Martin Brest

{{Infobox person

| name = Martin Brest

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|8|8}}

| birth_place = The Bronx, New York, U.S.

| occupation = {{Hlist|Film director|producer|screenwriter}}

| notable_works = Beverly Hills Cop
Midnight Run
Scent of a Woman
Meet Joe Black
Going in Style
Hot Dogs for Gauguin
Gigli

| education = New York University (BFA)
American Film Institute (MFA)

| years_active = 1972–2003

| children =

}}

Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, Going in Style (1979), he directed the action comedies Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits. He then directed Scent of a Woman (1992), starring Al Pacino, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, and earned Brest nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.

He followed it with Meet Joe Black (1998), which received mixed reviews. Brest's next film was Gigli (2003). After disagreements between Brest and Revolution Studios,{{Cite web |last=Gilchrist |first=Todd |date=2023-07-18 |title=Director Martin Brest Revisits the Triumphs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Midnight Run,' and Reflects On His Post-'Gigli' Hollywood Exile (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/features/martin-brest-director-beverly-hills-cop-gigli-1235672428/ |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} creative control was taken from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of the original film being released,{{Cite web |date=2014-12-22 |title=Martin Brest Directed Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run and, Yes, Gigli. Then He Vanished. Why? {{!}} Playboy |url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/what-happened-to-director-martin-brest |access-date=2024-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222232939/http://www.playboy.com/articles/what-happened-to-director-martin-brest |archive-date=December 22, 2014 }} which became his first and only unprofitable film{{Cite web |title=Martin Brest - All His Movies Ranked |url=https://www.deathbyfilms.com/film_directors/martin-brest-all-his-movies-ranked/ |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=Death By Films |language=en-GB}} and, in fact, a major box-office bomb and was widely panned. It remains his last film to date.

Early life and education

Brest was born to Eastern European Jewish immigrant parents in a working-class neighborhood in the Bronx in 1951.{{cite web|url = https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/martin_brest|title = Martin Brest|website = Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate = April 5, 2023|publisher = Fandango Media}}{{cite web|url = https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/21952%7C0/Martin-Brest/#biography|title = Martin Brest|work = Turner Classic Movies|last = Coleman|first = Bryce|accessdate = April 5, 2023}}{{Cite news |date=December 5, 1984 |title=Marty Brest, Clicking |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/12/06/marty-brest-clicking/41aa6805-a13e-445f-b72e-5974dc41e5cc/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} He was influenced by watching The Honeymooners as a child, saying in a 2023 interview, "I was a kid watching it in a household that was economically not that different than in the show. I felt like it was a show made for my neighborhood. And that character of Ralph Kramden really touched me, that angry soul whose spirit blossoms".{{cite news|url = https://variety.com/2023/film/features/martin-brest-director-beverly-hills-cop-gigli-1235672428/|title = Director Martin Brest Revisits the Triumphs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Midnight Run,' and Reflects On His Post-'Gigli' Hollywood Exile|work = Variety|last = Gilchrist|first = Todd|date = July 18, 2023|accessdate = July 18, 2023}}

Brest graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969 and from New York University's School of the Arts in 1973. His New York University undergraduate student film, Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972), starring a then unknown Danny DeVito and with a small part by then unknown Rhea Perlman, was one of 25 films chosen in 2009 by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures"{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2009/09-250.html|title=Michael Jackson, the Muppets and Early Cinema Tapped for Preservation in 2009 Library of Congress National Film Registry|publisher=Library of Congress|date=December 30, 2009}} and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Brest attended the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 1977.

