Rob Letterman

American film director

Rob Letterman

Letterman at San Diego Comic-Con 2014

Born|

Robert Thomas Letterman

(1970-10-31) October 31, 1970 (age 54)

Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

Alma mater| University of Southern California
Occupations|

* Film director
* screenwriter

Years active| 1999–present
Children| 2

Robert Thomas Letterman (born October 31, 1970) is an American film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut as co-director of the animated comedy film Shark Tale (2004), for which he received a nomination for the Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production. He then co-directed the animated science fiction comedy film Monsters vs. Aliens (2009).[1][2]

Letterman has since transitioned into live-action filmmaking, directing the fantasy comedy film Gulliver's Travels (2010), the horror comedy film Goosebumps (2015), and the fantasy mystery film Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019).

## Early life

[edit]

Letterman was born in Hawaii and attended Mid-Pacific Institute and USC.[3]

## Career

[edit]

Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, Letterman directed the short film Los Gringos, which was accepted at 2000's Sundance Film Festival.[4]

In 2002, Vicky Jenson and Eric "Bibo" Bergeron invited him as a screenwriter (then as co-director) in the making of Shark Tale. In 2010, Letterman directed the live-action film Gulliver's Travels, starring Jack Black in the lead role.[5] He also directed the live-action/CGI film Pokémon Detective Pikachu, based on the Pokémon videogame franchise. The film was released on May 10, 2019, and grossed $433 million at the box office as well as attained the highest percentage of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for a film adaptation of a video game at the time.[6]

In 2020, Netflix announced Letterman as director for an upcoming live-action animated film adaptation of Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil video game.[7] Since then, no further updates have been given for the film since the announcement.

## Personal life

[edit]

Letterman is in a relationship with Beth Pontrelli and has two children, Jack and Eva.[8][9]

## Filmography

[edit]

Short film

Year  | Title  | Director  | Producer  | Writer  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

1996  | Shrek – I Feel Good | No  | Yes  | No  | Animation test
1999  | Los Gringos | Yes  | No  | Yes  |
2005  | Club Oscar | Yes  | No  | No  |

Feature film

Year  | Title  | Director  | Writer  | Notes

|
|
|
|

2004  | Shark Tale | Yes  | Yes  | Co-directed with Vicky Jenson and Bibo Bergeron
2009  | Monsters vs. Aliens | Yes  | Yes  | Co-directed with Conrad Vernon
2010  | Gulliver's Travels | Yes  | No  |
2015  | Goosebumps | Yes  | No  |
2019  | Detective Pikachu | Yes  | Yes  |

Television

Year  | Title  | Director  | Writer  | Executive
Producer  | Creator  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|

2023–present  | Goosebumps | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Directed 4 episodes
Written 4 episodes

Other credits

Year  | Title  | Role

|
|

1999  | Lake Placid | Color and Lighting Supervisor: Digital Domain
2001  | Shrek | Propellerhead: Los Angeles pre-production
2009  | Monsters vs. Aliens | Also voiced Secret Service Man #1
2017  | Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie | Executive producer

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kit, Borys (October 25, 2013). "Rob Letterman to Direct 'Captain Underpants' for DWA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
2. ^ Baisley, Sarah (December 6, 2004). "Annie Noms go to Incredibles, Shrek 2, Shark Tale". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
3. ^ Harada, Wayne (April 25, 2010). "'Stretch Armstrong' up next for Isle-born director". Archived from the original on April 17, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
4. ^ "Los Gringos". Sundance Institute. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
5. ^ Romney, Jonathon (December 26, 2010). "Gulliver's Travels, Rob Letterman, 90 mins, (PG)". The Independent - Reviews. London: The Independent. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
6. ^ Nolan, L.D. (May 3, 2019). "Detective Pikachu's Electrifying Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed". CBR. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
7. ^ "'Detective Pikachu' Director and Netflix Tackling 'Beyond Good & Evil' Adaptation (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. July 31, 2020. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
8. ^ "Michael Angelo Pontrelli Obituary (1929 - 2016) Los Angeles Times". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
9. ^ "Robert Letterman and Beth Pontrelli | 2700 Creston Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068". Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Rob Letterman at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Works by Rob Letterman

Films directed|

* Los Gringos (1999)
* Shark Tale (2004)
* Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
* Gulliver's Travels (2010)
* Goosebumps (2015)
* Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Television series created|

* Goosebumps (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

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

Other|

* IdRef

This article about a United States film director born in the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template