Doubt Movie Synopsis

DOUBT Synopsis

John Patrick Shanley brings his play DOUBT to the screen, in a story about the quest for truth, the forces of change, and the devastating consequences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction.

It’s 1964, St. Nicholas in the Bronx. A vibrant, charismatic priest, Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is trying to upend the school’s strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline. The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and, indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. But when Sister James (Amy Adams), a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius is galvanized to begin a crusade to both unearth the truth and expunge Flynn from the school. Now, without a shred of proof or evidence except her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn, a battle that threatens to tear apart the church and school with devastating consequences.

DOUBT was written for the screen and directed by John Patrick Shanley. The film stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. The film is produced by Scott Rudin and Mark Roybal, with Celia Costas as Executive Producer. Director of Photography is Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC; Production Designer is David Gropman; Editor is Dylan Tichenor, ACE; Costume Designer is Ann Roth; Music is by Howard Shore; Casting is by Ellen Chenoweth; Sound Mixing is by Danny Michael, CAS, Lee Dichter, CAS and Ron Bochar, CAS; Sound Editing is by Ron Bochar.

Twilight: Everything You Want to Know

High-school student Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), always a bit of a misfit, doesn't expect life to change much when she moves from sunny Arizona to rainy Washington state. Then she meets Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a handsome but mysterious teen whose eyes seem to peer directly into her soul. Edward is a vampire whose family does not drink blood, and Bella, far from being frightened, enters into a dangerous romance with her immortal soulmate.

Director Catherine Hardwicke brings a worldwide literary phenomenon to life on the big screen in Twilight, the story of the passionate and unexpected romance between a teenage girl and a mysterious and irresistible vampire. Kristen Stewart (Into the Wild) and Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) star as a post-modern Romeo and Juliet in an action-filled and suspenseful adventure with a supernatural bite.

Based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight focuses on two young lovers, swept away by destiny, who destroy the delicate balance between the hunter and the hunted with dangerous consequences. The film also stars Taylor Lautner ("My Own Worst Enemy"), Billy Burke ("24"), Peter Facinelli ("Damages," The Scorpion King), Elizabeth Reaser ("The Ex List"), Nikki Reed (Thirteen), Ashley Green ("Desire"), Jackson Rathbone ("Beautiful People"), Kellan Lutz (Prom Night), Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down), Edi Gathegi (Gone, Baby, Gone) and Rachelle Lefevre ("Swingtown").

Twilight is directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) from a script by Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up, "Dexter").The film is produced by Wyck Godfrey (I, Robot; The Nativity Story), Greg Mooradian (Drumline, The Stepfather), and Mark Morgan (Agent Cody Banks, The Wedding Planner). Karen Rosenfelt (The Devil Wears Prada, Alvin and the Chipmunks) is the executive producer.

Director of photography is Elliot Davis (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown, Out of Sight,). The editor is Nancy Richardson (Step Up, Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown). Wendy Chuck is the costume designer (Sideways). Original music is by Carter Burwell (Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men). Summit Entertainment presents a Temple Hill production in association with Maverick Films/Imprint Entertainment. Twilight was filmed on location in Oregon.

A cultural phenomenon with a dedicated global fan base eagerly awaiting its first screen adaptation, Stephenie Meyer's four-book series has spent a combined total of 91 weeks at No. 1 on The New York Times best seller list. The books have sold 17 million copies worldwide and translation rights have been licensed in 37 countries. There are more than 350 fan sites devoted to the series. Twilight was chosen as The New York Times Editor's Choice, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, Amazon's "Best Book of the Decade... So Far", Teen People's Hot List Pick, The American Library Association's Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults and Top Ten Books for Reluctant Readers.

When Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart) mother starts traveling with her new husband, the 17-yearold leaves her home in Phoenix and returns to live with her father in tiny Forks, Washington. After the endless sun of Arizona, Forks' misty grey climate is quite exotic to Bella-as are her new classmates, the Cullen family. Impossibly good-looking and extremely private, they are unlike anyone she has ever met- in more ways than she realizes.

The Cullens are a family of immortal blood drinkers. For decades-centuries for some of them- they have disciplined themselves to consume only animal blood, living the vampire equivalent of a "vegetarian" lifestyle. They hide under the Olympic Peninsula's cloudy sky, living as normal a life as possible and keeping to themselves to protect their secret.

Bella becomes especially fascinated with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), but her new classmate keeps her at arm's length. In truth, his attraction to her is overwhelming and he fears that his vampire nature will overcome his self-control. Bella is the soul mate he has searched 90 years for, but her scent threatens to send him into an uncontrollable feeding frenzy.

Unable to resist spending time with Bella, Edward reveals himself to her in the hope that his secret will repel her, but the teenager only becomes more infatuated. Soon the young couple is inseparable and Edward's internal struggle intensifies in the face of Bella's consuming desire to become one of them.

As Bella discovers more about Edward's world, she throws herself headlong into a thrilling and terrifying romance, attracting the attention of a group of nomadic vampires who lack the Cullens' squeamishness about human blood and target her as their next victim.

Twilight: About the Production

Producer Greg Mooradian of Maverick Films first read Twilight before the young adult novel gained worldwide acclaim-in fact, before it had even been published. "Part of my job as a producer is to scour the world for new material," says Mooradian. "I read a lot of manuscripts prior to their being published. When this one came across my desk, I just couldn't put it down. The premise of a girl falling in love with a vampire just hit me like a ton of bricks. And the book delivered on every level."

What drew Mooradian to the story was not its exoticism, but rather its universality. "There have been thousands of vampire films made," he says. "What sets this apart is the love story. Vampirism in this story is simply a metaphor for teenage lust, for that feeling of 'I want you, but I can't have you.' I thought that was such a wonderful metaphor to express teenage longing.

"It's analogous to any young girl who has the opportunity to date the boy that her parents hope she'll go out with," Mooradian continues. "But then there's that other boy who's mysterious and dark and brooding, and there's such a desire to unlock the secrets behind who and what he is, which in this case is a vampire. And that revelation happens at a point where she's already too far in to withdraw, no matter what the consequences are."

Twilight was the first published work by author Stephenie Meyer, who has gone on to create three additional books in the series, with no sign of slowing down. "As a first-time author, I had no idea what normal is," she says. "I still don't. I had no expectations. I was first approached about the movie before the book had even come out. I didn't expect to hear anything about it until it was on the shelves, if then."

Meyer describes herself as a mom first, then a writer, despite her chart-topping sales and prolific output. "For me, writing this book was so personal," she says. "I was surprised that people responded to it so well. It still amazes me to watch how people get into the characters and how important it is to them. I get e-mails from people who feel like my book has actually changed their lives."

A Brigham Young University graduate with a degree in English literature, Meyer says the idea for Twilight came from a dream. "When I woke up, I wanted to know happened next. That first day I wrote 10 pages. When I finished it, no one was more shocked than me that I had actually finished a book."

As Meyer continued to add volumes to her narrative, Mooradian approached Summit Entertainment with the idea of developing the saga into a series of films. Twilight's novel concept and compelling characters made it an apt candidate.
"The idea of a supernatural fantasy as background for a great tragic love story is a great combination," says producer Wyck Godfrey. "Add to that a best-selling book series, and fans already connected to the characters, and we have a really good foundation to open it up to a new audience that may have never heard of Twilight. I think that once they see it, they're going to respond in the same way as the people who have discovered the books.

"There's a huge amount of danger in this movie," Godfrey continues. "There's also just the excitement of a teenager doing things that are verboten. These are things that people connect to. And not just girls-I think that guys will discover it's dangerous, there's action, there's a thriller element to it, and then, ultimately, that it's cool to be a vampire."

As soon as she read the book, executive producer Karen Rosenfelt says she was immediately intrigued by the "Romeo and Juliet" aspect of the storyline as well as its sustained sexual tension. "I think we all think we're Bella," says the former Paramount Pictures production president. "As a character she's very accessible and identifiable. We all feel outside of the in-group and want to feel we're marching to the beat of our own drummer."

Meyer was excited about the possibility of seeing her work translated to film, but only as long as the filmmakers remained true to the books. "All of us have seen books ruined as movies, and I had a lot of things that I wanted to protect. My stipulations were pretty basic: You can't kill anyone who doesn't die in the book. The Cullens have to all exist by their right names and in their right characters. Things like that. I wanted the groundwork to be there."

The filmmakers were sensitive to her concerns and committed to remaining as faithful to the book as possible. "The book is a bible for so many young girls, we needed to tell the story as written, as much as possible," says Mooradian. "Stephenie loved the script. But at the same time she had some very specific ideas, and we implemented nearly all of them, much to the benefit of the film. For example, we had slightly changed a passage from the book, 'And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." Stephanie suggested we go back to the way it was, because so many girls had tattooed that line on their ankles. I thought she was joking, but no."

The producers tapped Catherine Hardwicke to direct the film. Hardwicke had segued a few years earlier from production designer working on films including Laurel Canyon, Vanilla Sky and Three Kings to writing and directing her debut film, the award-winning Thirteen, a sensitive and controversial look at a troubled teen's relationship with her mother.

"By no means were we exclusively looking at female directors,' says Mooradian. " But the core readership is young females, and we wanted to get somebody who understood that perspective. Catherine has really embraced that age group. She connects well with teenagers, and given her filmography, it was a natural fit. We did feel it was a plus for someone to be able to say that they've walked in the shoes of Bella, in terms of having that first crush on a guy, and that decision to go after the wrong guy, and the consequences that would come thereafter. We were fortunate to have found a great female director, as well as a great female writer to carry out the mission."

Rosenfelt adds: "What Catherine demonstrated with Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown and The Nativity Story-all very different films-is that she can create a world that feels organic and not manufactured. That was really important in bringing Twilight to the screen."

"When I read the book, I was swept away with the whole obsession-that ecstasy," says Hardwicke. "Stephenie writes with such an authentic voice. Twilight had the potential to be so visual and cinematic and to capture that feeling: how it feels to be in love for the first time, and loving somebody so much that you'd literally be willing to turn into a vampire."

