Roger Kumble (born May 28, 1966) is an American film director, screenwriter, and playwright.

Life and career

Kumble was raised in

Harrison, New York Harrison is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States, northeast of Manhattan. The population was 28,218 at the 2020 census. History Harrison was established in 1696 by a patent granted by the British government to John Harrison ...

, and attended Harrison High School. He graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1988, where he wrote for the "Waa Mu" show. He began his career as a playwright and director in 1993 with the Hollywood satire "Pay or Play", which garnered him the

LA Weekly Theater Award LA Weekly Theater Award was an annual critics' award system established in 1979, organized by the ''LA Weekly'' for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California. Nominees were typically announced in January for E ...

for Best Comic Writing. His second play, 1997's "d girl", starring

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom ''Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primeti ...

, earned him four Dramalogue Awards. In 2003, Kumble completed his Hollywood trilogy with the critically acclaimed "Turnaround", again starring David Schwimmer, which sold out its entire run in Los Angeles. He returned to the theater in 2011 with his all female play "Girls Talk" starring Brooke Shields and Constance Zimmer. Los Angeles Times critic Margaret Gray voted "Girls Talk" the best new play of 2011. Kumble made his feature-film-directorial debut with 1999's Sony Pictures box-office hit, '' Cruel Intentions'', starring

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

and

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

. His screenplay transposed the French novel '' Dangerous Liaisons'' to modern New York. In 2015, Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical was adapted from his film, and had an extended run off-Broadway. He followed with the Sony Pictures comedy '' The Sweetest Thing'', starring

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for fo ...

, Christina Applegate,

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' and of Marty Byrde in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (20 ...

and Thomas Jane, and New Line Cinema's '' Just Friends'', starring

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...

Anna Faris Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number ...

and Amy Smart. Both ''Sweetest Thing'' and ''Just Friends'' were voted two of the top twenty underrated films of the decade by the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

''. He also directed Martin Lawrence, Raven-Symoné and

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and go ...

in Disney's 2008 successful family-comedy ''

College Road Trip ''College Road Trip'' is a 2008 American family comedy film directed by Roger Kumble and starring Martin Lawrence, Kym Whitley, Raven-Symoné, Brenda Song, Margo Harshman, and Donny Osmond. The film centers on college-bound teen Melanie Port ...

''. He followed that with 2010's '' Furry Vengeance'', starring Brendan Fraser and

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film '' Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

. In the world of television he has directed episodes of '' Entourage'', '' Suits'', '' Pretty Little Liars'', ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

'' and The Goldbergs. In 2019, Kumble directed two films. Netflix's

Falling Inn Love ''Falling Inn Love'' is a 2019 American romantic comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, an American film director, screenwriter, and playwright, from a screenplay by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galanoy. It stars Christina Milian and Adam Demos. T ...

starring

Christina Milian Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19 ...

and Adam Demos, followed by Voltage Picture's ''

After We Collided ''After We Collided'' is a 2020 American romantic drama film directed by Roger Kumble, and written by Anna Todd and Mario Celaya. Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Todd, it is the sequel to ''After'' (2019) and the second overall inst ...

''. ''

'' was released in 2020 and became one of the biggest international box office successes of 2020.

Filmography

Theater Productions

*" Pay or Play" (1993- Hudson Theater, Los Angeles) *" d girl" (also directed by Kumble) (1997-Century City Playhouse, Los Angeles) *"Turnaround" (2003-Coast Playhouse, Los Angeles) *"Girls Talk" (2011-Lee Strasberg Theater - Los Angeles)

References

External links

*
"Cruel Intentions"
''Daily Script'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumble, Roger 1966 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American film directors American male screenwriters American television directors American theatre directors Northwestern University alumni People from Harrison, New York American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Comedy film directors