Location filming for ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING

BRIGHTON AND EASTBOURNE, SUSSEX

Location filming for ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING took place over a two-week period in and around Brighton and Eastbourne.

Brighton locations: the exteriors of pastel painted houses of residential Borough Street stood in for the exteriors of Georgia’s fictional street and house in Eastbourne; Temple Street doubled for the exterior of Jas’ street and house; a lucky home on Roedean Way was chosen as the residence of snog-master Peter Dyer; Georgia wanders The Lanes of Brighton in her olive fancy dress costume; and the Oh So Bar on Brighton’s seafront was transformed in to the Market Place bar where Georgia first sees Robbie and his band, the Stiff Dylans, play.

Eastbourne locations: Cavendish Place was used as the exterior setting for the fancy dress party Georgia attends (in her olive), and she also runs along the promenade and past the bandstand on the seafront; the Eastbourne Pier and fish and chips shop play host to the Ace Gang, Robbie, Tom and Dave The Laugh; Georgia and Robbie are seen playing air guitar on the beach of Eastbourne’s Sailing Club; and Georgia and Robbie promenade along the seafront and the Beachy Head Walk.

LONDON

In North London, Queen Mary’s Gardens and Avenue Gardens (in the Inner Circle of Regents Park) stood in for the park where Georgia and Robbie look for ‘missing’ Angus, and come across Jas and Tom. In Acton, Chiquitos at Park Royal was transformed in to the restaurant where Georgia and her family go for dinner.

Ealing locations include the W5 Club on Popes Lane, where the interior scenes for the Stiff Dylans' gig were filmed. A vacant property in Mattock Lane was the location for the interior of the fancy dress party, and also the party where Peter Dyer tries to kiss Georgia. Ellen’s house scenes were filmed in Sunnyside Road, near Ealing Studios. The interiors and some exteriors for Georgia’s house were filmed on a purpose build set at Ealing Studios.

OTHER LOCATONS

Hampton Lido in Hampton stood in for Eastbourne Lido. The Salsa Club (where Georgia, Ellen and Libby spy on Georgia’s Mum and Jem) was filmed at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington; and Robbie and Tom’s mum’s organic shop interior and exterior scenes were filmed at Pincho Restaurant, Church Street, Twickenham.

The interior and exteriors of Georgia’s school were filmed at Bishopshalt School in Hillingdon, Middlesex, and the interior and exterior scenes of the club where Georgia has her surprise birthday party were filmed at Liquid nightclub in Uxbridge, also in Middlesex.

ABOUT ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING

ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING is the first in the series of international best-selling books about the confessions of crazy but lovable Georgia Nicolson, as she muddles through teenage life and all it entails. Several episodes and characters in the books are based on the author Louise Rennison’s own childhood in Leeds, where she was brought up in a three-bedroom council house with her mum, dad, grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin.

‘Angus’, is Georgia’s beloved cat; ‘Thongs’ are worn by Georgia’s arch nemesis, Slaggy Lindsay; and ‘Full-Frontal Snogging’ lessons with Peter Dyer lead to her first official snog with sex god Robbie. (NOTE: While Brits would say “snog,” Americans would be more familiar with the term “make out”—it’s their way of saying serious kissing!)

The film ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING gave Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges (her writing partner and husband) an opportunity to collaborate together for a fifth time. When they were approached by Paramount to work on the script for the film, which is based on the first two books in the series (The second book in the series is titled IT’S OK, I’M WEARING REALLY BIG KNICKERS), the appeal for Chadha was immediate as she instinctively knew they could bring the text to life and stay true to the spirit of the books: “In Georgia, we have a wonderful character that anyone who is a stroppy teenager, or has ever been a stroppy teenager, will completely relate to and understand how parents, teachers and, in fact, the world conspires against you just as you are bursting with adulthood - a kind of Bridget Jones at 14 - but with more attitude! I was drawn to just how real and funny Georgia is and that's why she and the books have such a huge international readership.”

Louise Rennison may have based some of Georgia’s life on her own teenage years, but she has also spent time researching what it is to be a teenager today by hanging around with 14-year-olds. The experience was, as Rennison says, “Brilliant - the best fun known to humanity. It's all boys, makeup, laughing and…er, that's it!”

Before writing their draft of the script, Chadha, Mayeda Berges went about their research in a similar way to Rennison, chatting to teenagers and noting their responses, and reading magazines aimed at teens. As Chadha recalls, “Reading all these magazines, you realize the emotional turmoil teenagers go through at that age. You get a sense that they really do think that they are adults—they really do think that they know what is going on—but to us, they are children. It really paid dividends to talk to the real girls and read what they read, and to really get inside the heads of Georgia and the girls.”

Paul Mayeda Berges elaborates, “We loved Georgia and we thought that she was so funny and easy to relate to; she was so real, and kind of mad and wacky. She represents everything that is important to you when you are 14—friends, wanting to have that first boyfriend, that first snog.”

The American High School genre appealed to Chadha. Films like CLUELESS, MEAN GIRLS, 16 CANDLES, anything by John Hughes. She says, “The language that the girls speak, the emotions that they go through—it is all very pure and innocent, a marvelous time in anyone’s life, although, when you are going through it, it is horrendous—the fact that you are so angry all the time at your parents, who are just always embarrassing no matter what they do. When that boy you really fancy just doesn’t know you exist, you just want to die and never have anything to do with boys again. Everything is so dramatic.”

The most difficult part of the casting process was finding a young actress to portray Georgia Nicolson on screen, a character much loved by the avid teenage readers of the books. Chadha began the casting process when she was four-months pregnant. Within a few months, she had found many of the key characters in Georgia’s life…but was still struggling to find Georgia. A few months later, (following the birth of her twins) and still no Georgia cast, Chadha had yet another casting session—in it, she brought back in Georgia Groome, whom she had seen early in the casting process but had felt was too young. As Chadha remembers, “This time, she was like a young woman, she had blossomed and had a completely different attitude and I was thrilled as soon as she walked in…because I knew we had found our Georgia.”

Georgia Groome’s breakthrough role was in the acclaimed, gritty independent British feature film London to Brighton. Being cast as the eccentric and irresistible Georgia Nicolson in ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING gave Groome the opportunity to play a teenager of a similar age to herself, which meant she naturally had an understanding of the emotions, situations and angst of the character, “Fourteen-year-old girls worry about boys; about what boys think of them; and about parents; about parents not letting them do what they want when they like. Fourteen-year-olds worry about everything to do with themselves—what they look like, what’s wrong with them…clothes, makeup, everything. Life to a 14-year-old is, like, ‘Arghhh!!!’”

Mayeda Berges comments, “Georgia Groome has a great combination of being able to be light and silly and goofy, but also possesses real emotions—she uses those skills to show how she is changing and is heartbroken about Robbie, or she is upset about her parents. She just has a really amazing sense of what you’re like when you go through that situation—she is so real and natural.”

In rehearsals, Chadha and Groome broke down every scene to establish the variations of Georgia Nicolson’s complex, and at times, erratic behaviour; her mood swings often result in hilarious and heart-warming moments—bouncing from being childish, to a tom boy, to girly, to throwing tantrums, to falling out with friends and falling in love with boys, not to mention worrying about her parents relationship and the realization that the world does not entirely revolve around the needs and desires of a 14-year-old girl and her group of friends.

As Chadha says, “I think people will like Georgia Nicolson, because she is very enchanting. Georgia and her gang of girls together are a lot of fun and thoroughly watchable.”

Co-producer Michelle Fox sees the mishaps and adventures of Georgia as being universal and appealing to families, as well as a young audience: “It was a fantastic script and a lot of fun to produce. It will appeal to the whole family, not just the teenage girls that the books were originally written for. It’s an emotional journey that teenagers and parents alike will relate to. It really takes you back to being 15 and all the exaggerated highs and lows. Georgia and her gang were brilliantly cast, reflecting much of their own personalities in their respective roles. Jas is delightfully ditzy and Robbie, charming and sensitive—you really believe all of their relationships, as Georgia brings such sincerity to her role. Kimberly Nixon is a brilliant and beautifully wicked Slaggy Lindsay. Her scenes with Georgia are just so real. On set behind the cameras, their friendships were growing rapidly, which is evident in the dailies and made being on set quite entertaining at times. Our handsome boy cast caused quite a stir amongst the Ace Gang and they had the added excitement of The Stiff Dylans. We created this great band, with Robbie as the lead singer, from an open audition and their presence on screen is quite something. The audience will come out the cinemas rocking.”

Although Georgia Nicolson is very much the leader within her group of friends, the Ace Gang, because she is the crazy one with the plans—but she is not the most experienced when it comes to life and boys. She has never had a boyfriend, not to mention a snog. Her fellow Ace-ers are: her best friend Jas, who is very sweet and very ditzy; Rosie, the most experienced in the gang and the luckiest—she has a boyfriend, Sven, a Swedish exchange student; and Ellen, the most innocent and least experienced, especially when it comes to boys.

Georgia’s mum, dad, sister Libby and her cat, Angus, frequently irritate and embarrass Georgia. When Georgia’s dad is sent to New Zealand for work, it seems like the answer to her prayers—the person most set against her having a cool, grown-up 15th birthday party (at a cool, grown-up nightclub!) will be half a world away. It is only when the handsome, George Clooney look-a-like builder makes friends with her mum that Georgia begins to realize that there are some things over which she has little control (or understanding) being a teenager—for those matters, she really would rather have her dad back home.

Angus, Georgia’s cat, has been with her ever since she was little. He sleeps with her, and frequently has a part to play in her crazy plans. The special thing about Angus is that he is frequently Georgia’s confidante—when Jas and the Ace Gang aren’t around, when her parents can’t relate…the only other person available is her sister Libby, who is four and also believe she is a cat. So, that leaves Angus, her co-conspirator, partner in crime and trusted friend.

Angus is actually played by two cats in the film, as Georgia Groome explains: “Both cats have different personalities. Benny is the Angus that is the cuddly one that will sit still for long periods of time—he is my savior, my agony aunt that I tell everything to. I dread to think what that cat could tell you, because I whisper all sorts of things in his ear. Jim is the action cat—he does all the jumping and stunts.”

When the drop-dead gorgeous brothers Robbie and Tom arrive as new pupils at Georgia’s school, the would-be heroine and Jas are determined to ensnare them. When Jas and Tom hit it off from the start, a wedge is driven between Georgia and Jas. The situation grows more dire as Georgia’s attempts to impress Robbie backfire time and time again—everything from pretending Angus is missing to using Robbie’s friend Dave The Laugh to try to make Robbie jealous. The situation is not helped by the presence of Robbie’s girlfriend (Georgia’s arch nemesis, Slaggy Lindsay), who uses any opportunity to make Georgia look stupid by reminding her how young and childish she looks, and acts, in comparison.

In an effort to put into practice Georgia and Jas’ snogging scale, Georgia arranges kissing lessons with Peter Dyer—”the man, the myth, the legend”—so that she will know what to do when, and if, she finally gets to kiss Robbie. In Peter Dyer’s words, “Number One is the standard kiss. Number Two is with movement, when the boy goes in, the girl always goes the other way…the boy leads and the girl always fits in. Number Three is with tongues, which makes it a health and safety issue. The secret is to strike the right balance between yielding and giving. Start slowly—like a turtle, not a lizard—and avoid washing machine syndrome. That’s my scale of snogging!”

Robbie plays bass in a band called the Stiff Dylans. The band features heavily in Rennison’s books and a real band was created especially for the film; an extensive audition process saw four individual musicians brought together to perform in the film, with a hoped-for life beyond the film. (The band has subsequently signed with Sony BMG.) For the purposes of the story, Robbie is featured on screen as a bass player and vocalist alongside the real musicians.

James Flannigan (vocals), Charlie Wride (guitar), Matt Harris (bass) and Thomas Slaytor (drums)—who have never before played together—found themselves in the famous Abbey Road studio, recording tracks as the film went in to production. Later, they were required to perform and act on-stage within scenes in the film. The Stiff Dylans perform a cover and a track that was especially written for the film (with lyrics about Georgia Nicolson), which Robbie is supposed to have written for her.

Aaron Johnson, who plays Robbie, says, “I really enjoyed being up on the stage with an instrument. I don’t really play any instruments or sing, and I’m definitely not a rock band type. It was a great atmosphere and a different buzz. It really felt like we were playing a gig. It was really cool to rock out and sing along. It felt like we were a band and hopefully, it will look like that as well.”

ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING SYNOPSIS

Misunderstood by her “ancient” parents—but buoyed up by the love of her cat, Angus, and her bessie mates, the Ace Gang—Georgia Nicolson (GEORGIA GROOME) struggles through life seeking out her two main desires: 1. To get a gorgeous sex-god as her boyfriend. 2. To throw the greatest 15th birthday party ever.

When handsome brothers Tom (SEAN BOURKE) and Robbie (AARON JOHNSON) arrive at school, Georgia thinks her boyfriend dreams have been answered. But when she sees Robbie with her arch rival, Slaggy Lindsay (KIMBERLEY NIXON), she devises a plan to show Robbie that she’s the mature, sophisticated girlfriend he deserves. Unfortunately Georgia’s plans - involving snogging lessons, dying her legs orange and stalking Slaggy Lindsay - don’t exactly run smoothly.

In addition her own romance problems, Georgia's dad (ALAN DAVIES) is given an amazing job opportunity in New Zealand. This leaves Georgia’s mum (KAREN TAYLOR) open to the charms of builder Jem (STEVE JONES), a George Clooney look-a-like who’s ancient (mid 30’s) but still a fittie. The worry over her parents’ marriage is a huge pressure on Georgia, who feels that the responsibility for holding the family together rests on her shoulders.

In her quest to get Robbie and keep her family from splitting, Georgia transforms from a selfish girl into a young woman who’s grown beyond the valley of the fab and into the universe of marvy.

ANGUS, THONGS & PERFECT SNOGGING

ANGUS, THONGS & PERFECT SNOGGING is directed and produced by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice), from the screenplay she co-scripted with Paul Mayeda Berges, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi.

This hilarious coming-of-age story is based on the international best-selling series of books by the British author Louise Rennison, and follows the eccentric and irresistible Georgia Nicolson as she overcomes the trauma of being a teenager.

Georgia Nicolson is played by Georgia Groome. Alongside her playing fellow Ace Gang members are Eleanor Tomlinson as Jas, Georgia Henshaw as Rosie and Manjeeven Grewal as Ellen. Aaron Johnson, Sean Bourke, Alan Davies, Karen Taylor and T4’s Steve Jones (making his acting debut) also star.

Filming on the Paramount and Nickelodeon production took place on location in Brighton, Eastbourne, Middlesex and London locations, along with shooting at Ealing Studios.

Paramount Pictures International and Nickelodeon Movies Present A Gurinder Chadha Film: Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, starring Georgia Groome, Alan Davies, Karen Taylor, Aaron Johnson, Eleanor Tomlinson. The music is by Joby Talbot, and the music supervisors are Karen Elliott and Ian Neil. The co-producer is Michelle Fox. The costume designer is Jill Taylor. The film is edited by Martin Walsh, A.C.E. and Justin Krish. The production designer is Nick Ellis; the director of photography is Richard Pope, BSC. The executive producer is Scott Aversano. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is produced by Gurinder Chadha and Lynda Obst, and based on the books Angus, Thongs… and …Really Big Knickers by Louise Rennison. The screenplay is by Gurinder Chadha & Paul Mayeda Berges and Will McRobb & Chris Viscardi. It is directed by Gurinder Chadha. The soundtrack album is available on Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited.

Shooting wrapped, layers of prosthetics peeled away and his famous sketchbook even more well worn, writer/director del Toro reflects on the draw of the hero with whom he has spent much of the last decade trying to explain: “Hellboy is an unlikely good guy with a blue-collar attitude and a big heart for his family of freaks. I identify with him 100 percent. He has an extraordinary job, but a workman-like mentality. He struggles with inner demons and fights against what others see as his destiny. His is a story of nature vs. nurture, which offers simple but beautiful truths about what it is to be human.”

And that is the type of story del Toro best shares. “I would love for people to find within Hellboy movies their favorite monsters,” he concludes. “We all need monsters to dream, and that’s what we’re doing.”Universal Pictures presents, in association with Relativity Media, a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin production, in association with Dark Horse Entertainment—a Guillermo del Toro film—Hellboy II: The Golden Army, starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor and John Hurt. The music is by Danny Elfman; the costume designer is Sammy Sheldon. The action-thriller’s creature and makeup effects are designed by Mike Elizalde; the film’s editor is Bernat Vilaplana. Hellboy II: The Golden Army’s production designer is Stephen Scott. The director of photography is Guillermo Navarro, ASC; the co-executive producer is Mike Mignola. The executive producer is Chris Symes.

The film is produced by Lawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, Lloyd Levin. It is based upon the Dark Horse Comic Book created by Mike Mignola. The story is Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola. Hellboy II: The Golden Army’s screenplay is by Guillermo del Toro, and it is directed by Guillermo del Toro.

Guillermo Navarro is GDT’s right-hand creative partner

Guillermo del Toro and his director of photography, Guillermo Navarro, are on their fifth collaboration with Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The most recent, Pan’s Labyrinth, brought Navarro the Academy Award® for best cinematography in 2007. The pair also made the first Hellboy together. Indeed, the longtime friends planned their camera moves before production began.

“Guillermo Navarro is GDT’s right-hand creative partner,” observes Doug Jones. “Almost every shot in Hellboy II has a camera movement, and being an actor who relies on movement as much as I do, I love seeing the camera move as well.”

Del Toro describes his process with Navarro: “We always work before the movie. It started with Cronos and is the same way now. We watch movies together and discuss possible looks, and when the movie’s look is not something similar to any film ever made, we discuss paintings or comic books. If there is no reference, we discuss style sheets and put down some guidelines and talk about what type of film stock to use, what grain we want, what type of light, and then we do tests. We test the wardrobe and makeup and hairstyles and test all the lights we are going to use, and then we seldom talk about these again in the shoot.

It was important to the two filmmakers to shoot a movie unlike anything people had seen before. By taking the magical realm, elf world and new slants to Celtic mythology, they wanted to deliver a universe that was much more exotic and Oriental than audiences would expect. Shots would often get tricky, especially when Jones had two characters in one scene (i.e., a stunt double dressed as Abe Sapien was required to stand outside of the Angel of Death’s chamber, where Jones was in full makeup [and 40-pound wings] as the Angel herself).

“Guillermo is a friend, and I trust him as an artist and a partner,” offers del Toro. “He has taught me much, and we are compadres. He takes risks with me, and we are not afraid to go out on a limb.”

Dramatic climax of Hellboy II: The Golden Army

The showdown in the Golden Army Chamber just past the Angel of Death’s lair provides the dramatic climax of Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The lavishly choreographed spectacle involved every department of the production.

The stunts team worked closely with the visual effects department in planning Hellboy’s battle with the computer-generated Golden Army soldiers. But the one-on-one fight between Hellboy and the prince is a flesh-and-blood encounter that required close collaboration between stunts and special effects, not to mention close calls between Ron Perlman and Luke Goss.

The dramatic design of the Golden Army Chamber heightened the fight’s ferocity. The huge golden cogs that flank the stage where the prince imperiously surveys the army become the fighting arena of the two combatants. The cogs’ movement is also the trigger that brings the Golden Army to life.

The action began with a shout of “Start the cogs!” from first assistant director CLIFF LANNING. “Every film has a slightly different range of effects and, in this movie, it’s the cogs that make the difference,” says assistant SFX supervisor MANEX EFREM, who oversaw their construction and operation. “Because of the cogs, this looks like no other fight you’ll ever see. The cogs spin, some move vertically, some are beveled gears. It’s very much like a fighting ballet.”

The cogs inspired stunt coordinator Brad Allan. “We saw an opportunity for some comedy and some excitement. We’re channeling a little bit of Charlie Chaplin from Modern Times and a little Jackie Chan, plus our own Hellboy flavor.”

The two combatants have completely different fighting styles, suggests Allan. “Hellboy is a strength guy, a stone-fisted brawler. The prince is all speed and stealth, lean and like lightning.”
Although the physically fit Luke Goss performed much of the sword and spear work, Allan upped the ante by mixing in top Chinese martial artists. As is Allan, they’re veterans of the Jackie Chan stunt team. Because the prince’s fighting technique is based on evasion, del Toro and Allan also decided to add somersaulting to his moves.

“I had no idea how I was going to find a power tumbler with the stature and physique of Luke Goss, because most of them are stocky little guys,” says Allan.

“But by typing ‘tumbler’ on YouTube, I found DAMIEN WALTERS—a tall, skinny, blond, blue-eyed guy who is the No. 3 power tumbler in the world today. He’s not a professional stunt performer, but his skill was exactly what we needed, and his work was so outstanding that the entire crew broke into applause after most of his takes.”

Wielding the ancient spear of Bethmoora, Prince Nuada knows almost no equal. In fact, he almost destroys Hellboy in a previous battle before their rematch in the Chamber. Concept artist Velasco explains of an early version of the drawing, created by PABLO ANGELES: “The main idea was for the spear to be a kind of telescopic device, so when it is short it can be used as a double-bladed sword and then extend to spear,” he shares. “All the weapons of the elf royalty are richly decorated. We were trying to stay away from just Celtic motifs and create our own patterns. In the end, we moved the design toward more Oriental and Islamic ornamentation.”

Creatures of Hellboy’s World

Tooth Fairies and Limb Vendors: Creatures of Hellboy’s World
“I have always loved movies where the star is the monster. That has branded my view of art and storytelling all my life,” says del Toro. The director demonstrates this devotion to monsters of all shapes and sizes in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. “In the first movie, we did big, big creatures,” he says. “One thing I wanted to explore this time was what would happen if the first attack came from tiny creatures that are actually cute.”

Hence, the tooth fairies were born. Dainty and almost Tinkerbell-like, the fairies have little else in common with their spritely namesake; they have an insatiable appetite for calcium and are happiest when eating through human flesh to get to it. “Guillermo outdid himself on the cuteness scale with the tooth fairies, but they’re nasty little things,” says Selma Blair.

Solution Studios created an animatronic tooth fairy for a scene in the B.P.R.D.’s medical bay in which Johann reanimates the fairy, but the full-scale infestation of the burrowing predators in the auction house fell to Mike Wassel’s visual effects team. He would seamlessly create the swarm that attacked the B.P.R.D. after the carnivores had already eaten through a number of auction guests earlier in the evening. Wassel’s crew would need to make it appear as if Hellboy, Liz and Abe were frantically gunning and flaming through the nest of fairies.

Wassel’s group also created the plantlike Elemental creature, which stands more than 70’ tall after water activates its properties. Interestingly, the Elemental “seed” comes from Nuada’s grenade; the weapon shoots out magical Elemental spores that, after touching water, sprout into a forest and will choke anything in their way to achieve the goal of reforestation. Originally used by elves to grow an ecosystem, it’s been eons since one has been activated.

Solution also designed the juggernaut Golden Army soldiers, which play on-screen as 16’-tall mechanical robots that morph from an egglike state to full militia. This Golden Army has been dormant since Balor put them to rest, but it has been silently waiting for a new wearer of the crown to command them. Del Toro asked his artists for an enormous chamber that could house the hundreds of golden eggs. The stunning designs were brought to life at Solution.

Prosthetic creatures abound in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. With more than two dozen of them on set over the course of the shoot, the Hellboy II creature department was one of the production’s largest. Spectral Motion from Los Angeles took charge of 15 characters. Solution Studios, Creature Effects and Euroart Studios from the U.K., DDT from Spain and Filmefex from Hungary also made contributions to the horde of trolls, goblins and creatures of the night.

“This is the most massively scaled film I’ve ever worked on,” says Mike Elizalde, founder of Spectral Motion. “It’s been challenging, but also rewarding because of the cleverness and relevance to the story that each character has.”

Spectral Motion’s many achievements include Wink, the Prince’s lumbering sidekick and a match for Hellboy in brute strength. He is portrayed by actor Brian Steele, who is 6’7” tall as Steele, but 7’5” as the drooling beast. The Wink suit, an animatronic masterpiece, weighs 130 pounds. Coupled with Steele’s body mass, the suit was stunning that he could maneuver, much less walk, as long as he was able in the suit. Wink’s facial expressions and the movements of his weaponlike hand (with built-in mace) were controlled via radio by puppeteers.

“The finish, the quality, the mechanics, the articulation, the personality that these prosthetic characters have been given is incredible. The first time we all saw Wink, we couldn’t believe it. The whole set just stopped and assembled around him; it was spellbinding,” lauds executive producer Chris Symes.

Stunt coordinator BRAD ALLAN sums the cast and crew’s respect for Brian Steele’s work: “The effort Brian goes through just to make this character walk is amazing, let alone fight.”

Elizalde’s painstakingly detailed daily routine included the application of Hellboy’s prosthetic makeup. Perlman’s entire face was covered, along with much of his neck, arms and torso, in a process that typically required about three hours. “To wear rubber glued to your body and face and then get in front of the camera and, on cue, give the emotion you’re supposed to give is tough,” says Elizalde. “Ron is a great actor, and his emotion reads through the makeup.”

Del Toro agrees. “Sometimes I have to push, or pull back, a performer in prosthetics until he/she finds the right wavelength,” he explains. “But with Ron, there’s no need. The man is a master in makeup.”

As noted, it took makeup artists THOM FLOUTZ and SIMON WEBBER five hours every day to transform Doug Jones into Abe Sapien. The process for his new characters, the massive Angel of Death and the simpering Chamberlain, was also labor-intensive.

Remarks Perlman: “The Angel of Death was, to me, the most impressive of the new makeups and conceits that has been created for the film. She’s got eight wings and stands 9-feet tall on an 80-pound frame.”

“I always play characters under gobs of makeup and obstacles,” Jones muses. “Sometimes they’re heavy; sometimes they’re hot; sometimes they’re glued on…or there’s a mask with mechanics, which keeps me from hearing the other characters’ dialogue, or there’s a vision problem and I can’t see where I’m supposed to put my prop. But my job is to look as if I wake up this way every day, and the design work is so beautiful that it becomes something really fun for me to give motion to.”

For the character of Johann, Dodd explains the need for multiple performers: “I’ve got two animators that are on very big radio-controlled units. One animates my mouth, which is basically two little things that pop up and down in time to whatever I’m saying. And the other one controls how much smoke you can see in my glass bubble, as well as—at various key moments—these two eye-like things on the front of my mask that are a form of breathing apparatus. Every time Johann wants to sigh, or there’s a climactic moment, smoke will shoot out of that point.”

For the many other creatures—from the Tadpole Vendor to Cathedral Head to a bevy of trolls—del Toro commissioned a number of artists to work on their creation, and left it to one of the shops to bring them to life. He is well known to bounce ideas from one artist to another; the results are an amalgam of designs that look as if they have existed since the dawn of time.

Designing Hellboy II: The Golden Army

This series of missions leads the B.P.R.D. team into secret new worlds that have been speculated upon for years but never before verified. Each of these lands was imagined in precise detail by del Toro and sketched in his ever-present notebook long before production began. Production designer Stephen Scott was tasked to bring these drawings to life.

Del Toro envisioned this chapter of Hellboy’s adventures taking place not only in multiple locations, but also in new realms. He offers, “In the first film, we were always in the sewers and subways, never out in the open, among high society or humans. This takes us a bit more there and into the magical world.” To do this, he would need to head to Hungary as well as to Ireland.
Undoubtedly, the most extravagant of these environments is del Toro’s aptly named Troll Market. Located underneath the Brooklyn Bridge and reached via the back of a butcher shop, it’s one of the few places where freaks don’t feel like outcasts. Hellboy, Liz, Abe and Johann find the Troll Market by following a tip wrung from the lips of a reanimated tooth fairy, a wretched little beast with an insatiable appetite for calcium.

Magical beings are the only ones who can access the market, a haven crowded with potion vendors and artifact mongers that’s been hidden from human eyes for millennia. “The Troll Market is like a souk you’d find in Morocco, except there are no humans,” explains Ron Perlman. “It’s Guillermo del Toro visiting the most extreme depths of his imagination.”
Entered via a 12’-high circular doorway comprised of rotating gears—an intricate locking structure that few can interpret—the Troll Market is packed to the rafters with everything an underworlder might need: discarded items from the city above, off-market novelties such as human skin, a barber shop, an opium den, a giant meat grinder and a community message board. It’s also, naturally, packed with trolls. More than 200 extras were recruited to inhabit the nooks and crannies of this hazy netherworld. Fortunately for Hellboy, Johann, in gaseous form, can unlock the door.

The writer/director wanted to create a place upon which audiences felt they had just stumbled—a universe with little explanation as to why there was any particular character; rather, the creatures just lived and worked there. Explains concept artist FRANCISCO RUIZ VELASCO, “Every artist working on the production was throwing crazy and exotic ideas around to come up with the different creatures that were to populate the Troll Market, ‘where you can find anything in the world, even those things that are not for sale.’” They did just that to flesh out del Toro and Mignola’s imaginings.

To interpret this world for film, production designer Scott had three months to transform a 4,000-square-meter cave, most recently used for growing mushrooms, into del Toro’s vision of the teeming marketplace. The cave also had to accommodate lights, acting, stunts and effects—such as dripping water and billowing steam—along with hundreds of cast, crew, goblins and trolls. The underground location, a former limestone quarry, was found 25 miles southwest of Budapest in the village of Tarnok, Hungary.

In addition to slick new B.P.R.D. uniforms, costume designer Sammy Sheldon was tasked to make sure no one could ever confuse trolls with humans in the enormous space. “We gave them strange humps on the front, humps on the back, big bellies, big bottoms, gloves with three fingers, tall shoes…anything we could think of to try and change the shape of a human being,” she says. “Every single character in the Troll Market has his face covered.”

Both the Troll Market and the eerily imposing Golden Army Chamber were designed in sharp contrast with the aboveground world of humans. “The human world is linear, with straight lines and sharp edges,” says Scott, “while the shapes of the belowground worlds are curved and fluid, with a mixture of Indian, Moroccan and other North African influences.”

The Golden Army Chamber houses a weapon of mass destruction that was commissioned by Elvish King Balor many centuries ago. According to del Toro: “The king said, ‘I want an army that doesn’t need to eat, sleep, drink or pause.’ So, the goblins created a massive army composed of 16’ tall mechanical soldiers that are killing machines. But they don’t know the difference between a man, woman or child—an innocent victim or a soldier.” Once the ruler realizes the horror of his manifested request, he understands that strength is restraint, not brutality, and locks the Golden Army away for eternity, hopefully to never to harm again. Until his son releases its nihilistic power once again.

The robotic holding pen was built in Budapest in a cavernous (and only partially completed) college sports arena, nicknamed Spikey Stadium by the crew due to the Sputnik-like protrusions on its roof. Because the space had sat unused for so long, it had a hollow, lifeless quality that was creepily appropriate for this massive set. In addition, its towering height offered practical advantages for construction and filming pivotal sequences of the army’s reactivation.

While Navarro’s cameras rolled at these and other locations in greater Budapest, the production’s construction crew worked nonstop at Korda Studios’ back lot, building the New York street to the production designer’s specifications. When principal photography began on June 9, 2007, Manhattan was nothing but a stark metal scaffold, which dozens of men scaled daily to build. As the months passed, it grew to encompass three blocks of shabby shops, a meat packing plant, loading docks, an auto shop, a bank, billboards, an SRO hotel and a trendy meat packing district café.

The New York street hosted several pivotal scenes, including the confrontation between Hellboy and the Elemental, a powerful “Jack and the Beanstalk”-type of vine creature with enough life force to rip through pavement. To fight the latest trick from Nuada’s playbook, Hellboy must scramble up a wobbly neon hotel sign to escape its grasping tentacles and bone-crushing moves. Hungarian speed-climbing champion CSABA KOMONDI was brought in for the job, doubling as Hellboy for the stunt. Donning boots, leather pants, heavy coat, oversized shotgun, animatronic tail, harness, pads and the right hand of doom—not to mention the infant he was rescuing—the 160-pound man weighed 240 pounds as he scaled the five letters of the sign…in one continuous take.

