My 100 Favourite Writers

Trey was born in Conifer, Colorado, on October 19, 1969 to Randy Parker, a geologist, and Sharon Parker, an insurance broker. He has an older sister, Shelley Parker. He met Matt Stone (co-creator of South Park (1997)) while attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he had a double major of music and Japanese. While at UCB he wrote, directed and starred in Cannibal! The Musical (1993) (aka "Cannibal: The Musical!") based on a true episode in Colorado's history. After graduation from UCB (rumors that he didn't due to skipping classes to work on the movie are false), he and Stone were asked by then-FoxLab executive Brian Graden to create an animated Christmas card for his friends and family. The now infamous short, titled The Spirit of Christmas (1995), led to South Park (1997).

Cohen is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley; he studied theoretical computer science. His real name is David 'S.' Cohen. He used that name when he worked on The Simpsons (1989), but when he starting working on Futurama (1999), he joined the Writer's Guild (the TV writer's union). When he registered, there was already a David S. Cohen, and the union does not allow members to register with the same name. Cohen chose the letter X for his middle initial because he felt it was more 'sci-fi-ish.'

Armando Iannucci was born on 28 November 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for The Death of Stalin (2017), In the Loop (2009) and Veep (2012). He has been married to Rachel Jones since 25 August 1990. They have two children.

Steve Coogan was born on 14 October 1965 in Middleton, Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Philomena (2013), Alan Partridge (2013) and 24 Hour Party People (2002). He was previously married to Caroline Hickman.

Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his comedic Three Flavours Cornetto film trilogy consisting of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), made with recurrent collaborators Simon Pegg, Nira Park and Nick Frost. He also collaborated with them as the director of the television series Spaced.

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of 1992, first-time writer-director Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend immediately. Two years later, he followed up Dogs success with Pulp Fiction (1994) which premiered at the Cannes film festival, winning the coveted Palme D'Or Award. At the 1995 Academy Awards, it was nominated for the best picture, best director and best original screenplay. Tarantino and writing partner Roger Avary came away with the award only for best original screenplay. In 1995, Tarantino directed one fourth of the anthology Four Rooms (1995) with friends and fellow auteurs Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Allison Anders. The film opened December 25 in the United States to very weak reviews. Tarantino's next film was From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), a vampire/crime story which he wrote and co-starred with George Clooney. The film did fairly well theatrically.

Since then, Tarantino has helmed several critically and financially successful films, including Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015).

Graham Linehan was born on 22 May 1968 in Dublin, Ireland. He is a writer and director, known for Motherland (2016), The IT Crowd (2006) and Father Ted (1995). He was previously married to Helen Serafinowicz.

Dan Harmon was born on January 3, 1973 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He is best known as the creator, writing, and producer for Community (2009) and Rick and Morty (2013). He also is known for writing and producing earlier works such as Computerman (2003), and Laser Fart (2004). He was previously married to Erin McGathy.

Ken Keeler was born on 2 December 1961 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Futurama (1999), The Simpsons (1989) and The Critic (1994).

Richard Ellef Ayoade was born in Hammersmith, and grew up in Suffolk, in England, the son of a Norwegian mother, Dagny Amalie (Bosvik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. He studied Law at Cambridge university, and followed in the footsteps of British Comedy legends like Monty Python's Eric Idle, Hugh Laurie and Graeme Garden when he became the president of the Cambridge Footlights club.

Ayoade's first real TV break was directing, co-writing and starring with Matthew Holness in the cult classic Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004) a parody of shlocky 1980's science fiction television shows, and noticed for it's "so bad it's good!" aesthetic. Notably shy and self-effacing in interviews, his performance as the debauched, self-assured publisher/pornographer/nightclub owner 'Dean Learner' showcased the young comedian's acting talent.

After cameos in another cult series The Mighty Boosh (2003) as the shaman "Saboo", his position in the popular consciousness was cemented in the series The IT Crowd (2006) where Ayoade played the social oblivious, dweebish savant known as "Moss".

All the while Ayoade continued to direct music videos for Vampire Weekend, Kasabian, and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs before finally getting his chance to direct a feature film, Submarine (2010), based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne.

Submarine was followed by The Double (2013) co-written by Avi Korine and based on a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

A former boxer, paratrooper and general all-around angry young man, Rod Serling was one of the radical new voices that made the "Golden Age" of television. Long before The Twilight Zone (1959), he was known for writing such high-quality scripts as "Patterns" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight," both later turned into films (Patterns (1956) and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962)). The Twilight Zone (1959) featured forays into controversial grounds like racism, Cold War paranoia and the horrors of war. His maverick attitude eventually drove him from regular network television.

