Basic Information About Barry Sonnenfeld
| Category | Celebrities › Directors |
|---|---|
| Professions | Film director, Cinematographer, Film Producer, Actor, Television producer, Television Director |
| Net worth | $80,000,000 |
| Date of birth | 1953-04-01 (71 years old) |
| Place of birth | New York City |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Curiosities and Trademarks | Directs mainstream films that have an offbeat quality to them Frequently casts Siobhan Fallon Hogan Often shoots from below eye-level for comic effect Often casts Carel Struycken in his films Known for his sense of physical comedy and slapstick scenes Large opening credits that combine his handwriting and a thin chalk drawn font that pays homage to Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) |
| Spouse | Susan Ringo - (1989 - present) (1 child) |
| Gender | Male |
| Social Media | ↗︎ Wikipedia ↗︎ IMDb |
Famous Network of Celebrities with Similar Net Worth
What Movie Awards did Barry Sonnenfeld win?
 Oscar |
 Golden Globe |
 Golder Raspberry |
 BAFTA |
 Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Barry Sonnenfeld awards
| Award Name | State | Movie / Series Name | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hugo - Best Dramatic Presentation | Nominee | The Addams Family | 1992 |
| Hugo - Best Dramatic Presentation | Nominee | Men in Black | 1998 |
| Readers' Choice Award - Best Foreign Language Film | Winner | Men in Black | 1998 |
| Rondo Statuette - Best Film | Nominee | Men in Black 3 | 2012 |
| Golden Berlin Bear - | Nominee | Get Shorty | 1996 |
| Hugo - Best Dramatic Presentation | Nominee | Addams Family Values | 1994 |
| DGA Award - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs | Nominee | A Series of Unfortunate Events | 2020 |
Barry Sonnenfeld roles
| Movie / Series | Role |
|---|---|
| The Addams Family | Director |
| The Addams Family | Passenger on Gomez's train (uncredited) |
| Men in Black | Director |
| Men in Black | Alien on TV Monitor (uncredited) |
| Blood Simple | Marty's Vomiting (voice) (uncredited) |
| Men in Black 3 | Director |
| Men in Black 3 | Husband Watching Launch |
| Men in Black II | Director |
| Men in Black II | Neuralyzed Father |
| Barton Fink | Page Calling for Barton Fink (uncredited) |
| Get Shorty | Director |
| Get Shorty | Doorman |
| Wild Wild West | Director |
| RV | Director |
| RV | Irv |
| Addams Family Values | Director |
| Addams Family Values | Mr. Glicker |
| For Love or Money | Director |
| Big Trouble | Director |
| Big Trouble | Confused Sports Radio Call In (voice) |
| Nine Lives | Director |
| Nine Lives | Additional Cat Voices (voice) |
| The Tick | Director |
| The Tick | Cab Driver / ... (uncredited) unknown episodes |
| Made in Hollywood | Self 1 episode, 2012 |
| Schmigadoon! | Director |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | Director |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | Ike Anwhistle / ... 2 episodes, 2017-2018 |
Barry Sonnenfeld's Quotes
- About Men in Black (1997): "It's basically a remake of The French Connection (1971) with aliens as a comedy."
- A director sits on the set 11 and a half hours a day. And for 30 minutes they get to direct.
- [on what he took away from each "Men in Black" film] - The first one was unique because it was the first one in the series and we got to create this world. What we realized in the second movie is that we thought the first movie was a comedy, and we realized that it was funny, but not a comedy. And the second one was too, "funny" or "joke-y," and we were trying for comic-beats as apposed to telling a great story. And the third Men in Black, we went back to the roots and it's much more like the first Men in Black, which is that it's really about emotion, character, and relationships. And if it's funny, it's funny because of those things, but we're not cutting to singing dogs.
- [on directing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones] Although Will would always be deferential and charming he's an eight-month-old Great Dane puppy, and he's got way too much energy, way too much joy, too much karmic perfection. And I think that may have affected Tommy. But from the entire first movie [they] loved each other. Will genuinely feels Tommy's one of the funniest people he's ever met because Tommy is George Burns and Will is Gracie Allen. You need both.
Interesting Facts about Barry Sonnenfeld
- Was uninjured when a private jet he was travelling in collided with five empty 'planes after a rough landing in Van Nuys, California. [February 1999]
- Started his career as a cinematographer in porn films. He's quoted in the January 26, 1998 Newsweek magazine (page 60) saying that he was depressed when he heard that Boogie Nights (1997) was being made (a film about making pornos) because he had wanted to make a movie about the time he shot 9 feature length pornos in nine days.
- NYU Film School Assistant to Elliott Erwitt.
- Was offered the job of directing Forrest Gump (1994), but declined. The job then went to Robert Zemeckis, who won an Academy Award for it.
- Has a private bathroom designed to look like a public bathroom, complete with stalls and urinals in his house in New York.
- One of his most embarrassing moments occurred when he was a teenager attending his first rock concert. His mom had the PA announcer say, "Barry Sonnenfeld, call your mother.".
- Nephew of Vaudeville and screen comedian Gus Schilling, whose voice likeness he inherited genetically.
- Father of Chloe Sonnenfeld.
- Has stated in many interviews that before making Men in Black (1997) he was considering doing a live-action film version of The Jetsons (1962). With Jim Carrey playing George Jetson and Nicole Kidman playing Jane Jetson.
- Was set to direct Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), but bowed out citing personal reasons.
- Was at one time attached to direct The Heartbreak Kid (2007).
- Stepfather of Amelia A. Erwitt (born in 1981).