Career

Brest's major studio debut was Going in Style (1979), which starred George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg.{{cite news |last1=Canby |first1=Vincent |author-link1=Vincent Canby |title=Movie: 3 Widowers Try 'Going in Style' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/25/archives/movie-3-widowers-try-going-in-style.html |access-date=October 8, 2018 |date=December 25, 1979 |language=en}} Brest was then hired to direct WarGames (1983), which starred Matthew Broderick, but he was fired three weeks into production amid conflicts with the film's executive producer, and replaced with John Badham.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/07/ff-wargames/|magazine=Wired|author=Brown, Scott|date=July 21, 2008|title=WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars}}

The dismissal from WarGames left Brest highly pessimistic about his career, until he was recruited by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to direct Beverly Hills Cop (1984), starring Eddie Murphy.{{cite web|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/beverly-hills-cop-1984-review-952752|title='Beverly Hills Cop': THR's 1984 Review|date=December 5, 2016|author=THR Staff}} The film grossed over $300 million worldwide{{cite web|publisher=Box Office Mojo|title=Beverly Hills Cop|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beverlyhillscop.htm}} and received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and for Best Actor (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Eddie Murphy), as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. In 2024 it became the second of Brest's films to be chosen by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures."{{Cite web |title=The Washington Post - Breaking news and latest headlines, U.S. news, world news, and video |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=The Washington Post |language=en}}

Brest was then in pre-production for Rain Man (1988), when he cast Tom Cruise for the role opposite Dustin Hoffman, before Barry Levinson eventually directed the film.{{cite web|last=Breihan|first=Tom|title=Rain Man's movie-star chemistry holds up better than its depiction of autism|website=The A.V. Club |date=June 12, 2020|url=https://www.avclub.com/rain-man-s-movie-star-chemistry-holds-up-better-than-it-1843905089/amp|accessdate=June 19, 2022}}

Brest's next film was the action-comedy Midnight Run (1988), starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=REVIEW/FILM; DE NIRO AND GRODIN IN CROSS-COUNTRY CHASE|author-link=Vincent Canby|author=Canby, Vincent|date=July 20, 1988|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/20/movies/review-film-de-niro-and-grodin-in-cross-country-chase.html}} The film was another critical and commercial success, earning Brest another Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy as well as a Best Actor Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination for De Niro.

His work on Scent of a Woman (1992) earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film also won Golden Globes for Al Pacino and screenwriter Bo Goldman, as well as a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Chris O'Donnell. In addition, the film received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted), with Al Pacino winning Best Actor.{{cite web|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/scent-a-woman-1059207|title=The Cast of 'Scent of a Woman,' Then and Now|date=December 23, 2017|last=Idasetima|first=Courtney}}

Brest's next film, Meet Joe Black (1998), starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, was a loose remake of 1934's Death Takes a Holiday.{{cite web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/13/movies/film-review-when-death-comes-to-call-serve-peanut-butter.html|title=FILM REVIEW; When Death Comes to Call, Serve Peanut Butter|author-link=Janet Maslin|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=November 13, 1998}} The film had an American box-office return of $44.6 million, taking in an additional $98.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $142.9 million.{{cite web|publisher=Box Office Mojo|title=Meet Joe Black|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=meetjoeblack.htm}}

Brest wrote and directed Gigli (2003), starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.{{cite web|work=Playboy|url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/what-happened-to-director-martin-brest|title=MARTIN BREST DIRECTED BEVERLY HILLS COP, MIDNIGHT RUN AND, YES, GIGLI. THEN HE VANISHED. WHY?|last=Patches|first=Matt|date=December 19, 2014|archive-date=December 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222232939/http://www.playboy.com/articles/what-happened-to-director-martin-brest}} During filming, production company Revolution Studios took creative control from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of the original film being released. That version became one of the more notorious films of its time, being widely panned by critics. A 2014 article in Playboy observed that in the then-eleven years since Gigli{{'}}s release, Brest "went Full Salinger", appearing to have left the entertainment industry completely, without any further credits or major public appearances to his name. However, in 2021, he appeared as a featured guest at a screening of Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run in Los Angeles, where he was interviewed by fellow filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson.{{cite news|url = https://moveablefest.com/martin-brest-paul-thomas-anderson-midnight-run/|title = "Every Day Was Like, 'How Do We Pull This Off?'" Martin Brest on "Midnight Run"|date = July 26, 2021|accessdate = September 15, 2021|last = Saito|first = Stephen|work = Moveable Feast}} Two years later, he gave an interview to Variety in which he reflected:

{{blockquote|Once [Gigli] happened, I thought I'll never be invited back [to make more films]. Second, I would never be able to operate with the kind of control that a director, I feel, needs and deserves. So that felt like a clear signal it was time for me to back away.

