Richard Gere and Diane Lane reunite on screen in the romantic drama “Nights in
Rodanthe,” based on the Nicholas Sparks best-selling novel about two people who
discover there is always a second chance to find the love of your life.
Adrienne (Diane Lane), a woman still reeling from her husband‟s betrayal and
struggling to rebuild a life without him, has just learned that he wants to come home. Torn
by conflicting feelings, she welcomes the chance for escape when an old friend asks her to
manage her inn in Rodanthe for a weekend. There, on a remote spot along the Outer
Banks of North Carolina, Adrienne hopes to find the tranquility she needs to rethink her
life.
It‟s the off-season and the inn would be shuttered but for the unlikely arrival of its
solitary guest, Paul (Richard Gere), a doctor from the city. A man who long ago sacrificed
his family to his career, Paul has come to Rodanthe to fulfill a difficult obligation and to
face his own crisis of conscience.
They are two strangers sharing the same roof. But as a major storm closes in, they
turn to each other for comfort, and set in motion a life-changing romance that will resonate
through the rest of their lives.
Warner Bros. Picture Presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a
Di Novi Pictures Production: the romantic drama “Nights in Rodanthe,” starring Richard
Gere, Diane Lane, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni and Viola Davis.
The film is directed by George C. Wolfe from a screenplay by Ann Peacock and
John Romano, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. It is produced by Denise Di Novi.
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Doug Claybourne, Alison Greenspan, Dana Goldberg and Bruce Berman serve as
executive producers.
The creative team includes director of photography Affonso Beato, production
designer Patrizia von Brandenstein, and editor Brian A. Kates. Music is by Jeanine Tesori.
“Nights in Rodanthe” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a
Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow
Pictures. Soundtrack album is on New Line Records; score album on Varèse Sarabande.
www.nightsinrodanthemovie.co.uk
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Sometimes Life Offers a Second Chance To Fall in Love
“This is a story about people discovering there is an Act Two in their lives,” says
director George C. Wolfe. It‟s an apt theatrical reference that comes naturally to Wolfe, a
renowned stage director, writer and producer with two Tony Awards to his credit, making
his feature film directorial debut with “Nights in Rodanthe.”
“People go through a good portion of their lives making decisions and choices that
are either good or bad, right or wrong, and they often feel that the state to which it brings
them is permanent,” he says. “It‟s as if they reach a certain point and say, „Okay, this is
my life; this is what I made of it and this is all I get.‟”
“But what happens as we embark upon the second half of our lives?” asks producer
Denise Di Novi. “Do we find love? Do we find our soul mates if we haven‟t found them
yet, or if we found them and lost them? People are always discovering new interests and
new facets of themselves. The idea of finding a soul mate in the middle of the journey is
not so unusual; sometimes it takes that long and sometimes it happens when you least
expect it. The dream of finding true love doesn‟t end at 25. That‟s the message of „Nights
in Rodanthe‟ and I believe many people can relate to that and will be inspired by it.”
“It‟s a love story for adults,” offers Richard Gere, who stars as Paul. “These are
people who had lives before they met and aren‟t looking for a relationship to define them.”
Still, this is a relationship that will change how they define themselves and that, in turn,
will alter the course of their lives well beyond the time they spend together.
Says Wolfe, “Circumstances and dynamics evolve.
Sometimes life and the
universe offer us something we never expected or had given up hoping for.”
Not only does “Nights in Rodanthe” suggest that it‟s never too late to find that one
true connection, it is likewise never too late to regain the self you lost along the way, while
living the life you thought you wanted—or that others expected of you.
Above all, it is a sweeping love story in the Nicholas Sparks tradition.
Diane Lane, who stars as Adrienne, attributes Sparks‟ appeal to “his sensitivity to
people‟s hearts. I think there is an appetite for seeing that other people are like us and have
needs similar to our own, no matter the era, age or circumstances. Love crosses all lines.”
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Sparks, the best-selling author of such memorable titles as The Notebook, Message
in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember—the latter two produced for the screen by Di Novi—
feels that Nights in Rodanthe is a thematic return to his origins as a storyteller. “It‟s one of
the most intrinsically romantic novels I‟ve ever done. It has a storm, an isolated beach and
a wounded couple who come together and heal each other, and it involves a whole range of
human emotion: happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, passion, impatience and patience.”
