In Columbia Pictures‘ action-packed thriller Vantage Point, eight strangers with eight different points of view try to unlock the one truth behind an assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor
(Matthew Fox) are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton (William Hurt) at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide in the hunt for the assassin. In the crowd is Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker), an American tourist who thinks he‘s captured the shooter on his camcorder while videotaping the event for his kids back home. Also there, relaying the historic event to millions of TV viewers across the globe, is American TV news producer Rex Brooks (Sigourney Weaver). As they and others reveal their stories, the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place – and it will become apparent that shocking motivations lurk just beneath the surface.
Columbia Pictures presents in association with Relativity Media an Original Film production, Vantage Point. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Edgar Ramirez, Ayelet Zurer, with Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt. Directed by Pete Travis. Produced by Neal H. Moritz. Written by Barry L. Levy. Executive Director of
producers are Callum Greene, Tania Landau, and Lynwood Spinks.
Photography is Amir Mokri. Production Designer is Brigitte Broch. Editor is Stuart Baird, A.C.E. Costume Designer is Luca Mosca. Music is by Atli Örvarsson.
Vantage Point will be released in theaters nationwide on February 22, 2008. This film has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for sequences of intense violence and action, some disturbing images and brief strong language.
ABOUT THE FILM
The President of the United States is in Spain to deliver a major address on terrorism. As he approaches the podium in a crowded square, shots ring out, and pandemonium breaks loose. The president falls to the ground. This is the setting for Columbia Pictures‘ new film Vantage Point, an actionthriller that, for director Pete Travis, was a chance to explore the idea of ―the truth‖ – and the fact that truth is in the eye of the beholder. As Vantage Point unfolds, the film explores the period immediately before and after the assassination attempt from the unique points of view of eight key participants – ranging from the president himself to the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him to a tourist in the square only by chance. ―If you were to follow only one story, you wouldn‘t find out the truth about what really happened,‖ says Travis. ―As you see each story, you see something else that you never knew before. It‘s only when you get to the end that you figure out what really went on.‖
Travis points out that in addition to the five well-known American stars and four highly regarded international actors that topline Vantage Point, there is one more star: the story. ―You‘ve got eight different people, eight ways of seeing the world, eight pieces of a puzzle. It‘s a dream for a director: you can‘t solve the mystery of this film without seeing the world from different people‘s point of view. It‘s a story that you can only tell through cinema. A movie about ways of ‗seeing‘— how cool is that!‖
For Dennis Quaid, who stars in Vantage Point, the film was a chance to subtly shade a performance based on point of view. ―There‘s the way we see ourselves, and there‘s the way others see us,‖ he explains. ―I play my character one way when the story is told from my point of view, but when the film‘s vantage point shifts to another character‘s POV, I play him as that character sees him –
and change again for the other characters. A person isn‘t seen the same way by any two people.‖
Screenwriter Barry L. Levy adds that those multiple points of view lead to chaos – and only through mutual understanding can the truth come out. ―Everyone knows only what they can see before their eyes, what they can figure out, which limits everyone‘s understanding of what‘s going on,‖ he says. ―Only when the audience sees the collective, all eight stories, all eight pieces of the puzzle, will they understand what really went on. Ultimately, the movie is a single story, a hero‘s journey – but told from eight points of view.‖ To bring Levy‘s idea to the screen, producer Neal H. Moritz tapped Travis, whose first film as a director, Omagh, focused on a 1998 bombing in Northern Ireland. ―The way Pete captured reality, the characters, the sound, was entirely original,‖ says Moritz. ―Pete‘s fresh approach to the material made it clear to me that Vantage Point would be in good hands.‖
Travis and Levy were keenly aware that the film they were making, by its nature, required seeing the same actions over and over again, from different points of view. ―We had to keep it fresh,‖ Travis says. ―When you see something more than once, we tried to make sure that you were seeing something different. For example, when you first see the square, you see it as the news cameras see it – lots of cameras, but far away and static or up close and handheld, the way a news program would shoot it. When you see it from a Secret Service agent‘s point of view, it‘s like walking into an amphitheater, and you hear a noise you didn‘t hear before. The crowd, which had previously seemed friendly, looks different to a Secret Service man who‘s just coming back a year after being shot. Every face in the crowd is a potential assassin; every wave of the flag could be a signal to somebody. I tried to shoot that in a way that shows what he feels, so that the story would feel different every time.‖
Moritz says that the filmmakers called upon every tool available to differentiate the stories. ―Whether it was through the use of different lenses, or different film stock, or lighting, or different ways of shooting, such as handheld cameras, Steadicam, dollies, we used different tricks to try to make each of these stories feel individual, to keep the audience interested in the twists and turns and invested in each character‘s story.‖ After filming, Travis found one more way to keep the story fresh: ―When we came to cutting the film, we made sure that every story ended with a cliffhanger. Only at the end do all the stories get wrapped up and you figure out what went on.‖ And all eight stories are necessary, according to Quaid. ―It‘s a puzzle, this film, and if you take one piece out, you can‘t see the whole picture,‖ he says.
The film features a cast of award-winning actors, including Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, and Sigourney Weaver, and rising international stars, including Spain‘s Eduardo Noriega (star of Abre los ojos, the original version of Vanilla Sky), Israel‘s Ayelet Zurer (Munich), France‘s Saïd Taghmaoui (La Haine), and Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez (The Bourne Ultimatum).
Quaid says that he was attracted to the film by the chance to work with the director. ―I had seen Pete‘s previous movie, Omagh, which is about an IRA terrorist bombing in Ireland. I like his realistic style of filmmaking; there‘s a lot of action. His movies are gripping – you know you‘re watching actors, but they have the immediacy of a documentary.‖
Fox says that the twists and turns of his character were immediately appealing. ―I‘m fascinated with the concept of perspective,‖ he says. ―It‘s a great opportunity to play a guy who you think is one way but turns out to be someone completely different.‖
Whitaker, who just last year won the Academy Award® for Best Actor for his performance in The Last King of Scotland, adds, ―When I met Pete, he told me his background—he was a social worker before he made movies! Talk about a different perspective! In that first meeting, I wanted to do this movie, and fortunately, it worked out.‖
Quaid adds that Vantage Point represented an opportunity to delve back into an action film. ―I didn‘t realize while reading this script how much action there is in this movie, but we‘ve got gun shots, bombs going off, terrific car chases—all exciting stuff and fun to do. For me, it was like being a kid again to do all the action.‖ Travis says that the action underscored the ideas in the film. ―What‘s exciting about the action is that it shows you something in a way that you didn‘t see it before. It becomes part of the point of view,‖ he says. ―There‘s a visceral, handheld kinetic energy of the camera – the idea is to make it a participant in the action. When people run, the camera runs with them; when people go into a room, the camera goes in behind them. During the car chase, when the car is hit and the camera is spinning around inside the car, that‘s our fabulous stunt coordinator, Spiro Razatos, holding the camera and getting hit.
