Gregory J. Mottola (born July 11, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter and television director.

Early life and education

Mottola grew up in Dix Hills, New York, in a Catholic family of Italian and Irish descent. He received his BFA in art from Carnegie Mellon University and MFA in film from Columbia University.

Career

He wrote and directed the 1996 independent film The Daytrippers, then concentrated for several years on directing in television for series such as Undeclared and Arrested Development. More recently, he has directed the feature films Superbad, Adventureland and Paul. Adventureland (2009) is a "first love" story about a group of college-age kids working at an amusement park in the 1980s. The film starred Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and received critical praise. He directed Paul, a science fiction/comedy film about two comic book nerds (played by the film's screenwriters Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who meet an alien named Paul while vacationing in the US. Later on, he returned to TV series, such as The Dangerous Book for Boys.

Personal life

Mottola is married to Sarah Allentuch and has three children.

Filmography

Film

Television