Jake Kasdan

American filmmaker

Jake Kasdan

Kasdan in March 2012

Born|

Jacob Kasdan

(1974-10-28) October 28, 1974 (age 50)

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Occupations|

* Director
* producer
* screenwriter
* actor

Years active| 1983–present
Spouse| Inara George
Children| 3
Father| Lawrence Kasdan
Relatives|

* Jonathan Kasdan (brother)
* Mark Kasdan (uncle)

Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Bad Teacher (2011), Sex Tape (2014), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and Red One (2024).

## Early life

[edit]

Jacob Kasdan was born to Meg (née Goldman), a writer, and Lawrence Kasdan, a writer and director, in Detroit. Jacob grew up in a Jewish family with little religious education.[1][2] His younger brother, Jon Kasdan, also works in the film and television industry as an actor and writer.

## Career

[edit]

Jake Kasdan has directed nine films. He has also worked in television, most notably with Judd Apatow as a consulting producer and director on Freaks and Geeks and as a director on Undeclared. He has directed numerous stage productions. He is attached to direct a family film adaption of a John Grisham novel, Calico Joe.

In 2008, Kasdan received his first Golden Globe nomination for Walk Hard in the Best Original Song category (shared with John C. Reilly, Apatow, and Marshall Crenshaw), but lost to "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild (written by Eddie Vedder). As a child, Kasdan made appearances in his father's movies such as The Big Chill and Silverado (in the former he is an autograph seeker at a funeral and in the latter a stable boy).

After the success of New Girl, Kasdan announced that on July 11, 2012, he had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television, through The Detective Agency to pursue his own projects.[3] In February 2015, Fox announced that it had greenlit a pilot for the comedy The Grinder to be directed by Kasdan and starring Rob Lowe.[4] On March 26, 2019, The Detective Agency's producing partners Kasdan and Melvin Mar reupped, and signed a new overall deal at 20th Century Fox Television.[5]

In October 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had given a series order to a television adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese. It will be produced by 20th Century Fox Television with Kelvin Yu and Charles Yu as writers and executive producers, Marvin Mar and Kasdan as executive producers, and Destin Daniel Cretton as director and executive producer.[6] Most recently, he served as executive producer of the workplace comedy pilot XYZ at ABC.[7]

## Personal life

[edit]

Kasdan is married to singer-songwriter Inara George of The Bird and the Bee. They have three children including twins Beau and Lorelei Kasdan and older son Otis Kasdan.[8]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Director

Year  | Title  | Director | Producer | Writer

|
|
|
|

1998  | Zero Effect | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
2002  | Orange County | Yes  | No  | No
2006  | The TV Set | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
2007  | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
2008  | Shades of Ray | No  | Executive  | No
2011  | Bad Teacher | Yes  | Executive  | No
Friends with Kids | No  | Executive  | No
2014  | Sex Tape | Yes  | Executive  | No
2017  | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Yes  | Executive  | No
2019  | Jumanji: The Next Level | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
2024  | Red One | Yes  | Yes  | No

Acting credits

Year  | Title  | Role

|
|

1983  | The Big Chill | Autograph Seeker
1985  | Silverado | Stable Boy
1988  | The Accidental Tourist | Scott Canfield
1998  | Zero Effect | Bank Teller (voice)
2008  | Shades of Ray | Director # 3

Soundtrack credits

Year  | Title  | Song

|
|

1998  | Zero Effect | Let's Run Off and Get Married
Cold and Dark in My Heart
2007  | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Walk Hard
Take My Hand
(Mama) You Got To Love Your Negro Man
Cut My Brother in Half Blues
There's a Change a'Happening (I Can Feel It)
(You Make Me So) Hard

Music video

* Believe by Shawn Mendes (2015)

Other credits

Year  | Title  | Role

|
|

1991  | Grand Canyon | Production assistant
1994  | Wyatt Earp | Archivist

### Television

[edit]

