Richard Sakai
Encyclopedia
Richard Sakai is an American producer best known for partnering with James L. Brooks
and for his work on The Simpsons
.
He began his career as a helper for James L. Brooks in 1977. In 1984, Brooks invited Sakai to become a producer in his new film production company Gracie Films
. As a film producer
, he has produced many of James L. Brooks’ later films, such as Spanglish
, As Good as It Gets
and Jerry Maguire
(for which he received an Academy Award nomination). He also produced Riding in Cars with Boys
and Bottle Rocket
. He is also a producer for The Simpsons Movie
.
As a TV producer and director, he has worked on many different shows. He directed episodes of Taxi
, Newhart
and Who's the Boss?
and also produced The Tracey Ullman Show
, Taxi, The Critic
, Phenom, What About Joan?
, and more famously, The Simpsons
, for which he has won several Emmy Award
s.
On The Simpsons, he has been animated several times, most notably, as a karaoke
singer in the episode One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
(voiced by Dan Castellaneta
), as one of the escaping prisoners in the commercial about “revolving door prisons” in Sideshow Bob Roberts
, and as a jazz vibraphone
player in Jazzy and the Pussycats
.
Sakai is currently president
of Gracie Films
.
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
and for his work on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
He began his career as a helper for James L. Brooks in 1977. In 1984, Brooks invited Sakai to become a producer in his new film production company Gracie Films
Gracie Films
Gracie Films is an American film and television production company, created by James L. Brooks in 1986. The company has produced many award-winning films and television series, including Broadcast News, Jerry Maguire, and most notably The Simpsons...
. As a film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, he has produced many of James L. Brooks’ later films, such as Spanglish
Spanglish (film)
Spanglish is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks, and starring Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Téa Leoni. It was released in the United States on December 17, 2004 by Columbia Pictures and by Gracie Films, and in other countries over the first several months of...
, As Good as It Gets
As Good as It Gets
As Good as It Gets is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by James L. Brooks and produced by Laura Ziskin. It stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, obsessive-compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as a single mother with an asthmatic son, and Greg Kinnear as a gay artist. The screenplay was...
and Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
(for which he received an Academy Award nomination). He also produced Riding in Cars with Boys
Riding in Cars with Boys
Riding in Cars with Boys is a 2001 film based on the autobiography of the same name by Beverly Donofrio, about a woman who overcame difficulties including being a teen mother to earning a master's degree from the span of 1961 to 1986. It stars Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, and James...
and Bottle Rocket
Bottle Rocket
Bottle Rocket is a 1996 comedy film directed by Wes Anderson. It was co-written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. As well as being Wes Anderson's directorial debut, Bottle Rocket was the debut feature for brothers Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, who co-starred with James Caan and Robert Musgrave.The film...
. He is also a producer for The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
.
As a TV producer and director, he has worked on many different shows. He directed episodes of Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
, Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
and Who's the Boss?
Who's the Boss?
Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984 to April 25, 1992...
and also produced The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
, Taxi, The Critic
The Critic
The Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,...
, Phenom, What About Joan?
What About Joan?
What About Joan? is an ABC sitcom that aired in 2001 for 2 seasons . It starred Joan Cusack as Joan Gallagher, a Chicago schoolteacher and the comedy of her day-to-day life. It co-starred Kyle Chandler. It was produced by James L...
, and more famously, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, for which he has won several Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s.
On The Simpsons, he has been animated several times, most notably, as a karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
singer in the episode One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 24, 1991. In the episode, Homer consumes a poisonous fugu fish at a sushi restaurant, and is told that he has only twenty-two hours...
(voiced by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
), as one of the escaping prisoners in the commercial about “revolving door prisons” in Sideshow Bob Roberts
Sideshow Bob Roberts
"Sideshow Bob Roberts" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons sixth season, and it originally aired on October 9, 1994. Kelsey Grammer returns as villain Sideshow Bob, who, in this episode, wins the Springfield mayoral election through electoral fraud. The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh...
, and as a jazz vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
player in Jazzy and the Pussycats
Jazzy and the Pussycats
"Jazzy and the Pussycats" is the second episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired on September 17, 2006. When Bart turns a quiet funeral into a chaotic mess, Homer and Marge are faced with angry Springfielders who've had enough of Bart's mischievousness...
.
Sakai is currently president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Gracie Films
Gracie Films
Gracie Films is an American film and television production company, created by James L. Brooks in 1986. The company has produced many award-winning films and television series, including Broadcast News, Jerry Maguire, and most notably The Simpsons...
.