Coen brothers: pioneers of American cinema Coen brothers: pioneers of American cinema US directors Joel (L) and Ethan Coen More Regarded as two of the most innovative directors in the world, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen have been pushing back the boundaries of movie-making for nearly three decades. The nearly inseparable American duo, who will chair the Cannes film festival jury in May, write, direct and produce their films jointly. They have also edited movies, under the alias Roderick Jaynes. They know Cannes well, having won the Palme d'Or in 1991 for "Barton Fink," and the best director prize for "Fargo" in 1996 and "The Man Who Wasn't There" in 2001. Their "Inside Llewyn Davis" won them the jury's grand prize in 2013. Since exploding onto the scene in 1984 with their offbeat thriller "Blood Simple," the two have reeled off a dozen films, each notable for their distinctive quirky humor or macabre themes. Favored by critics and film festivals, they have won more than 100 prizes together.

They have been jointly nominated for 12 Academy Awards and one individual Oscar each. The siblings are known as the "two-headed director" within the movie world for their seamless ability to work alongside each other. - Midwest roots - Joel, 60, and Ethan, 57, grew up in St Louis Park, Minnesota as the children of college professors. They had an interest in film from an early age, remaking movies seen on television with a Super-8 camera they bought using money saved from mowing lawns. After graduating from Simon's Rock College of Bard in Massachusetts, Joel spent four years studying film at New York University, while Ethan attended Princeton, where he graduated in philosophy in 1979. Joel's early experience involved working as an assistant editor on Sam Raimi's 1981 film "The Evil Dead" and it was another three years before the two brothers arrived with "Blood Simple," which they wrote and directed. The film is notable for the appearance of Frances McDormand, who would later marry Joel before appearing in several of the brothers' films.

The Coens followed up with their screwball 1987 comedy "Raising Arizona" starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a married couple who steal a baby to raise as their own. The start of the next decade saw the Coens pay homage to gangster films with the 1990 flick "Miller's Crossing," featuring a youthful Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney and John Turturro. Two memorable comedies -- "Barton Fink" (1991) and "The Hudsucker Proxy" (1994) -- came next, before arguably the Coens' best-known film, "Fargo," in 1996. The movie, about a bungling car salesman (William Macy) who sets up a bogus kidnap plot involving his wife with disastrous consequences, earned two Oscars: best actress for McDormand and original screenplay for the Coens. It has since been made into a television series that began in 2014, with the Coen brothers serving as executive producers.

A dramatic change of tone was to follow with 1998's "The Big Lebowski," a surreal comedy about an aging Californian slacker (Jeff Bridges) who is mistaken for a millionaire, and hilarity ensues. Another comedy, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" starring George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as three convicts on the run in 1930s Mississippi came in 2000. The film, a loose interpretation of Homer's "The Odyssey," was nominated for two Oscars. - Success across genres - The Coens returned to neo-noir in their next film, "The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001), while a second collaboration with Clooney came in the 2003 offbeat comedy "Intolerable Cruelty." A remake of the classic comedy "The Ladykillers," starring Tom Hanks, came in 2004 before the bleak "No Country for Old Men," which won four Oscars in 2008 -- best director, best picture, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Javier Bardem.

Later that year, they teamed up with Clooney and McDormand again in "Burn After Reading," a comedy about a hapless pair of gym employees trying to make money from a disc containing the memoirs of a CIA agent. In 2009 came "A Serious Man," a typically black comedy about a Midwest professor who watches his life unravel through a series of incidents, seemingly unable to stop the downward spiral. "True Grit," (2010) a remake of the classic John Wayne western, took the Coens into unexplored territory. The mostly urban, New York-based pair had never worked with animals, for example, let alone horses thundering across plains in bloody shootouts. But some of their trademark touches are there to see -- unexpected graphic violence, odd verbal mannerisms -- if not as obvious as in many of their award-winning films. They followed up with "Inside Llewyn Davis," a nostalgic film full of humor that follows a young singer's forays into the Greenwich Village folk music art scene of the 1960s.

Reblog Joel David Coen - Genealogy Genealogy Join the world's largest family tree Gender Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love Build your family tree online Share photos and videos Saint Louis Park, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States Immediate Family: Brother of Ethan Jesse Coen and <private> Busch (Coen) Managed by: Nov 29 1954 - St. Louis Park Parents: Nov 29 1954 - Minneapolis, Minnesota Parents: Frances Louise Coen (born McDormand) Son: Nov 29 1954 - Minneapolis, Minnesota Parents: Frances Louise Coen (born McDormand) Son: Joel David Coen[1] (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen[1] (born September 21, 1957), known informally as the Coen brothers, are American film directors, screenwriters, producers, and editors. Their films include Blood Simple (1984), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou?

(2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), Burn After Reading (2008), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010), and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). The brothers write, direct, and produce their films jointly, although until The Ladykillers (2004), Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing film credits for editor under the alias Roderick Jaynes. They have beeen nominated for twelve Academy Awards together, plus one invidivual nomination for both, winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. Contents [show] Background[edit] Early life[edit] Joel and Ethan Coen, of Jewish descent,[2] grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.[3] Their mother, Rena (née Neumann), was an art historian at St.

