EP 457: Neurotic Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld

Director Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family, Men in Black, Get Shorty) talks recalls his first gig out of film school as a cameraman for adult films, working with Joel and Ethan Coen on their debut picture Blood Simple, and why you never want to receive a cake on a Coen Bros movie. Barry discusses his difficulties working with Penny Marshall on Big, how Rob Reiner taught him about something called “the silent schmuck,” and why he and Danny Devito had such a hard time convincing a studio to make Get Shorty. He talks about his fight with Larry David over who is the most neurotic person on the planet, his astounding ability to beat any celebrity at leg wrestling, and his secret to making children cry on camera. Plus what it is like to work with Will Smith and bunch of Confederate Civil War reenactors, Eleanor Roosevelt jokes, and more.

Order Barry's new book Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker on Amazon, Audible or wherever books are sold.