When I watch movies I spend as much time on IMDB doing meta-research about the movie and the people in it as I do watching the movie itself. So it was that, while “watching” Midnight Run, I read the following, acerbic quote from actor Yaphet Kotto, whom I generally like quite a bit:
That was another difficult shoot. DeNiro is very spontaneous and it always helps to work with an artist like that. But Marty Brest! He shot so many takes of the scenes that I lost all joy in doing the film. It became hard and tedious work. Then he stopped eating during the shoot and became thinner and thinner each day, until he looked like a ghost behind the camera. When I met Marty at the Universal Studios with DeNiro, he looked healthy and strong, but as filming went on, he began to turn into someone you’d see in Dachau (Concentration Camp). It was weird. I got sick and for the whole of the film I had a fever and was under the weather for most of it. I was shocked when it came off so funny. It sure wasn’t funny making it.
“Marty Brest? Who is that?” I wondered. As it turns out, Martin Brest is a fascinating, elusive, curious study in the creative complexity and oddness in the Hollywood elite.
Upon going to his IMDB profile, the first thing I noticed is there is almost no information on him. Whereas even marginal actors typically have pumped-up bios with trivia, quotes and other goodies, the director of Midnight Run had nothing, only his birthdate and the fact he was the original director of WarGames. While that second point was interesting – WarGames is a legitimate classic from its time – his complete paucity of biographical information suggested he was an irrelevant footnote in directorial history. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth:
1972 – His first credited film is Hot Dogs for Gauguin, a 22 minute short he made while attending NYU. Starring Danny Devito, Rhea Perlman and William Duff-Griffin is is supposed to be “hilarious”.
1977 – His next film, which aired at the Seattle Film Festival and was made during his time studying at AFI, was Hot Tomorrows. With an expansive and eclectic cast that ranges from Orson Welles as a radio voice to Herve Villechaize (what’s Brest’s deal with diminutive actors?!) the film was only screened a few times and then not seen again.
1979 – Starring legends George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg, Going in Style has an “OK” reputation but is not a movie I’ve seen. It is a comedy about three elderly friends deciding to rob a bank. Through his first three films, Brest had worked with impressive talent and obviously had strong connections and reputation throughout Hollywood.
His next film would have been the previously mentioned WarGames. What little information there is out there about his participation suggests he had a major falling out with the producers of the movie, so serious that he was “blackballed” from Hollywood for the next two years. It bears mentioning that WarGames, more than just a smash hit and cultural touchpoint, was a huge Hollywood blockbuster. The NORAD set was the most expensive set ever built in Hollywood up until that point. Brest had a major role in envisioning and executing that. Indeed, he was fired into production and some of the scenes in the final movie are his. I have not been able to discover which scenes those might be.
1984 – Brest was offered this movie and legend has it he flipped a coin to decide whether or not he should direct it. Apparently the coin said yes, and Brest found himself at the helm of one of the all-time biggest Hollywood blockbusters: Beverly Hills Cop. Researching Martin Brest I learned a lot about this movie that you might also find interesting, including:
- Martin Scorsese and David Cronenberg both turned down the director’s chair.
- While Al Pacino, James Caan and Mickey Rourke were all considered for the lead in the movie it ultimately went to…wait for it…Sylvester Stallone. “Sly” quit the production shortly before shooting began; legend has it the reason was a disagreement about what brand of orange juice would be stocked in his trailer. I’m guessing he wanted fresh-squeezed and they were making him drink frozen concentrate. Poor baby.
- The original script was written in 1977 and re-written many times as the possible lead actors in the movie changed. When Eddie Murphy, the first black actor considered for the role, took over the script needed an almost complete overhaul. The final movie thus not only includes major re-writes of all the primary characters, but the scenes in the movie are an odd tapestry sewn together from the many versions of the script over the years.
- Beverly Hills Cop was the highest grossing R-rated movie for over 20 years, finally eclipsed in 2004 by The Passion of the Christ.
While I don’t care for violence in films I confess to really enjoying Beverly Hills Cop. It’s a really entertaining film, and grossed all those monies for a reason.
1988 – Midnight Run, which started me on this whole Martin Brest mini-project. Notably, Brest hand-picked Charles Grodin to co-star opposite Robert DeNiro and Paramount dropped out of the project because Brest would not consider the more “bankable” Robin Williams. Universal bought the rights and allowed Brest to use Grodin as he planned.
