Gregory J. Mottola[1] (born July 11, 1964)[2] is an American film director, screenwriter and television director.

Greg Mottola
Mottola in 2009
Born
Gregory J. Mottola

(1964-07-11) July 11, 1964 (age 60)
EducationCarnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Columbia University (MFA)
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, television director
SpouseSarah Allentuch
Children3

Life and career

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Mottola grew up in Dix Hills, New York,[3] in a Catholic family of Italian and Irish descent.[4] He received his BFA in art from Carnegie Mellon University and MFA in film from Columbia University.[5]

He wrote and directed the 1996 independent film The Daytrippers, then concentrated for several years on directing in television for series such as Undeclared and Arrested Development.

More recently, he has directed the feature films Superbad, Adventureland and Paul.

Adventureland (2009) is a "first love" story about a group of college-age kids working at an amusement park in the 1980s. The film starred Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and received critical praise.[6][7]

He directed Paul, a science fiction/comedy film about two comic book nerds (played by the film's screenwriters Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who meet an alien named Paul while vacationing in the US.[8]

Later on, he returned to TV series, such as The Dangerous Book for Boys.

Personal life

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Mottola is married to Sarah Allentuch and has three children.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Director Writer Notes
1985 The Hatbox Yes Yes Short film
1989 Swingin' in the Painter's Room Yes No Short film
1996 The Daytrippers Yes Yes
2007 Superbad Yes No
2009 Adventureland Yes Yes
2011 Paul Yes No
2013 Clear History Yes No Television film
2016 Keeping Up with the Joneses Yes No
2022 Confess, Fletch Yes Yes

Television

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Year Show Episode
2001 Undeclared "Addicts"
"Sick in the Head"
"Eric Visits Again"
2002 "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs"
"Truth or Dare"
"The Perfect Date"
2003 The Big Wide World of Carl Laemke "Pilot" (unaired)[9]
Arrested Development "Charity Drive"
"Visiting Ours"
2004 "Storming the Castle"
Cracking Up "Scared Straight"
2005 The Comeback "Valerie Demands Dignity"
"Valerie Saves the Show"
2012 The Newsroom "We Just Decided To"
"The 112th Congress"
"The Greater Fool"
2018 The Dangerous Book for Boys "How to Play Poker"
"How to Walk on the Moon"
2020 Dave "The Gander"
"Dave's First"
"Hypospadias"
2024 Nobody Wants This "Pilot"
"A Shiksa Walks Into a Temple"
2025 Peacemaker Season 2 (episodes 2 and 3)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Max Abbie Mottola". Variety. October 4, 2007.
  2. ^ Greg Mottola from hollywood.com
  3. ^ "Dix Hills' Greg Mottola relives 'Adventureland'".
  4. ^ von Busack, Richard (April 3, 1997). "Who Needs Sundance". MetroActive. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  5. ^ "Greg Mottola". Columbia - School of the Arts. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  6. ^ Byrge, Duane (January 21, 2009). "Adventureland a winning coming-of-age comedy". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  7. ^ "2009 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FILMS IN THE PREMIERES, SPECTRUM, NEW FRONTIER AND PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT SECTIONS" (PDF). sundance.org. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  8. ^ Paul (2011) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-02-17
  9. ^ "Greg Mottola '91 Directs the First Three Episodes of 'Dave' on FX". arts.columbia.edu. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
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