To bring the car chase to life, Travis and Razatos looked at their favorite car chases for inspiration, then planned out their own in minute detail. ―We sat down with a bunch of toys and planned every single stunt and storyboarded everything to make you feel, how does it feel to be really in a chase? ―In a way, it‘s a point of view thing,‖ he continues. ―When you see Dennis Quaid driving, the camera behind him, looking over his shoulder at what he‘s chasing, it‘s not just seeing him chasing someone; instead, you‘re in there with him, chasing with him, and it‘s more real and more exciting.‖
Moritz was excited to make the film as an homage to one of his favorites. ―Rashomon is a four-star classic, and while that movie is in a league of its own, it‘s a thrill to explore some of the same themes,‖ he says. ―Even with the best intentions, we all interpret events differently. If a movie can excite you about an idea, and feature an awesome car chase as well, that‘s the best of both worlds.‖
CASTING THE FILM
Vantage Point features an all-star cast, with each actor getting to be the star of the show for his or her segment. Dennis Quaid says that his character‘s challenges and problems helped to underscore the film‘s central tension – that is, that events are determined by one‘s point of view. ―Barnes is a guy who took a bullet for the president and this is his first day back on the job,‖ he explains. ―He has a lot of trepidations about being back and it‘s made him jumpy and quick to react—too quick, as it turns out, because sometimes his gut instinct is wrong. But ultimately, you‘re not paranoid if it turns out that you‘re right.‖ ―Dennis Quaid has always been the all-American hero, ever since The Right Stuff and The Big Easy,‖ says Travis. ―That‘s what I‘ve always loved about him – he‘s quintessentially American, an old-fashioned movie star, a proper man‘s man. He‘s tough, yet vulnerable. That‘s what this part needed, a man who was torn inside. Everybody treats him as a hero, but the last thing he wants to be is a hero – he‘s just doing his job. Dennis brought a real sensitivity to that part. And he has the kick-ass car chase, as well.‖ Matthew Fox plays Quaid‘s partner, Secret Service Agent Kent Taylor. As Agent Barnes‘ longtime confidant, Taylor is in a unique position. ―Dennis and
Matthew‘s story is really about brothers, in a way. These two men look out for each other. Taylor is sticking up for his mentor, who is having a tough time coming back after being shot. Everything changes when the president is shot – that relationship is put under the microscope.‖ As a result, Travis sought an actor who could hold his own next to Quaid. ―Like Dennis, he‘s the all-American hero,‖ Travis says. ―There‘s a wonderful authenticity to Matthew that I really like – he has a wonderful energy about him and the ability to surprise you. Fox was excited by the project‘s structure. ―When the movie rewinds and you go back and watch what my character was doing, your whole perspective changes: ‗Oh my God! He was actually doing something different!‘ ―It‘s exciting for an actor,‖ Fox continues. ―Any time you get a chance to play with different aspects of your performance, playing up emotions or mannerisms, to give a scene different meanings – it‘s incredibly gratifying. In this film, that‘s built in – it‘s part of the story.‖
Fox was also glad for the chance to work especially closely with Dennis Quaid. ―Dennis‘s character is more than just a mentor to mine – he‘s like a brother,‖ says Fox. ―It‘s an intense bond that they have. Dennis is a great actor, and to be able to explore the relationship between these two guys with him was a real thrill.‖
Forest Whitaker, who plays an ordinary man named Howard Lewis, joined the cast early on after a meeting with Travis. ―Omagh was so powerful, so strong, so honest,‖ he says. ―Working with him was one of the main reasons I wanted to join this film. He‘s got a good soul.‖ ―Unlike the other characters, Howard Lewis is an ordinary man,‖ says Travis. ―Most of us will never be the president, or a Secret Service agent, or even a
news producer. He‘s the everyman – never been to Spain, never been that close to the president, excited to film it and take the pictures home to his kids – and suddenly finds himself the little man at the center of this huge story. He‘s the guy who never got picked for the football team who desperately wants to be the hero and this is his chance.‖ Whitaker enjoyed his chance to be in an action movie. ―Howard does a lot of running,‖ he laughs. ―During filming, not only would I run, but I‘d run for blocks and blocks. We‘d just keep going. It seemed like for two months, all I did was run. Everyone was making a lot of jokes about it.‖
William Hurt prepared for the role of playing the president of the United States by interviewing a man who knew about the job firsthand: President Clinton. ―I know his time is valuable and didn‘t want to waste his time, so I was very direct,‖ Hurt says. ―President Clinton was extremely refreshing and honest. I asked him what it is like to have the knowledge that you represent something that a lot of people want dead. He said that if you weren‘t ready for that before you tried to get the job, then you shouldn‘t even take the next step. ―I also asked him about accepting the scope of responsibility that comes with the job,‖ Hurt continues. ―He said, ‗Well, it‘s easier if you live over the store.‘ And that‘s the case – the president goes downstairs when he goes to work.‖ Keeping in mind the president‘s advice, Hurt relished the opportunity to change his performance when he is portraying the president as others see him, as opposed to the part of the film that depicts the president‘s point of view. ―When others see him, it‘s interesting to see him walk through a mixed crowd of people, some of whom like him, some of whom dislike him, all sandwiched side-by-side,‖ he says.