Avid reader Charlie Kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. He moved from Massapequa, New York to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at Boston University but soon transferred NYU to study film. Charlie worked in the circulation department of the Star Tribune, in Minneapolis, in the late 1980s and moved to Los Angeles in 1991, where he was hired to write for the TV sitcom Get a Life (1990). He went on to write comedy sketches and a variety of TV show episodes. Between writing assignments, he wrote the inventive screenplay Being John Malkovich (1999), which created Hollywood interest and the attention of producer Steve Golin. Charlie works at home in Pasadena, California, where he lives with his wife Denise and children.

Alex Garland is an English novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. He is best known for the films Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).

Garland's others works as a writer includes The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Never Let Me Go (2011) and Dredd (2012).

He is also the co-writer on the video game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

In 2015, Garland made his directorial debut with Ex Machina and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Writing, Original Screenplay category.

Mike Judge is an American actor, animator, film director, screenwriter, and television producer.

In 1962, Judge was born in Guayaquil, the largest city of Ecuador and the country's main port. His parents were expatriate Americans. His father was archaeologist William James Judge and his mother was librarian Margaret Yvonne Blue. At the time of Mike's birth, William Judge was working for a non-profit organization which promoted agricultural development in Ecuador.

Around 1969, the Judge family returned to the United States, and settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mike spend most of his school years in Albuquerque. He received his secondary education at St. Pius X High School, a private, Roman Catholic high school located in Albuquerque. The school was named after Pope Pius X (1835-1914, term 1903-1914), who is venerated as a saint,

Following his graduation from high school, Judge enrolled at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The UCSD is a public land-grant research university, located in San Diego, California. Judge was interested in a science career, and followed science studies. In 1985, Judge graduated with a Bachelor of Science in physics. From 1985 to 1987, Judge held various jobs relating to either physics or mechanical engineering. He was dissatisfied with his work life, because he found that these jobs were boring.

In 1987, Judge was hired by Parallax Graphics, a startup video card company. Its headquarters were located in Santa Clara, California. Santa Clara is located at the center of Silicon Valley, and houses the headquarters of several high-tech companies. Parallax only had about 40 employees. Judge quit following only 3 months of work, because he disliked the company's corporate culture and his co-workers. In later interviews, Judge claimed that his co-workers reminded him of the Stepford Wives. His negative experiences contributed to his unflattering portrayal of Silicon Valley in his television career.

Judge next attempted to start a new career as a musician, serving as bass player in a blues band. For a couple of years, Judge was part of a music group headed by blues guitarist Anson Funderburgh (1954-). In the early 1990s, Judge worked alongside singer and drummer Doyle Bramhall (1949-2011). Bramhall was a well-known figure in the Texas music scene. During his musical career, Judge was taking graduate math classes at the University of Texas at Dallas.

In 1989, Judge was shown animation cels on display, and became fascinated with animation. Judge purchased a Bolex 16 mm film camera, and started working on his own animated short films. The amateur animator worked from his home at the time, located in Richardson, Texas. His short films were initially on display in local animation festivals.

In 1991, Judge developed "Milton", a series of short films satirizing the typical life of office workers. Judge voiced all the characters. The films were acquired by Comedy Central, and showcased Judge's talents to a wider audience. In 1992, Judge created the animated short "Frog Baseball", depicting two cruel and stupid teenagers. The short film was featured in the television series "Liquid Television" (1991-1995), which showcased works by independent animators. The network MTV was sufficiently impressed with the short film to order an animated television series featuring its main characters.

Judge's first work as a television producer was the animated series "Beavis and Butt-Head" (1993-1997), a satirical, scathing commentary on modern society. Besides producing the series, Judge voiced the two protagonists. He also wrote and directed most of its episodes. The series was considered quite controversial in its own era, but was commercially successful. In its initial incarnation, it lasted for 7 seasons, and 200 episodes. Judge gave permission for the use of supporting character Daria Morgendorffer in the spin-off series "Daria" (1997-2002), which was also successful. Judge was otherwise not involved in the production of the spin-off.

In 1997, Judge directed the animated feature film "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America". It featured the protagonists in a road trip across the United States. It earned about 63 million dollars in the North American box office, and was critically well-received as a satire of youth culture.

