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You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hume. When you've been making films for as long as director, producer and author Barry Sonnenfeld has, you've definitely learned a thing or two or a lot more about life. In this talk, Barry pulls from his four decades in the film industry to share 10 unexpected rules for survival and success and what it takes to really make people laugh without letting them know you're trying. Enjoy. This episode is brought to you by Nordstrom. Okay, if you're like me, you wait all year for the Nordstrom anniversary sale. Because it's not about clearing out old stuff. It's about scoring new arrivals on sale. Think of it as a rare moment when time bends in our favor. Fresh styles, beauty exclusives, even home goods up to 33% off. It's the perfect time to stock up on those pieces you'll wear or use on repeat. And yes, there are great finds for under $100 from brands like Madewell, Free People, and Charlotte Tilbury. The sale is on now, but not forever. Prices go up August 1st forth. And Nordstrom makes it easy, which, honestly, we all need. There's online order pickup, free shipping, free returns, and even free style help. If you're stuck in decision fatigue, check out all the fun anniversary events happening at Nordstrom near you, like in store promotions and daily beauty events. Shop now. Your future self will thank you. This episode is sponsored by McDonald's. Okay, confession time. I love a good comeback story, especially when it's delicious and totally unexpected. Back in 2006, McDonald's released the snack wrap and it quickly became the go to bite portable, crunchy, juicy perfection. Then it vanished. Gone. Poof. But the fans like me. Oh, they never gave up. I'm talking nine years of petitions, Facebook groups, memes, international snack wrap scouting missions. People built entire identities around this thing. It was intense in the best way. And now it's back. Yes, really. Thanks to relentless sauce loving dedication, McDonald's brought back the snack wrap. Think crispy, juicy white meat, shredded lettuce, melty cheese, all hugged in a soft tortilla and drizzled with ranch or your pick of sauces. It was never supposed to return, but the fans made it happen. Because sometimes passion wins. And sometimes it tastes like a snack wrap. Try the snack wrap that broke the Internet at a McDonald's near you. This episode is sponsored by Upwork. Navigating today's economy. Well, it's a lot. Tariffs, tight budgets, hiring freezes. But if you're trying to build something right now, one of the smartest moves you can make is upwork. Upwork is the hiring platform designed for how business actually works. Today you can find, hire and pay expert freelancers who deliver from day one without blowing your budget or your timeline. Whether you need support with AI design, admin work, or a new marketing strategy, Upwork gives you access to top talent without the overhead of full time hires. No subscriptions, no upfront fees. Posting a job is free. You only pay when you hire. Never tried Upwork. Well, now's the perfect time because they're giving our listeners a $200 credit. After spending 1,000 in your first 30 days, that's $200 you can put towards your next freelancer. Visit upwork.comsaverightnow for this great offer. That's upwork.coms a V E. Don't wait. This offer is Only valid through August 5, 2025.
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I've directed four films starring Will Smith. Three of them were the first three Men in Black movies. And in spite of them making about $2 billion at the box office, Will Smith never really thought I had a clue. He wanted to take me to his old high school, point to me and say, if this man can be a successful film director on big budget films, anyone can. The truth is, for all of you here, if I could be a successful director on big budget films, anyone can. So I'd like to Share with you 9 thoughts I have that that will help you in your future endeavors. And the first one's gonna be a little disappointing to some of you, which is there is no upside to optimism. Okay, let me explain that every time I get off an airplane, I view it as a failed suicide attempt. That is where embracing pessimism comes in. You see, as soon as I buckle in, I turn to Sweetie, my wife, and I say, this plane is going to crash. Now, I can relax because one of two things happened. Either the plane starts nose diving towards Earth, at which point I get to elbow Sweetie and gloat. Was I right? Or what? Or the plane lands successfully and we live. Win, win. So, always under promise and over deliver. Okay, thank you, thank you, thank you. Okay, number two. Number two is never let anyone know you're working on a comedy. Now, this may be true specifically for film directors, but it's kind of also true for telling a joke. Okay? You never want anyone to be funny. If the wardrobe person thinks it's funny, the costumes are going to be too colorful. If your cinematographer thinks you're working on a comedy, the lighting will be too bright. If the composer composes for comedy, you're going to have slide whistles and triangles. And worst of all is if the actors think they're working on a comedy, you only want the actors to play the reality of the scene and and you want the audience to find the comedy. Never ever let your actors be funny. Ok, number three, be punctual. I was a senior in high school when I asked my overbearing mother if I could attend a concert at Madison Square Garden with my girlfriend. The fact that I was 17 years old and needed parental permission is another story for another TED Talk. Anyway, Sweetie says Sorry. Not Sweetie. Oh my God. Was that a Freudian thing? I don't think it was. No, it was. It was. Sweetie, I love you so much. And you're not my mother. Okay, let's continue. So in any case, my mother says. My mother says you can go as long as you're home by 2:00am At 2:20am Jimi Hendrix and his band of gypsies take the stage. As they are warming up in front of 19,600 people. The following announcement echoes throughout Madison Square Garden. Barry Sonnenfeld, call your mother. Now. I know the only reason I'm being paged is because my father has died. He hasn't. My father has died and I will spend the rest of my life living as an aging virgin with my mother. Okay, mom already threatened to commit suicide if I attended sleep away school. You guys call that college? Okay, so I find a payphone, I call mom, who died? I thought you did. You were supposed to be home at 2 and it's 2:20. But mom, didn't they tell you the concert was still going on? Well, they did, but they couldn't confirm you were there. Okay, so Jimmy, a tad annoyed by the PA announcement, walks off stage, never to return. Eight months later he was dead. And I blame my mother. So let's talk about punctuality. As far as I'm concerned, being early is being on time. Being on time is actually