August 8 - Lee Unkrich

 

Happy 53rd Birthday, Lee Unkrich! Born today in 1967 as Lee Edward Unkrich, this American this American animator, film editor, screenwriter and director was a longtime member of the creative team at Pixar. 

Unkrich spent his youth acting at The Cleveland Play House (CPH), a professional regional theater company in Ohio. He later graduated from the University of the Southern California of Cinematic Arts in 1990. 

Unkrich started in 1994 as a film editor and later began directing, first as co-director. This was for John Lasseter's 1999 American computer-animated comedy family film 'Toy Story 2'. 

After co-directing 'Toy Story 2', 'Monsters, Inc.' (2001) and 'Finding Nemo' (2003), Unkrich made his solo directorial debut with the 2010 American computer-animated comedy family film 'Toy Story 3'.  

Like its predecessors, 'Toy Story 3' received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising the vocal performances, screenplay, emotional depth, animation, and Randy Newman's musical score. 

It became the second Pixar film (after 'Up') and third animated film overall (after 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Up') to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. 

The film received four more Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, winning the latter two. 

'Toy Story 3' was the first animated film to gross over $1 billion worldwide in ticket sales, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2010—both in North America and worldwide—and the fourth-highest grossing film at the time of its release, as well as the highest-grossing animated film of all time. 

It is also one of the most expensive films of all time and Pixar's highest-grossing film, all records held at the time of its release. 

In North America, 'Toy Story 3' is the 19th-highest-grossing film, unadjusted for inflation. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, though, it ranks 96th on the all-time chart.  

It is also the highest-grossing film of 2010, the second-highest-grossing Pixar film (behind 'Finding Dory') the second-highest-grossing G-rated film (behind 'The Lion King'), the fourth-highest-grossing animated film, and the seventh-highest-grossing film distributed by Disney. 

Outside of North America, 'Toy Story 3' is the 29th-highest-grossing film, the sixth-highest-grossing animated film, the third-highest-grossing film of 2010, the highest-grossing Pixar film, and the 11th-highest-grossing Disney film. 

'Toy Story 3' was also the last feature film to star American film, television and voice actor, and Marine drill instructor R. Lee Ermy. 

He had provided the voice of Sarge in the Toy Story series. Quentin Tarantino later placed 'Toy Story 3' at the top position in his list of favorite films of 2010.  

Most recently, Unkrich directed the 2017 American 3D computer-animated fantasy family film 'Coco'.  

Both 'Toy Story 3' and 'Coco' won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and also for Best Original Song. These both occurred at the 83rd Academy Awards in late February 2011 and at the 90th Academy Awards in early March 2018. 

After working at the studio for twenty-five years, Unkrich left Pixar in February 2019 to spend time with his family 

According to his personal life, Unkrich is married to Laura Century. They have three children: Hannah, Alice, and Max. 

Unkrich had been active from 1990–2019. 

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August 8 - Martin Brest

Happy 69th Birthday, Martin Brest! Born today in 1951, this American filmmaker was once a former screenwriter, producer and film director. 

 
Born in the Bronx, Brest, years later, graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969, from New York University's School of the Arts in 1973 and from the AFI Conservatory with an M.F.A. degree in 1977. 

 

During his time as a film student at New York University, Brest edited, wrote and directed the twenty-two-minute 1972 American black and white short film 'Hot Dogs for Gauguin'.  

 
The short featured Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman in her acting debut. It also featured Brest, credited as Man on Ferry. 

 
The short was shot by American cinematographer Jacques Haitkin. He would later go on to film the first two installments of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. 

 
Brest's major studio debut was the 1979 American drama/caper film 'Going in Style'. It starred George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. The film was the first of several features to mix action and comedy. 

 
In the early 1980s, Brest made a cameo appearance in Amy Heckerling's ('Clueless') 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy/romance film 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High'. He was credited as Dr. Miller. 

 
The following year, Brest was hired to direct the 1983 American Cold War science fiction film 'WarGames', which starred Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. 

However, he was fired during production and replaced with American director of film and television John Badham ('Saturday Night Fever'). 

 

One year later, Brest got his big break in directing the film for which he is best known. This was the 1984 American action comedy drama/thriller film 'Beverly Hills Cop'. It starred Eddie Murphy as the rebellious, street-smart, fast-talking Detroit cop Axel Foley. 

 
Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff and Jonathan Banks appear in supporting roles. 

 
This first film in the Beverly Hills Cop series, it shot Murphy to international stardom. It was an immediate blockbuster, receiving critical acclaim.  

 
On a budget of $13 million, the film grossed $234 million at the North American domestic box office. This made it the highest-grossing film released in 1984 in the United States. 

 
The following year, 'Beverly Hills Cop received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. This occurred at the 57th Academy Awards in late march 1985. 

 
The infectious instrumental title tune, "Axel F", composed and performed by German musician, composer and record producer Harold Faltermeyer, is a cultural touchstone and has since been covered by numerous artists. 

 
Four years later, Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin starred in Brest's directed the 1988 American buddy cop action comedy film 'Midnight Run'. The film was later another critical and commercial success.  

 
One year later, the film, along with De Niro's performance, earned two Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor. This occurred at the 46th Golden Globe Awards in late January 1989. 

 
Four years later, Brest's directed the 1992 American drama film 'Scent of a Woman'. The film starred Al Pacino as the blind and irritable retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Frank Slade. 

 
The following year, 'Scent of a Woman' received four Oscar nominations. These were for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture.  

 
However, the film only received one Oscar for Pacino's performance. This was his first and only Oscar win. This occurred at the 65th Academy Awards in late March 1993. 

 
'Scent of a Woman' is a remake of Dino Risi's 1974 Italian comedy/comedy-drama film 'Profumo di donna' ('Scent of a Woman').  

 
It had been adapted by American writer Bo Goldman from Italian writer and journalist Giovanni Arpino's 1969 fiction mystery novel "Il buio e il miele" ("The Darkness and the Honey"). 

It was also adapted from the 1974 screenplay by Italian screenwriter Ruggero Maccari and Italian film director Dino Risi. 

 
Six years after 'Scent of a Woman', Brest directed the three-hour 1998 American romance/fantasy film 'Meet Joe Black'. 

The film was a remake of the 1934 American Pre-Code black and white romantic drama/fantasy film 'Death Takes a Holiday'.  

 
'Meet Joe Black' later received mixed reviews and had a disappointing American box office return. However, it fared much better overseas. 

 
Five years later, Brest directed the 2003 American romance/comedy film 'Gigli'. It starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. 

 
During filming, American motion picture and television studio Revolution Studios took creative control from Brest, resulting in a radically revised and re-shot version of the original film being released.  

 
Because of this, 'Gigli' became one of the most notorious films of its time, with a scathing critical reception, along with a disastrous box office performance. Several critics called 'Gigli' one of the worst movies of all time. 

 
It is also Brest's lowest rated film to date, currently holding 6% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

'Gigli' also permanently holds a spot on IMDb's Bottom 100 list, with a rating of 2.5/10 stars. Brest has not directed another film since. 

 
In 2009, 'Hot Dogs for Gauguin' was one of twenty-five films chosen by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures". 

 
According to Brest's personal life, he is currently married to American film producer Lisa Weinstein. They have one son together. 

 
Brest had been active from 1972–2003. 

 
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