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Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The younger brother of Joel, Ethan Coen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning writer, producer and director coming from small independentfilms to big profile Hollywood films. He was born on September 21, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In some films of the brothers- Ethan & Joel wrote, Joel directed and Ethan produced - with both editing underthe name of Roderick Jaynes; but in 2004 they started to share the three main duties plus editing.Each film bring its own quality, creativity, art and with one project more daring the other.
His film debut was in 1984 dark humored thrillerBlood Simple (1984) starring Frances McDormand (Joel's wife) and M. Emmet Walsh in a deep story revolvinga couple of romantic lovers followed by an insisting private eye. The film received critical acclaim, some award nominations to Ethan (best writing at the Film Independent Spirit Awards)and became a cult following over the years. Their second work was the comedyAka chan Dorobô (1987) starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a unusual couple trying to createtheir family by kidnapping babies from a rich family.
Miller's Crossing (1990) was the third film of the brothers, a mob drama with heavy influences from several criminal dramas and with a stellar cast that includedGabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Albert Finney, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro and Jon Polito (the latter three would become regular actors in the Coen's films).
Their views on the Hollywood era of the 1930's was the central theme is the greatBarton Fink (1991), created from a writers block both brothers suffered during the making of their previousfilm. John Turturro stars as a writer who suffers from a breakdown when he's commissioned to a big budget Hollywood project. The film was a breakthrough for the Coens marking their firstwin at the Cannes Film Festival (Joel got the Palme d'Or) and the first time a film of their received Oscar nominations. The underrated comedyThe Hudsucker Proxy (1994) was what followed; but no onecould predict their next big and boldest move that would definitely put Ethan and Joel on the spotlight once and for all.
The comedy of errorsFargo (1996) was a huge critical and commercial success. With its crazed story of a man who hires two loonies to kidnap his own wife and a pregnant policewoman trackingthe leads to the crime, Ethan and Joel came at their greatest moment that couldn't be missed. The film received several awards during award season and the Coen's got their first Oscar in the Best OriginalScreenplay category. What came next was the underrated yet hilariously goodBiggu ribousuki (1998) starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, John Turturro and Steve Buscemi.Those masterpieces made their career in the late 1990's cementing the duo as one of the greatest writers and directors of their generation, if not, from all time.
The Odyssey retold for the 1930's inOh, Brother! (2000); the intelligent noirBâbâ (2001); the comedyDivorce Show (2003) and a remakeThe Ladykillers (2004) marked their way into the early 2000's.Certaintly of period of minor hits and some downer moments.
The big return was with the highly acclaimedNô kantorî (2007), where the brothers swooped at the Oscars with three wins: Best Picture, Screenplay and Writing, an adaptation from the CormacMcCarthy's novel.
Serious Man (2009),Burn After Reading (2008),True Grit (2010),Inside Llewyn Davis (2013),Hail, Caesar! (2016) andThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) were the subsequent films, all well received by audiences or got awards recognition, mostlynominations.
A shift from tone and career move was writing with other writers and for another directors: for Angelina Jolie'sUnbroken (2014), for Spielberg inBridge of Spies (2015) and George Clooney inSuburbicon (2017).
As for personal life, Ethan has been married to Tricia Cooke since 1990. Tricia works as an assistant editor in several of the Coen brothers films.
His film debut was in 1984 dark humored thrillerBlood Simple (1984) starring Frances McDormand (Joel's wife) and M. Emmet Walsh in a deep story revolvinga couple of romantic lovers followed by an insisting private eye. The film received critical acclaim, some award nominations to Ethan (best writing at the Film Independent Spirit Awards)and became a cult following over the years. Their second work was the comedyAka chan Dorobô (1987) starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a unusual couple trying to createtheir family by kidnapping babies from a rich family.
Miller's Crossing (1990) was the third film of the brothers, a mob drama with heavy influences from several criminal dramas and with a stellar cast that includedGabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Albert Finney, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro and Jon Polito (the latter three would become regular actors in the Coen's films).
