PETER BERG (Director) Hancock

PETER BERG (Director) is a prolific talent with a taste for challenging, compelling material, whether as a writer, director, producer or actor. He made his feature directorial debut with the cult favorite Very Bad Things, starring Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau and Christian Slater. Berg went on to direct the action hit The Rundown, starring The Rock, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken, and the critically acclaimed Friday Night Lights, based on the bestselling novel about Texas football by H.G. Bissinger, starring Billy Bob Thornton. The latter film was selected by the American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of the year and was named one of the top ten films of 2004 by David Ansen of Newsweek.

Berg's most recent feature is The Kingdom, a Michael Mann-produced political thriller set in Saudi Arabia starring Academy Award® winners Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper with Jennifer Garner. The film was released in September 2007.

Film 44, Berg's and producing partner Sarah Aubrey's Universal-based development/production company, developed and produced The Kingdom, and is developing several additional features for Universal and other studios. Film 44 is also actively producing for television. Its first project is the critically hailed NBC-TV hour-long drama "Friday Night Lights," based on the film and book. Last year, Berg was nominated for an Emmy award for his outstanding directing of the pilot of this show. Film 44 is also developing for NBC "Deadline," a one-hour dramatic thriller told in reverse time. The Company has several additional titles in active development.

For television, Berg previously created, wrote, produced, and directed the ABC drama series "Wonderland." Berg also wrote and directed episodes of David Kelley's critically acclaimed series, "Chicago Hope," in which he also starred for three seasons. He made an indelible impression as the cocky, hockey-playing surgeon Dr. Billy Kronk on the medical drama. Most recently, he was seen in a recurring role on the ABC action series, "Alias."

As an actor, Berg gained considerable notice for his starring role opposite Linda Fiorentino in John Dahl's neo-noir The Last Seduction. He won critical acclaim for his portrayal of a naive local who falls for the dubious charms of Fiorentino's femme fatale. He was also seen in Michael Mann's Collateral with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. He was most recently seen in Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces, a Universal release. Other notable acting film credits include James Mangold's independent drama, Cop Land with Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel; The Great White Hype opposite Samuel L. Jackson; Spike Lee's Girl 6; Wes Craven's Shocker; Late For Dinner with Marcia Gay Harden; Keith Gordon's A Midnight Clear; and Fire in the Sky.

Berg's interest in performing was inspired as a child attending Broadway plays twice a month with his parents. He studied theater at Macalester College in Minneapolis, where he appeared in several theatrical productions, including "Flibberty Gibbet" and "Tartuffe."

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