Judge's next television series was the animated sitcom "King of the Hill" (1997-2010), which was broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company. For this series, Judge's partner and co-creator was the experienced comedy writer Greg Daniels (1963-). Daniels was previously a screenwriter on the popular animated sitcom "The Simpsons". Daniels had written several episodes in seasons 5 to 7 (1993-1996), and some of them were considered among the highlights of the series. For "King of the Hill", the duo of creators decided to maintain a relatively realistic depiction of modern life. Much of the humor derived from depicting the frustrations and absurdities of an otherwise mundane existence. "King of the Hill" was both a critical and commercial hit, and commercial hit. It lasted for 13 seasons and 259 episodes.

In the late 1990s, Judge wrote and directed the live-action film "Office Space" (1999). It was loosely based in his own "Milton" series of animated short films,, but featured additional characters. The film under-performed at the box office, only earning about 12 million dollars from its worldwide release. However the film sold surprisingly well in the home video market, and became a cult hit.

In 2003, Judge and fellow animator Don Hertzfeldt (1976-) co-founded the annual film festival "The Animation Show". It showcased animated short films from various eras, with its initial goal being to cover "everything from forgotten classics to the very latest in computer animation". In its first year, the touring festival visited over 200 movie theaters in North America.

Judge's third feature film was the dystopian science fiction comedy "Idiocracy" (2006). It depicted a soldier from the early 21st century who spends 500 years in suspended animation. He awakes in the 26th century, in a future world which has fully embraced anti-intellectualism. The film never received a wide theatrical release, and only earned 495,000 dollars at the box office. However it sold very well in the home video market, and became a cult film.

In 2008, Fox decided to cancel "King of the Hill" despite the series' decent ratings. At the time it was the 105th most watched series on American television. The final group of episodes were broadcast over the following 2 years.

In 2009, Judge directed his fourth (and so far last) feature film. It was the live-action comedy film "Extract". It features a successful flavoring-extracts company who has to deal with a lawsuit by an injured employee, with the schemes of a female con-artist, and with the sexual frustration and impaired judgment of its owners. The film earned about 11 million dollars at the box office, and was critically well-received.

In 2009, Judge developed his third television series, the animated comedy "The Goode Family" (2009) for ABC. Compared to "King of the Hill", this series contained more political satire. The series failed to find an audience, and some critics considered that its humor more properly belonged in the 1990s than the 2000s. It only lasted 1 series and 13 episodes, canceled by ABC due to its low ratings. It was the first series created by Judge to be considered a failure.

In 2011, "Beavis and Butt-Head" was revived for another season, with Judge as a producer and an updated setting. The 8th season only lasted for 2 months (October 27-December 29, 2011) and 2011. The opening audience attracted an audience of 3,3 million viewers. Ratings fell during the season, and the final episode only had 900,000 viewers. MTV decided not to order a 9th season.

Judge next developed his fourth television series, the live-action comedy "Silicon Valley" (2014-2019). The original premise was to focus on the competitive business environment of the Silicon Valley. Following the first season's success, "Silicon Valley" continued in the long-term. The series lasted for 6 seasons and 53 episodes. The series received critical acclaim for its "hilarious" take on the business world and modern technology, and was nominated for several awards. Conversely, a number of critics felt that a number of its characters were stereotypical nerds, and lacked proper character development.

While "Silicon Valley" was still ongoing, Judge developed his fifth television series. It was the animated documentary series "Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus" (2017-2018), which focused on the oral history of professional musicians and their associated musical genres. It presented anecdotes concerning the featured musicians, "as told by their families, band-mates, and close associates". The series lasted 2 seasons and 16 episodes .The series was critically acclaimed, but never attracted a large audience.

In its relatively short run, this series featured biographies of (in order of presentation): Johnny Paycheck (1938-2003), Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-), George Jones (1931-2013), Tammy Wynette (1942-1998), Billy Joe Shaver (1939-2020), Waylon Jennings (1937-2002), Blaze Foley (1949-1989), George Clinton (1941-), Rick James (1948-2004), Bootsy Collins (1951-), James Brown (1933-2006), Morris Day (1957-), and Betty Davis (1945-).

In 2021, Judge was 58-years-old. He has never fully retired, though he has yet to make a television comeback. His professional career in television has lasted 30 years so far, and he has gained a reputation for innovative series concepts.

Jesse Armstrong was born on 13 December 1970 in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Four Lions (2010), In the Loop (2009) and Succession (2018).

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making movies with an 8mm camera. He was a devoted fan of The Three Stooges, so much of Raimi's film work in his teens, with good friends Bruce Campbell and Rob Tapert, was slapstick comedy based around what they had observed from "Stooges" movies.

