'We moved on, Donald': Barry Sonnenfeld recalls the day he fired Trump
The American director also shares how former B.C. premier Christy Clark helped him move to Canada
As a director, cinematographer and producer who's been working in Hollywood for decades, Barry Sonnenfeld has a lot to say about the challenges of working with A-list celebrities. Last month, he released his second memoir, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time, which the Washington Post likened to a "gossipy Hollywood lunch."
In an interview with Q's Tom Power, Sonnenfeld shares some of his most candid stories from the book, including a hilarious one about directing Michael Jackson, who could only be referred to on set as either King of Pop or Number One. But when it comes to Sonnenfeld's experience with on-set divas, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump might take the cake.
"I fired Donald Trump off of a Macy's commercial," Sonnenfeld says. "I don't know that he'll remember — I hope he doesn't remember it was [me] who did it. Although, if he reads this book, it will be hard for me to cross the border, I'm sure."
The 2009 TV ad also featured big stars like Martha Stewart, Usher and Jessica Simpson, who at the time all had branded merchandise carried by Macy's. Sonnenfeld remembers having some difficulty coordinating them to get the final shot.
"It was a very complicated dolly shot that ends on Donald Trump," he explains. "We shoot it. I go in for his close-up and he says, 'You can't shoot me from that side. That's my bad side. You've got to put the camera on my good side or I'm not going to let you shoot my close-up.'"
After Trump threatened to leave the set if Sonnenfeld couldn't find a way to shoot him from his good side, the director simply accepted and thanked him for coming. Switching gears, Sonnenfeld decided to get a close-up of Martha Stewart instead.
"Here's the thing about bullies," he says. "Ten minutes later, as we're getting ready to shoot Martha, Trump taps my shoulder. He says, 'All right, you can shoot me from my bad side.' And I said, 'We moved on, Donald. Go home! We're done here.'"
Trump is the reason he moved to Canada
In October 2016, Sonnenfeld was shooting an episode of the Netflix show A Series of Unfortunate Events in Vancouver. Though it was a closed set, a woman and her son pulled some strings to arrange a visit.
"She reached out her hand to shake my hand and said, 'I'm Christy Clark. I'm the premier of British Columbia,'" he recalls. "All I said was, 'You may be very important to my future.'"
Three weeks later, Trump was elected president of the United States and Clark emailed Sonnenfeld asking him if he was ready to move to Canada. The director had worked enough days in Vancouver that it was possible for him to legally immigrate.
"Everyone talked about moving to Canada if Trump got elected, and we did," he says. "I remember my immigration lawyer saying, 'Who do you know?' … And I said, 'I don't know, Christy Clark?' And he said, 'Oh, the premier of British Columbia? That will do it.' So we are very happy as permanent residents living on a farm in Pemberton, British Columbia."
The full interview with Barry Sonnenfeld is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. He also talks about shooting the iconic fake orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally, directing Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black, and why he felt nervous about working with Gene Hackman. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Barry Sonnenfeld produced by Ben Edwards.
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