Daniel Barnz | |
|---|---|
 Barnz at the New York premiere of Won't Back Down , September 2012 | |
| Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, film director |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Children | 2 |
Daniel Barnz (born 1970) is an American screenwriter and director.
Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, [1] a suburb of Philadelphia. His parents, Richard J. Bernstein and Carol L. Bernstein, are both professors. He is openly gay [2] and later changed his surname to an amalgamation of Bernstein and Schwartz, the surname of his partner of almost two decades, Ben Schwartz. The couple has two children. Barnz describes himself as "a Jewish liberal Democrat". [3]
Barnz graduated from Yale University and the University of Southern California Film School. [4] He made his directorial debut in the 2001 movie, The Cutting Room. He directed the 2009 movie, Phoebe in Wonderland , which received mixed reviews from critics. He wrote and directed a movie adaption of the novel Beastly , a modern-day take on Beauty and the Beast . The movie was released on 4 March 2011. [5]
His film Won't Back Down (2012) received mixed reviews and garnered controversy; it was attacked by Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the predominant national teachers' union, as having "the most blatant stereotypes and caricatures I have ever seen-even worse than in Waiting for Superman ", another film attacked as "anti-teacher union". [3]
In 2014 he directed the film Cake starring Jennifer Aniston, which received mixed reviews. In 2015, the film was honored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with a Voice Award for its respectful portrayal of mental health. [6]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Cutting Room | |
| 2008 | Phoebe in Wonderland | Nominated—Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Direction |
| 2011 | Beastly | |
| 2012 | Won't Back Down | |
| 2014 | Cake | |
| 2021 | Generation | Television series; co-creator with his daughter, Zelda |
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Beastly is a 2011 American romantic fantasy drama film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast and is set in modern-day New York City. The film was written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens.
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Won't Back Down is a 2012 American drama film directed by Daniel Barnz and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Holly Hunter.
The Possession is a 2012 American supernatural horror film directed by Ole Bornedal, written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, and produced by Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, and J. R. Young. It stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Natasha Calis, Grant Show, Madison Davenport, and Matisyahu. The story, based on the 2004 Los Angeles Times article "A Jinx in a Box?" by Leslie Gornstein, is about the allegedly haunted dybbuk box.
Cake is a 2014 American drama film directed by Daniel Barnz, written by Patrick Tobin, and starring Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Anna Kendrick, and Sam Worthington. It debuted in the Special Presentations section of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
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