Travis admired the commitment that Hurt made to his character and portraying the role. ―The way Vantage Point is structured, each actor is the star of the film for fifteen minutes,‖ he says. ―William Hurt showed up in Mexico, and for his first six weeks, he walked into a plaza, raised his arms, got shot, and fell backwards. That was it, over and over again, for six weeks. And he never complained once, because he knew that when we got to his story, he would be the star.‖
Travis was also impressed by the way Hurt plays the leader of the free world. ―I‘m not an American, but he‘s the kind of president that I would want to vote for,‖ he says. ―Not because of his politics – I don‘t know what his politics are and I don‘t particularly care – but he‘s a decent man, he‘s a smart man, he‘s a moral man, he wants to do things for the right reason. That‘s what I love about him – our story pits that man with a huge moral dilemma. This is the defining moment of his presidency and his career and his future totally rest on this one decision. William portrayed that beautifully.‖ Travis was not alone in that regard. ―Towards the end of filming, we were
shooting a sequence with him and the crew – who were all Mexican citizens – were so overwhelmed by the emotion of the scene. One of them came up to me and said, ‗I never thought I would care about the American president that much.‘ William Hurt makes you care about him. It‘s not about politics, he‘s just a guy you care about.‖
For Sigourney Weaver, playing TV news producer Rex Brooks was a chance to play a character whose primary interest is transporting the audience into the news. ―She is definitely a news junkie,‖ says the Academy Award® nominee. ―Rex is a driven and inspired news visionary. When she finds herself at the epicenter of this attack, she‘s like a kid in a candy store. She‘s getting the shots and painting the canvas; she‘s quite controlling about what goes over the airwaves.‖
To prepare for her role, Weaver spent time in a newsroom at a major network. While there, she witnessed the reporting of the story of the arrest of the British terror suspects who were accused of plotting to bring down airplanes with liquid explosives. ―It was a big ‗breaking news‘ day and I got to see people in a crunch,‖ says Weaver. ―They were so focused, gobbling up every detail, making sure that what they sent out was appropriate and also truthful. For instance, they were very careful not to mention the elements that could be used to make a bomb.‖
Vantage Point is also distinguished by performances from several acclaimed international stars. Pete Travis says each brings something unique to the roles: ―Eduardo Noriega is a huge star in Spain and I‘m sure he‘ll become a star in America, because he‘s got great charisma. He‘s a man driven by passion and jealousy at the beginning of the film – he thinks his girlfriend is cheating on him – and he discovers that life can be even worse than that. Ayelet Zurer – when I saw her in Munich, I found her to be wonderfully charismatic. I wanted somebody who could be a bit of everything – she needed to be bad, but also vulnerable. Saïd Taghmaoui is a huge star in France. When I saw him in La Haine, which is his breakout movie, he has a ferocious intensity to him. Edgar Ramirez looks great with a gun – he‘s a trained killer who wants to give up his job, but is forced by circumstances to do one more thing. You‘re never really sure with Edgar if he‘s good or bad, and that‘s really exciting for an actor.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
For the filmmakers, it was necessary to set the film in a foreign location: it would add to the confusion that was required for the story. In researching possible locations, they fell in love with one location in particular: Salamanca, Spain, and its central square, Plaza Mayor. ―It was critical that the film was set in Salamanca,‖ Travis says. ―There is no one worldview in this film. You can‘t
figure out who shot the president by following only the American heroes; you have to watch all the stories, and since the picture is about us all, the film had to be set in a foreign location. In addition, I wanted this film to have heat, a sexy intensity, an exotic allure. That could only be Spain.‖
The filmmakers found the perfect location in Salamanca, a town a short distance from Madrid. According to Travis, the filmmakers soon fell in love with the town‘s central square, Plaza Mayor. ―It‘s a spectacular plaza, an enclosed square that feels like an amphitheatre, full of life and culture, but also a place that would be scary as hell if it had 30,000 people fleeing for their lives,‖ he says. ―It‘s grand and eloquent, the ideal setting for a world summit, and it‘s never been seen in a big movie before. It‘s perfect.‖
However, as the pre-production process began, it became clear that shooting in Salamanca was not meant to be; with an action-packed script that required explosions, gunfights, and car chases, the Salamanca location simply did not give the filmmakers the flexibility they needed to pull off a production of this magnitude. With Plaza Mayor itself off the table, the filmmakers began to look for locations that could double for Salamanca and found what they were looking for in Mexico City. ―When we had to find another place, we wanted to come to a country that had the contrast and intensity that you get in Spain. We found it in Mexico,‖ says Travis.
The challenge for production designer Brigitte Broch—who won the Academy Award® for her set decorating work on Moulin Rouge—was immediate: rebuild an exact replica of Plaza Mayor in Mexico City, and do it in a way that the filmmakers can blow it up.
To build this plaza, the production discovered an ideal place in the southern part of Mexico City. Executive Producer Callum Greene explains, ―We found an
abandoned four-story mall which became a perfect area for us. We built our
construction, carpentry, metal work, and plastic shops in the abandoned mall. Next to it was a pit where we built our Plaza Mayor.‖ Moritz says, ―In a city of 25 million people, it‘s hard to find any empty land, so I consider it fate that it worked out for us. We were able to build our plaza in a place where we had total security, total privacy, and even weather protection, because we were in the pit. We were able to go back to Salamanca and shoot certain scenes there; the two blended together seamlessly. You really can‘t tell what was shot in Spain and what was shot on our set.‖
It took ten weeks, working seven days each week, with over three hundred workers to construct the set. ―On a film set, everything must be done faster than you ever thought you could achieve it,‖ Broch says. ―When you have a great crew, somehow, it all gets done – and it comes out looking spectacular.‖ In the end, Moritz says, ―our Plaza Mayor was a masterpiece. I couldn‘t be more impressed with the work that Brigitte and her team did on this movie.‖ Travis adds, ―You could have brought people from Salamanca and they would have thought they were in Spain.‖ Whitaker says, ―The plaza set really blew me away! When I first walked in, I had the little camera because I was playing with it, and that‘s when I was like ‗Wow, this is amazing!‘ It looks so rich and full—especially with people in it.‖ Broch says, ―It‘s always a good compliment when people say, ‗I didn‘t know they did it on a set.‘ That‘s all one wants.‖ The key advantage to building your own set is that everyone is excited when it‘s time to blow it up. When the moment came, it was all hands on deck. Moritz sets the scene: ―We had fifteen cameras filming the explosion, including three up
close, with no operator. We had stuntmen moving with the explosion and extras ready to run. We wanted to give this moment of the film a very visceral feeling.‖ Because of the way the film was shot – in a realistic, immediate manner – Moritz felt that it was important that the actors playing Secret Service agents have background training. To accomplish this, the filmmakers brought on board Ron Blecker, who, while serving a 15-year Army career, trained real-life Secret Service agents in the art of protecting the president of the United States; in addition, as a soldier, Blecker himself served on two presidential details. ―It was essential that Dennis, Matthew, and the rest of the actors playing Secret Service agents, including the background actors, knew how real agents protect the president,‖ says Moritz. ―What really impressed me about Ron‘s suggestions was that not only were they realistic, but they usually also made the scene more dramatic and more exciting.‖
Both before production and on set, Blecker advised Travis and Levy on the ins and outs of the Secret Service – tricks of the trade that came his way after years of Special Operations training. For example, Blecker notes, ―Dennis Quaid‘s
character reacts to a guy in the crowd that pulls a camera. The initial reaction by the other agents was to pull a gun, but that‘s not right. In fact, for the people closest to the president, their job is to blanket the president with their bodies. Pete was very interested in making those kinds of changes, to make the Secret Service scenes as realistic as possible.‖
Three weeks before the start of production, Blecker arrived in Mexico. His first order of business was to find 35 background actors to be Secret Service agents. ―The casting department located 3,000 people, and I met and talked to every single one. We eventually got our list down to 60, and those 60 came in and did some basic maneuvers, training, and weapon familiarization. From there, Pete and I picked the 35 background actors.‖
Then, one week out from production, Blecker began training the actors. ―The first thing we did was weapon familiarization,‖ he says. ―Most of the actors had
handled guns in movies before, but Secret Service does things just a little differently, so I taught them how to pull and aim their weapons and move with a gun. ―Then, we went through movement tactics,‖ Blecker continues. ―We brought in hundreds of extras. We showed them how to move through the crowd, how different formations worked, what each person‘s responsibility would be, what they had to look for. Then we went through drills – somebody would come at the president with a gun, then with a knife, then an emergency call would come in on the radio – and got them trained on how to work as a team.‖
On the final day of training, Blecker introduced the team to his most difficult training assignment, the ―Rescue Dean‖ exercise. ―I‘ve got a 175-pound duffle bag with a padlock on it and no handles. president‘s son, who has been kidnapped. This bag represents ‗Dean,‘ the I hid the bag at the studio and
handed the actors a ransom note. They had a certain amount of time to find ‗Dean‘ and return him to me, a mile away. There was a whole scenario – I made it as difficult as possible, because it‘s this kind of training that gets people who don‘t know each other very well to gel as a team. As cliché as it sounds, it was Dennis Quaid who delivered that 175-pound duffle bag across the finish line at the very end. You couldn‘t have scripted it any better.‖
ABOUT THE CAST
Throughout his career, DENNIS QUAID (Barnes) has been featured in a diverse range of films culminating in an impressive body of work. In addition to receiving a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nomination for his outstanding
performance in Far From Heaven, he received honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and The Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Actor of the Year. He was most recently seen in American Dreamz opposite Hugh Grant and Willem Dafoe and in In Good Company with Scarlett Johansson.
