Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech | |
|---|---|
 Paul Fenech on left in 2017 | |
| Born | Paul Fenech 21 November 1972 [1] Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, film and television actor, director, producer and writer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972)[1] is an Australian filmmaker, film and television actor, director, producer and writer.[2] He is best known for writing, directing, producing and starring in the television series Pizza, Swift and Shift Couriers, Housos, Bogan Hunters, Fat Pizza: Back in Business, Housos vs. Virus: The Lockdown and Darradong Local Council as well as the motion pictures Fat Pizza (2003), Housos vs. Authority (2012), Fat Pizza vs. Housos (2014) and Dumb Criminals: The Movie (2015).
Career
Early in his career, Fenech directed More Than Legends, a documentary highlighting Aboriginal culture through the eyes of elders from the Nyungar (W.A.), Arrernte (N.T.) and Tiwi (N.T.) groups.[3]
He first achieved prominence by winning third place in Sydney's annual Tropfest short film festival in 1995 for a biographical short entitled Pizza Man based on his experiences as a pizza delivery driver. He won the Tropfest award for best film in 1998 for Intolerance written by and starring Acclaimed Australian Comedy Superstar Austen Tayshus, although he had submitted the film under the pseudonym Laura Feinstein to appeal to the sensitivities of the judges, particularly Tropfest founder John Polson, who hoped that a female director would win the award.[4]
Fenech was then able to secure a deal with Australian community broadcaster SBS to produce a sitcom based on his short film. Entitled Pizza, and premiering in 2000, it ran for five seasons, with the final season airing in 2007. A full-length motion picture based on the series entitled Fat Pizza was released in 2003. Over a decade later, Fenech combined the storyline of Pizza with that of his third SBS Series Housos to create the feature film Fat Pizza vs. Housos.[5][6][7][8][9]
Following the success of Pizza, he created the sitcom series Swift and Shift Couriers. Series 1 began airing on SBS on 27 October 2008 and Series 2 premiered on 15 August 2011.[10][11]
His third television show for SBS, Housos, first aired on 24 October 2011. To date, two series have been produced, in addition to two full-length, cinematically-released motion pictures, Housos vs. Authority (2012) and Fat Pizza vs. Housos (2014). Housos won the award for Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program at the 2014 Logie Awards.[8][12]
Fenech's program Bogan Hunters, a combination of comedy and reality television, began airing on 13 May 2014 on 7mate and was the channel's highest-rating entertainment program and second highest rating show to date.[13][14]
Fenech has recently re-started his shows Fat Pizza and Housos on the 7 Network, after his deal with SBS was not renewed. These shows are under variations of the original name, both called, Housos Vs. Virus: The Lockdown and Fat Pizza: Back in Business. These spin-off shows star Fenech playing the same characters as he did in the original shows and most of the original cast, however the shows are far more lewd than their SBS filmed counterparts, with far more reference to touchy social issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and a lot more nudity and swearing. These shows, airing on 5 November 2019 for Fat Pizza: Back in Business and the 26 October 2020 for Housos Vs Virus: The Lockdown have proven successful with consistently high ratings online.