“What I like about Nick‟s work is that it gives equal weight to the male
characters,” adds Di Novi, speaking as both a fan and creative collaborator, who believes
that the emotional life of men is too often neglected or simplified in film and fiction. “Paul
is a complicated man. He is not just „the guy Adrienne falls in love with.‟ His experience
is as important as hers and that‟s an element of the story George and I strove to recreate on
screen. It‟s one of the reasons I wanted him to direct.
“I love George‟s work,” she continues, citing Wolfe‟s critically acclaimed direction
of the HBO drama “Lackawanna Blues.” “His attention to detail in that piece, from the
costumes and sets to just the overall richness of that whole world he created had such
emotional impact. I knew he would bring that sensibility to this project.”
Another aspect the filmmakers responded to was the way in which Paul and
Adrienne meet as independent, fully formed individuals people can relate to, with not only
the requisite emotional baggage but with histories, opinions and responsibilities. Says
Wolfe, “They have already experienced many things—the loss of parents, the birth of
children, the plans and disappointments and pain that we all deal with.”
Paul, a surgeon, has come to the Outer Banks of Rodanthe to meet Robert
Torrelson, the widower of a patient who accidentally died in his care. Ostensibly he is here
to tie up loose ends and maybe circumvent a lawsuit, but there may be more compelling
reasons driving him.
Says Gere, “Paul chose early on to put career first, to be the best doctor he could
be, not for the money but genuinely to help people. And he has accomplished that, though,
in the process, he is estranged from his adult son and has lost his marriage and his home.
Now, facing this emotional and spiritual crisis, he walks away from all the former
touchstones of his life. He arrives at the inn uncharacteristically untethered.”
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Adrienne arrives similarly untethered, although “undone” might be closer to the
truth. While still coping with the fact that her husband has been seeing another woman,
she is hit with the further disorienting news that he has changed his mind and wants her
back. Clearly, this is what her two children want, in particular her daughter Amanda, who
applies as much pressure as she can muster toward that end. Certainly it would be the
simplest solution….but is it what Adrienne really wants?
“She‟s in a 180-degree spin, first bracing for divorce, now a possible reconciliation.
Adrienne has given up a lot of freedom over the years by putting her family first and she‟s
been comfortable with that, but lately she‟s been honing a new identity for herself as a
single woman and finds it‟s not so easy to abandon that and go back,” says Lane.
“I don‟t think Adrienne sees herself as ripe for romance,” she adds. “That‟s not at
all where her mind is. She probably doesn‟t see herself as ripe for anything right now
except maybe three months in a spa.”
When Adrienne‟s friend Jean goes on vacation and asks her to take over the duties
of running the picturesque inn she owns on the Outer Banks one weekend, it‟s a welcome
retreat for Adrienne, an opportunity to sort things out. Simultaneously, it allows Paul a
comfortable place from which to broach his difficult meeting with Torrelson.
The setting also offers Wolfe the opportunity to demonstrate what he feels is one of
the story‟s prominent themes: how the forces of nature can mirror the evolution of a
relationship, and how an uncontrollable storm becomes a metaphor for the power of love.
Thus, each of them arrives at the inn in what the director calls “a wonderfully
vulnerable state.
It‟s as if life, faith and the elements unite to create the perfect
opportunity. There, through a series of circumstances—dinners, conversations,
confrontations and the ultimate intrusion of a hurricane that forces them to take refuge in
the house and work together—they get to know each other in an honest and powerful way
that is only possible when people are out of their element and removed from the artificial
things that normally define them and keep them safe.”
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Meeting Someone Can Change Your Course -and That Can Change Everything
“Talking with a stranger gives you permission to reveal yourself in a way that you
rarely can with people you know,” Wolfe states. Being the focus of a stranger‟s attention
can prompt us to take a fresh look at ourselves and see, for the first time in years, strength
we had forgotten or maybe longing and regret we had come to accept.
“What Paul stirs for Adrienne, and vice versa, is the audacity of „Who do you
think you are?‟ That‟s a good question,” says Lane. “„Wait a minute while I think about
that…who do I think I am?!‟ That‟s what people bring each other at the beginning of a
relationship; the opportunity to say and do something intentional instead of just coloring by
the numbers. It may be uncomfortable but it‟s liberating.”