The nighttime sequence was filmed in November as snow flurries and high winds swept through the set. Although cast and crew shivered in the cold, everyone was confident that the hotel would withstand the conditions. “We used metal tube work behind the façade to prevent it from blowing away,” explains Scott.

The B.P.R.D. team also visits Giant’s Causeway, an ancient place of myth and legend, touted as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Although aerial photography was taken at the actual site on the Northern Irish coast, the actors performed their Causeway scenes in a hilly field near the town of Soskut in the Hungarian countryside. If they could offer just the right token to the Bethmoora Goblin who keeps watch, Hellboy, Liz and Abe would be admitted passage to the Angel of Death…a complicated proposition.

The freaks live where they work, at B.P.R.D. headquarters. The B.P.R.D. sets for Hellboy II: The Golden Army were also built in and around Budapest. The Bureau’s well-stocked “freak corridor,” medical bay and meeting rooms were constructed on soundstages at Korda Studios, as was Hellboy’s personal lair—complete with dozens of television sets and equally as many cats.
Professor Broom’s sumptuous library, the site of a pivotal confrontation between Hellboy and Nuada, occupied another stage at the brand-new Korda facility. Also, the small hut at the military base where Professor Broom raised young Hellboy was built at the studio. Here, as a child, Hellboy first heard tell of the Golden Army’s bloody history between mankind and the outlanders.

Finally, Bethmoora, the pivotal setting where Prince Nuada confronts his father about his shortcomings as a ruthless leader, was imagined. The city where King Balor reigns over a peaceful kingdom with favored child, Princess Nuala, was built inside an enormous cavern, and the buildings are carved into the stone walls. The ruinous space has been in shambles for several millennia, and ashes blanket the region.

Inside the Angel’s lair is a carving on the floor that depicts a diagram of the universe. The watchful filmgoer will catch Mike Mignola’s many icons and zodiac symbols (carved after many detailed sketches were considered by del Toro). Most important is a glyph that depicts Hellboy at the end of the days, alternately the savior of or harbinger to mankind’s destruction…depending upon how you read the runes.

The filmmakers took pride in honoring the designs of the many artists who contributed to the production. “It was inspiring to see the intricate sketches come to life over the shoot,” commends producer Levin. “These fantasy worlds and creatures had been so carefully imagined by Guillermo and the many artists who worked on Hellboy II. To find the detailed sketches built into intricate sets was especially exciting.”

Hellboy wouldn’t be Hellboy without Ron Perlman

Hellboy wouldn’t be Hellboy without Ron Perlman returning in the title role. Fortunately, the actor was up for getting back into the boots of his favorite role, a character he describes as “a complete underachieving, lazy slob…a beer-drinking, football-watching average American guy who has no desire to be a superhero,” explains Perlman. “He just happens to have these abilities commensurate with where he’s from and who he is. His idea of a perfect day is pizza and beer and watching The Three Stooges and Marx Brothers movies. His extraordinary superhuman traits are coincidental and not something he aspires to.”

Perlman also looked forward to working again with his longtime director. Of del Toro, he states, “The depth of his intellect and accumulated knowledge, based on this voracious curiosity to read anything about why people need to tell stories—including all types of mythology from all cultures—is what sets him apart.” Also, he agreed with the filmmaker’s fascination to tell this type of story. “Guillermo is a great storyteller, because he understands the need for people to pass down fables and myths, as well as to look at the huge, errors that are made by humans as a result of their frailties and vulnerabilities.”

Del Toro also knew Hellboy couldn’t return without his sarcastic romantic sidekick, Liz, back for another round of dazzling pyrokinesis. Perlman’s partner in crime fighting would again be actress Selma Blair, the only performer the director and producers felt could do Liz justice. Says del Toro, “In the comic, Liz is always very brooding, very dark, distant; she’s never relaxed. Selma nailed that.”

Blair respected the fact that fans of the comic book and film franchise have a special place in their hearts for Liz. The pyrokinetic remained beautiful, yet untouchable, to anyone for fear that she would accidentally harm them…until she met Hellboy. Blair reflects, “Hellboy has some really die-hard fans, and all of us are grateful that their devotion has given us the chance to tell the story with Guillermo.”

As Liz and Red move into a relationship, they are coping with the same irritations as most couples…plus some unique issues that occur when a recovering demon falls in love with a fire starter. “Petty things are really amplified when you have superpowers,” laughs Blair, whose character has finally come to embrace the pyrokinetic energy that used to threaten everyone who came near. “When Hellboy and Liz have a row, it’s not just, ‘Okay, I’m going for a walk, see you later,’” she explains. “It’s more like, ‘I’m going to blow up this damn kitchen and will see you later.’”

Again cast as the rotten-egg-eating, brilliant aquatic empath Abe Sapien was actor and movement specialist Doug Jones. Of his character, del Toro explains: “Being half fish and half mammal, Abe possesses a unique frontal lobe. Much like a dolphin’s, it can receive and transmit information and images locked in objects or people. Abe is also the egghead of the group in terms of occult knowledge.”

Before and since his first Hellboy film, the longtime del Toro collaborator has carved out a fascinating niche in creature performance. Recently, as both Pale Man and the title character in Pan’s Labyrinth, intergalactic indentured servant Norin Radd in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and a series of irradiated imps battling The Rock in DOOM, the 6’4” Jones had been keeping quite busy.

Foremost, Jones was happy to tackle Abe again as, frankly, “there was much more to do this time.” He reflects, “Abe has so much more decision-making and character development…and he wields a weapon this time.” Jones laughingly adds, “Me with a gun—that’s funny.”

Jones also appreciated the fact that his water-dwelling character would finally get a chance to experience true love, this time with the enchanting Princess Nuala. The only problem is that she’s eternally connected to her evil twin. Jones reflects, “What a first love does to a person and their decision-making powers…it makes us silly in our adolescence. Abe’s going through a certain adolescent period of life, and it’s a nice chance to revisit those teenage years.”

Tasked to not play only Abe, a process that took up to five hours a day in the makeup chair, Jones agreed to portray both the fleshy court Chamberlain, who lives in service to King Balor, as well as the elusive, multiwinged Angel of Death, who offers an unimaginable choice to Liz.

Compliments fellow B.P.R.D. member Perlman of Jones’ flexibility in roles: “Doug truly amazes me. He’s one of these guys that the more you give him to do, the more he’ll amaze you. He’s such a humble, soft-spoken guy who never calls attention to himself. He gives each role major thought and has the ability to execute it every time. If you do 30 takes with Doug, they’re all going to be good.”

To add insult to Hellboy’s injury, the agency’s Washington bosses have saddled the B.P.R.D. with a new leader, one who can contain the damage from Hellboy’s accidental “outing” of the agency to the public. No longer can the team hide in Trenton, New Jersey, under the guise of the Squeaky Clean Management Company. Once a flesh-and-blood human, Dr. Johann Krauss now exists only as ectoplasmic gas inside a containment suit. He’s a by-the-book type, and expects the same from his team, especially the grousing Hellboy. Unfortunately for him, every time he issues an edict in his crisp German accent, Hellboy sees red.

The voice of Krauss is provided by Seth MacFarlane, and the movements are shared by John Alexander (who also plays the Bethmoora Goblin) and James Dodd. Dodd explains the look of his character: “Johann’s in a containment suit, which looks like one of those old-fashioned deep-sea diving suits, and he’s got a head with a glass bubble on it. Years ago, he went from a human form into ectoplasm and created this containment suit, so—in a more humanoid form—he’d be more readily accepted by people. He has special powers and can reanimate objects by flipping open a finger cap on his gloves, releasing ectoplasmic smoke into the dead and ask questions of it.” Curiously, Dodd had to navigate this world while gazing through a glass pane that would occasionally fog up on him.

Also returning to the series as B.P.R.D. agent Tom Manning, the bureaucrat whose sole purpose is to keep Hellboy in check, is Jeffrey Tambor. Tambor, who wasn’t allowed to read comics as a child, has had a chance to catch up on his youth after these outings with del Toro. He offers an astute theory about the appeal of the property to fans: “What I like about all these creatures is that I think we all think we’re ugly and we all think we’re monsters…yet we have great love in us. That’s the thing that we overcome the most, and it’s a hard thing to do. So, I don’t think there’s anybody who cannot relate to Hellboy. We’re all Hellboy, Liz and Abe. A few of us are Tom Manning. Thankfully.”

Everything shifts for the B.P.R.D. after it responds to an emergency at an Upper East Side auction house in Manhattan. Each team member is stretched to the limit by the chain of cataclysmic events unleashed on that rainy September night by one very ticked-off son of the earth: Prince Nuada Silverlance, exile of the Bethmoora Kingdom. The self-appointed revolutionary of the elves, fairiefolk and creatures of the shadows has been subsiding on the crumbs of the industrialized world, while his beloved planet withers under human masters. It was not always so, and the prince is determined to change the balance of power, even if it means defying his father and endangering his beloved twin sister.

“The Prince is a great villain because he is very dangerous and a great fighter, but he also happens to have a strong moral stand on what he does and why he does it,” explains del Toro. “I wrote the part with Luke Goss in mind, and he delivered all the way.”

Goss, who portrayed the vampire Nomak for del Toro in Blade II, sympathized with the Prince and trained hard to make him a worthy adversary. “He aims to balance the scales by the most succinct means possible,” says Goss. “I can see his point. He wants to enjoy and not destroy the planet. When he walks into Blackwood’s auction house, he sees people sitting there with no idea about what they’re trying to buy. They’re selling his history, and it outrages him.”

The prince hasn’t surfaced with the intention of taking on Hellboy, but no matter. He’s ready to engage him physically and psychologically. Nuada also knows how to reach the secret places in Hellboy’s soul. At a crucial moment, he calls him out and forces him to face who is he is and where his loyalties lie. “Guillermo has upped the ante of what Hellboy’s going through in this movie,” says Perlman. “Eventually, Hellboy has to ask himself why he’s working for a bureau dedicated to neutralizing creatures who are really his own kind.”

British actress Anna Walton was cast as Princess Nuala. Walton was drawn to the part by the chance to play a character divided by her own conscience. She offers, “Everyone has a sort of evil person in one ear and a little angel in the other ear. Nuala’s brother is the heart and the passion of her. She admires it in one respect, but knows that she has to quash it, because it can’t be. It’s very hard for her, but, ultimately, she won’t let him win.”

Commends producer Levin of the team’s Nuala: “Anna does a phenomenal job, because Nuala’s this very ethereal character and, in the wrong hands, could just float away. But she does a great job grounding Nuala and making it seem possible that she would have a romantic relationship with a fish…I mean Abe Sapien.”Performer John Hurt was brought back for a key flashback sequence as Hellboy’s father, Professor Trevor Broom, while Roy Dotrice was tasked to portray the wizened ruler of Bethmoora, King Balor. Brian Steele joined the cast to serve in four roles: as Prince Nuada’s troll henchman, Wink, as well as the aptly named Cathedral Head (a scroll vendor who provides Princess Nuala with an invaluable gift from her father), bag-lady troll Fragglewump and Cronie Troll. A host of movement actors joined in to play creatures, from limb, tadpole and fish vendors to organ grinders and butcher guards. Of note, the butchers were originally intended as background creatures, but evolved into necessary guards for King Balor.

Hellboy’s first adventures were published by Dark Horse Comics

Hellboy’s first adventures were published by Dark Horse Comics in 1994. Guillermo del Toro’s debut as a feature film director came a year earlier with the critically acclaimed horror film Cronos, starring Ron Perlman as the thug in search of an immortality device. As del Toro’s work gained international attention, he kept his eye on Mignola’s creation as a possible future project. “I had always been a Mike Mignola fan,” the director offers. “I fell in love with the brooding, Gothic, atmospheric work he was doing. When I was shooting Mimic in 1997, the best part of the day was going to the comic book shop to look for more Hellboy issues. By then, I thought it was taking a direction that made sense for a movie.”

Del Toro admits he envisioned a filmed version of Hellboy just the way that Mignola wrote him in his comics: “a blue-collar guy—a plumber or an electrician—who comes in with a box of tools and says, ‘Where is the leak?’ and goes at fixing the leak. But he is a very jaded, reluctant investigator; his method of investigation is to beat the crap out of a monster.”

The filmmaker’s interest in turning the demon into a film star surprised the pragmatic Mignola, who thought the tales of his antiheroes would forever stay on the page. “I never in a billion years believed Hellboy would be a movie, and when it was discussed, I said, ‘Sure, good luck.’ But when I met Guillermo, I knew right away that if anyone was going to do it, I sure as hell hoped it would be him. We agreed right away that Hellboy had to be Ron Perlman.”

In a world of caped heroes who sport chiseled good looks and profess all-American values, audiences found it refreshing to have a good guy look so, well, bad. Provides producer Mike Richardson, “Hellboy is not your traditional superhero. This is a character who has horns and a tail and looks like the devil; he shaves his horns off to try and look as human as possible. He’s a blue-collar hero who just wants to be one of us.”

During the five years of development before Hellboy was greenlit, the creative team behind the project kept its focus. “In this period, a number of offers to make Hellboy came in,” recalls blockbuster producer Lawrence Gordon, “but it was about five years before Guillermo had the commercial track record for us to get the movie made in the way he imagined it. His artistic credibility and success in the films he created during that time—The Devil’s Backbone and Blade II—clinched that.”

The first film, starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones and Jeffrey Tambor as members of the elite B.P.R.D. was produced by Revolution Studios with Dark Horse Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions and Starlite Films. It was met with solid commercial success and acheived $100 million at the global box office, as well as finding an enormous audience through DVD sales.

With impressive figures for the action-thriller and del Toro’s growing international acclaim from the adult fairy tale Pan’s Labyrinth, del Toro had the pull to get the second chapter in Hellboy’s continuing adventures greenlit. Changes in the film business, however, would bring the Hellboy sequel to a new studio. “Because Revolution closed shop, we were able to bring the sequel back to Universal where, many years before, we had originally started developing Hellboy,” says producer Lloyd Levin. “The possibility of making the sequel at Universal was a thrill for us because we always loved the idea that Hellboy could be part of the great legacy of Universal Monsters.” (Notably, every Sunday as a child, del Toro would watch two Universal Monster movies, from Frankenstein to Creature From the Black Lagoon, at his hometown theater).
This time, del Toro wanted to tell Red’s (Liz’s nickname for Hellboy) developing story on a grander scale, including many more practical creatures that inhabited the universe Mignola had created. The man producer Gordon says “eats, sleeps and breathes film,” admits he aspired to bring Hellboy to both the dark corners of the fairy-tale world and out in the open to a blissfully ignorant public. As before, he designed at least half of his imagined goblins, trolls and creatures of the night to be played by actors in elaborately designed prosthetic makeup. Puppeteers would enhance the range of their movements with radio-controlled animatronics.

“Mignola’s universe demands a strong physical component to the creatures,” says del Toro. Especially when that world also includes creatures who have sprung from del Toro’s imagination: such as Prince Nuada’s faithful henchman, the troll Wink; the enigmatic, winged Angel of Death; and an array of other goblins, chamberlains and nasties.

As del Toro drafted the sequel’s screenplay, he knew he again needed to infuse CGI to step in when practical effects were not possible. Double Negative Visual Effects came on board to execute his vision of the merciless robotic Golden Army that King Balor, the one-armed ruler of Bethmoora, had created a millennium ago, as well as the unstoppable Elemental creature and other fantasy effects.

For Hellboy II, del Toro and Mignola also wanted more layers to the story than they were able to achieve in Hellboy, as they didn’t have to worry about the origin story that the first film well covered. “Mythology and folklore have always been present in the ‘Hellboy’ comics, and we didn’t go there in the first film,” Mignola notes. “So instead of Rasputin, Nazis, mad scientists and H.P. Lovecraft-type stuff, we went for the supernatural.”

After working out the storyline with Mignola, del Toro spent two-and-a-half years writing the screenplay for Hellboy II: The Golden Army. He ignored the usual sequel conventions, as the background story had been clearly established in the first film and focused the script on the throughline of a dark fairy tale in which the world of magical creatures who have lived underneath humans for centuries finally have enough and start a rebellion. It was time for Hellboy to make a choice: which side of the war is he on?

“There was no need to recap or re-explain who everyone is,” del Toro provides. “We just get on with it. It’s a completely new story, a dark, poignant fairy tale. You can take the most dire, melodramatic arc and plug it into a movie, but as long as you’re acting it with monsters, it already has another meaning. The beauty of these stories is that, in an unrecognizable universe, you have very recognizable human emotions.”

Saving the world is a hell of a job, but Hellboy is ready; it’s what he was born to do. Help comes to Red with an assortment of fellow freaks, ensconced in a high-tech bunker at the B.P.R.D.’s New Jersey headquarters. Officially, the organization doesn’t exist, but a few stunned civilians have glimpsed the burly red gunslinger and his otherwordly cohorts in action. And like it or not, it’s time Hellboy met the public.

When last we met, Hellboy had saved humanity from a centuries-old mad monk who was hell-bent on raining destruction upon Earth. Now, he’s about to face a prince who’s been biding his time until he can lead the creatures of the dark to take back what used to be theirs. On the personal front, Hellboy is having an even tougher time at home. He and Liz have been together for about a year, and the honeymoon is decidedly over.

With the script in place, the filmmakers would begin the search for the monsters and freaks who fit naturally into Hellboy’s universe. Fortunately, it took little more than a phone call to get the close-knit original cast back in their B.P.R.D. uniforms.

Hellboy, Liza Minelli, Abe, Johann, Manning, Wink, The Angel of Death, Princess Nuala, Prince Nuada

Hellboy

Born in the flames of hell and brought to Earth as an infant to perpetrate evil, Hellboy was rescued from occult Nazi forces by the benevolent Dr. Trevor Broom who raised him to be the unlikeliest of heroes. Now, it’s up to the planet’s toughest, roughest, kitten-loving superhero to battle a merciless prince and his army of marauders.

He may be red, horned and misunderstood, but when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy. It doesn’t hurt that the enormous red bruiser brings his right hand of doom (a virtual “sledgehammer” in the form of an invulnerable red stone attached to his forearm). If that doesn’t do the trick, he’s got “Big Baby,” a shotgun/revolver hybrid with bullets as big as baby food jars.

Liz

Pyrokinetic Liz Sherman has only begun to embrace the awesome powers that first manifested themselves at the age of 11 and tragically claimed the lives of her family. Shunned as a child because of her gifts, the shy Liz found not only a home in the B.P.R.D., but the love of her life in Hellboy. Tired of feeling like a freak, Liz warily accepts her team’s new role as no-longer-hidden heroes. When needed, she chants: “The fire is not my enemy, it is a part of me,” to unleash a barrage of flaming bolts upon any enemy who threatens friends or innocents.

Abe

An aquatic empath who is almost 150 years old, the brilliant Abe Sapien has the psychogenic power to read objects and know their past or the future. The consummate gentleman, Abe’s inordinate kindness is matched only by his passion for delectable, rotten eggs. The Ichthyo Sapien must use an Aqua-Lung to provide oxygen to his body when outside water and holds a very special place in his heart for the mysterious Princess Nuala who shares some of his gifts and his sense of justice.

Johann

The newest member of the B.P.R.D., Johann Krauss is a protoplasmic mystic who can briefly take control of entities, both mechanical and organic, and reactivate their neural senses. Schooled in the art of teleplasty and clad in a thick containment suit that holds in his gaseous ectoplasm, Johann’s ability to inhabit the inanimate will serve Hellboy, Liz and Abe quite well as they search for the monsters who go bump in the night...

Manning

Special Agent Tom Manning, chief FBI liaison to the B.P.R.D., has spent decades suppressing the existence of the secret group of superheroes from the public. Though he has averted many a PR catastrophe for the team (and parried endless fodder from tabloids eager to report on a devil-man), S.A. Manning has finally been pushed over the edge by Hellboy’s exploits in Manhattan. Now that the B.P.R.D. has been unveiled to a stunned world, Manning’s job is on the line, and Washington has demanded Johann Krauss to be the new public face for the formerly secret agency.

Prince Nuada

A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below, Prince Nuada has defied his bloodline to awaken an unstoppable army of creatures known as the Golden Army. He has returned from exile to the kingdom of Bethmoora to reclaim the land and the freedom he believes has been taken from his people. To make it happen, Nuada knows he will need the help of the good, the bad…and the worst.

Princess Nuala

The willowy, timeless beauty Princess Nuala has an uncanny resemblance to her brutal twin brother, Prince Nuada—down to the fine scars that mar her perfect face. She is the benevolent yin to her brother’s wicked yang. The favored child of King Balor, Nuala is entrusted with the final piece of the Royal Crown of Bethmoora, a gold treasure that will either bring peace to the universe, or reign destruction upon it.

Wink

Prince Nuada’s monstrous troll henchman, Mr. Wink, does the bidding of his vicious master—no matter how violent the instructions. From helping to set free a horde of fanged tooth fairies on an innocent crowd to scouring the Troll Market looking for a fight, Wink is a huge slab of an ugly creature. His gigantic club fist and extendable iron mace is quite the match for Hellboy and his right hand of doom.

The Angel of Death

The timeless and terrifying Angel of Death has been waiting in her underground lair for untold years to bear a mysterious prophecy to Liz and Hellboy…one that will affect their today and the future of the world. With a heart only of dust and sand—and only the occasional company of the Bethmoora Goblin—she will give two members of the B.P.R.D. a choice: gain new life or usher in an era of death.

Action-thriller Hellboy II: The Golden Army

In 2004, visionary writer/director GUILLERMO DEL TORO brought MIKE MIGNOLA’s comic-book hero Hellboy (RON PERLMAN of Blade II, Alien: Resurrection) to the screen. The overly muscled occult detective, complete with horns, tail and hard-boiled attitude, was an everyman who’d become a favorite of fanboys around the world, including del Toro. Del Toro introduced the reluctant crimefighter to a global audience with the feature Hellboy, and his film’s wit, action and ingenious practical effects launched a critical and commercial hit for comic lovers and general audiences alike.

The filmmaker’s epic odyssey continues with the action-thriller Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the feature follow-up to his 2006 triple Oscar®-winning masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth. Bringing bigger muscle, badder weapons, multitudes of monsters and a little domestic conflict at home, our favorite kitten-loving red hero is back. And this time, he kicks even more evil ass.
Hellboy fights the good fight when duty calls from his employer: the top-secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (a clandestine bureau created in 1943 by Roosevelt that uses secret technology, mysterious powers and a network of operatives with otherworldly powers to defend the world against the more violent supernatural—also known as the B.P.R.D.). He would, however, much rather kick back with a cigar, six-pack, his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz Sherman (SELMA BLAIR of Legally Blonde, In Good Company) and their clutter of cats. But destiny has bigger plans for them.

After an ancient truce between humankind and the original sons of the Earth is broken, all hell is about to break loose. The anarchical underworld Prince Nuada (LUKE GOSS of Blade II, Unearthed) has grown weary of centuries of deference to mankind. He plots to awaken a long-dormant army of killing machines that will return what belongs to his people; all magical creatures shall finally be free to roam again. Now, only Hellboy can stop the dark ruler and save our world from annihilation.

Joining the wise-cracking, amber-eyed demon and his flammable girlfriend are returning principal Hellboy cast—including the bureau’s brilliant aquatic empath Abe Sapien (DOUG JONES of Pan’s Labyrinth, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) and B.P.R.D. bureaucrat Tom Manning (JEFFREY TAMBOR of Superhero Movie, Arrested Development). Acclaimed actor JOHN HURT (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, V for Vendetta) is also back for the latest chapter in the franchise as Hellboy’s surrogate dad (and savior from the Nazis) Professor Trevor Broom. New to the team is the now public face of the formerly clandestine B.P.R.D., protoplasmic mystic Johann Krauss, a role shared by JOHN ALEXANDER (Mighty Joe Young, Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey) and newcomer JAMES DODD; Krauss is voiced by SETH MACFARLANE, creator of FOX’s smash-hit Family Guy and the man behind many of that show’s signature voices.

Nuada’s merciless drive for revenge is balanced by the regal compassion of his twin, the ethereal beauty Princess Nuala (ANNA WALTON of The Mutant Chronicles, A Girl and a Gun). ROY DOTRICE (Alien Hunter, Amadeus) plays their anguished father King Balor and BRIAN STEELE (Hellboy) portrays the Prince’s henchman Mr. Wink, plus multiple additional characters in del Toro’s world. Movement artist Jones joins Steele in portraying assorted practical-effects beasts, including the king’s highest court Chamberlain and the stunning creature that is the Angel of Death.

For this battle, the B.P.R.D. must travel between the surface strata of the humans and the hidden magical one, where creatures of fantasy rule. And Hellboy, a creature of both worlds who’s accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army’s behind-the-camera crew is an accomplished team of artists, including longtime del Toro collaborators: Academy Award®-winning cinematographer GUILLERMO NAVARRO (Pan’s Labyrinth, Night at the Museum), production designer STEPHEN SCOTT (Hellboy, Doom), editor BERNAT VILAPLANA (Pan’s Labyrinth, La Monja) and creature and makeup-effects head MIKE ELIZALDE (Hellboy, X-Men: The Last Stand). Joining the production for the latest Hellboy chapter are costume designer SAMMY SHELDON (V for Vendetta, Black Hawk Down), visual effects supervisor MICHAEL J. WASSEL (Evan Almighty, 2 Fast 2 Furious) and triple Oscar®-nominated composer DANNY ELFMAN (Spider-Man 2, Wanted).

With a screenplay by del Toro, Hellboy II: The Golden Army’s screen story was written by del Toro & Mike Mignola, based upon the Dark Horse comic book created by co-executive producer Mignola. Also returning for the film are noted producers LAWRENCE GORDON (Hellboy, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Die Hard), Lloyd Levin (Hellboy, United 93) and president and founder of Dark Horse Comics MIKE RICHARDSON (Hellboy, 30 Days of Night). CHRIS SYMES (Resident Evil, AVP: Alien vs. Predator) serves as executive producer.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Cast and Synopsis:

“MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA”
DreamWorks SKG Presents
A PDI/DreamWorks Production
“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”
Produced by Mireille Soria Mark Swift
Directed by Eric Darnell Tom McGrath

Cast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin and Will.i.am

Synopsis: In the highly-anticipated sequel to “Madagascar,” Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane — sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all — the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place…but is it better than their Central Park home?

Release: November 7, 2008

Tropic Thunder The filmmakers found Bertha

“We had to deal with a lot of rain and a lot of mud,” laughs Black. “But the locations looked great and they really added to our scenes. When you arrived on set, you kind of knew you weren’t making a typical comedy or a typical action film, and I think when people see the film they’ll understand why Ben picked those locations.”

“We were actually looking at one possible location for the compound when, all of a sudden, Ben and Jeff Mann said, ‘What about down there?’” recalls producer McLeod. With that, the crew hiked down a cliff and found a couple of hydroelectric plants from the 1930s. Says Mann, “Since ‘the hand of man’ had already been here and excavated part of the property, it afforded us a road to get in and out. We selectively cleared some of the vegetation to create space for the set, but we were careful not to upset the visual balance of the environment.”

The filmmakers brought in construction crews from Oahu and Los Angeles to widen the road for film production trucks, trailers and the other equipment needed to support the cast, crew and hundreds of technicians. Sets were then built, including a working hundred-foot wooden bridge leading into the compound. This bridge plays an integral role in the movie’s finale, so Mann and his team worked with a structural engineer on its construction. “The whole thing took a little over three months,” says Stiller. “The bridge is my favorite because it’s something that was conceived in a drawing, was integral to the story, and Jeff totally pulled it off. It makes for a great ending to those scenes in the compound.”

“When we first went out there to rehearse I realized what a drive it was,” remembers Downey. “Anyone can attest to the fact that it was just insane. It didn’t seem like there was any good reason why we should be shooting here. We could’ve just gone off the side of a major thoroughfare somewhere and made it look like this. But the truth is, we couldn’t have because this was so remote and so complete in its realism and isolation. It was so tough and so knee-deep in mud and rain, but we were blessed because there wasn’t a day that we didn’t enjoy, which is so rare. Oftentimes when you go into those situations or locations you think it’s going to be hell, but this was a very enjoyable purgatory for a month or two.”

One cast member had very few complaints about shooting in Hawaii, never letting it get in the way of her own agenda on the set. The filmmakers found Bertha, the water buffalo that Black’s character rides, in Texas and flew her to Kauai on a special plane. But about midway through filming, everyone was in for a big surprise. “One day the trainer called us and said, ‘Oh, by the way, Bertha can’t work because when we showed up at the corral this morning, she had a calf,’” recalls producer McLeod. “We didn’t know she was pregnant. No one knew she was pregnant. Bertha having this baby was definitely kind of a humorous morale booster for everyone.” In honor of Jack Black, the animal trainer named Bertha’s baby “Little Jack.”

“Tropic Thunder” is the largest production ever staged on the island

DreamWorks and Red Hour Films, Stiller and Cornfeld’s production company, brought in producer Eric McLeod, who had recently served as executive producer on the back-to-back productions of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” The team knew McLeod would be up for the challenge of shooting a film largely on location. “This was bigger than any movie I’ve ever been involved with in terms of scale,” says Cornfeld. “Eric had experience mounting major productions and was well-versed with working in exotic locations and with state governments and handling major set construction and explosions without harming the existing environment. He was the key to working out the logistics of this production.”

With a script in place and the producing team assembled, the filmmakers recruited costume designer Marlene Stewart (“JFK,” “True Lies”) to manage regular wardrobe needs and to research and acquire accurate Vietnam-era military uniforms, as well as to design hip-hopper Alpa Chino’s clothing line. Stiller and Cornfeld also recruited award-winning cinematographer John Toll (“Braveheart,” “The Thin Red Line”) and production designer Jeff Mann (“TRANSFORMERS”) to help bring their vision to life.

“We initially considered shooting in Southern California to double for Vietnam and Burma/Myanmar in Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle,” explains producer McLeod. “But all of us wanted a unique, lush, and different look to this film, and that’s what Kauai offered.”
A frequent destination for movie and television crews, the 32-mile wide island of Kauai has been utilized over the years for such notable films as “South Pacific” and the Costa Rica game preserve in Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park.” Kauai’s various jungles, rivers, cliffs, waterfalls and other diverse terrains provided the crew of “Tropic Thunder” with multiple locations to mimic the film’s Southeast Asian locales and added an important realism factor that wouldn’t have been possible in California. In total days, scope of filming and manpower, “Tropic Thunder” is the largest production ever staged on the island.

Production designer Jeff Mann recalls that early in pre-production he and Stiller spent up to 25 hours over the course of six to eight weeks in a helicopter flying over the island looking for film locations, primarily the Hot LZ (“landing zone”) and the Flaming Dragon compound. ”We were looking for mountain ranges and environments that didn’t feel recognizably Hawaiian – without the red earth and vertical ridges of the Na Pali Coast,” Mann says. “We needed to discover someplace that felt more like the Golden Triangle.”

McLeod compares the film’s massive six-month pre-production process to “adult adventure camp.” He recalls, “As most of the movie was shot on Kauai, we scouted by helicopter, by boat, by ATV. We wanted unique locations, places that hadn’t been shot before. That required more work on our end, but in the end we found everything we needed and it was well worth the work.”

The movie’s exterior filming took place at seven locations primarily on Kauai’s northern and eastern sides before relocating back to Los Angeles for the Los Angeles locales and various interiors, which were primarily filmed on legendary Stage 12 at Universal Studios in Universal City, California (where, coincidentally, scenes from the Kauai-based production of “Jurassic Park” were also shot).