Melissa Rosenberg came to the table with considerable experience writing for the film's primary audience of high school age girls. In addition to the television shows "Party of Five" and "The O.C.," Rosenberg wrote the screenplay for Step Up, an enormously successful teen romance between a ballerina and a street dancer, also for Summit Entertainment. She is currently a writer for the provocative Showtime drama "Dexter," whose romantic hero is a serial killer. "Twilight is really the marriage of both my love of writing for teens and the sort of gothic-ness of horror," she says. "When they called me, all they had to say was teens and vampires and I was there."

The book's devoted following put a great deal of pressure to remain true to its spirit, says Rosenberg. "Knowing how important the story is to millions of fans, and how personally they take it, I knew we had to stay very close to the book to win them over. It is a gift to be given such rich source material. I had no intention of ever going anywhere other than the world of the book.

"Twilight is a romance between a girl and the ultimate unavailable boy-a vampire," adds Rosenberg. "The enormous obstacle is he could kill her at any moment. I loved the chemistry between Bella and Edward. That pull is a very universal experience. Anyone who has been a 17-year-old girl knows what it's like to see that wonderfully mysterious and unavailable boy across the room and just feel that longing. The book takes that universal experience to the next level of the fantasy playing out. If I only ever write for teenage girls, I'll be perfectly happy, because when they love something, they embrace it with all of their heart. It's a great audience to write for."

Twilight: About the Cast

Twilight's devoted following has spawned more than 350 websites and cult-like dedication, making casting a delicate process. "If you go on the fan websites, every single person who read the book has already cast the film for you 20 times over," says Mooradian. "We did take a look at their ideas and we decided we were never going to please everybody, so what we had to do was go with our guts. The actors we cast are the actors we feel best embodied these characters.

"It took us forever to cast this movie, but once we found Bella and all the Cullens, I realized we finally had it. When I actually got to see them all together, performing in a scene, it took my breath away, and not because I didn't expect them to work. I did. But I lived with this book for several years. To actually see all the actors in front of me at one time blew me away."

Finding an actress to play Bella was paramount. "We are asking a young girl to carry the weight of a franchise on her shoulders," says Mooradian. "It's an incredible task. We had to find someone to physically match what we wanted her to be, but also somebody with the depth as a performer to be able to hit all the nuances. The list was very short. Kristen Stewart's body of work really speaks for itself. In a strange way, she was almost an easy choice when we really looked at it from that perspective."

Only 17 years old when Twilight filmed, Kristen Stewart has already appeared opposite Jodie Foster in The Panic Room, Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild and Dennis Quaid in Cold Creek Manor.

Stephenie Meyer was immediately impressed with the young star. "Kristen has an amazing number of movies already under her belt," says Meyer. "Bella has a lot of drama going on. Kristen's experience came into play there. She has a devastating vulnerability about her that's so perfect for Bella."

Before auditioning for the film, says Stewart, she was not familiar with the series. "Then suddenly, everywhere I looked, there was something about Twilight. I was, like, how did I miss this? Everybody I knew had read it."

As for playing a literary icon for a generation, Stewart says, "I want everybody to be happy. Everybody's going to see things differently. So many girls are obsessed with the books and want to be Bella, which does make it difficult. I hope, really, really sincerely, that everybody likes it."

Meyer says that casting Edward was the most difficult task, because, "He has to be everything. He has to be beautiful and dangerous and angst-ridden and intelligent. A lot of guys were pretty, but they weren't dangerous. Other guys were dangerous but not pretty enough. Rob Pattinson has both sides."

The onscreen electricity between the two stars was also critical, says Godfrey. "Kristen auditioned with Rob and that was really when people looked at the two of them together and said, 'That's the right package.' Edward's been basically sleepwalking for a hundred years up until Bella enters his life and, and part of the beauty of the story is watching Edward come to life when Bella comes into his life. Our two leads have a wonderful chemistry."

Pattinson, who played Cedric Diggory in two Harry Potter films, says that Edward is caught unaware by his attraction to Bella. "From Edward's perspective, he has nothing, really," says Pattinson. "He's spent his entire life fixated on wanting to be human or die. And then Bella comes into his life and destroys any stability he's been able to create. He initially starts the relationship to test himself. But when he gets to know her realizes this girl has reawakened him to some kind of life."

The actor has tried hard not to let himself be affected by the task of taking on such a beloved character. "It's always an added pressure when you've got a lot of people with their own opinions of something, and everyone who's read the book is going to have an idea of what they expect the film to be like. It kind of makes you a little bit more cautious about maintaining your own take on a character."

The Cullen clan-parents Carlisle and Esme, and adopted "children" Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice and Edward-are unique in the vampire culture. Carlisle was a vampire hunter 300 years ago. He was bitten and transformed while leading an attack. "Carlisle hated what he had become so much that he forced himself not to feed on humans," explains Peter Facinelli, the actor who plays him. "He found he could survive on animals-kind of like a human being living on tofu. It's not quite as appetizing but it provides enough nourishment to get by."

Greg Mooradian says of the Cullens, "Compared to other vampires, they treat their state as a curse, but one that they've learned to manage. If they live this certain way, and they live in a group where they can sort monitor one another, they can do it."

Elizabeth Reaser, Ashley Green, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone and Nikki Reed portray other members of the clan. Each of the actors is keenly aware of the responsibility that goes along with playing characters this well-loved.

"I'm a reader," says Reaser ("Grey's Anatomy"), the movie's Esme Cullen. "Sometimes I have ideas in my head and when they turn into a movie, it can be horrible. Or it can be amazing. So you hope that people will make the leap with you."

There was no script available when Green, who plays Alice Cullen, initially auditioned, so she quickly got hold of the book. "I read it within a day and a half to get ready for the audition," she remembers. "I can see why people are so fanatical about them. It's a great series and the first vampire film that I've come across that concentrates more on the love story than killing and mayhem."

Despite the book's popularity, Lutz ("90210") says he had no idea what he was getting into when he signed on to play Emmett. "I feel quite blessed that Stephanie Meyer wrote Emmett the way he is and I was born the way I am. I really don't have to do much to portray Emmett, and I think the audience and the fans will enjoy that and see that I am really like Emmett in a way. Okay, I don't have the super powers and I can't run up trees and do crazy stuff like that. But I'm a jokester in real life, I love having fun and having such a big family with brothers and sisters."

Rathbone, whose previous credits include roles on television's "The Cleaner," "The O.C." and "Beautiful People," plays conflicted family member Jasper Cullen. "I'm always interested in characters that push me to extremes of my own personality, my own psyche," he says. "The rage element of suppressing all of your natural desires is what attracted me to Jasper. The thing about an iconic character is you have the responsibility to fulfill the shoes of the imagination. A lot of the work is already done. It's from the mind of Stephenie Meyer and it's all laid out there in the books."

In addition to Sarah Clarke (Thirteen) and Ned Ballamy (Lords of Dogtown), Reed is another member of the cast to have worked with Hardwicke previously. In fact, she made her screen debut in Thirteen, which she co-wrote with the director, and later starred in Hardwicke's skateboarding drama Lords of Dogtown. "It's definitely not coincidence that I've worked with Catherine three times now," says the actress.

"We work very well together and we're inspired by each other. Catherine is great one-on-one with actors. She even likes to go through wardrobe, hair and makeup with the actors to make sure that we're all living and breathing the same person."

Twilight's appeal, says Reed, crosses the boundaries of age and gender because of its universal themes. "There's a deeper side. What's amazing to me is that the books appeal to so many different age groups. Both my parents have read all three books. It's very rare that my father and I find ourselves living in the same book world. I think it has a lot of adult themes and ideas like unconditional love that human beings in general long for."

On the other side of the vampire divide lurk three very different lost souls: James, Victoria and Laurent, the nomadic vampires who encroach on Cullen territory and threaten Bella's life. "I don't really think of them as bad vampires," says Meyer. "I think of them as your average vampire. They don't think anything of killing a human because that's how they live."

Edi Gathegi ("House"), who plays Laurent, brings a soupcon of savoir-faire to his role.

"We get to leap far and run fast and kill people, we have super sight-it's kind of thrilling," he says. "Laurent is French and he's 300 years old, so he's got some style and he's got some class. These vampires have been around for a long time. They've got the best fashions, they've read the best books, and they're highly evolved and highly sophisticated superior beings."

Rachelle Lefevre ("Swingtown") plays Victoria, the femme fatale of the nomadic vampires. "I sat down and wrote Catherine a three-page handwritten letter about why I needed to play this part," she confesses. "I talked about how I loved the book, and why I loved vampires so much. I told her that I thought our desire to live forever devalues existence. It's the ultimate 'Be careful what you wish for,' because what gets traded is that everything that had value then has no value. Time doesn't matter; the fragility of your life doesn't matter. You get to live forever, but then you lose the value of life."

The third nomad is more dangerous to Bella than the others combined. James, played by Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down), is a tracker. He hunts for the joy of it and his attention is fixed on Bella, the ultimate prey because she is under the protection of the Cullens. "I love playing bad guys," says Gigandet. "If I had a choice I would always go with the bad guys. There's just more to grasp onto."

Meyer admits to doing very little research on vampire mythology as she was creating her supernatural characters. "I've never been into horror. I haven't read vampire books or watched vampire movies. I really don't know the popular views on them. I just wanted to write about my vampires; I didn't want to taint that with other stories."

But the author has not completely reinvented the creatures, says Mooradian. "It's more a matter of subtle differences. These vampires reflect in the mirror. They can handle the sunlight. It has an effect on them, but it doesn't reduce them to ashes. The stake to the heart doesn't work. She has played with different notions like that, but generally stuck to the mythology of what we perceive to be vampires."

For Lefevre, the biggest difference is dental. "The first thing that always comes to mind is the fangs," she points out. "These vampires don't have any fangs and that is such a classic image. The victims always have the perfect puncture marks and our victims don't look like that. Our victims look like you had to use the incisors you were given. It's messier. And they don't sleep, so there's no lying in the coffin, or hanging upside down in the bat cave."

