Happy Madison Productions, Inc. is an American independent

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

founded in 1999 by

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

, which is best known for its comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films ''

Happy Gilmore ''Happy Gilmore'' is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, produced by Robert Simonds, and starring Adam Sandler in the title role, with Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen and Carl Weathers. The film follows the namesak ...

'' and '' Billy Madison'', written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. In addition to various Sandler-produced films, the company has also released films produced by others, such as Steven Brill,

Dennis Dugan Dennis Barton Dugan (; born September 5, 1946) is an American film director, actor, and comedian. He is known for directing the films ''Problem Child (film), Problem Child'', ''Brain Donors'', ''Beverly Hills Ninja'' and ''National Security (20 ...

Frank Coraci Frank Coraci (born February 3, 1966) is an American film director, actor and screenwriter best known for his work with actor Adam Sandler. Biography Coraci was born in Shirley, New York. In 1984, he graduated from William Floyd School District ...

, Fred Wolf,

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

Peter Segal Peter Segal (born 1962) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Segal has directed the comedic films '' Naked Gun : The Final Insult'' (1994), '' Tommy Boy'' (1995), '' My Fellow Americans'' (1996), '' The Nutty Profess ...

, Nicholaus Goossen, and Tyler Spindel. The 1998 films '' The Waterboy'' and ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells th ...

'' helped jump start Sandler's movie career and production company. He produced ''The Waterboy'' and co-wrote the script with Tim Herlihy. The film was extremely profitable, earning over $160 million in the United States alone and made Sandler a successful actor with ''The Waterboy'' becoming his second $100 million film in a year, along with ''The Wedding Singer''. The company's production offices were formerly located in the

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

Building on the

Sony Pictures Studios Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California, at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and ...

lot in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

but the company left after completion of Sandler's final contracted film for the studio, ''

Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sma ...

''. Happy Madison, Inc., the parent company of Happy Madison Productions, is run by Adam Sandler's brother Scott, and is located in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

. In 2002, the company expanded its operations onto television with a pilot commitment at

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

. After fifteen years, head Doug Robinson left the company to start its own at

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...

. The company also had a short-lived subsidiary called Madison 23 Productions, which was aimed at the drama genre. It only produced two films: '' Reign Over Me'' and '' Funny People'', both of which starred Sandler. Another subsidiary was Scary Madison Productions, which was aimed at the horror genre and only produced the film '' The Shortcut''.

Filmography

Film

Stand-up specials

Television

Critical reception

Happy Madison's films have, for the most part, received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with most criticism targeted towards the crude humor, excessive product placement, celebrity cameos, and sentimental endings that contradict the mostly mean-spirited tones of the films. Some drama films ('' Reign Over Me'', '' Funny People'', '' Hustle'' and '' You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah'') received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with Sandler's performance garnering critical praise. The company has put out four films considered to be some of the worst ever made, while two other films have received a 0% score from

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

.''''

References

External links

Happy Madison
page on Sandler's website {{Authority control Adam Sandler American companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in California Film production companies of the United States Television production companies of the United States Companies based in Culver City, California Companies based in Manchester, New Hampshire Mass media companies established in 1999