David Dobkin is an American film director, producer and former screenwriter best known for directing Clay Pigeons

Clay Pigeons

Clay Pigeons is a 1998 German/American crime-comedy film written by Matt Healy and directed by David Dobkin. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Clay Bidwell, Vince Vaughn as Lester Long, and Janeane Garofalo as Agent Shelby.-Plot:...

, Shanghai Knights

Shanghai Knights

Shanghai Knights is a 2003 action-comedy film. It is the sequel to Shanghai Noon. It was directed by David Dobkin and written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.-Plot:...

, Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers is a 2005 American comedy film directed by David Dobkin. It stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, with Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Diora Baird, Jane Seymour, and an uncredited Will Ferrell....

, Fred Claus

Fred Claus

Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:...

and The Change-Up.

Early life and education

A native of Washington D.C., Dobkin attended Walt Whitman High School

Walt Whitman High School

Walt Whitman High School is a public secondary institution serving roughly the western part of Bethesda--an unincorporated suburban area of Washington, DC, in Montgomery County, Maryland. The school is named in honor of the American poet. It is fed into by Thomas W. Pyle Middle School.-History:The...

 in Bethesda, MD. He then graduated with honors from New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

's Tisch School of the Arts in Film & Television in 1991. He had launched his career six years earlier as an assistant to the production manager on John Schlesinger's film, The Believers

The Believers

The Believers is a horror/neo-noir film directed by John Schlesinger, released in 1987 and starring Martin Sheen, Robert Loggia and Helen Shaver...

. While pursuing his NYU film studies, he worked for Warner Bros. development division. His NYU thesis film, 57th Street Serenade, won several national and international awards including a 1992 C.I.N.E. Eagle and a Gold award at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career as a director.

Career

He helmed his first feature film, Clay Pigeons

Clay Pigeons

Clay Pigeons is a 1998 German/American crime-comedy film written by Matt Healy and directed by David Dobkin. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Clay Bidwell, Vince Vaughn as Lester Long, and Janeane Garofalo as Agent Shelby.-Plot:...

, for Scott Free the first film produced at Ridley

Ridley Scott

Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...

 and Tony Scott's

Tony Scott

Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...

 production company that they did not direct. The black comedy about a series of small-town murders starred Vince Vaughn

Vince Vaughn

Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

, Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...

 and Janeane Garofalo

Janeane Garofalo

Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...

, and was distributed by Gramercy Pictures. Dobkin followed the film by directing the hit comedy Shanghai Knights, starring Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...

, Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson

Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...

 and Fann Wong

Fann Wong

Fann Woon Fong , better known by her stage name Fann Wong, is a Singaporean actress, singer and model.At Singapore's Star Awards 1995, Fann became the first actress to win both the Best Actress and Best Newcomer awards in the same year...

.

Dobkin has directed commercials for clients such as ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

, Heineken

Heineken

Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...

 (which earned him honors from SHOOT

SHOOT

SHOOT magazine, founded in 1960 as Back Stage, provides news and information about advertising agencies, executives, and creative professionals in the advertising industry...

magazine), Carl's Jr.

Carl's Jr.

Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...

, Coke

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

, Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

, Coors Light

Coors Light

Coors Light is a light beer produced by the Coors Brewing Company. It was first produced in 1978.The beer has a "Cold Certified" label which turns the mountains on the label from white to blue when the beer's temperature is lowered to 4 degrees Celsius .- Promotions :In 2008, Coors Light became...

 and Sony PlayStation

PlayStation

The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

 (which won a Bronze Lion at Cannes). His spots for the Utah Symphony were named "Spot of the Month" by Adweek Magazine and featured as the year's best in Communication Arts Magazine.

His music video credits include George Thorogood

George Thorogood

George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...

's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

's "You Can Make History" and Coolio

Coolio

Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...

's "1, 2, 3, 4" (MTV best dance video award), to name a few.

Quickly attracting the attention of several music labels, Dobkin made his music video debut with two video clips from rapper Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...

, both of which turned Platinum. Fifteen more videos followed in quick succession for such diverse music groups as Extreme

Extreme (band)

Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...

, Robin Zander

Robin Zander

Robin Wayne Zander is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick.-Early life:Zander was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, the fourth of five children; he has two older brothers, and older and younger sisters....

, Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, dada

Dada (band)

Dada is a three piece rock band from California . The band is made up of Michael Gurley , Joie Calio and Phil Leavitt ....

, Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler

Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...

, and others.

In May 2009 it was announced Dobkin had entered negotiations to direct Neighborhood Watch, a comedy about an urbanite who moves to the suburbs, and uncovers a conspiracy. In talks to star is Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell

John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...

, to whom Dobkin gave a cameo in Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers is a 2005 American comedy film directed by David Dobkin. It stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, with Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Diora Baird, Jane Seymour, and an uncredited Will Ferrell....

. Dobkin produced the film adaption of the Dark Horse

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

 comic Rest in Peace Department and helmed the comedy film The Change-Up.

Personal life

He married to Megan Wolpert (Dobkin), a former film and television executive and daughter of screenwriter/producer Jay Wolpert

Jay Wolpert

Jay Wolpert is an American television producer and screenwriter.His first television appearance came as a contestant on the original version of Jeopardy! in 1969. He competed in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions that year and won....

.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	52nd Street Serenade	Director
1995	Love Street	Director	TV episode "Freudian Slip"
1998	Ice Cream Man	Screenwriter
1998	Clay Pigeons Clay Pigeons Clay Pigeons is a 1998 German/American crime-comedy film written by Matt Healy and directed by David Dobkin. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Clay Bidwell, Vince Vaughn as Lester Long, and Janeane Garofalo as Agent Shelby.-Plot:...	Director
2003	Shanghai Knights Shanghai Knights Shanghai Knights is a 2003 action-comedy film. It is the sequel to Shanghai Noon. It was directed by David Dobkin and written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.-Plot:...	Director
2005	Wedding Crashers Wedding Crashers Wedding Crashers is a 2005 American comedy film directed by David Dobkin. It stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, with Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper, Diora Baird, Jane Seymour, and an uncredited Will Ferrell....	Director
2005	The Ropes	Executive Producer
2007	Mr. Woodcock Mr. Woodcock Mr. Woodcock is a 2007 comedy film directed by Craig Gillespie, and starring Seann William Scott, Billy Bob Thornton, Susan Sarandon, Amy Poehler, and Ethan Suplee. The film was released on September 14, 2007.-Plot:...	Producer
2007	Fred Claus Fred Claus Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:...	Director, Producer
2011	The Change-Up	Director, Producer

2012
"Jack the Giant Killer"
Producer, Story

2012
"RIPD"
Executive Producer,
Story

2012
"Last Call"
Executive Producer

External links