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After making an award-winning short while a student at NYU ("Hot Dogs for Gaugin" starring Danny De Vito), Brest wrote and directed his first feature, "Hot Tomorrows" (1977), during a fellowship program at the American Film Institute. He achieved "wunderkind" status at age 28, directing veteran performers George Burns, Lee Strasberg, and Art Carney in "Going in Style" (1979), which he also scripted. Brest next developed the sci-fi thriller "War Games" (released in 1983) but was pushed off in favor of John Badham....
Full Bio , Awards & Milestones

Filmography

Gigli - ( Director / 2003 / Released / )
Gigli - ( Producer / 2003 / Released / )
Gigli - ( Screenplay / 2003 / Released / )
Fast Times At Ridgemont High - ( Dr Miller / 2002 / Released / )
Meet Joe Black - ( Director / 1998 / Released / )
Meet Joe Black - ( Producer / 1998 / Released / )
Josh and S.A.M. - ( Producer / 1993 / Released / )
Scent of A Woman - ( Director / 1992 / Released / )
Scent of A Woman - ( Producer / 1992 / Released / )
Midnight Run - ( Director / 1988 / Released / )
Midnight Run - ( Producer / 1988 / Released / )
Spies Like Us - ( Drive-in Security / 1985 / Released / )
Beverly Hills Cop - ( Director / 1984 / Released / CIC Taft Video )
Going in Style - ( Director / 1979 / Released / Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution )
Going in Style - ( Screenplay / 1979 / Released / Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution )
Hot Tomorrows - ( Director / 1977 / Released / )
Hot Tomorrows - ( Producer / 1977 / Released / )
Hot Tomorrows - ( Screenplay / 1977 / Released / )
Hot Tomorrows - ( Editor / 1977 / Released / )
TV Credits
Full Biography (Back to top)

After making an award-winning short while a student at NYU ("Hot Dogs for Gaugin" starring Danny De Vito), Brest wrote and directed his first feature, "Hot Tomorrows" (1977), during a fellowship program at the American Film Institute. He achieved "wunderkind" status at age 28, directing veteran performers George Burns, Lee Strasberg, and Art Carney in "Going in Style" (1979), which he also scripted. Brest next developed the sci-fi thriller "War Games" (released in 1983) but was pushed off in favor of John Badham. He proved adept at the comedy-adventure genre and scored big at the box-office with the first Eddie Murphy vehicle, "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984). Brest then joined the succession of major filmmakers who were involved in but did not make "Rain Man" before directing Robert De Niro in an effective light-hearted role, opposite Charles Grodin in "Midnight Run" (1988), which also marked his producing debut. In 1992, Brest broke away from the action-comedy genre with the tearjerker "Scent of a Woman", featuring a blind, embittered Army Colonel played by Al Pacino, who won a Best Actor Oscar for his emoting. Despite the success of that film, Brest would not make another film until 1998 when he helmed "Meet Joe Black," a modern variation on "Death Takes a Holiday" that cast Brad Pitt as the embodiment of Death, discovering such human pleasures as peanut butter and Claire Forlani. The film, however, was hardly well-received by critics or audienece, who found the film precious, labored and tedious. Even worse was the response to Brest's next film, which he also wrote, the mob comedy "Gigli" (2003) starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Released at the height of public interest in the Affleck-Lopez romance, the film underwent much tinkering and reshooting to accomodate the public expectation of an on-screen dalliance between the two, despite the fact that Lopez's character was written and originally shot as a confirmed lesbian. The resulting critical drubbing was of "Ishtar"-like proportions.

Profession(s):
director, screenwriter, producer, Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
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Family
wife:Lisa Weinstein

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Education
New York University New York, New York film
American Film Institute Los Angeles, California
Stuyvesant High School New York, New York 1969
Awards (Back to top)
ShowEast George Eastman Award 1998
American Film Institute Franklin J Schaffner Alumni Medal 1994
Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture (Drama) "Scent of a Woman" 1992

Milestones (Back to top)
1998 Returned to the director's chair with "Meet Joe Black", a loose remake of Mitchell Leisen's 1934 film "Death Takes a Holiday"; also produced
1993 First feature as producer only, "Josh and S.A.M."
1992 Earned Oscar nominations as producer and director of the Americanized remake, "Scent of a Woman"
1988 First producing credit, "Midnight Run"; also directed
1984 Helmed the popular Eddie Murphy vehicle "Beverly Hills Cop"
1979 Directed and wrote first Hollywood feature, "Going in Style" starring George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg
1977 Wrote, directed, produced and edited first feature, "Hot Tomorrows"; shown at 1977 New York Film Festival; originated as AFI student project
Formed City Light Films; served as president

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