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Barry Levinson

Academy Award–winning director, screenwriter and producer Barry Levinson has crafted an enviable reputation as a filmmaker who blends literate and intelligent visions into films. He was awarded the 1988 Best Director Oscar for the multiple Academy Award–winning Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.  In 1991 Bugsy, directed and produced by Levinson, was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. As a screenwriter, Levinson has received three Oscar nominations for …And Justice for All (1979), Diner (1982) and Avalon (1990).  Other iconic films, from The Natural (1982)to Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) to Sleepers (1996), have been hugely popular at the box office.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Levinson has used his hometown as the setting for four widely praised features: Diner, the semi-autobiographical comedy/drama that marked his directorial debut; Tin Men starring Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfuss as warring aluminum siding salesmen; Avalon, in which his native city takes center stage through the recollections of an immigrant family; and Liberty Heights, a humorous and touching drama that captures the spirit of change in Baltimore circa 1954, addressing issues of race, class and religion.

After attending American University in Washington, DC, Levinson moved to Los Angeles, where he began acting as well as writing and performing comedy routines. He went on to write several television variety shows including The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, The Tim Conway Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. A meeting with Mel Brooks led him to collaborate with the veteran comedian on the features Silent Movie and High Anxiety, which Levinson co-wrote.  

With his film career well under way, Levinson returned to Baltimore to film the television series Homicide: Life on the Street. His work on this critically acclaimed NBC drama earned him an Emmy for Best Individual Director of a Drama Series. The series received three Peabody Awards, two Writers Guild Awards and an Excellence in Quality Television Founders Award for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Among other accolades, Levinson and his partner Tom Fontana also received the 1999 Humanitas Award for the Homicide: Life on the Street episode titled “Shades of Gray.”

The close of 1997 saw Levinson at his most prolific, releasing two films nearly back to back, Wag the Dog and Sphere. Wag the Dog, a political satire written by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, was nominated for two Academy Awards. Sphere (1998), a science-fiction film adapted from the Michael Crichton novel, stars Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, and marks Levinson's fourth collaboration with Dustin Hoffman.

Levinson partnered with Paula Weinstein, forming Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures. Together they produced Analyze This (1999), a comedy starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, which opened to instant box office success. Levinson became one of Variety's “Billion Dollar Directors,” as well as ShoWest's “Director of the Year” in 1998.

In February 1999, Levinson was honored with a Creative Achievement Award by the 13th Annual American Comedy Awards. Later that year, American University conferred upon Levinson the Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, for his distinguished work in the field of communications and his defining impact on the motion picture and television industry. Levinson was also honored for his commitment to the craft of filmmaking, his dedication to telling insightful stories, his exquisite sensitivity to the details of life as we live it, and his gifts and accomplishments as a director.

Levinson now produces films through his production company Baltimore Pictures, including critically acclaimed releases such as Quiz Show, Donnie Brasco, and The Second Civil War (HBO). In 2000 came the release of An Everlasting Piece, a story about two hairpiece salesmen in Northern Ireland, one Protestant and one Catholic. Filmed entirely on location in Ireland with an Irish cast and crew, Levinson once again tackled a serious issue with his trademark wit and humor.

Bandits, a romantic comedy starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett, opened in 2001 to critical success once again. In February 2002, Levinson received the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the year award honoring his filmmaking career. The following year he published his first novel, Sixty-Six.

Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, under the banner of the Levinson/Fontana Company, executive produced the critically acclaimed HBO television series Oz that aired for six seasons from 1998 through 2003.

With the release of the dramatic comedy Man of the Year by Universal Studios in October 2006, Levinson returned to the theme of politics, while re-teaming with his Good Morning, Vietnam star Robin Williams. The film was written and directed by Levinson, and Williams plays a late-night political talk show host who runs for president and wins because of a computer voting system glitch. The film co-stars Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, and Jeff Goldblum.

In 2007 Levinson lent his voice to the character of Martin Benson in Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie, marking a return of sorts to the other side of the camera. Following that, he directed the adaptation of Art Linson's Hollywood tell-all book What Just Happened?,  reteaming Levinson with Robert De Niro for their third movie together. The film chronicles the ups and downs of a desperate two weeks in the life of a Hollywood producer, and was halied as De Niro's best performance in a decade.

Most recently, Levinson has made two documentaries, Poliwood, which looks at the intersection of politics, Hollywood, and media in the 2008 election; and The Band That Wouldn't Die for ESPN, a Frank Capra–like tale of the Baltimore Colts Marching Band.