Starting with the first day of filming, Stiller led the cast and crew in filming a major battle scene for the fictional epic war film. Reminiscent of memorable war scenes in films from “Apocalypse Now” to “Saving Private Ryan,” this is where we first meet the heroes of the film-within-a-film.
The movie’s two major set pieces, the Hot LZ and Flaming Dragon Compound, were both shot on Kauai. The Hot LZ was situated on an expansive valley of tropical land, part of the privately-owned 40,000-acre Grove Farm property in Kauai’s county seat of Lihue. A few miles inland, across rocky, winding roads, was the Flaming Dragon Compound where the movie’s final action sequence takes place. The expansive set was built over several months at the edge of Mount Waialeale, a site that is noted for having 350 rainy days per year — more rain than any other place in the world.

‘Tropic Thunder’ opens with a major battle sequence

“‘Tropic Thunder’ opens with a major battle sequence, with soldiers running everywhere, helicopters crisscrossing, and tons of smoke; it feels as real as any Vietnam movie,” says production designer Mann.

Comedy is familiar territory for Stiller and Theroux, but the action elements were another matter, so the writing team consulted with famed military advisor Dale Dye to make sure the military action and jargon depicted in the film’s war sequences were accurate. Dye and his company, Warriors Inc., have lent their talents to dozens of films and television projects over the years, from “Band of Brothers” to “Saving Private Ryan,” and Stiller attributes their insight to making the first part of the story so strong and credible. Then to continue that authenticity throughout production, Warrior Inc.’s advisors Mark Ebenhoch and Mike Stokey were on set as technical advisors for the first few weeks of filming the Vietnam battle sequences.

“Ben had a mandate that the film’s opening scene be as real as possible, as if the actors had been through actual boot camp,” says Ebenhoch, a retired Marine gunnery sergeant. “We worked to get the actors up to speed with weapons handling, tactical moving – basically giving them the look of realistic soldiers. We then took them out for training with the weaponry – how to fire, hold their weapons, and reload.” According to Ebenhoch, his biggest surprise was how adeptly Jack Black took to working with the weapons. “Jack had to fire an M60 machine gun and took to it like a baby takes to milk. He became very proficient with the weapon, which holds several hundred rounds.” “We trained with some very powerful artillery,” Black recalls of his brief training. “And somehow I got stuck with the heaviest gun, an M60; they call it a ‘pig.’ People were saying that I was a natural, though it’s disturbing to think that I could be such an effective, steady killing machine. Apparently when the chips are down, the fellas want me in that foxhole.”

Dye also worked closely with costume designer Marlene Stewart to check all the military uniforms for authenticity, as well as with stunt coordinator Brad Martin and his team of stuntmen who portrayed the U.S. Army infantrymen, Viet Cong soldiers, and Tran’s guerilla army. “Mike and Mark made everything look better,” says Cornfeld. “So when the movie opens, you’re really into it like you’re watching a regular big-budget action film.” To capture the feeling of being in a grand war movie, aerial coordinator Alan Purwin was brought in. Purwin’s credits include some of the best-known war films of the last two decades, as well as “Die Hard,” “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” and “TRANSFORMERS,” among numerous others. He was responsible for bringing in and flying the Vietnam-era Huey military helicopters used during filming, as well as manning the aerial choppers used for air-to-air and air-to-ground filming.

Special effects coordinator Michael Meinardus and his team were responsible for all the practical effects such as bullet hits, fire and smoke, rocket explosions, squibs and the aforementioned napalm explosion in Vietnam’s Hot LZ. This explosion was created with a 450 foot-long row of explosive pots filled with 1100 gallons of a 90/10 gasoline/diesel mix that were arranged across a field lined with coconut palm trees. In one take and at the flick of a switch, 11 cameras captured the controlled explosion that created a mushroom cloud fireball reaching 350 feet in the air. The entire staggered explosion consisted of 12 separate explosions, the full run of which was completed in 1.25 seconds.

Summing it all up, producer Eric McLeod notes that “Ben wanted to make everything the best it could be, and he was one of the hardest working guys on set. He wanted everyone to understand that this was not only a comedy, but an action film as well. He didn’t want to compromise. Ben made everything important, and when you watch the film you’ll see how the littlest details ended up being important for the film.”

The inspiration for ‘Tropic Thunder’ goes back to 1987

“The inspiration for ‘Tropic Thunder’ goes back to 1987,” says Stiller. “I had a really small part in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Empire of the Sun.’ At that time all my actor friends were doing Vietnam films like ‘Platoon’ and “Hamburger Hill” and going off to fake boot camps for two weeks. Then during interviews they would say, ‘This boot camp was the most intense thing I have ever experienced in my entire life and we really bonded as a unit and a group.’”

Stiller pauses and laughs. “It was funny to me that actors were talking about this incredibly intense experience when in reality it was nothing like being a soldier and going to war. That sort of self-important, self-involved thing seemed funny to me; I just couldn’t figure a way to make that into a movie.”

Stiller teamed up with fellow actor Justin Theroux and began working out a first draft and outline for “Tropic Thunder.” “We had a first act and an outline for a few years,” says Theroux. “But getting the rest of the logic and story beats to work took a while. There were many, many drafts over the course of about five years”.

With Theroux living in New York and Stiller in Los Angeles, the two wrote scenes and e-mailed them back and forth. “Screenwriter Etan Cohen then joined in and it became a sort of free-for-all,” Theroux continues “It was exactly what you would want a writing experience to be – a whole lot of laughing and a whole lot of fun. “

The trio’s work eventually evolved into a shooting script, “about an incredibly bloated, top-heavy Hollywood production with a bunch of actors who didn’t do the work, didn’t do the research, barely learned their lines, and who are more obsessed with how they’re all going to come off in a war movie than with the subject matter,” Theroux explains. “The director, of course, has no control over his actors, which makes him go bananas. So he and John ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback — who wrote a best-selling memoir called Tropic Thunder — hatch a plan to kidnap the cast, take them to the jungle, and shoot the film ‘Blair Witch’ style. No more chefs. No more assistants. No more masseuses. No more trailers. No more TiVo. They’re just going to do it dirty, gritty, in the mud – the real deal, with real fear and real emotion.”

With that concept in mind, Stiller was adamant that the film not become a spoof. “The challenge was that it wasn’t just an action movie and it wasn’t a send-up,” Stiller explains. “At the end of the day, you need to invest in the reality of the situation, and care about these people or it doesn’t work. It was definitely influenced by a lot of real war movies, because I love that genre. I’m a real fan of those films. But it’s also about Hollywood and how it works on an extreme level. As stretched as things get in this movie, there is still a basic level of reality.”

“Ben has a tremendous gift for movie making,” observes Stiller’s producing partner Stuart Cornfeld. “In order to write something you really have to envision it, and then once you’ve envisioned it, directing is about delivering on that vision. Ben saw the film very clearly along these specific lines, knew exactly what he wanted to do and how much more there was to the movie than what was just printed on the page.”

“Writing, directing, producing and acting is a lot of work, but I always knew Ben could handle it,” continues Cornfeld. “When we worked together on ‘Zoolander,’ I was always astounded to see him carry the responsibility of a director and producer behind the camera, and then walk in front of the camera and deliver this amazing performance. I’ve come to believe that the acting really energizes him. When he steps in front of the camera, he is really able to dive into the character and deliver the performance, the improv and the energy. In a strange way, I think wearing all those hats is energizing for the whole production.”

Co-star Jack Black agrees. “Ben has made so many great movies, and now he’s also writing and directing. But this is the biggest movie he’s ever directed. It’s got huge, epic shots with helicopters coming through the mist and dodging mountains, machine gun fire, major explosions, tons of extras. Then he’s got to make it funny. And he does. He’s a pro, totally knows what he wants to do, and it was great working with him.”

Tropic Thunder Rounding out the main characters is Kevin Sandusky

Rounding out the main characters is Kevin Sandusky, an earnest young actor who gets his first big acting break playing newbie soldier Brooklyn. The role was given to up-and-coming comedy actor Jay Baruchel, who was recently seen in the summer 2007 hit “Knocked Up” and is currently filming his first comedy lead role in “She’s Out of My League.”

“Sandusky is the wet-behind-the-ears rookie actor, really eager and super-psyched to be there,” Baruchel explains. “He’s the only one of the cast who auditioned for the role, who bothered to read John ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback’s book, attended the actors’ military boot camp, and researched the role. So when things go bad for the cast, he becomes the de facto go-to man for all the answers. He’s the only one that actually knows how to read a map or load a gun properly. So, naturally, they all assume that he knows how to do things like fly a helicopter, too.”

Sandusky gets caught up in a power struggle between Speedman and Lazarus as both vie for his expertise to help them navigate their way out of the jungle. “That makes for an interesting turn by the climax of the film, one that I think a lot of people are going to enjoy,” he smiles. “I know I did.”
A host of talented actors comprise the supporting cast of “Tropic Thunder,” including award-winning veteran actor Nick Nolte. In “Tropic Thunder,” Nolte plays the real-life John “Four Leaf” Tayback, whose Vietnam memoir is the basis for the war film and is the basis for the character Tugg Speedman portrays.

Tayback is also on hand, serving as the movie’s technical advisor, and when things start to fall apart, he becomes the catalyst for the insanity that follows.

“I’m just living on the beach while all these spoiled brat actors are in their big hotels or special trailers with their personal trainers,” Nolte explains. “The young English director of this film can’t control them, and when there’s a major screw-up with a battle scene and the studio shuts down the film, I convince the director to get some video cameras and shoot it wild; take four or five days to go through the jungle, take the special effects guy along to blow some stuff up around them, and convince him that he’ll get real emotion from these guys. He’ll get real fear.”

Four Leaf, however, has some secrets of his own and he inadvertently lands the actors in a real battle against members of the Flaming Dragon, a drug-manufacturing guerilla army based in the Golden Triangle.

Damien Cockburn, the war movie’s frazzled director, is portrayed by British actor Steve Coogan, a major English comedy star, who is best known as the title character in BBC’s “I’m Alan Partridge,” and for his portrayal of Tony Wilson in Michael Winterbottom’s “24 Hour Party People.”

“I play this director who is drowning in this monolithic beast of a Hollywood production and the comedy springs from my misfortunes,” Coogan says. “Cockburn has to deal with all these actors and their huge entourages and a budget that is spiraling out of control. It looks like everything’s going to crash and burn but, ultimately, the film emerges unscathed.”

He pauses and then adds, “No thanks to me.”

Coogan was intrigued by how “Tropic Thunder” both pokes fun at and emulates how movies are made. “The film starts out looking like a big Hollywood war movie and then quickly becomes a high-concept comedy,” Coogan says. “It laughs at itself, and Ben’s sort of laughing at himself in the film as well. Although he’s playing a fictitious movie star, he really is a movie star. He’s mocking big movie stars who have a bunch of assistants running around, but Ben has a bunch of assistants running around him. He’s taking reality and just distorting it, caricaturing and exaggerating it to make it funny. We’re kind of showing the underbelly of Hollywood filmmaking and I think audiences will enjoy seeing how vulnerable everyone is in these situations.”

Danny McBride, whose comic chops will also be seen this summer in the “The Foot Fist Way” plays the film’s explosives expert, Cody, a trigger-happy explosions expert whose behavior is equal parts hilarious and scary. “SNL” regular Bill Hader, who has appeared in such recent hit comedies as “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” plays Rob Slolom, a meddling mid-level studio executive – the quintessential Hollywood bootlicker.

Tran, the head of the dangerous Flaming Dragons, is played by newcomer Brandon Soo Hoo. Stiller explains, “he is great in the film. He plays a 12-year-old who’s got this army of guys manufacturing heroin for him. This is his first movie and he is a great young actor. Just the way he looks at you, you know he could take you down. And when he starts fighting, it’s pretty amazing.”

Backing up Tran is his first lieutenant, Byong, played by Reggie Lee, best known for his work in “The Fast and the Furious,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Prison Break.”

Co–starring opposite Lazarus in the film is Alpa Chino

“Oscar®-winner Kirk Lazarus is specifically drawn to the character of Lincoln Osiris, who happens to be a black man,” says Cornfeld. “He seriously sees this as his next great acting challenge. Naturally, the studio doesn’t grasp how absurd this is. They just jump at the opportunity to have him in the film. When Lazarus reports for duty on set, he is Lincoln Osiris, and he refuses to drop out of character at any time throughout the entire movie.”

Lazarus is committed one hundred percent to the role. “Kirk’s heart is in the right place,” Downey says. “The way it’s portrayed is self-deprecating. He has literally gotten so into the role that he cannot get out of it, even when there’s no indication they’re making a movie anymore. Certain of us actors have gone that method route at times, but only up to a point. There’s professionalism and dedication; and then there’s total narcissism,” he laughs.

Justin Theroux, executive producer and co-writer of “Tropic Thunder,” observes that Robert Downey Jr. is “the man of a million characters. He’s an actor who can pull off virtually anything – comedy, drama – and like Ben, he’s a master of improv. Just watching them do a scene together was a joy to behold. It’s sort of like watching a beautiful little tennis match, because they’re both such talented and capable comedic talents.”

Co–starring opposite Lazarus in the film is Alpa Chino. Portrayed by actor-comedian Brandon T. Jackson, Alpa Chino is a multi-platinum selling hip-hop star, (whose most recent hit was “I Love Tha’ Pussy”) with an extensive merchandise line that includes the “Booty Sweat” energy drink brand, “Bust-A-Nut” candy bars and a menswear line for the Gap called “Alpa Chinos.”

Alpa has now set his sights on legitimate acting, playing a character named Motown, a badass soldier from Detroit who wears customized fatigues covered in graffiti. “My character is just this over-the-top, ridiculous guy,” Jackson says. “He’s so obsessed with the movie ‘Scarface’ that he has named himself after that film’s star, Al Pacino. And he’s a stickler about his name, too. People are always saying it wrong, so he’s always spelling it out: A-L-P-A.”

While Alpa Chino sees the war epic as a new career opportunity, he resents the fact that the role of Lincoln Osiris has been cast with Kirk Lazarus, which leads to some testy altercations. “Our characters are always getting into it,” says Jackson. “Alpa is insulted that the role wasn’t given to a black man. Yet, when he tries to argue this point with Kirk, it’s like talking to a wall.”

“Alpa Chino respects Kirk Lazarus the same way he respects Al Pacino,” Downey says, “because he grew up watching Lazarus in these Oscar®-winning parts. But, clearly, Lazarus has crossed a line and when the movie starts to go south, and they’re in real danger, his behavior becomes extremely irritating. Eventually, however, they develop a bond, which proves to be a really interesting twist.”

Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is a pampered action superstar

Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is a pampered action superstar on the wane. His “Scorcher” series of post-apocalyptic action epics have played out, and after a desperate attempt for an Oscar® nod backfires, Speedman is counting on “Tropic Thunder” to put him back on top.

Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is the star of a popular gross-out comedy franchise called “The Fatties,” and now he’s looking to branch out, to show the world that there’s more to him than just getting laughs from passing gas.

Aussie thespian Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), the quintessential “method” actor, has won five Oscars® and is always on the lookout for new challenges and ways to transform himself for his “art.”

Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) seems to have it all. But the multi-platinum hip-hop-star-turned-entrepreneur is eager to move on up to the ranks of serious actors.

And newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), well, he is just happy to have a job.

In “Tropic Thunder,” this unlikely group of self-absorbed prima donnas come together to film an epic war movie and unwittingly wind up in a real battle.

“On the surface, the actors cast in this war movie appear to be very different people,” says the film’s producer Stuart Cornfeld. “But at their core, they’re all trying to do something different with their careers, something new, and they’re hoping this war movie will be the way they reach that next level. The problem is that all of them, except maybe Kevin Sandusky – who’s worked really hard so that he’ll do well in the film – are so caught up in themselves, that they’ll never be able to achieve those goals.”

After the studio head threatens to shut down production, frustrated British director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) refuses to stop shooting and, instead, leads his unsuspecting cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia to complete principal photography “guerilla style.” With no assistants, entourages, or cell phones, the cast soon encounters a very real and very dangerous band of drug lords. Mistaking the actors for American DEA agents, they resolve to capture the “American invaders.”

In the movie-within-the-movie, Tugg Speedman (Stiller) plays John “Four Leaf” Tayback, the courageous real-life war hero whose memoir about his Vietnam exploits are the basis for the film.

“Speedman was the highest paid, highest grossing action star of all time,” says Stiller, who also co-wrote, directed and produced the film. “He’s completely pampered, completely out of touch. He is coming off of a few flops, including a blatant attempt to win an Oscar®. That movie is called ‘Simple Jack,’ in which he plays a mentally impaired farm hand who can talk to animals. And it totally backfires. It is one of the worst reviewed movies of all-time. Now, even his action movies aren’t doing well and he is in a really bad place. So, he needs this war film to work.”

Following Stiller’s vision of producing a genre-bending action-comedy, the filmmakers assembled an ensemble cast with actors who could pull off the comedic elements while still being believable in the movie’s more realistic moments.

For the role of Jeff Portnoy, the gross-out comedy star best known for his multiple roles in the “The Fatties” comedy franchise, the film makers had only one actor in mind: Jack Black. “Jack plays the archetypal, crazy, out-of-control comedy guy,” says Stiller. “The thing I love about Jack is that he is unique. Nobody else has his persona, his comedic vibe. He’s also committed. He took this character and embraced every aspect of him.”

“Jeff Portnoy takes things to a whole new level. Portnoy has made a career out of fart movies,” Black says. “I’ve done some gross-out movies myself, but Portnoy is at the next level above Jack Black in terms of dominating the world of farts.”

Although Portnoy’s lowbrow humor has made him an international superstar, Black explains, he now wants more respect as an actor. “Portnoy is trying to branch out and get a little more legit,” Black says.

As Portnoy and the rest of the cast get stranded in the jungle, we learn something else about him – he has a major substance abuse problem.

As Stiller observes, “You get to watch Portnoy going cold turkey. Jack naturally did it in a very entertaining way, but he also made it very believable. Being able to strike that balance is tough, but Jack totally committed to it.”

One of Black’s memorable moments occurred at the bad guys’ compound. In an attempt to rescue Tugg Speedman, Portnoy enters the compound semi-naked and hogtied, riding on the back of a water buffalo.

“I’m in my underpants strapped to the back of the water buffalo and my concern was how the water buffalo hide was going to feel against my naked belly and chest,” Black says. “Is it going to be a rough surface? Would I have an allergic reaction? But actually it was very soft, like one of those fancy tiger rugs you see in front of the fireplace in some movies. But she didn’t seem to be all that thrilled with me on her back. She gave me a couple of swats with her tail and looked around at me like, ‘I’m gonna buck your butt off!’ I could have sworn there was anger in her eyes,” he laughs.

The overly committed Australian actor Kirk Lazarus goes to the most extreme measures to realistically portray every one of his characters – in this case, having his skin surgically dyed to play an African-American sergeant, Lincoln Osiris.

Tropic Thunder cast Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.

Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. lead an ensemble cast in “Tropic Thunder,” an action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the biggest war film ever. After ballooning costs (and the out of control egos of the pampered cast) threaten to shut down the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia for “increased realism,” where they inadvertently encounter real bad guys.

DreamWorks Pictures Presents A Red Hour Production A Ben Stiller Film “Tropic Thunder” starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader and Nick Nolte. The film is directed by Ben Stiller from a screenplay by Justin Theroux & Ben Stiller and Etan Cohen. The story is by Ben Stiller & Justin Theroux. The film is produced by Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller and Eric McLeod. The executive producer is Justin Theroux. The director of photography is John Toll, ASC. The production designer is Jeff Mann. The film is edited by Greg Hayden. The costume designer is Marlene Stewart. The music score is by Theodore Shapiro. The music supervisor is George Drakoulias. This film has been rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.

Myers says, “Jessica Alba is very beautiful, but she’s also a sweet

To bring Myers’ distinctive brand of comedy to life in “The Love Guru,” the filmmakers knew they would need a supporting cast that would be capable of keeping up with him in the film’s equally hilarious co-starring roles. This was especially true for the part of Jane Bullard, the young, gorgeous female owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs who is determined to undo the “Bullard Curse,” which has left the Maple Leafs without a coveted Stanley Cup since her father bought the team in 1967. Jane needed to be tough, smart, beautiful – and completely vulnerable to Guru Pitka’s mysterious charms.

The answer to the riddle of who could encompass all those qualities came in the person of Jessica Alba, one of today’s fastest rising stars, whose roles in such films as “Sin City” and “Fantastic Four” have brought her a huge global following. But what took Mike Myers by surprise were her comic chops, which had yet to be showcased on screen.


Myers says, “Jessica Alba is very beautiful, but she’s also a sweet, dedicated, talented and wonderful human being who has become one of my favorite co-stars I’ve ever worked with. And she’s really, really funny. She knocks her scenes right out of the park.”

Schnabel concurs: “She came to this film ready to laugh and to create a wonderful sense of play and then she took it to a level neither Mike nor I could have imagined. Of course, she’s absolutely stunning, but her comic ability is really what surprised and delighted us and I think people are going to love what they see.”

One of the things that struck Schnabel right away was Alba’s chemistry with Myers. “There’s this wonderful romantic feeling between them as they dance around one another, taking one step forward and one step back,” he says.

Alba says the chemistry was born in part out of her love for Myers’ exuberant style of comedy. “He has always reminded me of Peter Sellers, the way he can completely transform himself into these outrageous characters. Yet, they all have a heart and soul, so you’re always rooting for them. It’s a balance not many other comic actors can strike,” she observes. “He’s really tapped into this inner-child kind of playfulness that’s very inspiring. With this film he’s also tapped into something that’s going on right now, with so many people reading self-help books and trying to find new ways to change their lives.”

Working with Myers turned out to be a fresh challenge for Alba as an actress. “He likes to do a lot of improv and you never know what he’s going to come out with, so you really have to stay on your toes to keep up,” she says. “They meet under such unconventional and bizarre circumstances that I think they both are immediately resistant to these feelings, so they try to put a lid on them, which is part of the fun,” explains Alba.

Equally challenging for Alba was getting into hockey, a game she admits she didn’t have a clue about before she was cast. “I got a very intense crash course in hockey on this film,” she laughs. “Basically there’s lots of testosterone, a lot of funny guys and some real fragrant outfits. But I wouldn’t dare get on skates. I leave that to the pros.”

Alba might have been able to avoid the blades, but not Romany Malco. For the role of Darren Roanoke, the so-called “Tiger Woods of hockey,” whose unhappy love life has led to an agonizing losing streak for his team, Malco had to head straight to skating boot camp. Best known for his role as Mary-Louise Parker’s “business” associate, Conrad Shepard, on the acclaimed Showtime comedy “Weeds,” Malco might be a comedy veteran but he was a definite hockey amateur, barely able to wobble across a rink when he won the part. But, with a lot of devotion, he was able to turn that completely around.

“For a guy who never really skated before, Romany became an amazing hockey player,” Myers notes. “Romany is also an awesome actor and I especially enjoyed improvising with him, because he’s so spontaneously hilarious.”

Malco was equally thrilled to work with Myers and especially excited to play an African-American hockey player, even holding out hope that with more role models, greater diversity will one day soon come to the game. “Darren is supposed to be like the new Wayne Gretzky, so I gave my all to master all these strides and deliver my best,” he says. “But I’m thinking if my uncoordinated body can learn to skate in six weeks, there must be some really talented kids out there who haven’t had the opportunity yet but could really cut it up,” he says.

Darren’s scoring troubles begin when his wife’s affections are stolen out from under him by his chief rival, the savagely seductive Quebecois goalie Jacques “Le Coq” Grande, whose prodigious charisma, love of chick-flicks and crooning of Celine Dion tunes melts her heart.

For the hilariously uninhibited role, Myers immediately thought of someone unexpected: the global pop star and multi-talented Justin Timberlake, with whom he had worked on the animated hit “Shrek the Third.” Timberlake had also been seen on a number of memorable “Saturday Night Live” sketches, but this would mark his first major comedic film character.
Says Myers about Timberlake: “I do have a man-crush on him. He’s like the most talented human being I’ve ever met in my life. And as the most well-endowed player in the National Hockey League, he’s very funny. Justin instantly nailed the character. He also turns out to have a great goalie stance.”

“Justin’s comic abilities have been largely untapped,” notes Schnabel. “But I believe a new comedy star has been born. As Darren Roanoke’s romantic rival, Justin took it to a whole new level with his dancing and singing. We had to do take after take because we were laughing so hard. And Mike and I were having a ball because we just never knew what Justin was going to do next.”

To develop his Quebecois accent, Timberlake worked with a special dialogue coach and underwent weeks of skating training to hone his hockey skills. In the end, his transformation was so complete – topped with curly hair and a bushy 1970’s mustache – that most extras on the set had no idea that Jacques was actually Justin Timberlake.

Me in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” came on board in the role of the NHL’s toughest (albeit smallest) hockey coach, Cherkov.

Myers couldn’t wait to reunite with Troyer. “Verne is a great actor and he didn’t speak in the Austin Powers movies, so this was a great chance to finally hear Garbo talk, in a sense,” he says. “Here, Verne plays an old hockey man who is set in his ways and can’t believe he’s having this guru thrust on the team by his lady team owner . . . but in the end he’s redeemed.”

“People are going to be very happy to see Verne Troyer and Mike Myers together again,” notes Schnabel. “Ever since ‘Austin Powers’ Mike has been looking for new ways to capitalize on Verne’s comic abilities, and in this film he has a wonderful three dimensionality to him.”

For Troyer, the role was a true change of pace from his previous outings with Myers. ”It was about time he gave me some lines,” he laughs. ”But seriously, Mike is such a cool guy that working with him again has been an honor and a lot of fun.”

Completing the main cast is an Academy Award®-winning actor in the role of Guru Pitka’s own revered Guru Tugginmypuddha. Few people could be more suited for the role of a guru than Ben Kingsley, who won international acclaim and an Oscar® for his portrayal of the great Indian philosopher and activist Mahatma Gandhi.

The contrast alone brought a smile to the filmmakers’ faces. “Of course Ben Kingsley is one of our finest actors and with Tugginmypuddha, you have a cross-eyed guru who hands out chastity belts, so it’s a very broad conceit,” says Myers. “But Ben is such a consummate actor that he really fleshed him out, gave him his own voice and posture, as well as his own gentle way of interacting with people. He also understood that we were trying to have fun and he certainly came to play. We were very, very fortunate to have him in our film.”

Rounding out the supporting cast are a number of fun, surprise cameos. “Mike has a great track record of pulling in cameos because he really tries to be very of the moment and take advantage of what’s happening in pop culture, and of course based on his past work a lot of people want to be involved with him,” notes Michael De Luca.

Naturally, Deepak Chopra, the world’s #1 guru in both the film and contemporary American culture, also makes an appearance. Chopra contends that spending time exploring comedy with Myers led him to some fresh insights – and this from a man whose very job is coming up with insights. “I’ve learned to take myself less seriously,” he says. “Mike helped me to appreciate comedy a lot more and also to really understand it. Spirituality is all about a lack of self-importance, and comedy is the best way to get beyond all that.”

Myers’ producing partner, Michael De Luca, instantly recognized his inimitable touch in the screenplay

Myers’ producing partner, Michael De Luca, instantly recognized his inimitable touch in the screenplay. “Mike Myers, unlike a lot of comic actors of his generation, creates entire worlds in his stories,” comments De Luca. “He starts with a single idea and then builds an entire original universe around it. You really can’t compare his movies to any other movie comedies out there because they always contain something people have never seen before.”

This seemed especially true in the case of Guru Pitka, whom De Luca notes rides a very unusual line between the uproarious and the uplifting. “He’s a wonderful character and you also kind of want him to come along and fix your life. That’s the charm of this character,” says the producer. “Guru Pitka inhabits an unusually positive world for a comedy, and his warmth and unending optimism is really appealing.”

With the screenplay finished, Myers began his search for a director who could take his vision of the Guru’s world and set it into motion with all the manic energy it demanded. He decided to take a chance on a young, promising director, Marco Schnabel, who had previously been Jay Roach’s invaluable aide on the “Austin Powers” films. “Marco is super-smart, loves movies, he’s funny and he knows how to make beautiful worlds on the movie screen,” summarizes Myers. “I think this is the beginning of a long and illustrious career for him.”

For Schnabel, the chance to direct a project starring his comic idol was a dream come true. “I’m just a giant Mike Myers fan,” he says. “I grew up with his comedy in Second City and on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ ‘Wayne’s World’ was, for me, the ‘Annie Hall’ of my generation. Having worked on ‘Austin Powers,’ I was very much schooled in his brand of comedy and when he called me about ‘The Love Guru,’ I saw an opportunity to create another incredible comic universe.”
From the start, Schnabel was well aware that Myers’ films have their own unique vocabulary and rhythms. “Mike is an amazing improviser. Each scene is actually very tightly thought out before we get on the set, but then you know that new ideas will emerge,” he explains. “To keep things fresh, Mike is constantly throwing out different lines and different reactions. His mind is just constantly thinking of ways to make something funnier and better.”

Schnabel had also developed a deep affection for the character of Guru Pitka. “By the time I got involved, Guru Pitka was already a fully realized creation and it was really exciting,” the director notes. “He’s sort of the foolish wise man, who can be whacky but also very profound. I thought it was a very interesting balance Mike had achieved.”

On the set, he found a great groove with Myers. Observes the film’s co-star Jessica Alba: “Marco just kind of put himself completely in Mike’s mindset during the shoot, which was terrific. He knew what he needed to get from each of us, because he was so much inside Mike’s brain.”

Guru Pitka, a.k.a. “The Love Guru,” first popped up in Mike Myers’ imagination

Guru Pitka, a.k.a. “The Love Guru,” first popped up in Mike Myers’ imagination while he was still working on the blockbuster “Austin Powers” series. At the time, Myers had just lost his father and, in his grief, began a serious personal spiritual quest that led him to gurus and ashrams and then, unexpectedly, full circle back to comedy again. In the words of Deepak Chopra, he came to see that “humor is humanity’s way of escaping deep suffering.”

Celebrated for his uniquely irreverent and irresistible way of taking unconventional fish-out-of-water characters to hilarious extremes, Myers could not resist the idea of spoofing a world he found alternately intriguing and outrageous at times, silly in its trappings and yet, at other times, profoundly sincere, a world where enduring ancient questions about the nature of life regularly slipped on the banana peel of modern temptations. This was prime comedy territory as far as he was concerned.

“What struck me as I began meeting gurus like Gary Zukav and Deepak Chopra is how actually really funny they are,” he says. “I started to realize that the whole idea of enlightenment is really, at heart, to just lighten up.”

Another reason he was attracted to the subject, Myers explains, is that “Steve Martin once said the most exciting thing to do is to find comedy where comedy hadn’t existed before. And I loved the idea of bringing irony and humor to the human search for happiness and love.”

Myers next took his impudent guru for a test drive. Donning a purposefully fake beard, mysterious accent and guru get-up, Myers hit a series of New York theaters, where he offered Guru Pitka’s deliciously unhinged “dharma lecture,” a whimsical montage of non-denominational advice ranging from the truly ridiculous to the surprisingly sublime.

The character was an instant hit among those early New York audiences lucky enough to witness Myers’ evolving creation. Some found Pitka a hilarious satire, others experienced him as a bit of an inspiration in his own right – and the mix seemed to do exactly what Myers had hoped: go places in comedy he had yet to explore.

When Deepak Chopra first saw Guru Pitka, he says, he found the character “hilariously funny. Yet Mike was able to make some profound statements by stating them in a very silly way that, nonetheless, makes you remember them.”

Soon after unveiling Guru Pitka, Myers began collaborating with screenwriter Graham Gordy to bring a younger, hipper incarnation of the character to the screen in an original story of his own, much as he had done with his earlier improvised character, Austin Powers. Gordy had a blast working with Myers, turning cosmic sutras into slapstick comedy and coming up with a tale that would reveal how Guru Pitka became the world’s second-best guru and how he now yearns to take the crown from his outrageously famous chief rival, the real-life Deepak Chopra, by getting involved in pro sports and celebrity romance.

