Director/Writer Spotlight: The Coen Brothers

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen are movie directors, producers, and screenwriters. Working entirely outside the studio system, the Coen brothers scored an unlikely first success in 1984 with their postmodern noir film Blood Simple. Two decades and nearly a dozen movies later, the Coens are now among the best-known writer/directors in Hollywood, turning out major studio releases. With each film they have surprised fans and critics alike, always refusing to repeat themselves or compromise their independence.

“You love all your characters, even the ridiculous ones. You have to on some level; they’re your weird creations in some kind of way. I don’t even know how you approach the process of conceiving the characters if in a sense you hated them. It’s just absurd.” – Joel Coen