Daniel Petrie Jr. - Details

Biography

Daniel Petrie, Jr. is the eldest son of director Daniel Petrie, Sr., and producer Dorothea Petrie.

Petrie, Jr., who has both Canadian and U.S. citizenship, grew up as a movie brat, following his parents as they moved from location to location around the world.
After graduation from college in 1975 with a degree in psychology, Petrie began writing screenplays. He supported himself by working in the mailroom at ICM, a talent and literary agency. He quickly moved to the position of reader before becoming an agent for writers and directors. Petrie met and married his wife, Constance, while they both worked at ICM.

After five years, Petrie left the company to once again pursue a career in screenwriting. His first project was writing the AFI short film The Expert for his younger brother, director Donald Petrie (Mystic Pizza, Grumpy Old Men).

Petrie’s first sold script was the provocative thriller The Big Easy, starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin. His first produced screenplay was the box-office smash Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy. Beverly Hills Cop, based on an original story by Petrie and Danilo Bach, brought Petrie an Academy Award nomination.

Petrie’s first outing as a director was the 1991 film Toy Soldiers, starring Sean Astin and Louis Gossett, Jr. Petrie then co-wrote and directed In the Army Now with Pauly Shore, David Alan Grier, Lori Petty and Andy Dick.

Petrie currently serves as vice president of the Writers Guild of America-West. The Writers Guild represents over 8,000 film and television writers who write the majority of all U.S. film and television entertainment product. Petrie served as president of the organization from 1997 through September 1999.