Their views on the Hollywood era of the 1930's was the central theme is the greatBarton Fink (1991), created from a writers block both brothers suffered during the making of their previousfilm. John Turturro stars as a writer who suffers from a breakdown when he's commissioned to a big budget Hollywood project. The film was a breakthrough for the Coens marking their firstwin at the Cannes Film Festival (Joel got the Palme d'Or) and the first time a film of their received Oscar nominations. The underrated comedyThe Hudsucker Proxy (1994) was what followed; but no onecould predict their next big and boldest move that would definitely put Ethan and Joel on the spotlight once and for all.
The comedy of errorsFargo (1996) was a huge critical and commercial success. With its crazed story of a man who hires two loonies to kidnap his own wife and a pregnant policewoman trackingthe leads to the crime, Ethan and Joel came at their greatest moment that couldn't be missed. The film received several awards during award season and the Coen's got their first Oscar in the Best OriginalScreenplay category. What came next was the underrated yet hilariously goodBiggu ribousuki (1998) starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, John Turturro and Steve Buscemi.Those masterpieces made their career in the late 1990's cementing the duo as one of the greatest writers and directors of their generation, if not, from all time.
The Odyssey retold for the 1930's inOh, Brother! (2000); the intelligent noirBâbâ (2001); the comedyDivorce Show (2003) and a remakeThe Ladykillers (2004) marked their way into the early 2000's.Certaintly of period of minor hits and some downer moments.
The big return was with the highly acclaimedNô kantorî (2007), where the brothers swooped at the Oscars with three wins: Best Picture, Screenplay and Writing, an adaptation from the CormacMcCarthy's novel.
Serious Man (2009),Burn After Reading (2008),True Grit (2010),Inside Llewyn Davis (2013),Hail, Caesar! (2016) andThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) were the subsequent films, all well received by audiences or got awards recognition, mostlynominations.
A shift from tone and career move was writing with other writers and for another directors: for Angelina Jolie'sUnbroken (2014), for Spielberg inBridge of Spies (2015) and George Clooney inSuburbicon (2017).
As for personal life, Ethan has been married to Tricia Cooke since 1990. Tricia works as an assistant editor in several of the Coen brothers films.
BornSeptember 21, 1957
- Won 4 Oscars
- 116 wins & 287 nominations total
Producer
Writer
Director
- Alternative names
- Roderick Jaynes
- Height
- 1.73 m
- Born
- Spouse
- Tricia CookeOctober 2, 1990 - present (2 children)
- Children
- ParentsRena Neumann Coen
- RelativesPedro McDormand Coen(Niece or Nephew)
- Other worksBook (short stories): "Gates of Eden", 1998.
- Publicity listings
- TriviaThe Coen Brothers are noted for their unusual writing process of not only eschewing outlines, but of not even concerning themselves what their story is about or who their characters are before beginning to write their screenplays. They will simply begin writing any scene they think up that they find to be interesting. Then, if they think of an interesting idea for a following scene, they will write that one, and then another, and so on and so forth until they have a first draft, discovering what the story is along the way. Then, they will heavily revise what they have until they feel they have a shootable screenplay. They have noted that because of this, they will often get writer's block around the mid-point of any given screenplay, and will begin another screenplay in the meantime in order to remain productive. For example, the entirety ofBarton Fink (1991) was written while they were battling writer's block withMiller's Crossing (1990), and the first 40 pages ofBiggu ribousuki (1998) was written while they were stuck withBarton Fink (1991).
- QuotesIt's easy to offend people. People get uncomfortable, for instance, when the main character in a movie is not sympathetic in a Hollywood formula way. Our movies are loaded with things that aren't to everyone's taste. On the other hand, there's a scene in [Oh, Brother! (2000)] where a frog gets squished that everyone seems to like. It's all right to do the frog squishing.
- TrademarksFrequently castsSteve Buscemi (6 times),Frances McDormand (5 times),Jon Polito (5 times),John Goodman (4 times),John Turturro (4 times),George Clooney (3 times),Michael Badalucco (3 times),Charles Durning (twice),M. Emmet Walsh (twice),Peter Stormare (twice),Richard Jenkins (twice),John Mahoney (twice),Tony Shalhoub (twice),Stephen Root (4 times), andBilly Bob Thornton (twice).
FAQ
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- How old is Ethan Coen?67 years old
- When was Ethan Coen born?September 21, 1957
- Where was Ethan Coen born?Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- What is Ethan Coen's birth name?Ethan Jesse Coen
- How tall is Ethan Coen?5 feet 8 inches, or 1.73 meters
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