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You can take it from me. The truth? It's overrated.
~ Marty Wolf's motto.

Martin "Marty" Wolf is the main antagonist of the 2002 comedy Big Fat Liar. He is an arrogant, greedy, mean and unscrupulous Hollywood producer who is a massive jerk to all his employees, and the archenemy of the protagonist, Jason Shepherd. When he steals Jason's essay for his next film, and won't give him credit or admit he stole it, Wolf is then faced with several indecencies as Jason tries to squeeze the truth out of him.

He was portrayed by Paul Giamatti, who also played Stan Beals in The Ant Bully, Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Karl Hertz in Shoot 'Em Up, Limbo in the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes, Chairman Drek in Ratchet & Clank, Beauty Smith in the 2018 Netflix original White Fang and Dr. Satan in The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.

Personality[]

Underneath his public persona as a well-known film producer, Wolf is very selfish, greedy, deceitful, and manipulative in nature. He likes to lie a lot and almost always takes the easy way out, thinking it can benefit him the most (hence his motto "the truth is overrated"). He is also very abusive and sarcastic towards his employees as he treats them harshly, and even fires several for stupid reasons; he even demoralizes one of his elderly employees Vince from going with his granddaughter to a birthday party. In fact, the closest thing to something Wolf genuinely cares about is bizarrely his stuffed chimp Mr. Funnybones. These traits are what led to his downfall in the end when he is exposed for stealing Jason Shepherd's paper to make his movie.

He is not at all subtle (or flowery) in nicknaming those he encounters. His way of insulting them is either stealthy or bluntly related to any kind of specific characteristic (age, size, ethnicity, et al) whatsoever.

Despite being a film producer, Wolf is a very foolish, gullible and unintelligent dimwit, as he never seems to learn his lesson since he greatly underestimates Jason, despite being tricked by him multiple times. Wolf also likes to do play fights with Mr. Funnybones when he wakes up, as well as act overdramatic and childish when he goes to swim in the pool. Wolf is overall an incompetent man whose only concern is for himself and he will do anything he can to keep being rich and famous.

Biography[]

Wolf first appeared when Jason Shepherd (the main protagonist of the film) demands a ride to his school so that he can turn in his writing assignment to pass English class after Jason came up with a creative story idea for his writing assignment which is based on all of his lies from his past. During the ride to his school, Jason explains that he got caught by his teacher for lying about his assignment. Wolf tells him he should have made it more convincing, revealing he is also a compulsive liar, but a more professional one. After stopping at Jason's school, Wolf encourages him to keep practicing his lies and tells him he can take it from, with his word of "advice": The truth is overrated. He then yells at Jason to get out, saying he has a movie to produce. Jason heads off, not knowing he accidentally dropped his report on the limo. Upon seeing it, Wolf initially intends to call out to Jason to hand him back the paper, but upon seeing it is excellent after reading it, he decides to keep it. This puts Jason in trouble with his parents and his teacher Phyllis Caldwell (who didn't believe that Jason wrote his paper), forcing him to fail English class and undergo summer school to repeat the entire class. At the same time, Marty is in town filming Whitaker and Fowl, starring Jaleel White and a chicken.

Later on, Jason and his best friend Kaylee discover Wolf has plagiarized Jason's paper and is now planning it to turn it into a film after seeing a trailer of it. Jason is outraged at the fact that Wolf plagiarized his story, but his parents refuse to believe this due to their mistrust towards Jason over the incident. Deciding to take action and taking advantage of his parents' trip to the Grand Canyon, Jason decides to confront Wolf. He arranges himself and Kaylee to fly to Los Angeles, where Wolf is preparing for production for his movie in his studio. After having Kaylee trick Wolf's secretary Astrid Barker into letting Jason into Wolf's office, Jason tries to convince Wolf to return the stolen paper to him and call Jason's father to confess that he stole it. However, rather than doing so, Wolf purposefully burns the paper with one of his cigars and his alcohol (much to Jason's shock and anger). Wolf then calls his head of security Rocko Malone to send up two security guards to escort Jason and Kaylee out of the building.

