Lionsgate, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment Present
A Lionsgate/Sidney Kimmel Entertainment/Lakeshore Entertainment Production
Starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin and Julianna Margulies
Directed by Fisher Stevens
Written by Noah Haidle
Running Time: 95 minutes
Rated: R
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SYNOPSIS
STAND UP GUYS stars Academy Award® winners Al Pacino, Christopher
Walken and Alan Arkin in a tough but touching action comedy as retired gangsters who
reunite for one epic last night.
VAL (Al Pacino) is released from prison after serving twenty-eight years for
refusing to give up one of his close criminal associates. His best friend DOC (Christopher
Walken) is there to pick him up, and the two soon reteam with another old pal, HIRSCH
(Alan Arkin). Their bond is as strong as ever, and the three reflect on freedom lost and
gained, loyalties ebbed and flowed, and days of glory gone by. And despite their age,
their capacity for mayhem is still very much alive and well - bullets fly as they make a
hilariously valiant effort to compensate for the decades of crime, drugs and sex they've
missed.
But one of the friends is keeping a dangerous secret- he's been put in an
impossible quandary by a former mob boss, and his time to find an acceptable
alternative is running out. As the sun rises on the guys' legendary reunion, their
position becomes more and more desperate and they finally confront their past once
and for all.
Lionsgate, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Lakeshore Entertainment present a
Lionsgate, Sidney Kimmel, Lakeshore Entertainment Production. Al Pacino, Christopher
Walken, Alan Arkin "Stand Up Guys" Julianna Margulies. Casting by Tricia Wood, CSA,
Deborah Aquila, CSA; Music by Lyle Workman; Costume Designer Lindsay Ann McKay;
Editor Mark Livolsi, A.C.E; Production Designer Maher Ahmad; Director of Photography
Michael Grady. Executive Producers Eric Reid, Ted Gidlow, Bruce Toll, Bingham Ray,
Matt Berenson. Produced by Sidney Kimmel, Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Jim
Tauber. Written by Noah Haidle. Directed by Fisher Stevens.
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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Producers Tom Rosenberg and colleague Gary Lucchesi first came upon the
story for “Stand Up Guys” when their friend Jim Tauber from Sidney Kimmel
Entertainment sent them writer Noah Haidle’s script. They suggested it might be a
project that Lakeshore Entertainment would have an interest in working on. Rosenberg
recalls that when he read the screenplay he instinctively knew that it had great
potential but … he wanted the opportunity to work a bit with the screenwriter “I liked it
very much,” Rosenberg enthuses about the script.
“I saw what it could be. And Noah Haidle turned
out to be a terrific young writer and a lot of fun to
work with. It was great. I don’t know how he did
“A stand up guy is somebody with
integrity, values and will do the right
thing when the outcome for him will be
wrong.”
it because the experiences of the characters he
—Tom Rosenberg, Producer
created are completely outside Noah’s own life
experiences. It was quite a feat of his skill and imagination.”
Producer Gary Lucchesi adds, “Noah Haidle is a playwright first and I remember
the first time I read ‘Stand Up Guys’ I thought, what a good opportunity this would be to
put three great actors in the roles of Doc, Val and Hirsch, that he created.”
When the producers were satisfied that the script was ready they set out to find
the right director to take the reins of the project. One of Rosenberg’s first thoughts for
the job was his multi-talented friend Fisher Stevens, who has enjoyed a long career both
in front of and behind the camera. Stevens won an Academy Award® for producing the
2009 documentary “The Cove,” which is an important but horrifying expose of the fate
of dolphins in Japan. Although “Stand Up Guys” is a far cry from that film, Rosenberg
intuitively knew that Stevens would respond favorably to the story. “Fisher is very
intelligent,” Rosenberg says of the actor/director/producer. “He really understands
actors. ‘Stand Up Guys’ is an acting piece. It’s not a shooter’s movie, it’s an actor’s movie
and he really knows how to talk to actors. He understands them. I thought he would be
good with the project.”
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Fisher Stevens had recently executive-produced a well-received documentary
about Woody Allen for PBS when producer Rosenberg contacted him with the offer to
direct “Stand Up Guys.” Stevens says, “I’ve known Tom for many years and he’s always
had faith in me as a director ever since he saw my first low, low, low budget movie. He
called and said he’d found a script that I might like to direct. He sent it to me, and when
I read it, I though it was amazing. I very much wanted to direct the project.”
Stevens was enamored of the story for several
reasons, one of which was its take on life-long friends. “I
really related to the story’s take on friendships,” the
director says. “I love the relationships between these men
and the twist at the end, and I also thought it was really
funny and touching and very real. That was our goal, to
keep it very real.”
“One of the reasons I
liked the script is
because it had a retro,
old-style flavor to it.”
—Fisher Stevens,
Director
The film is about an old crew, meaning a group of guys who ran together doing
illegal things, robbing banks and art galleries in their youth. They’ve been friends for a
long time. But 28 years ago, the mob boss ordered his son to run with the crew. Things
went horribly wrong and Val ended up killing the son by mistake during a shootout. He
took the rap for the rest of the guys and went to jail. However, the boss always carried a
grudge and on the day Val is released from jail, the boss orders a hit on him. To Doc’s
grief he’s the one required to carry out the killing. But for one final night they reunite
with Hirsch, the third member of their notorious crew. It’s night on the town between
friends, one that none of them will forget.
Producer Lucchesi was very happy that Fisher Stevens was as enthusiastic about
the project as he and Rosenberg were. “I met Fisher when I was an agent twenty years
ago, so I’ve known him for a long time and have followed his career. I was very happy
for him when he moved on to producing and directing. He’s a wonderful actor, too.
Actors can make quite fine directors. They know how to speak to talent and they have
really great instincts about were the performances should go.”
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Stevens agrees and further comments, “I think I started directing because I love
the whole creative process. I know how to talk to actors because I am one. I can put
myself in each of their positions. Sometimes, in my house, I act out the scenes by myself,
to kind of try different ways of doing them.”
Stevens also gives a great deal of credit to the hands-on approach to producing
that defines the careers or Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi. “Tom always had my
back and we did a lot of prep on this movie,” the director says. “I think that was the key,
so there weren’t a lot of surprises when we got to the set. Tom and Gary gave me an A-
Team because Lakeshore Entertainment has all these brilliant people around them that
they use all the time. That’s another great thing about them, they surround you with A-
List people such as our DP Michael Grady, and I got the greatest AD in the world in
Scotty Robertson.”
As producer Lucchesi proudly adds, “We surround our directors with good
cinematographers and good production designers, and everyone else so they can make
great films.”
“Stand Up Guys” is a simple but great story about real people who are struggling
to get by and they share a deep friendship. “It’s funny and touching and the acting is, I
think, beautiful,” Stevens says. “And it looks beautiful, too. We made something that I
would really want to see,”
What makes a stand up guy? Director Stevens says, “A stand up guy has loyalty,
guts and humor. I hope that audiences are moved when they watch this story of
friendship and that they start to think about their own mortality and their own
friendships. I hope they’ll be entertained and laugh a lot, and that they are transported
to this little world we’ve created.”