Quaid is especially well known for his title role of a high school baseball coach in Disney‘s The Rookie and his portrayal of a high-powered attorney in the critically acclaimed drama Traffic. His feature film credits include Yours, Mine and Ours, The Day After Tomorrow, The Alamo, Parent Trap and The Flight of the Phoenix.
For television, Quaid starred in the Emmy Award-winning film Bill and its sequel Bill: On His Own. He also starred in the Emmy-nominated Dinner with Friends for HBO. He made his directorial debut for TNT with the television film, Everything That Rises.
Quaid began acting in high school and studied theater at the University of Houston. His career was launched with the role of an ex-football player in the film Breaking Away. He went on to star in the films The Long Riders, Crazy Mama, Dreamscape, All Night Long and Enemy Mine. His impressive body of work also includes Savior, Wyatt Earp, the Oscar®-nominated space epic The Right Stuff, Any Given Sunday, Something To Talk About, Everybody’s All American, Suspect, D.O.A and Flesh and Bone.
After Vantage Point, Quaid can be seen in 2008 starring in three more films, including the Miramax film Smart People, the Universal film The Express and the Mandate Pictures film The Horseman.
MATTHEW FOX (Taylor) currently stars as the conflicted, heroic doctor, Jack Shepard, on the hit ABC series ―Lost.‖ For his work on the Emmy-winning Best Drama, Fox shared the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Ensemble Award and was
nominated for the Golden Globe and Television Critics Association Awards for achievement in dramatic acting.
In 2006, Fox starred opposite Matthew McConaughey in the drama We Are Marshall. He will next star in the highly anticipated Speed Racer as Racer X.
Previously, on television, Fox starred in the Golden Globe Award-winning series ―Party of Five.‖
In 1999, he won attention for his touching turn opposite Donald Sutherland in the telefilm ―Behind the Mask,‖ then returned to episodic work as a private investigator whose near-death experience bridges a gap to the spirit world in ―Haunted.‖
FOREST WHITAKER (Howard Lewis), one of Hollywood's most accomplished actors/directors/producers, has showcased his talents in a multitude of demanding and diverse roles. Last year, he won the Academy Award® for Best Actor for his performance as Uganda dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland; Whitaker also received the Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA Awards as Best Actor. In addition to this acclaim, his independent film American Gun, a movie which he produced and starred in, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
His other upcoming films include Where the Wild Things Are, which utilizes a mix of live action, animation and puppetry to adapt the Maurice Sendak classic is due for a 2008 release. He will next be seen in The Night Watchman, set for release on April 11. He is currently working on Repossession Mambo, opposite Jude Law.
Whitaker co-starred in David Fincher's Panic Room and Joel Schumacher's
Phone Booth. In 2000, Whitaker played the title role of a spiritual gangster in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, directed by Jim Jarmusch. The film premiered at the 1999 Cannes Festival and screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival to critical acclaim. Ghost Dog was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. The film's soundtrack was a co-venture with Whitaker's own company, Spirit Dance.
Equally impressive are Whitaker's television credits. He continues to garner critical attention for his performance on ―The Shield,‖ opposite Michael Chiklis, as well as for his appearance on ―ER,‖ which earned him an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series this year.
In 2003, Whitaker appeared to critical acclaim opposite Ossie Davis in the Showtime movie ―Deacons for Defense,‖ where he received a SAG nomination for Best Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. Whitaker produced Chasing Papi, the first major studio romantic comedy aimed squarely at the Hispanic movie-going market, for FOX 2000 through Spirit Dance Entertainment.
Whitaker made his feature-film directing debut with the critically acclaimed, boxoffice hit Waiting to Exhale. He first gained recognition as a director for the 1993 HBO original ―Strapped,‖ for which he received the FIPRESCI Award for Best First Feature at the Toronto Film Festival. He also directed Hope Floats, starring Sandra Bullock, and The First Daughter, a romantic comedy starring Katie Holmes.
Taking on the role of producer, Whitaker starred in and executive produced the TV miniseries ―Feast of All Saints,‖ which won an Emmy. Before that, he starred in and executive produced Green Dragon, winner of the Humanitas Award and the SXSW Film Festival‘s Audience Award. He also produced TNT's ―Door to Door,‖ starring William H. Macy, which was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy and was honored by the American Film Institute.
His other credits include ―Witness Protection‖ for HBO, Light It Up, Phenomenon, Species, Smoke, Ready to Wear, Jason's Lyric, Platoon, Good Morning Vietnam, Consenting Adults, Stakeout, The Color of Money, Johnny Handsome, Downtown, Diary of a Hit Man, Body Snatchers, Vision Quest and Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
With three college scholarships already under his belt, Whitaker received a 4th scholarship, set up by Sir John Gielgud, upon his entrance to the drama program at Berkeley. A seasoned stage veteran at 21, baby-faced Whitaker made his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. From that point onward, Whitaker has been making history.
In 1988, Whitaker was named Best Actor at The Cannes Film Festival for his brilliant portrayal of jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood's Bird, a role for which he also received a Golden Globe nomination. Whitaker later earned widespread recognition for his performance as Jody, the hostage British soldier in Neil Jordan's Academy Award® winner The Crying Game. On television, Whitaker garnered a CableACE Award nomination for his performance in the Showtime original film, ―Last Light,‖ directed by Kiefer Sutherland. He also starred in the HBO presentation ―Criminal Justice,‖ for which he earned another CableACE Award nomination, and ―The Enemy Within,‖ for which Whitaker received a Screen Actor's Guild nomination.
With his subtle, masculine style, Venezuelan actor EDGAR RAMIREZ (Javier) is among a select group of young actors on the rise in Hollywood. Ramirez was last seen in Universal Pictures‘ The Bourne Ultimatum opposite Matt Damon. He is currently in production on the Ernesto 'Che' Guevara biopic The Argentine with Benicio Del Toro.