1992 – The next movie for Brest was another biggie, Scent of a Woman. Earning a Best Actor Oscar for Al Pacino – and further diversifying Brest’s history of working with top Hollywood names – this was a very popular and well-esteemed movie. Continuing his reputation for being difficult, Brest formally disowned the movie as shown in edited form for television and airlines.
1998 – Meet Joe Black is not a bad film, but it’s certainly not a very good one either. Continuing his trend of working with Hollywood royalty, here Brest casts Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Marcia Gay Harden. Even though it was not a terrible film, Brest laid a huge and, in the eyes of Hollywood, unforgivable egg: with an estimated budget of $90,000,000 – the biggest-ever budget to that point for a movie without special effects – Meet Joe Black grossed less than half its budget. Yes, we’re talking about losses of over $40,000,000. Yikes.
2003 – Ready for the punchline? The final film – to this point – in Martin Brest’s star-crossed directorial career is the most legendary of them all: the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez uber-bomb, Gigli. A near-consensus pick as the worst movie ever made, this improbably serves as the bookend of Brest’s directing career.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find Martin Brest’s career absolutely fascinating. He was seen as a Hollywood wunderkind and began on the highest of possible trajectories. He flamed out on WarGames and was blackballed. His return was meteoric and spectacular, with Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman being true smash-hits, and Midnight Run a respectable and well-made comedy. Then he lost tens of millions of dollars with Meet Joe Black and created the worst movie ever made. Today? He apparently doesn’t warrant a decent biography on IMDb, where even the most flaccid of stars are pumped up to near-legendary heights.
On one hand, Brest seems like so many habitants of Hollywood: talented, spoiled, strong-willed, self-destructive. On the other he has what seems to be a near-unique career arc, achieving the very highest of highs as well as the truly most spectacular of lows. In between he worked with many of the most important, interesting and capable actors of his generation and, in the end, all that’s left is a tiny footnote in movie history. I would like to know a lot more about Martin Brest but – apparently thanks to Meet Joe Black and Gigli and, no doubt, various behind-the-scenes studio shenanigans – Martin Brest is nothing but a shadow, with the headline “Director of Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman” stamped to the top of his resume and, presumably, the bottom of his tombstone.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Dirk,
It was so interesting reading your article about Marty. I worked with him on “Midnight Run” and “Scent of a Woman” and grew to know him well. You managed to do some very astute research with little information available. I have to say that you were amazingly accurate.
Diane,
What more can you tell us about Marty Brest? What is his own take on his films and on filmmaking? I would love to hear him do a retrospective interview on his career, his highs and lows, and what he does today. He seems like a very, very interesting man.
- Jon
Dirk,
I also have long been fascinated by the career of Martin Brest. I actually must tell you that GOING IN STYLE is not an “okay” film, it is actually a borderline masterpiece… and that is something I don’t say often. It’s a genuinely moving – often sad – film that features George Burns giving the performance of his career.
I actually would like to hear Martin Brest tell the tale of his career and where he is now, I am sure he would have some fascinating stories to tell about the production of all his films. The closest interview I can find is a CHARLIE ROSE interview he did in 1992/1993 for SCENT OF A WOMAN. I have heard that he works in advertising/commercials and that he has always considered feature films more of a hobby then a profession. He definitely seems to be a reclusive filmmaker regardless, Diane I would love to hear more about him.
Even though there seems to be very little on Mr. Brest, this blog is the most information that I could find on him. I was actually watching Meet Joe Black, much like you had watched Midnight Run and ran an IMDB search on him and noticed how very little there was about him. After Gigli (have never seen it), he seemed to have disappeared from the face of Hollywood.
I think my love of his few movies culminated at Meet Joe Black. I suppose he went out on a high note for me there. I may be one of the few that really enjoys this film. Granted it lost a lot of money, but the production was lavishly made in its sets. I personally think this is one of Hopkins’s best roles and the movie itself is one that I would classify as such a classy and quiet film. You rarely see these kinds come through. In fact I believe Scent of a Woman is one of the only other ones I can think of.
I do appreciate this article on what little you have gleaned from the internet on Marty. I honestly hope that someday he may try his hand at another film project, but I suppose it can be understandable if producers shy away from him given the information that he could be difficult to work with. I guess ultimately if an actor is hired to do a movie, it is not THEIR movie, but the directors. You end up working for them. And in Marty’s case you also work for the producer who has final say on if you can work on the movie or not…
To those who are interested in how the man thinks and works, check out the Director’s Commentary on the Beverly Hills Cop DVD. It’s VERY insightful.