Godfrey points out that not only are the vampires themselves different, so is Bella's reaction to them. "The contemporary spin that Stephenie put on it is that when Bella finds out Edward is a vampire, her response is more in tune with what I think young adults might feel. We're so used to the gothic portrayal of vampires and the fearful response that humans have to the creatures of the night, and in this, her reaction is "Hmm, that's kind of cool." I think that's part of the fun of it. Stephenie has redefined vampires for a contemporary American world."

Twilight: The Life of a Vampire

From the earliest meetings, costume designer Wendy Chuck had a strong vision for the Cullens' wardrobe. "In the book, the Cullens are described as having immaculate taste," she says. "Making them look different, but still able to blend with the people in Forks was a challenge in itself."

Meyer was happy with the direction the filmmakers took in terms of her characters' clothes. "A lot of people think because you're dealing with vampires, we're talking about floor length leather dusters in black and chokers and whatnot and I knew that was going to be a temptation," says the author. "Catherine was able to say no to that. We talked about light colors and classic designers and things like that."

When Chuck first met with Hardwicke, she pitched some ideas that corresponded with what the director was already thinking. "I just thought, we've seen all that before-the Goth look, the black and the bondage look. Let's have something different for a change. I kept coming back to the idea that a vampire world was one that was caught in time. It was glacial; it was a frozen moment for them. To me it became about reflections and transparencies and white and silver and grey, with highlights of black or a contrast color to use like blue. That's where our palette started and I presented Catherine with some tear sheets. There was one in particular she liked and we thought, 'Oh, those are colors of an Arctic wolf.' We used that as the theme for creating the Cullens' world."

Starting with the idea of vampire as rock star, Chuck began to make slight differentiations in the characters, based on their backgrounds. "Edward is from the Edwardian Era and he wears boots that lace up, trim pants and some really classical shapes and styles of the time. Alice is supposed to be a pixie. I couldn't help but refer in my mind to Alice in Wonderland. She was easier to dress only because of who Ashley is and how great she looks in clothes. "Bella's style was evolutionary. As she becomes more entwined with Edward and the Cullens, she starts to wear more blue."

The nomadic vampires had their own, edgier style of dressing, based on the idea of taking trophies. "We made James the very feral one," says Chuck. "You'll notice that his leather jacket has embellishments of badges and other stuff. He's a killer, and he does it for sport. So he collects these things and he wears them with pride. Rachelle is just so beautiful and perfect for the part of Victoria. We decided that she would have some kind of animal item on her but we didn't want to do leather. Fur didn't seem right and then this sheep's skin came into play and so I rigged it in a way that she could wear it in different ways. Then she's got her hardcore rock star jeans."

"James and Victoria have all these trinkets, all these shiny things that we pick up that clearly belonged to other people," says Lefevre. "I've got this bracelet that initially looks like I took it from a little old lady, but upon closer inspection, it looks more like the kind of thing you would give a little girl. We're full of knickknacks."

Stephenie Meyer selected Forks, Washington, as Bella's hometown after a web search for the rainiest places in the continental United States. It was essential that the Cullens settle in a location that rarely sees direct sunlight, because the sun reveals the Cullens as something other than human. An exhaustive search for the perfect location to replicate the dank, dark and moody community took the filmmakers to Oregon, where weather conditions mirrored those of Forks and the filmmaking community was strong.

"One of things that was so great for us was that the setting for the film became a character in its own right," says Hardwicke. "In this case, the rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula, a diverse blend of climates and natural wonders, is iconic in the film; the moss and the dripping trees, where the Cullens live-which almost feels like a very cool tree house-and the constant, persistent mist and rain."

The 48-day production turned out to be more arduous than the producers expected. "The shoot was really difficult from a physical perspective," says Mooradian. "Oregon had all these great locations, but they weren't always right beside a parking lot .We often had to go deep into the woods and take all of our equipment in there. You've got to be able to create optimal lighting conditions. That aspect of it was very, very difficult-plus we had crazy weather in Portland, where the weather changes four times before lunch. And when you're shooting exteriors that can be a great challenge."

Immaculately outfitted and ensconced in the gloomy Northwest, the actors needed only a little help with their vampire superpowers to complete the transition. Twilight is packed with astonishing stunts designed by second unit director and stunt coordinator Andy Cheng. According to Cheng, the most effective way to stage the extraordinarily acrobatic super-powers possessed by the vampires was through wirework. "Throughout the preparation period, and even during filming, Catherine and I had many discussions about how we would depict the physicality of the vampires. We agreed that they could move really fast when they run, but not at lightning speed. They can jump really far, so their movements are more catlike than anything. Wirework helps tremendously and CGI refines the ragged edges."

Producer Godfrey says of Cheng, "He is the right tool for this job. He's the best. He knows how the rigs work and what you can realistically accomplish. He brings a lot of energy to everything he does, and I think that was important for Catherine. She is somebody who likes to focus on performance and relationships and the love story, so to have somebody she trusted and believed in to give us some of the extraordinary action of the movie was invaluable."

To allow the actors to appear to be running at super-human speed, Cheng used what he calls the Magic Carpet Ride. "The Magic Carpet Ride is a stunt rig that is pulled along the ground and when you're shooting people long-lens or beside them, even if they're running or walking, all you're seeing is their relationship to the background. So, when you're watching the characters walking on it, it looks like their flying across screen, which gives it a supernatural feel."

Sex Drive Movie - About the Story

About the Story

Producer Bob Levy didn’t have to look far to discover the source material for his latest feature film project. Levy is head of the film and television division of Alloy Entertainment, which published All the Way, the young adult novel by Andy Behrens on which Sex Drive is based. Alloy, which was founded by Leslie Morgenstein, also a producer on Sex Drive, has found a unique niche in the entertainment industry. The company previously produced the popular “Gossip Girls” television series and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie franchise, both developed from books that Alloy publishes.

With the novel in hand, the producers’ next step was to find screenwriters capable of translating the story from the page to the big screen. Levy and Morgenstein met with a number of writers before selecting the team of Sean Anders and John Morris to adapt the book into an outrageous and uproarious script that was eventually dubbed Sex Drive.

“Once we met Sean and John and heard their vision of this movie, it was clear sailing,” says Levy. “They came in and blew us out of the room with a take that was a thousand percent smarter, funnier and more real than anything else we heard. They had figured out exactly how to translate the book into a movie.”

Morris and Anders had previously collaborated on the teen-oriented comedy, Never Been Thawed, which became a cult hit on college campuses across the country. From the beginning, they were determined to put their unique stamp on the project. “The film is quite a bit different from the book that Bob sent us,” says Anders, who also directed the film. “But it has the same general premise: Kid drives across the country to lose his virginity. John and I enjoyed it and immediately started talking about how to make it more cinematic and fun and crazy.”

The pair took inspiration for Sex Drive from the films of John Hughes, the auteur of adolescent adventures like Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. “Like Hughes we started with story and characters,” says Anders. “When we felt we had that nailed down, then we would think, how could this be funny? And we would try to make it funny.”

According to Levy, that’s an understatement of the team’s talents. “It’s one thing to be funny—there are a lot of funny writers in Hollywood,” he points out. “These guys are also smart. They’ve created great, original jokes, but they’re also telling a magnificent story filled with really deep, rich characterizations. To find that skill-set in one package is a very rare thing.
“There are people in this business who’ve been pounding away for years,” says the producer. “These guys have only been at it for a short time. Hollywood is the last great meritocracy and their rise has been really meteoric. John and Sean are the real deal.”

Levy describes the plot of Sex Drive as an archetypal human story. “It’s about looking for love in all the wrong places. It’s about thinking what you want is sex and realizing what you need is love.”

That underlying theme is what Levy says makes the film work on many different levels. “It’s smart. It’s stupid. It’s emotional. It’s physical. It’s witty. It’s sexual. It’s about courage and fear. Putting so many different kinds of things together makes the storytelling richer, makes all the jokes funnier and makes you love all the characters even more.”

From the very first meeting, Anders pitched himself to direct the movie as well as script it. Despite having only one previous feature under his belt, he approached the project with the sure hand of a veteran, says Levy. “He really zeroed in on exactly what the tone of this movie should be—a sort of heightened fun reality. To a great extent, the humor depends on a balance between the three kids, who are strongly grounded in reality, and the slightly heightened characters and situations that befall them on the road. But the core of the journey is the real and relatable characters.”

“Of course, the film has a fair share of broad, as well as smart, humor,” observes actor Clark Duke, who plays the unlikely teen Lothario, Lance. “I wouldn’t compare the movie to American Pie so much as to an ‘80s comedy. It’s sort of screwball, but Josh, Amanda and I went at our characters from a naturalistic place. Some of the stuff that happens is ridiculous, in a good way, but the main three characters are going at it from a realistic perspective.”

Seth Green, who is unforgettable in a fine supporting role as a sardonic Amish car mechanic, notes that the alchemy of comedy is more art than science. “It’s always a roll of the dice and somewhat lucky when you get the right group of people together with the right director and the right material. You never know until you get there. I was happy that when I got here that’s exactly what I got.

“You’d never have known that Sean was not a long-time director,” says the prolific young actor whose numerous memorable roles have ranged from Scott Evil in the Austin Powers trilogy to the voice of Chris Griffin on “Family Guy.” “He is knowledgeable and has a really clear sense of what it is that he wants. He’s also got great taste in comedy and such a keen sense of what it’s going to look like at the end. But he’s also open to spontaneity, which is a really good quality, because we had a lot of people who could riff brilliantly if given the opportunity. Sean was really good at catching the right moments and letting them play out.”

Producer Bob Levy concurs. “It was such a pleasure to be on the set and watch brilliantly funny people do what they do best. To see Sean give them the comfort and security and license to be themselves and to be funny and to be comedians was inspiring.”

