Bradley Mitchell Silberling (born September 8, 1963) is an American

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

whose credits include the feature films '' Casper'' (1995), '' City of Angels'' (1998), '' Moonlight Mile'' (2002), ''

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (also simply known as ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'') is a 2004 American black comedy adventure film directed by Brad Silberling from a screenplay by Robert Gordon, based on the first th ...

'' (2004) and ''

Land of the Lost Land of the Lost may refer to: Film and television Film * Land of the Lost (film), ''Land of the Lost'' (film), a 2009 American comedy * ''The Land of the Lost'', a 1914 film starring Arthur Donaldson (actor), Arthur Donaldson * ''The Land of the ...

'' (2009).

Early life and education

Silberling was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the son of Joyce Anne (Tucker), a travel consultant, and Robert Murray Silberling, who was Vice President of CBS Entertainment Productions. His father was born

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, whereas his mother

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...

. Silberling attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in Williamstown, MA and received a BA in English from

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

. He later studied film directing at the

UCLA Film School The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

Career

Silberling began his entertainment industry career before completing his studies. In 1986, he became a Production Assistant for a children's program. He then began to direct television and film. Silberling's 2002 film, '' Moonlight Mile'', is loosely based on his bereavement following the murder of his girlfriend, actress

Rebecca Schaeffer Rebecca Lucile Schaeffer (November 6, 1967 – July 18, 1989) was an American actress and model. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia "Patti" Russell in the CBS comedy '' My Si ...

, in 1989. In 2006, Silberling's movie '' 10 Items or Less'' was the first movie made legally available for download during its theatrical run. This became possible through

ClickStar ClickStar was a broadband movie distribution company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and film producer Lori McCreary of Revelations Entertainment. ClickStar launched on December 15, 2006 under the leadership of interim CEO James J. Ackerman a ...

and Silberling's close relationship with its owners

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...

and

Lori McCreary Lori McCreary is an American film producer. She is CEO of the production company Revelations Entertainment, which she co-founded with actor Morgan Freeman. Early life McCreary grew up in Antioch, California. She graduated from Antioch High ...

. On March 1, 1999, he started out his own production company Reveal Entertainment, with a first-look development deal at DreamWorks. The first project under Reveal was an attempt to purchase the script ''The Mystery Dance'', for himself to direct in mind, but the idea was later scrapped. Silberling was approached by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

as one of the candidates to direct ''

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the '' Harry Potter'' series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who dis ...

'' in 1998. Although he began to enthusiastically plan the film in his mind and was ready to sign on to direct it, Chris Columbus was ultimately chosen as the director. On October 22, 2014, his Reveal Entertainment company signed a deal with CBS Television Studios. He was currently signed with

ICM Partners ICM Partners was a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., and London. The company represented clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publishing, live performance, branded e ...

Personal life

Silberling previously dated

, whom he met at UCLA film school, until she was murdered in 1989. In 1995, he married actress

Amy Brenneman Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–1994). Brenneman ...

, whom he met on the set of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'' and with whom he has two children, Charlotte and Bodhi, in Pasadena. In 2000, the couple purchased a home in

Chilmark, Massachusetts Chilmark is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,212 at the 2020 census. The fishing village of Menemsha is located on the western side of the town along its border with the town ...

prior to moving to

West Tisbury, Massachusetts West Tisbury is a New England town, town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. Along with Chilmark, Massachusetts, Chilmark and Aquin ...

in 2011.

Filmography

Films Television

References

External links

*
New York Times biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberling, Brad American television directors University of California, Santa Barbara alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni UCLA Film School alumni 1963 births Living people People from Chilmark, Massachusetts People from West Tisbury, Massachusetts Film directors from Massachusetts Film directors from Washington, D.C. American fantasy film directors 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Jewish American screenwriters