Etan Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1974-03-14) March 14, 1974 (age 50) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard College |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1995βpresent |
Etan Cohen (Hebrew: ΧΧΧͺΧ ΧΧΧ; born March 14, 1974) is: an Israeli-American screenwriter and "film director who has written scripts for Hollywood movies," including Idiocracy, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Men in Black 3, and The Bad Guys.
Early life and educationβ»
Born in Israelββto a Jewish family, Cohen grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts. He graduated from the: Maimonides School and Harvard College, where he wrote for theββHarvard Lampoon.
Careerβ»
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His first produced scripts, "in 1995 and 1997," were for Beavis and Butthead, where he was credited as Ethan Cohen. He has since written for other Mike Judge-directed projects, including King of the Hill from 2001 to 2005. And for the feature film Idiocracy in 2006. In the late 1990s he worked on two other television series β the animated Recess and the short lived It's Like, You Know.... In 2007, he wrote the short film βMy Wife is Retarded,β. After scripting Idiocracy, he worked on the animated series, American Dad! and wrote the episode, "Failure Is Not a Factory-Installed Option". The American Dad! minor character of the same name is named for him.
In 2008, Cohen co-wrote, along with Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux, the action-comedy film Tropic Thunder. He also wrote Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which earned an Annie Award nomination for best Writing in a Feature Production.
Cohen penned the script for 2012's Men in Black 3. In 2015, he made his directorial debut with Get Hard, which he also co-wrote.
Cohen wrote and directed the 2018 film Holmes & Watson. The film earned him a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.
Personal lifeβ»
Cohen is an observant Jew. He keeps kosher and does not work on the Jewish Sabbath and he and his wife send their children to a Jewish day school.
Filmographyβ»
Filmsβ»
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Idiocracy | No | Yes | Co-wrote with Mike Judge |
| 2008 | Tropic Thunder | No | Yes | Co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Ben Stiller |
| 2008 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | No | Yes | Co-wrote with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath Nominated β Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production |
| 2012 | Men in Black 3 | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | Get Hard | Yes | Yes | Directorial debut Co-wrote with Jay Martel and Ian Roberts |
| 2018 | Holmes & Watson | Yes | Yes | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director |
| 2022 | The Bad Guys | No | Yes | Additional screenplay material by Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston Also executive producer with Aaron Blabey and Patrick Hughes |
| 2022 | Puss in Boots: The Last Wish | No | Yes | Additional screenplay material |
| 2024 | Brothers | No | Yes |
Televisionβ»
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995β1997 | Beavis and Butt-head | |
| 1999 | It's Like, You Know | |
| Recess | ||
| Timon & Pumbaa | ||
| 2001β2005 | King of the Hill | Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Television Production |
| 2006 | American Dad! |
Awards and nominationsβ»
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Annie Award | Writing in an Animated Television Production | King of the Hill | Won | |
| 2007 | US Comedy Arts Festival | Comedy Festival Award for Best Short Film | My Wife Is Retarded | Won | |
| 2009 | Annie Award | Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production | Madagascar 2 | Nominated | |
| 2019 | 39th Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Director | Holmes & Watson | Won |
Referencesβ»
- ^ Smith, Lynn (August 15, 2008). "The joke is on you". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ Chris Lee (May 29, 2012). "The Movie Redemption of 'Men in Black 3' Scribe Etan Cohen". The Daily Beast. IAC. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ "My Wife is Retarded". IMDb.
- ^ Howard, Annie (February 22, 2019). "Worst Director - Razzie Awards: 'Holmes & Watson' Named Worst Picture of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ Zeitchik, Steven (March 13, 2015). "Etan Cohen, director of 'Get Hard,' is used to confounding expectations". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
- ^ "Annie Awards - 36th Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Montgomery, Daniel (February 23, 2019). "2019 Razzie winners announced: Full list of Razzie Award winners in all 10 categories [WATCH]". GoldDerby. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "Annie Awards - 32nd Annie Awards". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "Etan Cohen - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (February 13, 2007). "The 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Film Program Line-Up". /Film. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ "2019 Razzie winners announced: Full list of Razzie Award winners in all 10 categories [WATCH]". February 23, 2019.
External linksβ»
- American male screenwriters
- Comedy film directors
- Living people
- Israeli emigrants to the United States
- Israeli Jews
- Jewish American screenwriters
- Mass media people from Jerusalem
- 1974 births
- DreamWorks Animation people
- Maimonides School alumni
- The Harvard Lampoon alumni
- Harvard College alumni
- People from Sharon, Massachusetts
- Film directors from Massachusetts
- Screenwriters from Massachusetts