One Of The Great Presences Behind The Camera
My introduction to Barry Levinson came through a "Sociology Of Popular Film" class in college. By the name of the course, I had thought it was going to be as easy as you are thinking it was right now. Well, you're wrong, and so was I. That course, while remaining one of my favorites of all times, was one of the toughest, most demanding, and ultimately rewarding that I had. The professor had the audacity to insist that we have informed opinions, give complete answers, and actually use our brains - not to mention holding us accountable for our actions. One aspect of the course was a paper that demanded everything possible in the known universe to be written about a movie (you got extra credit for information from other solar systems...). I chose "Good Morning, Vietnam" and thus discovered the talent of Barry Levinson. Keep reading to find out more about this man:
Man Of The Year (2006)
Levinson's Latest Picture - starring Robin Williams
Acerbic performer Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) has made his career out of skewering politicans and speaking the mind of the exasperated nation on his talk show. He cracked scathing jokes at the fractured system night after night... until he came up with a really funny idea: why not run for president himself? Trailer For Man Of The Year
A Brief Glance At Barry Levinson
After growing up in Baltimore and graduating from Forest Park Senior High School, Levinson attended American University in Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles to work as an actor and writer. His first writing work was for variety shows such as The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, The Lohman and Barkley Show, The Tim Conway Show, and The Carol Burnett Show.
After some success as a screenwriter -- notably the Mel Brooks comedies Silent Movie (1976), and High Anxiety (1977) (in which he made a cameo appearance as a bellboy) and the Oscar-nominated script (co-written by then-wife Valerie Curtin) ...And Justice for All, (1979) -- Levinson began his career as a director with Diner (1982), for which he had also written the script and which earned him a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination.
His biggest hit, both critically and financially, was Rain Man (1988) with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise (in which Levinson also appeared as an actor). The film won four Academy Awards including Best Director for Levinson.
Another notable film in his career was the 1984 baseball drama The Natural starring Robert Redford, who would later direct Quiz Show and cast Levinson as television personality Dave Garroway. Levinson also directed Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Toys (1992), both with Robin Williams, and the critically acclaimed Bugsy (1991) with Warren Beatty.
He directed Dustin Hoffman again in Wag the Dog (1997), a political comedy co-starring Robert DeNiro about a war staged in a film studio. Levinson had been an uncredited co-writer on Hoffman's hit comedy Tootsie in 1982.
He partnered with producer Mark Johnson to form the film production company Baltimore Pictures, until the duo parted ways in 1994.
Levinson has been a producer or executive producer for such major productions as The Perfect Storm directed by Wolfgang Petersen (2000); Analyze That (2002), starring DeNiro as a neurotic mob boss and Billy Crystal as his therapist, and Possession (2002), based on the best-selling novel by A. S. Byatt.
He has a television production company with Tom Fontana (The Levinson/Fontana Company) and served as executive producer for a number of series, including Homicide: Life on the Street (which ran on NBC from 1993-1999) and the HBO prison drama Oz. Levinson also played a main role in the short-lived TV series The Jury, where he played a judge (the role was uncredited).
(...from Wikipedia)
From Good Morning Vietnam...
Cronauer's First Time On The Air
Barry Levinson's Movies
as director...