Angered by this turn of events, Jason and Kaylee plan to inconvenience Wolf until he agrees to fess up. As they board the limo they arrived at LA in, the driver Frank Jackson is furious at them because Jason caused him to miss the person he was supposed to chauffeur. When Jason mentions he is trying to get back at Wolf, Frank's anger is quickly replaced with surprise when he hears Wolf's name; when Jason asks if he knows Wolf, Frank replies he used to be Wolf's limo driver, and reveals to the kids that he was once a struggling rising star who auditioned for one of Wolf's films. Rather than just a simple "no", Wolf fired him, wrote LOSER on Frank’s headshot, and faxed it to every casting agent in Hollywood, torpedoing Frank's career before it even got off the ground. Frank tells Jason and Kaylee he's more than willing to help them get back at Wolf.

Jason and Kaylee begin to make Wolf's life a nightmare by pulling several pranks, such as dying his skin blue upon dumping blue dye in his swimming pool, dying his hair orange by placing orange dye in his shampoo, and sticking his phone earpiece with instant Krazy glue. When Wolf sees his blue form, he screams so loud it can be heard throughout Hollywood.

The next morning, the duo trick Wolf into going to a child's birthday party (the same one Wolf rudely refused to let his stunt coordinator Vince take the day off for) instead of the house of his boss Marcus Duncan (the president of the studios) where he is beaten up by the birthday kids (mistaking him for the hired clown). Outside, Jason and Kaylee modify and rewire Wolf's car's controls. A disheveled Wolf storms out of the party, and berates his assistant Monty Kirkham for sending him to the wrong house (both unaware Jason and Kaylee tricked her into doing so in the first place). As Wolf drives off on his car, he discovers his car has been rewired (the brakes making the horn go off, the blinker making the radio play "Blue" loudly, the trunk and hood repeatedly opening and closing, the windshield fluid coming out, the alarm going off, etc.) Just then, Frank's limo pulls up beside Wolf and the window lowers and Jason admits himself as the one responsible for Wolf's disastrous misfortunes. He tells Wolf that this whole nightmare can be over only with one simple phone call to Jason's father and he tosses a paper with his dad's number onto Wolf's lap. As the limo drives off, Wolf flies into a childish tantrum of rage.

Still struggling with his malfunctioning car, Wolf sees he's heading straight for a monster truck. He barely manages to stop in time (while the driver looks out his side window with a puzzled glance at hearing Wolf's car horn), only to be rear-ended by an elderly lady (who he insulted earlier). The monster truck driver, called The Masher, is furious and threatens Wolf for the "damage" (despite Wolf's car only hitting the tires). As the Masher climbs back into his truck, Wolf insults him, sarcastically calling him "tough guy." The Masher's fury intensifies even more and he then slowly drives his truck right toward Wolf's convertible, ignoring Wolf's desperate pleas of mercy. Wolf is thus forced to take a ride from George, a tow truck driver, as he tows Wolf's now completely totaled car along. George, noticing Wolf's dyed skin comments: "They told me to pick up a little blue car, they didn't say anything about a little blue man!", to which a humiliated Wolf silently chuckles and puts on a weak smile.

Despite this turn of events, Wolf arrives at the premiere of Whitaker and Fowl, where Wolf will still not give in to Jason's demands. After a lot of people made a comment that Whitaker and Fowl failed, Wolf starts to lose support from Duncan, who states that Whitaker and Fowl cost the studio a lot of money and threatens to pull the plug on the production of Big Fat Liar. Jason then offers a deal to Wolf: he will help him out in pulling the green light for the production if he gives the call to Jason's parents and confess to them about the reported theft. Jason helps Wolf make an astounding speech that inspires Duncan to green-lit the movie production.

Jason hands Wolf his father's phone number and Wolf dials his phone. However, rather than calling Jason's parents, Wolf instead betrays Jason again by calling in Rocko and his security guards; Rocko informs Jason and Kaylee that the incidents they caused will be covered up, and they will be forced out from Hollywood and sent back to their hometown in disgrace, as evidenced by Rocko’s quote: "Here's the deal. The two of you are gonna get on a plane, go back home, and forget this whole thing ever happened."

Upset by this turn of events, Jason is about to accept defeat and is forced to call his parents to tell them the truth. Fortunately, Monty arrives to help them, as she has grown exasperated with her boss's abusive and argumentative behavior, and having learned of the theft. Arranging a meeting of several employees who were treated badly by Wolf, Jason, Kaylee, and Monty concoct one final plan of revenge to expose Wolf of his true colors.

