Joey McFarland (born April 30, 1972) is an American film producer and the founder of McFarland Entertainment, a content development and production company for both film and television. He was previously vice chairman of

Red Granite Pictures Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and '' Dumb and Dumber To''. It was dissolved in 2018 after ...

Life and career

McFarland was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. He attended DeSales High School and the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. In 2010, with producing partner

Riza Aziz Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz, better known as Riza Aziz, is a Malaysian film producer and the co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, a Los Angeles–based film production company. Early life and education Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz was born on 1 ...

, McFarland co-founded

. In 2011, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' named McFarland to their list of ''Top 10 Producers to Watch''. McFarland's first production under the Red Granite banner was the romantic comedy, ''

Friends with Kids ''Friends with Kids'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars in the film. Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns also star ...

''. Written and directed by

Jennifer Westfeldt Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film '' Kissing Jessica Stein'', for which she received an I ...

, ''

'' also starred

Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama series '' Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and tw ...

Adam Scott Adam Paul Scott (born April 3, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ben Wyatt in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2010–2015), for which he was twice nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well a ...

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom in the late 2000s for her ...

Maya Rudolph Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and comedian. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). During her tenure on the show, she appeared in supporting roles in ...

, and

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. He has star ...

. In 2012, McFarland went on to executive produce the dramatic thriller, ''

Out of the Furnace ''Out of the Furnace'' is a 2013 American crime drama thriller film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoë Sal ...

'', starring

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

Casey Affleck Casey Affleck (born Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt; August 12, 1975) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Casey Affleck, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film ...

Zoe Saldana Zoe or variants may refer to: People * Zoe (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Zoë (British singer) (Zoë Pollock, born 1969) ** Zoë (Austrian singer) (Zoë Straub, born 1996) Arts and entertainment ...

, and

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...

, and directed by Scott Cooper. Next McFarland produced '' The Wolf of Wall Street''. ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' is based upon

Jordan Belfort Jordan Ross Belfort (; born July 9, 1962) is an American former stockbroker, financial criminal, and businessman who pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock-market manipulation and running a boiler room as part of ...

's best-selling novel of the same name. The book was adapted into a screenplay by

Terence Winter Terence Patrick Winter (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and producer of television and film. He was the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). Before creating ''Boar ...

. The film stars

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill (born Jonah Hill Feldstein; December 20, 1983) is an American actor. List of awards and nominations received by Jonah Hill, The accolades he has received include nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, BAFTA ...

Matthew Mcconaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

, and

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie ( ; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Her work includes both blockbuster and independent films, and her accolades include nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and six BAFT ...

, and was directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

. Released on December 25, 2013, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' was a commercial hit and garnered critical acclaim including a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy for star

and five

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture for which McFarland received a nomination. In 2013, McFarland completed production on ''

Horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

'', a supernatural thriller starring

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...

Juno Temple Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the comedy series ''Ted Lasso'' (2020–2023) and in the fifth season of the crime drama series '' Fargo'' (2023–2024). She earned Primetime Emmy Award nomi ...

and directed by

Alexandre Aja Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja (; born 7 August 1978), is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film '' Haute Tension'' (known as ''Hi ...

. The film is based on the best-selling

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Joe Hill and was released October 31, 2014, by Dimension-RADiUS. McFarland was also a producer on the sequel ''

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 ...

'', directed by Pete and Bobby Farrelly. The film featured

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...

and

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...

again playing Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, respectively, and was released on November 14, 2014, 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 ...

. It opened number one at the box office to generally negative reviews. McFarland was executive producer on the film '' Daddy's Home'' directed by

Sean Anders Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. Career He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film ''Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive (film), Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 f ...

and John Morris. Shot in New Orleans, it re-teamed

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

for the first time since 2010.

co-produced and co-financed the film with

, in association with

Gary Sanchez Productions Gary Sanchez Productions, LLC was an American film and television production company founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. History Gary Sanchez Productions was founded in 2006 by comedians and filmmakers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. The ...

. Paramount Pictures was also the worldwide distribution partner. The film was released on December 25, 2015. McFarland produced '' Papillon'', a remake of the 1973 film of the same name based on the best-selling autobiography by the French convict

Henri Charrière Henri Charrière (; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted of murder in 1931 by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the 1969 novel '' Papillon'', a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a p ...

. The film starred

Charlie Hunnam Charles Matthew Hunnam (; born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He portrayed Jax Teller in the FX (TV channel), FX drama series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014), for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for ...

("Papillon"), and

Rami Malek Rami Said Malek (; , ; born May 12, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for portraying computer hacker Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series '' Mr. Robot'' (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

Louis Dega Louis Dega (sometimes written Louis Delga III) is the name of a character in Henri Charrière's novel '' Papillon''. In the 1973 film this character was played by Dustin Hoffman and in the 2017 film the role was played by Rami Malek. Purportedly ...

. It premiered in September 2017 at the

2017 Toronto International Film Festival The 42nd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2017. There were fourteen programs, with the Vanguard and City to City programs both being retired from previous years, with the total number of films down by ...

. Papillon was released August 24, 2018. In 2018, he formed the independent production company for both television and film called McFarland Entertainment.

Malaysian 1MDB scandal

In 2019, McFarland agreed to voluntarily surrender to the US government a series of luxury goods allegedly bought with money that could be traced back to the Malaysian 1MDB state fund.

Controversy

In November 2022, at the Los Angeles premiere for ''

Emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

'', McFarland gave a red carpet interview revealing an original 1863 photograph from his pocket of

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

, who the film is based on. McFarland received a variety of criticisms for this action. McFarland was a producer of the film.

Filmography

''He was producer for all films unless otherwise noted.''

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Friends With Kids a first of many for Louisville-born producer
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, Joey 1972 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky Film producers from Kentucky University of Louisville alumni DeSales High School (Louisville, Kentucky) alumni