American director, actor and writer Paul S. Feig – or simply and more commonly, just Paul Feig – has a name familiar to many film enthusiasts and comedy fans, and it will thus come as little surprise that the film industry star boasts a considerable net worth of $1.5 million. Best known for his directing triumphs, Paul Feig has worked with stars like Sandra Bullock, Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, Melissa McCarthy and John Krasinski, and his track record as a director includes critically acclaimed blockbusters like the 2011 romantic comedy “Bridesmaids” and the 2013 cop comedy “The Heat”. A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Paul Feig is definitely one of the better known names among today’s comedy directors, a fact that is well-reflected by Feig’s net worth.
Paul Feig Net Worth $1.5 Million
Born on 17 September, 1962 in the city Mount Clemens, Michigan, Paul Feig was raised in a common middle-class household that offered little in the way of hints at the director’s future fame and success. Though Feig began to study in Detroit’s Wayne State University, he relocated to Los Angeles after a year. There, Paul Feig would enter the USC – University of Southern California, – and he would also have his first taste of fame when he began to work as a tour guide for Universal Studios Hollywood. It was during his tours that Feig started working on his stand-up comedy routine, and it wouldn’t take long for the future celebrity to get noticed and start to get his first acting roles. Initially, Feig appeared as a support actor and background character across several television productions – it wasn’t until 1995 that he landed his first film part, appearing alongside Feig’s long-time friend, world-famous actor and comedian Ben Stiller, in the comedy “Heavyweights”. Next year, Paul Feig would also feature as a part of the regular cast in the first season of the ABC sitcom “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” together with lead actress Melissa Joan Hart. The show was a huge success at the time, drawing a reported 17 million viewers to its premier episode, and this has certainly contributed to Paul Feig’s net worth.
It was during his work in “Heavyweights”, however, that Paul Feig met his future colleague Judd Apatow. Together, the two devised the plot for a teen comedy-drama, titled “Freaks and Geeks”, and it debuted in 1999. Despite running for only 12 episodes, “Freaks and Geeks” received widespread recognition and critical acclaim, and it can be credited with kick-starting Feig’s career as a director. From there, Paul Feig would go on to work with the hugely successful NBC television comedy “The Office”, and his work there has been recognized with three Emmy nominations to date. In 2011, Feig would enjoy his greatest directing success to date with his romantic comedy “Bridesmaids”, featuring Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. The film would go on to gross in excess of $288 million at the box office, giving Feig’s net worth a massive increase.
How rich is Paul Feig? Currently, Feig’s net worth is believed to be around $1.5 million. Feig’s already sizable net worth looks set to continue growing as he remains an active director, recently unveiling plans for a new sci-fi comedy, and announcing an upcoming action comedy “Spy” that is set to hit the cinemas in 2015.
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series, Shorty Award for Director
Nominations
Emmy Awards for writing the show's pilot and the season finale
Movies
"Ghostbusters III", "The Peanuts Movie" (2015), “Bridesmaids” (2011), “The Heat” (2013), “Heavyweights”, “Freaks and Geeks”
TV Shows
“The Office”, “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”
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Trademark
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After _Bridesmaids (2011)_ his work largely consists of female-driven comedies, usually featuring Melissa McCarthy.
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Always wears a suit and tie when he directs.
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Quote
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[Twitter reply on Sep 24 2015] You've been ranting at me and my cast [of Ghostbusters (2016)] for months with misogyny and insults. So go fuck yourself. Goodnight. #enough
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To me, comedy is drama.
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[re Take the Money and Run (1969)] I had never seen comedy like that. It was subversive and smart, and yet so silly at the same time. I wanted to be an actor at that point in my life [9 years old] and when I realized that [Woody] Allen wrote and directed and starred in this film, that really kind of set the course for what I thought my life was going to be.
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The mockumentary is a perfect form for comedy, because it allows it to be behavioral and real and feel in the moment. Since things are supposed to be happening in the real world and captured in the moment by handheld cameras that are surprised by the unexpected actions of the characters, it allows you to create looser situations that play funnier if they're done right. I've used this form on The Office (2005) and Arrested Development (2003), and the tone is great. Plus it allows you to work with no budget.
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When I was an actor, I was in this horrendous movie called Ski Patrol (1990). And I have so many young people come up to me and say it's their favorite movie. I guess it just depends when you watched it and what your relationship was to it at the age you saw it. Time seems to be the great equalizer.
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I think TV is better than movies these days. It has finally embraced serializations, so basically what you are getting is a never-ending movie on television. I am obsessed with trying to figure out what's a great serialized comedy, and how to do it.
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When I was a kid, I used to hate watching kids on TV who were smart or snappy. I liked watching adults being stupid. That's why I liked Monty Python, because these were adults acting insane, whereas when a kid came on, hey, he knew everything, and I was like, 'I don't wanna see that, because I don't know everything, and I don't wanna see a kid who's more together than me.'
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The director is the only person on the set who has seen the film. Your job as a director is to show up every day and know where everything will fit into the film.
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What's great about the geek spirit is that life never seems to stop us, and they never seem to kill our enthusiasm, our optimism and our hunger to experience the world. We keep our sense of humor, we protect our dignity, we talk to our friends about the experience and then we start again fresh the very next day.
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At the end of the day the question comes, what are you doing for the world? You have to try to do something that's going to add something positive.
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Every director should take an acting class.
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Fact
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Thinks movies should open with a big, showy scene.
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Grew up next door to a family of 8 with six children.
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Feig used to do stand-up and says he puts his movies together like he used to do his shows. He screens them multiple times, keeping the jokes that get big laughs and reworking those that don't.
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Describes himself as the world's biggest Mystery Science Theater geek.
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Paul's father was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent (from Hungary and Romania). Paul's mother had British ancestry.
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Saw Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run (1969) when he was 9 years old and was so enthralled by it, he still remembers how "It came on and it was like a religious experience".
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Has directed 1 actress to an Oscar nomination: Melissa McCarthy (Best Supporting Actress, Bridesmaids (2011)).
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His last name is pronounced Feeg.
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The title of his memoir "Superstud" is based on a line from the Freaks and Geeks (1999) episode "Looks and Books".
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In his television series Freaks and Geeks (1999), the fictitious town of Chippewa was loosely based on the area surrounding Mt. Clemens, Michigan, where he grew up.
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In 1985 he won $29,000 on The $10,000 Pyramid (1973) game show (renamed at that time as "The $25,000 Pyaramid") and used the money to finance a run at stand-up comedy.
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Raised in Mt. Clemens, Michigan.
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Graduated Chippewa Valley High School Class of 1980.
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Once worked as a tour guide at Universal Studios in Hollywood.
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Graduated from USC School of Cinema-Television (1984).