late. And late gets you paged at Madison Square Garden. Okay, let's go to the next one, which is number four. Which is don't work your way up the ladder. I was a film school student and I realized I was a pretty good cinematographer. So I decided that's what I would be. When I got out of college, I bought a used 16 millimeter camera so I could call myself a cameraman without feeling like a dilettante. Six months later, I meet Joel Cohen, 50% of the Coen brothers. At a Christmas party, Joel tells me he and his brother Ethan have written a script called Blood simple, and they're going to shoot a trailer as if the movie was already made. And they're going to use this trailer to raise money from investing groups to then make their film. So I tell Joel I have a camera. He tells me I'm hired. And a year later, we find ourselves in Austin, Texas, in production. The first day of filming on Blood simple was the first day that Joe, Ethan, or I had ever been on a movie set. Don't work your way up. Okay, number five. This one's going to get to the Rob Reiner of it all, which is, let it be their decision. I was a cinematographer on When Harry Met Sally for Rob, and we were shooting a night scene in lower Manhattan with Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Bruno Kirby, and Carrie Fisher. So they came to the set, which was on West Broadway. They rehearsed the scene while reading from the script as they walked down West Broadway, and then went back into hair and makeup While I lit the scene. I told Rob we were ready. The actors came back, now knowing their lines, walking much faster, and they walk 50ft beyond where I'm lit. I say to Rob, can you slow down their walk so they can stop where they did during rehearsal? Rob says, you know what, Bear? I don't want them to worry about anything but performance. Can you light it so they can stop anywhere? So I say, sure, give me 14 minutes. Now, here's something else you should learn. Never give estimates in round numbers by saying 14, 11, 17, or any other arcane number. You really sound like you know what you're talking about. So I lit another 67ft. See where I went with that? 67ft. Told Rob, we're ready. And Rob says, well, will it still look pretty bare? Will it still look beautiful? I said, well, it won't look as beautiful, but now they can stop wherever they want. Rob says, we don't want not beautiful. We want beautiful. Where do they have to stop? Where it will look beautiful. Back where they stop during rehearsal. Rob calls the actors over, says, guys, stop where you did during rehearsal. Slow down, you walk. At that moment, I learned something. I let it be Rob's decision to get what I wanted. So later that night, I'm shooting Meg Ryan's close up. Meg was great fun to work with, but she didn't always hit her mark. So tonight, with this newfound information, I said to Meg, hey, Meg, it doesn't matter where you stop, but if you land right Here, you look gorgeous. She hit her mark every time, so let it be their decision. Okay, here's an easy one. Number six, which is never stand on the end of a group photo. You got two things working against you. First of all, the physics of a wide angle lens on most cameras makes anyone on the edge of frame sort of seem wide. And second of all, you're easy to crop out of the photo. So you always want to stay in the center where the important person is. Okay, that's an easy one. Number seven, which is. Oh, this is a good one. It's called out juvenile. A screaming bully. Okay. The first movie I directed was produced by the famous Scott Rudin. Scott was a brilliant producer, but a legendary screamer and bully. So this is how I tamed the beast. Okay? Whenever I was in Scott's office on both Adam's family and Adam's family values, and he would scream at me, I would remove the pillows and bolsters from his couch. I would build myself a fort. I would climb into the fort and I would say, I can't hear you. I'm in the fort. Scott would scream, get out of the goddamn fort, Sonnenfeld. I don't have a lot of time. Sorry, Scott, I'm still in the fort and I can't hear you screaming. Did you say something? Eventually, Scott would give in, apologize. I would leave the fortress. But here's the thing. Never once over two movies did he invade the sanctity of the fort. Never once did he lift up a pillow and say, schmuck, there is no fort. So really go for the juvenile. Okay, we're almost done, I promise. Number eight is be willing to kill your darlings. I was the director of Get Shorty. And the budget for get shorty was $30,250,000. The head of the studio, Mike Marker, said, 30 million, not a penny more. I said, okay, we'll lose the night scene with Gene Hackman. It takes place over two nights. It costs 250,000 and it doesn't move the plot forward, so it's easy to get rid of. Mike said, you can't lose that scene. It's my favorite scene in the movie, by the way. Whenever you want to lose a scene, it's always some executive's favorite scene in the movie. So I said, mike, you have no choice. We've got to come in at 30 million. And losing the scene puts us at 30 million. Mike says, don't tell me I have no choice. I'm the head of the studio. What's it going to cost to put that scene back in. 250,000. You got it. OK. That's another example, by the way, of let it be their decision. And finally, and most important, always carry a photo of how you like your steak prepared. Now. So here's what you do. You order a steak, the waiter says, how would you like it prepared? And you say, what does your restaurant call this? The waiter looks at it and says, oh, that's our medium rare plus. You say, I would like a medium rare plus New York strip, please. Never, ever, ever, ever say cook it like this because that's giving the chef a line reading and they don't like it. In fact, sweetie and I got kicked out of the Sage Creek Grill in Custer, South Dakota. But that's another story for another TED Talk. So in conclusion, I would say you now have nine pieces of information that will help you become a successful film director on big budget films. Thank you very much.
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That was Barry Sonnenfeld at TED 2025. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out more@ted.com curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezzo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Each Apple product, like the iPhone 16, is thoughtfully designed by skilled designers. The titanium Apple Card is no different. It's laser etched, has no numbers, and it earns you daily cash on everything you buy, including 3% back on everything at Apple. Apply for Apple Card on your iPhone in minutes subject to credit approval. Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecard.com banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way.
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He'd also tell you that this podcast.
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