Sex Drive Movie Synopsis

Synopsis

Eighteen-year-old Ian Lafferty sets out on a cross country drive with his best friends Lance and Felicia in order to lose his virginity to a red-hot babe he met on the Internet. But the journey, filled with hilarious misadventures and raunchy escapades, turns out to be a life-changing experience when everything he thinks he knows about life is turned upside down.
Randy, raucous and unexpectedly romantic, Sex Drive follows three teenaged friends on the road trip of a lifetime. The film stars Josh Zuckerman (Lions for Lambs), Amanda Crew (The Haunting in Connecticut), Clark Duke (“Geek”), James Marsden (Enchanted) and Seth Green (Austin Powers in Goldmember), with a supporting cast that includes Alice Greczyn (Shrooms), Katrina Bowden (“30 Rock”), Charlie McDermott (The Ten) and Mark L. Young (“Dexter). Sean Anders (Never Been Thawed) directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with John Morris (She’s Out of My League), based on the novel All the Way by Andy Behrens. The producers are John Morris, Leslie Morgenstein (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Bob Levy (“Gossip Girl”), with Mike Nelson serving as executive producer.

The production team includes director of photography Tim Orr (Year of the Dog), production designer Aaron Osborne (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang), editor George Folsey, Jr. (Cheaper by the Dozen) and costume designer Kristin M. Burke (The Grudge 2).

An Alloy Entertainment Production for Summit Films, Sex Drive was filmed on location in South Florida.

At 18, Ian Lafferty (Josh Zuckerman) is struggling through his last summer before college, and he can’t seem to catch a break. He’s taunted by his cocksure older brother Rex, shown up in the romance department by his 14-year-old younger brother and humiliated by his job at the donut shop in the mall. But Ian’s biggest problem is that he’s about to start college as a virgin! He’s determined to rectify that before he officially becomes a freshman and his devil-may-care pal Lance (Clark Duke) is on hand to help.

A total washout out with the girl of his dreams and longtime “best friend” Felicia (Amanda Crew), Ian resorts to the Internet for dates. He soon hooks up with Ms. Tasty, a flaming hot blonde who can’t wait to get busy. But there’s one tiny catch: Ian has to drive 500 miles from Chicago to Knoxville to consummate the deal.

Egged on by Clark, Ian risks life and limb by appropriating “The Judge,” Rex’s prized vintage Pontiac GTO, for a cross-country “sex drive.” With Lance and Felicia in tow, he hits the road for a one-time rendezvous that will rock his world!

But the planned eight-hour drive turns into a three-day marathon as the trio loses its way in the Heartland and ends up taking a scenic tour of Midwestern back roads. With his would-be lover growing increasingly impatient and his older brother due back from a weekend trip at any moment, Ian is in a race against the clock.

Car trouble, a stint in the pokey, a detour to an Amish farm and an afternoon at a roadside carnival all complicate Ian’s journey, but it’s Lance’s overactive libido that really threatens to derail his plans, as Lance enters into a dangerous liaison with a loose local and hooks up with an Amish girl enjoying Rumspringa.

As Ian presses on to get to Knoxville before Ms. Tasty gives up and goes home, the trail of mayhem and misadventure that he and his companions have left in their wake is closing in on them with hilarious consequences. Will Rex find him before he reaches Nirvana? Will a cuckolded husband exact revenge on Lance just as he seems to have found true love? Will Ms. Tasty live up to her Internet profile? Will Ian realize what it is he really wants? And most importantly, Will Ian, Felicia and Lance survive the perilous road to adulthood with all its unexpected twists and turns?

My Best Friend's Girl’s complicated love triangle

Widely known for his performances in the AMERICAN PIE series, Jason Biggs completes MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL’s complicated love triangle as Dustin, Tank’s best friend who can’t stop pining obsessively – maybe a little too obsessively – for Alexis. “The word ‘stalker’ comes to mind,” says Biggs, laughing. “He’s a sweetheart, though. He’s the guy who, on paper, is the perfect boyfriend, but he’s probably a little too much, and he comes to realize that later.”
For Cook, it was crucial to find a co-star with whom he could form a believable on-screen friendship. “It’s very important that audience senses a real bond and chemistry between these two guys,” he says. “I knew immediately when I met Jason that we were in great shape. We have a back and forth and a banter that’s unique.”

“Jason’s energy is lovely,” adds Hudson. “He’s so talented, and he’s so present, and he’s really funny, and he’s so much fun to work with. Every once in a while you meet certain people throughout your career who inspire you and who you keep with you. And Jason is really one of those people. I really enjoyed working with him.”

Actress Lizzy Caplan, who recently appeared in the J.J. Abrams-produced CLOVERFIELD, relished the opportunity to play Amy, Alexis’ foul-mouthed roommate. “I never get to take it really over the top and I was excited to do that, definitely,” she says. “Amy is filthy and says a lot of very, very dirty things. She’s the one who encourages Alexis to go out and get it on.”
Rounding out the all-star cast is the inimitable “30 Rock” star, Alec Baldwin, who makes a priceless appearance as Tank’s father, Professor Turner, a liberal academic at a women’s college who’s secretly a raging chauvinist and womanizer. “Turner is the most disgusting, sexually selfish guy I’ve seen in a film in a long, long time,” admits Baldwin. “You talk about male chauvinist pig, this guy is a whole pig farm of male chauvinism. He’s horrible. People are going to laugh at this guy, because it’s funny. But it’s sick and it’s sad. I want people to laugh and cry.”
“All of us had a blast with Alec,” reports Deutch. “He has as much range as anyone I’ve ever worked with. He’s able to be hilariously funny and also powerfully dramatic in the same moment. That’s very difficult. He’s got a unique barometer as an actor where he can practically direct himself.”

Cook felt an immediate kinship with Baldwin on set which only enhanced their on-screen relationship as father and son. “Alec Baldwin is a classic,” he says. “He comes in with just an unbelievable energy and understanding of this character. Working with him is like putting on that favorite pair of jeans, you know. He’s inspiring.”

Baldwin was equally impressed with Cook and his ability to carry the responsibilities of a leading man. “I really wasn’t prepared for how much I would like Dane. There aren’t a lot of guys who are comics and who audiences really want to see kiss the girl. I think there are a lot of movies that Dane could do. He’s a very intense guy and very talented.”

For director Howie Deutch, making MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL was an opportunity to return to the kind of storytelling that marked his 1980s hits, PRETTY IN PINK and SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL. “I haven’t had a chance to get back to a romantic movie in a long time, a funny movie that’s based on relationships,” says the director. “I’m really interested in relationships and why we’re together, what makes them click. I could watch a guy and a girl having a date, you know, for hours, just watching what they do.”

“Howie has experience with some of the greats in comedy, like Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau,” says Cook. “He knows comedy, but he also brings depth to his directing. I trust him enough to ask a lot of questions. He’s been an incredible mentor on this film.”

“Great directors don’t transmit their tension when they’re working, and that’s Howie,” adds Baldwin. “No one is more enjoyable to shoot with.”

The cast particularly appreciated the improvisation that Deutch encouraged on set. In some cases, the director would keep the camera rolling, calling for continuous takes until they ran out of film. “Howie’s one of those people who really wants everybody to feel like they have a hand in developing their character. That’s one of the best feelings you can have on a movie set,” says Hudson.

Deutch explains that he’s a firm believer in improvisation, but only if the ad-libs are layered into the text. “The foundation of the scene has to be there first,” he says. “This script is incredibly funny, so it was easier to transition into improv because the material was there.”

Filming for the production took place on location in Boston, Massachusetts, which was a significant homecoming for Cook, who originally hails from Arlington, a Boston suburb. “I first stepped onto a comedy stage in Harvard Square in 1990, in Cambridge, and I’ve wanted to come back to Boston and work for quite some time. It’s been a dream of mine. And doing a movie with Kate Hudson and Jason Biggs and Howie Deutch and Alec Baldwin–” He laughs. “It’s almost like, any minute now I’m going to wake up and hopefully not be back in 10th grade, still day-dreaming in Mr. Russell’s history class.”

“Boston is a great town, “ adds Hudson. “It’s kind of like an east coast San Francisco. It’s a big sports town, which I love, because I grew up with all brothers and I love my sports. I love football. So I got to go to some football games.”

Looking back on production, Hudson is most thankful for the relaxed atmosphere on set and the cohesive feeling among the cast. “We all really enjoyed playing the characters we played,” she says. “We all got funny set pieces to do. We all were able to show certain things we haven’t done before. And Howie just sort of let us roll with it and have a really good time doing it. It was a great experience.”

My Best Friend's Girl, Dane Cook

While he is widely known for his legendary, kinetic stand-up routines, Dane Cook has also proven himself a sturdy leading man in features, from the slacker superstore clerk in EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH to the cursed suitor in GOOD LUCK CHUCK. But for his next comedy, Cook was eager to find something that more accurately matched his comedic sensibility. “We wanted something with edge,” says producer Brian Volk-Weiss, who is also Cook’s manager. “Dane’s humor has a lot of edge and this script nailed it perfectly. As soon as I read it, I called Dane. When Dane read it, he immediately called me and said, ‘This is it. This is it.’”

A self-professed bachelor with no interest in love, Tank is, initially at least, not the sort of guy you would wish on anyone. Guys who’ve lost their girlfriends hire Tank to date their exes; and he ensures the experience is so awful that those girls run with newfound appreciation back to their old beaus. “Tank is in many ways as despicable a guy as you will ever meet,” says producer Greg Lessons. “Every awful quality in every guy out there, that’s Tank. But, at his core, he’s a romantic. What he actually does is bring people together. He would deny it. And the movie is essentially about the repressed romantic part of him busting out when it hits him.”

Says producer Josh Shader, “I think audiences are really going to enjoy getting to see Dane Cook be a character that really lets Dane be Dane. He finally gets to play a role where he gets to let it all out, both comedically and emotionally.”

“Look at what Dane does in his comedy routines,” says producer Adam Herz. “He’s fearless on stage and he’s fearless in front of the camera. Every time he dips into that well, the bucket comes up full of something.”