The next day, Wolf spent hours with a can of turpentine to get rid of the blue dye on his skin. He then heads to the studio to be his shooting of the movie, but his employees enact several mishaps to delay his arrival (Frank deliberately making his limo overheat, Jaleel White stranding Wolf in the desert, Vince forcing him to skydive out of his chopper, etc). As soon as Wolf finally arrives at the studio, he spots Jason, who has stolen his stuffed toy monkey Mr. Funnybones. Wolf demands his toy back but Jason taunts him to come get him and Wolf chases after Jason around the studio. During the chase, Wolf's effects expert Lester Golub activates a flood of water which splashes Wolf in a torrent of waves. Humiliated but still undeterred, Wolf continues the chase.

Wolf eventually corners Jason on a rooftop and finally recovers his toy monkey. He taunts Jason for trying to make him confess about his theft, blurting out he deliberately stole Jason's story and thinking no one has heard it. Wolf tells Jason to give it up since he will never tell the truth. However, Wolf is shocked to discover that several of his employees have recorded his confession with cameras from multiple angles, exposing his true colors to everyone in the studio (including Jason's parents, who were brought over to the studio by Frank). Having heard the confession, and disgusted by Wolf's actions for all the trouble of stealing the idea of his movie from a 14-year-old boy, Duncan fires Wolf, sending his career right down the drain.

Wolf then glares at Jason, who sincerely thanks Wolf for teaching him the importance of telling the truth, and says the truth is not overrated. Wolf lets out a sarcastic laugh, then furiously screams to Jason that he is going to beat him up for his dismissal. He then chases after Jason, but stops while his anger turns to shock at seeing Jason jump off the building and landing safely on the inflatable stunt mat; Jason finally regains his parents' trust after they discovered that Jason did all of this just to prove that he wasn't lying. When Wolf shouts that they have a film to work on, everyone starts to leave in disgust, leaving Wolf in disgrace, to which he aggressively fires all of his employees for that, only to be met with one random guy yelling back "You suck, Marty!"

As a result of his actions being exposed to the public, Wolf was forced to declare bankruptcy by selling away his assets to avoid prison for his acts of theft and copyright infringement, resulting in his studio being shut down. Despite this, the production of Big Fat Liar continues forward, but to a better direction (with Frank becoming the starring actor of the new movie after being rehired by Duncan), proving to be an instant hit in the theaters. Jason is credited for writing the original story and passed the English exam, and his parents and Mrs. Caldwell are shown to be proud of him.

Meanwhile, Wolf is now reduced to being a birthday clown with Mr. Funnybones as his assistant. After being paid to attend a birthday party for a boy named Darren, Wolf is shocked to discover that Darren is the son of the Masher. Recognizing Wolf through the makeup, the Masher, grinning, orders Darren to show his move called the Nutcracker, and Darren charges at Wolf by striking him in the groin, causing him to groan in pain.

Quotes[]

