# Francis Veber

Francis Paul Veber (born 28 July 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and playwright. He has written and directed both French and American films. Nine French-language films with which he has been involved, as either writer or director or both, have been remade as English-language Hollywood films: Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire (as The Man with One Red Shoe), L'emmerdeur (as Buddy Buddy), La Cage aux Folles (as The Birdcage), Le Jouet (as The Toy), Les Compères (as Fathers' Day), La chèvre (as Pure Luck), Les Fugitifs (as Three Fugitives), Le dîner de cons (as Dinner for Schmucks) and La Doublure (as The Valet). He also wrote the screenplay for My Father the Hero, the 1994 American remake of the French-language film Mon père, ce héros.
Some of his screenplays started as theater plays (for instance, Le dîner de cons). This theatrical experience contributes to his films' tight structure, resulting in what has been called "marvels of economy".
Many of his French comedies feature recurring types of characters, named François Pignon (a bungler) and François Perrin (a bully).

## Biography

Veber was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of a writer mother and Pierre-Gilles Veber, a screenwriter. Veber's father was Jewish and his mother was Armenian-Russian (Veber was baptized at birth). His grand-uncle was writer Tristan Bernard.
His parents were both authors: his father writer and journalist Pierre-Gilles Véber and his mother novelist Catherine Agadjanian, who wrote under the name Georgette Paul (1901-1990). He is the great-nephew of playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer Tristan Bernard, grandson of playwright Pierre Véber and nephew of screenwriter, director and hit songwriter Serge Veber. He is the uncle of Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian, young adult author of the Tara Duncan series. His son, Jean Véber, is also a screenwriter.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
| 1969 | Appelez-moi Mathilde | No | Yes | No |
| 1972 | Il était une fois un flic [fr] | No | Yes | No |
| 1972 | The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe | No | Yes | No |
| 1973 | La Valise [fr] | No | Yes | No |
| 1973 | L'Emmerdeur | No | Yes | No |
| 1973 | Le Magnifique | No | Yes | No |
| 1974 | Fear Over the City | No | Yes | No |
| 1974 | The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe | No | Yes | No |
| 1975 | Le Téléphone rose [fr] | No | Yes | No |
| 1975 | The French Detective | No | Yes | No |
| 1976 | On aura tout vu | No | Yes | No |
| 1976 | The Toy | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1978 | La Cage aux Folles | No | Yes | No |
| 1979 | Cause toujours... tu m'intéresses | No | Yes | No |
| 1979 | Coup de tête | No | Yes | No |
| 1980 | La cage aux folles II | No | Yes | No |
| 1980 | Sunday Lovers | No | Yes | No |
| 1981 | Buddy Buddy | No | Yes | No |
| 1981 | La Chèvre | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1982 | Partners | No | Yes | Executive |
| 1982 | The Toy | No | Yes | No |
| 1983 | Les Compères | Yes | Yes | Uncredited |
| 1985 | The Man with One Red Shoe | No | Yes | No |
| 1985 | Hold-Up | No | Yes | No |
| 1986 | Les Fugitifs | Yes | No | No |
| 1989 | Three Fugitives | Yes | Yes | Executive |
| 1991 | Pure Luck | No | Yes | Executive |
| 1992 | Out on a Limb | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1994 | My Father the Hero | No | Yes | No |
| 1995 | Fantôme avec chauffeur [fr] | No | Yes | No |
| 1996 | The Birdcage | No | Yes | No |
| 1996 | Le Jaguar | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1997 | Fathers' Day | No | Yes | Executive |
| 1998 | The Dinner Game | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2000 | The Closet | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2003 | Ruby & Quentin | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2006 | The Valet | Yes | Yes | Associate |
| 2008 | L'emmerdeur | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2010 | Dinner for Schmucks | No | No | Executive |

## Honors

* He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur on 21 September 1996, and promoted to Officier (Officer) in 2008.
* He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 2001.