Todd Strauss-Schulson (born June 24, 1980) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and cinematographer, best known for directing the comedy film A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011), the horror comedy film The Final Girls (2015), and the romantic comedy film Isn't It Romantic (2019). He has also directed episodes of the television series The Inbetweeners (2012) and Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous (2013).
Todd Strauss-Schulson | |
|---|---|
 Strauss-Schulson in September 2015 | |
| Born | June 24, 1980 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
Early life
editStrauss-Schulson was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City on June 24, 1980.[1] He has one younger sister named Caren.[2] Strauss-Schulson is Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.[3][4]
He attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 2003.[5] Following his graduation, he moved to Los Angeles.[5]
Career
editStrauss-Schulson started his career directing short films such as Larceny (1997) and Backlash (1998). He then worked on music videos, which led to 6 months spent in China and Thailand, where he directed the third season of MTV Whatever Things (2005). The series became the most popular show on MTV Asia, with an international audience of over 250 million people.[2] He has directed commercials and videos for the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards, and clients including Pepsi, Lipton, Mountain Dew, Twix, The Early November, Nestlé, Microsoft, Old Spice, and Sierra Mist, among others.[6]
In 2008, Strauss-Schulson's short film Mano-a-Mano was selected to screen at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The following year, he went back to South by Southwest to premiere his short film Big Pussy, which was subsequently screened at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[6] Strauss-Schulson's first feature film, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas for New Line Cinema and Mandate Pictures, was released by Warner Bros. on November 4, 2011. The film starred Kal Penn, John Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, and Patton Oswalt, and was met with a positive reaction from film critics.[7]
His sophomore film, the horror comedy The Final Girls for Sony Pictures Entertainment and Groundswell Productions, premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival on March 13, 2015, to positive reviews.[8] The film stars Taissa Farmiga, Malin Åkerman, Nina Dobrev, Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, and Alexander Ludwig. It was released on October 9, 2015 in a limited release and through video on demand by Stage 6 Films.[9]
In October 2015, it was reported that TBS had given a pilot order to a comedy series co-created by Strauss-Schulson and Matt Fogel.[10] The pilot was not ordered to series.[11]
Strauss-Schulson's third feature film as director is the comedy Isn't It Romantic for New Line Cinema, starring Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, DeVine, and Priyanka Chopra. The film was released by Warner Bros. on February 14, 2019.[12]
Filmography
editFilms
- A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)
- The Final Girls (2015)
- Isn't It Romantic (2019)
- Silent Retreat (TBA) (Also writer)
- Untitled Rabbids film (TBA)
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Ace of Cakes | Episode "Great Scot" |
| 2010 | Naked But Funny | TV movie |
| 2011 | CollegeHumor Originals | Episode "Sorority Pillow Fight" |
| 2012 | Stevie TV | Episode "#1.1" |
| 2012 | The Inbetweeners | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Betas | Episode "One on One" |
| 2022 | Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Glamorous | 2 episodes |
Short films
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | DoP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Larceny | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| 2005 | Snap*Pop | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| 2008 | Mano-a-Mano | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | The Master Cleanse | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| 2013 | Valibation | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2014 | All's Fair | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
References
edit- ^ "Todd Strauss-Schulson Interview". Movies Online. November 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
- ^ a b Kiebus, Matt (November 4, 2011). "Interview: 'A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas' Director Todd Strauss-Schulson". Death and Taxes.
- ^ Tewksbury, Drew (November 4, 2011). "'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas' Director Todd Strauss-Schulson Talks Fake Penises, Baby Cocaine And Danny Trejo's Face". Pro Box Office.
- ^ Bloom, Nate (November 7, 2011). "Jewish Stars". Cleveland Jewish News.
Ever since his grandfather gave him a video camera for his bar mitzvah (after years of relentless pestering), Todd has been a one-man movie-making machine.
- ^ a b Teixeira, Allison (November 3, 2011). "Alumnus directs feature film". Emerson College. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Todd Strauss-Schulson – Bio". ToddStraussSchulson.com.
- ^ "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. 4 November 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (March 14, 2015). "SXSW Film Review: 'The Final Girls'". Variety. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- ^ Collins, Clark (August 3, 2015). "Taissa Farmiga and Nina Dobrev go back to camp in slasher comedy The Final Girls". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 26, 2015). "TBS Orders, Casts Comedy Pilot From Todd Strauss-Schulson & Matt Fogel". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 3, 2016). "Matt Fogel Comedy Pilot Not Going Forward At TBS, To Be Shopped Elsewhere". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ McNary, Dave (March 22, 2017). "Rebel Wilson's Romantic Comedy Draws Director Todd Strauss-Schulson". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2017.