Ramirez will next be seen internationally, starring in Cyrano Fernandez, a Venezuelan-Spanish production based on the French play ―Cyrano de Bergerac.‖ This film marks Ramirez‘s first foray into producing. The film had its world
premiere at the AFI Film Festival in November and will premiere in Venezuela on February 22nd. Also to be released later this year is Elipsis, directed by Eduardo Arias-Nath and to be distributed by Fox Latin America. Ramirez made his American film debut as Choco in Tony Scott‘s Domino opposite Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke.
Ramirez has additionally appeared in a number of international film productions. His past international film credits include El Don (The Boss), directed by J.R Novoa (Venezuela/Spain); La Hora Cero (The Magic Hour), a short film directed by Guillermo Arriaga, the acclaimed screenwriter of Amores Perros and 21 Grams (Mexico); El Nudo (The Knot), directed by Alejandro Wiederman (Venezuela); Yotama Se Va Volando (Yotama Flies Away), directed by Luis Armando Roche (Venezuela – France); Punto Y Raya (Step Forward), directed by Elia K. Schneider (Venezuela – Spain – Chile – Uruguay), a nominee for Oscar consideration for 2004 Best Foreign Film; and Anonimo (Anonymous), directed by Enelio Farina (Venezuela).
A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Ramirez grew up all over the world due to his father‘s job as a military attaché. He has made his home in such diverse
countries as Austria, Canada, Colombia, Italy, and Mexico and is fluent in German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish as a result. travels Ramirez developed a great love and ability Throughout his for intercultural
communication, a skill he parlayed into a degree in journalism. He specialized in political communication and initially intended to become a diplomat.
In 2000, before turning to acting full time, Ramirez was the executive director of
NGO Dale Al Voto, a Venezuelan organization akin to Rock the Vote. In order to foster democratic values among young people, Ramirez and his team created cutting-edge campaigns for radio, television, and cinema. The campaign was well received by audiences throughout the country. He also lent his expertise to various Venezuelan multilateral organizations including Organization of American States, Transparency International and Amnesty International.
Ramirez currently serves as the host of a short film festival hosted on the AXN Network (Sony-owned network in Latin America). The festival is in its second year.
AYELET ZURER (Veronica) is one of Israel's most acclaimed leading actresses. She has garnered attention from Hollywood since Steven Spielberg cast her in her first English-speaking role, as the wife of Eric Bana‘s character in the acclaimed Oscar®-nominated film Munich. Zurer stars opposite Stephen Dillane in the drama Fugitive Pieces, written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa, to be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films this spring.
Lauded in Israel for her talents, Zurer won Best Actress awards from the Jerusalem Film Festival and the Haifa Festival as well as Israel's equivalent of the Academy Award for her performance in Nina's Tragedies. She has been nominated four other times for her work on the Israeli features Only Dogs Run Free, The Dybbuk From The Holy Apple Field, Desperado Square, and Rutenberg. Zurer recently won Israel‘s equivalent of an Emmy Award for ―In Treatment,‖ an acclaimed television series of which HBO is currently filming an American version. More recently, Zurer filmed starring roles in Paul Schrader‘s Adam Resurrected opposite Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe, and the independent feature Snappers opposite Dallas Roberts and Jeremy Renner.
SIGOURNEY WEAVER (Rex Brooks) has created a host of memorable characters, both dramatic and comic, for film and theater. Ranging from Ripley in Alien to Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist, to Tawny in Galaxy Quest, and, most recently, Dr. Grace Augustine, a botanist in James Cameron‘s much-anticipated 3-D epic Avatar, which filmed in New Zealand, Weaver delights and entertains those who watch her and garners respect from those who work with her.
On screen, Weaver most recently starred in Snow Cake, a tale of a woman with autism, which premiered at this year‘s Berlin Film Festival; Jake Kasdan‘s The TV Set, with David Duchovny; and Infamous, a film about Truman Capote in which she played Babe Paley. Weaver first gained fame as Warrant Officer Ripley in Ridley Scott‘s blockbuster Alien. She later reprised the role in James Cameron‘s Aliens, and earned a Best Actress Academy Award® nomination for her portrayal. She returned in 1992, for David Fincher‘s Aliens 3, and again in 1997, for director Jean-Pierre Jeunet in Alien Resurrection. She also co-produced both of these latter films.
A versatile performer, Weaver has starred in a number of strikingly different and successful films, earning accolades along the way. When she co-starred in Ang Lee‘s critically acclaimed film The Ice Storm, playing alongside Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Elijah Wood and Christina Ricci, she won the BAFTA Award and was nominated Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Supporting Actress. For her performance in A Map of the World, Weaver was honored with a Golden Globe nomination as best actress. In 1989, Weaver received her
second and third Academy Award® nominations and was awarded Golden Globes for her performances in Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl. For Showtime‘s live-action film, ―Snow White,‖ based on the original Grimm fairytale, she earned Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations.
Some of her other feature films include The Village, Holes, The Guys, Imaginary Heroes, Heartbreakers, Copycat, Jeffrey, Death and the Maiden, Dave, 1492, Half Moon Street, One Woman or Two, The Year of Living Dangerously, and Eyewitness with William Hurt. She also starred in Ivan Reitman‘s Ghost Busters, with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, returning to reprise her role for the sequel, Ghostbusters 2.
Born and educated in New York City, Weaver graduated from Stanford University and went on to receive a Masters degree from the Yale School of Drama. Her first professional job was as an understudy in Sir John Gielgud‘s production of ―The Constant Wife,‖ starring Ingrid Bergman. She went on to play Off Off Broadway in Christopher Durang‘s ―The Nature and Purpose of the Universe,‖ ―Titanic,‖ and ―Das Lusitania Songspiel,‖ which Weaver and Durang co-wrote, earning Drama Desk nominations for their work.
Weaver continues to appear on the stage, most recently originating roles in two A. R. Gurney world premieres: ―Crazy Mary‖ at Playwrights Horizons, and ―Mrs. Farnsworth‖ at the Flea Theater. When she appeared last year in Neil LaBute‘s ―The Mercy Seat,‖ opposite Liev Schreiber, she received rave reviews for her performance. For her starring role on Broadway in ―Hurlyburly,‖ she was honored with a Tony nomination. Weaver also originated the female lead in Anne Nelson‘s ―The Guys‖ at The Flea, where it was commissioned and directed by Jim Simpson. ―The Guys‖ tells the story of a fire captain dealing with the aftermath of 9/11.
WILLIAM HURT (President Ashton) trained at Tufts University and New York's Juilliard School of Music and Drama. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards®, including the most recent nomination for his supporting role in David Cronenberg‘s A History of Violence. The film screened at the both the Cannes
International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Hurt
received Best Supporting Actor accolades for the role from the Los Angeles Film Critics Circle and the New York Film Critics Circle.
