AllMovie

A veteran of Ivy League Yale University and the University of Southern California Film School, writer-cum-director Daniel Barnz spent almost a decade circulating his original scripts among the studios, and culled interest from a substantial roster of A-list talent including Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson, but could never actually cross the line and get one of the scripts produced. Barnz's fortunes shifted in late 2006, when his Phoebe in Wonderland -- an offbeat drama about a troubled young girl drifting ever more deeply into a fantasy world of her own design -- received a greenlight from executive producers Chris Finazzo and Doug Dey, with Barnz himself attached to direct. Released in 2008, it featured Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, and Patricia Clarkson in the cast.