Todd Komarnicki

Todd Komarnicki (born 19 October 1965 in Long Beach, CA) is an American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and producer.

Todd Komarnicki
Born (1965-10-19) October 19, 1965
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Director, producer, writer
Years active2003–present

Career

He authored the play Beautiful Boy, produced in a theater in Los Angeles in 1993, and that same year wrote a detective novel, Free.[1] He self-published two more novels, Famine (1997) and War (2008).

His career breakthrough was producing Elf (with Jon Berg), the 2003 Christmas movie starring Will Ferrell and directed by Jon Favreau.[2] In the same year, Komarnicki wrote and directed Resistance, a Dutch/American World War II film starring Bill Paxton and Julia Ormond, based on Anita Shreeve’s novel of the same name. In 2007, he wrote the neo-noir psychological thriller film Perfect Stranger, directed by James Foley, and starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis.[3] Komarnicki also co-wrote The Professor and the Madman (2019) with John Boorman and Farhad Safinia, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.[4]

In television, Komarnicki has written pilots for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and TNT, and is currently writing his new show, AMERICAN SHERLOCK, for Netflix.

In the literary world, his first novel, Free, was published by Doubleday in 1993 and his second novel, famine (Arcade 1997), received tremendous reviews and was subsequently translated into French, Italian, and German. His third novel, war, was published to exceptional reviews in July 2008 by Arcade.

Komarnicki is the president & founder of the production/management company Guy Walks Into A Bar. All told, Komarnicki’s films have accounted for well over half a billion dollars at the box office.

Meet Dave

Produced by Guy Walks Into a Bar, Meet Dave (2008) is a bawdy space comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Elizabeth Banks, directed by Brian Robbins and written by Rob Greenberg and Bill Corbett.[5]

Sully

Komarnicki received great critical acclaim for writing Sully (2015), starring Tom Hanks and directed by Clint Eastwood.[6] Sully is about Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, based on Sullenberger’s 2009 autobiography Highest Duty.[7] [3] The film debuted at $35.5 million in the U.S. its opening weekend,[8] and went on to gross a total of $238 million worldwide, outperforming initial expectations. Sully was selected as an AFI Top Ten film for 2016,[9] and won Best Foreign Film at the 40th Japanese Academy Prize Awards 2017.[10]

Mercury 13 (Pre-production)

Komarnicki is currently working on 1960s NASA Event Series Mercury 13 (working title) with TV Producer Christina Wayne and Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain.[11] The series will chronicle the story of the 13 daring and determined female American pilots willing to risk it all to achieve their dream of becoming astronauts. They are known as the Mercury 13. Komarnicki is writing the project and producing via Guy Walks Into a Bar.

The Trainer (Pre-production)

Written by David Donahue, Todd Komarnicki, and James Villemaire, The Trainer is the story of a premier horse trainer beset by tragedy who bonds over a horse with a girl running from her own horrors.[12]

God's Spy (Post-production)

Written and produced by Komarnicki, God's Spy is the true story of pastor-turned-spy Dietrich Bonhoeffer that wrapped filming in January 2023.[13] Bonhoeffer is played by Jonas Dassler

Filmography
Year Film Functioned as Notes
Director Writer Producer
2017The Professor and the MadmanYesReleasing 2019
2016SullyYesWritten by
2009This Might HurtYesTV movie, executive producer
2008Meet DaveYes
2008Giants of RadioYesTV movie, executive producer
2007Perfect StrangerYesScreenplay
2003ElfYes
2003ResistanceYesYesWriter

References
  1. Guinsbourg, Todd Komarnicki; trad. de l'américain par Élisabeth "Bécasse" (1995). Free. [Paris]: Gallimard. ISBN 2070494128.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. McNary, Dave (18 December 2003). "'Elf' esteem at Paramount". Variety.
  3. Holden, Stephen (2007-04-12). "'Perfect Stranger': Unearthing secrets, by any means necessary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  4. Lodderhose, Diana (2016-09-30). "Ioan Gruffudd Joins Mel Gibson & Sean Penn For 'The Professor And The Madman'". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  5. Robbins, Brian (11 July 2008). "Meet Dave".
  6. "Sully (2016) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com.
  7. McNary, Dave (19 December 2015). "Tom Hanks' 'Sully' to Land in September". Variety.
  8. "'Sully' Flies Past The Box Office Competition With $35.5 Million Debut". Huffington Post. 11 September 2016.
  9. "AFI Awards". www.afi.com.
  10. "'Godzilla Resurgence' Wins Big at 40th Japan Academy Prize Awards". The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (8 February 2017). "Jessica Chastain Teams With Todd Komarnicki & Christina Wayne For 1960s NASA Event Series". Deadline.
  12. "The Trainer".
  13. Grobar, Matt (2023-01-12). "Jonas Dassler To Topline Thriller 'God's Spy' From Writer-Director Todd Komarnicki; Flula Borg, Clarke Peters & More Also Set". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
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