Cloud State University, and their father, Edward Coen, was an economist at the University of Minnesota.[4] When they were children, Joel saved money from mowing lawns to buy a Vivitar Super 8 camera. Together, the brothers remade movies they saw on television, with a neighborhood kid, Mark Zimering ("Zeimers"),[citation needed] as the star. Their first attempt was a romp entitled Henry Kissinger, Man on the Go. Cornel Wilde's The Naked Prey (1965) became their Zeimers in Zambia, which also featured Ethan as a native with a spear.[5] The brothers' Jewish upbringing was seldom related to their films' subjects or stories, with some exceptions, such as A Serious Man (2009), whose title was translated into Hebrew as "The Good Jew". Joel notes that: "in regards to whether our background influences our film making... who knows? We don't think about it... There's no doubt that our Jewish heritage affects how we see things."[2] Education[edit] Joel and Ethan graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1973 and 1976, respectively.

They both also graduated from Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.[3] Joel then spent four years in the undergraduate film program at New York University, where he made a 30-minute thesis film called Soundings. Ethan went on to Princeton University and earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy in 1979.[3] His senior thesis was a 41-page essay, "Two Views of Wittgenstein's Later Philosophy".[citation needed] Personal lives[edit] Joel has been married to actress Frances McDormand since 1984. They adopted a son from Paraguay, named Pedro McDormand Coen. (Frances and all her siblings were adopted.)[citation needed] McDormand has acted in six of the Coen brothers' films, including a minor appearance in Miller's Crossing, a supporting role in Raising Arizona, lead roles in Blood Simple and The Man Who Wasn't There, her Academy Award winning role in Fargo, and her starring role in Burn After Reading. She also did a voice-over in Barton Fink.

Ethan is married to film editor Tricia Cooke, and they have two children: daughter Dusty and son Buster Jacob.[6][7] Both couples live in New York City.[8] Career[edit] 1980s[edit] After graduating from New York University, Joel worked as a production assistant on a variety of industrial films and music videos. He developed a talent for film editing and met Sam Raimi, who was looking for an assistant editor on his first feature film The Evil Dead (1981).[citation needed] In 1984, the brothers wrote and directed Blood Simple, their first commercial film together. Set in Texas, the film tells the tale of a shifty, sleazy bar owner who hires a private detective to kill his wife and her lover. The film contains elements that point to their future direction: distinctive homages to genre movies (in this case noir and horror), plot twists layered over a simple story, a dark humor, and mise en scene. The film starred Frances McDormand, who would go on to feature in many of the Coen brothers' films (and marry Joel).

Upon release the film received much praise and won awards for Joel's direction at both the Sundance and Independent Spirit awards.[citation needed] Their next project was Crimewave (1985), directed by Sam Raimi and written by the Coens and Raimi. (Joel and Raimi also made cameo appearances in Spies Like Us (1985).) The brothers' next film was Raising Arizona (1987), the story of an unlikely married couple: ex-convict H.I. (Nicolas Cage) and police officer Ed (Holly Hunter), who long for a baby but are unable to conceive. When a local furniture tycoon (Trey Wilson) appears on television with his newly born quintuplets and jokes that they "are more than we can handle", H.I. steals one of the quintuplets to bring up as their own. The film featured Frances McDormand, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, and Randall "Tex" Cobb. 1990s[edit] Miller's Crossing, released in 1990, starred Albert Finney, Gabriel Byrne, and John Turturro.

The film is about feuding gangsters in the Prohibition era, inspired by Dashiell Hammett's novels Red Harvest (1920) and The Glass Key (serialized in 1930). The following year, they released Barton Fink (1991); set in 1941, in which a New York playwright (the eponymous Barton Fink played by John Turturro) moves to Los Angeles to write a B-movie. He settles down in his hotel room to commence writing but suffers writer's block until he is invaded by the man next door (John Goodman). Barton Fink was a critical success, earning Oscar nominations and winning three major awards at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, including the Palme d'Or.[9] It was their first film with cinematographer Roger Deakins, a key collaborator for the next 15 years. The Hudsucker Proxy (co-written with Raimi) was released in 1994.

In it, the board of a large corporation in 1958 New York City appoints a naive schmo as president (Tim Robbins), to sabotage the firm's own share price, so the board could later purchase their company's stock cheaply to retain ownership. However, their plan backfires when the new president invents the hula hoop. The film bombed at the box office ($30 million budget, $3 million gross in the USA), even though it featured Paul Newman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and despite its having received good reviews by audiences in the intervening years.[citation needed] The brothers returned to a more familiar theme with the crime thriller Fargo (1996), set in their home state of Minnesota. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), who has serious financial problems, has his wife kidnapped so that his wealthy father-in-law will pay the ransom. His plan goes wrong when the kidnappers deviate from the plan and local cop Marge Gunderson (McDormand) starts to investigate. Produced on a small budget of $7 million, Fargo was a critical and commercial success, with particular praise for its dialogue and McDormand's performance.