Hurt can currently be seen in Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn and starring Marcia Gay Harden, Catherine Keener and Vince Vaughn. nominated for Best Ensemble by the Screen Actors Guild. Hurt recently wrapped production on Marvel Studios‘ The Incredible Hulk. Hurt stars as the villain, General Thaddeus ―Thunderbolt‖ Ross, opposite Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. The film is directed by Louis Leterrier and will be released by Universal on June 13, 2008. Hurt has also wrapped the remake of Yoji Yamada‘s 1977 film Yellow Handkerchief opposite Maria Bello, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival this year. The film stars Hurt as an ex-convict recently released from prison for the accidental murder of another man. Udayan Prasad (My Son the Fanatic) is directing the project. The cast was
In 2007, Hurt was seen in The Good Shepherd, written by Eric Roth and directed by Robert DeNiro. The film starred Matt Damon, Robert DeNiro and Angelina Jolie, and followed the history of over 40 years in the CIA, told through the eyes of Edward Wilson, one of its founding officers. Hurt also appeared in MGM‘s Mr. Brooks, a psychological thriller opposite Kevin Costner which was directed by Bruce Evans. In 2006, Hurt starred in James Marsh‘s film The King with Gael Garcia Bernal. The film follows a troubled man (Bernal), recently discharged from the Navy, who returns to his childhood home in Texas to reunite with his father (Hurt). The King was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival. Also in 2006, Hurt
appeared in Beautiful Ohio, directed by Chad Lowe, and in Noise, an
independent comedy opposite Tim Robbins and Bridget Moynahan. Beautiful Ohio was screened at the 2006 AFI Film Festival.
In 2005, Hurt was seen in Syriana, directed by Stephen Gaghan and starring George Clooney, Matt Damon and Amanda Peet. The same year he also
completed production on the ensemble independent film Neverwas opposite Sir Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming and Aaron Eckhardt. In 2004, Hurt was seen in M. Night Shyamalan‘s thriller The Village opposite Joaquin Phoenix and Sigourney Weaver as well as in the independent film Blue Butterfly. Hurt starred in the film as a famous entomologist who takes a The film was
terminally ill boy into the rainforest to grant his dying wish.
screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival and was released in Canada and Japan.
In 2002, Hurt appeared in Disney's Tuck Everlasting, directed by Jay Russell, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and had a cameo appearance in Paramount's Changing Lanes, starring Samuel L. Jackson.
In 2001, Hurt starred in the independent film Rare Birds, which screened at the Toronto Film Festival. Spielberg's A.I. He was also seen in a supporting role in Steven
In 2000, Hurt delivered a memorable performance in Sunshine, opposite Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Istvan Szabo, Sunshine received three Genie Awards, including one for Best Motion Picture.
In 1980, Hurt appeared in his first film, Altered States. He received a Best Actor Oscar® nomination for Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God. For Kiss of the Spider Woman, he was honored with an Academy Award® as well as Best Actor Awards from the British Academy and the Cannes Festival. Among his
other film credits are Body Heat, The Big Chill, Eyewitness, Gorky Park, Alice, I Love You to Death, The Accidental Tourist, The Doctor, The Plague, The Simian Line, Trial by Jury, Second Best, Smoke, Confidences a un Inconnu, Jane Eyre, Michael, Dark City, The Proposition, The Big Brass Ring, and One True Thing. In 2006, Hurt returned to television in the TNT special event series ―Nightmares and Dreamscapes,‖ based on the stories of Stephen King. The series was a four-week collection of eight tales based on King‘s anthology, which featured allstar casts including William H. Macy, Samantha Mathis, Claire Forlani, and Ron Livingston. Hurt‘s episode, entitled ―Battleground,‖ premiered the series. Hurt‘s television credits include The Hallmark Channel‘s miniseries ―Frankenstein‖ opposite Donald Sutherland, CBS‘s ―The Flamingo Rising," the title role in the CBS mini-series "Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story,‖ The Sci-Fi Channel‘s ―Dune,‖ and ―Varian‘s War‖ for Showtime. The latter, directed by Lionel Chetwynd and produced by Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films, the film co-starred Alan Arkin, Julia Ormond, and Lynn Redgrave, and followed the story of Varian Fry (Hurt), who rescued prominent European artists and more than 2,000 others from Nazi persecution during World War II.
Hurt spent the early years of his career on the stage between drama school, summer stock, regional repertory and Off Broadway, appearing in more than 50 productions, including ―Henry V,‖ ―5th of July,‖ ―Hamlet,‖ ―Richard II,‖ ―Hurlyburly‖ (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award), ―My Life‖ (winning an Obie Award for Best Actor), ―A Midsummer's Night's Dream,‖ and ―Good.‖
For radio, Hurt read Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar for the BBC Radio Four and The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. He has recorded The Polar Express and The Boy Who Drew Cats and narrated the documentaries "Searching for America: The Odyssey of John Dos Passos" and "Einstein: How I See the World," as well as the English narration of Elie Wiesel's "To Speak the Unspeakable," a documentary directed and produced by Pierre Marmiesse.
In 1988, Hurt was awarded the first Spencer Tracy Award from UCLA.
EDUARDO NORIEGA (Enrique) is a renowned Spanish film actor respected
for his pivotal roles in the multiple Goya-winning Tesis and Abre los ojos, opposite Penelope Cruz. The latter movie was remade into English as Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise playing the role originated by Noriega.
Noriega also starred in the critically acclaimed El Lobo (Wolf) and last year’s Che Guevara, which was helmed by Josh Evans. He most recently starred opposite Viggo Mortensen in Alatriste and next stars opposite Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer in Brad Anderson’s Transsiberian.
The youngest of seven brothers, Noriega is the only one who decided to become an actor. He acted in several short films, including Luna, directed by Alejandro Amenabar, which won him the Best Actor award at the Alcala de Henares Short Film Festival in Madrid. He next appeared in the well-known Spanish film Historias del Kronen. When he starred in Tesis, a film that is considered one of the most important successes in the history of Spanish cinema, it cemented his position as one of Spain’s leading actors.
Noriega has been nominated twice for a Goya, Spain‘s equivalent to the Academy Award—once for Abre los ojos and the second time for El Lobo.
SAÏD TAGHMAOUI (Suarez) was born in France to Moroccan parents. A former boxer who was ranked second in his division at the height of his athletic career,
Taghmaoui chose acting as a different option, thanks to his friendship with writerdirector-actor Mathieu Kassovitz.
Together they wrote the French film La Haine (The Hate), which Kassovitz directed and Taghmaoui starred in. The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995, where it went on to win Best Director Award. His portrayal of an Arab punk brought him to the notice of film enthusiasts. The film won many awards around the world, including three Cesars (France‘s equivalent to the Academy Award) for Best Picture, Best Producer, and Best Editor; Taghmaoui earned a nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. With many French films to his credit, Taghmaoui‘s first English-language role was as Kate Winslet's lover in Hideous Kinky, which led to him being cast as the brutal Iraqi officer in David O. Russell's Three Kings. He has since starred in
Neil Jordan's The Good Thief, David Mamet's Spartan, and Hidalgo, opposite Viggo Mortensen. He reunited with David O. Russell in I Heart Huckabees. He may currently be seen in Marc Forester's The Kite Runner. He has just wrapped a lead role opposite Don Cheadle and Guy Pierce in Traitor and is currently shooting a lead role in the Paramount feature GI Joe. On the small screen, he has appeared in ―The West Wing‖ and ―Sleeper Cell,‖ and just recently completed filming ―Between Two Rivers‖ for HBO.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
PETE TRAVIS’S (Director) first feature, Omagh, earned many prizes around the world, including the New Directors Discovery Award at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival, Best European Movie at San Sebastian, an Irish Film and TV Academy Award for best Irish Film, and a UK BAFTA. The film depicts the search for justice after the 1998 bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland.
