[3] After completing his school-leaving certificate at 14, for a short time he worked in one of his father's car yards as a motor mechanic but had no aptitude for the job, and was glad to discover the world of advertising.

[4] Schepisi started work as a messenger at Carden Advertising (later Clemenger), where a number of journalists were also employed, including Phillip Adams.

In 1966, along with graphic designers Bruce Weatherhead and Alex Stitt, Schepisi bought out Cinesound Victoria in 1966, renaming it The Film House.

[4] The Film House founded became an important player in the "new wave" of Australian filmmaking, along with Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, and Peter Weir.

[3] The sci-fi parable Iceman (1984) came next, and in 1985 he adapted David Hare's stage drama, Plenty, for the film of the same name (1985), starring Meryl Streep.

[3] In 1987 Steve Martin starred in his next film, the comedy Roxanne (1987), based on the 1897 French play by Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac.

[3][8] The Russia House (1990), based on the spy thriller by John le Carré, starred Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.

[8] Six Degrees of Separation (1993) was another adaptation, this time of the 1990 play by John Guare, and in 1994 he made I.Q., based on a story about Albert Einstein and his niece.

[4] In 2005, Schepisi directed and co-produced the HBO miniseries Empire Falls,[9] starring Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joanne Woodward, Robin Wright Penn, and Helen Hunt.

Filmed in Melbourne, Sydney, and Far North Queensland, and based on the novel by Patrick White, The Eye of the Storm stars Charlotte Rampling, Judy Davis, and Geoffrey Rush.

[8] Schepisi has also directed a number of music videos, including for the 2008 song "Breathe" by Kaz James featuring Stu Stone.

[12] In the mid-1960s, he campaigned strongly, along with MP Barry Jones, broadcaster and writer Phillip Adams, for the establishment of a film school in Melbourne.