The Co-Writer of "The Hangover" Runs A Media Empire Out Of An Old High School In Syracuse

Jeremy Garelick just wants to make people laugh. But to sustain an incredibly successful career doing that, he has solved some pretty knotty problems. In his twenties, he didn't know how to write a script but transformed himself from a production assistant into a sought-after screenwriter in just a few years. He would go on to co-write *The Hangover*. When movie studios refused to make the kind of comedies he loves, because they thought the return on smaller films wasn't worth their effort, he purchased an old high school as a film set, kept costs low, and arranged his own financing. Today, he controls every aspect of production on a campus called American High. While Hollywood struggles in the streaming era and sees diminishing returns from old, overused properties, Garelick has figured out his own business model, how to grab attention with original stories, and when he needs to, bypass the studio system, all in the service of jokes. **3:13** Garelick describes growing up in New York with no entertainment industry connections. A conversation with classmates about unusual summer experiences convinced him that he could pursue something beyond the familiar world around him. **4:20** Persistence and cold outreach led him to an internship at Disney through a producer’s office. There, he fell in love with screenplays and began writing extensive notes on scripts despite having no formal training. **9:35** No one ever asked the interns for their opinion, yet only a few years later he became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid screenwriters. **11:44** Interning with television legends David Milch and Steven Bochco before joining the talent agency CAA **15:00** Arriving in Florida for the filming of *Tigerland* and realizing immediately that directing movies was what he wanted to do with his life **19:08** *The Hangover* **28:46** Writing for stars Vince Vaughn, Adam Sandler, Kevin Hart, and Owen Wilson **30:36** Realizing that high school movies share many production requirements and that controlling the location could dramatically reduce costs. After learning about New York’s film tax incentives, he searched online for schools and found the perfect property. **37:30** The origin story of *Rolling Loud* **40:45** Why he is not afraid of artificial intelligence **44:12** Partnering with Hulu **53:17** Garelick is a creative first and a talented, but accidental, entrepreneur out of necessity