The Martin Breast scenes from War Games are the first scenes they shot on “Goose Island, Oregon” where the kids get a little bit romantic and sappy (“I never learned how to swim”), then were interrupted by the helicopter. This is referenced in the DVD commentary that the pathos was a little high for John Badham’s taste but he left it in since he felt the sudden switch to the helicopter made it work.
Very intriguing article, thank you. After reading information about Gigli I wanted to find out what else the director had done since, if anything. So I’m surprised that his filmography also includes Scent of a Woman and Beverly Hills Cop, two great films in my estimation. Small irony (probably bigger to Martin) that Ben Affleck the star of that infamous film that seems to have stalled Martin’s career indefinitely is now respected for directing his own films. If only he could help finance Martin in his next film (if he so wished). Bad as critics and the public viewed Gigli as, it would have at least garnered less attention if it hadn’t been for its actors and their public personas at the time. Shame.
Actually in 2004 a terrific website called THE DVD JOURNAL wrote a fascinating review of Marty’s first film – and my personal favorite – GOING IN STYLE that gives interesting insight to Brest as a director. Here is the link:
http://dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/g/goinginstyle.q.shtml
It was six years before Brest would return with Meet Joe Black, a remake of Death Takes a Holiday, starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. The film received mixed reviews and while it had a disappointing domestic box office return of $44,619,100, it fared much better overseas, taking in an additional $98,321,000 for a worldwide total of $142,940,100.[2]
Dirk,
Thanks for an interesting summary of Martin Brest’s work (there really isn’t much out there about him, is there) and thanks also to Jon for the link above. MB certainly seems to be an enigmatic character.
I was born in 1977 and am really not a movie buff. However I recently received the DVD of Midnight Run as an anniversary present, having divulged to my wife that this was my favourite ever film. Re-watching Midnight Run I found it even more fun than I remembered. I love the cast, the characters, the constant swearing and smoking, the brilliant dialogue and most of all the intricate plotting; the main arc of which is embellished with twist upon twist as the the bounty hunter, the feds, the mob – and all the double-crossing minions of each of these parties – do battle for possesion of the absconding accountant.
I too was drawn to looking up the director as a result and was profoundly shocked by two pieces of information. One that Charles Grodin’s character was originally to have been played by Robin Williams, an actor who I have never liked and who would surely have ruined it, for me at least. Two, that this genius of film-making was also responsible for the film Meet Joe Black. I saw it at the cinema once, hated every tedious, lingering minute of the thing, despised the waste of such a fantastic cast, and never even noted the name of the director, until now.
How can the same man have made these two films? One that is packed with plot like few other films I can think of, and one that has almost none. One that has funny lines and moments spilling over each other, and one that is completely devoid of any humour, as far as I can tell. One that conjures up a great rapport between two characters even though they spend most of their screen time in a breathless dash to evade mortal peril, and one that fails to produce any rapport between the main characters despite having them stand next to each other the entire film exchanging silent, meaningful looks.
I am baffled at the contrast between the two.
Jonathan
Just a quick thank you for your article. Wanted to add that Howard Stern, one of the very best interviewer’s, if not The Best, should interview Martin Brest. Meet Joe Black, perhaps in decades, will receive all of the accolades it deserves. Consider The Wizard of Oz and It’s a Wonderful life as examples that did not change the face of film when released, but arguably have since. I now have a list of movies mentioned above that I haven’t seen (Going in Style, Hot Dogs for Gauguin, Midnight Run) that I am looking forward to watching, and that is great because there seems like there are too few to look forward to these days.
All the best.
I was a classmate of Martin Brest in the Bronx back in the 60′s. I was first flutist in the band and he was a drummer. We did not hang out with the same kids but we were in some of the same classes. When I first learned that he went on to become a director and was nominated for an Oscar for Scent Of A Woman, I was proud to have shared those days when we both were in the same band as teenagers.
I think Martin Brest is a very, very underated Director. From what I can glean he was made the fall guy for Gigli when in fact, the disaster was not his doing. It is my understanding it was the studio that recut and re shot parts of that film then pushed him out of the plane with no parachute.
I’ve heard rumors he has things in the works. I really like his films so I look forward to seeing more.
A friend of mine tango’d with Mr. Brest and I he sounds very interesting, genuine, and crazy-artistic. How can I contact him?
I was Martin Brest’s neighbor in the Bronx and was so proud of him when he fulfilled his dream of becoming a Hollywood producer.
I look forward to seeing his next endeavor.