Tom Shadyac

Thomas Peter Shadyac (born December 11, 1958) is an American film director, producer, and writer. The youngest joke-writer ever for comedian Bob Hope, Shadyac is widely known for writing and directing the comedy films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor (1996), Liar Liar (1997), Patch Adams (1998), and Bruce Almighty (2003). In 2010, Shadyac retired from the comedy genre and wrote, directed, and narrated his own documentary film I Am, that explores his abandonment of a materialistic lifestyle following his involvement in a bicycle accident three years earlier.

Shadyac is a former professor of communication at Pepperdine University's Seaver College. In 2011, he was a participant in the Conference on World Affairs. In 2015, Shadyac began teaching film at the University of Colorado Boulder, beginning with that year's Spring semester. Shadyac teaches film at the University of Memphis.

Early life Shadyac was born in Falls Church, Virginia to Julie and Richard Shadyac, a lawyer. His mother was of Lebanese descent, while his father was of half-Irish and half-Lebanese ancestry. His mother, who died of cancer in 1998, had become semi-quadriplegic and spent much of Shadyac's adult life in a wheelchair.

Shadyac graduated from UVA in 1981, and later received his master's degree in film from the UCLA Film School in 1989, after completing the critically acclaimed short film Tom, Dick and Harry.

Career Filmmaking Shadyac moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and, at age 24, was Bob Hope's staff joke writer. Shadyac briefly acted during the 1980s, appearing in an episode of Magnum, P.I. and in the 1987 film Jocks. He then worked on movies-of-the-week, rewritten and directed for 20th Century Fox.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was Shadyac's first major film and featured an up-and-coming Jim Carrey, described by Shadyac as "the only white guy in Living Color." Following Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Shadyac attained a prominent status in Hollywood and received frequent offers from significant figures in the comedy industry, keen to collaborate with him.

In his 2011 documentary I Am, which follows Shadyac in the aftermath of a bicycle accident in which he suffered significant injuries, he interviews scientists, religious leaders, environmentalists and philosophers, including David Suzuki, Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky, Lynne McTaggart, Elisabet Sahtouris, Howard Zinn and Thom Hartmann. The film asks two central questions: What’s Wrong With the World? and What Can We Do About it? The film is about "human connectedness, happiness, and the human spirit," and explores Shadyac's personal journey, "the nature of humanity" and the "world's ever-growing addiction to materialism." The film received a 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere screening.

Author In 2013 Shadyac published a book entitled Life's Operating Manual and appeared on HBO's live broadcast show Real Time with Bill Maher as part of the promotional campaign. The book was published by Hay House on April 30, 2013

Other work Shadyac is a former adjunct professor of communication at Pepperdine University's Seaver College. and experienced a prolonged period of acute headaches and hyper-sensitivity to light and sound. The injury followed the cumulative effects of previous mild head injuries Shadyac had suffered from surfing, mountain biking, and playing basketball.

Following his eventual recovery from the 2007 accident, Shadyac sold the bulk of his possessions, donated significant amounts of money, Shadyac sought to reorient and simplify his life; he removed himself from the film industry and wrote about his experience in Life's Operating Manual. His brother, Richard C. Shadyac Jr., worked as an attorney in the Washington area for 27 years and had joined the board of ALSAC in 2000. In September 2009 Richard C. Shadyac Jr. was appointed president and chief executive officer of ALSAC in Memphis.

After filming I Am, Shadyac moved to Memphis, where he continued philanthropic work but tried to continue with moviemaking projects. He lamented during production of Brian Banks:

"I've been trying to get a gig for about 10 years. I can't tell you how many jobs I applied for where they just didn't hire me. I had left the private club, and the private club didn't want me back in."

Filmography

Executive producer

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) Finding Kind (2010) (Documentary) Happy (2011) (Documentary)

Producer

Accepted (2006) I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)

Acting roles

Accolades Award Category Subject ResultCleveland International Film FestivalBest American Independent Feature FilmBrian BanksGolden Raspberry AwardWorst PictureI Now Pronounce You Chuck & LarryHumanitas PrizeDocumentaries – Special Awards CategoryI AmLA Film FestivalAudience Award for Best Fiction FeatureBrian BanksNew Media Film FestivalGrand PrizeI Am