CASTING THE FILM
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Director Fisher Stevens was told early on that both Al Pacino and Christopher
Walken had, at one time, been attached to star in “Stand Up Guys.” But as very often
happens in Hollywood, for myriad reasons the film had not been made. Stevens recalls,
“When I got the script, I called Chris (Walken) who was still set to play the role of Val. I
told him that I was directing the movie and in search of somebody to play opposite him.
The producers had given me a list of five possible actors but Al Pacino wasn’t on that
list because they had assumed that for whatever reason, he wasn’t interested because
he’d already been attached before. Well, time went by and for whatever reason
development seemed to be taking forever.
“Then, three days before Christmas my phone rang and it was Al Pacino,”
Stevens continues. “Al, who is an old friend of mine, and who I originally wanted for
‘Stand Up Guys’ said that he’d just seen the Woody Allen documentary and he had
another project that maybe I could help him produce. I told him that I was directing a
feature, one that I knew he was familiar with, so I couldn’t work on his project. I said I
knew he wasn’t interested in my film, to which he responded, ‘I’m not interested?
You’re directing it? Let me look at it again.’ Four weeks later we were in prep! After
almost a year of trying to cast it!”
Academy Award-winner Al Pacino was delighted to at last be part of this project
that he’d previously admired. He says, “The script was one of those good ones that
hovers around and gets passed through a few hands and there were a couple of
readings. It’s the kind of script you think is going to get made because it’s so good. I just
happened to be talking to Fisher Stevens and he told me he was directing this, and I
said, gee, I really like that.”
Pacino and Stevens had known each other for many years, mainly as friends. “I
knew him as an actor too,” Pacino says. “He’s a great actor and he makes great
documentaries and even though he’s young, he’s been around and engaged and
involved in things for a long time. The fact that we could work together and that he was
directing it, was really nice. I believed in him and Tom Rosenberg, who is so
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experienced and so knowledgeable and such a great producer, so, I was happy to jump
in.”
Although Al Pacino and Christopher Walken had known each other for many
years, they never had an opportunity to work together on film. However, director
Stevens instinctively knew that these two professionals would work well together. “It
was just like magic, Stevens says of the chemistry between the two stars. “It was
beautiful to watch and they really admire each other. You see it in their characters and
their performances. There’s love there and it comes out on screen.”
Curiously, when originally cast, Pacino was set to play the role of Doc and
Walken was to play Val. However, Walken mentioned to Stevens that he wasn’t
necessarily crazy about playing Val, that he would actually like to play Doc. Stevens says
he knew that Walken would be great in either role, but could very easily see him as Doc.
“In fact, whenever most people read the script, they were assuming that Chris was going
to play Doc because the character dances and Walken is a trained dancer,” Stevens says.
Producer Luchessi reiterates, “At one point, we thought that Chris Walken
should play Val and Al Pacino should play Doc. But they both felt the reverse very
strongly. They felt that Pacino was really Valentine and Walken was a better Doc. And
when we sat down with them we realized that they were completely right.”
When director Stevens cast Alan Arkin as Hirsch, the actor brought in a whole
new energy to the project. Stevens says, “It was fantastic. Alan and Al had worked
together in the film adaptation of ‘Glengarry Glen Ross,’ but to see the three of them
work together, well it was kind of magical, and I was so blessed as a director to get to
work with three icons and three idols of mine.”
In selecting which to accept of the many roles he is offered, Oscar-winner Alan
Arkin says that the most important criteria is that he must be excited by the script.
“There’s a kind of moving graph that makes me decide to take a role,” Arkin elaborates.
“First of all, the script. If I’m not a hundred percent excited about the script, then that
hundred percent has got to be made up by the people I’m working with and the
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director, so in some way everything has got to add up to a hundred percent.
Occasionally I’ll take a project even if I don’t understand the character, or don’t have a
clear feeling, but if I want to work with the other people enough—the actors and the
director—I feel like something good is going to transpire in rehearsals.”
When Christopher Walken was asked about working with Al Pacino and Alan
Arkin, he said it was inspiring, and that it afforded him the rare opportunity to learn
from the great actors. “To sit across a table and play a scene with Al Pacino is very, very
interesting. And Alan, he makes it looks so easy.” Walkin felt it was like dancing, that
your partner makes you better.
For the role of Nina, an ER nurse who is also Hirsch’s daughter, director Stevens
was excited when multiple Emmy Award®-winner Julianna Margulies accepted the role.
Margulies, the beloved star of televisions “The Good Wife,” and previously on “ER” and
many other programs, had known the director for many years and had worked with
Stevens in stage productions at his Naked Angels theater company. Stevens says, “I just
read the script and thought okay, Julianna would be perfect! I knew that if our filming
dates weren’t during her work on ‘The Good Wife’ that she would squeeze us into her
schedule. She’s the coolest person and when I asked if she’d play Nina, she simply said,
‘I’ll do it, of course! Whatever you need.’”
Julianna Margulies says that accepting the role of Nina was for her a “No brainer.
I mean you can’t pass up a chance to work with Al Pacino and Christopher Walken! It’s
like being in a master class. That’s what I was telling Fisher Stevens who is an old friend
of mine. He was another reason to say yes.”
Margulies completely agrees with what director Stevens believes about actors
who become directors having a better understanding of the process of creating a
character. “I think directors have a lot on their hands, but when an actor directs you,
there’s just a little bit more ease with the language that explains what they want in a
scene because they’ve done it,” she says.
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“‘Stand Up Guys’ is a character-driven
story and stars three of the greatest actors we’ve
“You definitely want to listen
to the dialogue because it’s
stupendous.”
film. “It’s a funny, sweet, touching, sad film and
—Julianne Margulies, as Nina
ever had in this country,” Margulies says of the
it’s really a love story. One of the things that
Fisher (Stevens) keeps saying is that he wants
this movie to have a ‘70s feel, and it does. It feels a lot to me the way Sidney Lumet’s
movies used to feel.”
“We were very lucky to get Julianna,” raves producer Rosenberg. “She’s a good
friend of Fisher’s and she responded right away. And she had a great time.”
ABOUT THE MUSIC BY JON BON JOVI
With the message of friendship and loyalty between the characters of Val and Doc,
singer/songwriter/musician Jon Bon Jovi was eager to write for “Stand Up Guys.” “After
reading the script, I was really taken by the ideas of trust and the brotherhood of these
two guys. These are underlying themes in a lot of my songs.”
One of the most influential music artists of the past quarter century, a GRAMMY®
winner, Golden Globe winner, humanitarian and an inductee into the Songwriters Hall
of Fame, Bon Jovi had his first film music writing assignment more than two decades
ago with director Geoff Murphy's western "Young Guns II," and captured an Academy
Award® nomination and won the Golden Globe for his original song "Blaze of Glory." For
“Stand Up Guys” he immersed himself in the script and wrote “Not Running Anymore”
and “Old Habits Die Hard.”