Cook confesses that he was excited by the prospect of playing someone as extreme as Tank. “That was really alluring, and something that I wanted to be able to play with,” says the comedian. “It’s fun being bad! Everybody likes a villain. Everybody likes the bad guy. But we also like when there’s a turn, and that’s what happens with Tank.”

Still, Tank’s contradictions posed a considerable challenge for Cook as an actor. Could he score laughs playing the depraved bachelor yet still earn the audience’s sympathy as Tank embarks on the rocky road to emotional maturity? Cook’s and Deutch’s answer was to play Tank’s struggle as authentically as possible. “This movie’s always been to me about one man’s journey to becoming a man,” explains director Howie Deutch. “It’s not all about telling jokes. It’s about being real and having the audience get invested in the character.”

“To play the character of Tank,” adds producer Doug Johnson, “you have to have that confidence, that swagger, and be vulnerable and real. That’s what Dane captured. There’s a romantic and emotional quality in this movie that I think is going to take some people by surprise.”

Much of the charm of MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL stems from Alexis’ and Tank’s unlikely pairing, and the rare connection they find despite their differences. Unlike other women, Alexis is wise to Tank’s moves, which leaves him at first bewildered, then impressed, and finally, completely infatuated. “It’s an absolutely hysterical thing to watch the two of them bounce off each other,” says producer Barry Katz. “And also personally, off camera, Kate and Dane got along great. They’re very cool together and it was just a lot of fun to be around both of them.”

“There’s no doubt about it. Kate has incredible chemistry with Dane,” says Deutch. “It’s like nitro and glycerin. It’s really explosive.”

Hudson was impressed with Cook’s energy and commitment to his acting. She explains, “Dane really cares about what he does. He focuses on his performance and really wants it to be good. And that’s an amazing quality to work with and to see in someone.”

“Working with Kate was a breath of fresh air,” avows Cook. “When it comes to an actor who really listens, there’s nobody better than her. Nothing gets past her. Volleying with her was incredible. I was always hoping for another take, you know, thinking, ‘What can I throw at her, how can I challenge her this time?’”

Two romantic leads in Lionsgate’s My Best Friend's Girl

At first glance, Tank and Alexis, the two romantic leads in Lionsgate’s MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL, seem like the furthest thing from a compatible couple, and most definitely not the stuff from which romantic comedies are traditionally made. Tank is a perennial bachelor who’s turned his talent for offending and manipulating women into a lucrative side job. And Alexis, the ideal woman for any marriage-minded man, is tired of monogamous relationships and just wants casual sex. That true romance, and even love, would emerge from their unlikely pairing is the spiky charm that distinguishes MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL from the pack of romantic comedy lookalikes.

“Relationships are far from picture perfect in this movie,” says star Kate Hudson, who plays Alexis. “It’s never picture perfect. Everybody’s human. Everybody makes mistakes. This movie is willing to look at those messy things and allows you to laugh at them along the way.”
“The thing that’s unique about this movie is that neither of the lead characters even wants to fall in love,” adds co-star Dane Cook. “It’s not a traditional romantic comedy in any sense. But even though it has an edge, it’s filled with heart, too.”

Hudson readily admits that Alexis’ desire to play the field after years of monogamous relationships is not the typical starting point for a romantic comedy heroine. A successful lawyer, Alexis begins MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL by ending her relationship with obsessively overeager Dustin (AMERICAN PIE’s Jason Biggs) and deciding to take advantage of her single status. “For the first time ever in a movie I end up being kind of like the guy,” says Hudson. “Alexis feels like she needs to get out there and be young and not so regimented, so she starts doing little booty calls and saying, ‘Yeah, I can do this. I can date like this. I can be unemotional about it.’”
While Tank seems like the ideal partner for commitment-free, casual sex, Alexis’ emotions come into play despite her best efforts to avoid them. Says Hudson, “When she meets Tank, he unleashes a side of her that she’s never experienced before. And of course, inevitably, she ends up enjoying it a lot.”

While Hudson has been able to flex her comedic muscles in past projects like HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS and YOU, ME AND DUPREE, MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL presented the actress with a refreshing opportunity: starring in an R-rated romantic comedy. “I finally got to swear and say and do certain things that most people say to each other in normal, everyday life,” says Hudson. “I got a little taste of what those ‘Sex and the City’ girls were up to for so long, which was fun.” She laughs. “I’ve never looked into a box of masturbatory aides on film before.”

One of Hudson’s favorite experiences during production was shooting a scene in which Tank brings Alexis to a strip club. Tank does so with the sole intention of offending her, but Alexis is too drunk to take offense and actually ends up enjoying herself. “That was a really funny moment,” admits Hudson. “I was excited to do that scene when I read it. I don’t think I’ve ever been drunk in a movie. It was great to be a little crazy and not care. There’s a lot of stuff I got to do in this that was fun that I haven’t done before. This really was a new kind of movie for me to do.”

SETH GREEN (Ezekial)

SETH GREEN (Ezekial) most recently co-starred with John Travolta and Robin Williams in the comedy Old Dogs. Green has also garnered rave reviews for his starring roles in the feature films Without a Paddle, The Italian Job and Party Monster.

Green’s previous film credits include the blockbuster Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which Green reprised his role as Scott Evil, Dr. Evil’s son from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Green also co-starred in American’s Sweethearts and had starring roles in Rat Race and Knockaround Guys. He began this nonstop work streak with Can’t Hardly Wait in the attention-grabbing role of Kenny Fisher, a white homeboy. Earlier, Green played a key role as a young Woody Allen in Radio Days.

On television, Green most recently began the fourth season of “Robot Chicken,” the Emmy-nominated stop-motion animated show that he and Matthew Senreich created for Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” block. The duo exec produce, direct and write (with Green doing 35-to-60 voices each week). Debuting in February 2005, “Robot Chicken” earned critical acclaim and high ratings. In fact, the show garnered the all-time highest ratings for any “Adult Swim” program in the month of September. The DVD for Season One ranked No. 1 in sales in its first week among all TV shows released on DVD during that period. The sketch parody show, which regularly tops all other ad-supported cable and many network shows in the ratings [IS THIS TRUE?], lampoons pop culture and current events.

Green directed George Lucas in the hit “Robot Chicken: Star Wars” special that aired in 2007, for which Green won the Annie Award. The DVD was released this summer.

Green is also working on new episodes of “Family Guy,” the hit animated Fox comedy series in which Green plays the son, Chris Griffin.

Other TV credits include “Four Kings” and “Greg the Bunny.”

Green and his “Robot Chicken” partner Matthew Senreich are also currently producing two feature films, one live action and the other stop-motion animation.

Green, who has starred in films for 25 years and remains quick-witted, low-key and a known scene-stealer, mocked this image in two “Entourage” guest spots on HBO.

JAMES MARSDEN (Rex)

JAMES MARSDEN (Rex) has enjoyed success in a wide range of films that have swiftly earned him a distinctive place in Hollywood. Most recently, Marsden starred in the box-office hit 27 Dresses, a romantic comedy in which he played opposite Katherine Heigl.

Previously, Marsden received rave reviews for his starring role in the blockbuster Enchanted, alongside Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and Susan Sarandon. A romantic fable mixing live action with CGI animation, the Kevin Lima-directed film earned a Best Family Film nomination at the 13th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards.

Marsden also had a starring role in Adam Shankman’s box office hit Hairspray, which featured John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken. Marsden played Corny Collins, the host of the TV dance show. Hairspray earned multiple award nominations, including Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Acting Ensemble, Best Comedy Movie and Best Family Film, as well as a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Ensemble.

Marsden recently wrapped production on Richard Kelly’s psychological thriller, The Box, in which he stars opposite Cameron Diaz. The film is based on a classic Richard Matheson short story, “Button, Button.”

Marsden also appeared in Superman Returns, opposite Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Frank Langella, for director Bryan Singer.

Marsden’s film resume also includes playing Cyclops in the X-Men trilogy, The Notebook, The Alibi, Disturbing Behavior, 10th and Wolf, The 24th Day, Sugar and Spice and Interstate 60.

Among his notable television roles as the character Glen Floy on the final season of the Emmy-winning series “Ally McBeal,” created by David E. Kelley.

CLARK DUKE (Lance)

CLARK DUKE (Lance) makes his feature film debut in Sex Drive but he quickly followed it with a starring role in the upcoming A Thousand Words, opposite Eddie Murphy.

Duke is best known as the co-creator of the web comedy series “Clark and Michael,” which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in alongside his friend and comedy partner Michael Cera, star of Superbad. This landmark series, which lampooned their characters’ efforts to write and sell a television show, made many “Best Of” lists in 2007, including those of Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. “Clark and Michael” continues to enjoy massive popularity all over the world and has established Clark Duke as a creative force to be reckoned with.

Duke has also made his mark in television with the role of Dale in “Greek,” the hit ABC Family comedy series. Duke has also done multiple voices on Seth Green’s hit “Adult Swim” program on Cartoon Network, “Robot Chicken.”

A native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Duke is also a talented musician who has launched an L.A. band with Michael Cera. Duke has a diverse slate of upcoming projects as a writer, actor, director and producer.

AMANDA CREW (Felicia)

AMANDA CREW (Felicia) recently had a starring role in The Haunting in Connecticut opposite Virginia Madsen and Elias Koteas, directed by Peter Cornwall. Her previous film credits include Final Destination 3 and She’s the Man, which starred Amanda Bynes.

On television, Crew has spent the last two years starring as Carrie Miller in The N network’s hit series, “Whistler.” Recently, Crew won the 2007 Leo Award for Best Lead Female in a Dramatic Series for her role in the show, which is set in the high society winter playgrounds of North America.

Born and reared in Langley, British Columbia, Crew began her career in acting when she was cast as a regular for two seasons on the teen series “15/Love.” Her other work on television includes recurring roles on the ABC series “Life as We Know It” and the WB/CW institution “Smallville.”