Among the three of them, they wrote, directed, produced and edited a short horror movie titled Within the Woods (1978), which was then shown to prospective investors to raise the money necessary to film The Evil Dead (1981). It met with lukewarm interest in the U.S. with local distributors, so Raimi took the film to Europe, where it was much more warmly received. After it started gaining positive reviews and, more importantly, ticket sales upon its release in Europe, U.S. distributors showed renewed interest, and "Evil Dead" was eventually released stateside to strong box office returns. His next directorial effort was Crimewave (1985), a quirky, cartoon-like effort that failed to catch fire with audiences. However, he bounced back with Evil Dead II (1987), a racier and more humorous remake/sequel to the original "Dead" that did even better at the box office. Raimi was then given his biggest budget to date to shoot Darkman (1990), a comic book-style fantasy about a scarred avenger. The film did moderate business, but Raimi's strong visual style was evident throughout the film via inventive and startling camera work that caught the attention of numerous critics.

The third chapter in the Evil Dead story beckoned, and Raimi once again directed buddy Campbell as the gritty hero "Ash", in the Gothic horror Army of Darkness (1992). Raimi surprised fans when he took a turn away from the fantasy genre and directed Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone in the sexy western, The Quick and the Dead (1995); four years later, he took the directorial reins on A Simple Plan (1998), a crime thriller about stolen money, starring Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda. In early 1999, he directed the baseball film, For Love of the Game (1999), and, in 2000, returned to the fantasy genre with a top-flight cast in The Gift (2000). In 2002, Raimi was given a real opportunity to demonstrate his dynamic visual style with the big-budget film adaptation of the Stan Lee comic book superhero, Spider-Man (2002), and fans were not disappointed. The movie was strong in both script and effects, and was a runaway success at the box office. Of course, Raimi returned for the sequel, Spider-Man 2 (2004), which surpassed the original in box-office takings.

George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul. He was a writer and producer for The X-Files and was the co-creator of its spin-off The Lone Gunmen.

Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have received widespread critical acclaim, with Gilligan winning two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Writers Guild of America Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards and Producers Guild of America Awards, one Directors Guild of America Award and a BAFTA. Outside of television, he co-wrote the screenplay for the 2008 film Hancock.

Gilligan was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Gail, a grade school teacher, and George Vincent Gilligan Sr., an insurance claims adjuster. His parents divorced in 1974 and he and his younger brother, Patrick, were raised in Farmville and Chesterfield County, and attended the laboratory school run by Longwood College. Growing up, Gilligan became best friends with future film editor and film title designer Angus Wall. His interest in film began when Wall's mother, Jackie, who also taught alongside Gilligan's mother, would lend her Super 8 film cameras to him. He used the camera to make science fiction films with Patrick. One of his first films was entitled Space Wreck, starring his brother in the lead role. One year later, he won first prize for his age group in a film competition at the University of Virginia.

Jackie would take Wall and Gilligan to Richmond and drop them off at Cloverleaf Mall to see films, and encourage both of them to pursue a career in the arts. "I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for Jackie. She was a wonderful lady and a real inspiration," he recalls. Gilligan was recognized for his talents and creativity at an early age. George Sr. described him as a "kind of a studious-type young man, and he liked to read, and he had a vivid imagination". He introduced Gilligan to film noir classics, as well as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood Westerns on late-night television. Gilligan won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts. After eighth grade, he moved back to Chesterfield to attend high school.

After graduating from Lloyd C. Bird High School in 1985, Gilligan went on to attend NYU's Tisch School of the Arts on a scholarship, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film production. While at NYU, he wrote the screenplay for Home Fries; Gilligan received the Virginia Governor's Screenwriting Award in 1989 for the screenplay, which was later turned into a film. One of the judges of the competition was Mark Johnson, a film producer. He was impressed by Gilligan, saying he "was the most imaginative writer I'd ever read".

Greg Daniels was born on 13 June 1963 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for The Office (2005), Parks and Recreation (2009) and King of the Hill (1997). He has been married to Susanne Daniels since 15 September 1991. They have four children.

Mitchell Hurwitz was born on 29 May 1963 in Orange County, California, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Arrested Development (2003), Running Wilde (2010) and Lady Dynamite (2016). He has been married to Mary Jo Keenen since 8 May 1999. They have two children.

Joss Whedon is the middle of five brothers - his younger brothers are Jed Whedon and Zack Whedon. Both his father, Tom Whedon and his grandfather, John Whedon were successful television writers. Joss' mother, Lee Stearns, was a history teacher and she also wrote novels as Lee Whedon. Whedon was raised in New York and was educated at Riverdale Country School, where his mother also taught. He also attended Winchester College in England for two years, before graduating with a film degree from Wesleyan University.

