 4, 2008). "Geico Brings Back Cavemen". Ad Age. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d
  19. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Multiple sources:
  22. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  23. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  24. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (February 20, 2008). "Speck, Gordon to direct 'Sister'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – War Driver". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  32. ^ 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.
  33. ^ 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.

External links[]

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