JOSH ZUCKERMAN (Ian)

JOSH ZUCKERMAN (Ian) likes to keep his resume diverse., Prior to the comedy Sex Drive, Zuckerman co-starred in the drama Lions for Lambs, which starred Robert Redford, Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, with Redford directing. Previously, Zuckerman had a role as Mark Webber’s hard-partying friend in Ethan Hawke’s film The Hottest State and co-starred as the wheelchair-bound brother of Balthazar Getty in Dimension’s cult classic, Feast.

Zuckerman’s other film credits include Surviving Christmas, in which he appeared opposite Ben Affleck and James Gandolfini; Pretty Persuasion, which starred Evan Rachel Wood; and the box office smash Austin Powers in Goldmember.

His diversity extends to television as well, with a recurring role in the hit ABC Family drama “Kyle XY” and a previous recurring role in the television series “CSI: Miami.” Other TV credits include “Boston Legal,” “Close to Home,” “Stand Off” and “House.”

On stage, Zuckerman starred in the one-act play “Women and Wallace” at the Actor’s Lab Theater in Los Angeles, with his performance garnering rave reviews.

After making his professional debut in an ABC movie-of-the-week, “Geppetto,” starring Drew Carey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Zuckerman then went on to recurring roles in ABC’s acclaimed dramas “Once and Again” and ”NYPD Blue” as well as a memorable role in an emotional post-September 11th episode of NBC’s “The West Wing.”

The youngest of five children, Zuckerman began acting at the age of 10 at the Los Altos Youth Theater in Los Altos, California. In addition to pursuing his acting career, Zuckerman has been attending Princeton University.

Sex Drive Synopsis

SEX DRIVE

Starring JOSH ZUCKERMAN(LIONS FOR LAMBS), AMANDA CREW (THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT), CLARK DUKE (“GEEK”), JAMES MARSDEN (ENCHANTED) and SETH GREEN (AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER), and featuring a special performance by FALL OUT BOY.

Produced by JOHN MORRIS (SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE), LESLIE MORGENSTEIN (THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS) and BOB LEVY (“GOSSIP GIRL”). Executive produced by MIKE NELSON.

Directed by SEAN ANDERS (NEVER BEEN THAWED)

Written by SEAN ANDERS and JOHN MORRIS,
based on the novel ALL THE WAY by ANDY BEHRENS.

Eighteen-year-old Ian Lafferty sets out on a cross country drive with his best friends Lance and Felicia in order to lose his virginity to a red-hot babe he met on the Internet. But the journey, filled with hilarious misadventures and raunchy escapades, teaches all three more than they expected about life and love. Randy, raucous and unexpectedly romantic, Sex Drive follows three friends on the road trip of a lifetime!

Ian Lafferty (Josh Zuckerman) can’t seem to catch a break. He’s taunted by his cocksure older brother Rex, shown up in the romance department by his 14-year-old younger brother and humiliated by his job at a mall donut shop. But Ian’s biggest problem is that he’s about to start college as a virgin!

Getting nowhere with the girl of his dreams and longtime “best friend” Felicia (Amanda Crew), Ian resorts to the Internet for dates. He soon hooks up with Ms. Tasty, a flaming hot blonde who can’t wait to get busy. The only catch: Ian has to drive 500 miles from Chicago to Knoxville to consummate the deal.

Egged on by his devil-may-care pal Lance (Clark Duke), Ian risks life and limb by appropriating “The Judge,” Rex’s prized vintage Pontiac GTO. With Lance and Felicia in tow, he hits the road for a one-time rendezvous that will rock his world!

Car trouble, a stint in the pokey, a buggy tow with an Amish farmer (Seth Green) and an afternoon at a roadside carnival all complicate Ian’s journey. As he presses on to get to Knoxville before Ms. Tasty gives up and goes home, the trio’s trail of mayhem closes in on them with hilarious consequences. Will Rex find Ian before he reaches Nirvana? Will a cuckolded husband exact revenge on Lance just as he seems to have found true love? Will Ms. Tasty live up to her Internet profile? Will Ian realize what he really wants? And most importantly, Will Ian, Felicia and Lance survive the bumpy road to adulthood with all its unexpected twists and turns?

My Best Friend's Girl 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.

Bolt Synopsis

BOLT

Release Date: November 26, 2008
Genre: Animation, Comedy-Adventure
Rating: TBD

Voice Cast: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton
Directors: Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Producer: Clark Spencer
Executive Producer: John Lasseter
Genre: Animation/Comedy-Adventure

For super-dog BOLT (voice of JOHN TRAVOLTA), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue—at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet—a cross-country journey through the real world to get back to his owner and co-star, Penny (voice of MILEY CYRUS). Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and the help of two unlikely traveling companions—a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens (voice of SUSIE ESSMAN) and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino (voice of MARK WALTON) -- Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero.

Notes:

Chris Williams and Byron Howard worked on Disney’s 36th animated feature “Mulan”—Williams was a member of the story team, and Howard was an animator.

The film marks Miley Cyrus’ feature-film debut as an animated character.

Before bringing any pet into your family be sure to learn about the breed and always consider adoption from a reputable shelter or rescue program.

Morning Light Synopsis

MORNING LIGHT
Release Date: October 17, 2008
Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG

Conceived and produced by: Roy E. Disney, Leslie DeMeuse
Writer/Director: Mark Monroe
Based on an original idea by: Thomas J. Pollack
Producer: Morgan Sackett
Co-produced and edited by: Paul Crowder
Team: Chris Branning, Graham Brant-Zawadzki, Chris Clark, Charlie Enright, Jesse Fielding, Robbie Kane, Steve Manson, Chris Schubert, Kate Theisen, Mark Towill, Genny Tulloch, Piet van Os, Chris Welch, Kit Will, Jeremy Wilmot

Fifteen young sailors… six months of intense training… one chance at the brass ring. This exciting true-life documentary tells the inspiring story of a group of intrepid and determined young men and women, on the cusp of adulthood, as they embark on life’s first great adventure. Racing a high-performance 52-foot sloop in the TRANSPAC, the most revered of open-ocean sailing competitions, the crew of “Morning Light” matches wits and skills in a dramatic 2,300-mile showdown against top professionals.

From their earliest training sessions in Hawaii conducted by world-class teachers through their test of endurance on the high seas, they form an unbreakable bond in the process of becoming a singular team that is greater than the sum of its parts. Directed and edited by two of the key filmmakers responsible for the acclaimed 2004 surfing documentary, “Riding Giants,” and the recent rock documentary “Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who,” MORNING LIGHT will appeal to the sense of adventure in everyone.

Notes:

The team includes several college students, a Harvard graduate, a trainee at the U.S. Naval Academy, and a member of the Merchant Marine Academy—all under the age of 23 at the time of the race.

Roy E. Disney sailed the Transpac 16 times. His best finish was first place in 1999. His worst? 27th place in 1977 following a harrowing 17-day trek.

When in Rome Synopsis

WHEN IN ROME

Release Date: Summer 2009
Genre: Comedy
Rating: TBD

Cast: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Alexis Dziena, Kate Micucci, with Danny DeVito and Anjelica Huston
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Executive Producer: Mindy Farrell and Steven Roffer, Ezra Swerdlow
Producers: Gary Foster, Mark Steven Johnson, Andrew Panay
Co-Producer: Rikki Lea Bestall
Written by: David Diamond & David Weissman

An ambitious young New Yorker (KRISTEN BELL), disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a “foolish” fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of an odd group of suitors: a sausage magnate (DANNY DEVITO), a street magician (JON HEDER), an adoring painter (WILL ARNETT) and a self-admiring model (DAX SHEPARD). But when a charming reporter (JOSH DUHAMEL) pursues her with equal zest, how will she know if his love is the real thing?

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR
Release Date: October 24, 2008
Genre: Musical
Rating: TBD

Cast: Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Bart Johnson, Alyson Reed, Olesya Rulin, Chris Warren,Jr., Ryne Sanborn, KayCee Stroh, Matt Prokop, Justin Martin, Jemma McKenzie-Brown
Director: Kenny Ortega
Written By: Peter Barsocchini
Producer: Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush
Co-Producer: Don Schain

Disney’s “High School Musical” phenomenon leaps onto the big screen in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR, in which America’s favorite high school students (ZAC EFRON, VANESSA HUDGENS, ASHLEY TISDALE, LUCAS GRABEEL, CORBIN BLEU and MONIQUE COLEMAN) hit senior year. Amidst a basketball championship, prom and a big spring musical featuring all of the Wildcats, Troy and Gabriella vow to make every moment last as their lifelong college dreams put the future of their relationship in question. A crew of sophomore Wildcats (MATT PROKOP, JUSTIN MARTIN, JEMMA MCKENZIE-BROWN) joins in the fun as the film’s incredible new music and exciting dance numbers take maximum advantage of the big screen.

Notes:

An international casting search involving more than 1000 teen actors across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom led to the casting of “High School Musical 3: Senior Year’s” three new Wildcats: Matt Prokop, Justin Martin and Jemma McKenzie-Brown.

The original “High School Musical” made its debut in January 2006 on Disney Channel and posted the highest ever ratings for a Disney Channel Original Movie at the time. It went on to become a smash hit internationally. It has reached more than 250 million viewers in more than 20 languages across 100 countries.

“High School Musical” won two Emmy Awards®, a DGA Award, an Imagen Award and a Director's Guild of America Award, among other honors. It received a Billboard Music Award (Soundtrack of the Year) and was nominated for an American Music Award. "High School Musical 2" was ranked the #1 basic cable telecast of all time following its August 17, 2007, premiere (18.6 million viewers) and thus far has been seen by 187 million total worldwide viewers in 24 languages.

Twilight moves into Potter's place

Twilight moves into Potter's place

Summit shifts vampire romance to Nov. 21

Summit Entertainment has pushed up the release date of its hotly anticipated vampire romance "Twilight" to Nov. 21, taking advantage of the B.O. opening left by Warner Bros.' surprise decision to move "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" to July.

The vampire romance, based on the first of four bestselling vampire novels by Stephenie Meyer, had been skedded to open Dec. 12 opposite Twentieth Century Fox's sci-fi remake "The Day the Earth Stood Still," starring Keanu Reeves. After WB confirmed its "Harry Potter" shift on Thursday, Summit rushed to move "Twilight" into holiday prime time.

