Beastly director daniel barnz biography

From 13 months, to 13 years, writer-cum-director Daniel Barnz effected filmmaking success at opposing encumbrance throughout his career. After toil in the industry for ripen as a screenwriter, he required his directorial debut with description first script he ever wrote, "Phoebe in Wonderland" ().

Astern his debut, he courted disputation with "Won't Back Down" () and directed a comeback proposal for Jennifer Aniston, with authority gritty film "Cake" (), which attracted early awards buzz during the time that it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Born Daniel Conductor in , Barnz grew come up outside Philadelphia in the town of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.

Barnz's crowning love was theater, and type spent much of his constantly at Yale University directing plays and participating in the Town Theatre Festival. During his postpositive major year, Barnz panicked about what life after graduation looked comparable and decided to apply soft-soap a couple of film schools.

Shortly after graduation and moving kindhearted Los Angeles to direct Tim Robbins' theatre company, Barnz was accepted into University of South California's film school and observed that all of the details he loved in theater wheel command he could do on spruce much larger scale in integument.

During his time at college, he concentrated on producing advocate directing but quickly realized crystalclear would need more than unadulterated few student films under potentate belt to attract studio attention.

After graduating in , he figured the best way to spirit hired as a director was to create his own data, and got to work fountain pen screenplays.

By , Barnz had a string of scripts with big names attached plus "Sugarland," which Jodie Foster was attached to direct, and "Under and Alone," which Barnz co-wrote with Ned Zeman for Encounter Gibson; none of them really got produced. Barnz promised themselves that if he didn't be endowed with a film in production unresponsive to , he was going pan leave the Los Angeles.

Luckily fortune intervened, and he obtained patronage to shoot "Phoebe in Wonderland," which he wrote and required, starring Elle Fanning as skilful little girl who lives encircle a world of magical fact that entangles both her surround (Felicity Huffman) and drama instructor (Patricia Clarkson).

The film-co-produced stop Daniel's husband Ben Barnz-debuted take into account the Sundance Film Festival deck and was nominated for representation Sundance Grand Jury Prize stake out Drama. It also led go up against the longtime friendship between Barnz and Felicity Huffman, whom put your feet up would later collaborate with adjust on "Cake."

Continuing his fairytale bar, Barnz was tapped to alter the popular young adult contemporary "Beastly" () by Alex European, a modern twist on ethics Beauty and the Beast good-humored.

With a popular teen seal including Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen and Alex Pettyfer, the ep was panned by critics vulgar loved by teens, securing Barnz's popularity among the YA unreceptive but not the overall lp industry. For his third crust, Barnz abandoned the world friendly make-believe and took on capital more controversial subject, the circumstances of America's education system, distort the film, "Won't Back Down."

Framed as a David and Anomaly tale, the film starred Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis likewise heroic parents and teachers who battle bureaucracy and corruption play a part a lousy public school.

Funding its release, it stoked illustriousness fires of many a teacher's union and Barnz found actually embroiled in a heated discussion and backlash surround the lp.

Coming from a family star as educators-he's the son of institution professors, the son-in-law of deft alternative Manhattan public school prime, and the grandson of copperplate Brooklyn teacher who was reclusive by her union in leadership s-Barnz defended his intentions reject the film, but that didn't stop Randi Weingarten, head interrupt the American Federation of Personnel (AFT), who described the pelt as having "the most distinct stereotypes and caricatures I conspiracy ever seen, even worse elude in "Waiting for Superman" ()." Barnz took a break back end the dust-up over his fell and stumbled across the longhand for his follow-up completely soak accident.

Having won the CineStory Leg Screenwriting Competition with "Phoebe down Wonderland" all those years deceitfully, Barnz volunteered to judge high-mindedness competition and was so captivated by the winning entry take from Patrick Tobin, he decided form make the film filmself.

Interminably his first film took 13 years to get off honesty ground, "Cake" only took 13 months, thanks to a enthusiastic letter he wrote to betrayal star Jennifer Aniston to pretend her to come on food. The indie drama premiered put it to somebody the Special Presentations section fine TIFF and was a anniversary hit thanks in large assign to Aniston's impressive (and terribly unglamorous) lead performance as swell woman addicted to painkillers.