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Etan Cohen

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Not to be confused with Ethan Cohen.

Etan Cohen
Born (1974-03-14) March 14, 1974 (age 50)
Israel
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard College
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1995–present

Etan Cohen (Hebrew: איתן כהן; born March 14, 1974) is an Israeli-American screenwriter and film director who has written scripts for Hollywood movies, including Idiocracy, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Men in Black 3, and The Bad Guys.

Early life and education

Born in Israel to a Jewish family, Cohen grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Maimonides School and Harvard College, where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon.[1][2]

Career

His first produced scripts, in 1995 and 1997, were for Beavis and Butthead, where he was credited as Etan Cohen.[citation needed] He has since written for other Mike Judge-directed projects, including King of the Hill from 2001 to 2005, and for the feature film Idiocracy in 2006. In the late 1990s he worked on two other television series – the animated Recess and the short lived It's Like, You Know.... In 2007, he wrote the short film ‘My Wife is Retarded,’.[3] After scripting Idiocracy, he worked on the animated series, American Dad! and wrote the episode, "Failure Is Not a Factory-Installed Option". The American Dad! minor character of the same name is named for him.

In 2008, Cohen co-wrote, along with Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux, the action-comedy film Tropic Thunder. He also co-wrote, along with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which earned an Annie Award nomination for best Writing in a Feature Production.

Cohen penned the script for 2012's Men in Black 3. In 2015, he made his directorial debut with Get Hard, which he also co-wrote.

Cohen wrote and directed the 2018 film Holmes & Watson. The film earned him a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.[4]

Personal life

Cohen is an observant Jew.[5] He keeps kosher and does not work on the Jewish Sabbath. He and his wife send their children to a Jewish day school.[5]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2006 Idiocracy No Yes Co-wrote with Mike Judge
2008 Tropic Thunder No Yes Co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Ben Stiller
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa No Yes Co-wrote with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath
Nominated – Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production[6]
2012 Men in Black 3 No Yes
2015 Get Hard Yes Yes Directorial debut
Co-wrote with Jay Martel and Ian Roberts
2018 Holmes & Watson Yes Yes Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director[7]
2022 The Bad Guys No Yes Additional screenplay material by Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston
Also executive producer with Aaron Blabey and Patrick Hughes
2022 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish No Yes Additional screenplay material
2024 Brothers No Yes

Television

Year Title Notes
1995–1997 Beavis and Butt-head
1999 It's Like, You Know
Recess
Timon & Pumbaa
2001–2005 King of the Hill Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Television Production[8]
2006 American Dad!

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2005 Annie Award Writing in an Animated Television Production King of the Hill Won [9]
2007 US Comedy Arts Festival Comedy Festival Award for Best Short Film My Wife Is Retarded Won [10]
2009 Annie Award Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production Madagascar 2 Nominated [9]
2019 39th Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Director Holmes & Watson Won [11]

References

  1. ^ Smith, Lynn (August 15, 2008). "The joke is on you". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  2. ^ Chris Lee (May 29, 2012). "The Movie Redemption of 'Men in Black 3' Scribe Etan Cohen". The Daily Beast. IAC. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "My Wife is Retarded". IMDb.
  4. ^ Howard, Annie (February 22, 2019). "Worst Director - Razzie Awards: 'Holmes & Watson' Named Worst Picture of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Zeitchik, Steven (March 13, 2015). "Etan Cohen, director of 'Get Hard,' is used to confounding expectations". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "Annie Awards - 36th Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  7. ^ Montgomery, Daniel (February 23, 2019). "2019 Razzie winners announced: Full list of Razzie Award winners in all 10 categories [WATCH]". GoldDerby. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "Annie Awards - 32nd Annie Awards". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Etan Cohen - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Sciretta, Peter (February 13, 2007). "The 2007 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Film Program Line-Up". /Film. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  11. ^ "2019 Razzie winners announced: Full list of Razzie Award winners in all 10 categories [WATCH]". February 23, 2019.
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