"With a giant franchise like 'Harry Potter' in the market, we had to stay clear of it," said Summit Entertainment co-chairman and CEO Rob Friedman. "Their move created an opportunity to bring the movie to fans three weeks earlier, who have continued to show their enthusiasm, from Comic-Con to the giant 'Breaking Dawn' book sales. We felt we had to take that opportunity."

While the "Twilight" books have not sold on the level of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, many observers have made the comparison between the two fantasy series and their passionate devotees. The "Twilight" books fall in the young adult realm and boast a strong femme following. Pic adaptation has been generating strong Internet buzz for months. At Comic-Con in July, young British actor Robert Pattinson was taken aback when women screamed at him in the San Diego Convention Center. He co-stars with Kristen Stewart in the romantic thriller directed by Catherine Hardwicke ("thirteen") from a script by Melissa Rosenberg ("Step Up"). Karen Rosenfelt, Greg Mooradian and Wyck Godfrey produce along with Mark Morgan via his Maverick Films banner. "Twilight" is the first film in Summit's thriller romance franchise.

Summit plans a wide release of "Twilight" in more 3,000 theaters, Friedman said. "Twilight" will face competition from Walt Disney Pictures' animated film "Bolt," which moved from Nov. 26 onto the Nov. 21 date.

The Princess and the Frog Synopsis

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

(Domestic Release Date: Christmas 2009)

Walt Disney Animation Studios
Directors: John Musker, Ron Clements
Producer: Peter Del Vecho
Composer: Randy Newman
Voice Talent: Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, John Goodman

A musical set in the greatest city of them all, New Orleans, “The Princess and the Frog” marks Disney’s return to the timeless art form of traditional animation. The film teams Ron Clements and John Musker, creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” with Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman to tell the most beautiful love story ever told…with frogs, voodoo, and a singing alligator.

Michael Steinberg (Producer)

Michael Steinberg (Producer):

Michael Steinberg, a UCLA Film School graduate, has directed 3 features that premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and has written and/or produced 4 other features that have won numerous awards and generated hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, he has written, directed and/or produced numerous television projects for top production companies such as DreamWorks, Brillstein Grey, Touchstone, and Paramount Television. Michael is known for his detailed work with actors and for combining his love of the freshness and freedom of indie films with the reach and professionalism of big studio features. Michael made his professional directing debut with THE WATERDANCE which starred Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, and Academy Award winner, Helen Hunt. It was released by Goldwyn in 1992 and won the I.F.P. Spirit Award for "Best First Feature" and the "Audience Award" at Sundance along with many other awards from festivals around the world. The film was recently picked as one of the "Best 1000 Films of All Time" by the New York Times.

In 2005, Michael conceived and co-wrote the Sci-Fi Action Horror film, THE CAVE. The film was produced by Academy Award winner Tom Rosenberg, Andrew Mason (The Matrix trilogy) and Gary Luchesi. It stared Cole Hauser, was released wide from Sony/Screen Gems and has made over 70 million in world-wide revenues to date.

In 1998 Michael produced the smash THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, directed by The Farrelly Brothers, starring Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, and Matt Dillon. It was released by Twentieth Century Fox and has made over 600 million worldwide to date. Michael was nominated for a Golden Globe as a producer and won an MTV Award for "Best Movie" of the year. In 2001, Michael made his first foray into television by writing, directing, and producing THE CASEYS, a 1-hour pilot for Fox Television. It was picked by Entertainment Weekly as the best pilot of the season. Since THE CASEYS, Michael has focused on writing and developing television shows and has sold 11 one hour pilots while working with top production companies such as DreamWorks, Brillstein Grey, Touchstone, and Paramount Television. Michael's second feature as a director was BODIES, REST & MOTION, starring Bridget Fonda, Eric Stoltz, and, Academy Award nominee, Tim Roth. This film was runner-up for the Audience Award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival and was selected for the Un Certain Regard section at The Cannes Film Festival. It was released by Fine Line to glowing reviews and has become a touchstone, cult-classic of the Gen-X genre.

Michael's third feature directing effort, WICKED, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998. The black comedy thriller won his discovery, Julia Stiles, a "Best Actress" nod at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival where it was nominated for a Crystal Globe in the Main Competition. It was released by Sony Screen Gems in 2000.

In 1994, Michael co-wrote and produced the edgy romantic comedy SLEEP WITH ME. This film starred Academy Award nominee Meg Tilly, Eric Stoltz, Craig Sheffer, Quentin Tarantino, and Parker Posey. It was released by MGM and was selected as the "Opening Night Gala Premiere" for the Toronto Film Festival and the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994.

Michael is represented by Anonymous Content and Paradigm.

Larry Bishop (Director/Writer/Producer/Pistolero)

Larry Bishop (Director/Writer/Producer/Pistolero):

Bishop wrote, directed, co-produced, and starred in MAD DOG TIME. United Artists distributed the film which also starred Richard Dreyfuss, Jeff Goldblum, Gabriel Byrne, and Ellen Barkin.
Bishop wrote and starred in UNDERWORLD, a film which Trimark released. The film also starred Denis Leary and Joe Mantegna.

Larry Bishop appeared as sadistic strip club owner in KILL BILL, Vol.2 and starred in WILD IN THE STREETS while under contract to AIP where he starred in many motorcycle movies, including ANGEL UNCHAINED, THE SAVAGE SEVEN, CHROME AND HOT LEATHER. After working with Richard Dreyfuss in THE BIG FIX, Universal Pictures put Bishop under contract.

Some of Bishop's other acting credits include THE CHICAGO CONSPIRACY TRIAL, CONDOMINIUM, HOW COME NOBODY'S ON OUR SIDE (he was also a co-producer), STING II and many television shows.

CHARLOTTE HUGGINS (Producer)

CHARLOTTE HUGGINS (Producer) was one of the early proponents of 3D's resurgence and fully embraces her passion for special venue productions. She has worked on a number of highly successful large-format films, including Disney's 3D theme park attraction, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, Sony Pictures Classics' 3D film, Wings of Courage and LG Group's 35mm 3D attraction film, Ahead of Time.

Huggins served as Executive in Charge of Production for the "King Kong" sequence in Public Broadcasting WGBH/NOVA's program, "Special Effects: Anything Can Happen."
Producer credits include Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun, 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension, Alien Adventure, Haunted Castle, S.O.S. Planet, Misadventures in 3D and Wild Safari 3D.

nWave Pictures (Producers) is a multinational company specializing in 3D digital production and dedicated to special venue production and distribution. nWave Pictures is known for utilizing innovative technologies to maximize intellectual properties throughout multiple media platforms, including 2D and 3D giant-screen (IMAX), motion simulation and attraction films in all film formats and electronic media. As the most prolific producers of 3D films in the world, nWave's titles have generated over $175 million in box office revenues in special format theaters worldwide.
Founded in 1994 by Ben Stassen and Brussels-based D&D Media Group, nWave Pictures quickly established itself as the world's leading producer and distributor of ride films for the motion simulator market. In fact, the company's current library of titles makes up 60-70% of all ride simulation films being shown worldwide.
The quick financial and production maturity of the company afforded nWave the production tools necessary to expand into new areas. One year later, the company released its first film for the giant screen, Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun. Upon its release, Thrill Ride quickly gained momentum with audiences. The film was one of the top 50 highest-grossing films at the box office for over 70 consecutive weeks (as reported by Variety), and remains in distribution through Sony Pictures Classics.
To complement its rapid production growth and further establish itself in the expanding 3D giant-screen market, nWave launched its own film distribution company, nWave Pictures Distribution. The division began with the distribution of the 3D film, 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension, and continued its growth by distributing nWave's third giant-screen film, Alien Adventure 3D. The company has since distributed BBC/Discovery Pictures' award-winning production, The Human Body, H5B5's Ocean Men: Extreme Dive and the nWave-produced 3D films Haunted Castle, S.O.S. Planet (featuring Walter Cronkite), Misadventures in 3D and Wild Safari 3D.

With visionary style and confidence, nWave Pictures plans to continue setting new standards for digital and film distribution by creating a special brand of feature-length 3D entertainment.

GINA GALLO PARIS (Co-Creator, Producer, Voice Director and Casting Director)

GINA GALLO PARIS (Co-Creator, Producer, Voice Director and Casting Director) started as a live-action film editor on such features as The Rapture, The Sleepless and the docu-drama Blackbird Fly.

Gallo soon found herself working on high-profile animated features such as Tarzan for Disney Feature Animation and The Road to El Dorado, Sinbad and Over the Hedge for DreamWorks.

Her love of animation was the impetus behind Fly Me to the Moon.

MIMI MAYNARD (Producer, Voice Director and Casting Director)

MIMI MAYNARD (Producer, Voice Director and Casting Director) is founder of Loopys, a post production and voice casting company.

She has also served as Vice President of Development for Carlyle Productions. Previously, Maynard was President and Partner of Polestar Group, where she oversaw development of various projects and produced the made-for-television movie, "Gundum," based on the hugely popular Japanese series.

She was also associated with Sleeping Giant Productions, where she oversaw a partnership with Mandalay Television for reality and drama programming.

DOMONIC PARIS (Co-Creator, Writer and Executive Producer)

DOMONIC PARIS (Co-Creator, Writer and Executive Producer) worked for over ten years as a cinematographer and editor before moving on to directing, writing and producing. Among the independent films Paris has directed is the feature The Sleepless, which he also wrote.

He has written, directed and/or produced a number of one-hour specialty DVD shows. Paris served as producer on the USA Network series, "Reel Wild Cinema," and "Oh! No! The Mister Bill Show" for Fox Kids Network.

He was also a producer of "Exploitica," a comedy show for Canal Plus, and has had extensive experience in numerous capacities in the reality TV world for networks and cable.