“Whenever I’m writing a song, as I did with ‘Not Running Anymore,’ I put myself in
the place of the character, in this case Al Pacino’s character, Val, who for twenty-eight
years has never said a word about what led to his jail sentence,” Bon Jovi says. “He is the
quintessential ‘stand up guy,’ he didn’t betray his friends. They went on and lived a life
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without him, but he was always not far away from their hearts.”
“There’s nothing that isn’t
timeless or classic about the
themes in this movie. Having a
stand up guy in your life makes
you one lucky man.”
—Jon Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi the actor was able to put himself in
the character’s shoes as he was writing the songs
for the film. “When Val goes to confession and the
priest says, ‘No hail Marys are going to save you
this time,’ there it was, I just put myself in the
confessional booth in the first line of the lyrics.
‘Bless me Father, I have sinned …’”
The inspiration for “Old Habits Die Hard” also came directly from the dialogue in
the film. “On page one, scene one, when I first sat down with my guitar and started to
come up with melodies, it was stream of consciousness. But again, I wanted to be in the
character and in the moment.” And there’s a line of dialogue that would not typically be
a song lyric,” says Bon Jovi, “but it’s the first line of the song -- ‘You look like shit,’ ‘So do
you, my brother’ – now I’ve got these two brothers, pals talking to each other, and we
take off from there.”
Director Fisher Stevens is admittedly obsessed with music. “The music is one of
my favorite things about this movie,” Stevens says. “We have Muddy Waters, Baby Huey
and Charles Bradley who’s a 70 year old singer who has just been rediscovered. He’s
amazing. Then there’s this guy, I don’t know if anyone has ever heard of him, named Jon
Bon Jovi,” Steven’s laughs. “Jon came up with some great stuff. His songs are great and
he’s a nice dude, too.”
ABOUT THE CAST
AL PACINO (Val) will next be seen opposite Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin
in Fisher Steven’s STAND UP GUYS. Pacino is an eight-time Academy Award nominee.
After having received Best Actor nominations for ... And Justice For All, The Godfather
Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, and Serpico (which also earned him a Golden Globe Award),
Pacino won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Lt. Colonel Frank Slade in
Scent Of A Woman (for which he also won a Golden Globe Award).
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He received three nominations as Best Supporting Actor for his roles as Michael
Corleone in The Godfather, Dick Tracy (he also won a 1990 American Comedy Award
for this role), and in David Mamet's screen adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross.
In 2005, Pacino starred as Shylock in the Shakespearean adaptation of Merchant
of Venice, directed by Michael Radford. In 2004, he won an Emmy for his portrayal of
Roy Cohn in HBO’s television adaptation of Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America” for
director Mike Nichols. Earlier that year he was seen on-stage as King Herod in Oscar
Wilde’s Salome both off-Broadway in Brooklyn and on Broadway and as Arturo Ui in
Bertolt Brecht's The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui at Pace University. His other recent
film credits include Miramax Film’s People I Know for director Dan Algrant and Disney’s
The Recruit in which he starred with Colin Farrell.
In 2002 Pacino starred with Robin Williams and Hilary Swank in Christopher
Nolan's Insomnia and in writer-director Andrew Niccol's Simone. In late 1999, Pacino
was seen in The Insider for Touchstone Pictures. In the film, he played 60 Minutes
reporter Lowell Bergman and starred opposite Russell Crowe and Christopher
Plummer.
Michael Mann directed this film, which received 7 Academy Award
nominations. Pacino also starred in Oliver Stone's football saga, Any Given Sunday,
where he portrayed a football coach and starred opposite Cameron Diaz, James Woods,
and Dennis Quaid.
In 2000 Pacino completed his second directorial effort, Chinese Coffee, a film in
which he also stars and produces. This film is based on a play written by Ira Lewis that
Pacino performed at Circle in the Square in 1992.
The story revolves around a
conversation between a Greenwich Village writer and his friend, as they talk about
friendship, love, and dreams.
He also directed and starred in Looking for Richard, a meditation on
Shakespeare's Richard III, which he conceived and directed (and for which he received
the Outstanding Directorial Achievement for a Documentary award from the Director's
Guild of America). The film also starred Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, and Aidan Quinn.
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Pacino's other film credits include Mike Newell's Donnie Brasco, a film which co-
starred Johnny Depp; The Devil's Advocate, with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron;
Miramax's Two Bits, with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio; Heat, with Robert De Niro and
Val Kilmer, directed by Michael Mann; City Hall, which also starred John Cusack, Bridget
Fonda, and Danny Aiello; and in Brian de Palma's Carlito's Way.
Additional films include Frankie & Johnny, The Godfather, Part III, Sea Of Love,
Revolution, Scarface, Author! Author!, Bobby Deerfield, and Scarecrow, for which he
received the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. He made his film
debut in 1971 in The Panic In Needle Park.
Pacino produced, starred in and co-directed the independent film adaptation of
the play The Local Stigmatic, presented in March 1990 at New York's Museum of
Modern Art and the Public Theatre.
After studying with Herbert Berghof and later with Lee Strasberg at the Actor's
Studio, Pacino made his professional acting debut in off-Broadway productions of The
Connection and Hello, Out There. He then won an Obie Award for Israel Horovitz's The
Indian Wants The Bronx.
Pacino has won two Tony Awards for his starring roles in The Basic Training of
Pavlo Hummel and Does A Tiger Wear A Necktie? He is a longtime member of David
Wheeler's Experimental Theatre Company of Boston, where he has performed in
Richard III and in Bertolt Brecht's Arturo Ui. In New York and London, he acted in
David Mamet's American Buffalo. Also in New York, he appeared in Richard III and as
Marc Antony in Julius Caesar at the late Joseph Papp's Public Theatre.
During the spring and summer of 1994, Pacino appeared in repertory at Circle in
the Square.
He presented the New York debut of Oscar Wilde's Salome and the
premiere presentation of Ira Lewis' Chinese Coffee. He directed and starred in Eugene
O'Neill's Hughie, which opened in early July 1996 at the Long Wharf Theatre in New
Haven, and moved to Circle in the Square in New York in mid-July where it continued its
run through the end of August.
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Pacino won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Independent Feature
Project (IFP) at their 1996 Gotham Awards. In 2000, Pacino was honored by the Film
Society of Lincoln Center. He also received the Cecil B. De Mille Award by the Hollywood
Foreign Press in 2001.
In late 2005, Pacino starred as Walter Abrams in Universal’s Two for the Money.
A thriller about the high-stakes world of sports betting, the film also starred Mathew
McConaughey and Rene Russo.
On October 20, 2006, the American Film Institute named Pacino the recipient of
the 35th AFI Life Achievement Award.
On November 22, 2006, the University
Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin awarded Pacino the Honorary Patronage
of the Society.
Pacino starred in Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean's Thirteen alongside George
Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould and Andy García as the villain Willy Bank,
a casino tycoon targeted out of revenge by Danny Ocean and his crew.
