Barry Sonnenfeld | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | Hampshire College (BA) New York University (MFA) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1978–present |
Spouse | Susan L. Ringo (m. 1989) |
Children | 1 |
Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel Addams Family Values (1993), Get Shorty (1995), the Men in Black trilogy (1997–2012), and Wild Wild West (1999).
Sonnenfeld was born and raised in New York City, the son of Irene "Kelly" (Kellerman), an art teacher, and Sonny Sonnenfeld, a lighting salesman, educator, and architectural lighting designer. [1] [2] [3] He was raised in a Jewish family. [4] After he received his bachelor's degree from Hampshire College, he graduated from New York University Film School in 1978.
He began working on pornographic films [5] before starting work as director of photography on the Oscar-nominated In Our Water (1982). When he met Joel Coen at a Christmas party, Coen told Sonnenfeld about Blood Simple , a script that he had written with brother Ethan Coen, and hired him to be their cinematographer, with the resulting movie coming out in 1984. [6] This film began his collaboration with the Coen brothers, who used him for their next two pictures, Raising Arizona (1987) and Miller's Crossing (1990). He also worked with Danny DeVito on Throw Momma from the Train (1987) and Rob Reiner on When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and Misery (1990).
Sonnenfeld gained his first work as a director from Paramount Pictures on The Addams Family , a box-office success released in November 1991. Its sequel, Addams Family Values (1993), was not as successful at the box office, but he received critical acclaim for his fourth directorial outing, Get Shorty (1995). Produced by Jersey Films and based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, the film won a Golden Globe for John Travolta (Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical). The film was also entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. [7] Following Tim Burton and the Coen brothers, Sonnenfeld's films would tell stories about unusual and unorthodox people who are into the unexpected and the strange. His films would often use his trademark filmmaking techniques such as his unusual camera angles, offbeat dialogue and, in certain films, strange behavior and weird creatures.
In 1996, Steven Spielberg asked him to direct Men in Black (1997). Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, the film was a critical and financial success. In 1998, Jon Peters asked him to direct Wild Wild West (1999). Starring Smith and Kevin Kline, the film was a critical and financial flop. He also directed the comedy Big Trouble (2002), after which he made his most successful film sequel to that point, Men in Black II (2002). He is also a contributing editor for Esquire . He also co-produced (alongside his partner Barry Josephson) the 2007 film Enchanted for Walt Disney Pictures that starred Amy Adams. In 2008, Sonnenfeld earned an Emmy for directing Pushing Daisies . Sonnenfeld returned for Men in Black 3 ; [8] released in 2012, the third installment received positive reviews and became the highest-grossing film in the series worldwide. In 2007, his Right Coast production company has been signed with Sony. [9]
His memoir, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker, was published by Hachette Books in 2020. [6] In 2024, his second book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood, was published by Hachette. [10]
As of 2022, Sonnenfeld lives in Pemberton, British Columbia with his wife Susan. [11]
In 1999, Sonnenfeld was the sole passenger on a plane that crashed upon landing at Van Nuys Airport. He was unhurt. [12]
Year | Film | Director | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | The Addams Family | Yes | No | |
1993 | For Love or Money | Yes | No | |
Addams Family Values | Yes | No | ||
1995 | Get Shorty | Yes | Executive | |
1997 | Men in Black | Yes | No | Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Director |
1998 | Out of Sight | No | Executive | |
1999 | Wild Wild West | Yes | Yes | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director |
2000 | The Crew | No | Yes | |
2002 | Big Trouble | Yes | Yes | |
Men in Black II | Yes | No | ||
2004 | The Ladykillers | No | Yes | |
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | No | Executive | ||
2006 | RV | Yes | No | |
2007 | Enchanted | No | Yes | |
2008 | Space Chimps | No | Yes | |
2012 | Men in Black 3 | Yes | No | |
2016 | Nine Lives | Yes | No | |
2019 | Men in Black: International | No | Executive | |
2022 | Disenchanted | No | Yes |
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | In Our Water | Meg Switzgable | Documentary, With Robert Chappell |
1984 | Blood Simple | Joel Coen | |
1985 | Compromising Positions | Frank Perry | |
1987 | Raising Arizona | Joel Coen | |
Three O'Clock High | Phil Joanou | ||
Throw Momma from the Train | Danny DeVito | ||
1988 | Big | Penny Marshall | |
1989 | When Harry Met Sally... | Rob Reiner | |
1990 | Miller's Crossing | Joel Coen | |
Misery | Rob Reiner | ||
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1991 | The Addams Family | Passenger on Gomez's train (uncredited) |
1993 | Addams Family Values | Mr. Glicker |
1995 | Get Shorty | Doorman (Uncredited) |
1997 | Men in Black | Alien on Monitor |
2002 | Big Trouble | Gator fan on radio (voice) (uncredited) |
2002 | Men in Black II | Neuralyzed Father |
2006 | RV | Irv |
2012 | Men in Black 3 | Husband Watching Launch |
2016 | Nine Lives | Additional cat voices |
Year | Title | Director | Executive producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Maximum Bob | Yes | Yes | Directed "Pilot" |
1998–1999 | Fantasy Island | No | Yes | 13 episodes |
2000 | Secret Agent Man | No | Yes | 12 episodes |
2001–2002 | The Tick | Yes | Yes | Directed "Pilot" |
2007–2009 | Pushing Daisies | Yes | Yes | Directed 2 episodes, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series |
2007–2010 | Notes from the Underbelly | Yes | Yes | Directed 6 episodes |
2008 | Suburban Shootout | Yes | No | Unaired pilot |
2010 | Funny in Farsi | Yes | No | |
2013 | Beverly Hills Cop [ broken anchor ] | Yes | No | |
2014 | Storyline | No | Yes | 1 episode |
2016 | Independent Lens | No | Yes | TV series documentary, Film An Honest Liar |
2016–2019 | The Tick | No | Yes | 12 episodes |
2017–2019 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | Yes | Yes | Directed 10 episodes, Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program |
2021 | Schmigadoon! | Yes | Yes | Directed 6 episodes |
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1984 | ABC Afterschool Specials | 1 episode |
1985 | Doubletake | 2 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | The Tick | Guy in Couch, Cab Driver (uncredited) | Episode: "Pilot" |