After relocating to Los Angeles, Whedon landed his first TV writing job on "Roseanne", and moved on to script a season of "Parenthood". He then developed a film script which went on to become Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). Whedon was very unhappy with the final film - his original script was extensively re-written and made lighter in tone. After this he earned screenwriting credits on such high profile productions as Alien Resurrection (1997) and Toy Story (1995), for which he was Oscar nominated. He also worked as a 'script doctor' on various features, notably Speed (1994).

In 1997, Whedon had the opportunity to resurrect his character Buffy in a television series on The WB Network. This time, as showrunner and executive producer, he retained full artistic control. The series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a popular and critical hit, which ran for several seasons, the last two on UPN. Whedon also produced a spin-off series, "Angel", which was also successful. A foray in to sci-fi television followed with "Firefly", which developed a cult following, but did not stay on air long. It did find an audience on DVD and through re-runs, and a spin-off feature film Serenity (2005) was released in 2005.

Other projects have included comic book writing, the sci-fi drama "Dollhouse" and the screenplay for Marvel blockbuster The Avengers (2012).

Charlton "Charlie" Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English humourist, critic, author, screenwriter, producer, and television presenter. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the anthology series Black Mirror and has written for programmes such as Brass Eye, The 11 O'Clock Show, and Nathan Barley. He has presented a number of television shows, including Screenwipe, Gameswipe, Newswipe, Weekly Wipe, and 10 O'Clock Live. He also wrote the five-part horror drama Dead Set. He has written comment pieces for The Guardian and is one of four creative directors of the production company Zeppotron.

Charlton Brooker was born on 3 March 1971 in Reading, Berkshire. He grew up in a relaxed Quaker household in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxfordshire. He first worked as a writer and cartoonist for Oink!, a comic produced in the late 1980s. After attending Wallingford School, he attended the Polytechnic of Central London (which became the University of Westminster during his time there), studying for a BA in Media Studies. He claims that he did not graduate because his dissertation was written on video games, which was not an acceptable topic. Brooker listed his comedic influences as Monty Python, The Young Ones, Blackadder, Chris Morris, and Vic Reeves.

From 1999 to 2000, Brooker played hooded expert 'the Pundit' in the short-lived show Games Republic, hosted by Trevor and Simon on BSkyB.

In 2000, Brooker was one of the writers of the Channel 4 show The 11 O'Clock Show and a co-host (with Gia Milinovich) on BBC Knowledge's The Kit, a low-budget programme dedicated to gadgets and technology (1999-2000). In 2001, he was one of several writers on Channel 4's Brass Eye special on the subject of paedophilia.

In 2003, Brooker wrote an episode entitled "How to Watch Television" for Channel 4's The Art Show. The episode was presented in the style of a public information film and was partly animated.

Together with Brass Eye's Chris Morris, Brooker co-wrote the sitcom Nathan Barley, based on a character from one of TVGoHome's fictional programmes. The show was broadcast in 2005 and focused on the lives of a group of London media 'trendies'. The same year, he was also on the writing team of the Channel 4 sketch show Spoons, produced by Zeppotron.

In 2006, Brooker began writing and presenting the television series Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe on BBC Four, a TV review programme in a similar style to his Screen Burn columns in The Guardian. After an initial pilot series of three editions in April, the programme returned later in the year for a second run of four episodes plus Christmas and Review of the Year specials in December 2006. A third series followed in February 2007 with a fourth broadcast in September 2007, followed by a Review of the Year in December 2007. The fifth series started in November 2008 and was followed by another Review of the Year special. This series was also the first to be given a primetime repeat on terrestrial television (BBC Two), in January 2009.

In December 2011, three episodes of Brooker's Black Mirror, a science fiction anthology series, aired on Channel 4 to largely positive reviews. As well as creating the show, Brooker wrote the first episode and co-wrote the second with his wife Konnie Huq. He also wrote all three episodes of series two. In September 2015, Netflix commissioned a third season of 12 episodes, with Channel 4 losing the rights to the programme A trailer for the third season was released in October 2016. This was later split into two series of six episodes. The third season was released on Netflix worldwide on 21 October 2016. Brooker has solely written four of the episodes in series three, and has co-written the remaining two.

