---
name: "Richard Sakai"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-sakai"
roles: ["Producer","Director"]
born: "28 January 1954"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T21:10:50.490192+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Richard Sakai

Producer and director. Born 28 January 1954 in San Francisco, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer, Director
- **Born:** 28 January 1954, San Francisco, California, USA
- **Active:** 1978–present
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 5: 1 directing, 4 producing
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as producer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 86 (1), 1990s 79 (3), 2020s 75 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 78 to 72 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 4, Drama 4, Romance 2, Crime 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $611m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3090116, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757017/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/57572

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Taxi*](https://film.one/tv/taxi.md) (86)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Richard Sakai is an American television and film producer. Born on 28 January 1954 in San Francisco, California, he began his career as an assistant to James L. Brooks in 1977. He worked on the sitcom *Taxi* (1978), rising to producer and directing several episodes.

In 1984, Sakai joined Brooks' production company Gracie Films, where he became president. He has produced numerous films including *Jerry Maguire* (1996), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, *As Good as It Gets* (1997), *Spanglish* (2004) and *The Simpsons Movie* (2007).

Sakai is one of the original producers of the animated series *The Simpsons* (1989–), for which he has won several Emmy Awards. He has also directed episodes of *Newhart* and *Who's the Boss?*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

### Directed (1)

- *Taxi* (1978), Fi1m 86, Producer, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/taxi.md)

### Produced (4) — the average rests on these

- *Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.* (2023), Fi1m 75, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret.md)
- *As Good as It Gets* (1997), Fi1m 77, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/as-good-as-it-gets.md)
- *Bottle Rocket* (1996), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/bottle-rocket.md)
- *Jerry Maguire* (1996), Fi1m 81, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/jerry-maguire.md)

## Also known for

- *The Simpsons Movie* (2007), Producer
- *The Edge of Seventeen* (2016), Producer
- *Spanglish* (2004), Producer
- *The War of the Roses* (1989), Executive In Charge Of Production
- *How Do You Know* (2010), Executive Producer
- *The Good, the Bart, and the Loki* (2021), Producer
- *Riding in Cars with Boys* (2001), Producer
- *The Simpsons in Plusaversary* (2021), Producer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/richard-sakai