No Screen Too Big or Small

Barry Sonnenfeld is still big. It’s his pictures that have gotten small.

Sonnenfeld, one of Hollywood’s elite with a stellar directing career book-ended by 1991’s “The Addams Family” and 1997’s blockbuster “Men in Black,” is marching into the TV arena at the same time he’s directing one of next summer’s most eagerly awaited films.

The former cinematographer, who cut his teeth providing the offbeat camera work for such Coen brothers films as “Blood Simple” and “Raising Arizona,” is executive producer on two new ABC series--”Maximum Bob,” which premiered last week to high ratings, and a revamped resurrection of the kitsch classic “Fantasy Island”--while also helming next summer’s “The Wild, Wild West” for Warner Bros.

If that weren’t enough, Sonnenfeld, who was an executive producer on one of this summer’s critical hits, “Out of Sight,” is making plans for his next theatrical project: directing “Chippendales” for Touchstone, a film based on the rise and fall of the male strip club’s founder, Steve Banerjee. Also, Sonnenfeld Josephson Worldwide Entertainment, the production company he runs with partner Barry Josephson, is developing at least 10 other theatrical projects.

“Luckily I don’t sleep that much,” Sonnenfeld said during a recent stop at the Hotel Bel-Air, where he was celebrating the birthday of his wife, Susan.

While resting from his day job of directing “The Wild, Wild West,” an upside-down version of the 1960s-era western-secret agent series that stars Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek, he will read scripts for his two shows, make notes and go over casting tapes with his wife.

Sonnenfeld, who has become known for his quirky, comical camera work, fisheye lenses and an off-center comedic sense featuring characters talking rapidly (“People talking fast is very funny”), describes the massive number of projects on his plate as a “series of accidents” that just happened to have come together at the same time.

Although he denied that he feels particularly driven to do as many projects as he can, he does impart that he wants to bring a more quirky and inventive feel to television, a medium that he says has become too bland.

“Television all looks the same,” Sonnenfeld said. “There are these shows that broke new ground with their look, such as ‘Hill Street Blues’ and ‘NYPD Blue.’ They also had good stories, and so much of my art stems from that. Most of all, I want to take something that is banal and put my own absurdist spin on it.”

And don’t read any obsession with television as a common denominator in the themes of several Sonnenfeld projects, despite his association with “The Addams Family,” “The Wild, Wild West” or “Fantasy Island.” For instance, he said his “Addams Family” was more a homage to the comic strip by Charles Addams than to the series. And he says he never watched “Fantasy Island.”

“I just knew that ‘The plane! The plane!’ was some kind of cultural icon, but I never saw an episode of the original,” he said.

His entry into the medium was creatively motivated. “One week in television you can have a mediocre show, but then the next week you get another chance and you can have a great show. I wanted to meet new directors and writers.”

Josephson said Sonnenfeld’s ability to focus is allowing him to handle the myriad projects. “Barry has such a specific point of view, and he sees exactly what he needs to see,” said Josephson, former president of production for Columbia Pictures. “He focuses on the primary work he needs to do, but he can still give me and others feedback on our other shows and movies. He never spreads himself too thin.”

And Sonnenfeld’s spin, which has earned him a solid string of hits with “The Addams Family” and its sequel, “Addams Family Values,” “Get Shorty” and “Men in Black,” already seems to have struck home with TV audiences.

“Maximum Bob,” a drama series based on an Elmore Leonard novel about an outspoken and out-of-line Florida judge starring Beau Bridges, had the highest-rated premiere of any network show premiering in the summer in the last four years, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The soft-spoken director, who comes across more like a friendly, low-key East Coast businessman than like a filmmaker with a twisted sense of humor, is one of the growing number of noted movie producers and directors making the jump to network TV. Others thinking small include Brian Grazer and Ron Howard (WB’s “Felicity” and Fox’s “The PJs”), Zalman King (NBC’s “Wind on Water”), Mark Johnson (CBS’ “L.A. Docs”) and Wes Craven (“Hollyweird” for Fox).

Executives at Columbia/TriStar Television, which is producing the new “Fantasy Island” along with Sonnenfeld and Josephson, are so impressed that they have already signed the duo to a multiple-series deal.

“The Barrys have brought a whole fresh sensibility, quirkiness and tone to this show, not unlike ‘Men in Black,’ ” said Eric Tannanbaum, president of Columbia/TriStar Television.

“We’ve already made a large and extensive deal with them to do other projects, based on our experience with them on ‘Fantasy Island.’ The show has this really unconventional tone.”

“Fantasy Island,” which premieres Sept. 26, is a far cry from the drama that enjoyed a six-year run on ABC and starred Ricardo Montalban as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Herve Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. That series featured a cavalcade of mostly fading stars who would guest as tourists seeking to fulfill their fantasies on the picturesque island paradise.

On Sonnenfeld’s “Fantasy Island,” the guest stars will be mostly unknowns, and there will be two stories instead of three running through the hour. More important, Mr. Roarke (with Malcolm McDowell taking over the role) is not in an all-white suit but in a black one. He is not particularly nice. In fact, he is ominously manipulative. He works for the devil, and he hates his job. His hell is to do good deeds.

“I felt we could take a great premise and make it darker, more interesting and edgier,” he said. “Malcolm is so dangerous.”

Sonnenfeld is equally excited about “Maximum Bob,” which is being produced for Warner Bros. He directed the pilot of the series, which came about through his association with Elmore Leonard. At first he wanted to do it as a film, then figured it would make a more interesting television drama.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to see how a show that is about different things can work,” he said. “It’s a bit risky, but it’s not like anything you’ve seen before. Bob is a very politically incorrect guy, but deep down he’s a moral character. Just because you’re politically incorrect doesn’t make you bad or evil.”

Of course, Sonnenfeld’s involvement in the two new ABC series doesn’t mean he’s giving up the big screen. In fact, full-page ads in the Hollywood trade papers last month trumpeted the July 4, 1999, opening of “The Wild, Wild West.”

“I believe in marketing,” Sonnenfeld said quietly. “I just want every other studio to be afraid to go up against us that weekend.”

The film will have the same basic premise as the original series, which aired from 1965 to 1970 on CBS. The main character will still be the James Bond of the western era. This time around, he will be played by Will Smith.

“We will absolutely address the fact that this time, our lead character is a black man during this period in time,” Sonnenfeld said. “It’s a concept that we’re embracing a lot.”

He said the visual style of the film also will be flamboyant. “This will be bigger than ‘Men in Black.’ We’ve got an 80-foot tarantula in this movie.”

Despite his love for filmmaking and his undeniable success, Sonnenfeld said he doesn’t feel as if he has more clout or influence in Hollywood.

“Actors don’t listen to me any more than they did before,” he said. “I have the same doubts I had before. I feel I have less control over my craft than I did as a cinematographer.”

But there’s always the bright side.

“I make a lot more money,” he said, “and I can eat at Chinois.”

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