The film received several awards, including a BAFTA award and Cannes award for direction, and two Oscars: an Best Original Screenplay and an Best Actress Oscar for McDormand.[citation needed] In the Coens' next film, The Big Lebowski (1998), "The Dude" (Jeff Bridges), a Los Angeles slacker, is used as an unwitting pawn in a kidnapping plot with his bowling buddies (Steve Buscemi and John Goodman). Well received by critics,[10] it is now regarded as a classic cult film.[11] 2000s[edit] The Coen brothers' next film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), was another critical and commercial success. The title was borrowed from the Preston Sturges film Sullivan's Travels (1941), whose lead character, movie director John Sullivan, had planned to make a film with that title.[12] Based loosely on Homer's Odyssey (complete with a cyclops, sirens, et.

al.), the story is set in Mississippi in the 1930s and follows a trio of escaped convicts who, after absconding from a chain gang, journey home in an attempt to recover bank heist loot that the leader has buried. But they have no clear perception of where they are going. The film also highlighted the comic abilities of George Clooney, who starred as the oddball lead character Ulysses Everett McGill (assisted by his sidekicks, played by Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro). The film's bluegrass and old time soundtrack, offbeat humor, and digitally desaturated cinematography made it a critical and commercial hit.[citation needed] The soundtrack CD was also successful, spawning a concert and a concert DVD of its own (Down from the Mountain (2000)) that coincided with a resurgence in interest in American folk music.[citation needed] With Javier Bardem at the Cannes Film Festival. The Coen brothers next produced another noirish thriller, The Man Who Wasn't There (2001).

Set in late 1940s California, a laconic chain-smoking barber (played by Billy Bob Thornton) discovers a way to blackmail his wife's lover and use the proceeds to invest in a dry cleaning business. The film's twists, turns, and dark humor are typical of Coen films, but here the slow pace and dead end roads look demonstrate that the film is meant more for enthusiasts than casual audiences.[citation needed] Intolerable Cruelty (2003), starring George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones, is a throwback to the romantic comedies of the 1940s. The story focuses on hot shot divorce lawyer Miles Massey and a beautiful divorcée whom Massey managed to prevent from receiving any money in her divorce. She vows to get even with him while, at the same time, he becomes smitten with her.

Intolerable Cruelty divided the critics; some applauded the romantic screwball comedy elements, while others wondered why the Coens would wish to subject audiences to their take on this particular genre.[citation needed] In 2004, the Coen brothers made The Ladykillers, a remake of the Ealing Studios classic.[citation needed] A professor, played by Tom Hanks, assembles a team to rob a casino. They rent a room in an elderly woman's house to plan the heist. When the woman discovers the plot, the gang decides to murder her to ensure her silence. The Coens received some of the most lukewarm reviews of their careers in response to this movie. Much of the criticism centered on the idea that a relatively faithful reworking of an existing classic, in contrast to the broader genre homages that made up the bulk of the brothers' prior work, did not provide the creative latitude they needed to place their distinctive stamp on the work.[citation needed] No Country for Old Men, released in November 2007, closely follows the 2005 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy.

Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), living near the Texas/Mexico border, stumbles upon, and decides to take, two million dollars in drug money. He then has to go on the run to avoid those looking to recover the money, including sociopathic killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who confounds both Llewelyn and local sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). This plotline is a return to noir themes, but in some respects it was a departure for the Coens; with the exception of Stephen Root, none of the stable of regular Coen actors appears in the film. No Country has received nearly universal critical praise, garnering a 94% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[13] The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, all of which were received by the Coens, as well as Best Supporting Actor received by Bardem.

(The Coens, as "Roderick Jaynes", were also nominated for Best Editor, but lost.) It was the first time since 1961 that two directors (in that year, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story) had received the honor of Best Director at the same time.[citation needed] In January 2008, Ethan Coen's play Almost An Evening premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company Stage 2 and opened to mostly enthusiastic reviews. The initial run closed on February 10, 2008, but the same production was moved to a new theatre for a commercial Off-Broadway run.

The commercial run began in March 2008 and ran until June 1, 2008 at the Bleecker Street Theatre in New York City, produced by The Atlantic Theater Company[14] and Art Meets Commerce.[15] In May 2009, the Atlantic Theater Company produced Coen's Offices, as part of their mainstage season at the Linda Gross Theater.[citation needed] Burn After Reading, a comedy starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, was released September 12, 2008; it portrays a collision course between a gym instructor, spies, and Internet dating. Despite being released to mixed reviews, it debuted at number one in North America.[citation needed] In 2009, they directed a television commercial titled "Air Freshener" for the Reality Coalition.[16][17] A Serious Man was released on October 2, 2009.

It has been described as a "gentle but dark" period comedy (set in 1967) with a low budget.[18] The film is based loosely on the Book of Job[citation needed] and the Coen brothers' own childhoods in a Jewish academic family in the largely Jewish suburb of Saint Louis Park, Minnesota.[18] Other filming took place in late summer 2008 in some neighborhoods of Roseville and Bloomington, Minnesota, at Normandale Community College, and at St. Olaf College.[citation needed] The movie went on to be nominated for the Oscars for Best Picture as well as Best Original Screenplay.[citation needed] 2010s[edit] True Grit (2010) is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Charles Portis.[19] Filming was done in Texas and New Mexico. Hailee Steinfeld stars as Mattie Ross along with Jeff Bridges as Marshal Rooster Cogburn.