Beginning on 11 May 2010, Brooker presented a 5-part BBC Radio 4 series celebrating failure titled So Wrong It's Right, in which guests compete to pitch the worst possible ideas for new franchises and give the 'most wrong' answer to a question. Also featured are guests' recollections about their own personal life failures and their complaints about life in general in a round called 'This Putrid Modern Hell'. Guests have included David Mitchell, Lee Mack, Josie Long, Frank Skinner, Helen Zaltzman, Holly Walsh, Graham Linehan and Richard Herring. The second series began on 10 March 2011, and a third was broadcast in May 2012. In common with Screenwipe's use of a Grandaddy track (A.M. 180) from the album Under the Western Freeway as its theme tune, So Wrong It's Right uses another track from the same album, Summer Here Kids.

Sir Peter Jackson made history with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were nominated for and collected a slew of awards from around the globe, with The Return of the King receiving his most impressive collection of awards. This included three Academy Awards® (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture), two Golden Globes (Best Director and Best Motion Picture-Drama), three BAFTAs (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film and Viewers' Choice), a Directors Guild Award, a Producers Guild Award and a New York Film Critics Circle Award.

As a follow up to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in 2005, Jackson directed, wrote, and produced King Kong, for Universal Pictures. The film grossed over $500 million and won three Oscars®.

Jackson previously received widespread acclaim for his 1994 feature Heavenly Creatures, which received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Screenplay. Other film credits include The Frighteners, starring Michael J. Fox; the adult puppet feature Meet the Feebles; and Braindead, which won 16 international science fiction awards, including the Saturn. Jackson also co-directed the television documentary Forgotten Silver, which also hit the film festival circuit.

Jackson directed the Academy Award®-nominated The Lovely Bones, an adaptation of the acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold and produced the worldwide sci-fi hit District 9. He was a producer on Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn in 2011, with two more films set to come out in the future.

His most recent films include producer of 2018's action film Mortal Engines, based on a post-apocalyptic world where cities ride on wheels and consume each other to survive. Following Mortal Engines, he produced They Shall Not Grow Old, a documentary on World War I with never-before-seen footage. BAFTA nominated the film for Best Documentary, and it won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing from the Motion Picture Sound Editors.

Jackson's next project is the music documentary The Beatles: Get Back, which he directed and produced, due to be released August, 2021.

Jackson works closely with partner Dame Fran Walsh, with whom he shares his writing and producing credits, as well as a family. Jackson has a special interest in WWI memorabilia and is the proud owner of several aircraft from that era.

English actor, writer, and comedian Simon Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, to Gillian Rosemary (Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician. His parents divorced when he was seven. He later took his stepfather's surname "Pegg." He was educated at Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School in Gloucestershire and went on to Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English literature and performance studies. He then attended the University of Bristol, and earned a bachelor's degree in drama. In the early 2000s, Pegg moved to London and began forging a successful career in stand-up comedy. Television opportunities followed including roles in Six Pairs of Pants (1995), Asylum (1996), and We Know Where You Live (1997). In 1999, Pegg and Jessica Hynes teamed up to write and star in cult sitcom Spaced (1999), directed by Edgar Wright. The series also featured Pegg's best friend Nick Frost. Pegg's breakthrough in film came with the zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead (2004), which he also co-wrote with director Edgar Wright. Again, the film featured Nick Frost. The trio also scored a hit with police comedy Hot Fuzz (2007). Further film successes followed for Pegg, notably in the iconic role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek (2009) and alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011).

Best known for his cerebral, often nonlinear, storytelling, acclaimed Academy Award winner writer/director/producer Sir Christopher Nolan CBE was born in London, England. Over the course of more than 25 years of filmmaking, Nolan has gone from low-budget independent films to working on some of the biggest blockbusters ever made and became one of the most celebrated filmmakers of modern cinema.

At 7 years old, Nolan began making short films with his father's Super-8 camera. While studying English Literature at University College London, he shot 16-millimeter films at U.C.L.'s film society, where he learned the guerrilla techniques he would later use to make his first feature, Following (1998), on a budget of around $6,000. The noir thriller was recognized at a number of international film festivals prior to its theatrical release and gained Nolan enough credibility that he was able to gather substantial financing for his next film.

Nolan's second film was Memento (2000), which he directed from his own screenplay based on a short story by his brother Jonathan Nolan. Starring Guy Pearce, the film brought Nolan numerous honors, including Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay. Nolan went on to direct the critically acclaimed psychological thriller, Insomnia (2002), starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank.

