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Etan Cohen
Born (1974-03-14) March 14, 1974 (age 50)
Nationality American
Alma mater Harvard College
Occupation Film director, screenwriter
Years active 1995–present

Etan Cohen (Hebrew: איתן כהן; born March 14, 1974) is an Israeli-American screenwriter and film director who has written scripts for Hollywood movies, including Idiocracy, Tropic Thunder, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Men in Black 3, and The Bad Guys.

Early life and education

Born in Israel to a Jewish family, Cohen grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts. He graduated from the Maimonides School and Harvard College, where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon.

Career

His first produced scripts, in 1995 and 1997, were for Beavis and Butthead, where he was credited as Etan Cohen. He has since written for other Mike Judge-directed projects, including King of the Hill from 2001 to 2005, and for the feature film Idiocracy in 2006. In the late 1990s he worked on two other television series – the animated Recess and the short lived It's Like, You Know.... In 2007, he wrote the short film ‘My Wife is Retarded,’. After scripting Idiocracy, he worked on the animated series, American Dad! and wrote the episode, "Failure Is Not a Factory-Installed Option". The American Dad! minor character of the same name is named for him.

In 2008, Cohen co-wrote, along with Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux, the action-comedy film Tropic Thunder. He also co-wrote, along with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which earned an Annie Award nomination for best Writing in a Feature Production.

Cohen penned the script for 2012's Men in Black 3. In 2015, he made his directorial debut with Get Hard, which he also co-wrote.

Cohen wrote and directed the 2018 film Holmes & Watson. The film was a critical and commercial flop and later earned him a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.

Personal life

Cohen is an observant Jew. He keeps kosher and does not work on the Jewish Sabbath. He and his wife send their children to a Jewish day school.

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2006 Idiocracy No Yes Co-wrote with Mike Judge
2008 Tropic Thunder No Yes Co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Ben Stiller
2008 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa No Yes Co-wrote with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath
Nominated – Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production
2012 Men in Black 3 No Yes
2015 Get Hard Yes Yes Directorial debut
Co-wrote with Jay Martel and Ian Roberts
2018 Holmes & Watson Yes Yes Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
2022 The Bad Guys No Yes Additional screenplay material by Yoni Brenner and Hilary Winston
Also executive producer with Aaron Blabey and Patrick Hughes
2022 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish No Partial Additional screenplay material
2024 Brothers No Yes

Television

Year Title Notes
1995–1997 Beavis and Butt-head
1999 It's Like, You Know
Recess
Timon & Pumbaa
2001–2005 King of the Hill Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Television Production
2006 American Dad!

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2005 Annie Award Writing in an Animated Television Production King of the Hill Won
2007 US Comedy Arts Festival Comedy Festival Award for Best Short Film My Wife Is Retarded Won
2009 Annie Award Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production Madagascar 2 Nominated
2019 39th Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Director Holmes & Watson Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Etan Cohen para niños

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