Pacino played Dr. Jack Kevorkian in an HBO Films biopic entitled You Don't
Know Jack, which premiered April 2010. The film is about the life and work of the
doctor-assisted suicide advocate. The performance earned Pacino his second Emmy
Award for lead actor and his fourth Golden Globe award.
It was announced in May 2011 that Pacino was to be honored with the "Glory to
the Film-maker" award at the 68th Venice International Film Festival. The award will be
presented ahead of the premier of his film Wilde Salome which is the third film Pacino
has directed. Pacino who plays the role of Herod in the film describes it as "most
personal project ever".
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN (Doc) was last seen opposite Colin Farrell and Woody
Harrelson in Martin McDonagh’s “Seven Psychopaths.” He won an Academy Award®
and the New York Film Critic's Circle Award for his performance in “The Deer Hunter.”
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Walken also received an Academy Award® nomination and won BAFTA® and SAG
awards for “Catch Me if You Can,” directed by Steven Spielberg. Additionally, in 2010, he
was nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his performance in A
Behanding in Spokane that was done in 2010 and was written by Martin McDonagh the
director of “Seven Psychopaths.” Film credits include “Annie Hall,” “Pennies From
Heaven,” “The Dead Zone,” “At Close Range,” “Biloxi Blues,” “King of New York,” “Man
On Fire,” “Man of the Year,” “Wedding Crashers,” “True Romance,” “Pulp Fiction,”
“Batman Returns.” Theatre credits include The Lion In Winter (Clarence Derwent
Award), The Seagull (Obie), The Rose Tattoo (Theatre World Award), James Joyce's The
Dead, The Seagull (NY Shakespeare Festival). Walken also performed in a Spike Jonzedirected music video for “Weapon of Choice.” Walken’s most recently completed film is
“A Late Quartet” in which he stars opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine
Keener. Walken will next appear in “Stand-Up Guys” starring alongside Al Pacino and
Alan Arkin in December.
ALAN ARKIN (Hirsch) has long one of the most respected artists of the stage and
screen. He won an Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in
the 2006 hit “Little Miss Sunshine.” For the same role Arkin also won an Independent
Spirit Award and a BAFTA Award, and shared in a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award®
for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast, in addition to receiving an individual SAG Award®
nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Arkin launched his career with Chicago's
improvisational revue "Second City." This led to his 1963 Broadway bow in the play
“Enter Laughing,” based on Carl Reiner’s book, for which Arkin won a Tony® Award.
The following year, he starred on Broadway in Murray Schisgal's hit “LUV.”
In 1966, Arkin made his major feature film debut, starring in Norman Jewison’s
comedy smash “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.”
For his
performance in the comedy, Arkin earned his first Oscar® nomination, for Best Actor,
and won a Golden Globe Award. He garnered a second Best Actor Oscar® nomination
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for his performance in the 1968 drama “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” for which he also
won a New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Award and received a Golden Globe
nomination. He gained another Golden Globe nomination for the title role in “Popi.”
With more than 70 films spanning over 45 years, his long list of credits includes
“Wait Until Dark,” “Catch-22,” “Little Murders,” which marked his feature film
directorial debut; “Hearts of the West,” for which he won an NYFCC Award; “The SevenPer-Cent Solution,” “The In-Laws,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Havana,” “Glengarry Glen
Ross,” “Mother Night,” “So I Married an Axe Murderer,” “Grosse Point Blank,” “Gattaca,”
“Slums of Beverly Hills,” “Jakob the Liar,” “America’s Sweethearts,” “Thirteen
Conversations About One Thing,” receiving another Spirit Award nomination; “The
Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” “Rendition,” “Thin Ice,” “City Island” and “Sunshine
Cleaning.”
More recently, Arkin starred I “The Muppets,” “Marley & Me,” “The Change-Up,”
“Get Smart,” and the Ben Affleck-directed “Argo.”
Arkin has also been recognized for his work on television, earning four Emmy
Award nominations, the most recent for his performance in the telefilm “The Pentagon
Papers.” He also earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his work in the true-
life Holocaust drama “Escape from Sobibor.” His other Emmy nods came for his guest
role on “Chicago Hope” and the drama “ABC Stage 67.”
Among his many other
television credits, Arkin starred in the acclaimed A&E series “100 Centre Street,”
created, written and directed by Sidney Lumet and also appeared in the Showtime
movie “Varian’s War.” In addition, Arkin directed the television adaptation of the
Broadway play “Twigs,” starring Carol Burnett, and two episodes of the PBS series
“Trying Times.”
Arkin began directing for the stage in 1966 with the much acclaimed “Eh?,”
starring Dustin Hoffman at the Circle in the Square. He then won an Obie for directing
Jules Feiffer’s “Little Murders,” followed by Feiffer’s “The White House Murder Case.”
He won Drama Desk Awards for his direction of both plays, also presented at Circle in
the Square. On Broadway, Arkin directed the Neil Simon hit “The Sunshine Boys,” for
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which he was nominated for a Tony for Best Direction of a Play. In 1998, he directed,
starred in and co-wrote, with Elaine May, the hit production of “Power Plays” at the
Promenade Theatre. His directing work also includes the Broadway musical “Molly”;
“Rubbers and Yanks Three,” at The American Place Theater; “Joan of Lorraine,” at the
Hartman in Stamford; “The Sorrows of Stephen”; at the Burt Reynolds Theatre, starring
his son Adam; and “Room Service,” at the Roundabout in New York.
Arkin has also written several books, including eight children's books, the latest
entitled “Tony's Hard Work Day.” An earlier book, “The Lemming Condition,” was
honored by The Book Sellers of America by being placed in the White House Library. In
2011, Arkin released a memoir entitled “An Improvised Life.”
JULIANNA MARGULIES (Nina Hirsch) is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen
Actors Guild award winner.
On television, Margulies is currently appearing on the fourth season of the CBS
hit "The Good Wife," in a role which has won her a second Emmy, as well as a Golden
Globe and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Margulies portrays a wife and mother, who
must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce as a trial
lawyer, after her politician husband gets caught in a very public sex scandal. The show
co-stars Christine Baranski, Josh Charles and Chris Noth.
Margulies was featured in a multi-episode guest role in HBO's "The Sopranos,"
opposite James Gandolfini. Other television credits include Fox's "Canterbury's Law," in
which she starred, and served as producer, alongside Denis Leary and Jim Serpico of
Apostle Productions. She also starred in "The Grid," a miniseries from TNT and BBC
opposite Dylan McDermott, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, as well
as TNT's original miniseries "The Mists of Avalon" opposite Anjelica Huston and Joan
Allen. She also starred as one of the original members of the groundbreaking show “ER”
for which she received both an Emmy Award and two SAG Awards as nurse Carol
Hathaway.
