Swingers (1996): Background on Jon Favreau and Doug Liman

   Swingers, a 1996 comedic screenplay, was created by Jonathan Kolia Favreau. Favreau not only wrote the screenplay, but also played the leading role of Mike in the film. Interestingly enough, Swingers was a product of Favreau tinkering around with a gift from his father. He was given screenwriting software which eventually led him to creating the original script. This film was then picked up by director Doug Liman, son of well-known legal strategist Arthur Liman (“The Liman Identity”, n.d.).  Favreau later commented that Swingers made Liman become “Doug Liman, not Arthur Liman’s son” thus helping him establish himself as an individual (“The Liman Identity”, n.d.). Liman later went on to direct films such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the Bourne Identity (“The Liman Identity”, n.d.). Choosing Liman as director was a gamble on Favreau’s part because he had other “six figure offers” from celebrities such as Jason Priestley. He ultimately chose Liman because he promised to cast Favreau himself and pal Vince Vaughn as the leads, which ultimately kick-started both of their careers (Jewel, 2015). Swingers was made on a relatively low budget of around $200,000, which helps it fit in to the “Indie” category of going against the higher budget, commerce driven, mainstream films of the time. It was later distributed by Miramax and grossed nearly $1.1 million in art houses and cinema centers (“Jon Favreau”, 2015).

 Favreau is someone who did not necessarily set out to work in film, but film found him. He was born in 1966 in Queens, New York City as the only son of two school teachers. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and then went on to college at Queens College in 1984. Surprisingly, he chose to drop out of college when he was just credits away from receiving a degree. He instead decided to move to Chicago to focus on comedy and perform in improvisational theaters (Biography, IMDb, n.d.). In 1993 while in Chicago, Favreau became acquainted with Vaughn as they both were cast in the film Rudy. Favreau went on to appear as “Eric the Clown” in Seinfeld, which is where he had his big break into the television realm. After more small roles, he decided to write himself and Vaughn in to an original screenplay. He also co-produced the film and cast himself as the “luckless, struggling actor who is emotionally shattered after losing his girlfriend” (Biography, IMDb, n.d.). Vaughn was cast as his opposite, a “cool, worldly, and outgoing buddy” type. According to IMDb, these two specific roles went on to define both Favreau and Vaughn’s later careers in film.

Following Swingers, Favreau returned to a television role starring in Friends as “Monica’s” love interest “Pete Becker” (Biography, IMDb, n.d.). In 1999, he was featured in the Showtime biopic Ricky Marciano. His feature film directorial debut was with the movie Made “a Mafioso comedy” also starring Vaughn again (“Jon Favreau,” 2015). Interestingly enough, Favreau went on to work with Vaughn many additional times in popular movies such as The Break-Up, Four Christmases, and Couples Retreat (Biography, IMDb, n.d.). Favreau’s best known directorial role is likely with Will Ferrell’s popular comedy Elf, which has become a Christmas staple. In addition, he helped both produce and direct 2008’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. and 2010’s Iron Man 2 (Biography, IMDb, n.d.). These two films earned more than $1 billion combined at box offices worldwide (“Jon Favreau, 2011).

Aside from box office success, Favreau is married and a father to three young children (Biography, IMDb, n.d.). He is quoted as saying, “I thought I would be working on Wall Street my whole life. It was the go-go '80s; there were yellow ties. It was just an exciting moment. And although I wasn't involved in the trading side of things, I was still around that culture, and I ultimately decided it just wasn't for me” (“Jon Favreau”, 2015). That clear decision to walk away from academia truly fits with Favreau’s self-described personality of “being a lazy person by nature, but whom can go from lazy to obsessive if engaged” (“Jon Favreau”, 2015).

In conclusion, Favreau’s career success in acting, directing, writing, and producing were born out of his first original screenplay Swingers. This film currently sits at an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the “critics consensus” states that this film “made stars out of Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, while also establishing Doug Liman as a director to watch (Swingers, 2015).

 Works Cited

"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 14 June 2015.

"Biography: Jon Favreau." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 14 June 2015.

Jewel, Dan, and Anna David. "Swing And A Hit." People 46.22 (1996): 115. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 June 2015

"Jon Favreau." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 13 June 2015.

"Swingers (1996)." Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 15 June 2015.

"The Liman Identity." NYMag.com. Web. 13 June 2015.