Todd Phillips

This article is about the film director. For the bass musician, see Todd Phillips (musician).

Todd Phillips
Occupation(s)	Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Years active	1994–present

Todd Phillips (born December 20, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American screenwriter and film director.

Early life

Born in New York, Todd Phillips attended New York University Film School, but dropped out in order to focus on completing his first film, the feature-length documentary Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies, about the life and death of punk rocker GG Allin. Phillips made the film while a junior at NYU and it went on to become one of the biggest grossing student films at the time, even getting a limited theatrical release.

Around this time, Phillips worked in St. Mark's Place at an all-night video store that specialized in explicit material and hard to find films.

Phillips also appeared as one of the drivers in the first seasons of Taxicab Confessions on HBO.

Phillips claims to have gotten in trouble for shoplifting as young man.

Filmmaker

His first film was the feature-length documentary Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies, about the life and death of punk rocker GG Allin. Phillips made the film while a junior at NYU and it went on to become one of the biggest grossing student films at the time, even getting a limited theatrical release.

Phillips followed that up with Frat House a documentary about college fraternities that he produced and directed with then-partner, Andrew Gurland. Frat House premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and would win the Grand Jury Prize for documentary features.

Bittersweet Motel (2000) was Phillips' third documentary and centered on the infamous jam band, Phish. It covered the band's summer and fall 1997 tours, plus footage from their 1998 spring tour of Europe. The documentary ends at the The Great Went, a giant two-day festival held in upstate Maine which attracted 70,000 people.

While at Sundance with Frat House, Phillips met director-producer Ivan Reitman, which led to Phillips writing and directing his first two features, Road Trip and Old School, for Reitmans' Montecito Picture Company.

Phillips also wrote and directed the 2004 film Starsky & Hutch starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, as well as the 2006 film School for Scoundrels, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder.

In 2005 Details Magazine cited Judd Apatow, Adam McKay and Todd Phillips as "The Frat Packagers".

Phillips worked on Borat (2006); however, he resigned his position as director of the movie in early 2005, due to creative differences. Nevertheless, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his role in fashioning the story.

In 2009, Phillips directed and produced The Hangover which was made for a reported $35 million dollars. The film went on to become the highest grossing R-Rated Comedy of all time. It's worldwide gross currently stands at $460 million dollars.

Acting

In the film Road Trip he made an appearance as "Foot Lover on Bus". He is wearing a track suit and a curly black wig.

He made a cameo near the start of Old School and is at the door asking "I'm, uh, here for the gangbang" and is credited as "Gang Bang Guy". Again he is wearing a track suit and the same curly black wig.

Phillips also appeared briefly in The Hangover. His character Mr. Creepy is dressed in a tracksuit and is wearing a black curly wig. He is seen as the elevator doors open, he appears to have been crouched and peforming fellatio in front of the girl accompanying him.

Filmography as director

• Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies (1994)
• Frat House (1998)
• Road Trip (2000)
• Bittersweet Motel (2000)
• Old School (2003)
• Starsky & Hutch (2004)
• School for Scoundrels (2006)
• The Hangover (2009)
• Due Date (2010)
• The Hangover 2 (2011)