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Margulies' feature film credits include the dark comedy, "The Darwin Awards,"
directed by Finn Taylor opposite Winona Ryder and Joe Fiennes, David R. Ellis' "Snakes
on a Plane" opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Jay Alaimo's "Slingshot" opposite David
Arquette and Balthazar Getty, Steve Beck's "Ghost Ship" opposite Gabriel Byrne, and
Bruce Beresford's "Evelyn" opposite Pierce Bronson. Other film credits include "What's
Cooking," an ensemble drama directed by Gurinder Chadha, Richard Linklater's "The
Newton Boys," Boaz Yakin's "A Price Above Rubies," Jack Green's "Traveller," Bruce
Beresford's "Paradise Road" and George Hickenlooper's "The Man From Elysian Fields,"
opposite Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger. She was most recently seen in "City Island," costarring Andy Garcia, Alan Arkin, and Emily Mortimer.
On stage, Margulies made her Broadway debut in 2006 starring in "Festen"
opposite Michael Hayden, Larry Bryggman, Ali MacGraw, and Jeremy Sisto. Margulies
completed a successful run in Jon Robin Baitz's "Ten Unknowns" at Lincoln Center
opposite Donald Sutherland for which she won the Lucille Lortel Award. Other theater
credits include "The Vagina Monologues" both Off Broadway and in the Los Angeles
premiere, "Fefu and Her Friends" for the Yale Repertory Theatre, "The Substance of
Fire" at the Aolso Theatre, "Living Expenses, Dan Drift, and Book of Names" at the
Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and "Intrigue with Faye" at the NY Stage and
Film Festival. She also appeared on stage in "The Lover," "In the Boom Boom Room,"
and "Balm and Gilead."
Margulies was born in New York, where she currently resides.
ADDISON TIMLIN (Alex) began her acting career at the age of nine starring in
the National Tour of "Annie." She went on to appear in the Broadway revival of “Gypsy”
with Tony® Award winner Bernadette Peters and directed by Sam Mendes. She made
her screen debut in the 2005 film “Derailed” opposite Clive Owen and Melissa George.
Timlin starred in the critically acclaimed “Afterschool,” which premiered at the 2008
Cannes Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard program. She guest starred in a
recurring role on Showtime's hit comedy “Californication," where she played David
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Duchovny's starlet girlfriend, Sasha Bingham. In 2011 she co-starred in the
independent film “Lumpy” with Justin Long, Jess Weixler and Tyler Labine. The film will
have its world premiere at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival.
Timlin”s upcoming films include the ensemble comedy “The Bounceback” and
Stephen Sommers’ adaptation of the Dean Koontz novel “Odd Thomas” with Anton
Yelchin and Willem Dafoe.
VANESSA FERLITO (Sylvia) a Brooklyn, NY, native, developed acting aspirations
early in life and broke into the entertainment business via television, with guest spots
and recurring roles on crime-themed series programs including “CSI: New York” and
“The Sopranos.”
Vanessa is just about to begin shooting “Graceland” for the USA network from
writer Jeff Eastin.
Ferlito was last seen starring in “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” Nora
Ephron’s “Julie & Julia” opposite Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci and Amy Adams; Tyler
Perry’s hit film “Madea Goes to Jail” for Lionsgate, as well as in Alfredo de Villa’s
“Nothing Like the Holidays” with Alfred Molina, John Leguizamo and Jay Hernandez.
Prior to that Ferlito starred in Quentin Tarantino’s “Deathproof” opposite Kurt
Russell; Lee Daniel’s “Shadowboxer” with Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr., and in
Stephen Herek’s “Man of the House” opposite Tommy Lee Jones.
On the small screen, Ferlito was a series regular on CBS’s enormously successful
“CSI: NY” as a member of the forensic investigation team led by Gary Sinise. She also
appeared in other highly acclaimed series, including HBO’s “The Sopranos,” NBC’s “Law
& Order” and “Third Watch” and a recurring role as Claudia in FOX’s smash hit series
“24.”
In 2003, Ferlito starred as Lizette Sanchez in John Leguizamo’s acclaimed boxing
drama “Undefeated” which earned her an NAACP nomination for Outstanding Actress in
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a TV Movie. In 2002, she appeared in Spike Lee’s “The 25th Hour” with Edward Norton,
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper.
LUCY PUNCH (Wendy) is a native of England, and began acting at an early age,
performing with the National Youth Theatre.
Among her most recent feature film credits are “Bad Teacher,” “A Good Old
Fashioned Orgy,” “Take Me Home Tonight,” “A Little Bit of Heaven,” “Dinner for
Schmucks” and “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.”
Punch also starred in the television series “Ben and Kate.” Among her upcoming
feature films are “Cottage Country,” “Someone Marry Barry” and “Of Corset’s Mine.” She
will also be seen in the made for television movie “Powers.”
MARK MARGOLIS (Claphands) has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as
an actor. After studying drama with Stella Adler and at the Actors Studio, he began
appearing in feature films and television movies and series. Among his early credits are
“Short Eyes,” “Dressed to Kill,” “Arthur,” “Scarface,” “The Cotton Club,” “Eddie Macon’s
Run,” “Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale,” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.” More recently he
appeared in “Back Swan,” “Nobody,” “Gone Baby Gone,” and “The Fountain. He will soon
be seen in “Repatriate, “Northern Borders,” “Beneath” and “Noah.”
Margolis has appeared in numerous television series including “Fairly Legal,”
“Person of Interest,” “Law & Order Special Victims Unit,” “The Good Wife,” “Breaking
Bad,” “Blue Bloods,” “Californication” and “Crossing Jordan.” He also appeared in the TV
movies “Mildred Pierce” and “Ben Again,” among others.
KATHERYN WINNICK’s (Oxana) recent career highlights include a sexy turn
opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in Ed Zwick’s “Love and Other Drugs,” a
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fun, physically demanding role as one of the eponymous assassins in the Ashton
Kutcher/Katherine Heigl action-comedy, “Killers” (in which she did all her own stunts),
and a recurring role as David Borneaz’s love interest on Fox’s hit primetime TV series
“Bones.” But it was her subtly endearing performance in Sophie Barthes’ “Cold Souls”
(2009)—one that that resulted in a nomination for Best Ensemble Cast at that year’s
Independent Spirit Awards, together with her Academy Award®-nominated co-stars
Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson, and David Straitharn—that Winnick considers among her
most precious acting memories to date.
Winnick will soon be seen with Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon in “The Black
Marks” and Charlie Sheen in “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III” (a film
whose star-studded cast also includes Bill Murray, Patricia Arquette and Jason
Schwartzman), “Vikings,” the new, eagerly-anticipated television series from MGM &
The History Channel; an epic period drama, she stars opposite Golden Globe® winner
Gabriel Byrne.
In addition to her acting career, Winnick is an accomplished martial artist. After
receiving her first black belt at age of thirteen, she went on to compete in the Canadian
Nationals, opened a handful of highly successful Tae Kwon Do schools in and around
Toronto, and trained to become a licensed bodyguard. She currently holds a thirddegree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and a second-degree Black Belt in Karate, and she can
pretty much kill you in her sleep.