Says Gordy of their partnership: ”Mike is brilliant and tenacious and cares as much about comedy as you hope all comedians do. He is the quintessential student of comedy but, thankfully, he’s also a great teacher of it because he taught me everything I know. I loved working with Mike.”

The story Myers and Gordy came up with had Guru Pitka not only caught up in all kinds of comical situations, including his own spot of love trouble, but also unwittingly hurtling towards both romantic and spiritual revelations of his own. “It’s really a journey from celebrity back to purity,” explains Myers. “Guru Pitka has some great ideas, but he’s strayed from helping people to just wanting the accolades. Now, as he is faced with his most resistant student ever (star hockey player Darren Roanoke), he himself is forced to live by the rules he wrote. In a sense, the teacher becomes the student.”

For Myers, key to the fun of “The Love Guru” was weaving in one of his other great quests in life: to see his beloved Toronto Maples Leafs hockey team actually have a winning season. “It’s one of the great pains in my life that they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967,” he confesses. “And to have the chance to shoot on the ice at the Air Canada Center, where every Saturday, without fail, I watch my boys playing, was a thrill.”

Mixing and matching satiric riffs from several film genres – from sports dramas to romantic comedies – Myers & Gordy even wrote an ambitiously full-scale, Bollywood-style dance sequence into the screenplay. “I’m an old-school entertainer,” remarks Myers. “I see it as a huge responsibility to ask people to sit in the dark for 90 minutes, so I always want to make sure there’s lots of entertainment – so there’s dance numbers, comedy, drama – and more – in ‘The Love Guru.’ It’s just what I love, entertaining people.”

Guru Pitka is engaged to use his ancient spiritual wisdom

“Tonight, I want you to go from ‘Nowhere’ to ‘Now’ ‘Here’.”
– Guru Pitka

This summer, the second-best guru in the world is coming to America . . . on a wild-eyed mission of love. Mike Myers takes on his first original character since the beloved foreign agent Austin Powers with the mystical, magnetic yet ever-so-mischievous Guru Pitka, who seeks only peace, enlightenment and national television coverage.

In “The Love Guru,” when Guru Pitka is engaged to use his ancient spiritual wisdom to fix a 21st Century celebrity romance, his karma runs headlong into comedy. An all-star cast including Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Omid Djalili and Ben Kingsley, along with surprise cameos, join Myers in this romp through the territory where enlightenment and merriment collide.

Guru Pitka (MYERS) was once an ordinary American child, until his family left him at the gates of an Indian ashram to be raised by the exhaulted Guru Tugginmypuddha (KINGLSEY). Growing up in the small fishing village of Harenmahkeester, Pitka was schooled in the inner secrets of spiritual attainment along with his friend and sole rival, Deepak Chopra. But now, Chopra is a massive celebrity in America, and Pitka is still playing second-fiddle without even an “Oprah” episode on his resume.

Determined to share his unending insights into the nature of life and get famous to boot, Pitka responds to a fateful call for help from Jane Bullard (ALBA), owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. It seems her star player, Darren Roanoke (MALCO) has gone overnight from being a big hero to a big zero-scorer because his wife, Prudence (GOOD), left him and is now dating the L.A. Kings’ legendary goalie, Jacques “Le Coq” Grande (TIMBERLAKE). Pitka’s new quest – to restore loving bliss between Darren and Prudence and attain the celestial heights of the Stanley Cup – will challenge everything he thought he knew about the inner workings of truth, love, happiness…and hockey.

Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Present A Nomoneyfun Films/Michael De Luca Production “The Love Guru” starring Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Omid Djalili and Ben Kingsley. The film is directed by Marco Schnabel from a screenplay written by Mike Myers & Graham Gordy. The film is produced by Michael De Luca and Mike Myers. The executive producers are Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Donald J. Lee, Jr. The director of photography is Peter Deming, ASC. The production designer is Charles Wood. The film is edited by Lee Haxall, Gregory Perler and Billy Weber.

The costume designer is Karen Patch. The music is by George S. Clinton. The music supervisor is John Houlihan. This film has been rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references.

Baron Cohen's "Bruno" set for summer 2009

Baron Cohen's "Bruno" set for summer 2009

"Bruno," Sacha Baron Cohen's follow-up to "Borat," has been scheduled by Universal Pictures for a May 15, 2009, release.

Like the title character in the hit "Borat," "Bruno" is based on a skit character -- this time an Austrian faux fashionista -- from Cohen's former HBO series, "Da Ali G Show."

So far, Sony's Tom Hanks-starring mystery drama "Angels & Demons," based on the Dan Brown novel, represents the only competition for "Bruno" in its release slot.

"Borat," which 20th Century Fox opened in November 2006, had a better-than-expected bow of $26.5 million and went on to gross $128.5 million domestically.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter. Posted: Tue., Jun. 17, 2008, 11:34am PTUniversal sets a date for

'Bruno'Cohen comedy to open on May 15, 2009

'Bruno'Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno” is ready for summer heat.

Universal will release the film on May 15, 2009. So far, there are no other R-rated comedies near that date.

Like Borat, the title character of the 2006 box office hit, Bruno is one of a trio of characters created and played by Cohen in TV skein “Da Ali G Show.”

As Bruno, Cohen pretends be a flamboyant fashion and celebrity journalist from Austria who interviews unwitting members of the public who believe Bruno is a real person.

Twentieth Century Fox’s “Borat” was a box office hit, grossing $128.5 million domestically in an early November release.

U believes “Borat” made Cohen enough of a household name to open “Bruno” in the high-profile summer sesh.

Already set to open on May 15 is Sony’s “The Da Vinci Code” sequel “Angels & Demons”; a week later, on May 22, Warner Bros. opens “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,” while Fox unspools family comedy “Night at the Museum II: Escape From the Smithsonian.”

The first “Night at the Museum,” released over Christmas in 2006, grossed $250.9 million domestically and $323.2 million overseas.

DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL

DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Release Date: November 6, 2009
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Rating: TBD

Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes, Fionnula Flanagan
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producers: Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke
Screenplay by: Robert Zemeckis
Based on the classic novella by: Charles Dickens

DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL, a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking, performance-capture 3D motion picture event.

Ebenezer Scrooge (JIM CARREY) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (GARY OLDMAN) and his cheery nephew (COLIN FIRTH). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.

Notes:

Jim Carrey, like many of his co-stars, tackles several roles, including Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The Dickens novella was first published on December 19, 1843, becoming an instant – and enduring -- success.

Performance-capture or motion-capture technology is an extension of live-action filmmaking into the digital realm. Each actor was outfitted with high-tech helmet cams, specialty makeup and full body suits – all designed to be “read” by the computers.

CATHERINE JOHNSON is the award-winning writer of the Mamma Mia!

CATHERINE JOHNSON (Screenplay by) is the award-winning British writer of the global smash Mamma Mia!, who has adapted the show for the screen. She is currently working on a commission for The National Theatre.

Johnson’s writing career began in 1987 when her first play, Rag Doll, won the inaugural Bristol Old Vic/HTV Playwrighting Award. Her next play, Boys Mean Business, won her the Pearson Writer in Residency at The Bush Theatre, London, and she subsequently won the Pearson Award for Best New Play for Dead Sheep.

For the next decade, Johnson continued to work extensively in theatre with plays such as Too Much Too Young (Bristol Old Vic and London Bubble) and Shang-A-Lang (The Bush Theatre and national tour), as well as writing the television film Sin Bin, creating the series Love in the 21st Century for Channel 4 and working on the long-running dramas Casualty and Love Hurts.
In 1997, producer Judy Craymer approached Johnson to create a new musical from the existing songs of ABBA. Mamma Mia! opened in the West End in April 1999 and has kept Johnson busy ever since, overseeing translations for the several foreign productions and revamping the text for North America and Australia.

Mamma Mia! was nominated for the Olivier Awards in London, followed by several Tony nominations on Broadway, including Best Book of a Musical.
Her most recent successes have been the stage play Little Baby Nothing (The Bush Theatre) and a book and lyrics for Through the Wire, a musical for young people (National Theatre Connections, Myrtle Theatre).

Johnson is deeply committed to encouraging new writing through her position as a patron of Myrtle Theatre (Bristol) and The Bush Theatre. She is also a panellist for the Pearson’s new writing bursaries and now sponsors their Best Play Award.

Johnson has two children, Huw and Myfi, and lives in Bristol with her husband, Michael.

Entertainment industry’s most honoured actresses, CHRISTINE BARANSKI

One of the entertainment industry’s most honoured actresses, CHRISTINE BARANSKI (Tanya) has achieved acclaim in every medium in which she has performed. The two-time Tony, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild and American Comedy award winner recently starred opposite Ray Romano in Welcome to Mooseport and opposite Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere in the Academy Award®-winning film Chicago. Other film credits include The Guru, opposite Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei; the box-office hit Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Bowfinger, opposite Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy; the wildly controversial Bulworth, opposite Warren Beatty; and Cruel Intentions, opposite Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon.

A native of Buffalo, Baranski developed a passion for acting while performing in high-school productions and read about Juilliard’s acting program, which was only a year old at the time. After graduating from Juilliard, she began earning roles in regional productions and off-Broadway. She received her big break when she was cast in Tom Stoppard’s hit Broadway comedy The Real Thing, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons. In that same year, she also married, gave birth to her first child and won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her performance.

Baranski went on to earn a second Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her performance as a chain-smoking hyperkinetic in Neil Simon’s Rumors, and a Drama Desk Award for Lips Together, Teeth Apart, in a role that was written for her by Terrence McNally. Additional appearances on the Great White Way include Hurlyburly and The House of Blue Leaves.

Baranski co-starred with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in the box-office smash The Birdcage, for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award. She also co-starred in Jeffrey, the film based on Paul Rudnick’s acclaimed off-Broadway play about gay life in the age of AIDS. Past roles include the memorable mistress of Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune and parts in Legal Eagles, The Ref, Lovesick, Addams Family Values, Life With Mikey and 9½ Weeks.

In addition to an Emmy Award for the hit CBS comedy Cybill, Baranski received an American Comedy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, as well a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy. She also received three additional Emmy and three Golden Globe award nominations. Baranski also starred with John Larroquette on the NBC sitcom Happy Family.

In addition to her films, Baranski was seen in the Los Angeles production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. She was also seen as a guest on Frasier, for which she received a fifth Emmy Award nomination.

Baranski divides her time between Connecticut and Los Angeles.

With her notable roles in film and television, AMANDA SEYFRIED

With her notable roles in film and television, AMANDA SEYFRIED (Sophie) has quickly captured the attention of audiences and established herself as a breakout star.

Seyfried is currently in production on the Fox Atomic film Jennifer’s Body, written by Diablo Cody (Juno) and directed by Karyn Kusama. Seyfried will star as Needy, who is best friends with Jennifer (Megan Fox), a possessed cheerleader who turns into a killer.

Most recently, Seyfried has received critical praise for her starring role in HBO’s Golden Globe Award-nominated drama Big Love. She stars as Sarah Henrickson, the eldest teenage daughter of Bill (Bill Paxton) and Barb Hendrickson (Jeanne Tripplehorn), who struggles with growing up in a polygamist family. Big Love is returning for its third season in 2008.

The Pennsylvania native started her career with modelling at the age of 11. Seyfried soon turned to acting and landed her first contract role as Lucy Montgomery on As the World Turns in 2000. In 2002, All My Children signed her to the contract role of Joni Stafford.

Seyfried’s television credits include a heart-wrenching performance of a rape victim in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; a role as the girlfriend of an ill young man in House; Justice, in which she played a young woman who accidentally kills an older man whom she’d been dating and is successfully defended by Victor Garber’s character; and a role in the Veronica Mars pilot.
Her breakthrough role was in Mean Girls, the Lorne Michaels-Tina Fey-Paramount Pictures hit in the spring of 2004, in which Seyfried co-starred with Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams. They won the Best On-Screen Team Award at the MTV Movie Awards that year.

In 2005, she starred in Nine Lives, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim. Written and directed by Rodrigo García, the film also starred Sissy Spacek, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Robin Wright Penn and Dakota Fanning.

In 2006, Seyfried appeared in Alpha Dog, directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone, Emile Hirsch and Bruce Willis. Also in 2006, she starred in American Gun with Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker and Marcia Gay Harden.

Seyfried currently divides her time between Los Angeles and New York.

DOMINIC COOPER (Sky) is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting talents

DOMINIC COOPER (Sky) is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting talents in the industry. He is best known for his lauded performance as Dakin in the critically acclaimed play The History Boys, which garnered him both Drama Desk and Evening Standard award nominations. After reprising the role in the highly praised film adaptation, Cooper was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award by the British Independent Film Awards and Best Supporting Actor by the London Film Critics’ Circle and was named one of Rolling Stone’s Breakout Performances for 2006.

Upon completion of his professional training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Cooper landed a role in Mother Clap’s Molly House at the prestigious National Theatre under resident director Nicholas Hytner. Subsequently, he starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, before rejoining Hytner at the National Theatre for His Dark Materials and The History Boys. Winner of three Olivier Awards including Best New Play, The History Boys tells the story of a group of British students and their professors as they prepare for life and the pursuit of higher learning. Written by Alan Bennett, The History Boys was made into a Fox Searchlight film, and the stage production toured Japan and New Zealand before landing on Broadway in 2006, where it was the recipient of six Tony Awards, including Best Play.

Cooper will be seen next in The Duchess, a film based on Amanda Foreman’s biography of scandalous 18th-century English aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Directed by Saul Dibb, the film co-stars Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. The Paramount Vantage production is scheduled to be released in September 2008.

Cooper also stars as James Lacey, a young, inexperienced con, in The Escapist, directed by Rupert Wyatt. Co-starring Brian Cox and Joseph Fiennes, the dramatic prison-escape thriller recently had its world premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. THINKFilm is planning a fall 2008 release.

Most recently, Cooper completed filming a role in An Education, co-starring Emma Thompson, Peter Sarsgaard and Alfred Molina. The independent feature, directed by Lone Scherfig and written by famed author Nick Hornby, follows a 16-year-old’s coming of age in 1960s London as she begins a relationship with a 30-year-old playboy.

Additionally, Cooper has completed filming Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, a screen adaptation of the best-selling David Foster Wallace short stories. Directed and adapted by John Krasinski, the film is currently in postproduction.

Cooper’s other feature film credits include roles in the recent Tom Hanks-produced film Starter for 10, an adaptation by David Nicholls from his novel of the same name, which also premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival; Boudica; I’ll Be There; Neil Jordan’s The Good Thief; and the Hughes brothers’ From Hell.

Cooper was last seen as the dashing and handsome Willoughby in the acclaimed BBC production of “Sense and Sensibility.” Based on the beloved Jane Austen novel, the two-part television miniseries, directed by John Alexander and adapted by Andrew Davies, recently aired as part of PBS’ acclaimed Masterpiece series.

Later this year, Cooper will be seen opposite Sir Anthony Sher, Rupert Graves and Stephen Dillane in God on Trial, a BBC Two production airing in the fall. The 90-minute television film tells the story of a group of Jews in the Auschwitz concentration camp, who question their faith and put God on trial for breaking his covenant to care for and protect them.

Cooper’s additional television credits include a series regular role on BBC’s Down to Earth, Sparkling Cyanide, BBC’s The Gentleman Thief, Hallmark’s Davison’s Eyes and Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Band of Brothers.

Cooper currently resides in London.

A two-time Academy Award nominee, JULIE WALTERS

A two-time Academy Award® nominee, JULIE WALTERS (Rosie) was most recently seen reprising her role as the maternal Mrs. Weasley in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the role she has played in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Walters was also seen last year in Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane, a biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen, in which she played Mrs. Austen to Anne Hathaway’s Jane.

Walters gained her first Oscar® nomination in 1984 for her feature film debut in the title role in Educating Rita, for which she also won BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. She earned her second Oscar® nod for her performance in Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot. Her portrayal of Billy’s ballet teacher in that film also brought her BAFTA, Empire, Evening Standard Film and London Film Critics’ Circle awards, in addition to Golden Globe and European Film award nominations, and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, one for Supporting Actress and a second, shared with her cast mates, for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture.

Walters has also earned BAFTA Award nominations for her roles in Personal Services and Stepping Out, having won a Variety Club ShowBiz Award for the latter. Walters includes among her other film credits Jeremy Brock’s Driving Lessons, with her Harry Potter son Rupert Grint; Richard E. Grant’s Wah-Wah; Nigel Cole’s Calendar Girls; Lewis Gilbert’s Before You Go; Roger Michell’s Titanic Town; Girls’ Night; Philip Goodhew’s Intimate Relations; Nancy Meckler’s Sister My Sister; Christopher Monger’s Just Like a Woman; David Green’s Buster; and Stephen Frears’ Prick Up Your Ears.

Walters has also worked extensively on television in the U.K. and recently won
three consecutive BAFTA Television Awards in 2002, 2003 and 2004 for her roles in Strange Relations and Murder, for which she also won a Royal Television Society Award, and the series The Canterbury Tales, for which she also won a Broadcasting Press Guild Award. She previously earned four BAFTA Television Award nominations: in 1983, for the miniseries Boys From the Blackstuff; in 1987, for the series Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV; in 1994, for the telefilm The Wedding Gift; and in 1999, for the series Dinnerladies. Her television credits also include The Ruby in the Smoke, Ahead of the Class, The Return, Oliver Twist, Jake’s Progress, Pat and Margaret, The Summer House, Julie Walters and Friends, Talking Heads and The Birthday
Party, to name only a few.

An accomplished stage actress, Walters won an Olivier Award in 2001 for her performance in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and was earlier nominated for an Olivier for her work in Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love. She made her London stage debut in Educating Rita, creating the role that she would later bring to the screen. Her theatre credits also include productions of such plays as Jumpers, Having a Ball, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout, Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo and the musical Acorn Antiques.

In addition to her acting work, Walters saw her first novel, “Maggie’s Tree,” published in 2006.

Stellan Skarsgård (Bill) has become an international star of considerable reputation

A major star in his native Sweden since the 1970s, Stellan Skarsgård (Bill) has become an international star of considerable reputation. He became a teen star in 1968 after playing the title role in the TV miniseries Bombi Bitt och jag.

From 1972 to 1988, he was employed at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where he starred in such productions as Vita rum (1988), Ett drömspel (1986) and Master Olof (1988), working with directors such as Alf Sjöberg, Per Verner-Carlsson and Ingmar Bergman.

Skarsgård has appeared in more than 50 films since 1982. His performance in Hans Alfredson’s The Simple-Minded Murder (1982) garnered him both a Guldbagge (Swedish Oscar®) and a Silver Berlin Bear. He also played the lead in the Oscar®-nominated Oxen, directed by the world-renowned cinematographer Sven Nykvist.

His first English-language role was in Philip Kaufman’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being in 1988. He followed that with his role as Russian submarine captain Tupolev in John McTiernan’s The Hunt for Red October in 1990. But his breakthrough came with his riveting performance as the paraplegic in Lars von Trier’s much-lauded Breaking the Waves, opposite Emily Watson, in 1996. He made two more films with von Trier: Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Dogville (2003).

Following Breaking the Waves, Skarsgård landed several supporting roles in high-profile American films such as Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting (1997) and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997), both for which he won the Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema at the European Film Awards in 1998, and John Frankenheimer’s Ronin (1998). Other leading role credits in American and international cinema include Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s Insomnia; Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea; Hans Petter Moland’s Aberdeen, for which he received a Best Actor nomination at the European Film Awards in 2000; Mike Figgis’ Timecode; Stewart Sugg’s Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang); Daniel Sackheim’s The Glass House; and István Szabó’s Taking Sides, for which he received another Best Actor nomination at the European Film Awards in 2001 and won Best Actor at the Mar del Plata Film Festival.

More recently, Skarsgård played Father Merrin in Renny Harlin’s Exorcist: The Beginning; Cerdic in Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur, opposite Clive Owen; Father Merrin, again in Paul Schrader’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist; King Hrothgar in Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf & Grendel; and, most notably, Bootstrap Bill, a compassionate and interesting portrait of a man losing himself bit by bit, in Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, opposite Johnny Depp. He was also seen as the painter Goya in Milos Forman’s Goya’s Ghosts, with Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman.
Skarsgård recently completed filming Duncan Ward’s Boogie Woogie, opposite Gillian Anderson, Heather Graham and Amanda Seyfried.

COLIN FIRTH (Harry) is a veteran of film, television and stage

A classically trained British theatre actor, COLIN FIRTH (Harry) is a veteran of film, television and stage, with an impressive body of work spanning more than two decades. Firth’s versatility has been recognized in both dramas and comedies, garnering critical acclaim and awards including nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, an Emmy Award nomination and multiple BAFTA Award nominations. Firth is having a particularly prolific year, with four films scheduled for release this summer and several others in postproduction.

Then She Found Me surrounds a teacher in a midlife crisis, who reconnects with her biological mother whilst juggling a relationship with her ex-husband, played by Matthew Broderick, and a new interest, played by Firth. Then She Found Me was purchased for release by THINKFilm following the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released in New York and Los Angeles on April 25, with a wide release on May 9.

In June, Firth stars in Sony Classics’ film When Did You Last See Your Father? Firth and Jim Broadbent illustrate the complex relationship between a father and son on film, which is based on the best-selling memoir by Blake Morrison. The film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007. The film was released in the U.S. on June 6 and was released in the U.K. in 2007.

Firth has also recently wrapped production on Genova, directed by Michael Winterbottom. Firth stars opposite Catherine Keener in the film, which is a horror mystery story revolving around two American girls and their British father who move to Italy after their mother dies.
Also upcoming is the romantic comedy The Accidental Husband, starring Uma Thurman and directed by Griffin Dunne.

Firth has wrapped production on Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol, a 3-D-animated version of the classic Dickens tale starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman. The film is scheduled for release in 2009. He has also wrapped production on Easy Virtue, based on Noel Coward’s play. Firth stars opposite Jessica Biel and Ben Barnes in the film.

In 2005, Firth appeared in the film Nanny McPhee, written by, and also starring Emma Thompson. He also appeared in Atom Egoyan’s controversial film Where the Truth Lies, opposite Kevin Bacon. The film screened in competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2004, Firth starred in the Universal Pictures/Working Title hit Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Firth reprised his role as Mark Darcy, opposite Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant in the film, which is based on Helen Fielding’s best-selling novel. The film broke numerous box-office records internationally and grossed more than $250 million worldwide.

In 2004, Firth appeared in the Oscar®-nominated film Girl With a Pearl Earring, opposite Scarlett Johanssen. Based ob the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier, Firth portrayed the 17th-century artist Johannes Vermeer. Girl With a Pearl Earring screened at the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Hollywood Film Festival, the London Film Festival and the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The film won both the Hitchcock d’Or and the Hitchcock d’Argent at the Dinard British Film Festival. Firth was nominated for a European Film Award for his performance in the film.

In 2003, Firth appeared in the Universal Pictures film Love Actually, written and directed by Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill). He appeared in the film with an outstanding ensemble cast including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Keira Knightley. At the time of its release, Love Actually broke box-office records as the highest-grossing British romantic comedy opening of all time in the U.K. and Ireland and was largest opening in the history of Working Title Films.

In 2002, Firth was seen starring opposite Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon and Judi Dench in the Miramax Film The Importance of Being Earnest. Prior to that, Firth appeared in the Academy Award®-winning film Shakespeare in Love, directed by John Madden. Firth portrayed Lord Wessex, the evil husband to Viola De Lesseps, played by Gwyneth Paltrow.

In 1996, Firth appeared in the multi-Oscar®-winning film The English Patient, opposite Kristin Scott Thomas and Ralph Fiennes. His other film credits include the Marc Evans thriller Trauma; What a Girl Wants; Hope Springs; Relative Values; A Thousand Acres, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange; Apartment Zero; My Life So Far; The Secret Laughter of Women; Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch; Circle of Friends; Playmaker; and the title role in Milos Forman’s Valmont, opposite Annette Bening.

On the small screen, Firth is infamous for his breakout role in 1995, when he played Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice,” for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor and was honoured with the National Television Award for Most Popular Actor. Firth’s latest television appearance was in 2006 in the critically acclaimed BBC television movie Born Equal, directed by Dominic Savage (Out of Control). The film, which was shot with improvised dialogue, follows a wealthy businessman (Firth) as he struggles to help the less fortunate and finds himself inevitably drawn into their lives. In March 2004, Firth hosted NBC’s legendary series Saturday Night Live. He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2001 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in the critically acclaimed HBO film Conspiracy and has also received the Royal Television Society Best Actor Award and a BAFTA nomination for his performance in Tumbledown. His other television credits include Windmills on the Clyde: Making ‘Donovan Quick,’ Donovan Quick, Performance: The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, Performance: The Deep Blue Sea, Hostages and the miniseries Nostromo. His London stage debut was in the West End production of Another Country, playing Bennett. He was then chosen to play the character Judd in the 1984 film adaptation, opposite Rupert Everett.

Firth is an active supporter of Oxfam International, an organization dedicated to fighting poverty and related injustice around the world. He is a co-director of Oxfam’s Progreso Cafés, a chain of coffee bars founded with the intention of creating fair-trade opportunities for coffee cooperatives in Ethiopia, Honduras and Indonesia. In 2006, Firth was voted European Campaigner of the Year by European Voice magazine.

Firth resides in London, England, with his wife, Livia Giuggioli, and their children.

Golden Globe Award nominee PIERCE BROSNAN (Sam) received a Golden Globe Award nomination

Recognized internationally as one of the most dashing and skilled dramatic actors in Hollywood today, Golden Globe Award nominee PIERCE BROSNAN (Sam) received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for his role as Julian Noble in the critically acclaimed film The Matador in 2005. Additionally, he received a nomination for this performance for Best Actor in a Lead Role from the Irish Film & Television Academy Awards.

Most recently, Brosnan starred with Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson in Married Life for director Ira Sachs. The film is a 1940s-set drama about a married man who cheats and, to spare his wife the shame of a divorce, plots to kill her.

In addition to his work in front of the camera, Brosnan has always had an interest in the art of filmmaking. Having achieved international stardom as an actor, Brosnan expanded the range of his film work by launching his own production company, Irish DreamTime, in 1996, along with producing partner Beau St. Clair.

Apart from The Matador, Irish DreamTime has produced five other films to date: The Nephew (1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Evelyn (2002), Laws of Attraction (2004) and Shattered (2007). The company’s first studio project, The Thomas Crown Affair, was a critical and box-office success and one of the best-reviewed and highest-grossing romantic thrillers in years. Evelyn, directed by Bruce Beresford, opened to critical acclaim at the Chicago and Toronto international film festivals and also garnered rave reviews. Laws of Attraction, a romantic comedy that teamed Brosnan with Julianne Moore, focused on duelling divorce attorneys who fall in love. Shattered is a psychological thriller in which Brosnan stars with Maria Bello and Gerard Butler.

Upcoming projects for Irish DreamTime include the second instalment of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Perhaps best known worldwide as James Bond, Brosnan reinvigorated the popularity of the Bond legacy in box-office blockbusters such as GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1999), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002). Brosnan’s first three Bond films earned more than a billion dollars at the international box office and Die Another Day alone garnered almost a half-billion dollars worldwide.

In addition to his four Bond films, three other Brosnan films—The Thomas Crown Affair, Dante’s Peak (1997) and The Lawnmower Man (1992), combined, have earned hundreds of millions of dollars internationally, cementing him as one of the world’s most-bankable stars.

Brosnan’s other film credits include the Civil War drama Seraphim Falls (2007), in which he starred opposite Liam Neeson; John Boorman’s critically acclaimed film from the John le Carré novel, The Tailor of Panama (2001); Bruce Beresford’s Mister Johnson (1990); and Sir Richard Attenborough’s Grey Owl (1999). In addition to The Matador, Brosnan has also shown his comedic skills in such films as Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Mars Attacks! (1996). He also had a supporting role alongside Barbra Streisand in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

Some of his many accolades include the 2007 Golden Camera Award for his environmental work, a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 Chicago Film Festival, the International Star of the Year at the Cinema Expo International in Amsterdam, an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the Dublin Institute of Technology, an Honorary Doctorate from the University College Cork and an Order of the British Empire bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen.

Brosnan was born in County Meath, Ireland, and moved to London at age 11. At 20, he enrolled in drama school and while in London, performed in several West End stage productions including Franco Zeffirelli’s Fulimena and Tennessee Williams’ The Red Devil Battery Sign at the York Theatre Royal. Brosnan relocated to Los Angeles in 1982 and immediately landed the role of private investigator Remington Steele on the popular ABC television series of the same name.

MERYL STREEP (Donna) has portrayed an astonishing array of roles in a career

A two-time Academy Award® winner and recipient of a record-breaking 14 Oscar® nominations, MERYL STREEP (Donna) has portrayed an astonishing array of roles in a career that has cut its own unique path from the theatre through film and television.

Most recently, Streep appeared opposite Robert Redford and Tom Cruise in Lions for Lambs, which Redford also directed, and in New Line’s Rendition, with Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal. She will next appear opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in Doubt, and opposite Stanley Tucci and Amy Adams in Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia.

Streep made her film debut in 1977’s Julia, opposite Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave. In her second screen role, she starred opposite Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, which earned Streep her first Academy Award® nomination. The following year, she won an Academy Award® for her role opposite Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer. She then received her third Academy® nomination for The French Lieutenant’s Woman and later went on to win the Oscar® for Best Actress for her role in Sophie’s Choice, where she starred alongside Peter MacNicol and Kevin Kline.

Other early film credits include Streep’s Oscar®-nominated performances in Mike Nichols’ Silkwood; Sydney Pollack’s Out of Africa; Ironweed, directed by Hector Babenco; and Fred Schepisi’s A Cry in the Dark, which also won her the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival, The New York Film Critics Circle and an AFI award. She also appeared in Falling in Love with Robert De Niro, Mike Nichols’ Heartburn and Woody Allen’s Manhattan.

In the 1990s, Streep took on a variety of roles including She-Devil and Postcards from the Edge, for which she received Golden Globe nominations and an Oscar® nomination for the latter; Defending Your Life, with Albert Brooks; Death Becomes Her, opposite Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis; The House of the Spirits; The River Wild; Clint Eastwood’s screen adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County, which won her a SAG Award and Golden Globe and Oscar® nominations; Marvin’s Room, with Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio, which earned her another Golden Globe nomination; Barbet Schroeder’s Before and After; One True Thing, opposite Renée Zellweger, for which Streep received SAG, Golden Globe and Oscar® nominations as well as the Golden Camera Award at the Berlin International Film Festival; Dancing in Lughnasa; and Wes Craven’s Music of the Heart, which earned Streep her twelfth Academy Award® nomination.

In 2003, Streep’s work in The Hours won her SAG and Golden Globe nominations. That same year, her performance in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation. won her a Golden Globe Award for Supporting Actress and BAFTA and Oscar® nominations. Streep’s other recent works include The Manchurian Candidate; Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events; Prime, with Uma Thurman; Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion; Evening; and The Devil Wears Prada, which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress as well as Academy Award®, SAG and BAFTA nominations.

In theatre, Streep appeared in the 1976 Broadway double-bill of 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and A Memory of Two Mondays, the former which won her the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination. Other theatre credits include Secret Service; The Cherry Orchard; the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Henry V and Measure for Measure, opposite Sam Waterston; the Brecht/Weill musical Happy End; Alice at the Palace, which won her an Obie; Central Park Productions of The Taming of the Shrew and The Seagull; and most recently, Streep appeared in the in Tony Kushner adaptation of Mother Courage.

On television, Streep won Emmys for the eight-part miniseries Holocaust and for the Mike Nichols-directed HBO movie Angels in America, which also won her Golden Globe and SAG Awards. Streep was also Emmy-nominated for her performance in …First Do No Harm, which she also co-produced with director Jim Abrahams.

In 2004, Meryl was honoured with an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2008, was honoured by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

The principal cast members performing “Waterloo” and “Dancing Queen.”

After 14 weeks, they returned to Pinewood to shoot the end title sequence: the principal cast members performing “Waterloo” and “Dancing Queen.” It was the fitting way to end the Mamma Mia! shoot.