The turning point in Nolan's career occurred when he was awarded the chance to revive the Batman franchise in 2005. In Batman Begins (2005), Nolan brought a level of gravitas back to the iconic hero, and his gritty, modern interpretation was greeted with praise from fans and critics alike. Before moving on to a Batman sequel, Nolan directed, co-wrote, and produced the mystery thriller The Prestige (2006), starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as magicians whose obsessive rivalry leads to tragedy and murder.

In 2008, Nolan directed, co-wrote, and produced The Dark Knight (2008). Co-written with by his brother Jonathan, the film went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Nolan was nominated for a Directors Guild of America (D.G.A.) Award, Writers Guild of America (W.G.A.) Award and Producers Guild of America (P.G.A.) Award, and the film also received eight Academy Award nominations. The film is widely considered one of the best comic book adaptations of all times, with Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker receiving an extremely high acclaim. Ledger posthumously became the first Academy Award winning performance in a Nolan film.

In 2010, Nolan captivated audiences with the Sci-Fi thriller Inception (2010), starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, which he directed and produced from his own original screenplay that he worked on for almost a decade. The thought-provoking drama was a worldwide blockbuster, earning more than $800,000,000 and becoming one of the most discussed and debated films of the year, and of all times. Among its many honors, Inception received four Academy Awards and eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Nolan was recognized by his peers with a W.G.A. Award accolade, as well as D.G.A. and P.G.A. Awards nominations for his work on the film.

As one of the best-reviewed and highest-grossing movies of 2012, The Dark Knight Rises (2012) concluded Nolan's Batman trilogy. Due to his success rebooting the Batman character, Warner Bros. enlisted Nolan to produce their revamped Superman movie Man of Steel (2013), which opened in the summer of 2013. In 2014, Nolan directed, wrote, and produced the Science-Fiction epic Interstellar (2014), starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. released the film on November 5, 2014, to positive reviews and strong box-office results, grossing over $670 million dollars worldwide.

In July 2017, Nolan released his acclaimed War epic Dunkirk (2017), that earned him his first Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards, as well as winning an additional 3 Oscars. In 2020 he released his mind-bending Sci-Fi espionage thriller Tenet (2020) starring John David Washington in the lead role. Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie grossed relatively less than Nolan's previous blockbusters, though it did do good numbers compared to other movies in that period of time. Hailed as Nolan's most complex film yet, the film was one of Nolan's less-acclaimed films at the time, yet slowly built a fan-base following in later years.

In July 2023, Nolan released his highly acclaimed biographic drama Oppenheimer (2023) starring Nolan's frequent collaborator Cillian Murphy- in the lead role for the first time in a Nolan film. The movie was a cultural phenomenon that on top of grossing almost 1 billion dollars at the Worldwide Box office, also swept the 2023/2024 award-season and gave Nolan his first Oscars, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, D.G.A. and P.G.A. Awards, as well as a handful of regional critics-circles awards and a W.G.A. nomination. Cillian's performance as quantum physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer was highly acclaimed as well, and became the first lead performance in a Nolan film to win the Academy Award.

During 2023, Nolan also received a fellowship from the British Film Institute (BFI). In March 2024, it was announced that Nolan is to be knighted by King Charles III and from now on will go by the title 'Sir Christopher Nolan'.

Nolan resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Academy Award winner producer Dame Emma Thomas, and their children. Sir Nolan and Dame Thomas also have their own production company, Syncopy.

Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would produce better academic performance, Kubrick's father sent him in 1940 to Pasadena, California, to stay with his uncle, Martin Perveler. Returning to the Bronx in 1941 for his last year of grammar school, there seemed to be little change in his attitude or his results. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.

Jack Kubrick's decision to give his son a camera for his thirteenth birthday would be an even wiser move: Kubrick became an avid photographer, and would often make trips around New York taking photographs which he would develop in a friend's darkroom. After selling an unsolicited photograph to Look Magazine, Kubrick began to associate with their staff photographers, and at the age of seventeen was offered a job as an apprentice photographer.

In the next few years, Kubrick had regular assignments for "Look", and would become a voracious movie-goer. Together with friend Alexander Singer, Kubrick planned a move into film, and in 1950 sank his savings into making the documentary Day of the Fight (1951). This was followed by several short commissioned documentaries (Flying Padre (1951), and (The Seafarers (1953), but by attracting investors and hustling chess games in Central Park, Kubrick was able to make Fear and Desire (1952) in California.