Matt Damon and Josh Brolin also appear in the movie.[20] True Grit was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture.[21][22] Ethan Coen wrote the one-act comedy Talking Cure, which was produced on Broadway in 2011 as part of Relatively Speaking, an anthology of three one-act plays by Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen.[citation needed] Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) is a treatise on the 1960s folk music scene in New York City's Greenwich Village and very loosely based on the life of Dave Van Ronk.[23] The film stars Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan.[24] It won the Grand Prix at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it was highly praised by critics.[25] The Coens also contributed to the screenplay for Unbroken, along with Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson.

The film, directed by Angelina Jolie, is based on Laura Hillenbrand's non-fiction book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010), is set for release on December 25, 2014.[26] The Coens' next feature film is entitled Hail, Caesar! about a fixer in 1950s Hollywood, starring Coen regulars George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton, as well as newcomers Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, and Alden Ehrenreich.[27] It was also confirmed that the Coens would be co-writing the screenplay for an untitled thriller about the 1960 U-2 Incident, with playwright Matt Charman.

The film is set to be directed by Steven Spielberg for an October 2015 release.[28][29] Planned and uncompleted projects[edit] In a 1998 interview with Alex Simon for Venice magazine, the Coens discussed a project called The Contemplations, which would be an anthology of short films based on stories in a leather bound book from a "dusty old library".[30] In 2001, Joel stated that "a Cold War comedy called 62 Skidoo is one I'd like to do someday".[31] The Coens had hoped to film James Dickey's novel To the White Sea.[32] They were due to start production in 2002, with Jeremy Thomas producing and Brad Pitt in the lead role, but it was canceled when the Coens felt that the budget offered was not enough to successfully produce the film. As well as their own planned projects, the Coens have collaborated on productions with other directors. One, reported in 2005, is Suburbicon, a comedy starring and directed by George Clooney.

It will be written and produced by the Coens.[33] In 2008, it had been announced that the Coen brothers would write and direct an adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel, The Yiddish Policemen's Union (2007). They were to produce the film with Scott Rudin for Columbia Pictures.[34] In the fall of 2012, however, Chabon told Mother Jones that "the Coen brothers wrote a draft of a script and then they seemed to move on", and that the film rights had "lapsed back to me".[35] In 2009, the Coen brothers stated that they are interested in making a sequel to Barton Fink called Old Fink, which would take place in the 1960s, around the same time period as A Serious Man.

The brothers also stated that they have had talks with John Turturro in reprising his role as Fink, but they were waiting "until he was actually old enough to play the part".[36] In 2009, Turturro also stated that he would be interested in making a spinoff of The Big Lebowski about his character, Jesus, but the Coens have not publicly confirmed the likelihood of this project going forward.[37] In 2011, the brothers were reportedly working on a television project, called Harve Karbo, about a quirky Los Angeles private eye for Imagine Television.[38] In December 2013, the Coens stated in an interview that they are working on a new musical comedy centered around an opera singer, though they have said it is "not a musical per se".

In the same interview, they revealed they are also working on a sword and sandals drama film set in ancient Rome (later revealed to be a humorous reference to Hail Caesar, their latest film which actually has nothing to do with Rome, but is set in modern-day Hollywood).[39] Production company[edit] The Coen brothers' own film production company, Mike Zoss Productions located in New York City, has been credited on their films from O Brother, Where Art Thou? onwards.[40] Directing distinctions[edit] Up to 2003, Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing, due to guild rules that disallowed multiple director credits to prevent dilution of the position's significance. The only exception to this rule is if the co-directors are an "established duo". Now that they are able to share the director credit (as an established duo), the Coen brothers have become only the third duo to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.

The first two pairs to achieve this were Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (who won for West Side Story in 1961), and Warren Beatty and Buck Henry (who were nominated for Heaven Can Wait in 1978).[citation needed] Only five other directors have won three Oscars for the same film, a distinction the duo shares with Billy Wilder, James L. Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola, James Cameron, and Peter Jackson.[citation needed] With eight Academy Award nominations for No Country for Old Men, including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Film Editing (Roderick Jaynes), the Coen brothers have tied the record for the most nominations by a single nominee (counting an "established duo" as one nominee) for the same film. Orson Welles set the record in 1941 with Citizen Kane being nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay (with Herman J. Mankiewicz). Warren Beatty tied Welles' record when Beatty was nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay for Heaven Can Wait in 1978 and again in 1981 with Reds.

Alan Menken also then achieved the same feat when he was nominated for Best Score and triple-nominated for Best Song for Beauty and the Beast in 1991.[citation needed] Collaborators[edit] See also: List of frequent Coen Brothers collaborators The Coen brothers often cast certain actors in their films, most frequently Frances McDormand (Joel's wife), Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Jon Polito, and John Turturro. They have worked twice with Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin, and at least three times with Michael Badalucco, George Clooney, Richard Jenkins, and Stephen Root. The Coens similarly tend to work with certain crews as well, especially Roger Deakins, Jess Gonchor, Skip Lievsay, and Mary Zophres. They notably used cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld on their first three films, through Miller's Crossing, until Sonnenfeld left to pursue his own directing career.