I had a good run, and I enjoyed success and freedom, and that was fantastic. I would've liked it to go on longer, but everybody likes everything to go on longer. }}

Brest has received the American Film Institute's Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award, which "celebrates the recipient's extraordinary creative talents and artistic achievements."{{cite web | url=https://conservatory.afi.com/franklin-j-schaffner-award/ | title=Franklin J. Schaffner Award }}

His essays about art and artists have appeared in various books.{{Cite book |last=Wendy M. ; Siedell Daniel A. Brest |first=Martin; Blazier |title=An Unfinished Conversation: Collecting Entique Martinez Celaya |date=2009-01-01 |publisher=Boca Raton Museum of Art |isbn=978-0-936859-80-4 |language=English}}{{Cite web |title=Tom Chamberlain: Regardless |url=https://drawingroom.org.uk/product/tom-chamberlain-regardless/ |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=Drawing Room |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Text Book Tamy BenTor Miki Carmi |url=https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9781735230924/text-book-tamy-bentor--miki-carmi.aspx |access-date=2024-02-09 |website=www.spdbooks.org}}

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title !width=65\| Director !width=65\| Producer !width=65\| Writer !Editor ! Notes
1972 \| Hot Dogs for Gauguin \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| NYU student film
1977 \| Hot Tomorrows \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| AFI student film
1979 \| Going in Style \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|
1983 \|WarGames \| {{partial\|Uncredited}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|Replaced by John Badham
1984 \| Beverly Hills Cop \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|
1988 \| Midnight Run \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|
1992 \| Scent of a Woman \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|
1993 \| Josh and S.A.M. \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|
1998 \| Meet Joe Black \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|
2003 \| Gigli \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

!width=65| Director

!width=65| Producer

!width=65| Writer

!Editor

! Notes

1972

| Hot Dogs for Gauguin

| {{yes}}

| NYU student film

1977

| Hot Tomorrows

| {{yes}}

| AFI student film

1979

| Going in Style

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1983

|WarGames

| {{partial|Uncredited}}

| {{no}}

|Replaced by John Badham

1984

| Beverly Hills Cop

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1988

| Midnight Run

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1992

| Scent of a Woman

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1993

| Josh and S.A.M.

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

1998

| Meet Joe Black

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2003

| Gigli

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Acting roles

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
1972 \| Hot Dogs for Gauguin \| Man on Ferry \|
1982 \| Fast Times at Ridgemont High \| Dr. Miller \|
1984 \| Beverly Hills Cop \| "bathrobe" Hotel Clerk \| Uncredited
1985 \| Spies Like Us \| Drive-In Security Guard \|
1988 \| Midnight Run \| Airline Ticket Clerk \| Uncredited

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1972

| Hot Dogs for Gauguin

| Man on Ferry

1982

| Fast Times at Ridgemont High

| Dr. Miller

1984

| Beverly Hills Cop

| "bathrobe" Hotel Clerk

| Uncredited

1985

| Spies Like Us

| Drive-In Security Guard

1988

| Midnight Run

| Airline Ticket Clerk

| Uncredited

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable"

!Institution

!Year

!Category

!Work

!Result

rowspan="2" |Academy Awards

| rowspan="2" |1993

|Best Picture

| rowspan="2" |Scent of a Woman

|{{nom}}

Best Director

|{{nom}}

American Film Institute

|1994

|Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award

|{{N/A}}

|{{won}}

Jupiter Awards

|1986

|Best International Film

|Beverly Hills Cop

|{{nom}}

Producers Guild Film Awards

|1993

|Best Theatrical Motion Picture

|Scent of a Woman

|{{nom}}

Valladolid International Film Festival

|1988

|Golden Spike

|{{nom}}

|{{nom}}

Two of Brest's films, Hot Dogs for Gauguin and Beverly Hills Cop, have been entered into the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.