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Photo of John Requa

John Requa

Director, Writer, Producer, Additional CreditsBorn January 1, 1967 (58 years)
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.

Known For

  • Crazy, Stupid, Love.
  • Focus
  • Jungle Cruise
  • I Love You Phillip Morris
  • Bad Santa
  • This Is Us
  • Cats & Dogs
  • Paradise (2025)
  • Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
  • WeCrashed
  • Rabbit Hole
  • Bad News Bears
  • Bad Santa 2
  • neXt (2020)
  • The Angry Beavers
  • Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
  • Patriot
  • Smallfoot

Featured Videos

  • Glenn Ficarra And John Requa
    Glenn Ficarra And John RequaWhiskey Tango FoxtrotBehind the Scenes
  • Glenn Ficarra And John Requa On The Challenges Of Balancing Con Artist And Love Story Dynamic
    Glenn Ficarra And John Requa On The Challenges Of Balancing Con Artist And Love Story DynamicFocusBehind the Scenes

John Requa Filmography

2025
Paradise (2025) (TV Series)
2023
Rabbit Hole (TV Series)
2022
WeCrashed (TV Series)
2020
neXt (2020) (TV Series)
2016
This Is Us (TV Series)
2016
2015
2013
Back in the Game (TV Series)
2011
2009

2023
Rabbit Hole (TV Series)
2021
Jungle Cruise · as Screenplay
2015
2009
2005
Bad News Bears · as Screenplay
2003
2001
Cats & Dogs · as Screenplay
1998
1997
The Angry Beavers (TV Series)

2025
Paradise (2025) (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2023
Rabbit Hole (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2022
DC League of Super-Pets · as Executive Producer
2022
WeCrashed (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2020
neXt (2020) (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2018
2016
Storks · as Executive Producer
2016
This Is Us (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2015
Patriot (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2013
Back in the Game (TV Series) · as Executive Producer
2001
Cats & Dogs · as Co-Producer

2005
Made In Hollywood (TV Series) · as Self

2020
Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite · as Based On The Characters Created By
2018
Smallfoot · as Story
2016
Bad Santa 2 · as Characters
2013
Back in the Game (TV Series) · as Written By
2010

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