Background
Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and later changed his surname to an amalgamation of Bernstein and Schwartz, the surname of his partner of almost two decades, Ben Schwartz.
Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and later changed his surname to an amalgamation of Bernstein and Schwartz, the surname of his partner of almost two decades, Ben Schwartz.
Barnz graduated from Yale University and the University of Southern California Film School.
The couple has two children. Barnz describes himself as "a Jewish liberal Democrat". He made his directorial debut in the 2001 movie, The Cutting Room.
He directed the 2009 movie, Phoebe in Wonderland, which received mixed reviews from critics.
He wrote and directed a movie adaption of the novel Beastly, a modern-day take on Beauty and the Beast. The movie was released on March 4, 2011.
His film Won"t Back Down (2012) received mixed reviews and garnered controversy. lieutenant was attacked by Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the predominant national teachers" union, as having "the most blatant stereotypes and caricatures I have ever seen-even worse than in Waiting for Superman", another film attacked as "anti-teacher union".