Filming this movie was not a happy experience; Kubrick's marriage to high school sweetheart Toba Metz did not survive the shooting. Despite mixed reviews for the film itself, Kubrick received good notices for his obvious directorial talents. Kubrick's next two films Killer's Kiss (1955) and The Killing (1956) brought him to the attention of Hollywood, and in 1957 he directed Kirk Douglas in Paths of Glory (1957). Douglas later called upon Kubrick to take over the production of Spartacus (1960), by some accounts hoping that Kubrick would be daunted by the scale of the project and would thus be accommodating. This was not the case, however: Kubrick took charge of the project, imposing his ideas and standards on the film. Many crew members were upset by his style: cinematographer Russell Metty complained to producers that Kubrick was taking over his job. Kubrick's response was to tell him to sit there and do nothing. Metty complied, and ironically was awarded the Academy Award for his cinematography.

Kubrick's next project was to direct Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks (1961), but negotiations broke down and Brando himself ended up directing the film himself. Disenchanted with Hollywood and after another failed marriage, Kubrick moved permanently to England, from where he would make all of his subsequent films. Despite having obtained a pilot's license, Kubrick was rumored to be afraid of flying.

Kubrick's first UK film was Lolita (1962), which was carefully constructed and guided so as to not offend the censorship boards which at the time had the power to severely damage the commercial success of a film. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) was a big risk for Kubrick; before this, "nuclear" was not considered a subject for comedy. Originally written as a drama, Kubrick decided that too many of the ideas he had written were just too funny to be taken seriously. The film's critical and commercial success allowed Kubrick the financial and artistic freedom to work on any project he desired. Around this time, Kubrick's focus diversified and he would always have several projects in various stages of development: "Blue Moon" (a story about Hollywood's first pornographic feature film), "Napoleon" (an epic historical biography, abandoned after studio losses on similar projects), "Wartime Lies" (based on the novel by Louis Begley), and "Rhapsody" (a psycho-sexual thriller).

The next film he completed was a collaboration with sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is hailed by many as the best ever made; an instant cult favorite, it has set the standard and tone for many science fiction films that followed. Kubrick followed this with A Clockwork Orange (1971), which rivaled Lolita (1962) for the controversy it generated - this time not only for its portrayal of sex, but also of violence. Barry Lyndon (1975) would prove a turning point in both his professional and private lives. His unrelenting demands of commitment and perfection of cast and crew had by now become legendary. Actors would be required to perform dozens of takes with no breaks. Filming a story in Ireland involving military, Kubrick received reports that the IRA had declared him a possible target. Production was promptly moved out of the country, and Kubrick's desire for privacy and security resulted in him being considered a recluse ever since.

Having turned down directing a sequel to The Exorcist (1973), Kubrick made his own horror film: The Shining (1980). Again, rumors circulated of demands made upon actors and crew. Stephen King (whose novel the film was based upon) reportedly didn't like Kubrick's adaptation (indeed, he would later write his own screenplay which was filmed as The Shining (1997).)

Kubrick's subsequent work has been well spaced: it was seven years before Full Metal Jacket (1987) was released. By this time, Kubrick was married with children and had extensively remodeled his house. Seen by one critic as the dark side to the humanist story of Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987) continued Kubrick's legacy of solid critical acclaim, and profit at the box office.

In the 1990s, Kubrick began an on-again/off-again collaboration with Brian Aldiss on a new science fiction film called "Artificial Intelligence (AI)", but progress was very slow, and was backgrounded until special effects technology was up to the standard the Kubrick wanted.

Kubrick returned to his in-development projects, but encountered a number of problems: "Napoleon" was completely dead, and "Wartime Lies" (now called "The Aryan Papers") was abandoned when Steven Spielberg announced he would direct Schindler's List (1993), which covered much of the same material.

While pre-production work on "AI" crawled along, Kubrick combined "Rhapsody" and "Blue Movie" and officially announced his next project as Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring the then-married Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. After two years of production under unprecedented security and privacy, the film was released to a typically polarized critical and public reception; Kubrick claimed it was his best film to date.

Special effects technology had matured rapidly in the meantime, and Kubrick immediately began active work on A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), but tragically suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep on March 7th, 1999.

After Kubrick's death, Spielberg revealed that the two of them were friends that frequently communicated discreetly about the art of filmmaking; both had a large degree of mutual respect for each other's work. "AI" was frequently discussed; Kubrick even suggested that Spielberg should direct it as it was more his type of project. Based on this relationship, Spielberg took over as the film's director and completed the last Kubrick project.

How much of Kubrick's vision remains in the finished project -- and what he would think of the film as eventually released -- will be the final great unanswerable mysteries in the life of this talented and private filmmaker.