Previously, the Manchester-born director helmed the Emmy Award-winning British miniseries ―Henry VIII,‖ staring Ray Winston and Helena Bonham Carter; ―The Jury,‖ written by Peter Morgan; ―Other Peoples Children‖; and ―Cold Feet.‖
Formerly a community worker, Travis paid his way through post-graduate film school by working as a motorcycle courier. His first short film, Faith, based on a Nick Hornby story, was funded from his own savings. He persuaded a producer to match his investment pound for pound. The producer was shocked to learn Travis had £12,000 to spend. Travis‘ next film is a British political thriller, Endgame, set in South Africa.
Vantage Point is the first produced screenplay for BARRY L. LEVY (Screenwriter). Levy has since adapted Tom Clancy‘s Rainbow Six into a
screenplay and is currently working on adapting the graphic novel, Button Man. He also penned the feature, The Last Man. Most recently, Levy sold the pilot for ―Back-Channel,‖ a one-hour dramatic series, to FX.
Prior to his becoming a successful writer, Levy executive produced three films: Black Irish and Fizzy Bizness, as well as Zolar for the WB.
Levy began his career as a television development executive at Nelvana Communications, where he launched more than a dozen television series for CBS, Fox, Comedy Central, MTV, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and the Family Channel.
Levy received two Bachelors degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and a MFA from the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing Program at the University of Southern California.
NEAL H. MORITZ (Producer) is one of the most prolific producers working in Hollywood today, with a wide range of film and television projects to his credit. Founder of Original Film, a feature film and television company, Moritz is currently in postproduction on several features, including the romantic comedy Made of Honor, starring Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan, and the horror remake Prom Night, both due for release in early 2008. In addition, he will begin shooting the fourth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise in February.
Most recently, Moritz produced the blockbuster I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, and this past summer‘s successful comedy Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman. His other recent credits include Click, starring Adam Sandler; Gridiron Gang, starring Dwayne ―The Rock‖ Johnson; and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. For television, he is an executive producer on the acclaimed drama series ―Prison Break.‖ After Moritz established Original Film in 1997, the company‘s first self-financed feature was the 1999 hit Cruel Intentions, a modern take on the classic novel Dangerous Liaisons, starring Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe. The 1999 teen drama grossed more than $75 million at the box office and is considered a cult favorite among those who came of age at the time of its release.
Moritz then produced The Skulls, which marked one of five collaborations with director Rob Cohen. The two have also teamed on the blockbusters The Fast and the Furious and xXx, both starring Vin Diesel; Stealth, starring Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel and Josh Lucas; and the HBO movie ―The Rat Pack,‖ which earned 11 Emmy Award nominations.
With more than 35 movies to his credit, Moritz‘s producing credits also include the smash hit romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey; The Fast and the Furious sequels; the Denzel Washington thriller Out of Time; the motorcycle actioner Torque, starring Ice Cube; S.W.A.T., starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell; The Glass House; the Jack Black comedy Saving Silverman; the action comedy Blue Streak, starring Martin Lawrence; and Volcano, starring Tommy Lee Jones.
Moritz has also made a number of teen films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, which spawned a successful sequel; Urban Legend; the college comedy Slackers; and Not Another Teen Movie, a spoof of the very teen-film genre he helped to create. Prior to that, the first major feature film he produced was 1992‘s Juice, starring Omar Epps and the late Tupac Shakur.
A graduate of UCLA with a degree in economics, Moritz went on to earn a graduate degree from the Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing Program at the University of Southern California.
CALLUM GREENE (Executive Producer) has worked on a variety of acclaimed independent movies and is renowned for his ability to bring projects to the big screen under any circumstance. He was nominated twice by the IFP in 2004 for Happy Here and Now, which won the audience award at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, and Homework, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance the same year. Most recently, Greene served as executive producer of Columbia‘s upcoming romantic comedy Made of Honor. Previously, he served as co-producer on Columbia‘s Marie Antoinette, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He also line-produced Emilio Estevez‘s Bobby, which premiered at the Venice Film
Festival, as well as director-writer-producer Sofia Coppola‘s Academy Award® winner, Lost in Translation.
Other producing credits for Greene include such independents as Thumbsucker; The Beautiful Country; Second Best, which premiered at Sundance; and The Next Best Thing. He also produced the acclaimed television movies ―Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story,‖ starring James Woods; and ―3 A.M.,‖ starring Danny Glover, Michelle Rodriguez and Pam Grier. In addition, Greene has produced numerous documentaries, including This So Called Disaster: Sam Shepard Directs The Late Henry Moss, featuring Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson and Sam Shepard.
Greene began in Europe as a producer and stage manager of theater before enrolling in the Masters program at Columbia University in 1995. The following year, he was awarded the Arthur Krim fellowship to encourage his producing abilities. He went on to co-produce such features as Long Time Since, The Farmhouse and In The Weeds, as well as line-producing Better Living, Hostage and Hamlet. Greene is currently executive producing Everybody’s Fine for Radar Pictures. The film stars Robert De Niro and is directed by Kirk Jones.
TANIA LANDAU (Executive Producer) joined Original Film four years ago. She has since overseen such projects for the dynamic company as the 2006 successful comedy Click, as well as producing Patrick Dempsey‘s next movie, Made of Honor.
The British native came to Los Angeles in the mid-1990s. Landau first worked at New Line Cinema under Michael De Luca, and later teamed with producer Mark Gordon, for whom she helped set up Casanova, starring Heath Ledger.
LYNWOOD SPINKS (Executive Producer) is a 25-year veteran of Hollywood, having served in a number of senior executive positions. Spinks‘ expertise spans production, finance, international sales, business and legal affairs, and familiarity with the studio system, as well as the world of independent-film financing and distribution.
From 1986 to 1996, he served in various positions at Carolco Pictures, including COO, Director, and President of Production. Working with legendary producer Mario Kassar, he oversaw production, financing, and licensing of such films as Terminator 2, Basic Instinct, Chaplin, Cliffhanger, Stargate, and many others, as well as the operations of Carolco Studios, a North Carolina production facility. He worked closely with talent such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Douglas, James Cameron, Roland Emmerich (his first two films in the U.S.), Oliver Stone, Adrian Lyne, Renny Harlin, Quentin Tarantino, and others.