Filmography
| Feature films | |||||
| Year | Title | Credit | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee | Emilio (Gardener) | |||
| 2018 | That's Not My Dog! | Himself | |||
| 2015 | Dumb Criminals: The Movie | Director, writer, producer and executive producer | Rabbit | ||
| 2014 | Fat Pizza vs. Housos | Director, writer, producer and executive producer | Franky Falzoni/Pauly Falzoni | ||
| 2012 | Housos vs. Authority | Director, writer, producer and editor | Franky Falzoni | ||
| 2003 | Fat Pizza | Director, writer and producer | Pauly Falzoni/Alfredo Falzoni | ||
| 1999 | Somewhere in the Darkness | Lawnmower Man | |||
| Television | |||||
| Year | Title | Credit | Role |
Notes | |
| 2023 | Darradong Local Council | Creator, director, writer and producer | Sam 'Fox' Foxitini | 9 episodes | |
| 2022 | SAS Australia: Who Dares Wins[15] | Contestant | Himself | 9 episodes | |
| 2018 | Deadly Down Under | Presenter, Creator | Pauly | 10 episodes | |
| Drunk History Australia | Jesse Dowson | Pilot | |||
| 2015 | Dumb Criminals Motorcycle Club | Creator, director, writer and producer | Rabbit | ||
| Summernats and the Hunt for the Great Aussie Hoon | Pauly | TV movie | |||
| 2014 | Bogan Hunters | Creator, director, writer and producer | Host | 10 episodes | |
| 2013 | Celebrity Splash! | Contestant | Himself | [16] | |
| 2011–2013; 2020-present | Housos / Housos vs Virus: The Lockdown / Housos: The Thong Warrior | Creator, director, writer and producer | Franky Falzoni | 23 episodes | |
| 2008–2011 | Swift and Shift Couriers | Paul 'Mario' Gauci | 19 episodes | ||
| 2006 | World Record Pizza | Pauly Falzoni | 6 episodes | ||
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Cup | 3 episodes | |||
| 2004 | Pizza: Special Deliveries | 10 episodes | |||
| 2004 | Pizza Live | 5 episodes | |||
| 2000–2007; 2019-present | Pizza / Fat Pizza / Fat Pizza: Back in Business | 56 episodes | |||
| 1999 | The 50 Foot Show | Director | |||
| 1998 | Heartland | Title Design | Mini-series | ||
| Short films | |||||
| Year | Title | Credit | Role | Notes | |
| 1998 | Intolerance | Director and producer | |||
| 1997 | Dangerous Pizza | Director, writer and producer | |||
| 1996 | Space Pizza | ||||
| 1995 | Pizza Man | ||||
| 1994 | More Than Legends | Director and writer | |||
Charity work
In 2014, Fenech broke the Guinness World Record for 'Most Self Portrait (selfie) Photographs Taken in 24 hours’, taking a total of 2408. In order to qualify, each 'selfie' photograph had to be taken with a different participant. The event was held to raise money and awareness for Barnardo's Australia.[17]
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Pauly's Shorts | Best Comedy Release | Nominated | [18] |
- 1998: Best Film (Intolerance, won)
- 1999: Grand Jury Prize (Somewhere in the Darkness, nominated)
- 2001: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (Pizza, nominated)
- 2002: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (Pizza, nominated)
- 2004: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (Pizza, nominated)
- 2005: Most Outstanding Comedy Program (Pizza, nominated)
- 2014: Most Outstanding Light Entertainment Program (Housos, won)
Australian Comedy Awards
- 2003: Outstanding Australian TV Comedy – character based (Pizza, nominated)
- 2011: Comedy – Situation or Narrative (Housos, nominated)
References
- ^ a b "Our Authors: Paul Fenech". Pan Macmillan Australia. 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Ohmoy Gourd!". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "More than legends [videorecording]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ Bookallil, Simon, Gone Troppo (documentary), 2004
- ^ "Interview With Pauly Fenech". Dimensions. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 July 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Triple J Film Reviews – Fat Pizza". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ Woodhead, Cameron (2 March 2006). "Pizza: Subwoofers Of Mass Seduction". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Fat Pizza Vs Housos". Hoyts. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 August 2019). "Australian Movie Stars". Filmink.
- ^ Molitorisz, Sacha (6 November 2008). "Fast delivery of a shifty crew". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Episodes". SBS. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ "Victory for Aussie battlers at the Logies". SBS. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ "Bogan Hunters is car-crash TV says creator Paul Fenech". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "Sarah Ferguson grilling tops ABC1". TV Tonight. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "REVEALED: The full celebrity cast of SAS Australia 2022". 7NEWS. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "Yahoo Australia | News, email and search".
- ^ "PAUL FENECH SNAGS NEW WORLD RECORD!!". FilmINK. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
External links
- Paul Fenech at IMDb