Deakins has been the Coen brothers' cinematographer for all their subsequent films except Burn After Reading, on which they employed Emmanuel Lubezki,[41] and Inside Llewyn Davis, on which they employed Bruno Delbonnel.[42] Sam Raimi is another frequent collaborator. He helped write The Hudsucker Proxy, which the Coen brothers directed, and the Coen brothers helped write Crimewave, which Raimi directed. Raimi took tips about filming A Simple Plan (1998) from the Coen brothers, who had recently finished Fargo. (Both films are set in blindingly white snow, which reflects a lot of light and can make metering for a correct exposure tricky).[citation needed] Raimi has cameo appearances in Miller's Crossing and The Hudsucker Proxy. Raimi and the Coens met when Raimi directed The Evil Dead (1981), for which Joel was hired as an assistant editor.[citation needed] Carter Burwell has scored all of the Coens' films, aside from Crimewave (1985), although T-Bone Burnett produced much of the traditional music in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

and The Ladykillers, and was in charge of archive music for The Big Lebowski.[citation needed] Skip Lievsay handles the sound editing for all of the Coens' films.[citation needed] Most of the Coens' films have been credited to the editor "Roderick Jaynes", an alias which refers collectively to the two Coen brothers.[43] Tricia Cooke, Ethan's wife, was also an editor on three of their films,[which?] after working as assistant editor on several of their earlier films.[which?][citation needed] Michael R. Miller edited Raising Arizona and Miller's Crossing. William Preston Robertson is an old friend of the Coens[citation needed] who helped them with re-shoots on Blood Simple and provided the voice of the radio evangelist. He is listed in the credits as the "Rev. William Preston Robertson". He has provided vocal talents on most of the Coens' films up to and including The Big Lebowski.

He is also credited in Raimi's Evil Dead II (1987) and wrote The Making of The Big Lebowski with Tricia Cooke.[citation needed] Awards and nominations[edit] Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Coen brothers Filmography[edit] Main article: Coen brothers filmography Bibliography[edit] Cheshire, Ellen & Ashbrook, John (2005). Joel and Ethan Coen (3rd Revised edition ed.). The Pocket Essential. ISBN 978-1-904048-39-8. includes all films up to The Ladykillers and some subsidiary works (Crimewave, Down from the Mountain, Bad Santa). Joel Coen - IMDb IMDb Producer | Writer | Director Joel Coen was born on November 29, 1954 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA as Joel Daniel Coen. He is a producer and writer, known for No Country for Old Men (2007), The Big Lebowski (1998) and Fargo (1996). He has been married to Frances McDormand since April 1, 1984. They have one child.

See full bio » Born: Coen Brothers Have Open Invitation to Write, Direct ‘Fargo’ Episodes: ‘It Would Be Sensational’ 12 January 2017 4:48 PM, -08:00 | The Wrap a list of 25 people created 10 Jan 2011 a list of 25 people created 25 Oct 2011 a list of 25 people created 03 Jul 2013 a list of 22 people created 02 Jan 2015 a list of 21 people created 09 Feb 2015 Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Joel Coen's work have you seen? User Polls Won 4 Oscars. Another 129 wins & 276 nominations. See more awards » Known For 1998 The Big Lebowski (producer - uncredited) 1996 Fargo (producer - uncredited) 1984 Blood Simple.

(producer - uncredited) Hide 1998 The Big Lebowski (written by) 1996 Fargo (written by) 1987 Raising Arizona (written by) 1985 Crimewave (written by) 1970 Zeimers in Zambezi (Short) (writer) Hide 1998 The Big Lebowski (as Roderick Jaynes) 1996 Fargo (film editor - as Roderick Jaynes) 1984 Blood Simple. (as Roderick Jaynes) Hide 1981 Fear No Evil (assistant editor) Hide 2013 Inside Llewyn Davis (writer: "Please Please Mr.

Kennedy") Hide 2009 Leaves of Grass (the director wishes to thank) 2009 Bureaucracy (special thanks - as Roderick Jaynes) 2009/I Indigo (Short) (special thanks) 1999 The 4th Floor (special thanks - as Joel) 1998 Eight (Short) (thanks) 2013 CBS News Sunday Morning (TV Series documentary) Himself - Guest 1996-2013 Cinema 3 (TV Series) Himself 1996-2010 Charlie Rose (TV Series) Himself - Guest / Himself 2008 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Himself 2004 A Look Inside 'Intolerable Cruelty' (Video documentary short) Himself - Director 2003 Minnesota Nice (Video short documentary) Himself 2000 The Coen Brothers (TV Movie documentary) Himself 1996 Primer plano (TV Series) Himself 1996 Moving Pictures (TV Series documentary) Himself 1995 American Cinema (TV Series documentary) Himself 1994 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary) Himself

 2008 Oscar, que empiece el espectáculo (TV Movie documentary) Himself (uncredited) 2005 Cinema mil (TV Series) Himself TV commercial: Directed a commercial for H & R Block tax service.

