Will Speck (born December 31, 1969)[1] and Josh Gordon are an American filmmaker duo who generally work in the comedy genre. They have directed six feature films together. Their accolades include an Academy Award nomination.
Speck and Gordon made their feature directorial debut in 2007 with the comedy Blades of Glory, starring Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, and Amy Poehler.[2] It was both a critical and commercial success, earning over $145 million at the box office.[4] Also in 2007, they worked on the sitcom Cavemen as writers, directors, and executive producers.[5][6] The distributor ABC struggled to promote the series, and it received mixed reviews; the Chicago Tribune called it one of the worst television shows ever made.[7][8] In 2010, Speck and Gordon directed Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman in the romantic comedy film The Switch; it was met with mixed reviews, particularly for its screenplay.[9] In 2013, they directed the interactive social filmThe Power Inside, which was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches in a Drama Series.[10][11]
Speck and Gordon also directed hundreds of commercials. Their most notable ones are the GEICO Cavemen campaign ("So easy, a caveman could it do") that inspired the show Cavemen,[12][13] a "Make Homosexuals Marry" commercial with Justin Long and Mike White,[14] and an advertisement promoting organ donation, titled "World's Biggest Asshole", starring Thomas Jane and the voice of Arnett.[15]Forbes magazine listed "World's Biggest Asshole" as one of the best advertisements of 2016.[16] At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the commercial's sponsor was awarded ten Golden Lions (three golds, two silvers, and five bronzes).[17] In 2016, Speck and Gordon directed two episodes of the series Flaked, starring Arnett,[18] and the movie Office Christmas Party, starring Aniston and Bateman.[19][20] In 2021, their animated television series Hit-Monkey, based on the Marvel Comics character, was released on Hulu.[21][22] Their next work, the musical film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile based on the children's book and starring Shawn Mendes, was released in 2022.[23][24] Their lastest project was the science fiction movie Distant, which wrapped filming in 2020 and was released in 2024.[25]
Future and unrealized projects
Speck and Gordon were reported to direct many movies which were either canceled or in development hell. They include the movies I Want to ______ Your Sister (announced in 2008; abandoned by 2019),[26][27]The Pool (announced in 2011),[28]Parents Weekend (announced in 2015),[29]The Travelers (announced in 2017),[30] and War Driver (announced in 2020).[31] As of May 2021, Variety Insight reports The Pool, The Travelers, and War Driver have been canceled.[18]
In October 2022, it was announced they would direct and produce a musical adaptation of the video game The Oregon Trail.[32]
Filmography
Short film
Feature film
Television
References
^ a b"Will Speck". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a b c dFagerholm, Matt (December 5, 2016). "Making Something Out Of Nothing: Will Speck and Josh Gordon on 'Office Christmas Party'". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Littleton, Cynthia (September 2, 1999). "Culturing comedy". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
^"Blades of Glory". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Itzkoff, Dave (December 9, 2007). "A Sitcom Battles Its Own Prehistory". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Stransky, Tanner (October 3, 2007). "'Cavemen': The evolution of a sitcom". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Elber, Lynn (October 2, 2007). "ABC's 'Cavemen' undergoes a little pre-debut evolution". The Daily Journal. Vineland, New Jersey. p. 14. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Top 25 worst TV shows ever". Chicago Tribune. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a bCamp, Alexa (August 16, 2013). "Intel & Toshiba Team Up for New Social Film The Power Inside Starring Harvey Keitel". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a bNordyke, Kimberly (June 22, 2014). "Daytime Emmy Awards: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Steinberg, Brian (February 4, 2008). "Geico Brings Back Cavemen". Ad Age. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Glenn, David (December 6, 2017). "'Devin & Glenn': Justin Long And Mike White Team Up For 'Make Homosexuals Marry' Campaign". HuffPost. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Jardine, Alexandra (August 4, 2016). "Thomas Jane Plays the 'World's Biggest Asshole' in This Very Surprising Film". Ad Age. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Burns, Will (December 27, 2016). "In A Year Of Great Storytelling, My Top 5 Ads Of 2016". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Richards, Katie (June 19, 2017). "Why Cannes Is Ready to Fall in Love With the World's Biggest Asshole". Adweek. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a bKit, Borys (February 19, 2016). "Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman to Star in 'Office Christmas Party' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Lincoln, Ross A. (February 19, 2016). "Dreamworks Invites Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston To 'Office Christmas Party'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a bOtterson, Joe (February 11, 2019). "'Howard the Duck' Among Four Marvel Animated Shows Ordered at Hulu". Variety. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a bGoldberg, Lesley (December 14, 2020). "'Helstrom' Canceled at Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^ a bFleming, Mike Jr. (May 17, 2021). "Will Speck & Josh Gordon To Helm 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' At Sony Pictures". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Pedersen, Erik (September 9, 2021). "Sony Sets Dates For Whitney Houston & George Foreman Biopics, Two Others; 'Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile' On The Move". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
^ a bKit, Borys (August 22, 2019). "Blades of Glory Filmmakers Tackling Sci-Fi Adventure Distant for Amblin (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
^Siegel, Tatiana (February 20, 2008). "Speck, Gordon to direct 'Sister'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
^Galuppo, Mia (June 4, 2019). "Glen Powell to Star in STX Comedy 'I Wanna F*** Your Brother'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
^Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 8, 2011). "'Blades Of Glory' Duo Dives Into 'The Pool'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Busch, Anita (June 1, 2015). "Lotus Entertainment Acquires Comedy Spec 'Parents Weekend'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 5, 2017). "Will Speck & Josh Gordon To Direct Amblin's 'The Travelers'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^"Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – War Driver". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
^O'Rourke, Ryan (October 5, 2022). "The Oregon Trail: The Iconic Video Game is Being Made Into Movie Musical [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
^Grove, Martin A. (March 27, 2007). "'Glory' guys did well skating, filming on thin ice". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
^Lasker, Jake (August 19, 2010). "Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck Exclusive Interview THE SWITCH". Collider. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.