2017–2019 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | Mr. Tammerlane (voice) Isaac "Ike" Anwhistle | 4 episodes |
Year | Title | Director | Executive producer |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Partners | No | Yes |
2008 | Hackett | Yes | No |
Play or Be Played | Yes | Yes | |
2009 | The Bridget Show | Yes | No |
2014 | Dead Boss | Yes | No |
He is working on new projects, among them include Things a Man Should Never Do Past 30: a single-camera comedy from executive producer/director Sonnenfeld, the Tannenbaum Company and Sony Pictures Television. The project mostly is based on the personal experiences of Esquire writer David Katz and Esquire editor at large A. J. Jacobs. The show is about a man working at a men's magazine who is reluctant to embrace adulthood and his friend who is an immersion journalist. Al Higgins ( Malcolm in the Middle ) is set to serve as showrunner/head writer if the project is picked up. [13]
He has become attached to a movie adaptation of The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, about a family of private investigators. [14] Sonnenfeld will direct the movie adaptation of the fantasy novel Gil's All Fright Diner in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. [15] He is also developing a sitcom for ABC, Funny in Farsi, based on the book of the same name. [16]
In 2012, it was stated that he was appointed to direct Lore, an adaptation based on the comic by T.P. Louise and Ashley Wood of the same name. [17] [18] But, in 2013, Indie director Dave Green has signed on to replace Barry Sonnenfeld as director, Sonnenfeld will take part as executive producer on the project. [19]
Barry is also in talks with Warner Bros. to make a live action film adaptation of the DC Comics characters, The Metal Men. [20] [21] Sonnenfeld also agreed to direct the Beverly Hills Cop pilot for CBS and serve as an executive producer as well. [22] However, Paramount Pictures dropped the idea in favor of a fourth film directed by Mark Molloy.
Joel Daniel Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen, together known as the Coen brothers, are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in The New Yorker between 1938 and their creator's death in 1988. They have since been adapted to other media, such as television, film, video games, comic books, a musical, and merchandise.
Men in Black is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as "men in black", government agents who monitor and police extraterrestrials. The film is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, based on a script by Ed Solomon, that adapts the Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. In the film, Agent K (Jones) and Agent J (Smith) investigate a series of seemingly unrelated criminal incidents related to the extraterrestrials who live in secret on Earth. Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Rip Torn also appear in supporting roles.
Blood Simple is a 1984 American independent neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh. Its plot follows a Texas bartender who is having an affair with his boss’s wife. When his boss discovers the affair, he hires a private investigator to kill the couple. It was the directorial debut of the Coens and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a director, as well as the feature-film debut of McDormand.
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Addams Family Values is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to The Addams Family (1991). The film features almost all the main cast members from the original film, including Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Carel Struycken, Jimmy Workman, and Christopher Hart. Joan Cusack and Carol Kane joined the cast for this film.
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Addams Family Reunion is a 1998 American comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. It is the sequel to The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993). Directed by Dave Payne, the film was intended to serve as a pilot for a new proposed television series produced by Saban. The film stars Daryl Hannah and Tim Curry as Morticia and Gomez Addams respectively while Carel Struycken and Christopher Hart's hand are the only ones to reprise their roles from the last two films. The film's plot focused on the eccentric, macabre aristocratic Addams family mistakenly arriving at the wrong family reunion and encountering a man who seeks to commit murder in order to inherit a fortune.
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The Ladykillers is a 2004 American black comedy crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. The Coens' screenplay was based on the 1955 British Ealing comedy film of the same name, which was written by William Rose. The Coens produced the remake with Tom Jacobson, Barry Sonnenfeld, and Barry Josephson. It stars Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J. K. Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst, and marks the only time the Coens have worked with Tom Hanks so far and the first remake by the Coens. This was the first film in which Joel and Ethan Coen share both producing and directing credits; previously Joel had always been credited as director and Ethan as producer.
Men in Black 3 is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name, in turn based on the conspiracy theory, which is the sequel to Men in Black II (2002), the third installment in the Men in Black film series and the final installment in the original trilogy. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Etan Cohen, the film stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, with Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bill Hader and Emma Thompson in supporting roles. In the film, James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith) is required to go back in time to prevent the assassination of his partner Kevin Brown / Agent K, the fallout of which threatens the safety of Earth.
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The Addams Family is a 1991 American supernatural black comedy film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams and the 1964 television series produced by David Levy. Directed by former cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld in his feature directorial debut, the film stars Anjelica Huston, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance as Morticia Addams, Raul Julia as Gomez Addams, and Christopher Lloyd as Fester Addams. The film focuses on a bizarre, macabre, aristocratic family who reconnect with someone whom they believe to be a long-lost relative, Gomez's brother Fester Addams.
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