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Frank Beddor, film producer, author, game developer, world creator, and founder of Automatic Pictures, has excelled in professional skiing (two-time freestyle world champion), filmmaking, and the New York Times Bestseller list. He produced several hit films, including the comedy There's Something About Mary (1998), Wicked (1998), and the upcoming The Juliet, in collaboration with renowned producers Charles Roven (The Dark Knight, 2008) and Alex Gartner, and director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman, 2012). The Juliet is currently in development with Sony Pictures and New Regency. Beddor is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Looking Glass Wars trilogy and the Hatter M graphic novel series. Following the success of There's Something About Mary, he founded Automatic Pictures and Automatic Games to develop creative properties across various platforms.
Raised in Excelsior, Minnesota, Beddor’s roots are in the small-town Midwest. His mother participated in numerous college productions, and the family frequently attended local theaters such as The Old Log, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater. His father, an entrepreneur and impresario, pursued ventures like a traveling water-ski show featuring ice-follies performers, a one-legged boy, and a fire jump, reflecting what Frank describes as a "charismatic and adventurous" spirit. Among his daring feats, Beddor’s father set a world record skiing the length of the Mississippi River dressed as Paul Bunyan to promote Minneapolis' Paul Bunyan Land and rode a motorcycle to South America with his 150-pound Great Dane in a custom box mounted above the rear wheel.
Frank began skiing at four and water skiing at six, training locally before winning the Nationals and earning an invitation to join the Olympic ski team, though freestyle skiing became an official Olympic sport years later. He retired from skiing at 23, feeling he had accomplished all he wanted. As an international sports star, Beddor secured endorsements and appeared in commercials for brands like Northwest Airlines, Nikon, and Juicy Fruit. His entry into Hollywood came as John Cusack’s skiing stunt double in the teen comedy Better Off Dead (1985) and as a co-star with Carrie Fisher in the sequel Kentucky Fried Movie, Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), directed by Joe Dante. Moving to Los Angeles, he acted in several theater productions, earning favorable reviews, and studied under renowned acting coach Stella Adler. Adler encouraged students to write unwritten scenes for their characters before performing, but Beddor soon realized much of acting involved waiting for the right script, which frustrated him and led him to producing. Following the adage "Write what you know," he developed a ski story inspired by the WWII exploits of the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, pitching it as "'The Dirty Dozen' on skis." His first produced film, Wicked (1998), is notable for launching actress Julia Stiles’ career and its success at the Sundance Film Festival. Then came There's Something About Mary, a critical and commercial hit grossing $360 million worldwide and becoming a lasting pop culture phenomenon.
After There's Something About Mary, Beddor spent two years quietly developing his next major project, The Looking Glass Wars book trilogy. Initially rejected by every major U.S. publisher, the series was published in 2004 by the U.K. publisher Egmont Books, where it became a sensation. Penguin later published the series in the U.S. after initially passing on it four times.
Continuing his creative pursuits, Beddor focuses on multiple projects through his companies Automatic Pictures and Automatic Games. Recently, his game company released Rings of Orbis, a sci-fi online RPG based on the award-winning Softwire series by acclaimed author P.J. Haarsma.