- DINER (1982)
- THE NATURAL (1984)
- YOUNG SHERLOCK HOMES (1985)
- TIN MEN (1987)
- RAIN MAN (1988)
- GOOD MORNING VIETNAM (1988)
- AVALON (1990)
- BUGSY (1991)
- TOYS (1992)
- DISCLOSURE (1994)
- JIMMY HOLLYWOOD (1994)
- SLEEPERS (1996)
- WAG THE DOG (1997)
- SPHERE (1998)
- LIBERTY HEIGHTS (1999)
- AN EVERLASTING PIECE (2000)
- BANDITS (2001)
- ENVY (2004)
- MAN OF THE YEAR (2006)
Barry Levinson Movies from Amazon
...just a small sampling
Barry Levinson's Awards:
- 1974
CAROL BURNETT SHOW -- Winner Emmy Award for TV Comedy Writing - 1975
CAROL BURNETT SHOW -- Winner Emmy Award for TV Comedy Writing - 1979
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL -- Writer (With Valerie Curtin)
* Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay - 1982
DINER -- Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay - 1988
RAIN MAN --Winner Academy Award for Best Picture 1988; Winner Academy Award for Best Director; Winner Directors Guild Award for Best Director - 1989
AVALON -- Winner Writers Guild Award for Best Screenplay; Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay - 1991
BUGSY -- Winner Golden Globe for Best Picture; Academy Award Nomination for Best Director; Academy Award Nomination for Best Picture - 1993-1999 -- HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET
1993 Winner Emmy Award for Best Director; DGA Award Nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Dramatic Series
1993, 1995 & 1997 Winner Peabody Award
1994 & 1995 Winner Writers Guild Award
1996 Winner of The Nancy Susan Reynolds Award For Outstanding Portrayal Of Sexual Responsibility in a Dramatic Series
1997 Prism Commendation by the National Institute on Drug Use and The Entertainment Industries Council
1998 Winner DGA Award for Outstanding Dirctorial Achievement for Dramatic Series; Winner TCA Award for Program of the Year & Drama of the Year; Winner Emmy Award for Best Male Actor in a Drama Series; Winner Emmy Award for Best Casting in a Drama Series
1999 Winner Humanitas Award - 1997
WAG THE DOG -- Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture - 1998
* Winner ShoWest Director of the Year Award
* Named one of Variety's "Billion Dollar Directors" - 1999
* Winner Creative Achievement Award by the 13th Annual American Comedy Awards
* Awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from American University for his distinguished work in the field of communications and his defining impact on the motion picture and television industry - 2002
* Winner ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award
"Good Morning, Vietnam" Available From Amazon
Abandoning propagandistic news items and an approved playlist of Percy Faith's Greatest Hits for a format of raucous humor and rock 'n' roll, the Adrian Cronauer show becomes a favorite with the enlisted men but a problem for the brass, who grow increasingly agitated by the rowdy radio personality's irreverent remarks and explosive political observations about the escalating war.
An unconventional story, loosely based on the real-life experiences of a disc-jockey who had a popular rock 'n' roll show on Armed Forces Radio. Using humor to punctuate the serious nature of the subject matter, Mitch Markowitz' screenplay indelibly captures the pivotal year (1965) when, backed by growing uncertainty and fear, the war became something more than a series of "incidents."
Qantas Never Crashed
Bandits
Bandits
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $14.98
Used Price: $0.85
The suave, irresistible Joe (Bruce Willis) and his hypochondriac partner Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) have escaped from prison. Cutting a swath from Oregon through California, these fugitives rob banks in order to finance their scheme for a new -- and somewhat legitimate -- life south of the Border. In their wake, they leave a trail of chaos, disguises, wrecked automobiles -- and an adoring public. Their operation is running smoothly until an unexpected run-in with Kate (Cate Blanchett), who is drawn to the thieves as a way to escape her ordinary life. Together Joe and Terry are the most successful bank robbers in U.S. history, and, to Kate, they also make the perfect man.
The Baltimore Trilogy
Avalon, Tin Men, Diner: Three Screenplays
Amazon Price: $13.50 (as of 10/11/2008)
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Levinson created personal, self-penned movies about his home city; the films in his acclaimed Baltimore trilogy (Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon) capture the nuances of everyday conversation and reflect a rare and intimate understanding of urban America.
Deleted Scene From Tin Men
Barry Levinson's Filmography as an Actor
Silent Movie (1976)High Anxiety (1978)
History of the World: Part I (1981)
Quiz Show (1994)
Jimmy Hollywood (1994)
The Barry Levinson Lens Poll
The Offical One
SIXTY-SIX
A Novel by Barry Levinson
Sixty-Six
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
List Price: $24.00
Used Price: $0.01
The first novel by Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson, "Sixty-Six" is a nostalgic and bittersweet look back to a time and place where American innocence collided with complex and tragic experience. This novel draws on the author's same affection and depth of insight that made his film "Diner" an American classic.
Published by Broadway Books ~~ 256 pages
Barry Levinson On The Internet
- Barry Levinson.com
- The Official Barry Levinson Website
- Man Of The Year
- Official Website For The Movie "Man Of The Year"
Are You A Barry Levinson Fan?
What are your thoughts or opinions about Barry Levinson or his movies? Leave a note here and let me know - or just say hello.
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rms
I guess I am a fan but didn't know it because I really like most of his movies. Thank you for bringing him into the spotlight. Posted January 15, 2008 |
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