Gene Stupnitsky

Gene Stupnitsky is a busy director, writer, and executive producer of comedy who has been gradually shifting from work for the small to the big screen. His movie debut was as co-writer (with longtime partner Lee Eisenberg and director-producer Harold Ramis) of the poorly-received Biblical comedy, Year One (2009), marking Ramis’ final movie before he died in 2014, and co-starring Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross, and Hank Azaria.

Again with Eisenberg, Stupnitsky struck gold the second time out as he co-wrote and also executive-produced the hit comedy, Bad Teacher (2011), directed by Jake Kasdan, and co-starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, and Jason Segal, and grossing a knockout $216 million worldwide on a $20 million budget.

Gene Stupnitsky finally made his directorial debut and enjoyed his second box-office hit with the coming-of-age comedy, Good Boys (2019), which he also co-wrote (again with Eisenberg), and which co-starred Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon, Midori Francis, and Molly Gordon; after its South by Southwest festival premiere, Universal Pictures released to a fine return of $111 million on $20 million costs.

For the first time, Stupnitsky made a feature (as director and co-writer, with John Phillips) without Eisenberg on the comedy, No Hard Feelings (2023), starring Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, and Natalie Morales.