Todd Komarnicki

Todd Komarnicki turned to feature filmmaking after working as a playwright and novelist and debuted as director/writer of the Dutch/U.S. World War II drama, Resistance (2003), based on co-screenwriter Anita Shreve’s 1995 novel of the same title, and co-starring Bill Paxton, Julia Ormond, Philippe Volter and Sandrine Bonnaire.

Komarnicki was a producer under his production banner, Guy Walks Into a Bar, on both the megahit Christmas comedy ($220 million globally) Elf (2003), directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell, as well as the Eddie Murphy comedy directed by Brian Robbins, Meet Dave (2008), co-starring Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Scott Caan, Ed Helms and Kevin Hart and released by 20^th Century Fox.

Komarnicki has been a writer only of a range of features, from the psychological thriller, Perfect Stranger (2007), starring Halle Berry and Bruce Wills under James Foley’s direction; and Clint Eastwood’s true-life drama, Sully (2016), starring Tom Hanks and based on Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s 2009 autobiography; to co-writer/director P.B. Shemran’s biopic adaptation of Simon Winchester’s 1998 book, The Professor and the Madman (2017), co-starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, with Natalie Dormer, Eddie Marsan, Jennifer Ehle, Ioan Gruffudd, Stephen Dillane and Steve Coogan, and released to poor business by Vertical Entertainment.

Komarnicki made his first feature as director/writer/producer of the Belgian/Irish-produced biopic of German theologian and anti-Nazi Dietrick Bonhoeffer, Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. (2024), starring Jonas Dassler, August Diehl, David Jonsson, Flula Borg, and Moritz Bleibtreu, and released by Angel Studios.