Jason: [furious] You're sick, you know that? All I wanted you to do was CALL MY DAD AND TELL HIM I WROTE THAT PAPER!
Marty: Or else what? You're going to shoot me with a spitball? Hmm? Gonna give me a wedgie? Grow up, Shepherd! This is Hollywood, baby! It's a dog eat dog town! Worse, we got cats eating cats, we got fish munching fish! We play by our own rules!
Jason: I'm not leaving until you make that call!
Marty: Oh, I'll make a call, alright. [calls for Rocko Malone]
Rocko: Malone speaking.
Marty: Rocko, this is the Wolf. Send a couple of your boys down here. I got a Code W: another angry writer refusing to leave. Wolf out.
Jason: I tried to play fair, Wolf, but you asked for it! [Wolf whimpers sarcastically] You asked for it! You don't know who you're messing with!
Guard: Come on!
~ Wolf mocking Jason after burning his report instead of calling Jason's parents about the theft before calling security to escort Jason out from his office.
You can take your personal day in a year or two when YOU'RE DEAD!!
~ Wolf rejecting Vince's request for a day off to take his granddaughter to a birthday party while ripping up an invitation of it.
It's showtime, Mr. Funnybones. [chuckles] You cute little monkey, you. [mimicking monkey sounds]
~ Wolf admiring his stuff monkey toy Mr. Funnybones.
[after seeing that his skin is blue and his hair is orange] OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!
~ Marty Wolf
Marty: I'm a very powerful Hollywood producer! You kids are all gonna be hearing from my lawyer!!
Kid: Don't let him get away!
Marty: Get off from me!! You wanna dance, kids?! LET'S DANCE!! You want a piece of me?! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME, HUH?!!
Kid: You're going down, clown!! You're going down!
Marty: C'MON, BRING IT!! I'M MARTY WOLF, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!! C'MON, FOUR-EYES, HUH?!!
~ Wolf lashing at several kids for thrashing him at the same birthday party that Vince was intending to take his granddaughter to.
Marty: Monty, where the hell did you send me? Because it sure wasn't DUNCAN'S HOUSE!!
Monty: Well, how was I supposed to know?
Marty: Don't speak, just listen: whatever you do, you GOTTA GET ME IN THERE WITH DUNCAN!!
Monty: I'll just reschedule the meeting, Marty! GEEZ!!
Marty: Okay, that's all you had to say.... adios, sugarpuff!
~ Wolf lashing out at his assistant Monty for sending him the wrong address, not knowing that Jason and Kaylee tricked her into doing so in the first place.
Jason: Hey, Marty, I like your new coloring. It works for you.
Marty: You did this?!
Jason: Yep, and it can end anytime. And you have to do is make one phone call to my dad. Shouldn't be much of a problem since that headset is SUPER-GLUED TO YOUR EAR! Here's my dad's number.
Kayley: [pokes her head out the window holding Wolf's car manual] Hiya.
Jason: [makes phone gesture] Call me.
Kaylee: Bye-bye.
Marty: [watches Jason and Kaylee drive off and snarls with fury] ROTTEN KIDS! [bangs on his car in frustration]
SHEPHEEEEEEERRRRD!!!!
~ Wolf after Jason and Kaylee confessing their pranks in an attempt to take revenge on him to fess up while Jason gives him his dad's phone number.
Marty: All right, listen.... Masher, I'm sure we can come to some monetary arrangement. Yeah, that's what I thought, tough guy!
Masher: Who's the "tough guy" now, pal?!
Marty: Oh, c'mon. No, dude, no! BACK OFF, MAN!! NO WAY!!
~ Wolf insulting the Masher before the latter decides to run over his car with his monster truck in retaliation.
Marty: You got the Wolf.
Monty: Where are you?! I'm at Duncan's office right now!
Marty: I'm... uh...... I'm not gonna make it. You, uh... tell him it's your fault and reschedule.
Monty: I'm not gonna lie to the new president of the studio, Marty!
Marty: Don't get all high and mighty on me, Monty, because if I go down, you're riding shotgun, Tootsie Roll! Now, make something up, and I'll smooth things over with him at the premiere.
Monty: Fine.
Marty: Wolf out!
~ Wolf calling Monty to cover up for his absence at Duncan's meeting, neglecting to tell her that his car has been destroyed by the Masher thanks to Jason's sabotage.
Oh, kid... you have no idea who you are dealing with. You think I care about a couple of little pranks? Nah! [laughs evilly] See you around, Shepherd!
~ Wolf refusing to back down to Jason after arriving late to the premiere of Whitaker and Fowl.
Marty: Yello? This is Marty Wolf, I am standing in my kitchen with Jason Shepherd. I'm looking at him as we speak, and you better bring backup.
Jason: What are you doing?! I thought you were on the phone with my dad!
Marty: Oh, I was on the phone, all right, but it ain't your old man!
Rocko: You're a real piece of work, Shepherd.
Jason: Who are you?
Rocko: Rocko Malone, head of security for Marty Wolf Pictures.
Marty: Thanks for all your help, kid, really. Savin' my butt twice on one year.... who would've thunk it?
Rocko: Let's go, kid. Come on, you too, Punky Brewster.
Kaylee: You can't do this! We have a witness!!
Marty: Hey, first lesson in Hollywood, sweetheart: always get it in writing! What a day!
~ Wolf betraying Jason and Kaylee by surrendering them to security after tricking them into helping him make a speech to green-lit the production of Big Fat Liar.
Marty: Monty, it's me.
Monty: Oh, hey, Marty, did you get some rest for the big day?
Marty: Are you kidding me? I spent half the night with a scrub brush and a can of turpentine. But bye-bye, Little Boy Blue, I am back!! Hey, pedal to the metal, Ricky Retardo! Got a movie to shoot.
~ Wolf confessing to Monty that he spend half the night using turpentine to get rid of the blue dye while heading to the studio for the first day of shooting.
Marty: Gimme back my monkey.
Jason: Come and get 'im!
~ Wolf after seeing that Jason has stolen his stuffed monkey Mr. Funnybones.
I'm right behind ya, Shepherd!!
~ Wolf chasing after Jason throughout the studio.
Marty: YOU CAN'T OUTRUN THE WOLF, KID!!
Jason: Yeah, we'll see about that!
Marty: Hang on, Funnybones! Daddy's coming!
~ Wolf while chasing Jason.
Marty: Let go of the monkey.
Jason: Call my dad.
Marty: Never.
Jason: Yes!
Marty: NO!!! [swipes Mr. Funnybones from Jason and gets up] That's it, kid! It's over! You lose, and I win!
Jason: I don't think so.
Marty: Oh, you don't think so? C'mon, Jason, you're smarter than that. You write a story, I steal it, and now, I'm about to start shooting the greatest movie of my career.
Jason: So you admit you stole my story?!
Marty: Look, we've been over this, it's ancient history. Yeah, I stole your story! Whoop-de-doodle-do! Ya happy now? I STOLE JASON SHEPHERD'S PAPER AND TURNED IT INTO
BIG FAT LIAR!!! You know who's listening, pal? No one... and they never will. So, for the last time, give it up, because I will never ever ever.... like never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever... infinity.... tell the truth!
Jason: Because the truth's overrated, right?!
Marty: That's right!!
Director: And cut!
~ Wolf gloating out his victory to Jason after reclaiming Funnybones, the very same speech that exposed his colors to the public.
Duncan: You stole the idea for this movie from a 13-year-old boy?
Marty: He's, uh... he's 14.
Duncan: This is the end of the line, Wolf! It's over!
~ Wolf correcting Jason's true age to Duncan before getting fired for his actions against Jason.
[furious] I am gonna GET YOU, SHEPHERD!!!
~ Wolf angrily vowing to beat up Jason in revenge for exposing him and getting him fired.
Marty: We got a movie to shoot, huh? C'mon, let's make some magic! The human hit factory is ready to roll! [the people just laugh and leave in disgust] Hey, where do you think you're going? YOU CANNOT TURN YOUR BACKS ON ME! I'M MARTY WOLF!! All right, fine! FINE!! YOU'RE ALL FIRED!!!
Man: You suck, Marty!
~ Wolf lashing out at everyone in the studio as they start to leave following his dismissal.
Marty: It's showtime. Hey, kids. I'm Wolfie the Clown. [chuckles] And uh... I'm Mr. Funnybones! Happy birthday, Darren!
Masher: Oh... my... GOD!!
Marty: Oh no.
Masher: Yo, little Mash, show him your Nutcracker!
Marty: [children yell in happiness] AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! [groans in pain]
~ Wolf's last words as he's being reduced to a birthday clown while being paid to attend the birthday of the Masher's son, who kicks him in the groin.