In addition, Spinks served on the board of directors of LIVE Entertainment (subsequently Artisan Entertainment, now part of Lionsgate), the leading U.S. independent home video distributor, built by Carolco. Spinks left Carolco to become Executive Vice President of MCA Motion Picture Group (now Universal Studios). He was responsible for the studio‘s international theatrical distribution, exhibition, and co-financing matters, and served on the boards of United International Pictures, United Cinemas International, and Cineplex-Odeon Theaters.
Spinks has extensive experience in all aspects of the film industry, with a primary focus on film financing and talent deal-making for major studios and independent production companies. In 2004, Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh formed Relativity Media LLC. Relativity has since raised capital to finance over $3 billion in film production costs for Marvel Entertainment, Warner Bros., Sony, Universal,
Exception Wild Bunch S.A. (a French distribution and sales company owned and run by the founders of Studio Canal), and others.
Spinks received his B.A. from Auburn University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
AMIR MOKRI’s (Director of Photography) talents may currently be seen in the smash hit National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Mokri‘s other key film credits include Andrew Niccols‘ Lord of War; Michael Bay‘s Bad Boys II; DJ Caruso‘s The Salton Sea and Taking Lives, the latter starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke; Don’t Say A Word; Coyote Ugly; and Wayne Wang‘s The Joy Luck Club and Life Is Cheap. Bigelow‘s Blue Steel. In addition, the Iranian-born cinematographer shot John Schlesinger‘s Pacific Heights, Eye For An Eye and Freejack, as well as Kathryn
For commercials, Mokri has worked with many high profile directors, such as Mike Bigelow, Danny Boyle, Steve Beck, Jeff Gorman, Dale Hislip, Kevin Hooks, Richard Hoover, Gary Johns, Rick Levine, Katherine Le Febre, Ian McDonald, Michael Norman, Michael Shapiro, Zack Snyder, Brian Webber and Greg Wilson.
BRIGITTE BROCH (Production Designer) is a highly respected designer who has worked her way through the ranks of film production over the years. She won the Academy Award® for Art & Set Decoration in 2001 for her work on Baz Luhrmann‘s Moulin Rouge, an honor she shared with Catherine Martin. Broch was also nominated for an Oscar® for her work on Luhrmann‘s film Romeo + Juliet. The talented German-born production designer also collaborated many times with Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, including the critically acclaimed film Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, which won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.
Broch emigrated to Mexico in the late 1960s, and began her career in film when director Luis Mandoki hired her to be the production manager on his documentary for Mexico‘s Indigenous Institute. The experience led to feature work as a production designer on many Mexican features, including Guita Schyfter‘s Los Caminos de Graham Greene, Guillermo del Toro‘s Cronos, and Alfonso Cuaron‘s debut feature, Solo Con Tu Pareia (Love In The Time Of Hysteria).
Other production designer credits for Broch are 21 Grams, Amores Perros, Sexo Pudor y Lagrimas, La Hija del Cannibal (Lucia, Lucia), Patricia Cardoso‘s Real Women Have Curves and Spike Lee‘s She Hate Me. She has been nominated three times for the Silver Ariel, Mexico‘s equivalent of the Academy Award, for her work on El Jardin del Eden, La Otra Conquista and Amores Perros. Broch won the prestigious Silver Ariel for Cronos and Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas.
Her next project is Stephen Daldry‘s The Reader.
STUART BAIRD, A.C.E. (Editor) was nominated for a BAFTA and an Eddie Award for his work on the 21st James Bond adventure, Casino Royale. Casino Royale marked Baird‘s second collaboration with director Martin Campbell. He had previously edited the blockbuster The Legend of Zorro,
starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas.
Baird has twice been nominated for an Academy Award®, for his work on Superman directed by Richard Donner, and for Michael Apted‘s Gorillas in the
Mist, starring Sigourney Weaver. Other credits include Maverick, Lethal Weapon I & II, and Demolition Man. As a director, Baird‘s credits include Star Trek: Nemesis, U.S. Marshals, and Executive Decision.
LUCA MOSCA (Costume Designer) was born in the dynamic fashion capital of Milan, Italy. At the insistence of his family he attended medical school and
became a doctor. But he soon pursued his true vocation in the fashion arts and worked for five years as a couture designer for the Italian fashion houses Romeo Gigli and Callaghan.
After moving to the United States in 1994, Mosca and business partner Marco Cattoretti founded and designed the innovative and trend-driven collection LUCA+MARCO, which was successfully sold by high-end stores worldwide.
Shortly after, the Mosca-Cattoretti design team took its business to another level when it was recruited to design the costumes for an independent feature film.
Mosca has since served in various costume design positions for such award winning feature films as Girlfight, starring Michelle Rodriguez; Hamlet 2000, starring Ethan Hawke, Sam Shepard, Bill Murray, and Julia Stiles; 3 AM, starring Michelle Rodriguez, Danny Glover, and Pam Grier; In the Weeds, starring Eric Bogosian, Ellen Pompeo, and Molly Ringwald; Griffin And Phoenix, starring Blair Brown, Dermot Mulroney, and Amanda Peet; among others. Mosca also designed costumes for TV for the critically acclaimed series ―The Education of Max Bickford,‖ starring Richard Dreyfuss, Peter O'Toole, and Marcia Gay Harden. Her work will next be seen in Columbia Pictures‘ 21.
Mosca currently serves as a costume designer for the film industry, while continuing to create fashion collections for several high-end and trend driven international companies.
Icelandic-born composer ATLI ÖRVARSSON (Music By) is rapidly joining the ranks of Hollywood‘s most dynamic young musical talents. Born into a famous music family in northern Iceland, Örvarsson‘s first paid gig was at the ripe age of twelve playing trumpet in the pit orchestra for a production of ―My Fair Lady.‖ By age twenty, he was playing keyboards and trumpet with some of Iceland‘s preeminent pop and jazz ensembles. His work with the rock band Sálin hans Jóns míns won him three platinum and two gold albums in the 1990s.
Invited to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Atli moved to the United States to study film scoring and classical composition. He graduated Berklee Summa Cum Laude and went on to receive a Master‘s degree in Film Music Composition from the North Carolina School of the Arts.
The winner of the renowned Pete Carpenter Fellowship for young composers, Örvarsson moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to participate in the program directed by TV composing legend Mike Post. He was soon asked to join Post‘s team as a composer and orchestrator for several hit TV shows, including all three ―Law & Order‖ series, ―NYPD Blue,‖ and ―LA Dragnet.‖ In 2003, Örvarsson performed solo piano with a hundred-piece Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl for Television Night at the Hollywood Bowl, en evening commemorating TV musical legends, including Mike Post. In 2006, Hans Zimmer invited Örvarsson to join his state-of-the-art musical ―think tank,‖ Remote Control Productions. There, he has collaborated with Zimmer on several scores, including Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Simpsons Movie, and The Holiday.
Örvarsson is currently scoring the Vin Diesel feature Babylon AD, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, which opens in theatres in August 2008.
Örvarsson currently resides in Santa Monica, where he continues to be passionately devoted to his music and his growing family.
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