Barry "Armyan" Bernstein (born August 12, 1947) is an American film/television producer, director and screenwriter.[1] He is the co-founder and chairman of the film/television company Beacon Pictures.[2]
Armyan Bernstein | |
|---|---|
 Bernstein in 2007 | |
| Born | August 12, 1947 |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer, screenwriter, film director |
| Spouse | Christine Meleo |
Career
Bernstein has produced, executive produced, written or directed more than 40 films, including Air Force One, The Hurricane (which he also co-wrote), Spy Game, The Family Man, The Guardian, Children of Men, the Dawn of the Dead remake, Bring It On, Open Range, Thirteen Days, A Lot Like Love, Firewall and End of Days. Films he has produced via Beacon Pictures include Ladder 49, Raising Helen, For Love of the Game and The Water Horse.
In television, Bernstein was the Executive Producer of the TNT series Agent X and the ABC series Castle, created by Andrew Marlowe, who wrote Air Force One and End of Days for Beacon.
Bernstein also produced the Broadway musical Bring It On, which was nominated for a Tony for Best Musical.
Bernstein has received many awards including being honored as Showest Producer of the Year, and winning the USC Scripter Award for his screenplay for The Hurricane.[citation needed]
He is also the founder and chairman of the upcoming sports league, The People's Games.
Bernstein founded Beacon Communications in 1990[3] with his college fraternity brother, Tom Rosenberg, who now has his own successful film company, Lakeshore Entertainment, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture for Million Dollar Baby.[4]
Bernstein was also a partner with Charlie Lyons and the Ascent Entertainment Group which owned the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, On-Command and Spectravision.
Other films produced by Bernstein and Beacon Pictures include The Commitments, A Midnight Clear, A Thousand Acres, Sugar Hill, Playing God, Princess Caraboo, The Road to Wellville and A Life in the Theatre, which won a cable ACE Award for Best Drama.[citation needed]
Armyan was born and raised in Chicago, and attended the University of Wisconsin. He was a broadcast journalist with PBS and then with ABC. He wrote the disco film Thank God It's Friday. He then wrote and co-produced Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart. Bernstein made his directing debut with Windy City, from his screenplay, which starred John Shea and Kate Capshaw. He also co-wrote and directed Cross My Heart, starring Martin Short and Annette O'Toole. He also wrote and produced ABC's Emmy Award–winning The Earth Day Special.[citation needed]
Personal life
Armyan Bernstein was born into a Jewish family, the youngest of Lynne and Armand Bernstein's two children.[5][6][7] He is married to Christine Meleo.[7][5]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Thank God It's Friday | Yes | |||
| 1982 | One from the Heart | Yes | Co-producer | ||
| 1984 | Windy City | Yes | Yes | Directorial debut | |
| 1987 | Cross My Heart | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1999 | The Hurricane | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2015 | Grey Lady | Story | Yes |
Producer only
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Road to Wellville | 1994 | |
| 364 Girls a Year | 1996 | |
| Air Force One | 1997 | |
| Disturbing Behavior | 1998 | |
| For Love of the Game | 1999 | |
| End of Days | 1999 | |
| Thirteen Days | 2000 | |
| A Lot Like Love | 2005 | |
| Firewall | 2006 | |
| Mardi Gras: Spring Break | 2011 | Limited release |
Executive producer only
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Satisfaction | 1988 | |
| The Commitments | 1991 | |
| A Midnight Clear | 1992 | |
| Sugar Hill | 1993 | |
| Princess Caraboo | 1994 | |
| The Baby-Sitters Club | 1995 | |
| A Thousand Acres | 1997 | |
| Playing God | 1997 | |
| Bring It On | 2000 | |
| The Family Man | 2000 | |
| Spy Game | 2001 | |
| Tuck Everlasting | 2002 | |
| The Emperor's Club | 2002 | |
| Open Range | 2003 | |
| Bring It On: Again | 2004 | Direct-to-video film |
| Dawn of the Dead | 2004 | |
| Ladder 49 | 2004 | |
| Bring It On: All or Nothing | 2006 | Direct-to-video film |
| Children of Men | 2006 | |
| Pu-239 | 2006 | |
| The Guardian | 2006 | |
| Let's Go to Prison | 2006 | |
| Bring It On: In It to Win It | 2007 | Direct-to-video film |
| Ny-Lon | 2008 | Unsold television pilot |
| Bring It On: Fight to the Finish | 2009 | Direct-to-video film |
| Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack | 2017 | Direct-to-video film |
| Dreadspace | 2017 | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Family | Yes | episode: "Monday Is Forever" | ||
| 1990 | The Earth Day Special | Yes | Executive | Television special | |
| 2003 | Naked Hotel | Yes | Yes | Television film | |
| 2009-16 | Castle | Executive | 171 episodes | ||
| 2015 | Agent X | Executive | 9 episodes |
References
- ^ "Armyan Bernstein". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2014. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014.
- ^ "Beacon Pictures". Beacon Pictures. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
- ^ "About Us". Beacon Pictures. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (December 15, 2005). "'Million Dollar' march". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Lynne Bernstein's obituary, Chicago Tribune, June 4, 2019 (also available on "Shiva").
- ^ "Privilege and its price". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 2008.
My mom would get dressed up on Oscar night and make a special dinner," he said. "The next day, we didn't have to go to school. It was like a Jewish holiday.
- ^ a b "Armand Bernstein, age 85, founder and president of Ogden Oil Co., beloved husband cherished friend of 62 years to Lynne; devoted loving father of Eileen (Richard) Kriozere and Army Barry (Christine Meleo) Bernstein". Chicago Tribune. June 1, 2003.