Mike Binder: Difference between revisions

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{{Infoboxshort description|American actor}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Mike Binder

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|06|02}}

| image =

| birth_place = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.

| caption =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

| birthdate = [[1958]]

* Director

| ___location = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]

* screenwriter

| notable role = ''The Upside of Anger'' (2005)

* stand-up comedian

* producer

* actor}}

| children = 2

| relatives = [[Jack Binder]] (brother)

}}

'''Mike Binder''' (born [[1958]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[screenwriter]], [[film director]] and [[actor]].

'''Mike Binder''' (born June 2, 1958) is an American filmmaker, stand-up comedian, and actor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mike Binder|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/81890/Mike-Binder|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106034422/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/81890/Mike-Binder|url-status=dead|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2007|archive-date=2007-11-06}}</ref>

Binder was born in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. His brother, Jack Binder, formed [[Sunlight Productions]].<ref>http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800139150/bio</ref> Binder grew up in a [[Jew]]ish community in Detroit and attended [[Camp Tamarack]], on which he later based his film ''Indian Summer''.<ref>http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=7391</ref>

==Life and career==

He began his career as a standup [[comedian]]. This led to his own [[HBO]] ''[[One Night Stand]]'' special. Binder's first [[screenplay]], ''[[Coupe de Ville (film)|Coupe de Ville]]'' (1990), was directed by [[Joe Roth]]. Binder's own directorial debut was with his second screenplay, ''[[Crossing the Bridge]]'' (1992). He is well known for the [[HBO]] comedy series, ''[[The Mind of the Married Man]]'', which he cowrote, co-directed and acted in as the central character "Micky Barnes". It was cancelled after two seasons (20 episodes).

Binder, descended from [[Russian-Jewish]] immigrants,<ref>{{Citation|last=WTF Podcast with Marc Maron|title=Mike Binder - WTF Podcast with Marc Maron #677|date=February 2, 2016|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fGLYGEekJ8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/2fGLYGEekJ8 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2017-01-09}}{{cbignore}}</ref> grew up in the [[Detroit]] suburb of [[Birmingham, Michigan|Birmingham]]. During the summers of 1966 through 1975, he attended [[Camp Tamakwa]], a [[summer camp]] in [[Algonquin Provincial Park]] in [[Ontario]], Canada; that experience was the inspiration (and the filming ___location) for his 1993 film ''[[Indian Summer (1993 film)|Indian Summer]]''.<ref name="NYT review">{{cite news|last1=Canby|first1=Vincent|authorlink1=Vincent Canby|title=Movie Review: Indian Summer (1993)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE6D81031F930A15757C0A965958260|access-date=September 6, 2015|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 23, 1993}}</ref><ref name="WP review">{{cite news|last1=Hinson|first1=Hal|title='Indian Summer'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/indiansummerpg13hinson_a0a811.htm|access-date=September 6, 2015|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 24, 1993}}</ref><ref name="Tamakwa movie">{{cite web|title=Indian Summer: The Movie|url=http://tamakwa.com/indian-summer-the-movie/|website=Camp Tamakwa|access-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref>

Beginning his career as a screenwriter and [[standup comedian]],<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Lewiston Journal]]|first=Jerry|last=Buck|date=June 10, 1985|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1899&dat=19850610&id=u8VGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=svMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2601,1093171|title=Comedy from Detroit}}</ref> in March 1990 with the March 9 theatrical premiere of his first [[screenplay]], ''[[Coupe de Ville (film)|Coupe de Ville]]'', directed by [[Joe Roth]] and co-produced by Binder, and his own [[HBO]] stand up comedy special, broadcast the following night.

The most recent films written and directed by Mike Binder are ''[[The Upside of Anger]]'', starring [[Joan Allen]] and [[Kevin Costner]], which premiered at the [[January 2005]] [[Sundance Film Festival]]; ''[[Man About Town]]'' with [[Ben Affleck]], first seen at the [[Santa Barbara International Film Festival]] in February 2006, and ''[[Reign Over Me]]'' with [[Adam Sandler]], released in March 2007. Binder also plays a supporting role in each of the films.

Binder's directorial debut was with his second screenplay, 1992's ''[[Crossing the Bridge]]''.

Binder gained further prominence with his 20-episode 2001-02 HBO comedy series, ''[[The Mind of the Married Man]]'', which he co-wrote, co-directed and starred in as the central character "Micky Barnes".<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=TELEVISION/RADIO; A Few Brave Husbands Have Sex on Their Minds|first=Craig|last=Tomashoff|date=September 22, 2002|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/arts/television-radio-a-few-brave-husbands-have-sex-on-their-minds.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm}}</ref><ref name=NYT2>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=TELEVISION REVIEW; Three Guys With One Thought|first=Julie|last=Salamon|date=September 11, 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/11/arts/television-review-three-guys-with-one-thought.html}}</ref> That same year, his independently produced film ''[[The Sex Monster]]'' won "Best Film" and Binder won "Best Actor" at the 2001 Comedy Arts Festival in [[Aspen]].

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 (2006 film)|Man About Town]]'' with [[Ben Affleck]], was first seen at the February 2006 [[Santa Barbara International Film Festival]] and, after another 13 months, ''[[Reign Over Me]]'' was released; Binder directed, wrote, and appeared in the film, starring [[Adam Sandler]] and [[Don Cheadle]]. His most recent film is 2014's ''[[Black or White (film)|Black or White]]'', starring [[Kevin Costner]] and [[Octavia Spencer]].

