Martin Brest | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-08-08)August 8, 1951 (age 73) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Education | New York University (BFA) American Film Institute (MFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1972–2003 |
| Notable work | Beverly Hills Cop Midnight Run Scent of a Woman Meet Joe Black Going in Style Hot Dogs for Gauguin Gigli |
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 comediesBeverly Hills Cop (1984) andMidnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits. He then directedScent of a Woman (1992), starringAl Pacino, who won theAcademy Award for Best Actor for his performance, and earned Brest nominations forBest Director andBest Picture.
He followed it withMeet Joe Black (1998), which received mixed reviews. Brest's next film wasGigli (2003). After disagreements between Brest andRevolution Studios,[1] creative control was taken from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of the original film being released,[2] which became his first and only non-profitable film[3] and, in fact, amajor box-office bomb and was widely panned. It remains his last film to date.
Brest was born to Eastern European immigrant parents in a working-class neighborhood inthe Bronx in 1951.[4][5][6] He was influenced by watchingThe 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 ofRalph Kramden really touched me, that angry soul whose spirit blossoms".[7]
Brest graduated fromStuyvesant High School in 1969 and from New York University'sSchool of the Arts in 1973.[5] His New York University undergraduate student film,Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972), starring a then unknownDanny DeVito and with a small part by then unknownRhea Perlman, was one of 25 films chosen in 2009 by theNational Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures"[8] and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Brest attended theAFI Conservatory, where he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 1977.[5]
Brest's major studio debut wasGoing in Style (1979), which starredGeorge Burns,Art Carney, andLee Strasberg.[9] Brest was then hired to directWarGames (1983), which starredMatthew Broderick, but he was fired three weeks into production amid conflicts with the film's executive producer, and replaced withJohn Badham.[7][10]
The dismissal fromWarGames left Brest highly pessimistic about his career, until he was recruited byDon Simpson andJerry Bruckheimer to directBeverly Hills Cop (1984), starringEddie Murphy.[7][11] The film grossed over $300 million worldwide[12] 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 anAcademy Award nomination forBest Original Screenplay. In 2024 it became the second of Brest's films to be chosen by theNational Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures."[13]
Brest was then in pre-production forRain Man (1988), when he castTom Cruise for the role oppositeDustin Hoffman, beforeBarry Levinson eventually directed the film.[14]
Brest's next film was the action-comedyMidnight Run (1988), starringRobert De Niro andCharles Grodin.[15] The film was another critical and commercial success, earning Brest anotherGolden Globe Award nomination forBest Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy as well as a Best Actor Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination for De Niro.
His work onScent of a Woman (1992) earned him aGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film also won Golden Globes forAl Pacino and screenwriterBo Goldman, as well as a Best Supporting Actor nomination forChris O'Donnell. In addition, the film received four Academy Award nominations:Best Picture,Best Director,Best Screenplay (Adapted), with Al Pacino winningBest Actor.[16]
Brest's next film,Meet Joe Black (1998), starringBrad Pitt andAnthony Hopkins, was a loose remake of 1934'sDeath Takes a Holiday.[17] 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.[18]
Brest wrote and directedGigli (2003), starringBen Affleck andJennifer Lopez.[19] During filming, production companyRevolution Studios took creative control from him, resulting in a radically re-written and re-shot version of the original film being released.[19] That version became one of the most notorious films of its time, being widely panned by critics. A 2014 article inPlayboy observed that in the then-eleven years sinceGigli's release, Brest "went FullSalinger", appearing to have left the entertainment industry completely, without any further credits or major public appearances to his name.[19] However, in 2021, he appeared as a featured guest at a screening ofBeverly Hills Cop andMidnight Run in Los Angeles, where he was interviewed by fellow filmmakerPaul Thomas Anderson.[20] Two years later, he gave an interview toVariety in which he reflected:
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.[7]
Brest has received the American Film Institute'sFranklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award, which "celebrates the recipient's extraordinary creative talents and artistic achievements."[21]
His essays about art and artists have appeared in various books.[22][23][24]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | 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 | Uncredited | No | No | No | Replaced byJohn Badham[7] |
| 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 |
Acting roles
| 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 |
| Institution | Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 1993 | Best Picture | Scent of a Woman | Nominated |
| Best Director | Nominated | |||
| American Film Institute | 1994 | Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award | — | Won |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | 2004 | Worst Director | Gigli | Won |
| Worst Screenplay | Won | |||
| Jupiter Awards | 1986 | Best International Film | Beverly Hills Cop | Nominated |
| Producers Guild Film Awards | 1993 | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Scent of a Woman | Nominated |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | 1988 | Golden Spike | Midnight Run | Nominated |
| Venice Film Festival | 1980 | Golden Lion | Going in Style | Nominated |
Two of Brest's films,Hot Dogs for Gauguin andBeverly Hills Cop, have been entered into theNational Film Registry of theU.S. Library of Congress.[8][13]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
