Russo brothers

Anthony Russo (born February 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers are American film and television directors. The brothers direct most of their work jointly, and also occasionally work as producers, screenwriters, actors, and editors. The brothers directed the superhero films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), as well as Avengers: Endgame (2019), all four part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They are also known for their work on the comedy series Arrested Development, for which they won an Emmy Award, and Community. Their film Avengers: Infinity War became the fourth film and the first superhero film to gross over $2 billion worldwide, breaking numerous box office records and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2018 Worldwide, as well as the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time and in the United States and Canada.

Life and career
Anthony and Joe Russo were raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Benedictine High School. Their parents are Patricia and Basil Russo, an attorney and former judge. Joe graduated from The University of Iowa and majored in English and writing. The Russos were graduate students at Case Western Reserve University when they began directing, writing, and producing their first feature, Pieces. They financed the film with student loans and credit cards. After viewing Pieces at the Slamdance Film Festival, Steven Soderbergh approached the duo and offered to produce their next film, along with his producing partner George Clooney. This project was the crime comedy Welcome to Collinwood, starring William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, and Clooney.

FX network executive Kevin Reilly hired the Russos to direct the pilot for the series Lucky, having liked the pair's work on Collinwood. Ron Howard was a fan of the pilot, and he had a hand in hiring the brothers to direct the pilot for Fox's Arrested Development. The brothers won an Emmy for their work on the episode.

In 2006, the Russo brothers returned to film, directing the Owen Wilson comedy You, Me, and Dupree. The film grossed $130 million worldwide. For the 2007–08 TV season, the Russos joined the crew of the ABC series Carpoolers as executive producers and directors. They served as executive producers and directors on the first several seasons of the NBC sitcom Community and the ABC series Happy Endings.

In July 2013, the brothers wrapped principal production on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a superhero sequel for Marvel Studios; the film was released on April 4, 2014.

In January 2014, the brothers signed on to return to direct the third Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War, which was released on May 6, 2016. In May 2014, they were announced to co-write and direct The Gray Man. In March 2015, the brothers were set to direct an all-male installment in the rebooted series of the Ghostbusters franchise, produced by Sony's new-founded production company, Ghost Corps. However, as of March 2016, the Russos are no longer attached to the Ghostbusters project.

The Russo brothers directed Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which became the first superhero movie to gross over $2 billion at the box office. They are the third directors to make a $2 billion movie after James Cameron's films Avatar and Titanic and J.J. Abrams's film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Its sequel, Avengers: Endgame, is scheduled for release in 2019. The brothers are also financing the Los Angeles and Beijing joint-production company Anthem & Song, which is producing the Chinese superhero movie The Hero’s Awakening.

The Russo brothers have signed on to produce a television series based on Deadly Class. The Sony Pictures Television-produced adaptation has been optioned as a pilot for the Syfy channel. Benedict Wong, Benjamin Wadsworth, Lana Condor, Michel Duval and María Gabriela de Faría are among the actors cast in main roles for the series. On April 18, 2018, Syfy picked up the pilot to the series.

In August 2018, the brothers won the rights to adapt Nico Walker 2018 novel Cherry. They also served as award presenters at The Game Awards 2018 ceremony, which honored the best video games of that year.