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, mostly comedies, including '' Dumb and Dumber'' and ''There's Something About Ma ...
.
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 and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
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 from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...
'' (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 on August 18, 1979.
In 1979, the three founders were executives with 20th Century Fox; Ladd was the president. They announced thei ...
for
Alan Ladd Jr.
Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He was president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of ''Star Wars'', on his confidence ...
and at
Zoetrope Studios
American Zoetrope (also known as Omni Zoetrope from 1977 to 1980 and Zoetrope Studios from 1980 until 1991) 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 filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
. He soon moved on to produce specials for
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...
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 Farrelly, Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and r ...
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 Farrelly, Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and r ...
and
Bobby Farrelly
Robert Farrelly (born June 17, 1958) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is one of the Farrelly brothers, alongside his brother Peter, who together are known for directing and producing successful box-office comedy films ...
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 Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
. In 1998, he was nominated for the
for producing ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. The film features Cameron Diaz as the title character, while Ben S ...
''.
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 ...
'', ''
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 Mixo ...
'', ''
Shallow Hal
''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, Farrelly Brothers. The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, with Jason Alexander, Joe Viterelli, and Susan Ward in supporting roles. Filming took pla ...
'' 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 hu ...
'', ''
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 comedy. Six total ...
'' (2012), ''
Movie 43
''Movie 43'' is a 2013 American anthology comedy film conceived by producer Charles B. Wessler. Featuring fourteen different storylines, each by a different director, including Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James ...
'' (2013), ''
Dumb and Dumber To
''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film produced, co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third film in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise, and serves as a sequel to the 1994 film '' Dumb and Dumber''. T ...
'' (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 History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
Movies Of The Year, and the
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) 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 a ...
.
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