BARRY SONNENFELD
Date of Birth: April 1, 1953
Hailing from the Big Apple, Sonnenfeld graduated from New York University's
Graduate Institute of Film and Television in 1978. He began his career by
working on pornography films, corporate films and documentaries including
the Oscar-nominated In Our Water (1982). In 1984, he joined one of
his former classmates, Joel Coen, in making the black-comedy feature
Blood Simple. The film launched his career as a cinematographer,
and for the next six years, he continued to work in feature film and
television in that field. His many cinematography credits include
Raising Arizona, Big, When Harry Met Sally, and
Misery.
His time as a cinematographer was doubled with work as a director and
cameraman on commercials for such clients as Reebok and Nike.
By the '90s however, Sonnenfeld decided to take another role behind the
camera. His directorial bow was made in 1991 with the hit comedy The
Addams Family. Following his impressive debut, he went on to direct
a sequel to the Addams, Get Shorty and his greatest achievement,
Men in Black, which won several awards from various film festivals
and making over $580 million worldwide. His reign of success met its end,
however, with the 1999 bomb and razzie award winner, Wild Wild West.
Sonnenfeld has also worked hard as a producer in the later half of the
'90s right into the new millennium, producing everything from his own
films like Get Shorty, Wild Wild West and Big Trouble,
to television series like Fantasy Island, Secret Agent Man,
and the live-action The Tick.
Married to fellow producer and actress Susan Ringo, Sonnenfeld lives in Los
Angeles.
Filmography (director):
R.V. (2006)
Men in Black 2 (2002)
Big Trouble (2001)
Wild Wild West (1999)
Men in Black (1997)
Get Shorty (1995)
For Love or Money (1993)
Addams Family Values (1993)
The Addams Family (1991)