Biography
Paul Guay is a multifaceted creator—writer, actor, director, teacher, script consultant, speaker, and workshop leader—whose films have collectively earned over half a billion dollars.
He originated and co-wrote Liar Liar (1997), which upon release ranked as the fifth-highest-grossing comedy ever, the fourth-highest-grossing film of that year, the second-highest earner in Jim Carrey’s career, and the top-grossing film in Imagine Entertainment’s history.
The screenplay received an Honorable Mention in Scr(i)pt magazine’s list of the Best Scripts of the Past Decade, alongside titles like Fargo (1996), Million Dollar Baby (2004), The Full Monty (1997), and Catch Me If You Can (2002).
William C. Martell authored Secrets of Story: Liar, Liar, a detailed guide using Liar Liar’s screenplay as a model for resolving screenwriting challenges.
Two drafts of the Liar Liar screenplay were published by Harvest Moon.
Paul also co-wrote The Little Rascals (1994), which was Universal’s second-highest-grossing film that year.
He co-wrote Heartbreakers (2001), starring Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman, and Jason Lee; the film debuted at number one at the box office.
His polish work on The NeverEnding Story (1984) was instrumental in bringing the film to fruition. The beloved children’s fantasy spawned two sequels, two TV series, three video games, a stage play, a ballet, and an opera.
Paul appears as a commentator in the feature documentary Dreams on Spec, which features interviews with top writers such as James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Gary Ross, Carrie Fisher, and Ed Solomon.
He began his entertainment career in marketing, advertising, and publicity, representing clients including Buena Vista, Carolco, Columbia, Daily Variety, Fox Broadcasting Company, Morgan Creek, William Morris, NBC, New Line, Playboy, TriStar, Twentieth Century Fox, United Artists, Warner Bros., Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jackson, and Madonna.
Paul earned a Cum Laude degree from Pomona College, double majoring in English and philosophy, reasoning that philosophy would be a fallback if writing didn’t pan out.
Current Projects:
Paul is co-writing The Affordable [Redacted], a fish-out-of-water crime comedy inspired by a remarkable true story that captivated audiences worldwide.
After directing the most successful comedy—or drama—in the history of Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre (established 1946), he made his film-directing debut with three short comedies he wrote: The Godfather (2023), The Vampyre (2023), and Who Guardeth the Guards (2023).
The Vampyre was an official selection at Comic-Con, the Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival, the Die Laughing Film Festival, the Awesome Con Short Film Festival, and the Anthem Film Festival, where it won the Best Short Comedy Award.
Recently, Paul contributed “Audition Notes,” a chapter for an upcoming anthology of acting essays and exercises tentatively titled Now Act! The anthology’s editor, Laurie Lamson, previously included Paul’s chapter “Hurt Me, Hurt Me! (Oh, and Help Me Make My Script Better)” in her anthology Now Write!
Paul is a highly sought-after script consultant. More information can be found at ScreenMasterBooks.com/Analysis/PaulGuay.html.
