Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in
Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, a suburb of
Philadelphia. His parents,
Richard J. Bernstein and Carol L. Bernstein, are both professors. He is openly gay and later changed his surname to an amalgamation of Bernstein and Schwartz, the surname of his partner of almost two decades, Ben Schwartz. 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 4 March 2011. His film ''
Won't Back Down'' (2012) received mixed reviews and garnered controversy; it 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". In 2014 he directed the film
Cake starring
Jennifer Aniston, which received mixed reviews. In 2015, the film was honored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with a Voice Award for its respectful portrayal of mental health. ==Filmography==