Peter Berg

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Peter Berg
Peter Berg by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Berg speaking at Wondercon 2012 in Anaheim, California on March 17, 2012
Born (1962-03-11) March 11, 1962 (age 51)[1]
New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality American
Education The Taft School
Alma mater Macalester College
Occupation Actor, director, producer, screenwriter
Years active 1988–present
Notable work(s) The Rundown, Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, Hancock, Battleship
Net worth Steady $30 million (2013)[2]
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Rogers (1993-1998)
Partner(s) Estella Warren[citation needed]
Children 1; Emmett

Peter Berg (born March 11, 1962) is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as The Rundown (2003), Friday Night Lights (2004), The Kingdom (2007), Hancock (2008) and Battleship (2012). He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor he is best known for his role as Dr. Billy Kronk on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope.[3]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Berg was born in New York City, New York. He is the son of Sally and Laurence "Larry" Berg.[4] Berg's father was Jewish and his mother Christian. He is the cousin of writer H. G. Bissinger, whose book Friday Night Lights provides the basis for the film and TV series of the same name.[5][6] His mother co-founded a youth group named Catalog for Giving and worked at a psychiatric hospital when Berg was growing up.[1] He has a younger sister, Mary. After graduating from The Taft School in 1980,[7] Berg attended Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he majored in theater arts and theater history. He graduated in 1984, and in 1985 moved to Los Angeles to pursue his film career.

Career [edit]

Berg put his acting aspirations on hold when he first arrived in Los Angeles, choosing instead to learn about the film business as a production assistant. In 1992, Berg gained recognition for playing a World War II soldier in the film A Midnight Clear. In 1998, Berg made his feature directorial debut with Very Bad Things, a black comedy starring Jon Favreau, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, and Leland Orser. The film, which was shown at the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals, received mixed critical reception. In 2000, he created Wonderland, an edgy dramatic television series set in an asylum. While the ABC show received rave reviews and garnered a cult following, it failed to deliver ratings and was quickly canceled.

Berg in 2003 directed The Rundown. Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Seann William Scott, the Berg-helmed action comedy received mixed reviews from critics and disappointed at the box office, only grossing 80 million of its reported 85 million budget. In 2004, Berg began work on his third directorial effort, Friday Night Lights, a football film based on the New York Times bestseller written by Buzz Bissinger.[8]

In 2006, Berg developed and became executive producer of NBC’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning drama Friday Night Lights, based on the novel and film of the same name.

Berg followed up in 2007 with The Kingdom, a Michael Mann-produced political thriller set in Saudi Arabia, starring Academy Award winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper, also with Jennifer Garner whom Berg met when he appeared in a two-part episode of Alias where he played Garner's ex-boyfriend. Berg’s film Hancock, starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman, was one of the biggest grossing films of 2008.

Berg directed the Hulu.com commercial featuring Alec Baldwin, which both The New York Times and Time magazine named best spot of Super Bowl XLIII.[9] In 2009, Berg directed a two-hour pilot movie for a Fox television series Virtuality. Even though the show was not picked up for a full season, the pilot was released on DVD exclusively through Best Buy. Berg also directed the ESPN documentary "Kings Ransom" in 2009. Berg also wrote the 2010 film The Losers.

Berg also directed the 2012 science-fiction/action film Battleship, and is developing a sequel to Hancock, the film adaptation of Marcus Lutrell's book Lone Survivor,[10] and a live-action version of the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars.[11]

Personal life [edit]

On August 28, 1993, Berg married long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Rogers; they divorced in 1998.[citation needed] Berg has a son, Emmett, who was born December 1999. He began dating comedienne Whitney Cummings in early 2013.[citation needed]

Filmography [edit]

Director [edit]

Writer [edit]

Producer [edit]

Actor [edit]

Composer [edit]

Critical reception [edit]

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic IMDb
Overall
Very Bad Things (1998) 44%[13] 31%[14] 6.2[15]
The Rundown (2003) 71%[16] 59%[17] 6.5[18]
Friday Night Lights (2004) 81%[19] 70%[20] 7.1[21]
The Kingdom (2007) 51%[22] 56%[23] 7.0[24]
Hancock (2008) 41%[25] 49%[26] 6.5[27]
Battleship (2012) 34%[28] 41%[29] 5.9[30]

Awards and Nominations [edit]

Year Award Category Film Result
1996 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Chicago Hope Nominated
1997 Nominated
1998 Nominated
Deauville American Film Festival Award Fun Radio Trophy Very Bad Things Won
Grand Special Prize Nominated
San Sebastián International Film Festival Award Golden Seashell Nominated
2005 AFI Award Movie of the Year Friday Night Lights Won
ESPY Award Best Sports Movie Won
Teen Choice Award Choice Movie: Drama Nominated
USC Scripter Award Best Film Shared with Buzz Bissinger and David Aaron Cohen Nominated
Young Artist Award Best Family Feature Film - Drama Nominated
2007 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Friday Night Lights Nominated
Writers Guild of America Best New Series Shared with Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Carter Harris, Liz Heldens, David Hudgins, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Andy Miller, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and John Zinman Nominated
2009 Golden Eagle Award Best Foreign Film Hancock Nominated
2011 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Drama Series Friday Night Lights Nominated
2013 Golden Raspberry Award Worst Director Battleship Nominated
Worst Picture Nominated
Golden Trailer Award Best Summer Blockbuster 2012 TV Spot Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society Award Worst Film Nominated

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "Peter Berg Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
  2. ^ "Peter Berg Net Worth". 
  3. ^ "New York Times". Movies.nytimes.com. 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  4. ^ https://www.berkshiretaconic.org/About/BoardFullBio_photo.shtml
  5. ^ Bart Mills (1994-02-28). "Walking Tall". Chicago Tribune. 
  6. ^ "Caught In The Crossfire Politics, Religion, Blockbuster Action Hold The Keys To This 'Kingdom'. | Goliath Business News". Goliath.ecnext.com. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  7. ^ The Taft School, Berg and Smith Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  8. ^ "Peter Berg Biography". Moviefone. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  9. ^ "ESPN 30 for 30". 30for30.espn.com. 1988-08-09. Retrieved 2011-09-12. 
  10. ^ "Peter Berg Puts Lone Survivor on Hold to Sink My Battleship". 
  11. ^ Hercules: The Thracian Wars at the Internet Movie Database
  12. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 14, 2009). "Peter Berg boards 'Battleship'". Variety. 
  13. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of ''Very Bad Things''". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  14. ^ "Metacritic Rating of Very Bad Things". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  15. ^ "Very Bad Things (1998) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  16. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of ''The Rundown''". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  17. ^ "Metacritic Rating of The Rundown". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  18. ^ "The Rundown (2003) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  19. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of ''Friday Night Lights''". Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  20. ^ "Metacritic Rating of Friday Night Lights". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  21. ^ "Friday Night Lights (2004) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  22. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of ''The Kingdom''". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  23. ^ "Metacritic Rating of The Kingdom". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  24. ^ "The Kingdom (2007) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  25. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of ''Hancock''". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  26. ^ "Metacritic Rating of Hancock". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  27. ^ "Hancock (2008) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  28. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of ''Battleship''". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  29. ^ "Metacritic Rating of Battleship". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  30. ^ "Battleship (2012) - IMDb". Uk.imdb.com. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 

External links [edit]

Films directed by Peter Berg
1990s
2000s
2010s
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