American filmmaker, actor, and stand-up comedian (born 1961)
Steve Oedekerk
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Oedekerk in 2006
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Born
| Steven Brent Oedekerk
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Other names
| Steve O.
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Occupations
|
- Filmmaker
- actor
- stand-up comedian
|
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Years active
| 1983?present
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Notable work
| The Chosen One in
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
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Children
| 2
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Steven Brent Oedekerk
is an American filmmaker, actor, and stand-up comedian. He is best known for his collaborations with actor and comedian
Jim Carrey
and director
Tom Shadyac
(particularly the
Ace Ventura
franchise), his series of "
Thumbmation
" shorts and his film
Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
(2002), along with his films
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
,
Santa vs. the Snowman 3D
,
Barnyard
, and
The Nutty Professor
remake.
[1]
Early life
Oedekerk was born in
Seattle, Washington
;
[2]
he was raised by his mother Rena Borlandeli and father Martin Oedekerk in
Huntington Beach, California
. He attended
Mater Dei High School
in
Santa Ana, California
and
Golden West College
in Huntington Beach.
[3]
He is of Dutch Frisian, Irish, Hungarian and Italian (
Lombard
) descent.
[4]
His mother is an emigrant from
Magnago
, Italy. His paternal grandfather was an
Afrikaner
born in South Africa to Dutch parents.
[5]
Career
Throughout his career, Oedekerk has appeared in and created several television specials for
NBC
,
ABC
, and
UPN
. He also contributed his writing talents to
FOX
during the late 1980s and through the early 1990s. It was during this time that Oedekerk befriended fellow comic/actor
Jim Carrey
while working on the television series
In Living Color
during its 1990?1994 run; this was the first of numerous collaborations between the two.
Prior to his successful contributions to several unknown episodes in the
Color
TV series, he wrote and starred in his first independent/directorial film,
Smart Alex
(1987). It wasn't until 1991 that Oedekerk was attached not only as a writer, but also as the protagonist, as Thane Furrows in the film
High Strung
. Jim Carrey also starred opposite him in the role of
Death
, although he went uncredited. They eventually developed a strong friendship, which still exists today. Shortly afterward, Oedekerk again worked alongside Carrey as the project consultant for
Tom Shadyac
's first film
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
(1994). The film became a break-out success and he was given the opportunity to both direct and write its sequel,
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
(1995). This time Oedekerk directed and wrote the movie after Shadyac left before filming. The sequel proved to be more successful, surpassing the box office gross of the original. Despite this, both Oedekerk and Carrey wanted to pursue other projects, but still remained friends.
Following the
Ace Ventura
franchise, Oedekerk co-wrote
The Nutty Professor
(1996), which was also directed by Shadyac for
Universal Pictures
; it became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. He soon wrote, directed and also had a cameo appearance in
Nothing to Lose
(1997), starring
Tim Robbins
and
Martin Lawrence
. Oedekerk took a hiatus from directing major film productions for the rest of the 1990s, but continued to write screenplays, including
Patch Adams
(1998),
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
(2000),
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
(2001),
Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
(2002) (which he directed, wrote and starred in
[6]
),
Bruce Almighty
(2003) and
Barnyard
(2006) (which he directed, wrote, produced, and voiced various characters). In 2003, he signed a first look deal with Universal.
[7]
In 2007, Oedekerk produced the screenplay and story for the
Bruce Almighty
sequel,
Evan Almighty
;
again, Shadyac directed both films. He has also been commissioned to write the screenplay for the
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
film adaptation; Jim Carrey has since been cast in the title role. No news involving the project has been reported since.
In February 2009, Universal Pictures announced that Steve Oedekerk would be penning a film adaptation of the
Stretch Armstrong
superhero doll. As of 2016, the film is left in
development hell
with an animated series currently in the works.
In 2015, it was announced that a sequel to
Kung Pow
is currently in the works with him returning to write and direct.