Year(s)  | Title  | Director | Executive
Producer  | Writer  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

1999–00  | Freaks and Geeks | Yes  | No  | No  | Director (5 episodes) / Also consulting producer (15 episodes)
2000  | Grosse Pointe | Yes  | No  | No  | 2 episodes
2001  | Undeclared | Yes  | No  | No  | Episode "Prototype"
2002  | Zero Effect | Yes  | Co-Executive  | Yes  | Unsold pilot
2006  | Cracking Up | Yes  | No  | No  | Episode "The Fixer"
2008  | Californication | Yes  | No  | No  | Episode "In a Lonely Place"
2011–18  | New Girl | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Director (7 episodes) / Executive producer (146 episodes)
2012–13  | Ben and Kate | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Director (2 episodes) / Executive producer (16 episodes)
2015  | Weird Loners | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Director (2 episodes) / Executive producer (6 episodes)
2015–16  | The Grinder | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Director (2 episodes) / Executive producer (22 episodes)
2015–20  | Fresh off the Boat | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Director (Episode "The Shunning") /
Executive producer (116 episodes)
2016–19  | Speechless | No  | Yes  | No  | 63 episodes
2019–20  | Bless This Mess | No  | Yes  | No  | 26 episodes
2021–2023  | Doogie Kamealoha, M.D | Yes  | Yes  | No  | Director (Episode "Aloha – The Hello One") /
Executive producer (10 episodes)
2023  | American Born Chinese | No  | Yes  | No  | [9]

TV movies

Year  | Title  | Director  | Executive
Producer

|
|
|

2011  | Spring/Fall | Yes  | No
2017  | Jalen Vs. Everybody | No  | Yes
2019  | Heart of Life | No  | Yes
2023  | Prom Pact | No  | Yes

Acting credits

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2021  | Young Rock | Tyler the Director  | Episode "A Christmas Peril"

## Awards

[edit]

Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

2007 | Sierra Award | Best Song | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Won | shared with Judd Apatow, Marshall Crenshaw
and John C. Reilly for "Walk Hard"
2008 | Golden Globe | Best Original Song | Nominated
2009 | Grammy | Best Song Written for Visual Media | Nominated
2012 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | New Girl | Nominated | for "Pilot"

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jewish Daily Forward: "What's a Nice Jewish Boy Like Jake Kasdan Doing Making a 'Sex Tape?'" by Curt Schleier July 18, 2014
2. ^ Lawrence Kasdan Biography (1949–)
3. ^ Marechal, A. J. (2012-07-12). "Kasdan signs deal with 20th TV". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
4. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (12 February 2015). "Fox Orders Rob Lowe Comedy 'The Grinder' To Pilot". Variety.
5. ^ Thorne, Will (2019-03-26). "Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar Sign New Overall Deal at 20th Century Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2021). "Disney+ Greenlights 'American Born Chinese' Series From Melvin Mar, Kelvin Yu & Jake Kasdan; 'Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
7. ^ White, Peter (2021-12-15). "'Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.' Duo Alison Bennett & Melvin Mar Set Workplace Comedy 'XYZ' At ABC". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
8. ^ Audio commentary to Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
9. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 7, 2022). "'Shang-Chi's Michelle Yeoh & Destin Daniel Cretton Reunite For Disney+ Series 'American Born Chinese;' Chin Han, Yeo Yann Yann & Daniel Wu Also Star". Retrieved February 7, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Jake Kasdan at IMDb
* The Director Interviews: Jake Kasdan, The TV Set Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine at Filmmaker Magazine
* The Director Interviews: Jake Kasdan, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story at Filmmaker Magazine

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jake Kasdan

* Zero Effect (1998)
* Orange County (2002)
* The TV Set (2006)
* Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
* Bad Teacher (2011)
* Sex Tape (2014)
* Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
* Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
* Red One (2024)

Related topics|

* Kasdan family

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Latvia
* Korea
* Poland
* Israel

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Museum of Modern Art
* Grammy Awards

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

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