Charles Shyer

Charles Richard Shyer (born October 11, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Shyer's films are predominantly comedies, often with a romantic-comedy overtone. His films include Private Benjamin (1980); Irreconcilable Differences (1984); Baby Boom (1987); Father of the Bride (1991); and Father of the Bride Part II (1995), The Parent Trap (1998), The Affair of the Necklace (L'Affaire du Collier) (2001), Alfie (2004) and Ieri, Oggi Domani (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) (2012).

Early life

Shyer was born in Los Angeles, the son of Lois (née Jones) Delaney and Melville Shyer, a production executive and film director. Shyer grew up in the film industry where his father worked with D.W. Griffith and was one of the founders of the Directors Guild of America. After attending UCLA, he was accepted into the DGA's apprenticeship program, which led to work as an assistant director. However, Shyer's focus was soon diverted to writing and he went to work as an assistant to Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson, producers of the TV series The Odd Couple. He eventually worked his way up to head writer and associate producer on the popular series in the early seventies.

The Parent Trap

The Parent Trap may refer to:

See also

The Parent Trap (1998 film)

The Parent Trap is a 1998 romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Nancy Meyers, and produced and co-written by Charles Shyer. It is the second adaptation of Erich Kästner's German novel Lottie and Lisa (Das doppelte Lottchen) following the 1961 film of same name. Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson star as a couple who divorce soon after marrying; Lindsay Lohan stars (in her film debut) as both Hallie Parker and Annie James, identical twins who are accidentally reunited at summer camp after being separated at birth. David Swift wrote the screenplay for the original 1961 film based solely on Lottie and Lisa, but the story is comparable to that of the 1936 Deanna Durbin film Three Smart Girls, which inspired the novel. Swift is credited along with Meyers and Shyer as co-writers of the 1998 version. The film received positive reviews and was a financial success.

Plot

In 1986, Nick Parker (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth James (Natasha Richardson) meet and get married during an ocean cruise on the RMS Queen Elizabeth II. After the birth of their twin daughters, Annie and Hallie (Lindsay Lohan), Nick and Elizabeth divorce and lose contact, each parent raising one of the twins without telling her about her sister. Nick raises Hallie in Napa Valley and becomes a wealthy wine grower, while Elizabeth raises Annie in London and becomes a famous wedding gown designer.

The Parent Trap (film series)

The Parent Trap is a film series originating in 1961 with Hayley Mills as the twins. She reprised her role three times in made-for-television sequels; once in 1986 and twice in 1989.

The Parent Trap (1961)

The Parent Trap is a film directed by David Swift for Walt Disney Pictures released in 1961, based on the book Das Doppelte Lottchen, written by Erich Kästner . The film stars Hayley Mills who plays the roles of the thirteen-year-old twin girls, Sharon and Susan. Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith play the role of the twin sister’s parents, Maggie and Mitch. The film is about two girls who meet at a summer camp and realize that they are identical twins. They switch lives in order to meet their missing parent and they plan to bring their divorced parents back together. Soon after switching, the twins learn that there is a new woman named Vicky Robinson (played by Joanna Barnes) in their father’s life. After Mitch tells Sharon about his engagement to Vicky, the girls come up with a new game plan to get rid of the gold-digging young woman interfering with their plan to reconnect their parents.

The Parent Trap II

The Parent Trap II is a 1986 made-for-cable-television sequel to Walt Disney Pictures' 1961 classic The Parent Trap and the second installment in The Parent Trap series. It premiered on Disney Channel on July 26, 1986 as a part of the channel's "Sunday Night Movie".

Hayley Mills is the only actress that returned from the original film. She continues to portray Susan and Sharon, the twins who were separated at age one, met up twelve years later at summer camp, switched places and went on to reunite their divorced parents.

The film focuses on Sharon's daughter, Nikki, who tries to hook her mother up with her best friend Mary's father, portrayed by Tom Skerritt. It was a success for the Disney Channel and it later spawned two more made-for-television sequels, both produced in 1989.

Plot

The film takes place twenty-five years after the original film. Sharon Ferris is unhappily divorced and living as a single, somewhat jaded mother in Tampa, Florida. Her daughter, Nikki, is not happy about their impending move to New York City. While in summer school, Nikki makes enemies with Jessica Dintruff (Tannen), but befriends Mary Grand. Mary's father, Bill Grand, has been widowed for four years. To stop Nikki from moving to New York and to see their parents happily married, the girls scheme to set them up.