:Barry Sonnenfeld
{{short description|American film director and cinematographer (born 1953)}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| birth_name =
| image = Barry Sonnenfeld 2012.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Sonnenfeld in October 2012
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|4|1}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| years_active = 1978–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Susan L. Ringo|1989}}
| children = 1
| alma_mater = Hampshire College (BA)
New York University (MFA)
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Film director
- producer
- cinematographer
}}
}}
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).
Early life
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/74/Barry-Sonnenfeld.html |title=Barry Sonnenfeld Biography (1953-) |publisher=Filmreference.com |access-date=2013-03-16}}{{cite web|url=http://plsn.com/main-news/18942-in-memoriam-sonny-sonnenfeld,-1919-2016.html|title=In Memoriam: Sonny Sonnenfeld, 1919-2016 - PLSN|first=Jacob|last=Coakley|work=PLSN }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/09/classified/paid-notice-deaths-sonnenfeld-irene-kelly.html|title=Paid Notice: Deaths SONNENFELD, IRENE KELLY.|date=9 March 2000|work=The New York Times}} He was raised in a Jewish family.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/181019%7C0/Barry-Sonnenfeld/ |title=TCM Barry Sonnenfeld Biography |publisher=Tcm.com |access-date=2013-03-16}} After he received his bachelor's degree from Hampshire College, he graduated from New York University Film School in 1978.
Career
He began working on pornographic films[https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/aug/13/5 'I guess I'm a whore, a masochist and a whore']. The Guardian. 12 August 1999. 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. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1996/02_programm_1996/02_Programm_1996.html |title=Berlinale: 1996 Programme |access-date=2012-01-01 |work=berlinale.de}} 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;{{cite web|url=https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19912|title='Men in Black 3' Ready to Roll in 3-D With Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones|date=22 April 2010 }} 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.{{Cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=2007-06-14|title=Sony, Sonnenfeld pact for TV|url=https://variety.com/2007/tv/news/sony-sonnenfeld-pact-for-tv-1117966906/|access-date=2020-10-17|website=Variety|language=en}}
His memoir, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker, was published by Hachette Books in 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.wpr.org/call-your-mother-filmmaker-barry-sonnenfeld-looks-back-humor-new-memoir|title=Call Your Mother: Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld Looks Back With Humor In New Memoir|last=Kolberg|first=Brad|work=Wisconsin Public Radio|date=May 9, 2020|access-date=October 22, 2021}} In 2024, his second book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood, was published by Hachette.{{cite web |title=Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780306832277 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=2024-10-01}}
Personal life
In 1999, Sonnenfeld was the sole passenger on a plane that crashed upon landing at Van Nuys Airport. He was unhurt.{{Cite news|last=Fox|first=Sue|date=February 27, 1999|title=Film Director Says Jet Crew Fled After Crash|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-27-me-12275-story.html|access-date=July 29, 2021}}
As of 2022, Sonnenfeld lives in Pemberton, British Columbia with his wife Susan.{{Cite web|title=SmartLess: "Barry Sonnenfeld" on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/barry-sonnenfeld/id1521578868?i=1000546170668|access-date=2022-01-05|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en-US}}
Filmography
=Cinematographer=
Film
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Director ! Notes |
| 1982
| Meg Switzgable | Documentary; |
| 1984
| |
| 1985
| |
| rowspan=3|1987
| Joel Coen | |
| Three O'Clock High
| |
| Throw Momma from the Train
| |
| 1988
| Big | |
| 1989
| |
| rowspan=2|1990
| Joel Coen | |
| Misery
| Rob Reiner | |
TV series
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Notes |
| 1984
| 1 episode |
| 1985
| Doubletake | 2 episodes |
TV movies
- How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days (1984)
- Welcome Home, Bobby (1986)
- Classified love (1986)
=Director/Producer=
==Film==
Director
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Director ! Producer |
| 1991
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| rowspan=2|1993
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| Addams Family Values
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 1995
| {{yes}} | {{yes|Executive}} |
| 1997
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 1999
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| rowspan=2|2002
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| Men in Black II
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2006
| RV | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2012
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2016
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
Executive producer
- Out of Sight (1998)
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
- Men in Black: International (2019)
Producer
- The Crew (2000)
- The Ladykillers (2004)
- Enchanted (2007)
- Space Chimps (2008)
- Disenchanted (2022)
==Television==
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Director ! Executive ! Notes |
| 1998
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Directed "Pilot" |
| 1998–1999
| {{no}} | {{yes}} | 13 episodes |
| 2000
| {{no}} | {{yes}} | 12 episodes |
| 2001–2002
| The Tick | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Directed "Pilot" |
| 2007–2009
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2007–2010
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Directed 6 episodes |
| 2008
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |rowspan=3|Unaired pilot |
| 2010
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2013
| {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2014
| Storyline | {{no}} | {{yes}} | 1 episode |
| 2016
| {{no}} | {{yes}} | Segment An Honest Liar |
| 2016–2019
| The Tick | {{no}} | {{yes}} | 12 episodes |
| 2017–2019
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Directed 10 episodes |
| 2021
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} | Directed 6 episodes |
Producer
- Karen Sisco (2004) (1 episode)
TV movies
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Director ! Executive |
| 1999
| Partners | {{no}} | {{yes}} |
| rowspan=2|2008
| Hackett | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| Play or Be Played
| {{yes}} | {{yes}} |
| 2009
| The Bridget Show | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
| 2014
| Dead Boss | {{yes}} | {{no}} |
=Actor=
Film
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Role |
| 1991
| Passenger on Gomez's train (uncredited) |
| 1993
| Mr. Glicker |
| 1995
| Doorman (Uncredited) |
| 1997
| Alien on Monitor |
| 2002
| Gator fan on radio (voice) (uncredited) |
| 2002
| Neuralyzed Father |
| 2006
| RV | Irv |
| 2012
| Husband Watching Launch |
| 2016
| Additional cat voices |
Television
| class="wikitable"
! 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) | 4 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Award ! Category ! Title ! Result |
| 1997
| {{nom}} |
| rowspan=2|1999
|rowspan=2|Golden Raspberry Awards |rowspan=2|Wild Wild West | {{won}} |
| Worst Director
| {{won}} |
| 2008
|rowspan=3|Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | {{won}} |
| 2018
|rowspan=2|Outstanding Children's Program |rowspan=2|A Series of Unfortunate Events | {{nom}} |
| 2019
| {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1756}}
{{Barry Sonnenfeld}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Barry Sonnenfeld
|list =
{{DirectorsGuildofAmericaOutstandingDirectingComedySeries 1990–2009}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyDirector 2001-2025}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director}}}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnenfeld, Barry}}
Category:American cinematographers
Category:American action film directors
Category:American science fiction film directors
Category:American television directors
Category:Television producers from New York City
Category:Hampshire College alumni
Category:Film directors from New York City
Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Directors Guild of America Award winners
Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Category:Esquire (magazine) people