Mike Binder

Mike Binder (born June 2, 1958) is an award-winning American screenwriter, film director and actor. As an actor Binder was featured in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report with Tom Cruise, and Rod Lurie's The Contender with Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, and Jeff Bridges. He appeared in Rebecca Miller's 2009 film The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, with Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, and Julianne Moore. As a screenwriter he has written scripts for Stephen Speilberg, Julia Roberts, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Carrey, and Tim Allen.

Life and career

Binder grew up in Detroit Michigan, and attended Camp Tamakwa, which formed the basis for his 1993 film Indian Summer. Beginning his career as a screenwriter and standup comedian, he had a banner month in March 1990 with the March 9 theatrical premiere of his first screenplay, Coupe de Ville, directed by Joe Roth and co-produced by Mike, and his own HBO stand up comedy special, broadcast the following night, March 10. Binder's own directorial debut was with his second screenplay, 1992's Crossing the Bridge. In 2001 to 2003 Binder starred in his own HBO comedy series, The Mind of the Married Man, which he co-wrote, co-directed. His independently-produced film The Sex Monster won "Best Film" and Binder won "Best Actor" at the 2001 Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. The Search for John Gissing,[1] an independent film he starred in opposite Alan Rickman received several film festival awards including the Critics award at the Sarasota film festival in 2003.

Mike Binder wrote and directed three mid-2000s films in which he also played supporting roles. The first, The Upside of Anger, starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner, premiered at the January 2005 Sundance Film Festival; thirteen months later, Man About Town with Ben Affleck, was first seen at the February 2006 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and, after another thirteen months, Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler, was released in March 2007. The three films were produced by, Alex Gartner, (The Upside of Anger), Michael Rotenberg, (Man About Town and Reign Over Me), and Mike Binder's younger brother, Jack Binder, with whom Mike formed Sunlight Productions.

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Filmography

Directing credits

• Crossing the Bridge (1992) (also writer)
• Indian Summer (1993) (also writer)
• Blankman (1994)
• The Sex Monster (1999) (also writer)
• Londinium (2001) (also writer)
• The Search for John Gissing (2001) (also writer)
• The Upside of Anger (2005) (also writer)
• Man About Town (2006) (also writer)
• Reign Over Me (2007) (also writer)

Acting credits

• Crossing the Bridge (1992)
• Indian Summer (1993)
• Blankman (1994)
• The Sex Monster (1999)
• The Contender (2000)
• Londinium (2001)
• The Search for John Gissing (2001)
• Minority Report (2002)
• The Upside of Anger (2005)
• The Amateurs (also known as The Moguls, 2005)
• Man About Town (2006)
• Reign Over Me (2007)
• The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)

References

External links

• Mike Binder at the Internet Movie Database
• Mike Binder at Allmovie
• MikeBinder.net
• JackBinder.net

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