Brian Herzlinger Explained

Brian Herzlinger
Birth Date:19 February 1976
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation:Film director
Years Active:1997–present
Children:Cleary Herzlinger (b. 2014), Henry Herzlinger (b. 2017), Rainey Herzlinger (b. 2022)

Brian Scott Herzlinger (born February 19, 1976, Brooklyn, New York) is an American film director who directed and starred in My Date with Drew, a documentary released in 2005. Herzlinger graduated from Ithaca College (NY) with a film degree in 1997.

Early years

Herzlinger grew up in Evesham Township, New Jersey, where he attended Cherokee High School, graduating in 1994 as the prom king.[1]

In 1997, he graduated from Ithaca College with a BS in Cinema & Photography. He had written and directed a short, student film called The Film Contest shot on 16mm film. After moving to Los Angeles, Herzlinger directed more short films, including Malicious Intent. He worked at DreamWorks and MGM and also as a Production Assistant on several commercials and music videos. Afterwards, he worked for two years as a Producer's P.A. on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope, and worked his way up to Executive Producer Bill D'Elia's assistant on the David E. Kelley landmark series Ally McBeal. After his first feature My Date With Drew, Herzlinger began a three-year stint as an on-air special correspondent for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Simultaneously, he directed the romantic comedy Baby on Board, starring Heather Graham, Jerry O'Connell, John Corbett and Lara Flynn Boyle which hit theatres nationwide in 2009.

Herzlinger's love for film began at a young age with his first viewing of the film , said the director in an interview for The Film That Changed My Life[2] by Robert K. Elder.

I think it gave us permission to believe, and I’ll tell you right now, one of my biggest things as a person, as a filmmaker, is being able to believe. If I didn’t have that and didn’t have that ability, I would have failed at this business.[3]

Recent years

Herzlinger has multiple film and television projects in the works. He currently lives in Malibu, California and works as a film director and writer.

In 2010, Summit Entertainment hired Black and Herzlinger to re-write their $50 million action comedy Mental.In 2011, Herzlinger directed the feature Brother White (starring Bruce Davison and Ray Wise) as well as the television pilot for B&B Media's Today’s Tiaras.

In 2012, Herzlinger served as host for Laugh Factor, a CW pilot for the Wayans Brothers, described as The Voice for stand-up comedy. Also in 2012, Herzlinger the comedy musical How Sweet It Is (starring Paul Sorvino and Joe Piscopo), which was co-written by Jay Black & Herzlinger, and released in select theatres nationwide on May 10, 2013. That same year, he directed the family holiday film Christmas Angel (starring Kevin Sorbo and Della Reese), which became the highest-rated TV movie of 2012 for the GMC network with over 3 million viewers.

In 2013, he directed the feature film Finding Normal. He produced, directed, and co-wrote the TV pilot Paulie (starring Paul Sorvino and Janeane Garofalo).

In 2014, Herzlinger and Black wrote the cancer drama Meet My Valentine. He directed the film for Marvista Entertainment which was released on Valentine's Day 2015, and is currently on Netflix. In 2015, the duo wrote the action film, The Bus Driver, which Herzlinger also directed. That year, he also directed the feature drama The Perfect Daughter starring Parker Stevenson and Meredith Salenger. He co-wrote and directed the Christmas film Love Always, Santa and directed the series pilot Confessions of a Hollywood Bartender.

In 2016, Herzlinger directed the feature romantic comedy Love's Last Resort, which turned out to be the late Alan Thicke's last film; Hush Little Baby, a thriller starring Erin Cahill; and the Pureflix original series pilot Hitting The Breaks.

In 2017, Herzlinger directed the romantic drama Runaway Romance starring Tatum O'Neal. In 2019, he directed his second documentary, . The film explores actor Corey Feldman's allegations sexual abuse as a child by prominent Hollywood figures.[4]

Filmography

Films directed
YearFilmOther notes
1997The Film ContestShort film
1999Malicious IntentShort film
2002KrutchShort film
2005My Date with DrewVail Film Festival Festival Award
US Comedy Arts Festival Audience Award
Gen Art Film Festival Audience Award
Locarno International Film Festival Critics Week Award
Sonoma Valley Film Festival Audience Award
Sonoma Valley Film Festival Jury Award
Sonoma Valley Film Festival Special Award
2009Baby on Board
2011Brother WhiteTV movie
2012Christmas AngelTV movie
2013How Sweet It IsFeature film
2013Finding NormalTV movie
2013PaulieCompleted pilot
2014The Bus DriverFeature film
2014Meet My ValentineFeature film
2015The Perfect DaughterFeature film
2015 Confessions of a Hollywood BartenderSeries pilot
2016 Love Always, SantaFeature film
2016Love's Last ResortFeature film
2016Hush Little BabyFeature film
2016Hitting the BreaksSeries pilot + 2 episodes
2017Runaway RomanceFeature film
2020Documentary film
2021The Holiday FixupFeature film

External links

Notes and References

  1. Strauss, Robert. "Worth Noting; This Could Be His Date With Destiny", The New York Times, August 7, 2005. Accessed August 4, 2019. "'I was the Prom King, but I couldn't get a date,' said Mr. Herzlinger, a 1994 Cherokee High School graduate who went on, with his childhood buddies Mr. Gunn and Mr. Winn, to Ithaca College film school."
  2. Book: 978-1556528255. The Film that Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark. Elder. Robert K.. 2011. Chicago Review Press .
  3. Herzlinger, Brian. Interview by Robert K. Elder. The Film That Changed My Life. By Robert K. Elder. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011. N. p87. Print.
  4. Web site: Opinion Corey Feldman: Every child who was sexually abused must get the justice denied to me. NBC News. 28 January 2019 . en. 2020-05-13.