[8]
O Entertainment
O Entertainment
was a production company founded by Steve Oedekerk in 1990. O Entertainment's productions include the Thumbmation series (
Thumb Wars
,
Bat Thumb
,
Thumbtanic
, etc.),
Santa vs. the Snowman 3D
,
Jimmy Neutron: The Boy Genius
,
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
,
Back at the Barnyard
,
Planet Sheen
, and the movie
The Super Mouse
. The animation division, Omation Animation Studio, was founded by Oedekerk himself and hired animators who previously worked in
DNA Productions
after the studio closed down in 2006.
In 1990, Oedekerk founded an entertainment company, O Entertainment. In 1997, he created and starred in a variety special, featuring computer animation, entitled
The O Show
(also known as
steve.oedekerk.com
).
[9]
He is also executive producer of the animated series
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
on
Nickelodeon
.
Omation Animation Studio
Oedekerk founded
Omation Animation Studio
(commonly known as
Omation
) in 2002 as a division of O Entertainment.
[10]
Their first animation project was the feature film
Barnyard
(which Oedekerk wrote, directed, produced, and performed as a voice actor). Around 2006?2007, the studio began production on a Nicktoon based on the film titled
Back at the Barnyard
. The series premiered on Nickelodeon on September 29, 2007. A second season followed, and six additional episodes airing on Nickelodeon's sister channel Nicktoons from September 12, 2011, until November 12, 2011. Following the closure of
DNA Productions
in 2006, many of the employees there moved to Omation.
Oedekerk also gained popularity with his series of "
Thumbmation
" shorts:
Thumb Wars
,
Bat Thumb
,
The Godthumb
,
Frankenthumb
,
The Blair Thumb
and
Thumbtanic
.
Following the failure of
Planet Sheen
and its subsequent cancellation in 2013, the studio was shut down along with O Entertainment.
[
citation needed
]
Filmography
Film
Other credits
Acting roles
Television
Acting roles
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1983
|
Star Search
|
Contestant
|
|
1987?1988
|
Comedy Club (1987?1988)
|
Himself
|
|
1989
|
Full House
|
Himself
|
Episode: "Star Search"
|
1997
|
The O Show
|
Himself
|
TV movie
|
1999?present
|
Thumbs!
|
Multiple
|
Voice only
|
2007?2011
|
Back at the Barnyard
|
Snotty Boy, Mr. Beady, Additional voices
|
Voice only
|
References
- ^
"Steve Oedekerk ? Rotten Tomatoes"
.
www.rottentomatoes.com
.
Archived
from the original on January 29, 2021
. Retrieved
January 6,
2021
.
- ^
Micheal E. Hill,
"Comedian got start tormenting his mom"
,
Chicago Sun-Times
, September 2, 1997 .
- ^
Annabelle Robertson,
"From "Goof Off" to "Barnyard": One Director's Animated Rise"
Archived
January 9, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
,
Crosswalk.com
, July 27, 2006.
- ^
"Steve Oedekerk: an Italian in Hollywood"
.
L'Italo-Americano ? Italian American bilingual news source
. September 21, 2015.
Archived
from the original on September 6, 2021
. Retrieved
September 6,
2021
.
- ^
"Steve Oedekerk"
.
IMDb
.
Archived
from the original on November 10, 2021
. Retrieved
November 10,
2021
.
- ^
Cindy Pearlman,
"Steve Oedekerk"
,
Chicago Sun-Times
, January 17, 2002
- ^
Fleming, Michael (June 6, 2003).
"
'Almighty' writer takes a family vacation"
.
Variety
.
Archived
from the original on July 27, 2021
. Retrieved
January 6,
2021
.
- ^
"Steve Oedekerk is working on a Kung Pow: Enter the Fist sequel"
.
flickeringmyth.com
.
Archived
from the original on December 21, 2016
. Retrieved
December 16,
2016
.
- ^
Keith Marder,
"Oedekerk's quirks: The name may not ring a bell, but chances are you're aware of his work."
,
Los Angeles Daily News
, September 3, 1997.
- ^
"Home"
.
mpophotohost.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 21, 2011
. Retrieved
January 15,
2022
.
- ^
"TIMELINE"
.
oedetainment
.
Archived
from the original on December 2, 2020
. Retrieved
November 30,
2020
.
External links
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Feature films
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Produced
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TV series
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International
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National
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Academics
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Other
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