As an actor, Binder has appeared in [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[Minority Report (film)|Minority Report]]'' with [[Tom Cruise]], [[Rod Lurie]]'s ''[[The Contender (2000 film)|The Contender]]'' with [[Joan Allen]], and [[Rebecca Miller]]'s ''[[The Private Lives of Pippa Lee]]'' with [[Robin Wright (actress)|Robin Wright Penn]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800139150/bio|website=[[Yahoo!]]|title=Mike Binder}}</ref> He also appeared in Season 2, Episode 10 of ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' (2001).

Binder has directed most of the screenplays he has written, and has acted in many of them as well. As a writer, he has written screenplays for Steven Spielberg, [[Julia Roberts]], [[Robert Zemeckis]], [[Jim Carrey]], [[Adam Sandler]], [[Tim Allen]] and [[Reese Witherspoon]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Binder's first novel, ''[[Keep Calm (novel)|Keep Calm]]'', a thriller set in the UK, was published in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mike-binder/keep-calm|title=Keep Calm}}</ref> He directed stand-up comedian [[Bill Burr]]'s most recent [[Netflix]] comedy special ''[[Paper Tiger (2019 film)|Paper Tiger]]''. On October 4, 2020, his five-part documentary series on [[The Comedy Store]], based on the years he spent there and interviews with most of the major alumni of the famous nightclub, aired on [[Showtime (network)|Showtime]].

==Filmography==

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!rowspan=2|Year

!rowspan=2|Title

!colspan=4|Credited as

!rowspan=2|Role

!rowspan=2|Notes

|-

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

! Actor

|-

|1990

|''[[Coupe de Ville (film)|Coupe de Ville]]'' || {{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|1992

|''[[Crossing the Bridge]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|1993

|''[[Indian Summer (1993 film)|Indian Summer]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|1994

|''[[Blankman]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Dr. Victor Norris ||

|-

|1999

|''[[The Sex Monster]]''

| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Marty Barnes || Comedy Arts Festival for Best Actor<br>Comedy Arts Festival for Best Film

|-

|2000

|''[[The Contender (2000 film)|The Contender]]'' || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Lewis Hollis ||

|-

|2001– 2002

|''[[The Mind of the Married Man]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Micky Barnes || [[TV series|TV show]], Creator

|-

|rowspan=2|2001

|''[[Fourplay (2001 film)|Fourplay]]''

| {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Ben Greene ||

|-

|''[[The Search for John Gissing]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} ||Matthew Barnes ||

|-

|2002

|''[[Minority Report (film)|Minority Report]]'' || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} ||Leo Crow ||

|-

|2005

|''[[The Upside of Anger]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} ||Adam "Shep" Goodman

|

|-

|2006

|''[[Man About Town (2006 film)|Man About Town]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Morty ||

|-

|2007

|''[[Reign Over Me]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Bryan Sugarman ||

|-

|rowspan=2|2009

|''[[The Private Lives of Pippa Lee]]'' || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Sam Shapiro ||

|-

|''Two Dollar Beer'' ||{{no}} || {{yes}} || {{yes|executive}} || {{no}} || ||TV movie

|-

|rowspan=2|2011

|''Fanboy'' || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Acting coach ||

|-

|''[[One Day (2011 film)|One Day]]'' || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{yes}} || Dexter's agent || Uncredited

|-

|rowspan=1|2014

|''[[Black or White (film)|Black or White]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|rowspan=1|2016

|''[[Billions (TV series)|Billions]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|rowspan=2|2017–2018

|''[[Nashville (2012 TV series)|Nashville]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|''[[Ray Donovan]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{no}} || ||

|-

|2019

|''[[Paper Tiger (2019 film)|Paper Tiger]]'' || {{yes}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || {{no}} || || Stand-up comedy special

|-

|2020

|''[[The Comedy Store (TV series)|The Comedy Store]]'' || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} || {{yes}} ||Himself || TV series, Documentary

|-

|}

==References==

{{reflistReflist}}

==External links==

*{{imdbIMDb name | id=0082802 | name=Mike Binder}}

*{{twitter|MikeBinderjokes}}

*[http://www.mikebinder.net/ MikeBinder.net]

{{Mike Binder}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:1958 births|Binder, Mike]]}}

[[Category:American1958 comedians|Binder, Mikebirths]]

[[Category:Living people]]

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[[Category:American filmmale actors|Bindercomedians]]

[[Category:American filmmale directors|Binder,film Mikeactors]]

[[Category:American screenwriters|Binder,male Mikescreenwriters]]

[[Category:American male television actors|Binder]]

[[Category:English-languageAmerican filmpeople of Russian-Jewish directors|Binderdescent]]

[[Category:Jewish AmericanMale actors|Binder from Detroit]]

[[Category:JewishPeople Americanfrom filmBirmingham, directors|BinderMichigan]]

[[Category:JewishFilm Americandirectors writers|Binderfrom Michigan]]

[[Category:LivingJewish people|Binder,American Mikescreenwriters]]

[[Category:People20th-century fromAmerican Oaklandmale County, Michigan|Binder, Mikeactors]]

[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]

[[Category:Screenwriters from Michigan]]

[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]

[[Category:21st-century American comedians]]

[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

[[Category:Comedians from Detroit]]

[[Category:Jewish American comedians]]

[[Category:Jewish male comedians]]

[[Category:Jewish American male actors]]