Offering her parting thoughts on the film, Streep reflects on why this story has resonated for so many and what she wants audiences to take away from Mamma Mia!: “It’s all about past mistakes—your big fat regrets, your dreams, your hopes, your happiness—right there where you live.”

Brosnan comments on the popularity of the songs and the timeless lyrics that have endeared the band for generations: “Everyone has their favourite song. Everyone’s listened to ABBA; everyone’s danced to ABBA; everyone’s sung ABBA. Ultimately, people just love the songs and they have a place in their hearts for them.”

Our final words go to the women who have seen their dream cross mediums and continents. Of their hopes for the project, producer Craymer, screenwriter Johnson and director Lloyd offer the following…

Says Craymer: “We’ve re-branded ABBA into a whole different experience. They’re incredibly accessible, universal lyrics that everyone can relate to.”

Screenwriter Johnson surmises: “Although the characters haven’t changed, we get to know them better. The songs and the spectacle of Mamma Mia! are now so much larger. We really are in this place now; we’re on this Greek island and living the lives that these people are living.”
Our director concludes: “The story is the ultimate fairy tale. It touches something really fundamental in the audience about identity, about lost parents, lost children. It’s an epic story.”

Now I really know. My, my, I could never let you go.Universal Pictures presents—in association with Relativity Media—a Playtone/Littlestar Production: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia!, starring Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski. Music and lyrics are by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, based on the songs of ABBA. The music supervisor is Becky Bentham, and the musical director is Martin Lowe. The choreographer is Anthony Van Laast. Mamma Mia!’s costume designer is Ann Roth; the editor is Lesley Walker. The production designer is Maria Djurkovic; the director of photography is Haris Zambarloukos, BSC. The executive producers are Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Mark Huffam. The film is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman. The screenplay is by Catherine Johnson. Mamma Mia! is directed by Phyllida Lloyd.

’70s groups, including ABBA. Those are costumes

In order to complete the look, the filmmakers hired prolific, Academy Award®-winning costume designer Ann Roth for Mamma Mia! Much like the production designer, Roth was faced with the challenge of creating a look for the characters that was not only fanciful, but also realistic. Though she had seen the stage production, the filmmakers requested she not simply just use costume designer Mark Thompson’s lauded designs as the basis for her work. While wanting to keep the essence of the musical, Roth took a realistic approach to creating the clothing.

The designer sketched ideas for costumes and sent them to Phyllida Lloyd, who quite loved them. Much of Roth’s prep work was done in New York, and some of the costumes were created from clothing she bought in obscure places. “There’s a suit in this movie that I bought on 138th Street in the Dominican Republic. I love to feel that I can go to odd and unconventional places to buy clothes. I don’t order stuff over the phone, but I am the girl who has to go and dig it up.”

Roth delved into and imagined each character’s background (from what their apartments would look like to their salaries) and came up with their costumes, down to the tiniest details. For example, she imagined the three possible fathers receiving a last-minute invitation to fly to Greece, and depending on their lifestyle, pictured them throwing clothes into a beat-up old suitcase and jet-setting across the world. “It comes second nature to be realistic,” Roth says. “I would say these clothes are real. You have some rotten suitcase or a backpack, and rolled up inside is an old linen suit or a new linen suit, but it’s rolled up because that’s the life you lead.”

For Meryl Streep’s character, who takes a hands-on approach to running her villa, Roth imagined that clothes weren’t her first priority. Explains the designer: “I think that Donna says to a friend who lives in Athens: ‘My daughter is getting married next month; I need a dress, and I would like it not to look like an old lady’s dress.’ The woman arrives on the boat with two dresses in a box and she chooses one.”

There are moments when the costumes take on a more flamboyant look, as with Donna and the Dynamos’ “Super Trouper” sequence. Roth imagined that when the singing group originally got together, they were asked to perform on a carnival cruise and ended up with wild costumes. “They’re performance costumes,” she explains. “I did the most incredible research with ’70s groups, including ABBA. Those are costumes. They don’t wear those to the supermarket.”

Says Lloyd of Roth’s creative approach to her work: “I found her to have a ferocious, open and brilliantly creative spirit. She seemed to embody everything I’ve been told movie costumes would not be about, which was getting it all cut and dried months ahead and producing photographs of costumes, and having it all in the bag. She worked quite spiritually and felt that the character was somewhere there, waiting to emerge in its clothes.”

Shooting Mamma Mia!

Following several weeks of music and vocal recordings, six weeks of combined costume fittings, makeup tests and dance rehearsals, the Mamma Mia! shoot began on the newly refurbished 007 Stage at Pinewood in June 2007. The lavish composite set, designed by production designer Maria Djurkovic, gave the filmmakers the opportunity to expand the work that Craymer, Lloyd and Johnson had achieved on stage.

Djurkovic relied on the script as her starting point, and not necessarily the show. “On stage, you’re creating much more of a fantasy,” she explains. The designer exercised artistic license to make this musical world a believable one. “On film,” she continues, “while it was important to maintain a certain theatricality, I had to create a world that was utterly believable and credible.”

It was a daunting task to build a mini village, while keeping in mind that the set would have to integrate credibly with each aspect of the Greek isle’s location shoot, but Djurkovic rose to the challenge. She provides: “The trick to making this work is that it should be visually joyous…it’s a musical. The spiritual bit is happy and joyous and slightly frivolous. But at the same time, the audience has to believe what’s happening.”

Adds producer Goetzman: “Part of the translation of taking stage to film is in the design. We had to figure out how to take the stage set (which spun on a turntable) and turn it into a film experience. Maria did a fantastic job, and I think people will enjoy the beautiful transition to natural, yet stylized, settings.”

The location-scouting trip in Greece helped inform the style and design of Villa Donna, and both Lloyd and Djurkovic responded to the notion of the resort as a restored building. Overseeing an array of designers, carpenters, plasterers and painters, Djurkovic instilled in the team a precise attention to colour, texture and other design details.

After nine weeks of shooting on the Pinewood stages, the unit moved to Greece, where it first shot on the island of Skiathos for five days. Next, it was off to Skopelos for two weeks and, finally, to the mainland in Damouhari for five days. All locations had been determined following an extensive location scout of 21 Greek islands once the project had been green-lit.

Supported by an enthusiastic local crew, the unit faced a number of challenges, including shipping large amounts of equipment, the vagaries of weather, working at sea, a plague of wasps and accommodating a cast and crew of some 210 people on small islands. Lloyd was game for the challenges and says: “We’ve always been excited by changing what we’re doing according to the context. So it’s very much meat and drink to us to be in a more rocky place, or a wetter place and having to adapt to the terrain.”

The director, familiar with the landscape as she had backpacked across Greece when she was 17, expounds upon the challenges that come with shooting on location. While she views the islands as paradise, she says, “You have to be prepared to abandon all your best-laid plans. We fell in love with some of these locations quite a long time ago. Then, suddenly, you find that your little beach has been eaten up by surf and you’ve got to pick up sticks and dash into the woods and do something different. You just have to be absolutely prepared for anything.”

Some staggeringly beautiful locations form the backdrop for the action in Mamma Mia! The Old Port on the island of Skiathos is where Sam, Bill and Harry meet for the first time on their way to the fictional island of Kalokairi, and where Rosie and Tanya board the ferry. Skiathos, the smallest of the Sporades group of islands, is located in the north-western Aegean Sea. While the smallest, it is also the most developed island of the group, and features many fine-sand beaches, several which provided a great setting for many of the mainland scenes in the film. A hill on the east side of the island features an amazing view of the St. Nikolaos Bell Tower (of the small church of Aghios Nikolaos) where Sophie sends off her three wedding invitations to Sam, Bill and Harry.

The rugged and lush island of Skopelos, also amongst the Sporades Islands, housed the majority of the Greek film shoot. Kastani Beach, with its blue-green waters, is where Tanya performs “Does Your Mother Know,” where Sophie and Sky are serenaded by the stags in “Lay All Your Love on Me” and where Donna and the dads bid Sophie and Sky goodbye in “I Have a Dream.”

A mountainous peninsula near the rocky Glysteri Beach (on the island of Skopelos) served as the wedding departure point for Sophie. A cliff near the top of this peninsula also served as the spot where Sophie, Bill, Harry and Sam sang portions of “Our Last Summer,” before they jumped off the rocks into the clear waters.

In a bit of movie magic, Pinewood and Greece were once again blended seamlessly. The number “Dancing Queen” starts in Donna’s bedroom and opens out into the courtyard (both sets at Pinewood), then expands into the space “outside” the Villa Donna (above Glysteri Beach). The sequence progresses into the village—through an olive grove, down steps into the harbour and along the jetty. Those scenes were shot in the romantic hamlet of Damouhari in the Mouresi area along the eastern Pelion coast of mainland Greece.

The wedding party arrives at the top of a mountainous peninsula (about an hour from Skopelos town), where Donna sings “The Winner Takes It All” to Sam. Sky and Sophie’s wedding chapel (matched at Pinewood) was located at the top of a 100-meter rock formation that juts out into the sea alongside here. It was crafted on the site of the monastery of Agios Ioannis Prodromos, near the town of Glossa. The original chapel was said to have 105 carved steps leading to the entrance, and the “rebuilt” chapel added flambeaus lighting the pathway up to the entrance.

Says Goetzman of shooting a musical romantic comedy in these lush locales: “You can’t help but move and stomp your feet while filming these songs. All that quiet reverence cast and crew normally have by camera is out the window—everyone’s rocking; everyone’s having fun.”

Mamma Mia! Choreography in the Film

Mamma Mia!’s choreographer since the beginning, Anthony Van Laast was curious to take the musical from stage to screen. “The challenge for me, both on stage and screen,” says Van Laast, “was to make the choreography narrative-based and character-driven, so that it appears to be improvised and spontaneous. In fact, it is really structured and developed.”

In the early stages of preproduction, Van Laast spent time rehearsing with Lloyd and her troupe of dancers just how exactly to make the dance work on film: which numbers would work, how many dancers were needed, where to position cameras, etc. Van Laast retained some of the original movements but, overall, mostly re-choreographed the dance for the screen. Such choices were crucial to facilitate working with twice as many dancers and adapting the dances to allow dialogue to continue throughout the film.

To help make the transition seamless, Van Laast suggested casting the majority of the dancers and the stand-ins from the pool of talented original performers of the stage show. Their ability to move gracefully and learn the dance routines would prove an invaluable time-saver, and immensely beneficial to the principal artists who could watch their steps.

Together with associate choreographer NicHola Treherne and assistant choreographer Tim Stanley, both of whom had also worked on the show for a number of years, Van Laast put the actors through the paces, rehearsing for weeks prior to the start of shoot and continuing with workouts and warm-ups every morning once filming commenced.

Having Stanley and Treherne on set helped make the process of staging and choreographing the large number of dancers a good deal easier. “Tim was much on the floor, checking that everything was fine amongst the dancers,” notes Van Laast. “Nichola acted as an intermediary between the dancers and myself, as I was on the monitors. If I saw something that was not working correctly, I’d say to Nichola, ‘Could you go make sure that that person moves a bit to the left or moves to the right,’ so I got the perfect pictures all the time.”

Though Baranski has had years of experience working on musicals and musical film, she admits that she felt slightly nervous and took up extra dance and movement classes to prepare. “One is always nervous about singing and dancing,” she says, “even if you’re a seasoned musical performer, because it’s a demanding genre. With music, you have to come in on a certain note or a certain rhythm and get your leg up at a certain time or turn or land at a certain time.

“When I heard I got this job, I immediately started doing private pilates and jazz classes, and stretching and going on the elliptical and working up stamina and flexibility,” she continues. “When I got to London, I found out where to take some ballet and jazz classes.”

Laughs Streep: “I’m really doing this to embarrass my 20-something-year-old children. The dancing part will mortify them. They’ll have to move to Alaska or someplace. Just the overalls alone are gonna do it for them.”

Continues Walters: “I’ve just got little wee bits of dancing, but it’s the most amazing dance. I could have gone on shooting it for weeks with these gorgeous male dancers. I’ve had this gorgeous partner, Philip, whipping me round and, of course, dancing with Stellan is really good fun.”

Van Laast acknowledges how exciting he has found the process of turning his actors into dancers: “They bring something to the movement that is so real. When you work with dancers, it’s so perfect, so fluid, there are no edges. Working with actors, they give the dance character, as opposed to it just being a slick routine. I have learned so much about finding character through movement.”

The Music of Mamma Mia!

The leap from stage to screen was a challenging one, not least of all because it was Andersson’s desire that every actor should perform his or her own vocals. Musical director Martin Lowe, who joined the Mamma Mia! team in 1999, recalls, “It set the bar quite high. Having worked on the stage show, I knew what was required of performers to deliver the songs. The songs demand a great deal of skill and style.”

Lowe was present at cast auditions. “Ultimately, I was hired to serve Benny’s music,” he offers. “I was not about to put my name to something that might compromise that.” During the casting process, Lowe worked in Stockholm with Andersson and the original ABBA band to record the score for the film, which involved using the cast of the Swedish stage production of Mamma Mia! to record the backing vocals for the big ensemble numbers in the film such as “Voulez-Vous” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”

Lowe’s job gained momentum as the cast was confirmed. He worked with key cast to find each of their keys on phrasing and to give them confidence before going into the studio to record. To nail the best performance, Lloyd took advantage of different song recording options: both prerecording the vocal tracks so that the actors had to lip sync to their own performance, and having the actors sing live on set to a guide track.

Explains executive producer Mark Huffam of the process: “The tradition in musicals is to do a prerecord and then mime. Because we have such fabulous actors in this film, they were given the opportunity to sing live in the more organic numbers. We left the option open, and we’ve done it both ways. We’ve done a lot of playback on all the bigger dance numbers, but on some of the more personal songs, we’ve done them live.”

The cast appreciated the choice. Says Streep: “Working with Benny and Björn on recording the songs was very interesting, as I did it in advance of really knowing who my character was or what her voice was. I found, as we shot the film and recorded live, the voice I was singing in was quite different to the one I was hearing in my earphone. So the voice evolved, and it was great to have the option of doing it live too, as the energy and the physicality of the acting performance dictates how the song is delivered in a way I couldn’t have known when we first recorded it.”

Firth agrees: “It’s tough to sing a song before you establish a character; a song in a musical is not a disembodied thing. It’s part of the narrative and, as such, the performance has to be right for the character. You have to bring the performance to the song or the song to the performance.”

Brosnan commends of his musical director: “Martin instilled such confidence in me. He came out to California; we set up in my office one day and just started banging out the songs. For the next few months, I just listened to them day in and day out, driving the kids to school,” he continues. “When it came time to record, I walked into the studios and there’s Benny and Björn, and there’s Phyllida and Judy…and it’s show time. As for my singing, they just said, ‘Great.’ They liked what I did, and it was very easy. I wasn’t alone because I had Stellan and Colin right there, equally terrified.”

“I think I’m most proud of Dominic,” Lowe laughs of the young actor who admits he had “moments of panic” before meeting with his musical director. “He worked so hard. We literally went through each song line by line, and I tried to show him how to sing like a pop singer.”

Fellow countryman Stellan Skarsgård also enjoyed his experience working with the men of ABBA. Of Ulvaeus and Andersson he says: “They’re so calm and very Swedish. Here are two other fellow Swedes just standing there, and they were very nice and encouraging, and they just let me sing on.”

Amanda Seyfried also had Lowe, Ulvaeus, Andersson and Lloyd present during her recordings, but it couldn’t have been more of a freeing experience. “It was so exciting and surreal to work with them. They didn’t direct me too much,” she says. “I had a tone and sound they liked, so they just let me be free with it.”

Lowe points out that many of the songs Seyfried has to sing for the film are tricky, such as the complicated phrasing in parts of “I Have a Dream.” “The line ‘I believe in angels’ falls on a break and sits in an awkward place in the song,” he provides. “Some women at the audition just couldn’t hit it. Thank the Lord we found Amanda, who just came in and did it. When she walked out of her audition, the camera operator and the sound guy just went, ‘This is Sophie.’ And they hadn’t spoken all day!”

Adds director Lloyd: “Amanda makes you feel utterly sympathetic and protective towards her, right from the get-go of the movie. She’s instantly lovable, and that’s crucial about Sophie.”
It was an exhausting process for all the cast. The filmmakers took off their hats to the performers for the work that they did. “ABBA music is complex music,” suggests Rita Wilson.

“The songs are hard to sing, very melodic and have gorgeous harmonies. It doesn’t become tiring listening to them. There is an exuberance and an unself-consciousness to the music. The songs allow you to act giddy, goofy, sweet, young and silly—just as they are wrapped in deceptively complex melodies.”

The cast were characteristic of the Mamma Mia! experience

With an accomplished behind-the-scenes production team, the filmmakers looked to find a cast just as amazing. Craymer had always said songs were the stars of the show, but after she looked around the table at the read-through, she admits, “I had to eat my words!”

Cast in the lead role of Donna was the incomparable Academy Award®-winning actress Meryl Streep, known for her dramatic and versatile roles in countless films and considered by many to be one of the greatest living American actors. Mamma Mia! is Streep’s first full-on movie musical, though she has done singing work in Postcards From the Edge and A Prairie Home Companion.

Says Craymer of the production’s choice for Donna: “We had always leant towards Meryl Streep playing the lead character. It was beyond joyful that she said yes to the offer immediately. We knew she had seen the show on Broadway a few years ago, as she’d written a rather wonderful letter to the cast, telling them how much she loved the show and how she’d wanted to get up on stage and feel what it was like to be part of Mamma Mia! Like schoolgirls, we kept this letter.”

“We dreamt of asking Meryl to play Donna,” says director Lloyd. “We knew she sang; we knew she wanted to do a musical. She combines everything that is required. She’s one of those unique actors who can laugh the world’s laughs and cry the world’s tears. That’s what Mamma Mia! needed, and we have it in her.”

Streep had indeed seen the show in New York and recounts, “It was pure joy.” She was drawn to the role for its humanity, its spirit and, of course, the music. “The songs are timeless,” says Streep. “They just enter your body. When I came to learn them, I found I knew every single one. They have amazing hooks and great melodies.”

Streep also responded to the fact that women had created Mamma Mia! and this would be a challenging, physical role that demanded a great deal of stamina. Among other moves, she would have to scale the side of a 40-foot building and sing “Mamma Mia” while balancing precariously on a rooftop. Too, she would perform “Dancing Queen” while performing a series of stunts, which included sliding down banisters to jumping off a jetty and into the sea.

Laughs Streep, “I was told that I was going to climb up the goat house wall while singing ‘Mamma Mia’, I thought, ‘How big could a goat house be?’ The goat house turned out to be this sheer wall. I was basically doing a Spider-Man stunt, and I got in shape really quickly. It was the first week, and I thought, ‘Whew! I better do my exercises every night.’”

Cast to play the (un)welcome dads were Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård. Says Lloyd, “We’ve got three men with incredible warmth and humour, and an intrinsic understanding of what Mamma Mia! is and what it requires. Each of these actors has the skill to take us on this incredible journey from a place in their lives where they’re all a bit stuck, a bit lost, to their liberation and literally letting their hair down on a magical island.”

As excited as Pierce Brosnan was at being offered the role, he admits to being initially terrified at the thought of having to sing and dance. Brosnan says, “I experienced sheer terror at the idea. I don’t think I have ever been so nervous about a job. In the end, I just surrendered to the whole experience, and had a great time doing it. It’s actually quite exhilarating to sing and to express your emotions that way.” He acknowledges that, in the end, the nerves helped: “Fear will drive you to great lengths to try and get something perfect and meaningful. The months of anxiety paid off.”

“Mamma Mia! has this insidious magic,” says the man cast as Harry Bright, Colin Firth. “It does tend to get to everybody.” Recently seen in Then She Found Me, Firth acknowledges there is something about the musical that is “conducive to abandoning yourself, rather like people do at the end of the show.” Firth responded to several elements of the project: “There’s a real tenderness about the notion of these three grizzled, middle-aged men who find out there’s more to their lives than they thought. The greatest pleasure of doing this has been working with this cast. Little bits of extra inspiration come up just because we’re all having fun.”

Of his director, he continues: “Phyllida has an amazing way of informing moments that don’t seem to have been important, with texture, or using an angle that could make the moment more interesting. It’s wonderfully economic and precise filmmaking.”

Completing the trio is Stellan Skarsgård of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, who was intimidated by a different challenge of a musical film: dancing. In spite of being wary of dancing, “something I haven’t done sober in 30 years,” Skarsgård admits, “I enjoyed it enormously and tried to have as much fun as I could. The whole experience has been totally liberating. All you can do is enjoy it and go for it.”

What was most humorous for Skarsgård was the concept of men playing the supporting roles, those conventionally performed by women in male-led films. He laughs, “Nobody is really interested in our psychology. We are the bimbos in the film!”

Cast as the Dynamos are Julie Walters, beloved British star of stage and screen, and Tony Award-winning actress Christine Baranski, one of the musical theatre industry’s most-honoured actresses, who was seen in the filmed production of Chicago. Respectively, they play the pragmatic Rosie and the multi-divorcée Tanya.

Walters accepted the part without hesitation. “I can’t tell you how much I loved the show,” she says. “It has a real irony and wit to it.” Though Walters has experience in singing and was less fazed at the prospect than the actors who played Sophie’s dads, the dancing was another matter. “I beat the floor at home to death practicing the dancing,” she laughs.

Explains Baranski about her interest in making a filmed version of Mamma Mia!: “What holds this together so well is this marvellous story about deep relationships. One of the great challenges and pleasures for me—and Meryl and Julie—was creating this sense of an old and textured friendship. It was easy to connect to Meryl and Julie—they are both awesome women. When they cast this film, they considered actors who would tap into what the filmmakers call ‘the Mamma Mia! spirit,’ which is an openness, a sense of fun and adventure.”

No stranger to singing and dancing on stage and screen, Baranski underscores the daunting task the cast was about to face: “There’s a tendency to think ABBA songs will be easy to sing—because they’re so catchy perhaps—but they are much more complicated than one would think. They demand a certain style. Benny and Björn are superb musicians, and their harmonies and rhythms are complex. They are very exacting about what they want.”

The filmmakers had very specific ideas about the roles of Sophie and Dominic, and in Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, they found the embodiment of their young lovers. Explains Craymer: “Finding Sophie was a huge task. She had to be impish, but innocent at the same time. She had to be fun, and she needed to sing really well, of course. Amanda ticked every box; she is our ideal Sophie.”

Seyfried, known to audiences from her standout roles as “weather girl” Karen in Mean Girls and as Sarah Henrickson, daughter of a polygamist in HBO’s Big Love, had previous singing and dance experience. But she would be up against a veritable who’s who of young Hollywood eager to land the part. Seyfried describes being chosen for the role of Sophie as “every girl’s dream.”

The auditioning process was intense. Up against a number of young women, Seyfried’s astonishing vocals distinguished her. Recalls Lloyd of the audition: “Amanda has that completely winning, radiant warmth and an almost childlike youthfulness. She also has a fabulously natural voice that made Benny and Björn ask her to sing tracks she wasn’t even singing in this film. She walked in and, from the first note she sang, you could feel everybody in the room go, ‘This is it.’”

During her audition process, Seyfried saw the show in Las Vegas and was hooked. “It was fantastic,” she relates. Like others, she acknowledges the timeless quality of ABBA’s songs and relished the opportunity of performing them. Seyfried also admits how excited she was at the prospect of following in the footsteps of the select actresses who had played opposite Streep: “She’s incredible. She’s so aware of how people might react to her presence and did her best to make me feel comfortable. I feel I have learned so much from the opportunity of working opposite her.”

Playing opposite Seyfried is young British actor Dominic Cooper of The History Boys and Starter for 10. The chemistry between his Mamma Mia! fiancée and Cooper was palpable in the screen tests. Says Craymer: “Dominic has a charming yet playful factor. He can sing, and the girls love him. He is perfect in the role of Sky.”

“It’s an incredible cast, and it’s a very exciting project to be a part of,” remarks Cooper. “The fun started during the audition process,” says Cooper, “and has continued ever since. It’s such an exposing thing, to sing. I really admire singers because you can’t hide behind all of your little sneaky acting tricks or speaking, and it’s very revealing.”

About his director, Cooper says: “She’s incredible with actors. Most of us really need to be guided through this; it’s new territory, and you couldn’t ask for a director who knows her stuff more than she does.”

The positive feelings expressed by the cast were characteristic of the Mamma Mia! experience felt by the stage productions globally. Concludes Craymer: “It has always been very important to me, as a producer, that everyone who’s part of the team has a great time. I believe that vibrancy, that good feeling, also has to come from the screen for the audience to enjoy it.”

The principal cast is supported by actors including Philip Michael and Chris Jarvis as Sky’s best mates, Pepper and Eddie; Rachel McDowall and Ashley Lilley as Sophie’s school friends (now bridesmaids), Lisa and Ali; the inevitable Greek Chorus; and some 20 stags (men) and 20 hens (women).

Cast set and crew hired. It was time to begin principal photography at a refurbished studio and to escape to an exotic, lush Greek isle where anything could happen.

Money, Money, Money: Putting the Creative Team Together

Money, Money, Money: Putting the Creative Team Together

Soon after the show opened in London, several companies expressed interest in making the musical Mamma Mia! into a film. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s company, Playtone, would ultimately become Littlestar’s (Judy Craymer’s company) producing partner for the film. Executive producer Hanks recalls of seeing the show: “By the twelfth minute, I was standing up singing along with the music.”

But Craymer was in no hurry to translate the musical into a musical romantic comedy for the screen. “Mamma Mia! begged to be a movie,” she said, “but first, I had to get the shows to the point where it was appropriate to make that transition.” There was still much of a journey for Mamma Mia! on the stage, and the team needed to focus on the show and new openings internationally.

In 2003, after Mamma Mia! had opened across Europe, America, Australia and Asia, Craymer felt the time was right to adapt it for the screen. She contacted Gary Goetzman at Playtone again and asked if they would be interested in partnering to produce the film. Happily, Playtone was, and a deal was made.

Provides producer Goetzman: “The most important factor in translating Mamma Mia! to film was to capture the tone, energy and spirit it has on stage. We knew if we could do that, we would make a great movie.” For Goetzman and Craymer, that meant keeping as much of the original formula as possible. He continues, “Our job would be to merely translate what they’d envisioned onto the screen, and it has been seamless.”

From the beginning of the project, he believed that the film could intensify the enormous fun and enjoyment that the show had already established. Goetzman offers, “With film, you can get closer to the characters and focus the audience on what you want them to see. You can enhance the brilliant elements of the play that people all over the world have loved for years.”

Lloyd and Johnson were more than ready to join them in the task. Says Lloyd, “Mamma Mia! was always a movie. It’s set on location on a magical island. In many ways, it was bursting to get off the stage and into the cinema. It has just leapt out.”

For her part, Johnson was up for the challenge of adapting her stage play into a screenplay. “It was an opportunity for me to further explore the emotional core of the story,” she explains. “On stage, if there was a dance number, I could just write ‘dance number;’ that was it. On screen, I had to actually write in the whole sequence of what happened within that scene and keep the narrative going. So, it’s actually about twice the amount of work I’ve had to do before.”

The challenges of expanding a stage play into a musical romantic comedy was
not lost on Johnson. For example, the filmed Mamma Mia! allowed her to take the “Dancing Queen” sequence out of the bedroom stage setup and bring a troupe of women down to the harbour dock. Relates the writer, “We are able to start in one small space and take the scene off to a much larger location.”

Adds Craymer of the potential: “We also show how all the characters get to the island. In the stage, you’re very restricted, whereas in the film, we could follow the journey of how the three possible fathers arrive on the island.”

Shooting her musical film at Pinewood Studios in London on the huge 007 stage and on location in Greece was liberating for the director. In order to further explore the use of space on film, Lloyd actually pre-shot the film with previous cast members from the stage production. “It was really for me to work out certain things about structures of songs and whether the stage choreography really needed to be completely reinvented or thrown out. At the essence of it was getting a camera in my hand and figuring out [when the song tracks came on] when the camera moved and when it didn’t.

“I was determined that the camera language was going to be different for every song,” Lloyd continues, “not just for the sake of it, but so that it would do something different to the audience—according to what the plot required at the moment. I wanted to get inside the scenes, because I’d always been outside them in the theatre. I parked myself right in the middle of a piece, like “Voulez-Vous,” and presented Sophie’s point-of-view with my camera.”

For producer Craymer, it was an exciting prospect to increase the scale of the show, both visually and thematically, with the continued help of the men behind ABBA. “The involvement of Benny and Björn continued to be crucial,” says Craymer. “To have them working in a hands-on way, reworking the music and recording with the actors was an incredibly exciting prospect for us.”

“It has been tremendously joyful, especially collaborating with the actors who have been so incredibly well prepared. It’s a totally uplifting experience,” says Andersson.

Adds professional partner Ulvaeus, “We have had so much fun. The actors have been delivering exactly what is needed. It’s been wonderful.”

Craymer and Goetzman would only agree to the musical film if the core group that achieved success with the stage musical stayed together. Craymer reflects, “There is something we can’t quite put our finger on that we call the ‘essence of Mamma Mia!,’ or ‘the Mamma Mia! factor,’ and we have developed a shorthand between us that was necessary to take Mamma Mia! from the stage to the screen.”

Also bringing their enthusiasm and perspectives—and a much-needed understanding of “the Mamma Mia! factor”—are director of photography Haris Zambarloukos, production designer Maria Djurkovic, costume designer Ann Roth and makeup designer TINA EARNSHAW, whose combined talents and shared vision have created the film’s signature look. Says Lloyd, “We’ve always looked to build teams of people whom we’d want to be on holiday with. When you’re working as fast as this and under such stress, you have to be around people you like.”

The story of Mamma Mia! began in the ’80s

The story of Mamma Mia! began in the ’80s when producer Judy Craymer was working with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as executive producer of their first post-ABBA project, Chess. She was immediately smitten with them. “After all, these were the men who had written ‘Dancing Queen,’ one of the greatest pop songs of all time,” explains Craymer. Inspired by the theatricality of their songs, she was moved to create a musical that would use existing ABBA songs, but one set against an original and exciting new format.

One song in particular, “The Winner Takes It All,” (sung in the movie by Meryl Streep) turned out to be the trigger. Originally titled “The Story of My Life,” ABBA’s greatest break-up song (also the band’s last top-10 hit in the United States) takes the listener on a roller-coaster ride of emotion.

In spite of reassurances that this would not be an ABBA tribute musical or the band’s story, Andersson and Ulvaeus were initially reluctant. So, Craymer began the long campaign of persuading the two to lend their songs to the project. In 1995, her tenacity paid off. They agreed, provided she could come up with a story strong enough to carry the songs…and a writer who could unlock the potential she’d spotted. In 1997, years after she had approached the men behind ABBA, Craymer met playwright Catherine Johnson, whom she believed had the talent and sensibility for the job.

Craymer briefed Johnson, and the producer asked the writer to note how ABBA’s songs fell into two distinct groupings: the younger, more playful and innocent songs such as “Honey, Honey” and “Dancing Queen,” and the more mature, reflective and emotional songs such as “The Winner Takes It All” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You.” Craymer believed the songs suggested a story that could span generations.

Too, Craymer felt Johnson might consider that weddings and holidays were themes suggested by Ulvaeus’ lyrics. Craymer recalls, “I told Catherine you have to forget the songs. It is your source material only, and the story has to work without the songs. It is exactly what she achieved.”

For Johnson, the starting point was to read ABBA’s lyrics from A to Z, build the framework of a stand-alone story and choose only songs that would logically drive her narrative. Still, she felt she must be mindful that the tempo of the songs she used from ABBA’s catalogue complement the action. Not an easy task.