See more » Publicity Listings: 1 Biographical Movie | 6 Print Biographies | 13 Interviews | 15 Articles | 2 Magazine Cover Photos | See more » Alternate Names: Did You Know? Personal Quote: Frequently we are writing characters and we are thinking, "Wouldn't it be interesting to see such and such play this kind of a person?", and the character starts to grow out of that as you are writing it. It's a combination of things that you are making up and what you know about the actor. See more » Trivia: Alumnus of Simon's Rock College, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, along with brother Ethan Coen . This is a fully-accredited college for students who typically enter at the age of 16 - before graduating high school. See more » Trademark: Often creates at least one lengthy sequence in most of his films where only music plays as a major event unfolds, i.e Raising Arizona (1987) when Nicolas Cage is being chased after robbing a store.

Also sequences in Miller's Crossing (1990), The Big Lebowski (1998), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), and Fargo (1996). See more » Star Sign: The 9 Best Irish Mafia Movies - MTV mtv [caption id="attachment_39684" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Warner Bros."] [/caption] When most people hear the word "Mafia," it conjures up images of "The Godfather," "Goodfellas" and "The Sopranos." But Italian-Americans are hardly the only ethnic group to establish large organized crime rings. Irish mobsters regularly challenged the Cosa Nostra for territory throughout American history -- and like their Italian counterparts, their conquests have made for some damn fine movies, dating all the way back to the James Cagney vehicles of the 1930s. So this St. Patrick's Day, do your part as an educated movie fan and revisit the best Irish Mafia films of all time. We guarantee you'll feel better than your Irish Car Bomb-chugging friends the morning after. 9.

'Gangs of New York' (2002) [caption id="attachment_39402" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Miramax"] [/caption] New York City was built upon organized crime. With millions of immigrants pouring into the city during 1800s, violence regularly broke out between gangs of different ethnicities. Martin Scorsese's Best Picture nominee begins with a territorial riot between the "Natives" and the Irish Catholic "Dead Rabbits." After seeing his father and Dead Rabbits leader die, Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo Di Caprio) rises up as an adult to battle the man responsible Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis). 8.'Road to Perdition' (2002) [caption id="attachment_39404" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Twentieth Century Fox"] [/caption] Director Sam Mendes chose this movie to follow-up his critically acclaimed breakout, "American Beauty" (1999).

Set in Illinois during the Great Depression, Tom Hanks plays Michael Sullivan, a hitman for an Irish crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), chief rival of Al Capone. When Sullivan's son witnesses a murder by Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), the event puts the entire family in peril and forces the father and son out on a pensive and bloody road trip. 7.'State of Grace' (1990) [caption id="attachment_39405" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Orion Pictures"] [/caption] Inspired by the real life Hell's Kitchen gang, The Westies, this underrated neo-noir crime film stars Sean Penn as Terry Noonan who returns to his New York neighborhood after a long time away. His intentions are to join the Irish gang alongside his childhood friend Jackie Flannery (Gary Oldman) and led by his older brother Frankie Flannery (Ed Harris). What the Flannerys don't know: Terry has become an undercover cop. D'oh!

6.'The Sting' (1973) [caption id="attachment_39406" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Universal"] [/caption] After establishing themselves as one of film's best duos ever with "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Paul Newman and Robert Redford reteamed for this rip-roarind caper. They play grifters attempting to swindle Irish mob boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw) with a con that's too complicated to explain in the space allowed here. "The Sting" took home seven Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture (making Julia Phillips the first female producer ever to win Oscar's top prize). 5. 'A History Of Violence' (2005) [caption id="attachment_39407" align="alignright" width="150" caption="New Line"] [/caption] Adapted from the popular graphic novel, this stunning David Cronenberg thriller was beloved by critics but divided audiences. Small-town restaurant owner Tom Stall (Viggo Mortenson) becomes famous for brutally killing two robbers.

Unfortunately, that brings his Irish Mafia past back in the form of scarred gangster Carl Fogerty (Ed Harris). The film's measured pace, spiked with unsuspected moments of graphic violence and sex, makes this one an unforgettable watch. 4.'The Public Enemy' (1931) [caption id="attachment_39408" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Warner Bros"] [/caption] James Cagney is one of the most iconic tough guys from the golden age of cinema. Two of his most beloved performances were Irish gangsters Rocky Sullivan in "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938) and Tom Powers in "The Public Enemy." His seventh film, "Enemy" became arguably the most influential gangster picture of its time. Powers is a Prohibition bootlegger working his way up the ranks of organized crime as his shell-shocked veteran brother Mike (Donald Cook) tries to stop him.