BEN STASSEN (Director)

BEN STASSEN (Director) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a special venue filmmaker. Stassen produced one of the first high-resolution computer graphics films for the large-format screen, the short Devil's Mine. He went on to co-found nWave Pictures, which has since become the world's largest producer and distributor of ride and attraction films.

As Chief Executive Officer of nWave, Stassen expanded the company's operations into the large-format arena. His directorial debut, Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun (1997), was hugely successful for Sony Pictures Classics. Stassen followed this success with two 3D giant-screen spectaculars distributed by nWave Pictures, 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension (1998) and Alien Adventure (1999).

Stassen's talents were then employed to create and direct a series of other provocative and successful film titles for nWave. Haunted Castle (2001) blended computer-generated digital imagery and live action photography in 3D. S.O.S. Planet (2002) was the sequel to 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension, and Wild Safari 3D (2005) was filmed entirely on location in South Africa. Stassen's Fly Me to the Moon is the company's first true feature film conceived and created for the 3D environment.

A world leader in multi-platform digital filmmaking, Stassen is quoted extensively in industry and mainstream press for his strategies and opinions about the future of 3D cinema and how to utilize digital technologies to maximize intellectual properties across multiple media platforms.
Stassen graduated from USC's School of Cinema and Television.

ADRIENNE BARBEAU (Scooter's Mom)

ADRIENNE BARBEAU (Scooter's Mom) is beloved by genre film fans for her enduring performances in The Fog, Escape from New York, Creepshow, Swamp Thing, Back to School and The Cannonball Run. The feature film Reach for Me, in which she stars with Seymour Cassell, Alfre Woodard and LeVar Burton, is awaiting release. Her most recent telefilm, "WarWolves," premieres on the Sci Fi Channel in October.

Barbeau began performing in 1963 with the San Jose Civic Light Opera and by 1965 had already entertained our servicemen on Army bases throughout Southeast Asia and was on her way to New York, where she made her Broadway debut as Tevye's second daughter, Hodel, in "Fiddler on the Roof." A Tony nomination for her creation of Rizzo in the original Broadway production of "Grease" led her back to California and the role of Bea Arthur's daughter, Carol, in the hit series "Maude."

Since then, Barbeau has become a bestselling author, a recording artist and the star of numerous features, films for television, concert performances, musicals and plays. Her many telefilm credits include the Ace Award-winning "Double Crossed: The Barry Seal Story," opposite Dennis Hopper, and "Scott Turow's Burden of Proof," with Hector Elizondo. Lifetime Network audiences see her in the oft-repeated "Shattered Hearts" and "The Drew Carey Show" fans know her as Oswald's mom. Barbeau also starred as Ruthie the snake dancer on HBO's fascinating drama series, "Carnivale."

The actress has starred in over 25 musicals and plays, among them "Pump Boys & Dinettes," "Women Behind Bars," Kander and Ebb's "And the World Goes Round," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Love Letters." She appeared in the West Coast premieres of "A Walk on the Wild Side" and "Drop Dead," the Canadian premiere of Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers" and the world premiere of "What the Rabbi Saw," by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore. Most recently, she returned to Off-Broadway and standing ovations as Judy Garland in "The Property Known as Garland."

As a voice actress for animation, Barbeau previously played Catwoman in "Batman: The Animated Series" and Ms. Simone in the feature Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.

She is also the author of two books, her best-selling memoir "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and her first vampire novel, "Vampyres of Hollywood" which was published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press. Barbeau is currently writing the sequel.

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD (Grandpa) in Fly Me to the Moon

CHRISTOPHER LLOYD (Grandpa) began his long and illustrious acting career in the theatre. He has appeared in over 200 plays, including on-and-off Broadway, regional and summer stock productions. For his title role in "Kaspar," Lloyd took home an Obie and Drama Desk Award. Other theatre credits include the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of "Mornings at Seven," directed by Dan Sullivan; "Twelfth Night," in N.Y. Festival's Shakespeare in the Park; Center Stage's "Waiting for Godot" and the New York production of "Trumbo," in which Lloyd played blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.

In 1975, Lloyd began his film career in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This was soon followed by a two-year run as Jim Ignatowski on the TV series "Taxi," for which Lloyd won two of his three Emmys. In 1992, he made Emmy history when he won Best Dramatic Actor for Disney's "Road to Avonlea." In a category dominated by series regulars, Lloyd was the first actor to win for a guest appearance. (The following year, the rules were changed to include a guest appearance category.)

Lloyd has appeared in over 90 film and television productions, including the Back to the Future trilogy, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Eight Men Out, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, BBC's "Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster," The Pagemaster, Dennis the Menace, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Track 29, Clue, The Dream Team, Angels in the Outfield, Star Trek III, Goin' South, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, My Favorite Martian and Mike Nichols' HBO adaptation of "Wit," starring Emma Thompson.

In 1993, Lloyd won an Independent Spirit Award for his chilly depiction of a soulless murderer in Twenty Bucks.

DAVID GORE (Scooter) in Fly Me to the Moon

DAVID GORE (Scooter) lists math, science, piano, chess, video games and WWII history as just a sampling of his interests and talents. Even at the age of nine, the multitalented actor has been around the entertainment industry for several years and calls it "another world." In the upcoming feature Opposite Day, Gore plays a very young Italian mob boss.

Gore regularly performs stand-up comedy at the World Famous Hollywood Improv. Continuously incorporating current events into his hilarious routines, Gore has also kept audiences laughing at the Ha Ha Comedy Club and B.B. King's Blues Club. He has appeared on the KTLA Morning Show and lent his comedic voice to "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Gore has appeared on many television series, including "This Might Hurt," "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "Tim and Eric's Awesome Show: Great Job!" He was a featured player on "Jeopardy! Kids Week." Gore also appeared in the documentary film The Secret Life of Leonardo Da Vinci and the Discovery Channel's "Mob Scene." He has been in many music videos and commercials for products such as Sudafed, Coca Cola and Home Depot, to name a few.

Among his many projects, the short films Pubert and Girth feature Gore in the leading role. Both films will be touring film festivals this year. Other credits include Panicked, Within Reason and What the Shadows Hide.

A stage enthusiast who enjoys the energy of live audiences, David has appeared in theatre productions such as "Faces of War" at the Lyric Theatre, "Genie (Aladdin)" at the El Portal Theatre and "Charlie Chaplin" at the L.A. Connection Comedy Theatre.

ED BEGLEY, JR. (Poopchev) in Fly Me to the Moon

ED BEGLEY, JR. (Poopchev) co-stars with his real life wife, Rachelle Carson, on the hit HGTV series, "Living with Ed." He was recently seen in the latest Christopher Guest movie, For Your Consideration. Begley also appeared in A Mighty Wind, Guest's follow-up to the American Comedy Award-winning film, Best in Show, in which Begley starred alongside Catherine O' Hara and Eugene Levy. Other feature film credits include Batman Forever, The Accidental Tourist and The In-Laws.

Inspired by the work of his Academy Award-winning father, Begley decided to become an actor as well. He first came to audiences' attention for his portrayal of Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the long-running hit television series, "St. Elsewhere," for which Begley received six Emmy nominations. Since then, the actor has moved easily between feature, television and theatre projects.

On television, Begley had recurring roles on "Veronica Mars," "Six Feet Under," "Seventh Heaven" and "Arrested Development." He has guest starred on such series as "The New Adventures of Old Christine," "The West Wing" and "The Practice," as well as David E. Kelley's latest show, "Boston Legal."

Begley starred in the West Coast premiere of David Mamet's "Cryptogram" at the Geffen Playhouse, in the role that he first performed in Boston and then in New York. Begley also starred in Mamet's production of "Romance" at the Mark Taper Forum.

This talented actor has also directed several episodes of ABC's hit drama series "NYPD Blue" and the stage play he wrote, "Cesar and Ruben," which won a Nos Otros Award and four Valley Theater League Awards.

NICOLLETTE SHERIDAN (Nadia) in Fly Me to the Moon

NICOLLETTE SHERIDAN (Nadia) first won a worldwide audience with her starring role on the long-running CBS drama "Knots Landing," but the actress exploded to small-screen success once again in her Golden Globe-nominated role as Edie Britt, the serial divorcee whose romantic conquests keep the neighborhood buzzing on ABC's smash hit "Desperate Housewives." Sheridan was recently honored in her native England with a Glamour Women of the Year Award for Best U.S. Television Actress, adding to her back-to-back 2005-2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Born and raised in England, Sheridan discovered a passion for ballet as a small child and studied furiously, broadening her love of the arts as a student at the Arts Educational School in London. In addition to the theatre, she nurtured her talents as an avid equestrienne as well as a thirst for reading and love of Shakespeare.

Moving to Los Angeles and being courted to explore her acting talents was a natural progression for Sheridan. She first became a household name portraying the beautiful, powerful and manipulative Paige Matheson on "Knots Landing." This led to myriad other roles, including parts in the telefilms "The People Next Door," with Faye Dunaway; "A Time To Heal," opposite Gary Cole; "Indictment: The McMartin Trial," with James Woods; and "Dead Husbands," with John Ritter. She also made a special guest appearance on the season finale of "Will & Grace."

Sheridan was first introduced to film audiences in Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing, opposite John Cusack, before going on to appear in other film comedies such as Noises Off, opposite Michael Caine; Spy Hard, opposite Leslie Nielsen; and Beverly Hills Ninja, starring Chris Farley and Chris Rock. With an affinity for the animated world, Sheridan brought her English accent to the animated series "Tarzan and Jane" and recently completed voicing the role of Zenna in the animated film Noah's Arc: The New Beginning, which co-stars Michael Keaton, Jason Lee, Eliza Dushku, Rob Schneider, Marcia Gay Harden and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Having found much success in front of the camera, Sheridan has more recently turned her attention behind the scenes and is developing several projects for film and television.

Generous with her time, the actress has lent her devotion and star presence to philanthropic causes focused on cancer, women and children at risk and natural disaster relief (e.g., Hurricane Katrina), as well as such entities as the Red Cross, Humane Society, Wildlife Waystation, Starkey Hearing Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Walter Reed Hospital.