They directed a number of sketches for the 1995-1998 HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.[3]
In 1998, they established a production company, Bob Industries. Through this company the pair directed commercials for companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Volkswagen, Sony, GAP, Target, IKEA, Apple Computer, and ESPN. The two directed a 1999 commercial for the Volkswagen Cabrio, titled Milky Way, whose soundtrack consisted entirely of the 1972 Nick Drake song "Pink Moon", and which is credited with initiating a massive revival of interest in Nick Drake's music.[4]
They began to be offered feature films to direct at around this time; among projects that they turned down were The Mod Squad (1999) and Bad Boys II (2003).[3]
In 2001, they began to work on the film Little Miss Sunshine; it was released in 2006.[3] The film won the Audience Award at the 2006 Sydney Film festival and an ovation at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Their directing style for the film involved a high level of improvisation to allow the actors to create organic connections to the roles.[5]
^"Jim Faris Dead: Film Editor, Father of Director Valerie Faris, Dies at 97". Hollywood Reporter. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
^ abcdEvans, Bradford (July 19, 2012). "The Lost Projects of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris". Splitsider. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
^Vaziri, Aidin (April 11, 2000). "Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" is Rising". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
^Huttner, Jan. "Jan Chats with Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton About their new film LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE". FF2 Media. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
^LaPorte, Nicole, and Pamela McClintock. "'Sunshine' duo in talks for next feature: Dayton, Faris may adapt 'Abstinence Teacher'", Variety, 2006-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
^Schwartz, Missy. "The Q&A: Tom Perrotta: His Novel Take on Suburban Life" Archived 2015-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, Entertainment Weekly, 2007-10-15. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
^Vineyard, Jen (May 11, 2012). "Exclusive: Lisa Cholodenko Confirms She'll Direct 'The Abstinence Teacher' & Heads Into The 'Wild' With Reese Witherspoon". IndieWire > The Playlist.
^"Britney Spears, "When Your Eyes Say It"". MVDBase.com (video). ASG. 1998–2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.