BILL BURR (Larry) is one of the top comedic voices of his generation achieving
success in TV and film as well as the stage. Selling out theaters internationally, Burr is a
regular with Letterman, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon, and his third hour-long
comedy special, “You People Are All The Same” premiered on Netflix this year. Burr
was seen again this summer in his recurring role on the hit AMC-TV show, “Breaking
Bad,” and he is currently filming the Paul Feig film, “The Heat,” starring Sandra Bullock
and Melissa McCarthy.
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Burr’s “Monday Morning” podcast is one of the most downloaded comedy
podcasts on iTunes and his two critically acclaimed hour Comedy Central specials are
available on Netflix and DVD.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
FISHER STEVENS (Director) previously directed the documentaries “Decisions,”
“Deepest Dive: The Story of the Trieste” and “Crazy Love.” He also directed episodes of
the television series “Early Edition” as well as the shorts “Phinehas” and “Call of the
Wylie.”
His long list of credits as an actor include the feature films “Awake,” “Slow Burn,”
“Uptown Girls,” “Sam the Man,” “Four Days in September,” “Super Mario Brothers,”
“Short Circuit” and “Short Circuit 2.”
On television, Stevens has appeared on innumerable episodics and comedies.
Among these are “Law & Order Special Victims Unit,” “Damages,” “Californication,” “The
Mentalist,” “Lost,” “Ugly Betty,” “Medium,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Hope &
Faith,” “Frasier,” “Early Edition,” “Friends” and “Columbo.”
TOM ROSENBERG (Producer) is the chairman and CEO of Lakeshore
Entertainment, which he founded in 1994. He produced “Million Dollar Baby,” which
won the 2004 Academy Award® for Best Picture. Directed by and starring Clint
Eastwood and co-starring Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, the film also won
Oscars® for Eastwood (Best Director), Swank (Best Actress) and Freeman (Best
Supporting Actor). Rosenberg recently produced “The Lincoln Lawyer,” starring
Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillipe and the upcoming film “One
For the Money,” starring Katherine Heigl. Rosenberg also produced “The Ugly Truth,”
Heigl and Gerard Butler, directed by Robert Luketic; “Crank” and “Crank: High Voltage,”
starring Jason Statham. He is currently in post-production on the fourth installment of
the “Underworld” franchise, “Underworld 4” starring Kate Beckinsale, as well as “Gone”
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starring Amanda Seyfried. He also produced “Elegy,” the film adaptation of Philip
Roth’s novel, “The Dying Animal,” starring Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley. Rosenberg
is currently in post-production on “I, Frankenstein” starring Aaron Eckhart and preproduction on “American Pastoral.”
Among the other recent feature film projects produced by Lakeshore is the
reinvention of the movie classic “Fame: Untraceable,” starring Diane Lane and directed
by Gregory Hoblit; “Feast of Love” starring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear, directed
by Robert Benton; “The Dead Girl,” which was nominated for three Independent Spirit
Awards, including Best Feature, directed by Karen Moncrieff; and “The Last Kiss,”
starring Zach Braff and Jacinda Barrett, directed by Tony Goldwyn.
Additional Lakeshore projects include the first three “Underworld” films, “The
Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Cave,” “Wicker Park,” “the Human Stain,” “The Gift,”
“Autumn in New York,” “Passion of the Mind,” “The Mothman Prophecies,” “Runaway
Bride,” “Arlington Road,” 200 Cigarettes,” “Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy,” “’Til There
Was You,” “Box of Moonlight,” “the Real Blonde” and “Going All the Way.”
Rosenberg began his film career as co-founder of Beacon Communications,
under whose banner he served as executive producer of such films as “The
Commitments,” “Sugar Hill,” “A Midnight Clear,” “Princess Caraboo,” “the Hurricane”
and “The Road to Welvile.”
GARY LUCCHESI (Producer) serves as president of Lakeshore Entertainment, an
independent film company based in Los Angeles. He also serves as vice president,
motion pictures for the Producers Guild of America.
Lucchesi was the Executive Producer on the critically acclaimed “Million Dollar
Baby” which won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Clint Eastwood), Best Actress
(Hilary Swank), and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). Lucchesi recently
completed “One For the Money,” starring Katherine Heigl and “Underworld Awakening”
starring Kate Beckinsale. His other recent credits include “The Lincoln Lawyer” starring
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Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei; “The Ugly Truth,” directed by Robert Luketic
and starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler; “Crank” starring Jason Statham; and
“Elegy,” the film adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel, “The Dying Animal,” starring
Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.
Additional credits with Lakeshore Entertainment include “The Last Kiss,”
starring Zach Braff and Jacinda Barrett, directed by Tony Goldwyn; box office smash
“The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “The Mothman Prophecies,” starring Richard Gere and
Laura Linney; “Autumn in New York,” starring Gere and Winona Ryder; Sam Raimi’s
“The Gift,” starring Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank and
Giovanni Ribisi. In addition, Lucchesi was the executive producer on the box-office hit
“Runaway Bride,” starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and directed by Garry
Marshall. Prior to that, he produced “The Human Stain,” based on the Philip Roth novel,
directed by Academy Award winner Robert Benton and starring Anthony Hopkins and
Nicole Kidman.
Lucchesi previously served as president of Gary Lucchesi Productions, an
independent production company where he produced “Primal Fear,” for which Edward
Norton was nominated for an Oscar. He also produced the Emmy-nominated “Gotti” and
“Breast Men” for HBO. In addition, Lucchesi produced the Emmy-winning Showtime
movie “Wild Iris.”
While president of Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s The Really Useful Film Co., Lucchesi
executive produced the film version of the musical “Cats,” as well as original feature
films and direct-to-video releases of other theater hits.
Prior to becoming an independent producer, Lucchesi was president of
production at Paramount and oversaw such films as “Ghost,” “Indian Jones and the Last
Crusade,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Coming to America,” “The
Naked Gun,” “The Godfather: Part III,” “Star Trek,” “Black Rain” and “The Untouchables”
He also worked at TriStar Pictures for four years as both vice president and senior vice
president of production. Lucchesi began his career in Los Angeles as an agent for the
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William Morris Agency where he represented such stars as Kevin Costner, Michelle
Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and John Malkovich.
SIDNEY KIMMEL (Producer) is chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel
Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based motion picture financing and production
company.
Active in the motion picture industry for more than 30 years, Kimmel’s passion
as an independent producer throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s eventually led to the
founding of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment in October 2004. The Company develops,
finances and produces three to five features per year, working with esteemed
filmmaking talent to create quality, commercial films.
Prior to his success in filmed entertainment, Kimmel founded Jones Apparel
Group in 1975, which has since grown into a $4.5 billion diversified fashion industry
empire. Kimmel also founded the Sidney Kimmel Foundation and its subsidiary, the
Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, which is one of the nation's largest
individual donors to cancer research. Kimmel is extremely involved in philanthropic
endeavors benefiting his hometown of Philadelphia as well as Jewish education and
continuity. He oversaw the opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in
Philadelphia, home of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra. He is also a partner
in Cipriani International, the acclaimed international restaurant and catering
establishment, and is a part owner of The Miami Heat.
