Daniel Petrie Jr.

Daniel Petrie Jr.
Born
Daniel Mannix Petrie Jr.

(1951-11-30) November 30, 1951 (age 72)
Canada
Nationality
  • Canadian
  • American
Occupation(s)Film producer
Screenwriter
Film director
Years active1984–present
Organization(s)Writers Guild of America, West
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of Canada
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
Parent(s)Daniel Petrie
Dorothea G. Petrie
RelativesDonald Petrie
AwardsWGA Morgan Cox Award

Daniel Mannix Petrie Jr. (born November 30, 1951)[1] is a Canadian-American[2] producer, writer, and director of film and television.[3] He is best known for pioneering the sub-genres of action comedy and buddy cop films[4] through films like Beverly Hills Cop and Turner & Hooch.[5] He served as President of the Writers Guild of America, West between 1997 and 1999, and then again between 2004 and 2005.[6] He currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors at the Writers Guild Foundation. [7]

Life and career

Petrie was born in Canada to Daniel Petrie Sr., a film director, and Dorothea, a producer, novelist, and actress. He attended Northfield Mount Hermon School and the University of Redlands, earning degrees in psychology and creative writing.[2] Originally a literary agent, he followed in his father's footsteps and joined the film industry as a screenwriter. His debut screenplay, Beverly Hills Cop, was the result of numerous rewrites and several radically different iterations over the course of a decade.[8]

At one point, the film was a serious action film starring Sylvester Stallone,[9] a project that Stallone later took with him and developed into Cobra. Despite the troubled production history, the film was a massive critical and financial success, grossing over $300 million worldwide from a $15 million budget[10] and earning rave reviews from critics like Janet Maslin[11] and Richard Schickel.[12] In spite of much of the film's comedy having been improvised by the actors,[13] Petrie's contributions earned him accolades in the form of Academy Award and Edgar Award nominations.

Petrie wrote a number of well-known and well-received films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including the off-beat crime thriller The Big Easy starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin. He wrote two films for director Roger Spottiswoode, the 1988 thriller film Shoot to Kill and the Tom Hanks comedy Turner & Hooch, and produced a third, The 6th Day. Much of his work falls under the umbrella of crime fiction. He made his directorial debut with Toy Soldiers, a 1991 action film revolving around a group of teenagers fighting terrorists that have taken over their prep school. He served as the creator and executive producer of Combat Hospital, a television war drama series produced in his native Canada.

In addition to his creative pursuits, Petrie has been active in various entertainment industry organizations. He served as Vice President, and later President, of the Writers Guild of America, West, and currently sits on its Board of Trustees. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Film Institute; a member of the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; and as a member of the Board of Advisers of the Austin Film Festival and Screenwriting Conference.[2] He is co-founder of Enderby Entertainment,[14] an independent film finance and production company.[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
1984 Beverly Hills Cop No Yes No
1986 The Big Easy No Yes No
1988 Shoot to Kill No Yes Yes
1989 Turner & Hooch No Yes Executive
1991 Toy Soldiers Yes Yes No
1994 In the Army Now Yes Yes No
2014 Dawn Patrol Yes No Yes
2015 Rosemont Yes No Yes

Executive producer only

Acting credits

Year Title Role
1992 The Distinguished Gentleman Asbestos Lobbyist
1994 In the Army Now Lieutenant Colonel

Television

Year Title Writer Executive
Producer 		Notes
1995 Stick with Me, Kid No Yes 10 episodes
1996-1997 The Big Easy No Yes 23 episodes
2011 Combat Hospital Yes Yes Creator and producer in 13 episodes; writer in 2 episodes

TV movies

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Notes
1990 Turner & Hooch No No Yes
1996 Toe Tags Yes No No
1997 Dead Silence Yes No No Cameo as "Slaughterhouse Trooper"
2002 Framed Yes Yes No
2007 Pictures of Hollis Woods No Yes No

Personal life

Petrie's father Daniel Petrie was also a film director, and his brother Donald is an actor and director. His family was awarded an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.[16] He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and holds dual US-Canadian citizenship.[2] He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, Writers Guild of Canada, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[17]

Awards and nominations

1984 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay: Beverly Hills Cop (nomination) - with Danilo Bach

1984 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture: Beverly Hills Cop (nomination)

1988 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture: Shoot to Kill (nomination)

2008 Humanitas Prize in 90 Minute Category: Pictures of Hollis Woods (nomination) - with Ann Peacock and Camille Thomasson

2013 WGA Morgan Cox Award (won)

References

  1. ^ "Daniel Petrie jr. - Biografie Archived 2018-12-04 at the Wayback Machine. Sat.1. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Daniel Petrie Jr". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  3. ^ Staff, Hollywood.com (2015-02-03). "Daniel Petrie Jr. | Biography and Filmography | 1951". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  4. ^ "6 Ways 'Beverly Hills Cop' Changed Comedy Forever". Esquire. 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  5. ^ "Daniel Petrie Jr interview: Toy Soldiers, Dawn Patrol, Turner & Hooch". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  6. ^ "Daniel Petrie Jr". Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  7. ^ "Writers Guild Foundation Board and Staff".
  8. ^ "Daniel Petrie Jr interview: Toy Soldiers, Dawn Patrol, Turner & Hooch". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  9. ^ "Why Sylvester Stallone's Beverly Hills Cop Movie Never Happened". CINEMABLEND. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  10. ^ "Beverly Hills Cop (1984) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  11. ^ Maslin, Janet (2012-10-03). "Movie Review - Beverly Hills Cop - FILM: MURPHY IN 'BEVERLY HILLS COP' - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2017-08-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Schickel, Richard (1984-12-10). "Cinema: Eddie Goes to Lotusland". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  13. ^ "15 Things You May Not Have Known About Beverly Hills Cop". 2015-10-12. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  14. ^ "Daniel Petrie Jr To Receive WGA West's Morgan Cox Award For Guild Service". Deadline.com. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Company". Enderby Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  16. ^ "Daniel Petrie Jr". IMDb. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Leadership". Enderby Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2017-08-27.