Martin Brest

Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, Going in Style, he directed the action comedies Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits. He then directed Scent of a Woman (1992), starring Al Pacino, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, and earned Brest nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.

He followed up with Meet Joe Black (1998), which received mixed reviews. Brest's next film was Gigli (2003). After disagreements between Brest and Revolution Studios, creative control was taken from him, resulting in a radically rewritten and reshot version, which became his first and only unprofitable film, a box-office bomb that was widely panned. It remains his last film to date.

Early life and education Brest was born to Eastern European Jewish immigrant parents in a working-class neighborhood in the Bronx in 1951. He was influenced by watching The Honeymooners as a child, saying in a 2023 interview, "I was a kid watching it in a household that was economically not that different than the one in the show. I felt like it was a show made for my neighborhood. And that character of Ralph Kramden really touched me, that angry soul whose spirit blossoms". and is in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. Brest graduated from the AFI Conservatory with a Master of Fine Arts in 1977. Brest was then hired to direct WarGames (1983), starring Matthew Broderick, but he was fired three weeks into production amid conflicts with the film's executive producer and replaced by John Badham.

The dismissal from WarGames left Brest pessimistic about his career until Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer recruited him to direct Beverly Hills Cop (1984), starring Eddie Murphy. The film grossed over $300 million worldwide and received Golden Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Actor (Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Eddie Murphy) as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. In 2024 it became the second of Brest's films to be chosen by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress to "be preserved as cultural, artistic and/or historical treasures."

Brest was in pre-production for Rain Man (1988) when he cast Tom Cruise for the role opposite Dustin Hoffman. After leaving the project, Barry Levinson eventually directed the film.

Brest's next film was the action-comedy Midnight Run (1988), starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. The film was another critical and commercial success, earning Brest another Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and De Niro a Best Actor Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination.

Brest's work on Scent of a Woman (1992) earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film also won Golden Globes for Al Pacino and screenwriter Bo Goldman and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Chris O'Donnell. It received four Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted), with Pacino winning Best Actor.

Brest's next film, Meet Joe Black (1998), starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, was a loose remake of 1934's Death Takes a Holiday. The film had an American box-office return of $44.6 million, taking in an additional $98.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $142.9 million.

Brest wrote and directed Gigli (2003), starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. In 2023, he gave an interview to Variety in which he reflected: Once [Gigli] happened, I thought I'll never be invited back [to make more films]. Second, I would never be able to operate with the kind of control that a director, I feel, needs and deserves. So that felt like a clear signal it was time for me to back away.

I had a good run, and I enjoyed success and freedom, and that was fantastic. I would've liked it to go on longer, but everybody likes everything to go on longer.

His essays about art and artists have appeared in various books.

Awards and nominations Two of Brest's films, Hot Dogs for Gauguin and Beverly Hills Cop, have been entered into the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.

Filmography Year Title Director Producer WriterEditor Notes 1972 Hot Dogs for Gauguin NYU student film 1977 Hot Tomorrows AFI student film 1979 Going in Style 1983WarGames Replaced by John Badham 1984 Beverly Hills Cop 1988 Midnight Run 1992 Scent of a Woman 1993 Josh and S.A.M. 1998 Meet Joe Black 2003 Gigli

Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 1972 Hot Dogs for Gauguin Man on Ferry 1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High Dr. Miller 1984 Beverly Hills Cop "bathrobe" Hotel Clerk Uncredited 1985 Spies Like Us Drive-In Security Guard 1988 Midnight Run Airline Ticket Clerk Uncredited