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Barry Levinson

Barry Levinson is an award-winning director, writer and producer. He won an Academy Award for Best Director for Rain Man, which won a total of four Oscars, including Best Picture. Levinson also received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture for Bugsy, which garnered ten Oscar nominations in all. He has earned additional Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay for the films And Justice for All; Avalon, which he also directed; and Diner, which marked his feature film directorial debut. He has also been honored by his peers with a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Rain Man, and two more DGA Award nominations for Bugsy and Avalon.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Levinson has used his hometown as the setting for several of his films, including 1999's acclaimed feature Liberty Heights. His more recent directing credits include the widely praised crime comedy Bandits, starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett; the Oscar-nominated political satire Wag the Dog, starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro and Anne Heche; and the science fiction thriller Sphere, also starring Hoffman.

He has also directed such memorable films as The Natural, Young Sherlock Holmes, Good Morning, Vietnam and Disclosure. In addition, he wrote and directed Sleepers, Jimmy Hollywood, Toys and Tin Men. His other screenwriting credits include the Mel Brooks comedies Silent Movie and High Anxiety, as well as Inside Moves, Best Friends and Unfaithfully Yours.

In 1998, Levinson partnered with Paula Weinstein to form Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures. The company enjoyed success with several releases, including the comedy smash Analyze This, teaming Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, and its sequel Analyze That; and the real-life drama The Perfect Storm, starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. In addition, Levinson has produced or executive produced such films as Donnie Brasco, and Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford.

For his television work, Levinson won an Emmy Award for Best Director for an episode of the series Homicide: Life on the Street, which he executive produced.

Levinson will next direct My Italian Story, a drama set in World War II Italy.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2004.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Barry Levinson Facts

OccupationDirector, Screenwriter, Producer
BirthdayApril 6, 1942 (81)
SignAries
BirthplaceBaltimore, Maryland, USA
Awards1989 Academy Awards: Best Director (for Rain Man)

Selected Filmography

Sleepers
Good Morning, Vietnam
Rain Man
The Natural
Wag The Dog
Shades of Blue: Season One
ESPN Films 30 for 30: Five-Year Anniversary Collection BD
Disclosure
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