BPS 199: From Adult Films to Showrunning with Barry Sonnenfeld

I can't tell you how excited I am for today's episode. I had the
pleasure to speak to the legendary director Barry Sonnenfeld.
We discuss his idiosyncratic upbringing in New York City, his
breaking into film as a cinematographer with the Coen
brothers, and his unexpected career as the director behind such
huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in
Black, and beloved work like Get Shorty, Pushing
Daises, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. We also
chat about the time he shot nine porno films in nine days. That
story alone is worth the price of admission.

I don't think Will does get upstaged because his reaction is always
funnier than what is actually happening. That is also the reason
Tommy is funnier than Will.

In his new book Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother:
Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker shares his laugh-out-loud
memoir about coming of age. Constantly threatened with suicide by
his over-protective mother, disillusioned by the father he
worshiped, and abused by a demonic relative, Sonnenfeld somehow
went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful producers and
directors.

His book is written with poignant insight and real-life irony, the
book follows Sonnenfeld from childhood as a French horn player
through graduate film school at NYU, where he developed his talent
for cinematography. His first job after graduating was shooting
nine feature-length pornos in nine days. From that humble entrée,
he went on to form a friendship with the Coen Brothers, launching
his career shooting their first three films.

Though Sonnenfeld had no ambition to direct, Scott Rudin convinced
him to be the director of The Addams Family. It was a
successful career move. He went on to direct many more films and
television shows. Will Smith once joked that he wanted to take
Sonnenfeld to Philadelphia public schools and say,

“If this guy could end up as a successful film director on
big-budget films, anyone can.”

His book is a fascinating and hilarious roadmap for anyone who
thinks they can't succeed in life because of a rough
beginning.

Barry Sonnenfeld's philosophy is,

“Regret the Past. Fear the Present. Dread the Future.”

This EPIC conversation is almost two hours and had me on the floor
laughing one minute and in absolute shock the next. This is by far
one of my favorite interviews I have ever done on the show.

So sit back, grab a drink and enjoy my conversation with Barry
Sonnenfeld.

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