Kimmel and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment co-financed and produced or co-
produced more than 35 motion pictures since its inception. Kimmel most recently
executive produced Sony’s “Moneyball,” and produced the hit thriller “The Lincoln
Lawyer,” starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe and William H.
Macy, in association with Lakeshore Entertainment released by Lions Gate
Entertainment. Upcoming releases include “Stand-Up Guys,” directed by Fisher Stevens,
starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, produced in association with
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Lakeshore Entertainment for release by Lions Gate Entertainment; the Taylor Hackford
directed “Parker,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Jason Statham, in association with
Sierra/Affinity and Incentive Filmed Entertainment, to be released by Film District; and
“The Place Beyond the Pines,” directed by Derek Cianfrance, starring Ryan Gosling,
Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes, to premiere at TIFF.
Kimmel financed and produced, both independently and with studio partners,
“Adventureland,” the Greg Mottola-directed critical hit, starring Jesse Eisenberg and
Kristen Stewart, co-financed and co-produced with Miramax; “Synecdoche, New York,”
the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman,
starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Sony Pictures Classics; and the remake of its own
2006 British comedy “Death at a Funeral,” with co-writer/co-producer Chris Rock
leading an all-star ensemble cast; the Academy Award-nominated United 93 directed by
Paul Greengrass, in association with Universal Pictures, who was nominated for an
Academy Award for his direction of the film; and the critical hit Breach, starring Chris
Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney.
Prior Kimmel releases include Marc Forster's “The Kite Runner,” based on the
acclaimed novel of the same name, produced with DreamWorks Pictures, Participant
Productions, and Parkes/MacDonald Productions, released by Paramount Vantage; the
Academy-Award nominated “Lars and the Real Girl,” starring Ryan Gosling, Patricia
Clarkson, and Emily Mortimer, directed by Craig Gillespie and released by MGM.
JIM TAUBER (Producer) president and COO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment,
has extensive experience working on both studio and independent productions. At SKE
he has overseen the company’s financing, production and distribution of 25 films,
including “Lars and the Real Girl” and “The Lincoln Lawyer.” He joined SKE after a
three-year stint at Twentieth Century Fox, where he was worldwide executive vice
president, acquisitions & co-productions. He formerly served as president and chief
operating officer of Anonymous Content, helping to found and manage the multimedia
company. Tauber segued to Anonymous from Propaganda Films where, during his
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tenure as president and COO, he oversaw the production of more than 1000 music
videos, 700 commercials and 30 feature films including David Fincher’s “The Game” and
Spike Jonze’s “Being John Malkovich.” While at Propaganda he also helped to create the
theatrical distribution company Gramercy for Polygram. From 1983-91, Tauber was
executive vice president of legal and business affairs and acquisitions for Columbia/TriStar Pictures, responsible for structuring and negotiation for all home video, television
and theatrical acquisition and sales agreements, as well as the production of over fifty
films including sex, lies and videotape, and One False Move.
NOAH HAIDLE’s (Screenplay By) plays have premiered at Lincoln Center
Theater, The Roundabout Theatre Company, The Goodman Theatre, The Huntington
Theatre, The Long Wharf Theatre, The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, South Coast
Repertory, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The
NYC Summer Play Festival, HERE Arts Center, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsuhe in
Germany, Finborough Theatre in London, the Silo Theatre in New Zealand, as well as
many others around the United States and abroad.
He has taught playwriting at Princeton University, The Kennedy Center, South
Coast Repertory, Aquinas College, and in Kenya and Uganda as part of The Sundance
Theatre Institute. Mr. Haidle is a graduate of Princeton University and The Juilliard
School, where he was a Lila Acheson Wallace playwright-in-residence. He is the
recipient of three Lincoln Center Le Compte Du Nuoy Awards, the 2005 Helen Merrill
Award for Emerging Playwrights, the 2007 Claire Tow Award, and an NEA/TCG theatre
residency grant. His plays are published by Methuen in London, Suhrkamp in Berlin,
and Dramatists Play Service in New York City.
“Stand Up Guys” is his first produced screenplay.
MICHAEL GRADY’s (Director of Cinematography) recent feature work includes
2003’s “Wonderland” directed by James Cox, with Val Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, Kate
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Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Dylan McDermott, and Eric Bogosian and released by Lion’s Gate.
He shot Warner Independent’s “Around The Bend” directed by Jordan Roberts, starring
Christopher Walken, Josh Lucas, and Michael Caine. “Around The Bend” was released in
2004, and won the Jury Special Grand Prize and Best Actor at the Montreal World Film
Festival, as well as best feature at the San Diego Film Festival and The Sao Paulo
International Film Festival. Grady also shot “Neverwas” starring Aaron Eckhart,
Brittany Murphy, Ian McKellen, William Hurt, Nick Nolte, and Jessica Lange. His other
credits include Lion’s Gate in 2007 “Bug” directed by William Friedkin and starring
Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, and Harry Connick Jr. “Bug” won the Director’s Fortnight
Critics Award in the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Following was “Factory Girl” released
by The Weinstein Company. “Factory Girl” stars Sienna Miller, Guy Pierce, and Hayden
Christensen. Also, “The Dead Girl” with Toni Collette, Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany
Murphy, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Rose Byrne, Mary Beth Hurt, Kerry Washington, and
Giovanni Ribisi. “The Dead Girl” won the Grand Special Prize at the 2007 Deauville Film
Festival and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards in 2007, including
Best Picture. Also in that year, Michael became a member of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences.
In late 2008 and early 2009, Grady shot DreamWorks’ “Hotel For Dogs” starring
Don Cheadle, Emma Roberts, and Lisa Kudrow. The project was produced by Lauren
Schuler Donner and Ivan Reitman and released in 2009. He shot Fox Searchlight’s
“Notorious,” a biography of The Notorious B.I.G. starring Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie,
Angela Bassett, and Jamal Woolard. His other credits include the Golden Globe®
nominated “Easy A” from Sony Screen Gems with Emma Stone, Patricia Clarkson,
Stanley Tucci, and Thomas Hayden Church; the Sony, Castle Rock, and CBS Films’
“Faster” starring Billy Bob Thornton and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Friends With
Benefits” starring Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Woody Harrelson, Richard Jenkins, and
Jenna Elfman and “Gone” starring Amanda Seyfried.
Grady’s early film work and background included graduating from the American
Film Institute in 1996, and subsequently shooting many short films, music videos, and
numerous independent features that enjoyed success at film festivals worldwide
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including Sundance, Cannes, South By Southwest, Avignon, Toronto, and Montreal.
Grady’s documentary feature work includes the Academy Award finalist and DGA
award nominee, “Beyond the Mat” from Imagine Films. “Beyond The Mat” was released
in 2000, won Best Documentary Feature at SXSW and the Las Vegas Film Critics Society
Award, and was produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Further, between 1999
and 2002, Grady was Director of Photography on over 50 hours of narrative television
series for Warner Brothers, Paramount, CBS, USA, and Sci-Fi. From 2002 to present, he
has shot numerous pilots for Universal, CBS/Paramount, Warner Brother’s, and Fox.