3.'Miller's Crossing' (1990) [caption id="attachment_39409" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Twentieth Century Fox"] [/caption] After the masterful low-budget thriller "Blood Simple" (1984), and darkly hilarious "Raising Arizona" (1987), Joel and Ethan Coen set about making one of the best Mafia films of all time. "Miller's Crossing" follows criminal Tom Reegan (Gabriel Byrne) as he navigates between the Prohibition-era Irish and Italian mobs. The movie is packed with signature elements that have made the Coens film icons: black comedy, unforeseen plot twists, brutal violence portrayed matter-of-factly, eccentric characters and an obscure ending. John Turturro and Steve Buscemi turn in perfect performances as crooked gay bookies. 2.'On The Waterfront' (1954) [caption id="attachment_39410" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Columbia"] [/caption] Elia Kazan's black and white crime drama starring Marlon Brando is required viewing in film classes for a reason.

The story was based on actual mob informers from the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, where longshoreman were paid to look the other way while Irish mobsters did their dirty business. Unfortunately, Terry Malloy (Brando), apparently one of the few dock workers with a conscious, sees his coworker murdered and gets caught in no-win situation. A truly timeless film. 1.'The Departed' (2006) [caption id="attachment_39411" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Warner Bros"] [/caption] Martin Scorsese may have earned his reputation with films about tough Italian-Americans like "Mean Streets" (1973), "Goodfellas" (1991) and "Casino" (1995), but it was the Irish Mafia that won him his first Oscar. A remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs" (and by extension, one of the best remakes ever made) and set in South Boston, this exhilarating mob flick is driven by Jack Nicholson as Irish mobster Frank Costello (even Scorsese's Irish characters sound Italian...).

It's a twisty masterpiece that blurs the line between good guys and bad guys, and leaves your head spinning in wonder. Originally published March 16, 2011.

Inside Llewyn Davis – Original Soundtrack Recording | Nonesuch Records - MP3 Downloads, Free Streaming Music, Lyrics Inside Llewyn Davis – Original Soundtrack Recording Inside Llewyn Davis – Original Soundtrack Recording by 3:45 2 3:27 5 3:58 8 1:41 News & Reviews Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Linklater, Joel & Ethan Coen, Darren Aronofsky Films Among BBC Culture's 100 Greatest Films of 21st Century BBC Culture has just released its list of the 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century so far, and among them are three films by Paul Thomas Anderson—There Will Be Blood, The Master, and Inherent Vice, all of which feature scores by Jonny Greenwood—along with Richard Linklater's Boyhood, Joel and Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis, and Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, for all six of which Nonesuch Records released the film soundtracks.

BBC Culture says: "Film-making today, whether massively expensive or made with tiny budgets, shot on celluloid or video is thriving artistically as much as it ever has." "Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis'" Concert Album Out Now Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of "Inside Llewyn Davis" is out now on Nonesuch Records. The two-disc collection captures a one-night-only concert held at New York City’s Town Hall in 2013 to celebrate the music of the Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis, featuring live performances by icons and rising stars of folk and Americana. They sang "in pitch perfect tone that left an oft-awestruck audience silently stunned," says the Los Angeles Times, "then vocally thrilled." The Independent on Sunday says it's "as excellent as you would expect with surprising collaborations and stately performances breathing new life into old songs and old fire into new ones." Outside the US? Click here.

About This Album “Joel and Ethan Coen’s wonderful new film is the kind of great work that cuts right through the noise.” —The New York Times “Audiences just heard a clean, hard crack: the Coen brothers hit one out of the park. The musical interludes are stunning.” —The Guardian “A great film by two American masters, the Coens have taken a real time and place and freely made it their own, drawing on actual persons and events for inspiration, but binding themselves only to their own bountiful imaginations. The result is playful and evocative. There is also the joy of the music itself, exquisitely arranged by T Bone Burnett and sung live on set by the actors themselves. The soundtrack is stupendous.” —Variety Nonesuch Records releases the soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis on November 11, 2013. Written and directed by Academy Award© winners Joel and Ethan Coen and produced by Scott Rudin and Joel and Ethan Coen, the film stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Justin Timberlake.

Produced by T Bone Burnett, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen, with Marcus Mumford as its associate producer, the album features 12 new recordings created especially for the film and soundtrack. Also included is a never-before-released recording of Bob Dylan performing his song “Farewell,” which was originally recorded during the sessions for his album The Times They Are A-Changin' and is available exclusively on this soundtrack. Inside Llewyn Davis is the Coen brothers’ fourth collaboration with the multiple Grammy and Academy Award®–winning Burnett; his soundtrack to their film O Brother, Where Art Thou? won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Producer of the Year (Burnett). Inside Llewyn Davis recently won the Grand Prix at the Cannes International Film Festival and will be distributed by CBS Films in the United States, where it opens theatrically on December 6. (Studio Canal is handling international distribution for Inside Llewyn Davis.) Inside Llewyn Davis follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads.

Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles—some of them of his own making. Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, scaring up what work he can find, Llewyn’s misadventures take him from the baskethouses of the Village to an empty Chicago club—on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul—and back again. Brimming with music performed by Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan (as Llewyn’s married Village friends), as well as Marcus Mumford and Punch Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis—in the tradition of O Brother, Where Art Thou?—is infused with the transportive sound of another time and place.

