Legendary Director Barry Sonnenfeld in Person

Barry Sonnenfeld - legendary film director, cinematographer and incomparable raconteur - wowed a packed CAC house in 2020 with his riotous (and sometimes ribald) stories relating to his first memoir, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker. Now he returns for another lively evening featuring a screening of his iconic masterpiece that launched the award-winning mega-franchise, Men in Black, and a discussion of his newest, hilarious book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood.

Sonnenfeld directed such beloved classics as Get Shorty, The Addams Family franchise, and the Men in Black Trilogy. His career as a cinematographer includes working with the Coen Brothers on Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, and Blood Simple; with Rob Reiner on When Harry Met Sally and Misery; and with Penny Marshall on Big. Sonnenfeld was also Executive Producer on both the film and TV Series adaptations of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the TV series' The Tick and Pushing Daisies, for which he won an Emmy, and most recently Apple TV+'s Schmigadoon!

Film:

When Men in Black was first released, its logline was “Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe.” Since the Earth is still here (so far) it looks like Barry Sonnenfeld’s surreal, science fiction masterpiece, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, succeeded, spawning sequels that have continued to keep us safe for decades. Based on a little-read Marvel comic, the film’s title is taken from shadowy government agents who police extraterrestrials living secretly on Earth, bent on havoc which unfolds throughout the story to grotesque, mind-blinking and hilarious, deadpan effect. The grizzled Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), enlists a young, naïve cop, dubbed Agent J (Will Smith) to track down a notorious alien, the cockroach-like “Bug” (Vincent D’Onofrio), who has crash-landed in Upstate New York. The Bug kills a farmer and disguises himself in the bumpkin’s skin - which he rearranges in front of the unknowing farmer’ s wife, who understandably faints. Like other scenes in the film, the effect is grotesque, absurd, and wonderfully unforgettable. 

The film’s other stars include Linda Fiorentino, Tony Shalhoub and Rip Torn, with a stunning array of aliens, including Al Roker, Isaac Mizrahi, Danny DeVito, daughter Chloe Sonnenfeld, Sylvester Stallone, Dionne Warwick, Newt Gingrich, George Lucas - and last but not least, Barry Sonnenfeld and Steven Spielberg himself. With an exceptional score by Danny Elfman, Men in Black swept up 22 awards and 39 nominations, from Academy Awards and Golden Globes to the prestigious science fiction Hugo and Saturn Awards. (USA, 1997, 98 mins | Dir Barry Sonnenfeld.)

Book:

In Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood, the true stories escalate from surreal to outrageous to unbelievable. And then there’s magic hour. But you’ll never see Hollywood the same way again.

Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time delivers a cavalcade of sometimes baffling, often enlightening, and always funny stories about Sonnenfeld’s many films and television shows. From battling with studio executives and producers to bad-script-solving on set to coaxing actors into finding the right light and talking faster, Sonnenfeld provides an entertaining master class in how to make commercial art in the face of constant human foible. Richly illustrated and covering over four decades in Hollywood, Sonnenfeld regales us with stories about The Addams Family and Men in Black; the critical favorites, Get Shorty and Pushing Daisies; the icons, Will Smith, John Travolta, and Michael Jackson; and the projects that got away, Forrest Gump, Ali, and anything starring Jim Carrey.

Event Produced and Curated by Jud Newborn

Thanks to our Sponsors

Lydia Sabosto, keyboard & vocals 1-800-Flowers

Tickets: $50 Members | $60 Public

Tickets include a copy of his new book, film screening, discussion, Q&A, & book signing reception