Charles B. Wessler (born May 16, 1955) is an American film producer best known for his collaborations with the
Farrelly brothers
Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and ''There's Something ...
.
Life and career
Wessler's first job was as a production assistant on the film ''
Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses?'' (1977). He was also a production assistant for
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
on ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' (1980) and ''
Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...
'' (1983).
Wessler spent time working at
The Ladd Company
The Ladd Company was an American film production company founded by Alan Ladd Jr., Jay Kanter, and Gareth Wigan in 1979.
In 1979, the three founders were executives with 20th Century Fox; Ladd was the president. They announced their intention t ...
for
Alan Ladd Jr. and at
Zoetrope Studios
American Zoetrope (also known as Omni Zoetrope from 1977 to 1980 and Zoetrope Studios from 1980 until 1990) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and Georg ...
with
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...
. He soon moved on to produce specials for
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
where he hired
Peter Farrelly
Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and romantic comedy fi ...
and Bennett Yellen to write a script for the 1987 special, ''Paul Reiser Out on a Whim''. Wessler,
Peter Farrelly
Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and romantic comedy fi ...
and
Bobby Farrelly
Robert Leo Farrelly Jr. (born June 17, 1958) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is one of the Farrelly brothers, alongside his brother Peter, and together are known directing and producing quirky, slightly offensive come ...
went on to develop several scripts together. Their first feature film was ''
Dumb and Dumber
''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...
'' (1994) for
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
. In 1998, he was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award that has been awarded annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
Eligibility
Eligible films must be at least 70 minutes in l ...
for producing ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...
''.
Wessler's other producing credits include ''
It's Pat
''It's Pat'' is a 1994 American slapstick comedy film directed by Adam Bernstein and starring Julia Sweeney, Dave Foley, Charles Rocket, and Kathy Griffin. The film was based on the ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') character Pat, created by Swee ...
'', ''
Bushwhacked'', ''
Me, Myself & Irene
''Me, Myself & Irene'' is a 2000 American slapstick black comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon an ...
'', ''
Shallow Hal
''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black about a shallow man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman after being hypnotized into only seeing a person's inner beauty. Directed by the Farrelly ...
'' and ''
Stuck on You'' and ''
The Heartbreak Kid'' (2007). His 2010s films included ''
Hall Pass
''Hall Pass'' is a 2011 American comedy film produced and directed by the Farrelly brothers and co-written by them along with Pete Jones, the writer/director of ''Stolen Summer''. It stars Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis.
Rick and Fred, two hus ...
'', ''
The Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
'' (2012), ''
Movie 43
''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. The film features fourteen different storylines, each one by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundie ...
'' (2013), ''
Dumb and Dumber To
''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise and a sequel to the 1994 film ''Dumb and Dumber''. The film stars Ji ...
'' (2014).
In 2018 Wessler produced ''
Green Book'', directed by Peter Farrelly. The film won numerous awards, including: the
Toronto International Film Festival's People Choice Award, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,
, honoree of
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
Movies Of The Year, and the
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...
.
Filmography
''He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.''
Film
;Miscellaneous crew
;Actor
;As writer
;Thanks
Television
;Miscellaneous crew
;As director
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessler, Charles B.
1955 births
Living people
Film producers from California
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Golden Globe Award-winning producers
Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award