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Trivia[]

  • Essentially, Marty Wolf serves as an allegory to the Big Bad Wolf much like Jason Shepherd is an allegory to the Shepherd from the classic tale The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which is about the importance of honesty and which are the consequences of dishonesty. Marty even makes a direct reference to it when he calls his bodyguard by referring to himself as "The Wolf".
  • The blue dye was actually blue tattoo ink that was sprayed in several layers on his body occasionally throughout the day to keep it topped up. According to Paul Giamatti, it was fairly easy to apply, but was a bit more difficult to get off, particularly his feet, for some reason. They stayed blue for several months.
  • In some ways, Wolf is an example of what Jason would have become if he did not learn the importance of honesty, something Jason himself even realizes at the end, thanking Marty for teaching him about the importance of honesty.
  • It's possible that Jason may not have been the first person who got angry at Wolf for stealing his/her work, because when Wolf asks his bodyguard to take Jason out from his office, he refers to him as "another angry writer" who refused to leave him alone, possibly hinting that he had stolen pitches or screenplays from others before.
  • During the moment between Marty and Jason's final confrontation at a rooftop setting, there were numerous signs that the former was being recorded for him to eventually tell the truth in front of the public about stealing the latter's "Big Fat Liar" story:
    • When Marty brags to Jason that the former "wins", the latter responded confidently by saying that "it's not over", hinting a backup plan up his sleeve.
    • Both characters are continuously moving in a circular path while they are confronting each other, indicating that Jason is deliberately making Marty distracted from the aforementioned backup plan.
    • As Marty openly admits to Jason that the former did stole the "Big Fat Liar" paper, the latter gives a rhetorical question about the case, implying that he's giving a message to this backup plan.
    • Jason sarcastically asks to Marty about the truth being "overrated", but with a relatively positive tone, signifying that the backup plan is working as expected.
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