After making an award-winning short while a student at NYU ("Hot Dogs for Gaugin" starring Danny De Vito), Brest wrote and directed his first feature, "Hot Tomorrows" (1977), during a fellowship program at the American Film Institute. He achieved "wunderkind" status at age 28, directing veteran performers George Burns, Lee Strasberg, and Art Carney in "Going in Style" (1979), which he also scripted. Brest next developed the sci-fi thriller "War Games" (released in 1983) but was pushed off in favor of John Badham. He proved adept at the comedy-adventure genre and scored big at the box-office
