The Coen Brothers'In a perfect world, all movies would be made by the Coen Brothers.' Ian Nathan, ¿Empire¿ Blood Simple, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, Millers Crossing, Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo and The Big Lebowski, you either love the Coen brothers films or you hate them. Those that love them - and Ian Nathan editor of ¿Empire¿ magazine certainly loves them, as does Tim Bevin (Polygram) and Harvey and Bob Weinstein - believe they have made some of the most innovative, entertaining and idiosyncratic films of the 25 years. Box office for their movies now grosses over $1b and Fargo won Oscars in 1997 for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress. Brought up in small town America, the brothers have been making movies from the age of eight. Joel directs and Ethan writes, collaborating with his brother in the later stages as the story develops its visual identity. Their movies transcend their image of two nerds who do their own thing: Hollywood is as perplexed by the Coens style as it is enamoured of their ability to bring in the box office. They are now in great demand. Both Jeff Bridges and John Goodman's parts in The Big Lebowski were written especially for them. Paul Newman asked for the part in 'Hudsucker' so that he could work the Coens. The brothers now command final cut and are about second only to Woody Allen as outsiders with clout. This is the first full length biography of the brothers Coen, written by one of the most talented film biographers and historians at work today. |