The result was a heart-warming and uplifting story about two generations of women, young love and love the second time around…not to mention friendship, discovering one’s identity and wish fulfilment. Johnson and Craymer felt that the story had universal resonance, with an appeal that crossed age, gender and national boundaries. Just as ABBA’s timeless music and lyrics do.
With a working script, Craymer began the search for a director. She persuaded respected theatre and opera director Phyllida Lloyd to join the company, and Lloyd immediately responded to Mamma Mia! Drawn to the songs, the notoriously calm, methodical director sums, “This was the musical Benny and Björn didn’t realize they’d written.”

Björn Ulvaeus worked closely with Lloyd, Craymer and Johnson, giving feedback on each new draft. More of the crew, including choreographer ANTHONY VAN LAAST, were added—along with an “A-list” of stage designers, including MARK THOMPSON (sets and costumes), HOWARD HARRISON (lighting), MARTIN KOCH (musical supervisor and orchestrator) and ANDREW BRUCE and BOBBY AITKEN (sound designers)—and the team workshopped the production in London a year before it was to open.

Of the process, Ulvaeus recalls: “Things were changed, songs were taken in and thrown out. By then, Catherine knew every lyric and was familiar with these hundred songs or so of the catalogue. The ground rule was not to change them, and given that, it is amazing how it still was possible to weave a story.”

Benny Andersson waited until the first preview to sit down and see the production, and was quite moved by how well it turned out. “I think that the biggest surprise for people who go to see it is that whatever they think it is before they go, they come out with a totally different experience,” he says. “The songs are good, but the context in this intelligent, witty way that they put together the old lyrics and used them to bring the story forward was amazing. I’m Catherine Johnson’s biggest fan.”

The first show opened on April 6, 1999, at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, which was deemed a good omen as ABBA had won the Eurovision Song Contest on the same date in 1976. The stage production was given the kind of rapturous reception it has grown accustomed to ever since. Mamma Mia! opened in the U.S. in November 2000 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. In October 2001, the musical debuted on Broadway, bringing in $27 million in advance ticket sales (one of the highest in theatre history), and, in 2002, the show received five Tony Award nominations. In February 2003, the show opened at the Mandalay Bay Theatre in Las Vegas, and played its 1000th show in June 2005 (becoming one of the longest-running Broadway plays in Las Vegas).

The story is now theatre history. Mamma Mia! has become a global entertainment phenomenon. There have been 20 productions of Mamma Mia!, and currently nine are generating more than $8 million a week in ticket sales. More than 30 million people have seen the show worldwide. More than 17,000 people see the show around the world every night, and Mamma Mia! has already grossed more than $2 billion at the theatrical box office. The show has premiered in more cities worldwide faster than any other musical in history; it has opened in more than 170 major cities since the first production in London almost a decade ago.

Explaining the phenomenon, Craymer sums: “Whoever the audience is, whatever age the audience is, they see themselves up on the stage in some form. They seem to totally immerse themselves in the experience. The songs have a magical and timeless quality.”

MAMMA MIA! FILM SYNOPSIS AND MUSICAL NUMBERS

It is 1999 on the enchanting Greek island of Kalokairi. Our romantic adventure begins at the remote Mediterranean hotel Villa Donna, run by Donna (Meryl Streep), daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and Sophie’s fiancé Sky (Dominic Cooper).

Just in time for her upcoming marriage, Sophie nervously posts three wedding invitations (“I Have a Dream”) to three different men, any of whom she believes may be her father. From three cities across the globe, three men set off to return to the island—and the woman—that had enchanted each of them 20 years earlier.

Back on that island, Donna is rousing her staff for the frenetic day ahead as Sophie’s bridesmaids arrive and she shares with her best mates a scandalous secret: Sophie has found her mother’s diary and learned she has three possible dads—businessman Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), adventurer Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgård) and banker Harry Bright (Colin Firth). Without telling her mom, she has invited all three to her wedding (“Honey, Honey”), believing that after she spends time with them, she will at last know who her real father is.

Meanwhile, back on the Greek mainland, Sam, Bill and Harry—strangers until today—have met at the harbour. Fortuitously, Sam and Harry have missed the ferry to Kalokairi, and Bill offers them a lift on his yacht to reconnect with the woman who broke all their hearts 20 years ago.
Back on Kalokairi, Donna is ecstatic to reunite with old friends and former “Donna and the Dynamos” band mates, wise cracker Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy multiple divorcée Tanya (Christine Baranski), and reveals her mystification at her daughter’s desire for a traditional wedding—or any wedding at all. At the Villa, Sophie introduces Tanya and Rosie to true love Sky, and tells them about their idea of designing a Web site to attract tourists to the island.

Donna explains her precarious finances (“Money, Money, Money”) to her girlfriends as she takes them on a tour of the Villa. Hounded by her creditors, Donna dreams of a “rich man’s world,” sunbathing on a yacht and being deliciously pampered. She is brought back to reality as an ominous crack appears in the courtyard.

The three men arrive, and Sophie smuggles them to their quarters and sheepishly explains that she, not her mother, sent the invitations. She begs the men to hide so Donna will have a fantastic surprise at the wedding: seeing the old friends of whom she “so often” favourably speaks. They overhear Donna working in the storeroom below—preparing to fix the crack—and the men swear to Sophie they will not reveal her secret. Sophie leaves by the window…just in the nick of time, as Donna peeps through the trapdoor.

She is dumbfounded to find herself face-to-face with the three former lovers she could never forget (“Mamma Mia”), while the men clumsily make up excuses for their presence. Donna is adamant; they simply cannot stay. Visibly shaken, she confides in Tanya and Rosie (“Chiquitita”) a secret she has kept from everyone: she is uncertain which of the three men is actually Sophie’s father. No matter, as Tanya and Rosie rally her spirits by getting Donna to join in—with the female staff and islanders accompanying—a musical number intended to make her forget her woes. Donna and the Dynamos reclaim their glory days and champion the women of the island in a call to liberation (“Dancing Queen”).

Sophie finds the men aboard Bill’s yacht, and they take a trip around the gorgeous island (“Our Last Summer”) and tell her stories of Donna as a carefree girl. Upon their return, Sophie musters up the courage to speak with Sky about her ploy, but loses her nerve. Sky and Sophie sing passionately to each other (“Lay All Your Love on Me”), but are interrupted by the stag party that has descended upon Sky to kidnap him for his last night of freedom.

At Sophie’s hen party, Donna, Tanya and Rosie perform in a surprise one-night-only event as Donna and the Dynamos (“Super Trouper”). Sophie is delighted to see her mom rock out, but becomes nervous when the festivities are interrupted by the arrival of Sam, Bill and Harry. She decides to get each of her three prospective dads alone to talk.

The young bride uses the confusion of her amorous girlfriends’ dancing with the men (“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! [A Man After Midnight]”) to speak with Sam about his love for Donna. Next, she’s on to Harry about his desire, if any, for children. Finally, Bill reveals that the old woman who gave Donna the money to invest in her villa was his Great Aunt Sofia, and Sophie guesses she must be her namesake. That’s it! Bill must be her father! Sophie asks him to give her away and to keep their secret from Donna until the wedding.

Over the moon, Sophie returns to the party. But her happiness is short-lived as Sam and Harry each tell her they must be her dad and will give her away (“Voulez-Vous”). A shocked Sophie can’t tell them the truth and, overwhelmed by the consequences of her action, faints on the dance floor.

In the morning, Rosie and Tanya reassure a frantic Donna they will take care of the men. Donna confronts Sophie in the courtyard, mistakenly believing Sophie wants the wedding stopped. Sophie angrily says that all she wants is to avoid her mother’s mistakes and storms off. An upset Donna is accosted by Sam, full of fatherly concern at Sophie getting married so young. Donna dresses him down, and both realize they still have feelings for each other (“SOS”).

Meanwhile, on Bill’s boat, Bill and Harry are about to confide in each other, but are interrupted by Rosie—who is startled to find Bill making breakfast in the buff! Similarly, pulses are racing down on the sandy beaches as Tanya and young Pepper continue their flirtations from the previous night (“Does Your Mother Know”).

With her plans falling apart and wedding in jeopardy, Sophie knows it is time to come clean to Sky and ask for his help. He reacts angrily to his fiancée’s deception and Sophie must turn to her mother for support.

As Donna helps her daughter dress for their wedding, the rift is quickly healed and Donna reminisces about Sophie’s childhood and how quickly she’s grown (“Slipping Through My Fingers”). Then and there, Sophie decides the only parent she’s ever known is the only one who should give her away. As the staff and bridesmaids accompany Donna and Sophie to the chapel, Sam lies in nervous wait. Donna waves the wedding party on, and he begs Donna to talk. She cuts him short, however, revealing the deep pain she felt over losing him (“The Winner Takes It All”).

After the ceremony begins, Donna can hold her tongue no more. She confesses to Sophie that her father is present…but he could be Sam, Bill or Harry. Sophie, in a shocker of her own, admits she invited them. The three men concur that they would be quite happy to be one-third of a father for such a girl. The surprises keep coming when Sophie tells Sky they should postpone their wedding and travel the world, as they have always wanted. It appears that preparations have been in vain until Sam steps in with the final curveball: he proposes to Donna.

She accepts (“I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do”)!

At the wedding reception, Sam sings a song to Donna, who he has loved for 21 years (“When All is Said and Done” [in the film only, not the musical]), which prompts Rosie to make a coy play for Bill (“Take a Chance on Me”). All the couples present proclaim their love and, magically, water from Aphrodite’s fountain of love bursts through the crack in the courtyard at Villa Donna.

Our story concludes as Sophie and Sky bid farewell to the island and sail away to a new life together (“I Have a Dream”), one full of hope and promise.

As you watch Mamma Mia! The Movie, you will become part of that family

“I was recently watching the wonderful Broadway company of Mamma Mia! once again bring a delirious audience to a standing ovation at the Winter Garden Theatre, and I recalled a comment in the New York Post review of the New York premiere in 2001 that everyone associated with Mamma Mia! has made into their comic mantra: ‘Let the joy wash over you.

Ten years ago, when I was scrambling with author Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd in the final stages of creating a new stage musical based on the songs of ABBA, it would never have occurred to me that Mamma Mia! would be a major worldwide summer movie release blessed with a cast led by Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. I now know what it feels like to go through the full joy rinse and dry cycle!

Much has been said and written about the worldwide success of Mamma Mia! (and not just by the show’s publicists!) since the show opened almost a decade ago in London. The statistics that bring me a sense of unbridled pride and deep humility surround the notion that Mamma Mia! has become a large, extended family that numbers in the hundreds of thousands, soon to be millions.

In Mamma Mia!, Sophie wants to find her father on her wedding day. Sophie’s life and family change in ways she could never have imagined in the 24 hours leading up to the ceremony. The Mamma Mia! journey is that of an extended family that keeps growing and growing in ways I could never have dreamed of.

It’s often a cliché when we say something touches people’s lives, but it is true of Mamma Mia!
This movie is a celebration of everyone who has worked on Mamma Mia! for the past decade: from Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, who trusted me to make a stage musical and now a movie, to the creative team and the hundreds of actors who have appeared in the show around the world, along with everyone behind the scenes and the hundreds more who have brought Mamma Mia! to the big screen.

As you watch Mamma Mia! The Movie, you will become part of that family.

I hope you have the time of your life with this movie.

‘Let the joy wash over you….’”

Mamma Mia! Filled with songs by iconic supergroup ABBA

It’s the blockbuster stage musical seen by more than 30 million people in 170 cities and eight different languages.

About a bride, her mum and three possible dads.

Filled with songs by iconic supergroup ABBA that you know and love.

Now, summer 2008 is the season when it finally hits the big screen.

Mamma mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist you?

MERYL STREEP and PIERCE BROSNAN lead a spectacular all-star cast in Mamma Mia! The Movie, the musical celebration of mothers and daughters and fathers, true loves lost and new ones found, and the romantic possibilities of what can happen on one magical Greek island when love is in the air and music and dancing abound.

Joining Streep and Brosnan for the music, romance and comedy are COLIN FIRTH (Love Actually, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Stellan Skarsgård (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Exorcist: The Beginning), Julie Walters (Becoming Jane, Harry Potter series), Dominic Cooper (The History Boys, Starter for 10), Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, television’s Big Love) and Christine Baranski (Welcome to Mooseport, Bonneville).

The three women who created the worldwide smash stage hit—global producer JUDY CRAYMER, screenwriter Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd—reprise their roles in bringing this joyful, musical story to the big screen. Producer Gary Goetzman (Charlie Wilson’s War, The Polar Express, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) joins them for the musical celebration.
Mamma Mia!’s accomplished behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Haris Zambarloukos (Sleuth, Venus), production designer Maria Djurkovic (The Hours, Billy Elliot), Oscar®-winning costume designer Ann Roth (The Good Shepherd, The English Patient) and editor Lesley Walker (Emma, The Brothers Grimm).

The executive producers are Benny Andersson (composer), Björn Ulvaeus (lyricist), Rita Wilson (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, upcoming My Life in Ruins), Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson’s War, Band of Brothers) and Mark Huffam (The Hours, Johnny English). Music and lyrics are by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

WILD CHILD Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Shirley Henderson and Aidan Quinn

WILD CHILD
U. S. release date August 22, 2008

Genre: Comedy
Cast: Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Shirley Henderson and Aidan Quinn
Directed by: Nick Moore
Writers: Lucy Dahl, Kate Kondell, Daisy Donovan
Produced by: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Diana Phillips
Executive Producers: Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin

Sixteen-year-old Poppy (Emma Roberts, Nancy Drew) is a self-obsessed, incorrigible brat who lives a pampered life in her L.A. world. Though she’s handed credit cards with unlimited balances and surrounded by countless hangers on, Poppy can’t escape the mounting frustration she feels with her family situation. And she makes sure that everyone knows it.

After an over-the-top prank pushes her father (Aidan Quinn) one step too far, Poppy is shipped off to an English boarding school. Finding herself in a foreign world of early curfews, stern matrons and mandatory lacrosse, the American princess has finally met her match: a school of British girls who won’t tolerate her spoiled ways.

Under the watchful eye of the school’s headmistress (Natasha Richardson) and surrounded by a new circle of friends, Poppy begrudgingly realizes her bad-girl behavior will only get her so far. But just because she must grow into a fine young lady doesn’t mean this Wild Child won’t be spending every waking hour shaking up a very proper system…

STATE OF PLAY Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams

STATE OF PLAY

Genre: Political thriller
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright-Penn and Helen Mirren
Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Written by: Matthew Michael Carnahan
Based on the BBC Miniseries Created by: Paul Abbott
Producers: Andrew Hauptman, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Executive Producers: Paul Abbott, E. Bennet Walsh

Oscar® winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in an case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation’s most promising political and corporate figures in State of Play, from acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland).

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party’s contender for the upcoming presidential race. Until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out.

McCaffrey has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar® winner Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer’s identity, McCaffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation’s power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicos, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is ever safe.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
U.S. Release date July 11, 2008

Genre: Action-Thriller
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor and John Hurt
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Screenplay by: Guillermo del Toro
Story by: Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola
Based Upon the Dark Horse Comic Book
Created by: Mike Mignola
Produced by: Lawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, Lloyd Levin
Executive Producer: Chris Symes

With a signature blend of action, humor and character-based spectacle, the saga of the world’s toughest, kitten-loving hero from Hell continues to unfold in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Bigger muscle, badder weapons and more ungodly villains arrive in an epic vision of imagination from Oscar®-nominated director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy).

After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it’s up to the planet’s toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it’s time to call in Hellboy (Ron Perlman).

Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense—pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abe (Doug Jones) and protoplasmic mystic Johann—the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal. And Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who’s accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.

The Uninvited Emily Browning, Elizabeth Banks, Arielle Kebbel

“THE UNINVITED”

DreamWorks Pictures In Association With Cold Spring Pictures Present
A Parkes/MacDonald Production A Montecito Picture Company/Vertigo Entertainment Production

“The Uninvited”

Executive Producers Michael Grillo, Doug Davison, Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock
Produced by Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Roy Lee
Screenplay by Craig Rosenberg and Doug Miro & Carlo Bernard
Directed by The Guard Brothers

Cast: Emily Browning, Elizabeth Banks, Arielle Kebbel and David Strathairn

Synopsis: In the suspense thriller “The Uninvited,” based on Kim Jee-Woon's 2003 Korean horror film, “Changhwa Hongryon,” Anna (Emily Browning) returns home after spending time in a psychiatric facility following her mother’s tragic death and discovers that her mother’s former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks), has moved into their house and become engaged to her father, Steven (David Strathairn). Soon after she learns this shocking news, Anna is visited by her mother's ghost, who warns her that Rachel has evil intentions. Together, Anna and her sister (Arielle Kebbel) must convince their father that his new fiancée is not who she pretends to be, and what should have been a happy family reunion becomes a lethal battle of wills between stepdaughters and stepmother.

Release: January 30, 2009

This film has been rated PG13 for violent and disturbing images, thematic material, sexual content, language and teen drinking.

Case 39 Cast and Synopsis

“CASE 39”
Paramount Pictures Presents
A Misher Films/Anonymous Content Production
“Case 39”
Produced by Steve Golin Kevin Misher
Written by Ray Wright
Directed by Christian Alvart

Cast: Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper

Synopsis: “Case 39” is a horror film starring Renée Zellweger as family services social worker Emily Jenkins. Emily thinks she has seen it all until she meets her newest, most mysterious case, troubled 10-year old Lilith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland). Emily’s worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to kill Lilith, their only daughter. Emily saves her and decides to take her in herself until the right foster family comes along.

Then the real horror begins...

Release: April 10, 2009

This film has been rated R for violence and terror, including disturbing images.

Ghost Town: Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear

“GHOST TOWN”
A Pariah Production

Executive Producers Roger Birnbaum Gary Barber Ezra Swerdlow
Produced by Gavin Polone
Written by David Koepp & John Kamps
Directed by David Koepp

Cast: Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Billy Campbell, Kristen Wiig, Dana Ivey

Synopsis: In the comedy "Ghost Town," Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who pesters him into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a triangle, with spirited results.

Release: September 19, 2008


This film has been rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references.

Revolutionary Road Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon

Revolutionary Road

Open Date: December 19, 2008

DreamWorks Pictures

Frank (Leonardo Di Caprio) and April Wheeler (Kate Winslet) are a young couple trying to find fulfillment in an era of conformity in “Revolutionary Road.”
DreamWorks Pictures Presents In Association with BBC Films An Evamere Entertainment A BBC Films A Neal Street Production of A Sam Mendes Film “Revolutionary Road” starring Leonardo di Caprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour and Kathy Bates.

The film is directed by Sam Mendes from a screenplay by Justin Haythe based on the novel by Richard Yates. The producers are John N. Hart, Scott Rudin, Sam Mendes and Bobby Cohen. The executive producers are Marion Rosenberg, David M. Thompson and Henry Fernaine. This film is not yet rated.

Executive Producers Marion Rosenberg David M. Thompson Henry Fernaine
Produced by John N. Hart Scott Rudin Sam Mendes Bobby Cohen
Based on the novel by Richard Yates
Screenplay by Justin Haythe
Directed by Sam Mendes

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour and Kathy Bates

Synopsis: Based on the celebrated novel by Richard Yates, director Sam Mendes' "Revolutionary Road" is the story of a young couple (Oscar(R) nominees Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) trying to find fulfillment in an age of conformity. Trapped in a world of encoded convention, they dream without faith, as lies and self-deceptions build to explosive consequences.

MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL Cast and Crew

Cast

Dane Cook Tank
Kate Hudson Alexis
Jason Biggs Dustin
Lizzy Caplan Ami
Alec Baldwin Professor Thompson

Filmmakers

Directed by Howard Deutch

Written by Jordan Cahan

Produced by Adam Herz, Gregory Lessans, Josh Shader, Guymon Casady, Doug Johnson, Barry Katz, Brian Volk-Weiss

Executive Producers Mike Elliott,Michael Paseornek, John Sacchi

Co-Producers Jerry P. Jacobs, Jordan Cahan

Director of Photography Jack N. Green, ASC

Production Designer Jane Ann Stewart

Editor Seth Flaum

Costume Designer Marilyn Vance

Music by John Debney

Music Supervisor Jay Faires

Casting Annie McCarthy (LA), Jay Scully (LA), Freddy Luis (LA), Maura Tighe (Boston)

MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS

Smart, beautiful and headstrong, Alexis is the girl of Dustin’s dreams. But after only five weeks of dating, the love-struck Dustin is coming on so strong that Alexis is forced to slow things down – permanently. Devastated and desperate to get her back, Dustin turns to his best friend, Tank, the rebound specialist. A master at seducing – and offending – women, Tank gets hired by freshly dumped guys to take their ex-girlfriends out on the worst date of their lives – an experience so horrible it sends them running gratefully back to their beaus.

But when Tank works his magic on Alexis, he ends up meeting the challenge of a lifetime. Alexis is the first girl who knows how to call his bluff, and Tank soon finds himself torn between his loyalty to Dustin and a strange new attraction to his best friend’s girl.

An outrageous, sexy, no-holds-barred romantic comedy, Lionsgate’s MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL stars Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs and Alec Baldwin. MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL is directed by Howard Deutch and written by Jordan Cahan.

THE SPIRIT SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS

Adapted from the legendary comic strip, THE SPIRIT is a classic action-adventure-romance told by genre-twister FRANK MILLER (creator of 300 and SIN CITY). It is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the OCTOPUS (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he’s going to wipe out Spirit's beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront ... all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Surrounding him at every turn are ELLEN DOLAN (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; SILKEN FLOSS (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; PLASTER OF PARIS (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; LORELEI (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and MORGENSTERN (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop.

Then of course, there’s SAND SAREF (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She’s the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him?

In the vein of BATMAN BEGINS and SIN CITY, THE SPIRIT takes us on a sinister, gut-wrenching ride with a hero who is born, murdered and born again.

Odd Lot Entertainment and Lionsgate are production partners on THE SPIRIT. Lionsgate has domestic and U.K. rights. Odd Lot’s Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker will produce along with Michael Uslan of Batfilm Productions Inc. Batfilm co-founder Benjamin Melniker and Steven Maier and Odd Lot’s Bill Lischak are executive producers. Odd Lot's Linda McDonough and Batfilm/Comic Book Movies’ F.J. DeSanto serve as co-producers.

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 Synposis

Opens August 8, 2008

Warner Bros. Pictures/ Alcon

Director: Sanaa Hamri
Writer: Elizabeth Chandler
Producers: Debra Martin Chase, Denise Di Novi, Broderick Johnson and Andrew A. Kosove
Executive Producers: Kira Davis and Andrew Greenspan

Cast: Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel

Drama film

Movie Synposis

In "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," based on Ann Brashares' best-selling series of novels, four young women continue the journey toward adulthood that began with "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

Now three years later, these lifelong friends embark on separate paths for their first year of college and the summer beyond, but remain in touch by sharing their experiences with each other as they always have--with honesty and humor.

Discovering their individual strengths, fears, talents and capacity for love through the choices they make, they come to value more than ever the bond they share and the immeasurable power of their friendship.

ALEXIS BLEDEL as Lena, AMERICA FERRERA as Carmen, AMBER TAMBLYN as Tibby and BLAKE LIVELY as Bridget in Alcon Entertainment’s drama “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The Dark Knight Cast, Crew, Synopsis

THE DARK KNIGHT

Opens July 18, 2008

HEATH LEDGER as The Joker in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action drama “The Dark Knight.” Photo by Stephen Vaughan

Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer
Producers: Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan
Executive Producers: Kevin De La Noy, Benjamin Melniker, Michael Uslan

Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

Action Drama film

Movie Synopsis:

Christian Bale once again embodies the man behind the mask in "The Dark Knight."
The film reunites Bale with director Christopher Nolan and takes Batman across the world in his quest to fight a growing criminal threat. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman has been making headway against local crime...until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City.

To stop this devious new menace--Batman's most personal and vicious enemy yet--he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes.

Funny Games Cast and Crew

CAST

Naomi Watts Ann
Tim Roth George
Michael Pitt Paul
Brady Corbet Peter
Devon Gearhart Georgie
Boyd Gaines Fred
Siobhan Fallon Hogan Betsy
Robert LuPone Robert
Susanne Haneke Betsy’s sister-in-law
Linda Moran Eve

CREW

Written and Directed by Michael Haneke
Produced by Chris Coen and Hamish McAlpine
Producers Hengameh Panahi, Christian Baute, Andro Steinborn
Executive Producers Naomi Watts, Philippe Aigle, Carole Siller, Douglas Steiner
Co-Producers Andrea Occhipinti, Rene Bastian, Linda Moran, Adam Brightman, Jonathan Schwartz
Line Producers Valerie Romer, Pascal Metge
Director of Photography Darius Khondji, AFC, ASC
Production Designer Kevin Thompson
Editor Monika Willi, A.E.A.
Costume Designer David Robinson
Casting by Johanna Ray, C.S.A.

FUNNY GAMES stars Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet and Devon Gearhart

SYNOPSIS

In this provocative and brutal thriller from director Michael Haneke, a vacationing family gets an unexpected visit from two deeply disturbed young men. Their idyllic holiday turns nightmarish as they are subjected to unimaginable terrors and struggle to stay alive.

Remade from his own acclaimed 1997 film, FUNNY GAMES is written and directed by Michael Haneke (“Caché”), and stars Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet and Devon Gearhart.

STORY

The vacation begins with Ann, George and their son Georgie on their way to their summer home. The neighbors, Fred and Eva, are already there. They make a date to play golf the next morning. It’s a perfect day.

Ann begins to make dinner, while her husband and son are busy with their newly restored sailboat. Suddenly, Ann finds herself face to face with a polite young man, the neighbors’ guest Peter, who has come to ask for some eggs because Eva has run out. Ann is about to give Peter the eggs, but hesitates. How did he get onto their property? Peter explains that there’s a hole in the fence – Fred showed it to him.

Things seem strange from the beginning. Soon, violence erupts.

Michael Haneke began to explore his favorite subject, violence and the media, with the original 1997 film, FUNNY GAMES, and revisits it here with the same eye.

Haneke’s trilogy (“The Seventh Continent” – 1989; “Benny’s Video” – 1992; “71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance” – 1994), particularly “Benny’s Video,” exposes the consequences of the media’s portrayal of violence. FUNNY GAMES subverts the genre to allow audiences to observe that violence, and making them complicit by forcing them to see their own role through a series of emotional and analytical episodes.

In the belief that explanation would be reassuring, Haneke deliberately refuses to provide any.

“I’m trying to find ways to show violence as it really is: it is not something that you can swallow. I want to show the reality of violence, the pain, the wounding of another human being.”

REMAKE

Recently a friend and critic who recently watched FUNNY GAMES said to me "now the film is where it belongs." He is right. When I first envisioned FUNNY GAMES in the middle of the 90s, it was my intention to have an American audience watch the movie. It is a reaction to a certain American Cinema, its violence, its naïveté, the way American Cinema toys with human beings. In many American films violence is made consumable.

However, because it was a foreign language film and because the actors were not familiar to an American audience, it did not reach its audience. In 2005, British producer Chris Coen approached me with the idea to do a remake in English. I agreed under the condition that Naomi Watts star in the movie.

Tony Curran's first film role came in Bill Forsyth’s Feature “Being Human”

TONY CURRAN (Driver) was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Tony’s first film role came in Bill Forsyth’s Feature “Being Human” starring Robin Williams. After a string of independent features, Tony landed a recurring role on the UK dramatic series “This Life.”

Following a memorable role in Antonio Banderas’ “The 13th Warrior” Tony followed up with a slate of blockbusters, including "Gladiator" and "Blade II." His first major lead came with "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" opposite Sean Connery as the hero ‘Rodney Skinner,’ aka ‘The Invisible Man.’ Following that he starred opposite Dennis Quaid in the remake of Jimmy Stewart’s "The Flight of the Phoenix."

His most recent feature credits include "Underworld: Evolution" opposite Kate Beckinsale, “Miami Vice” for Michael Mann and Steven Soderbergh’s "The Good German” with George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire. Tony also played the lead role in Andrea Arnold’s “Red Road,” which has received worldwide critical acclaim won the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2006 along with earning Tony the best actor award at the Scottish BAFTA’s and British Film Awards.

Tony continues to keep himself busy having just finished work on the pilot “Amped” and going straight into shooting an independent feature “Shuttle.”

LESLIE BIBB (Maya) is a talented and beautiful actress

LESLIE BIBB (Maya) is a talented and beautiful actress who is taking the big screen by storm. Leslie was part of box-office history with her role in IRON MAN, which grossed over $100 million dollars opening weekend. Leslie is part of an all-star cast that includes: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges. Last summer she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Sacha Baron Cohen, and John C. Riley in Columbia Picture’s TALLADEGA NIGHTS. Leslie starred opposite Patrick Fugit in the dark romantic comedy WRISTCUTTERS. Leslie is currently in production on the comedy CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC, based on the best selling book by Sophie Kinsella.

On television, Leslie made her mark as the lead on the WB series “Popular” as the beautiful Brooke McQueen. Popular became an instant cult classic within the teen demographic.

Bibb was raised in Nelson County, Virginia. Later she and her mother, along with her three older sisters, moved to Richmond, where Leslie attended an all-girls Catholic high school, St. Gertrude's.

Additional film credits include PRIVATE PARTS, THE SKULLS and SEE SPOT RUN.

Bibb currently resides in Los Angeles.

Much of THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN was filmed on trains

Much of THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN was filmed on trains, both real trains at several downtown Los Angeles County Metro Rail stations, and fixed train cars situated on stage at the film’s stage and office base in Sun Valley near Burbank.

Two Metro stations were utilized for the practical train sequences in the film, notably the ultra modern Los Angeles City College station underground at Santa Monica & Vermont, which provided the setting for the confrontation between Leon and a group of gangbangers on an escalator. In those scenes he rescues a young Asian woman played by Norika Sato, who is also the star of director Ryuhei Kitamura’s recent LOVEDEATH. The other stations was the MTA Redline station on 5th and Hill.

A warehouse with an old train platform in San Pedro was the location for the deserted subway platform located beneath the meat plant.

On stage in Sun Valley, the filmmakers brought in two full-size train cars that were placed on a rocking gimbal to simulate the train’s movement. As a note of trivia, these train cars were also utilized in scenes featuring Doc Ock in SPIDER-MAN 2.
For the train sequences, Oscar®-winning prosthetic effects designer Matthew Mungle (BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA) was charged with creating all the prosthetic effects. For the three-time Oscar® nominee who currently does all the special makeup effects for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” the allure of this movie was because it was creature-oriented. “I hadn't really done a creature movie for a long time, so I thought it would be a good chance to do something like that again,” Mungle notes.

For Mungle and his team, the main part of his job was to create the bodies of Mahogany’s victims on the train. “We did a lot of nude bodies,” Mungle says. “Initially, it was as if they were skinned down to the musculature. Then the filmmakers changed it, and the bodies were just nude, hanging upside down. So it actually became harder to do that than it would have been to just do the skinned and the musculature because we were just going to take regular bodies, foldable, pose-able bodies and just build them up with muscles. But they changed it to completely nude bodies, so we had to start from scratch, casting actors that production supplied to us, the bottom halves and then the upper torsos, so we could put them together and make them seamless. It became a little bit more difficult for us, but in the end it worked out great.”

One of the more intricate effects designs was when Mahogany decapitates a female tourist on the train. “You don't see the actual decapitation, but you see the aftermath of the head laying there, the body pumping the blood, the hand twitching,” Mungle notes. “So we took a stock body and added the neck and the twitching hand, and cast the actress' head to make a duplicate head of her with her eyes open and her mouth open in a screaming position.”

Emanating from a story collection entitled Books of Blood, it’s not surprising that the filmmakers used gallons upon gallons of fake blood in Mahogany’s killing train. “I honestly think that there is more blood in this film than I’ve ever seen in a horror movie,” Vinnie Jones states. “They’re just bringing in gallons and gallons and throwing it around. Every time in the fight scenes we’re hitting and there’s blood splattering everywhere and it’s really uncomfortable to work with. But you just got to keep telling yourself ‘it’s all for the fun of the end product,” because it’s messy as hell in there!”

