David Frankel is an Academy Award-winning American director, screenwriter, and producer who is popularly known for directing the movie The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Frankel, who made his debut in 1995 with the movie Miami Rhapsody, has also dir
vies such as the Jennifer Anniston starrer Marley and Me (2008) and Hope Springs (2012).
Early Life
Frankel was born to Tobia Simone, and Max Frankel, a former executive editor of The New York Times and a columnist.
Movie Career
Frankel made his directorial debut with the 1995 movie Miami Rhapsody, a romantic comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Antonio Banderas, Gil Bellows, and Paul Mazursky. The movie upon its release received moderate reviews at the box office. In the following year, he directed the short film Dear Diary starring Bebe Neuwirth. The movie went on to win an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 69th Academy Awards.
In the next decade, Frankel directed just two movies – Just Like You Imagined (2002) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and it was the latter that went on to receive critical and commercial acclaim. The comedy-drama movie, which is an adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s novel of the same name, stars Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in the lead roles. The depiction of the fashion industry in the movie was a much talked-about issue upon its release and had divided opinions from the fashion world. The movie, however, went on to gross $27 million on the opening holiday weekend, which was a record at the time only broken by Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 2009.
A couple of years later, Frankel directed the comedy-drama Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston. The movie that revolved around the central character of a dog named Marley set a Christmas Day box office record with $14.75 million ticket sales. The movie received mixed to positive reviews and Todd McCarthy of the Variety said: “as broad and obvious as it could be, but delivers on its own terms thanks to the sparky chemistry between its sunny blond stars, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and the unabashed emotion-milking of the final reel. Fox has a winner here, likely to be irresistible to almost everyone but cats ... Animated and emotionally accessible, Aniston comes off better here than in most of her feature films,andWilson spars well with her, even if, in the film's weaker moments, he shows he's on less certain ground with earnest material than he is with straight-faced impertinence”.
Frankel’s next release, The Big Year (2011), a comedy film, was a box office failure and received unfavorable reviews from the critics despite boasting a stellar cast of Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black. However, the following year Frankel bounced back with a romantic comedy Hope Springs starring Meryl Streep, Steve Carrel, and Tommy Lee Jones. The movie received positive reviews, with the critics particularly praising Meryl Streep, who was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Movie Icon. With the majority of Frankel’s movies being comedies, for his next film he did stick to the same theme, however, the central theme being that of a ‘biography’. The movie titled One Chance, a biographical comedy-drama based on the life of the opera singer Paul Potts – the winner of Britain’s Got Talent. The movie was screened at 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and received satisfying reviews. Frankel also included the single “Sweeter Than Fiction”, sung by Taylor Swift, in the soundtrack of the movie and the song was also released as the lead single; the single was later nominated at the 71st Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Original Song. His 2016 release includes the movie Collateral Beauty, a drama film that features an ensemble cast of Will Smith, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Michael Pena, Edward Norton, and Naomie Harris.
TV Career
As a Producer
Frankel has also been the executive producer for several TV shows such as Grapevine (2000), Doctor Doctor (1989 – 1991), and The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986).
As a Director
Apart from being a film director, Frankel has also directed several episodes of TV shows such as Band of Brothers (2001), Grapevine (2000), and Doctor Doctor (1990).
As a Writer
Frankel first began writing for the TV show The Ellen Burstyn Show in 1986; he wrote the teleplay and story for the pilot. He later went on to write for shows such as Doctor Doctor (1989), Teech (1991), Grapevine (1992), and Rome (2005).