Todd Phillips

Born: 1970
Where: Long Island, New York

The director first attracted attention with his feature debut, the hit teen comedy Road Trip with Seann William Scott and Tom Green.

Hated, the film he made as a student at New York University, had made its way to both cinema and DVD release, an incredible accomplishment for a Film School movie.

Not to be outdone, he topped this with Frat House, the film he made as a senior at NYU which ultimately went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.

The movie, which graphically portrayed college rituals, ended up banned and literally locked up.

With two critically acclaimed and controversial documentaries under his belt Phillips made a big splash with his debut of not one but two big movies this year.

Working almost simultaneously he directed both Road Trip and the comedic documentary Bittersweet Motel about music cult Phish.

In 2003, he helmed the successful man-going-back-to-college caper Old School with Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson.

Subsequently, he directed the pitch-perfect remake of TV classic Starsky & Hutch with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.