In addition to the dark, sinister settings of Mahogany’s apartment and the various train stations, Mahogany carries with him a satchel embroidered with his name and filled with all kinds of devilish killing instruments. “He carries this briefcase around and that has his tools in it, but number one weapon is this big steel hammer,” says Vinnie Jones. “That’s how he starts everything off -- he whacks ‘em with that and then all hell breaks loose.”

Mahogany’s bag was designed by property master John Keim, based on its description from the Clive Barker short story. “The bag started its life as a US Air Force issue bag,” Keim offers, “and I redesigned it based on a veterinarian's bag from the 1800s.” According to Keim, inside the bag he placed everything the well-tooled psycho killer would have in his bag. “I've got the ankle hook with which you can pierce the victims and hang them up in the air. And then you just whip out your knife and carve their skin. Plenty of knives in here for any direction you want to go! We’ve got a real steel hammer as well as several rubber hammers of different weights with which to smash people and things. We even have hammers that don't have heads on them, so that when it goes through a person's skull, the visual effects guys will just add the upper half of the hammer. We've got the fingernail puller and a lot of different pulling devices. There’s even an eyeball separator puller-outer.”

A large artist’s studio in the mid-city area of Los Angeles served as the prestigious downtown art space where gallerist Susan Hoff, played by Brooke Shields, offers Leon inclusion of his edgy photographs into a prominent group show. For the gallery scene, many of the paintings hanging in the space are the works of Clive Barker. “The producers asked me if I would like to put some paintings into the gallery scene, and I said, ‘Hey, why not?,’” Barker recalls. The film’s art director chose the pictures from Barker’s seven hundred-picture collection based on which ones were tonally right for the movie.

Other locations included various city streets and alleyways in downtown Los Angeles, as well as the exterior of Main Street’s Hotel Barclay, that portrays Mahogany’s hotel in the film; Quality Café in downtown Los Angeles portrayed Otto’s restaurant, and Manning Beef, a meat packing plant in Pico Rivera provided the locale for the plant where Mahogany works.

Brooke Shields plays art gallerist Susan Hoff

In a stroke of unconventional casting, Brooke Shields plays art gallerist Susan Hoff, a friend of Maya’s who ultimately gives Leon the opportunity to show his photographic work at her downtown gallery. Shields, a renowned actress since her youth, is most recently known for her starring role on the NBC television series “Suddenly Susan,” “Nip/Tuck” and most recently “Lipstick Jungle.”

Shields points out that she made her debut as an actress in a horror movie at the age of nine, but hasn’t done one since. “I’m a fan of this type of genre film, even though I get really scared watching them,” she says

However, Shields was intrigued about playing a gallery owner who also has predator instincts. “Everybody’s really afraid of her, and it’s a big deal if you get to show in her gallery,” she says. “She has very specific tastes. And she’s not afraid to push the envelope—and push everyone around her too. At first I’m not impressed with Leon’s photography but then I end up getting sort of wowed by it because it’s uncomfortable. The darkness in the photography is something that I respond to.”

Shields continues, “I think of the film as a metaphor for the underbelly, where this life force that has been growing and accumulating for years and perhaps forever. My character doesn’t get to go on the actual journey with them, but I’m throughout, sort of on the outside discussing what the artistry is really about. Much like Clive Barker’s paintings -- they take a step beyond what you normally would see. Susan wants to see the darker side, the side that’s uncomfortable, the side that makes you want to close your eyes and turn away. I’m the one that sort of says, ‘I want you to go further. Don’t be safe. Don’t play it safe in any way.’”

Rounding out the main cast of THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN are a talented group of supporting actors including Scottish actor Tony Curran (UNDERWORLD: REVOLUTION) as the driver, Roger Bart (HOSTEL: PART II) as Leon’s art reviewer friend Jurgis; and Ted Raimi (SPIDERMAN 3, REIGN OVER ME) as a tourist on the train.

UFC mixed martial arts champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson also appears in a memorable train fight sequence with Mahogany. “The idea behind casting Rampage in the movie was that this is the only character that really can come close to stopping Mahogany,” notes producer Gary Lucchesi. “That maybe Mahogany has messed with the wrong guy is a little bit of an inside joke for those of us who know who Rampage is. When casting him, we learned that he was interested in doing something funny in the movie and we saw that as a real opportunity.”

Tom Rosenberg hopes that THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN will set a new tone for horror movies. “Every kind of preconceived notion that we have about horror movies in terms of tone, action, blood, in terms of the beats that lead up to the horror, the beats that happen after; this movie takes those very familiar, very conventional aspects and turns them on their side. We are doing something that's slightly different, doing something that is going to give the audience something new and something refreshing, and hopefully that'll translate into a lot of people enjoying the movie.”

To sum up, Clive Barker hopes that audiences “leave the theaters with their seats damp,” he chuckles. “I want them to lose control of their bladders with terror. But, you know, I really want them to come out and say, ‘That was the ride I wanted it to be. That was the journey I wanted to take. I took a journey into the dark.’ And, you know, one of the things horror does is it allows you to face your fears in a safe form and survive. You watch other people die and you think, ‘Hey, it wasn’t me.’ I think this movie is going to take people to a very, very dark place and deliver them at last out into the night, out into the day, feeling like they survived quite a ride.”

Horror legends as Krueger, Voorhees, and Myers, Vinnie Jones knew that with this role

Following in the footsteps of such horror legends as Krueger, Voorhees, and Myers, Vinnie Jones knew that with this role, he had the opportunity to create an equally iconic character in Mahogany. “I knew that if you can make the right movie, the right serial killer, you can become a legend,” says the former UK soccer star turned actor. “And like some of those characters, Mahogany has the interesting and challenging trait of not uttering a word during the film. “If the role has any downfall, it’s that I haven’t got any dialogue,” Jones adds. “But I’m trying to express it in different ways. Instead of remembering dialogue, you’re remembering mannerisms.”

The chiseled, physically intimidating star of films such as LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH, Vinnie Jones says that what also appealed to him about the film was that it presented characters and story that were a cut above the recent spate of horror films -- “torture porn” as it’s often called -- that have become so prevalent in today’s horror movies. “It’s not one of those movies that’s just snapping fingers off and cutting toes off,” Jones explains. “It’s about the story and the characters and what happens along the way. I think people that love horror will be attracted to that side of it, but there is also a compelling story that you can follow. And we bring it all together along with some great twists and mystery as well.”

The third wheel of THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN is Maya, Leon’s girlfriend, who serves not only as an integral part of the story, but is also in essence the objective viewer who gives the closest approximation of the audience’s viewpoint to the horror that is unveiled.

Maya is played by Leslie Bibb, who was most recently seen in the first blockbuster of Summer 2008 IRON MAN, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow; starred opposite Will Ferrell in the hit comedy TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY, and in the horror film TRICK ‘R TREAT. Though not generally a fan of horror movies, Bibb instantly fell in love with the character of Maya and how she fit into the story. “I've never really technically seen a horror movie in entirety because I'm such a pansy,” she laughs. “So when I read it I was, like, ‘Uh oh, I'm in a little bit of trouble,’ because I just loved Maya. I loved her journey through this story. And the love story in this movie is not the usual thing you see in this sort of film. If you're just doing a horror movie with blood and guts, that's scary. But there's got to be something else too. It's almost like a Greek tragedy because of what happens. To watch this couple and to watch Leon's journey as he essentially dies, I mean, not literally but figuratively dies inside. I thought it was really exciting.”

“Maya is the heart of THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN,” notes Lucchesi. “She’s the heart of where this movie starts and when we get to the descent, we measure that tragedy by how Maya's reacting to watching this guy who she loves slip away from her. And I think that's what's so compelling. She and Bradley have such a wonderful chemistry together, which is really exciting to watch.”

For Leslie Bibb, the opportunity to work with such visual stylists as director Ryuhei Kitamura and his director of photography Jonathan Sela was extremely alluring. “They're a force to be reckoned with because their vision is amazing,” Bibb enthuses. “It almost feels a little noir, due to some of the shots they created and the choices they made with placement of the camera. It feels like so much more than just a horror movie. And I think it's going to really scare the crap out of you, which is always good. That’s what you want with a horror movie.”
“What Ryuhei has done with his interpretation is really capture the heart and the essence of the story between Leon and Maya, which is the entry point into this world,” says Lakeshore’s Tom Rosenberg. “He's done it with such tenderness that we all can connect with these characters. Once we're there, he completely spins it in a different direction and takes us down into this descent of decay and discovery. The world into which we enter is a world into which we don't want to go, yet we can't help but go. It's so dark we can't help but be intrigued. Ryuhei masterfully pulls us into that world and completely entraps you into that moment.”

Building believable, empathetic characters was a key for Ryuhei Kitamura in crafting a classic horror film. “If you don’t care about the character, then you don’t care if they get tortured or killed or get their heads chopped off. With most horror movies, we don’t care about the characters. You see lots of horrible things all over the world every day but you don’t care because it’s somebody you don’t know. It becomes scary when someone you care about is in danger. That’s why I want the audience to care about Leon and Maya.”

“What I love about Maya is that initially she is Leon’s biggest fan and biggest supporter, but then she really starts to doubt him and starts to lose him,” Bibb explains. “And the fire she gains to just save him, you know, she really tries to save the person that she loves most in the world because she's watching him disappear. She goes from sitting on the sidelines to being part of the game.”

Kitamura spent a long time looking for his first American movie project

Kitamura spent a long time looking for his first American movie project, having read nearly 50 scripts over the last five years. “Most of the scripts I’d received were just B horror movies and B action movies, which doesn’t interest me that much,” the director says. “I already made eight movies in the last five or six years and I think I survived because I always try to put my stamp one each one -- even though I’m making some insane action movie like VERSUS, or a samurai movie like AZUMI, or a Godzilla movie -- I always try to make my world. I didn’t want to mess with my career by doing this just because it’s big budget, or just because it’s a Hollywood movie. So I was very careful about picking the right project.”

Lakeshore Entertainment Chairman/CEO Tom Rosenberg, who also serves as a producer on the film, notes that Lakeshore had the project for almost ten years before all the right pieces fell into place to head into production. The first choice was to find a director who could translate an iconic classic story into a modern, stylish film. “I think when you look at Ryuhei's body of work, you will see this amazing combination. He not only is this incredible action director who knows how to shoot a fight sequence or bring scares to the screen. But what’s really impressive is that there's also a heart to them,” he says. “There's so much of an emotional underpinning to all of his movies, such as LOVEDEATH or AZUMI. There's a wonderful sense of pacing and action, and at the same time a counterbalance of heart and life and love. And when that emotional tone is combined with the action, it's really, really stunning.”

In 2006, Kitamura’s manager set up a meeting with Lakeshore Entertainment’s Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi. Lucchesi told Kitamura they were doing a movie of The Midnight Meat Train and asked if he was familiar with it. “Of course I knew it,” Kitamura says. “It was Clive Barker! I read this original novel exactly twenty years ago, the first Clive Barker book published in Japan, back in 1987. I got the book on the first day it came out and read it. I just loved it.” Kitamura still owns the twenty-year-old Japanese first edition.

The executives at Lakeshore gave the director a copy of the script to read, and asked he let them know what I thought. “So I read the script and thought it was good, very good” enthuses Kitamura. “I’m a big fan of Clive Barker so I couldn’t resist. Clive has an endless, huge imagination inside his mind. I felt this was a great opportunity.”

Kitamura expands, “I think this is one of the most gory, bloodiest movies ever made. It is a scary movie, but it’s not just about death. It’s about the great relationship between Leon and Maya, which is why I’m doing this. I’m not interested in just showing the blood and gore and splatter; there are too many movies like that. I need story and character and relationship, and this script had all that. So I tried to build that unique vision with my crew, my cast, my producers. I think that is how I put a little bit of my own blood into my film. Technically-speaking, since day one we’ve been not to have a single shot in the movie looks like something else. Everything should be something you’ve never seen before -- the angles, the lenses, the camerawork, the look -- everything should be something original.”
With a director on board, the production was all set to move forward. But first the filmmakers had to find the ideal actors to play the pivotal roles of Leon, Mahogany, and Maya.

Kitamura explains that the character of Leon “is a guy who tries to capture the truth, the essence of the city, what the city really is. He’s trying hard to find the truth that lies beneath the surface of the city. He steps into the darkness and discovers, little by little, this secret mystery among the people and by the time he realizes the truth it’s too late for him to go back. He just goes deeper and deeper and in the end he gets on this mysterious train and finds the truth.”

To portray the role of Leon, the filmmakers chose Bradley Cooper, a rugged leading man best known for his performances on the hit television series “Alias” and his supporting role in the comedy smash hit WEDDING CRASHERS.

As a Clive Barker fan and a fan of the genre, Bradley Cooper was thrilled to take on the role of Leon. “The script was a really cool,” he says, “and the chance to work with Vinnie Jones interested me. I'd also seen several of Ryuhei Kitamura’s movies from Japan and thought working with him would be a really good experience. Ryuhei is the reason why the movie might be completely innovative. He has a completely unique, individual take. The shooting style, the way it's shot is very unorthodox for the genre. It's a lot of long lenses and almost FRENCH CONNECTION-looking, which I think is going to be pretty cool.”

Cooper was equally intrigued by the storyline and all its twists and turns. “The thing that's different about this movie than other movies of this type is that usually the protagonist is on the hunt for the antagonist. And in this movie those lines are blurred. It's weird because Leon starts to stalk this guy Mahogany. But then you notice that the guy is almost aware that Leon is stalking him and almost wants him to. I really liked that idea. Leon is initially just tracking this guy and trying to figure out what he's up to. He realizes that this meatpacking plant that Mahogany works at has been around since the 19th century, and that in fact there was a case in the '20s or '30s where cannibalism was going on and this guy was arrested. And he somehow thinks that there's a link between what that guy and Mahogany are doing. But what he doesn't realize is that it's so much bigger than that, and that in fact Leon was ‘chosen,’ perhaps before the movie even starts. It becomes very supernatural as it progresses.”

Lakeshore President of Entertainment and MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN producer Gary Lucchesi says, “I found myself completely intrigued by Bradley Cooper’s performance. I never knew where Bradley was going as Leon, and as a result I discovered Leon through him. He brought a real uniqueness and freshness to a character that I thought I was already familiar with.”

To balance Cooper’s Leon, the filmmakers set the goal of creating a new horror icon. “From day one in developing the script, Clive and I had this drive to create a new personification of horror,” says Kitamura. “I’m a big fan of the genre myself; I have binders and figurines of Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Pinhead, Ash from ‘Evil Dead’ – all those great characters from the eighties. Characters like these haven’t been seen for twenty years.”

“I was initially considering casting Mahogany,” continues the director, “with someone from the eighties – maybe like bringing back an eighties superstar or someone like that. But the producers were thinking of an unknown because they felt that if we cast somebody famous it would distract from the movie. Then I heard that Vinnie Jones had read the script and he was interested in the part. I knew right then we had to cast Vinnie.”


“When we considered Vinnie Jones for the role,” says Gary Lucchesi, “not one of us in the room didn't say, “That's it!’ It's just this amazing kind of marriage, because Vinnie is known for so many different things and so many different types of heavy characters that he plays. We immediately imagined Vinnie Jones in that dapper brown suit and the short hair, becoming the embodiment of evil that the character becomes.”

The Midnight Meat Train, a short story from Volume I of legendary horror writer Clive Barker’s

Filming on THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN’s 35-day shoot commenced March 18, 2007 in Los Angeles, but it was a long process before the film was put on track.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN is based on The Midnight Meat Train, a short story from Volume I of legendary horror writer Clive Barker’s best-selling Books of Blood collection. When Volumes I-III of Books of Blood were published in 1984, they prompted Stephen King to declare that Barker was “the future of horror,” a statement that would jumpstart Barker’s long, acclaimed career as a novelist, screenwriter and director. Over the years, Barker has become one of the world’s most famous and honored writers. And during those years, The Midnight Meat Train has been one of – if not THE – most popular of his stories, and one that was always on fans’ wish lists for a movie adaptation.

According the Barker, “Books of Blood were written back in the early eighties as my attempt to put into short story form all the wicked, dark ideas that I had had through my twenties. I really wanted to prove how broad a genre horror actually is. In the six volumes, I wanted to say, ‘Look, horror can be funny, it can be bloody, it can be subtle, it can be about the supernatural, it can be about the human heart, it can be so many things.’”
Barker was in New York in the late 1970s, a time when people were being murdered on trains. It was these news events that provided the initial creative spark for his story.
Barker notes that for the legions of fans, the essence of the original story is all there in the movie. “I don’t think anybody who likes the short story is going to be disappointed by the movie at all,” he assures.
Midnight Meat Train was the first story in the first volume of Books of Blood and it is one of the first stories Barker ever wrote. “It is a relentlessly horrific descent into madness and darkness and all things forbidden,” Barker says. “Joseph Campbell speaks of this being one of the primal forms – the idea of the hero descending into darkness, descending into the underworld, which our hero Leon does. The underworld happens to be below New York, but it’s the same thing.”
Barker hopes that the film will offer audiences an experience that will dare them to keep looking at the screen. And he notes that there is also a lot of character development in the film. “I think you’re going to care about these people,” he says. “We’ve got some wonderful performances and marvelous actors. It’s not a simple story. It’s a complex tale of somebody giving up their social identity and their identity as a lover to become something else, to become a servant of darkness, which is a choice we perhaps all sometimes have to make.”
To help adapt the original 27-page short story into a feature-length film, the studio turned to Jeff Buhler, who marks his first produced screenplay with THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, having previously written numerous original works.
An old friend of Clive Barker’s producing partner Joe Daley, Buhler had been trying to find a project with which to work with Barker for as long as he can remember. “I feel like a kid in a candy store,” he says, now that his desire had been fulfilled. “This is one of those things that came about where they were pondering going back to Clive's original anthologies of short stories, Books of Blood. And Joe brought me a nice signed, collectors' edition and said, ‘Go through these again and see if there's a story there that strikes you as one you want to bring in as an idea for a film.’ And, and I said, ‘Thank you very much for the book. I'm definitely keeping this. But The Midnight Meat Train is the story I really want to tell.’"
In developing a structure for the screenplay, Buhler first set focus on the classic serial-killer story. But then he says, “There comes a moment when it turns a corner where you have absolutely no idea what is going on.”
As Buhler explains, “The movie THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN follows a man's obsession, a man who believes that he has stumbled upon a killer who's terrorizing the city. And his obsession is manifested through his photography. This is one of the things that I brought to the screenplay that's not in the short story. In the book we live in Leon's head, and this works amazingly well in that form. But of course as a film we needed a way to see Leon's obsession with the city, what goes on in the dirty alleyways, what goes on below the surface of the city. And to do that we made Leon a photographer so there was a visual means of seeing what was going on in his head. This photographer stumbles upon a man who he believes is terrorizing the city. He soon learns that there's a lot more to that story than meets the eye and he becomes sucked into this underbelly of what's going on below the city. That's where the real Clive Barker-ness comes out.”

In addition to being a celebrated author and director, Clive Barker is also a celebrated and prolific painter. As such Barker did many drawings for THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN that helped inform the look of the film. “I think it’s a good way to help a director share my vision,” Barker says.

To fulfill that vision, Lakeshore Entertainment enlisted Ryuhei Kitamura, a Japanese director who has garnered widespread international acclaim for his ultra-stylish thrillers and fantasies. With THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, Kitamura incorporates many of his signature visual styles and storytelling skills to the film.

gifted actor, ROGER BART’s (Jurgis) tremendous presence

A gifted actor, ROGER BART’s (Jurgis) tremendous presence extends to both the small and big screens, as well as to the stage.

Bart can currently next be seen on Broadway in the musical “Young Frankenstein” as the title character, ‘Dr. Frederick Frankenstein.’ Based on the smash hit 1974 film, “Young Frankenstein” is the wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Mary Shelley classic from the comic genius of Mel Brooks. Co-starring Megan Mullally, Sutton Foster, Shuler Hensley, Fred Applegate and Christopher Fitzgerald, the show is directed by Susan Stroman.

Bart most recently appeared in HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO, the highly anticipated follow-up to the cult comedy hit.

Previous film roles include ‘Carmen Ghia’ for Universal’s film version of THE PRODUCERS directed by Susan Stroman and the role of the prosecuting attorney in Ridley Scott’s AMERICAN GANGSTER starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Bart also starred in Paramount Pictures’ THE STEPFORD WIVES as the gay Stepford wife. The role was created for Bart based on his flamboyant role in the Broadway production of “The Producers.” Additional films include HOSTEL PART II, the sequel to the hit horror film; Jeff Garlin’s independent comedy I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT CHEESE WITH; THE INSIDER starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe; Disney’s HERCULES (singing voice of ‘Young Hercules’), and THE LADY AND THE TRAMP II (singing voice of ‘Scamp’).

On Broadway, Bart originated the role of ‘Carmen Ghia’ in “The Producers,” the smash hit musical by Mel Brooks and Director Susan Stroman. Bart received Tony and Drama Desk nominations for the role. In 1999, Bart received Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical as ‘Snoopy’ in the revival of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” directed by Michael Mayer. Other Broadway credits include “The Frogs,” starring opposite Nathan Lane, and “Triumph of Love.”

On television, portrayed ‘George Williams,’ the menacing pharmacist on ABC’s hit “Desperate Housewives” and starred in “The Lost Room,” Sci Fi’s hit miniseries event. Other television credits include the CBS comedy “Bram and Alice,” directed by James Burrows, “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “The George Carlin Show.”

A native of New Jersey, Bart currently divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.

VINNIE JONES (Mahogany) started his career as a professional soccer player

VINNIE JONES (Mahogany) started his career as a professional soccer player playing for some of the UK’s most prominent teams including, Wimbledon, Leeds, Chelsea, Sheffield, QPR and eventually was the Captain of the Welsh team. He became iconic across the UK and Europe, not only from his exquisite skills in Soccer, but also as a performer on the pitch; he always had the crowd on their feet supporting him the whole way through his games, as he reacted very well with the audience, and this made the games highly exciting for the spectator both at the venue, but also on TV.

It was in 1998 that Vinnie was approached by up and coming director, Guy Ritchie to be a part in his movie, LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS to which Vinnie accepted the challenge. From this point onward, the former soccer player now realized that he had a new calling, and that was of a movie star; the film skyrocketed to the top of the movies in Europe and the USA, forcing Vinnie’s new career upward. He then went on to star in hits such as SNATCH, GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS and SWORDFISH.

From this point onwards, Vinnie started to gain recognition from the industry, earning a barrage of accolades and awards, with Hollywood realizing it had true talent on its hands. To this date Vinnie has appeared in over 40 movies, working with some of the film industry’s top producers and directors including, Mathew Vaughan, Jerry Bruckheimer, Brett Ratner, and Gary Lucchesi. He recently starred in the massive summer blockbuster, “X-Men 3: The Last Stand” as Cain Marko, better known as the Juggernaut, forever placing him in an iconic league of actors alongside Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart. Prior to that, he played the scowling soccer coach illustrating both his likeability and comedic side in DreamWorks’ “She’s The Man.” Vinnie will be seen next starring in Lakeshore Entertainment’s (Million Dollar Baby), THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, and then in the Quentin Tarantino produced feature film HELLRIDE. Vinnie most recently completed filming on the feature film YEAR ONE, where he will be starring alongside Jack Black for Sony Pictures and Judd Apatow.

Vinnie still plays soccer heading up a team called Hollywood All-Stars based in Los Angeles where he and his family now live. This team boasts an all star team comprised of athletes, movie stars and other celebrities; it is a force to be reckoned with and has a huge following. Their contribution to charity is huge and this goes hand in hand with Vinnie’s personality as a devoted, hard working, multi talented and caring man.

BROOKE SHIELDS (Susan Hoff) is a highly accomplished television, film and theatre actress

BROOKE SHIELDS (Susan Hoff) is a highly accomplished television, film and theatre actress, as well as business woman, author and model. She can currently be seen on the hit show "Lipstick Jungle" as Wendy Healy, a top executive at a film studio and one of the 50 most powerful women in New York City.

Brooke began her professional career at only eleven months of age when she was selected as the Ivory Snow Baby, and by age 3 was a runway model. Since that time Ms. Shields has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines, most notably Time Magazine as the "Face of the Eighties", and Life Magazine on three separate occasions. Ms. Shields continues to be featured worldwide in publications and in recent product endorsements such as Ivory.

At age 9, Brooke began her extensive film career when she won her first acting role in "Holy Terror" and went on to greater parts as a child film star in Louis Malles' "Pretty Baby," the Palme D'or Award winner at the Cannes Film Festival, and Franco Zeferilli's "Blue Lagoon."

Ms. Shields has worked with such film greats as Susan Sarandon, Shelly Winters, Henry and Peter Fonda, George Burns, Charles Durning, Hal Holbrook and Kiefer Sutherland. Currently Ms. Shields has starring roles in the soon to be released films: "The Weekend" with Gena Rowlands; "Black and White" with Robert Downey, Jr.; "The Bachelor" with Chris O'Donnell; and "After Sex."

While at Princeton University, where Ms. Shields was an Honors Graduate, Brooke pursued her love for the theatre, and after graduation made her Broadway debut as Rizzo in the hit musical "Grease" and earned the Theatre World Award in 1994 for "Outstanding Debut on Broadway."

Ms. Shields has received numerous awards and accolades for her extensive repertoire of talents. In 1997 and 1998 Brooke Shields was nominated f for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, and was also nominated for The American Comedy Awards' Funniest Female Performer in a Television Series Leading Role for her hit comedy show, "Suddenly Susan." Ms. Shields is the recipient of five People's Choice Awards - "Favorite Young Performer" in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984 and "Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series" in 1997. In 1999 Shields received the Genii Award for "Outstanding Success in Television, Stellar Achievements in Television Performances and Good Citizenship in the Television Community." Shields also is the proud recipient of the 1st Annual "Fun, Fearless, Female" Award from Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Shields is the author of "The Brooke Book," "On Your Own" and "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression." In addition to her professional career, she continues to be a strong advocate for children's rights and literacy and is the national spokesperson for Tupperware's Chain of Confidence campaign.

BRADLEY COOPER (Leon) has become one of Hollywood's most sought after actors

BRADLEY COOPER (Leon) has become one of Hollywood's most sought after actors. Bradley was most recently seen on the FX drama “Nip/Tuck” opposite Julian MacMahon and Dylan Walsh.

Cooper recently completed production on the Warner Brothers comedy YES MAN opposite Jim Carrey based on the memoir by Danny Wallace. The movie is slated for release in December.

Cooper can soon be seen in New Line Cinema’s HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU alongside Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Ginnfer Goodwin and Justin Long. This film is slated for release on October 24th. Cooper can also soon be seen in the upcoming films; CASE 39, the Paramount Pictures thriller opposite Renee Zellwegger and the Fox 2000 comedy ALL ABOUT STEVE, opposite Sandra Bullock. Both films are scheduled for release in early 2009.

Cooper has signed on to co-produce and star in HBO’s comedy series
“Intelligence” opposite Patton Oswalt. The project, created by Michael Patrick Jann, is a workplace comedy about an elite counter-intelligence unit hidden undercover as disgruntled civil servants.

Prior to these roles, Cooper was seen in the Paramount hit comedy FAILURE TO LAUNCH opposite Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. However Cooper is most recognized for his scene stealing role in the mega hit THE WEDDING CRASHERS where he co-starred opposite Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson. ‘Sack Lodge’ has become the prototype for pompous Ivy League leading man in the world of comedy. His first feature film – now a cult favorite – is WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER by director David Wain.

Cooper also made his Broadway debut in Spring of ’06 in the Joe Montello production “3 Days of Rain.” There his leading lady was Julia Roberts and this limited run was sold out every performance.

On television, Cooper was seen on the critically acclaimed FOX show “Kitchen Confidential” based on the trials and tribulations of renowned chef Anthony Bourdain. Other notable credits are his two year stint on the Golden Globe®-nominated series “Alias,” “Jack and Bobby,” “Touching Evil,” “Law & Order: SVU” and “Trial By Jury.”

Cooper graduated from the Honors English program at Georgetown University in 1997. He then moved to New York City to enroll in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University.

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE (Costume Designer)

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE (Costume Designer) began his industry career working as a costume supervisor with some of Hollywood’s finest filmmakers, including Blake Edwards (“Switch”), Mel Brooks (“Life Stinks”), Garry Marshall (“Beaches”), Barry Levinson (the Oscar-winning “Bugsy”), Cameron Crowe (“Say Anything”), James L. Brooks (“I’ll Do Anything”), Stephen Frears (“Hero”), Curtis Hanson (“The River Wild”), James Cameron (“T2/3D”), Philip Noyce (“The Saint”), Tony Scott (“Enemy of the State”) and Michael Mann (as associate designer on his Oscar-nominated drama, “The Insider”).

A favorite of designer Marlene Stewart, with whom he served as supervisor on six films and numerous other projects, Lawrence has also worked with such renowned designers as Academy Award-winner Albert Wolsky, Emmy-nominee Ellen Mirojnick and the late Oscar nominee Richard Hornung.

After debuting as costume designer on “The Anniversary Party” (co-directed by actors Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh), the Los Angeles native reteamed with Mann on his TV pilot, “Robbery Homicide Division.” He also designed such films as “Showtime,” with Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy, the thriller “Cellular,” the police actioner “S.W.A.T.,” “11:14,” starring Hilary Swank and Barbara Hershey, the comedy, “The Alibi” and the family film, “Hoot,” based on the popular book by Carl Hiaasen. He followed “Hoot” by reuniting with actor-director Cumming on his latest project, “Suffering Man’s Charity.” He also designed the wardrobe for PBS-TV’s adaptation of the Tony-winning drama, “The Gin Game,” which reunited Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke.

Most recently, Lawrence’s credits include the thriller “Crank,” starring Jason Statham; "Childless" starring Barbara Hershey, Joe Mantegna, Diane Venora, James Naughton, and "The Hottie and the Nottie" starring Paris Hilton. In 2006, Lawrence won the Costume Designers Guild Award for Best Costume Design for a Commercial for the Capital One Viking commercials.

A Los Angeles native, Lawrence began his industry career as a production assistant on “The Merv Griffin Show.” He segued over to the popular syndicated hit, “Dance Fever,” before a brief sojourn away from the industry as a clothier in a unique Beverly Hills boutique, Camp Beverly Hills, then as a designer for Esprit. He resumed his entertainment career as a costumer on the Emmy-winning TV series “Moonlighting” and “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” before moving into the motion picture arena.

Academy Award winner MATTHEW W. MUNGLE

Academy Award® winner MATTHEW W. MUNGLE (for Best Make-Up, DRACULA) (Special Prosthetics Effects) is regarded as one of Hollywood's premier make-up special effects artists. With over 100 film and television projects to his credit, Matthew has earned accolades and recognition as one of the industry's top masters of makeup effects illusion.

Born in Durant, Oklahoma in 1956, Matthew was one of five children born to Atoka dairy farmer Jene and Becky Mungle. As a boy he recalls seeing "Frankenstein," "Dracula" and "The Mummy." He was fascinated with the make-up, often times "borrowing" his mother's cosmetics to create his own version of horror. As he got older, he would send away for theatrical make-up from New York and Dallas specialty stores — experimenting with face casts and prosthetics on willing family members and friends. Although his parents thought it was a phase he would soon outgrow, Matthew knew differently. In 1964 with the release of "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao," Matthew credits the film as having been his greatest influence and deciding factor in becoming a make-up special effects artist.

In 1968, a film that would revolutionize make-up special effects and further impact the small town boy from Atoka, was the release of "Planet of the Apes." It's hard to say how many times Matthew saw the film. What he did know was that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his mentors, namely Lon Chaney, Sr., Jack Pierce and John Chambers, who won the Academy Award for the specialized make-up effects for "Planet of the Apes."

