
Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother
Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker
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Narrated by:
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Barry Sonnenfeld
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By:
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Barry Sonnenfeld
This outrageous and hilarious memoir follows a film and television director’s life, from his idiosyncratic upbringing to his unexpected career as the director behind such huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in Black.
Barry Sonnenfeld's philosophy is, "Regret the Past. Fear the Present. Dread the Future." Told in his unmistakable voice, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother is a laugh-out-loud memoir about coming of age. Constantly threatened with suicide by his over-protective mother, disillusioned by the father he worshiped, and abused by a demonic relative, Sonnenfeld somehow went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful producers and directors.
Written with poignant insight and real-life irony, the book follows Sonnenfeld from childhood as a French horn player through graduate film school at NYU, where he developed his talent for cinematography. His first job after graduating was shooting nine feature length pornos in nine days. From that humble entrée, he went on to form a friendship with the Coen Brothers, launching his career shooting their first three films.
Though Sonnenfeld had no ambition to direct, Scott Rudin convinced him to be the director of The Addams Family. It was a successful career move. He went on to direct many more films and television shows. Will Smith once joked that he wanted to take Sonnenfeld to Philadelphia public schools and say, "If this guy could end up as a successful film director on big budget films, anyone can." This book is a fascinating and hilarious roadmap for anyone who thinks they can't succeed in life because of a rough beginning.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Barry Sonnenfeld (P)2020 Hachette BooksListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"[Sonnenfeld's] moments of self-effacement...make him an ideal tour guide through the vagaries and hypocrisies of the entertainment industry.... He catalogs his own anxieties at length, sometimes to exorcise them and sometimes to fetishize them.... It is thrilling to ride shotgun."—David Itzkoff, The New York Times
"The extraordinary thing about Barry is how many truly strange and amazing chapters he's had in his life."—Neil Patrick Harris

Editor's Pick
From french horn to Hollywood
"This title really speaks to me. Not only because Barry Sonnenfeld has directed some of the biggest comedies of the 90s and 2000s (The Addams Family, the Men in Black trilogy, and Get Shorty), but because I myself can recall at least half a dozen times in my childhood when an announcement came over a speaker system for me to call my mother followed by a deafening laughter from my peers that knocked me down a few spots in the social standings. There was this one time when it was raining at camp and I didn’t have any boots so—you know what, this isn’t about me. My point is, even though Barry Sonnenfeld has a legendary career in film and has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, his story is proof that all of the embarrassing or terrifying or downright heartbreaking moments of our lives are what get us to where we’re supposed to be. Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother is exactly everything a good memoir should be."—Aaron S., Audible Editor
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Thank you Kelly Ripa for suggesting this amazing read!
Laughed, cried, laughed some more
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So surprised he still has a sense of humor
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loved it!
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An Excellent Audiobook.
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Don’t be afraid to listen at 1.3x
Hilarious, honest and inspiring
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“Creative differences” here (not that I have any creativity whatsoever), but really wish (if it had to be part of the book) there’d been a “this next chapter is so stomach-churning that it will turn you off porn forever, and runs for the next xx minutes - you may want to skip it”, and similarly with the later chapter on CM the CM…though I had learned my lesson by that time and just skipped through most of the latter. I got it, a traumatic experience no one should EVER have go through. BTW, I don’t watch horror films either…
Mr Sonnenfeld is a phenomenal story teller, and his narration beyond perfect. I wish it had been longer; his story makes me realize how many truly fascinating people there are out in the world.
Brilliant, but for…
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This book could be an introduction to really getting in contact with what happened to many of us.
A very elevated sense of humor that you'll get after listening to the book; not a LOL but a series of painful chuckles throughout, with the overall sense that it helps, and the sure effect of sarcasm or laughter when it actually happens again (for those that still have their "mother" around).
I thank you, Barry.
Cristian Fernandez Falcon, San Antonio TX
Very similar mother, very many points in common
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Terrific showbiz memoir of a very singular artist.
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Nothing important except read the book
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The Kosher Cowboy Rides Again
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