DAVID DOBKIN
Date of Birth: June 23, 1969
When David Dobkin graduated with honors from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in Film & Television in 1991, he had already been working for several years in the film industry. He started off as an assistant to the production manager on John Schlesinger's film The Believers (1987), and while in school, worked for Warner Bros.' development division.
A native of Washington, D.C., Dobkin moved to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue a career as a director. His first jobs were directing music videos for artists such as Tupac Shakur, Sonic Youth and Robin Zander. From there, he moved into directing commercials for high profile clients such as ESPN, Coke, Honda and Coors Light. His ads for Heineken earned him honors from SHOOT Magazine, while his spots for the Utah Symphony were named "Spot of the Month" by Adweek Magazine.
Dobkin made his feature film directing debut with Clay Pigeons (1998), a black comedy about a series of small-town murders. The film, which starred Joaquin Phoenix and Janeane Garofalo, received mixed reviews from critics and a lukewarm reception at the box office.
For his second film, Dobkin was handpicked by Jackie Chan himself to direct Shanghai Knights (2003), the sequel to Shanghai Noon (2000), co-starring Owen Wilson. Again working with Wilson, Dobkin then helmed the comedy Wedding Crashers (2005), which went on to be a huge success at the box office.
He and his wife, producer Megan Wolpert, have one child together.