In high school, Matthew worked at the local movie theatre. When "Return to the Planet of the Apes" was released, he encouraged the owner to let him dress up to promote the film. Not only did he dress the part, but he created his own prosthetics to look the part of a chimpanzee. The realism was so startling to the small town of Atoka, that many thought Hollywood had sent an actor to hype the film!

Matthew graduated from Atoka High School in 1975. Although his sights were still on Hollywood, at his father's insistence, he applied and was accepted into Oklahoma State University as a theatre arts major. Working with props and make-up for various productions, Matthew eagerly absorbed the educational tools being given.

Matthew finally arrived in Hollywood in 1977. In 1978 he applied and was accepted into Joe Blasco's Make-up Center --- the premier academy responsible for training many of the film and television industry's elite make-up artists. "From the very beginning, Matthew showed exceptional talent!" claims Blasco, whose own career as a top make-up artist turned educator, has been instrumental in graduating Academy Award winners. "I instinctively knew that Matthew had what it takes to become a success in this business. His dedication to the art form and rapid ability to master the craft led me to hire him as an instructor following his graduation from my school in 1978. He stayed on-staff until his own popularity as a working make-up artist became too demanding."
Matthew credits Joe Blasco with his professional start in the industry. "I was a sponge, absorbing every ounce of knowledge I could. Whether learning the techniques of beauty make-up or casting molds and working with prosthetics, I wanted to be as versatile as I could." Today, Matthew is a veteran voice to up-and-coming artists hoping to find their own niche in the industry. "If you want to be a working make-up artist, then you need to learn and perfect all areas of the craft."

Matthew's professional career began on low-budget projects that taught him to think quick on his feet. His first major success was on “Edward Scissorhands” in 1990. Sixteen years later, Matthew has accumulated an impressive list of credits and an equally impressive genre of box office successes including: “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” earning him his first Oscar in 1992; “Schindler’s List,” giving him another nomination in 1993; creating Arnold's pregnancy stomach in the comedy spoof “Junior;” tackling special make-up effects for “Outbreak,” “Congo,” “Primal Fear,” and aging James Woods to 72 in “Ghosts of Mississippi,” which earned him his 3rd Oscar nomination in 1996.

Aging has become one of Matthew's strongest calling cards and an area of make-up effects that's definitely challenging. His fascination with artificially making someone young look old prompted him to research more viable methods, such as with gelatin, which was first used in the 1930's but later abandoned when the hot lights caused it to melt. With today's less intense lighting and faster film, Matthew has resurrected the nearly-translucent substance, which when applied looks and moves like real skin. "I've made it a part of my craft to see how skin moves. I'm intrigued with how women and men age differently. Both get jowls and tend to get that fold of skin over the top lid of the eyes and bags under the eyes. However, men's ear lobes get longer and women's skin gets creepy and translucent."

Matthew's expertise in this highly-specialized area of make-up effects created a vast field of job opportunities in both film and TV --- HBO's “Citizen Cohn,” starring James Woods and earning him his first Emmy in 1993. Another nomination followed in 1997 for “Miss Evers’ Boys.” Two more nominations were earned in 1998 --- TNT's “Wallace” and ABC's “Oliver Twist” and in 1999 for his work on TNT's “Houdini.” In 2000, Matthew was the recipient of his Local's first annual Local 706 Make-up and Hair Award for his work on ABC's “The Beat Goes On.”

In 2000, Matthew was hired on “X-Files” for special make-up and prosthetic designs. A coup to his already long list of credits, Matthew entered the show's 8th season and promptly won an Emmy in 2001 for the episode, “DeadAlive.” Within weeks of the show's final airing (May, 2002), Matthew was hired to work on CBS's “C.S.I. Miami” and “Presidio Med.” Even with a demanding schedule, Matthew found time to work on TNT's “Door-to-Door,” which earned him an Emmy in 2003 and USA Network's “Rudy Giuliani Story,” earning him yet another nomination. In 2006, Matthew took home his fourth Emmy for his work in HBO's final episode of “Six Feet Under.” With a full film and TV schedule, Matthew continues his work on “C.S.I.” and “Navy: NCIS” (CBS).

His impressive list of film credits include such box office hits as “The Perfect Storm;” creating Brendan Fraser's many character looks in “Bedazzled;” “Pay it Forward” with Kevin Spacey; Universal's action film “The Fast and the Furious;” “Red Dragon,” “Cradle to the Grave,” Fox’s “Daredevil;” “Anchorman,” “The Punisher,” “House of D” with Robin Williams; “Collateral,” “Skeleton Key,” “Meet the Fockers,” “Monster-in-Law,” “Polar Express,” “The Omen,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Poseidon,” “Epic Movie” and “Love in the Time of Cholera.”

One of Matthew's greatest challenges is with the hit Broadway show “Wicked,” creating the prosthetic face masks for the production's various characters. Balancing his film and TV projects, Matthew continues his work for the show's Broadway, U.S. tour, Japan and Los Angeles productions.

In 1999, Matthew conducted a 3-day seminar on advanced prosthetics for Screen Training Ireland” in Dublin and in June, 2000 was a featured guest lecturer aboard the Q.E.II.

He's appeared on a wide variety of TV shows including Discovery Channel's “Mega, Mega Movie Magic” where he aged a 12-year-old girl into an 80-year-old woman!, and BBC's “Talk of the Town,” a highly-rated and popular London-based magazine show. He's also been interviewed for Turner Entertainment Report, E! Entertainment News, The Morning Show, FX Dailies, CNN, Good Day LA, and Japan’s “Ch. 5 News Network.”

MATT KUTCHER (Special Effects Supervisor)

MATT KUTCHER (Special Effects Supervisor) has quickly gone from being one of the most in-demand Special Effects Supervisors in the industry to co-producer and director. His talents have extended far beyond pyrotechnics, crashes, rigging and squib hits. His credits cover the gambit of commercials, music videos, documentaries, episodic television, reality TV, cable (HBO, Disney Channel, Discovery, etc.), independent features and large studio films.

As a special effects coordinator or supervisor, Kutcher’s feature film credits include the upcoming “21,” “The Tribe” and “The Death and Life of Bobby Z,” as well as recent releases “Blades of Glory,” “Home of the Brave,” “The Dead Girl,” “The Marine,” “Crank,” “Into the Blue,” “Monster-in-Law,” “Suspect Zero,” “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!,” “Just Married,” “Joy Ride,” “The Mexican,” and “In Dreams.”
Kutcher rapidly went from being a coordinator for other top effects supervisors, to supervising his own crew (one show at a time), to now supervising multiple effects crews at once, all under his Spectrum Effects banner.

Matt's work on "reality TV" started when he was asked to consult on various shows, including “Rivals” and “The Chamber.” This led him to the entire first season of NBC's "Dog Eat Dog" in 2002, for which he conceived of and designed all the game play, and fabricated each stunt with his Spectrum Effects crew. This show led to additional offers and his involvement with shows such as “Culture Shock,” “The Next Action Hero” and “Winner Take All” (which Matt also co-created and co-executive produced).

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN SYNOPSIS

Next stop…death.

When Leon Kaufman’s (Bradley Cooper) latest body of work – a collection of provocative, nighttime studies of the city and its inhabitants – earns the struggling photographer interest from prominent art gallerist Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields), she propels him to get grittier and show the darker side of humanity for his upcoming debut at her downtown art space.

Believing he’s finally on track for success, Leon’s obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of serial killer Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), the subway murderer who stalks late-night commuters – ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.

With his concerned girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb) fearing for his life, Leon’s relentless fascination with Mahogany lures him further and further into the bowels of the subways and ultimately into an abyss of pure evil – inadvertently pulling Maya right along with him.

Horror thriller THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN stars Bradley Cooper (WEDDING CRASHERS, TV’s “Alias,”), Leslie Bibb (the upcoming TRICK R’ TREAT, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY), Tony Curran, Brooke Shields (“Nip/Tuck”), Roger Bart (HOSTEL: PART II, TV’s “Desperate Housewives”), and Vinnie Jones (X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, SNATCH). Also starring are Barbara Eve Harris (TV’s “Prison Break”), Peter Jacobson (GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK) and UFC mixed martial arts fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN is directed by critically acclaimed Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (VERSUS, AZUMI, SKY HIGH) in his American debut, and based on legendary horror writer Clive Barker’s popular, eponymous short story from his classic Books of Blood collection. The screenplay was adapted by Jeff Buhler.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN Cast Filmmakers

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN

Cast

Bradley Cooper Leon
Leslie Bibb Maya
Brooke Shields Susan Hoff
Vinnie Jones Mahogany
Roger Bart Jurgis
Tony Curran Driver
Barbara Eve Harris Detective Lynn Hadley
Peter Jacobson Otto
Stephanie Mace Leigh Cooper
Ted Raimi Randle Cooper
NorA Erika Sakaki
Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson Guardian Angel
Dan Callahan Troy Taleveski
Donnie Smith Station Cop

Filmmakers

Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Screenplay by Jeff Buhler
Based on the short story by Clive Barker
Produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Clive Barker, Jorge Saralegui, Eric Reid, Richard Wright
Executive Producers Joe Daley, Anthony DiBlasi, David Scott Rubin, Robert McMinn, Fisher Stevens, John Penotti
Executive Producers Peter Block, Jason Constantine
Director of Photography Jonathan Sela
Production Designer Clark Hunter
Edited by Toby Yates
Costume Designer Christopher Lawrence
Music by Robb Williamson, Johannes Kobilke
Co-Producers Beth DePatie, James McQuaide
Casting Directors Nancy Nayor Battino, C.S.A, Kelly Wagner

JULIE WALTERS as Rosie Rice, MERYL STREEP as Donna Sheridan and CHRISTINE BARANSKI as Tanya Chesham-Leigh

Mamma Mia!

JULIE WALTERS as Rosie Rice, MERYL STREEP as Donna Sheridan and CHRISTINE BARANSKI as Tanya Chesham-Leigh in the musical romantic comedy that celebrates mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found--"Mamma Mia!"

Genre: Musical Romantic Comedy

Cast: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd

Screenplay by: Catherine Johnson

Based on the Musical MAMMA MIA! With Music by: ABBA

Producers: Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman

Executive Producers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson
Movie Synopsis
PIERCE BROSNAN as Sam Carmichael and MERYL STREEP as Donna Sheridan in the musical romantic comedy that celebrates mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found--"Mamma Mia!" Photo Credit: Peter Mountain. Copyright: © 2007 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical that has been seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and 8 languages around the world. Bringing the timeless lyrics and melodies of iconic super group ABBA to movie audiences, Summer 2008 is the season for Mamma Mia!

The three women who created the worldwide smash stage hit--global producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd--repeat their roles in bringing this joyful, musical story to the big screen. The Mamma Mia! film is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman.

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper join Streep in this celebration of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads.

An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna (Streep) is about to let go of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends--practical and no-nonsense Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski)--from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.

On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S." to "Money, Money, Money" and "Take a Chance on Me," Mamma Mia! is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

Release date: July 11, 2008

Genre: Action-Thriller

Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Luke Goss

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Screenplay by: Guillermo del Toro

Story by: Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola

Based Upon the Dark Horse Comic by: Mike Mignola

Produced by: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson

Executive Producer: Chris Symes

With a signature blend of action, humor and character-based spectacle, the saga of the world's toughest, kitten-loving hero from Hell continues to unfold in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Bigger muscle, badder weapons and more ungodly villains arrive in an epic vision of imagination from Oscar®-nominated director Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy).

After an ancient truce existing between humankind and the invisible realm of the fantastic is broken, hell on Earth is ready to erupt. A ruthless leader who treads the world above and the one below defies his bloodline and awakens an unstoppable army of creatures. Now, it's up to the planet's toughest, roughest superhero to battle the merciless dictator and his marauders. He may be red. He may be horned. He may be misunderstood. But when you need the job done right, it's time to call in Hellboy (Ron Perlman).

Along with his expanding team in the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense -- pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), aquatic empath Abe (Doug Jones) and protoplasmic mystic Johann -- the BPRD will travel between the surface strata and the unseen magical one, where creatures of fantasy become corporeal. And Hellboy, a creature of two worlds who's accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons him.

Eagle Eye Synopsis and Cast

Eagle Eye

Open Date: August 8, 2008
DreamWorks Pictures
Executive Producer Edward McDonnell
Produced by Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci Pat Crowley
Story by Dan McDermott
Screenplay by Travis Wright & John Glenn and Hillary Seitz
Directed by D.J. Caruso

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton

Synopsis: "Eagle Eye" is a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. Two unsuspecting Americans are separately drawn into a conspiracy by a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. By the time they discover her frightening identity, they have become her unwitting accomplices in a diabolical assassination plot.

Release: August 8, 2008

JOHN RATZENBERGER (John) is an accomplished director, producer

JOHN RATZENBERGER (John) is an accomplished director, producer and multi-Emmy Award® nominated actor with notable credentials as an entrepreneur and humanitarian. While he is best known to international audiences as postman Cliff Clavin on “Cheers,” for which he garnered two Emmy nominations, Ratzenberger is the only actor to voice a role in all of the Disney•Pixar films. Indeed, his characters have been memorable: the charming and witty Hamm the piggy bank in “Toy Story” (reprised in “Toy Story 2” and the upcoming “Toy Story 3”), P.T. Flea in “A Bug’s Life,” Yeti the snow monster in “Monsters, Inc.,” a school of Moonfish in “Finding Nemo,” a philosophical character named Underminer in “Incredibles,” a Mac-truck in “Cars,” and Mustafa, the head waiter in “Ratatouille.”

A former carpenter, archery instructor, carnival performer and oyster boat crewman, Ratzenberger was raised in Bridgeport, Conn. An English literature major at Sacred Heart University, he starred in one-man shows and directed others after graduation. Ratzenberger spent a decade in England as co-founder of the improvisational duo Sal’s Meat Market, earning acclaim across Europe and a grant from the British Arts Council. Early in his career, he appeared in more than 22 motion pictures, including “A Bridge Too Far,” “Superman,” “Gandhi” and “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” Ratzenberger also starred in the Granada TV series “Small World,” and cut his teeth as a producer and writer for the BBC, Granada TV and several prestigious theater companies.

In 1982, Ratzenberger auditioned for a role on “Cheers,” suggesting to creators that they consider adding a know-it-all bar regular. The character of Cliff Clavin was brought to life, and the “Cheers” team rewrote the pilot to include him. During 11 seasons on “Cheers,” Ratzenberger improvised many of his lines, helping bring freshness and enduring popularity to a show that earned 28 Emmy Awards®. With “Cheers” still airing in worldwide syndication, Cliff Clavin remains one of television’s most beloved characters.

Ratzenberger has reprised his role of Cliff Clavin in “Frasier,” “The Simpsons,” “Blossom,” “Wings,” “St. Elsewhere” and eight NBC specials. The accomplished character actor has also appeared on “8 Simple rules,” “That ‘70s Show,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Love Boat,” “Magnum P.I.” and “Hill Street Blues.” Among his numerous TV movies are starring roles in “The Pennsylvania Miners Story” for ABC, “A Fare To Remember,” “Remember Wenn,” PBS Masterpiece Theater’s “The Good Soldier," and the BBC’s “Song of a Sourdough” and the “Detectives.” Razenberger’s big-screen animation success extends to the small screen in the long-running TBS series “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” and “The New Adventures of Captain Planet.” Recently, he was a fan favorite on the hit ABC show “Dancing With The Stars.”

Ratzenberger is currently making the film-festival rounds, promoting "The Village Barbershop," winner of the Audience Choice Award at the Cinequest Festival. He recently kicked off season five of his popular Travel Channel series “John Ratzenberger’s Made in America.” Ratzenberger created the show in 2004 to showcase American-made products, a cause for which he has been very active. Ratzenberger’s non-profit organization, Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Foundation, is positioned to restore esteem and dignity to the manual and industrial arts, and to inspire the next generation of American artisans, inventors, engineers, repairmen and skilled workers.

FRED WILLARD (Shelby Forthright) kicked off his career as part of Chicago's renowned The Second City

FRED WILLARD (Shelby Forthright) kicked off his career as part of Chicago's renowned The Second City. His improvisational performance in the film “Best in Show” earned him the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, the American Comedy Award for Funniest Performance by a Supporting Actor, nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the New York Film Critics and The National Film Critics Society, and the Official Selection Award from AFI.

Willard’s credits on the small screen include his most recent role alongside Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton in the FOX comedy “Back to You.” He received three Emmy Award® nominations for his recurring role on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and received a Daytime Emmy Award Nomination for Best Day Time Talk Show host for "What's Hot What's Not." He co-starred in Norman Lear's innovative cult classic talk-show satire “Fernwood 2Night” and has had recurring roles on “Ally McBeal,” “The Simpsons” and “Mad About You.” Additionally, Willard counts more than 90 appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

On the big screen, Willard earned an American Comedy Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination for Funniest Supporting Actor for his role in “Waiting for Guffman.” His film credits also include “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Roxanne,” “The Wedding Planner,” “How High,” “American Wedding,” “A Mighty Wind” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”

Willard has several stage roles to his credit, including off-Broadway performances in “Little Murders,” directed by Alan Arkin, and “Arf,” directed by Richard Benjamin. His regional roles include “Call Me Madam” in Chicago and the musicals “Promises, Promises,” with Jason Alexander, and “Anything Goes” with Rachel York, both in Los Angeles. He starred in Wendy Wasserstein's “Isn't It Romantic,” and off Broadway in “Elvis and Juliet,” which was written by his wife Mary Willard. “Fred Willard: Alone at Last!” – a one-man show with a cast of 12 -- received two Los Angeles Artistic Director Awards for Best Comedy and Best Production.

JEFF GARLIN's (Captain) talent encompasses writing, producing, directing, acting

JEFF GARLIN's (Captain) talent encompasses writing, producing, directing, acting and performing stand-up comedy.

Garlin both co-stars and executive produces the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The unique comedy stars "Seinfeld" creator Larry David with Garlin portraying his loyal manager. The critically acclaimed series has won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award® for Best Comedy, The Danny Thomas Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild of America, and the AFI Comedy Series of the Year award.

Born and raised in Chicago and then South Florida, Garlin studied filmmaking and began performing stand-up comedy while at the University of Miami. He has toured the country as a stand-up comedian, is an alumnus of Chicago's Second City Theatre, and has written and starred in three critically acclaimed solo shows ("I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With," "Uncomplicated" and "Concentrated"). Garlin recently had his first film "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With" released to critical acclaim. Garlin has also directed "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and both Jon Stewart ("Unleavened") and Denis Leary ("Lock-n-Load") in their HBO specials.

Garlin has extensive feature acting credits, including a starring role opposite Eddie Murphy in comedy "Daddy Day Care." He recently completed the Fox Atomic Comedy “The Rocker” opposite Rainn Wilson and Christina Applegate.

PETER GABRIEL co-founded the group Genesis in 1966

Multiple Grammy Award® -winning musician PETER GABRIEL co-founded the group Genesis in 1966. Together, they made seven albums before Gabriel left the group in 1975. He returned to music a year later and has since made 11 solo albums, including hit singles like “Shock the Monkey,” “Sledgehammer,” “Big Time” and “In Your Eyes.” Gabriel has also completed film soundtrack works, including “Birdy,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Rabbit Proof Fence.” His “Sledgehammer” video has been voted best video of all time, and his interactive work “Eve,” won the Milia D’Or for Multimedia.
The musician, entrepreneur and activist is a recipient of the Man of Peace award, presented by the Nobel Peace Laureates, and the Chevalier dans Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has received various lifetime achievement awards and BT’s Digital Music Pioneer Award.

Gabriel founded WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance) in 1980, presenting more than 150 festivals in more than 40 countries. Additionally, the WOMAD Foundation has provided education and workshops to many schools. Gabriel’s human rights work includes coordinating and participating in the 1988 Human Rights Now Tour with Amnesty International. He co-founded Witness.org in 1989 to give cameras and computers to human rights activists. Witness pioneered the adoption of video and online technologies in human rights campaigning. The Hub has just been launched, providing a platform for human rights video from all over the world (a YouTube for Human Rights). In 2000, Gabriel co-founded the Elders.org with Richard Branson, which Nelson Mandela launched in 2007. His business interests have been in the field of music, media and technology. In 1987, he founded the Real World group of companies: Real World Studios, Real World Records, and later Real World Multi Media and Real World Films. Gabriel co-founded OD2 (On Demand Distribution) in 1999, which became the leading European platform provider for the distribution of online music. In 2005, Gabriel acquired Solid State Logic with David Engelke, the world’s leading manufacturer of mixing consoles for music recording, broadcast and post-production. He also co-founded thefilter.com and We7.com.

THOMAS NEWMAN (Composer) is building on an amazing family tradition in Hollywood

Moving effortlessly from drama to sharp satire to period classics to animation, THOMAS NEWMAN (Composer) is building on an amazing family tradition in Hollywood, with a varied body of work that has earned the praise of filmmakers ranging from Robert Altman to Gillian Armstrong. To date, Newman has received eight Academy Award® nominations for his film work: he was the only double nominee in 1994’s Oscar race, receiving nominations for both “Little Women” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” and he has since received nominations for his scores from “Unstrung Heroes,” “American Beauty,” “Road to Perdition,” “Finding Nemo,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and most recently, “The Good German.” Newman also won an Emmy Award® for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for HBO’s award-winning drama “Six Feet Under.”

Since the beginning of sound film, the Newman name has been an integral part of the evolution of film scoring. Newman is the youngest son of the legendary Alfred Newman, a nine-time Academy Award® winner and 45-time nominee, who as musical director of 20th Century Fox from the mid-30s to the early 60s was responsible for overseeing or composing all of the music created for more than 200 films. Uncle Lionel was a composer and studio music director with more than 50 scores to his credit, and uncle Emil was also a conductor with more than four dozen film score credits. Sister Maria is an acclaimed concert violinist, brother David has scored more than 60 films, and cousin Randy is a much-beloved pop songwriter and film composer who scored Pixar’s first four features.

Newman studied composition and orchestration at USC, completing his academic work at Yale. His greatest mentor, Broadway's Stephen Sondheim was deeply impressed with Newman's originality and championed one of his earliest works, the musical theater piece “Three Mean Fairy Tales,” which received a workshop production courtesy of the Stuart Ostrow Foundation.

Newman also won the support of a young New York casting agent, Scott Rudin, who brought Newman aboard director James Foley's 1984 film “Reckless” as a musical assistant. Newman's initiative on the project soon elevated him to the position of composer, and at age 29 he had successfully scored his first film.

Newman's reputation for originality and for intensifying mood and character grew rapidly with such films as “Desperately Seeking Susan,” “The Lost Boys,” “Scent of a Woman,” “Citizen Cohn,” and more than 40 other major titles, including “Meet Joe Black,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “Up Close and Personal,” “Phenomenon,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “In the Bedroom,” “Pay It Forward,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Red Corner,” “How to Make an American Quilt,” “The Green Mile,” “Jarhead,” “Cinderella Man,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” and more recently, “Little Children” and “Towelhead.” Newman also composed the music for HBO’s acclaimed six-hour miniseries “Angels in America,” directed by Mike Nichols. He was commissioned to create a unique seven-minute symphonic piece, “Reach Forth Our Hands,” for the city of Cleveland commemorating their bicentennial in 1996.

LINDSEY COLLINS (Co-Producer) joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1997

LINDSEY COLLINS (Co-Producer) joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1997, and has worked in a variety of production capacities on such films as “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Finding Nemo” and “Ratatouille.” She also provided the voice of the character Mia in the 2006 Pixar release “Cars.”

Prior to joining Pixar, Collins worked at Disney Feature Animation for three years, managing creative teams on the films “Pocahontas,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Hercules.”

Collins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She currently resides in the Oakland, California, with her husband and two children.

JIM MORRIS (Producer/Executive Vice President, Production, Pixar Animation Studios)

JIM MORRIS (Producer/Executive Vice President, Production, Pixar Animation Studios) joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2005. Morris is responsible for managing the production of the Studio’s features, shorts, DVD content and theme park activities. He also oversees various production departments at Pixar, including Story, Art, Editorial, Animation, Shading, Lighting and Technical Direction.

Prior to joining Pixar, Morris held a range of key positions in various divisions of Lucasfilm Ltd. He served as President of Lucas Digital Ltd., and managed its two divisions, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound. As ILM’s General Manager for more than ten years, he supervised a staff of over 1400 artists and technicians, and guided the largest visual effects facility in the entertainment industry.

During Morris’ tenure, ILM created the groundbreaking, Academy Award®-winning visual effects in “Jurassic Park,” “Death Becomes Her,” and “Forrest Gump.” Other notable projects completed under his management include “Mission: Impossible,” “Twister,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Star Wars: Episode I and II,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Minority Report,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Master and Commander,” and the first three “Harry Potter” films.

Morris joined ILM in 1987 as a producer of visual effects for films and commercials. He was subsequently promoted to ILM’s executive in charge of production, where he supervised all of the company’s production. “The Abyss,” which earned an Oscar® for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, and “Always,” are among his producing credits.

Before joining ILM, Morris was executive producer at Arnold & Associates, where he oversaw the company’s three offices and produced national commercials for clients such as Atari and Chevron. Prior to that, Morris was executive producer at One Pass, where he headed the commercial production department. He also served in the production departments at J. Walter Thompson, and Foote, Cone & Belding in San Francisco. Morris worked as a producer and director for PBS affiliate WCNY-TV, and began his career as a cameraman and editor at NBC affiliate WSYR-TV.

Morris is the recipient of both the Producers Guild of America Digital 50 Award and the Visual Effects Society Board of Directors Award. He currently serves as president of the San Francisco Film Commission. Morris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in film and a Master of Science degree in television and radio from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

ANDREW STANTON (Director/Screenwriter/Vice President, Creative, Pixar Animation Studios)

ANDREW STANTON (Director/Screenwriter/Vice President, Creative, Pixar Animation Studios) has been a major creative force at Pixar Animation Studios since 1990, when he became the second animator and ninth employee to join the company’s elite group of computer animation pioneers. As Vice President, Creative, he currently leads the initiatives of and oversees all features and shorts development of the Studio.

Stanton made his directorial debut with the record-shattering “Finding Nemo,” an original story of his that he also co-wrote. The film garnered Stanton two Academy Award® nominations (Best Original Screenplay & Best Animated Film), and “Finding Nemo” was awarded an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of 2003, the first such honor Pixar Animation Studios has received for a full-length feature.

Stanton was one of the four screenwriters to receive an Oscar® nomination in 1996 for his contribution to “Toy Story” and went on to receive credit as a screenwriter on every subsequent Pixar film – “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo.” Additionally, he served as co-director on “A Bug’s Life,” and was the executive producer of “Monsters, Inc.” and the 2006 Academy Award-winning “Ratatouille.”

A native of Rockport, Mass., Stanton earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Character Animation from California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts), where he completed two student films. In the 1980s, he launched his professional career in Los Angeles animating for Bill Kroyer’s Kroyer Films studio, and writing for Ralph Bakshi’s production of “Mighty Mouse, The New Adventures.”

WALL•E’s movements are more traditional with motors, gears and cogs

“She has this gracefulness and elegance in the way
she moves which you’d expect in a technically advanced robot.”
~ Angus MacLane, Directing Animator

Animating EVE also posed its share of challenges for the group. With only two blinking eyes and four moving parts, she required a lot of advanced thought and just the right subtle movement. Designed to look like a futuristic robot, EVE is the epitome of elegance and simplicity.

“We wanted her to be graceful,” says Stanton. “There are different ways to convey what is masculine and what is feminine in this world and we felt that she should be fluid, seamless, she should have attractive feminine qualities.”

MacLane explains, “While WALL•E’s movements are more traditional with motors, gears and cogs, EVE is this sleek egg-shaped robot who moves through the use of magnets. Every frame and composition has to be cheated ever so slightly so that it’s pleasing to the eye. She has this gracefulness and elegance in the way she moves which you’d expect in a technically advanced robot.”

Hunter adds, “Every plane change, every angle, and even the way her head curved around to the back when rotated had to be posed in a certain way to make it feel right. Everything with her had to be really, really subtle. Basically, she consists of only four parts, and two eyes that blink. We had a lot of discussions about how she would move using her arms. We treated her almost like a drawing in some ways and came up with just the right poses to express emotion. It’s pretty amazing how much you really read into her.”

In addition to some of the other main robot characters – Auto, M-O, the reject bots, among others – the character design team created a catalogue of robots and crowds of up to 10,000 humans to populate the Axiom. A modular robot system was devised using a series of different robot heads that could be combined with a variety of arms and bodies. Painted various colors and otherwise differentiated, countless robots were created.

Co-producer Collins notes, “We created a library of characters with interchangeable parts so that we could do a build-a-bot program. We could choose from different kinds of treads and arms. You could swap them to create different silhouettes and characters. We had close to a hundred variations and about 25 different basic silhouettes that we could mix and match to make the world seem fuller.”

MacLane credits Stanton with inspiring the animators to do their best work. “What makes Andrew such a successful director,” says MacLane, “is his ability to see the film in its entirety at all times. He’s able to zero in on what you’re working on and suggest how to make it better for the sequence. His sense of story is so strong and he knows how to communicate that to the animators. He likened good storytelling to telling a joke. He’s ultimately trying to tell a really good joke over a period of nearly 90 minutes. We have all these building blocks that evoke emotions and he’s trying to figure out the best way to tell it. Our job in animation is to make sure we’re communicating clearly to the audience and that it supports his ideas for the story.”

Stanton sums up his appreciation for the animators on the film. “They were just such champions of this movie, and they really loved the concept, and particularly the challenges and the limitations that we had put upon ourselves for designing all the characters the way we did. They got it from the very beginning.”

Early in the film, we had designed WALL•E with elbows

DO ROBOTS HAVE ELBOWS?

One of the big points of discussion in creating the character of WALL•E was whether or not he should have elbows.

“Early in the film, we had designed WALL•E with elbows,” explains supervising animator Steve Hunter. “This gave him the ability to bend his arms. As animators, we were fighting for it thinking he’s got to be able to touch his face, hang off a spaceship, and have a wide range of motion. But when you really looked at it, it didn’t feel right. He’s designed to do a task, which is to pull trash into his belly. Why would he have elbows? It didn’t make any sense. So with Andrew’s help and an inspired idea by directing animator Angus MacLane, we gave him a track around his side which allowed him to position his arms differently and give him a range of motion. It helped us flesh out the character a lot more. Something like elbows may seem kind of trivial but the way we solved the problem makes you believe in WALL•E more because we didn’t take the easy way out.”

Despite the relative simplicity of his movements, animating WALL•E proved to be one of the toughest assignments yet for the animation team. According to supervising animator Barillaro, “WALL•E has a lot of different controls including about 50 for the head alone. He’s not organic like a human. We had to boil his movements down to their bare essence to make them effective. The first thing the animators wanted to do when they got a scene with him was to do all their tricks like bouncing his head around. They were trying to get too broad and too human. We had to keep reminding them to pare things down and go as simply as possible with the animation. Simpler is definitely better in this case.”

With WALL•E’s voice being such an important part of his personality, the animators worked in close concert with sound designer Ben Burtt to inspire one another. Typically, the animators would work with the rough designs to prepare test animation. Burtt would then add WALL•E’s voice, and send it back to the animators for another pass. Voice and animation would get edited together, and out of that would come the final performance.

In ‘WALL•E,’ the animators are really operating at the height of their craft

“In ‘WALL•E,’ the animators are really operating at the height of their craft to be able to convey emotions and complex thoughts with so few words. It’s more about being able to touch people through the animation.”
~ Ed Catmull, president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios

One of the biggest challenges facing the animators was the need to communicate emotions and actions clearly without being able to rely on traditional dialogue.

“We felt we could do it with non-traditional dialogue, maintaining the integrity of the character,” says Stanton. “In real life, when characters can’t speak – a baby, a pet – people tend to infer their own emotional beliefs onto them: ‘I think it’s sad,’ ‘she likes me’ – it’s very engaging for an audience.”

According to Ed Catmull, president of Walt Disney and Pi