Commercials are also a current focus of Grady’s work.
MARK LIVOLSI, A.C.E. (Editor) hails from suburban Pittsburgh, where his father
worked as an illustrator for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He studied his craft at Penn
State University before setting out for New York City, where he began his career cutting
TV commercials at a local production house.
He next moved into sound editing (assisting on Mike Nichols’ “Heartburn”) before
meeting editor Joe Hutching on Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street” (where Hutching worked as
an assistant alongside Livolsi’s role as an apprentice editor). Soon thereafter, Livolsi
began establishing his cutting room skills by assisting such veterans as Susan E. Morse
(four Woody Allen films -- “Deconstructing Harry,” “Alice,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,”
“Shadows and Fog”), Alan Heim (“Funny Farm”) and David Brenner (“Night and the
City,” “Heaven & Earth”).
After a few years, Hutching tapped Livolsi as his assistant editor on “The River
Wild” (which Brenner co-edited), “French Kiss,” “Meet Joe Black” and Cameron Crowe’s
seminal comedy, “Almost Famous,” which earned Hutching (and co-editor Saar Klein)
an Oscar nomination for Best Editing. In addition to his work during filming, Livolsi
was also instrumental in the DVD launch of the Director’s Cut on the film.
Livolsi continued his collaboration with Hutching on Crowe’s very next project,
the drama “Vanilla Sky,” on which he earned his very first credit as film editor alongside
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his longtime mentor. He most recently reunited with Crowe on “We Bought A Zoo,” and
served as an additional editor on his 2005 feature, “Elizabethtown.”
He has also established a long-standing association with directors David Frankel
(“Marley & Me,” “The Big Year,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) and David Dobkin (“Wedding
Crashers,” “Fred Claus”), collecting two American Cinema Editors “Eddie” nominations
for his work on “Wedding Crashers” and “The Devil Wears Prada.” Additionally Livolsi
worked with director John Lee Hancock on the filmmaker’s 2009 Best Picture Oscar
nominee, “The Blind Side.” And has edited the independent dramas “The Girl Next
Door,” “Crazy for Love” and “Pieces of April” (an Oscar, Golden Globe and Independent
Spirit Award nominee which premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival).
MAHER AHMAD (Production Designer) was born in northeastern Pennsylvania
and while in high school worked on stage crews for the local community theater,
designing his first stage setting when he was 16.
He attended Northwestern University where he graduated with honors, and
went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts in theater scene and lighting design from the
same university. After teaching theater design in college for two years, Ahmad then
worked as a professional theater set and lighting designer in the first wave of the what
is termed “the Chicago theater renaissance,” and was the resident set and lighting
designer at the North Light Theater Company for five seasons. He designed well over
100 theater projects for Chicago theaters including the St. Nicholas, Organic, Victory
Gardens, Goodman and many others, and was nominated six times for Chicago’s Joseph
Jefferson award. Ahmad credits his early theater design experiences and training as
contributing greatly to the craft and skills he possesses now. He was hired one day by
happenstance to be the local art director in a film that was shooting in Chicago, and
from then on worked exclusively in film. He has over 80 film projects to his credit.
Ahmad moved from Chicago to New York and worked there on many features
including “Goodfellas” and “Married to the Mob.” Among his film credits are the period
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film “Gangster Squad” with Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Josh Brolin, and Sean Penn;
“Zombieland,” “Life as We Know It,” “The Guardian,” “Miss Congeniality 2,” ”Dodgeball,”
“Holes” and “US Marshals.” Ahmad lectures occasionally to film schools, and is a
bibliophile with a collection of well over 20,000 books on art, architecture, film, design,
technology, and other related subjects.
LINDSAY ANN MCKAY (Costume Designer) previously designed for “Gone” and
assistant designed on “The Lincoln Lawyer.”
Her other feature credits include Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” (Cannes Film
Festival Winner), M. Night Shyamalan’s “Devil” as well as the soon to be released “The
Host” from “Twilight” creator Stephenie Meyer. Lindsay made her feature film debut as
an assistant costume designer on MGM’s “Fame.”
Ms. McKay, a native of Chicago, graduated with a Masters Degree in Fashion
Design from Milan’s acclaimed Istituto Europeo di Design. After receiving her Masters
and working in high fashion in Milan, Paris and New York City, she began her career in
the entertainment industry and has been working steadily since 2005.
JON BON JOVI (original songs by) has set the bar for nearly three decades as the
lead singer of one the world’s most successful rock bands, Bon Jovi. Globally, the
Grammy Award winning band has sold over 130 million albums; consistently delivered
#1 albums and Top Ten hits; performed more than 2,700 concerts in over 50 countries
for upwards of 34 million fans and is gearing up to hit the road in early 2013 to fill
stadiums and arenas worldwide on their “Because We Can - The Tour”. In 1990, Jon
Bon Jovi wrote and performed a collection of songs for the motion picture Young Guns
II. The Soundtrack was released as Blaze of Glory, with the Number One title track
being nominated for a Grammy and Oscar, taking home the Golden Globe for Best
Original Song from a Motion Picture.
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LYLE WORKMAN (Music By) composed the music for the films “Superbad,” “The
40 Year Old virgin,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall, “Win Win” and “American Reunion. His
upcoming film credits include “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” starring Steve Carell
and Jim Carrey.
A seasoned guitarist, Lyle was recruited by Sting and performed his first show
with the musical icon in London for the monumental “Live 8” benefit. A tour with Sting
followed throughout Europe and South America in the summer of 2006. As a session
musician, Lyle has played on records with artists such as Michael Buble, Bryan Adams,
Alanis Morissette, Shakira, Sheryl Crow, and many more.
A Northern California native, Lyle was enlisted as a member of Todd Rundgren’s
group, recording and toured extensively throughout The US and Japan. From 1994 to
1998 began a string of records and tours with Pixies founder and creative force Frank
Black. A testament to Lyle’s diversity, he began a creative endeavor with Jazz legend,
drummer Tony Williams.
Recruited by Beck for a string of world tours, Lyle hit the road from 1999 to
2001, performing at major American and European venues and festivals, and television
shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien,
and American Music Awards.
Lyle began writing commercial music for television, radio, and documentary
scores, eventually making the jump to feature film, the first being “Made,” written and
directed by Jon Favreau; this collaboration led to Jon’s television show “Dinner For
Five,” featuring Lyle’s Django Reinhardt inspired music.
Lyle wrote additional music for the Will Ferrell film, “Kicking and Screaming.”
This began a fruitful relationship with one of the producers, Judd Apatow, who chose
Lyle to compose music for several Apatow productions. In addition to the films listed
above, Lyle composed additional music for “Knocked Up.”
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As a producer, Lyle produced one of Holland’s top recording artists, Ilse
DeLange, for two multi-platinum records.
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