Daniel Barnz (born 1970) is an American screenwriter and director.

Life and career

Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania,Champagne, Christine
"10 Directors to Watch: Daniel Barnz"
'' Variety'', 16 January 2008 a suburb of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His parents, Richard J. Bernstein and Carol L. Bernstein, are both professors. He is openly gay and later changed his surname to an amalgamation of Bernstein and Schwartz, the surname of his partner of almost two decades, Ben Schwartz. The couple has two children. Barnz describes himself as "a Jewish liberal Democrat". Barnz graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and the University of Southern California Film School."Bio: Daniel Barnz"
, ''

Moviefone Moviefone is an American-based moving pictures listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, cinema information, film reviews, and advance tickets, as well as TV content and a comprehensive search tool that allows users ...

'' He made his directorial debut in the 2001 movie, ''The Cutting Room''. He directed the 2009 movie, '' Phoebe in Wonderland'', which received mixed reviews from critics. He wrote and directed a movie adaption of the novel '' Beastly'', a modern-day take on ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''. The movie was released on 4 March 2011. His film '' Won't Back Down'' (2012) received mixed reviews and garnered controversy; it was attacked by Randi Weingarten, head of the

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 pe ...

(AFT), the predominant national teachers' union, as having "the most blatant stereotypes and caricatures I have ever seen-even worse than in '' Waiting for Superman''", another film attacked as "anti-teacher union". Lloyd Grove. ''Newsweek'', 1 & 8 October 2012, p. 6. In 2014 he directed the film ''

Cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

'' starring

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...

, which received mixed reviews. In 2015, the film was honored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with a Voice Award for its respectful portrayal of mental health.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnz, Daniel 1970 births American male screenwriters Living people American LGBTQ film directors Gay Jews LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania American LGBTQ screenwriters People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Date of birth missing (living people) Film directors from Pennsylvania Jewish American screenwriters Yale University alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Screenwriters from Pennsylvania 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American LGBTQ people