Robert D. Siegel

Robert D. Siegel is an American screenwriter known for The Onion Movie and The Wrestler, as well as the writer and director of Big Fan. His movie The Wrestler won the Golden Lion at the 2008 Venice Film Festival and has earned several Best Picture nominations. Big Fan premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. It was revealed in an online interview that Siegel attempted to write drafts for a comedy film but it ended up being a drama because of the conflicts in the film as well as avoiding Patton Oswalt being typecast as a comedic character. Siegel is a graduate of the University of Michigan who later became senior editor of The Onion from 1996 to 1999, and editor-in-chief from 1999 to 2003.

Works

Welcome to Chippendales

The outrageous story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an Indian immigrant who became the unlikely founder of the world’s greatest male-stripping empire—and let nothing stand in his way in the process.

Release Date: 2022-11-22

Department: Writing

Job: Teleplay

Episode Count: 3

Vote Count: 51

Pam & Tommy

This comedic series takes on the true story behind the release of the first ever viral video in history — the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.

Release Date: 2022-02-02

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Episode Count: 3

Vote Count: 257

Cruise

Set in the 1980s, a young Italian-American from the wrong side of the tracks falls for a Jewish girl from Long Island.

Release Date: 2018-09-28

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 84

The Founder

The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.

Release Date: 2016-11-24

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 4987

Turbo

The tale of an ordinary garden snail who dreams of winning the Indy 500.

Release Date: 2013-07-11

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Vote Count: 3390

Within the Ring

The making of The Wrester (2008).

Release Date: 2009-04-21

Character: Self

Big Fan

Paul Aufiero, a 35-year-old parking-garage attendant from Staten Island, is the self-described "world's biggest New York Giants fan". One night, Paul and his best friend Sal spot Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop at a gas station and decide to follow him. At a strip club Paul cautiously decides to approach him but the chance encounter brings Paul's world crashing down around him.

Release Date: 2009-02-07

Department: Directing

Job: Director

Character: Front-Lawn Reporter #1

Vote Count: 128

The Wrestler

Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.

Release Date: 2008-09-07

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay

Character: Autograph Fan #1

Vote Count: 3676

The Onion Movie

Venerable newscaster Norm Archer reports the latest news in politics, health, culture and entertainment - such as an automotive recall of decapitation-inducing "Neckbelts" and a study finding that "depression hits losers hardest". This compilation of bogus news stories, celebrity profiles, movie trailers and skits come courtesy of the ace satirists at The Onion.

Release Date: 2008-05-31

Department: Writing

Job: Writer

Vote Count: 222

American Huckster

A New York hustler wheels and deals his way to the top of one of the most powerful and corrupt sports organizations in the world.

Department: Writing

Job: Screenplay