Watch a trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis here: Credits Music produced by T Bone Burnett, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen Associate Music Producer: Marcus Mumford Recorded by Jason Wormer & Peter Kurland at Avatar Studios, New York, NY; Olympic Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Village, West Los Angeles, CA; Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN; House of Blues Studios, Nashville, TN Additional recording by Emile Kelman, Bob Mallory Assistant Engineers: Zachary Dawes, Vanessa Parr, Bob Mallory, Shin Miyazawa, Chris Wilkinson, Adam Taylor, Zack Dewall “The Storms are on the Ocean” recorded by Dave Sinko Mixed by Mike Piersante at Olympic Studios, Los Angeles, CA Mastered to the code standard by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering, Hollywood, CA Guitar & Equipment Technicians: Thomas Perme, Zachary Dawes Production Coordinator: Ivy Skoff Unit photographer: Alison Rosa Design by BLT Special Thanks: Bob Hurwitz, Scott Rudin, Larry Jenkins, Patricia Murphy, Karina Beznicki, Eli Bush, Marc Cimino, Jason Colton, Melissa Cusick, Sid Fohrman, Jason Kar

lov, Jeff Rosen, Emio Zizza Guitars provided by Norman Harris of Norman’s Rare Guitars Marcus Mumford appears courtesy of Gentlemen of the Road and Glassnote Records in North America, Dew Process Records in Australia, and Gentlemen of the Road and Island Records Group outside of North America and Australia Justin Timberlake appears courtesy of RCA Records Gillian Welch and David Rawlings appear courtesy of Acony Records “Farewell” courtesy of Columbia Records by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing Dave van Ronk’s “Green, Green Rocky Road” courtesy of Tradition & Moderne More From Next Format Availability This album is available worldwide from Nonesuch Records.

Visit iTunes worldwide, or click below to find the online retailer nearest you: on June 18, 2013 - 5:31pm Artist Name: Monday, November 11, 2013 - 05:00 DescriptionExcerpt: Written and directed by Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen and produced by Scott Rudin and Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Justin Timberlake. The film's soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen, with Marcus Mumford as its associate producer, features 12 new recordings created especially for the film and soundtrack. Also included is a never-before-released recording of Bob Dylan performing his song "Farewell," which was originally recorded during the sessions for his album The Times They Are A-Changin' and is available exclusively on this soundtrack. Description: “Joel and Ethan Coen’s wonderful new film is the kind of great work that cuts right through the noise.” —The New York Times “Audiences just heard a clean, hard crack: the Coen brothers hit one out of the park.

The musical interludes are stunning.” —The Guardian “A great film by two American masters, the Coens have taken a real time and place and freely made it their own, drawing on actual persons and events for inspiration, but binding themselves only to their own bountiful imaginations. The result is playful and evocative. There is also the joy of the music itself, exquisitely arranged by T Bone Burnett and sung live on set by the actors themselves. The soundtrack is stupendous.” —Variety Nonesuch Records releases the soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis on November 11, 2013. Written and directed by Academy Award© winners Joel and Ethan Coen and produced by Scott Rudin and Joel and Ethan Coen, the film stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Justin Timberlake. Produced by T Bone Burnett, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen, with Marcus Mumford as its associate producer, the album features 12 new recordings created especially for the film and soundtrack.

Also included is a never-before-released recording of Bob Dylan performing his song “Farewell,” which was originally recorded during the sessions for his album The Times They Are A-Changin' and is available exclusively on this soundtrack. Inside Llewyn Davis is the Coen brothers’ fourth collaboration with the multiple Grammy and Academy Award®–winning Burnett; his soundtrack to their film O Brother, Where Art Thou? won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Producer of the Year (Burnett). Inside Llewyn Davis recently won the Grand Prix at the Cannes International Film Festival and will be distributed by CBS Films in the United States, where it opens theatrically on December 6. (Studio Canal is handling international distribution for Inside Llewyn Davis.) Inside Llewyn Davis follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles—some of them of his own making.

Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, scaring up what work he can find, Llewyn’s misadventures take him from the baskethouses of the Village to an empty Chicago club—on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul—and back again. Brimming with music performed by Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan (as Llewyn’s married Village friends), as well as Marcus Mumford and Punch Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis—in the tradition of O Brother, Where Art Thou?—is infused with the transportive sound of another time and place.

Watch a trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis here: ProductionCredits: Unit photographer: Alison Rosa Design by BLT Special Thanks: Bob Hurwitz, Scott Rudin, Larry Jenkins, Patricia Murphy, Karina Beznicki, Eli Bush, Marc Cimino, Jason Colton, Melissa Cusick, Sid Fohrman, Jason Karlov, Jeff Rosen, Emio Zizza Guitars provided by Norman Harris of Norman’s Rare Guitars Marcus Mumford appears courtesy of Gentlemen of the Road and Glassnote Records in North America, Dew Process Records in Australia, and Gentlemen of the Road and Island Records Group outside of North America and Australia Justin Timberlake appears courtesy of RCA Records Gillian Welch and David Rawlings appear courtesy of Acony Records “Farewell” courtesy of Columbia Records by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing Dave van Ronk’s “Green, Green Rocky Road” courtesy of Tradition & Moderne Cover Art:

Question: What's the surname of award-winning movie making brothers Joel and Ethan?
Answer: Coen