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John Requa

John Requa

Writer, director and producer · Born January 1, 1967 (59) · Burien, Seattle, Washington, USA

Primetime Emmy nominee · 3 other major award bodies

John Requa (born January 1, 1967) is an American screenwriter (with Glenn Ficarra) of Cats & Dogs, Bad Santa and the 2005 remake Bad News Bears. Requa and Ficarra directed Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor in their screenplay I Love You, Phillip Morris. For their writing on this film, Requa and Ficarra received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Requa grew up in Burien, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, graduating from Burien's Highline High School in 1985. His talents as a writer were evident when he wrote and performed in a skit for his senior year Homecoming assembly titled "Fernbusters". It was a morphing of Ghostbusters and the Christmas Trees sketch from Saturday Night Live. In it, Requa played the killer fern. For another assembly later that year, he wrote a skit about an almighty creator named Sven. Requa attended Highline at the same time as Dana Newton, who became a senior producer on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Randy Dixon, who is an internationally known improv artist who heads Unexpected Productions in Seattle, and Mike Starr, who was the original Bassist for Alice in Chains and seen on season three of Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew. Requa graduated from the film program at the Pratt Institute in the early 90s. While there, he met and began his long association with writing partner Glenn Ficarra. Requa and Ficarra wrote numerous episodes of The Angry Beavers, an animated series on Nickelodeon from 1997 until 2001. Their first episode was season two's Kandid Kreatureswhich they followed with Dag for Night, Un-Barry-ble, Zooing Time, Sans-a-Pelt and Gonna Getcha. They went on to write eleven more episodes over the remaining three seasons of the show. The pair directed Focus, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey and Robbie. More recently, his Zaftig company signed a deal with Fox Entertainment. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Requa, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1967 (59)
From
Burien, Seattle, Washington, USA
Works as
Writer, director and producer
Titles
25 on MovieCove · 30 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 31% in 30 days

What are John Requa's films like?

Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Action4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 14th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Animation3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Animation movies
Biography2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 65th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
45%
Self
27%
Society
11%
Morality
7%
Power
7%
Ideas
2%
Survival
2%
Self-worth6 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 11 · Serious 3 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 10 · Intense 0

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 9 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 3

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 11

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 12 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 14 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
9
Thrilling
8
Warm
7
Absurd
7
Tense
4
Other
10

How their films linger

Fun11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 4 with a twist

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch John Requa's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (5).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Requa's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

30 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page.

  • Paradise(2025)

    Show 16 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

  • Rabbit Hole(2023)

    Show 8 episodes · Director · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows

  • DC League of Super-Pets(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • WeCrashed(2022)

    Show 8 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • Jungle Cruise(2021)

    Screenplay · Screenstory

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Next(2020)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows

  • Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite(2020)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part(2019)

    Creative Consultant

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Smallfoot(2018)

    Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Lego Batman Movie(2017)

    Creative Consultant

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Bad Santa 2(2016)

    Characters

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Storks(2016)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • This Is Us(2016)

    Show 105 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Whiskey Tango Foxtrot(2016)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Patriot(2015)

    Show 18 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Focus(2015)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Back in the Game(2013)

    Show 13 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows

  • Crazy, Stupid, Love.(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore(2010)

    Characters

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films

  • I Love You Phillip Morris(2009)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Bad News Bears(2005)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Bad Santa(2003)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Cats & Dogs(2001)

    Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • The Wild Thornberrys(1998)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • The Angry Beavers(1997)

    Show 19 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows

  • 16 States (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer · Screenplay

  • Guys and Dolls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Screenplay

  • Honeymoon with Harry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • King of the Jungle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Misadventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 29 titles, 24 of them dated from 1997 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Jungle Cruise (2021)

$221M worldwide

Highest rated

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Midcredits 92nd

Most popular right now

Paradise (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing12 of 29: 4 only directing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score71stWriting14 of 29: 9 only writing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score57thProducing12 of 29: 4 only producing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score72ndOther crew3 of 29: 2 only other crew, 1 with another role

29 titles, 10 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s3 · crew2010s13 · crew2020s6 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

11 major nominations and no wins, 2009–2026.

  1. 2026
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
  2. 2025
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
  3. 2021
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
  4. 2019
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
  5. 2018
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
  6. 2017
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Drama Series
  7. 2011
    • Writers Guild Award, nominated · Best Adapted Screenplay
  8. 2009
    • Cannes award, nominated · Directors' Fortnight
    • Cannes award, nominated ×2

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do John Requa's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 63rd percentile, the median of all 16; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 59th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

95thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 25 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 25 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · writer

Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite (2020)

79th percentile spread · 59% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

This Is Us (2016)

Midcredits 98th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 54/100 and the plot and story 44/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is John Requa's work okay for kids?

Across up to 14 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore12 titles23–57 · median 47 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity14 titles14–73 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity13 titles11–94 · median 69 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs14 titles4–66 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense13 titles10–49 · median 32 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does John Requa work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Requa's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Glenn Ficarra shares the most, 16.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers