Andy Fickman

Andy Fickman was a noted comedy director best known for helming the Kevin James vehicle "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" (2015). Born and raised in Midland, Texas, Fickman always dreamt of making his living as a film director. So when it came time to enter college, he enrolled in the film program at Lubbock's Texas Tech University. The technical knowledge he gained during his four years in the program proved to be indispensable, and by the time senior year rolled around, Fickman was already planning his big move to Hollywood. He arrived in Los Angeles in the late '80s with little more than a suitcase in his hand and a few hundred bucks in his pocket. Shortly after his arrival, he landed a job as a tour guide at Universal Studios, which was, in essence, his first real job in the film industry. Over the next several years Fickman moved his way up the Hollywood pecking order by working for countless production companies, and eventually held the title of Vice President of Development for Bette Midler's production company, All Girl Productions. Despite this success, however, Fickman still longed to be behind the camera as a director. He finally got his chance in 2001 when he co-wrote and directed the raunchy teen comedy "Who's Your Daddy." The film was shelved for several years, before having a straight-to-DVD release in 2005. Undeterred, in 2006 Fickman directed the romantic comedy "She's the Man." The film, which starred Channing Tatum and Amanda Bynes, was an unexpected hit at the box office, thus signaling the rise of Fickman as a studio director to watch. Over the next few years, Fickman directed several more big-budget studio comedies, including "The Game Plan" (2007), "Race to Witch Mountain" (2009), and "Parental Guidance" (2012), all of which were profitable. With his career on rise, in 2014 Fickman was chosen to helm the sequel to the 2009 Kevin James comedy, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." Released in April 2015, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" was a hit with audiences despite poor reviews, and quickly became the number 1 comedy at the American box office on its opening weekend.