“In this way, Paul and Adrienne act as catalysts for each other‟s self-realization,”
offers screenwriter Ann Peacock. “Paul enables Adrienne to do what is right for her rather
than what she had been conditioned to doing, and Adrienne enables Paul to drop his guard
and open himself to the possibility of love and forgiveness.”
“It‟s all a learning experience,” Gere suggests. “We‟re all infants, trying to figure
out who and what we are and what it all means. What‟s beautiful about „Nights in
Rodanthe‟ is that it shows how two people in crisis can get past their defenses, reach out to
each other and make enormous impact on each other in a relatively short period.”
And that impact can often extend beyond the two of them.
Says Di Novi, “What they find with each other, the kind of connection they have, is
one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, such a deep love that, as Adrienne says in the film,
it makes you want to share it with the rest of the world.”
Richard Gere and Diane Lane Together Again
“Nights in Rodanthe” marks the third screen pairing of Richard Gere and Diane
Lane. The two first met playing reckless lovers 24 years ago in Francis Ford Coppola‟s
“The Cotton Club,” and more recently portrayed a couple whose faltering marriage still
radiates heat in the memorable 2002 drama “Unfaithful.”
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Remarking on their palpable onscreen chemistry, Gere and Lane slip into an easy
banter that proves the point even as they laugh about it. Lane cites the example of actors
with sizzling real-life chemistry whose romantic scenes can fall inexplicably flat on film,
before joking, “Richard and I have the opposite situation. We feel absolutely nothing
standing next to each other…” at which point Gere jumps in to corroborate, “I mean
nothing. Less than nothing. Yet, when you see it on screen it‟s all there. It‟s a miracle.”
In truth, he goes on to say, “Our friendship has evolved over the years into a great
sense of trust. I love working with her.”
Gere also believes that the differences between who they were in their “Cotton
Club” days, both as actors and as individuals, and who they have since become, is
appropriate to the kind of relationship that develops between Paul and Adrienne. “What
was important to me in taking on this role, and Diane too, I believe, was that it wasn‟t a
story about kids who are goo-goo-eyed about each other from the moment they meet. It‟s
not that kind of movie. There are scenes in which they barely look at each other, but there
is a powerful and deepening understanding at work and you can feel it evolve in front of
you.”
Adds Lane, “What you potentially bring to a relationship at this stage is often so
much more than what you had to offer at eighteen.
You have more insight, more
personality and more appreciation of things—and of each other.”
As all of these elements come together in the growing rapport between Paul and
Adrienne, two people caught by a storm in the Outer Banks, “It never feels as though we
are watching two actors. Rather, it‟s as if we‟re just watching two human beings
experiencing life,” notes Wolfe.
Just as there is always a chance to fall in love and to find your purpose, there is
always a chance to learn, to do things better and to make things right with the people in our
lives. Beyond Paul and Adrienne are other key players in this drama, who support or
challenge them in ways that help bring them to this juncture.
It is Torrelson‟s tragedy that precipitates Paul‟s journey to the Outer Banks and,
subsequently, the opportunity for some serious soul-searching. It is Jack, Adrienne‟s
conflicted husband, who creates the crisis that sets her adrift. And it is Jean whose
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decision to entrust the inn to Adrienne this fateful weekend provides the perfect setting for
storms to break and love to take hold.
Paul‟s situation with Torrelson occurs almost simultaneously with the dissolution
of his marriage and the deepening estrangement with his son, but, of the three, it‟s the one
problem that appears to have the simplest solution. Wolfe explains, “Paul is focused on his
career crisis. A patient has died and her husband has filed a wrongful death suit. As is
frequently the case with very focused, driven and accomplished people like Paul, he is not
necessarily skilled at processing failure, loss or disappointment. He‟s good at fixing
things. He likes to leap over the complications and get to the result. So he has come to
Rodanthe to fix this.”
Scott Glenn, who plays the grieving widower, says, “What Paul fails to understand
is that Torrelson isn‟t interested in money. It‟s not about the lawsuit; he wants an apology.
He wants to make sure that this person he loved, who died, was not just another number,
that she was important and precious. The point, for him, is to get this doctor‟s attention
and hear him acknowledge that he screwed up and he‟s sorry.”
“Scott is brilliant,” says Di Novi. “The scene in which Torrelson confronts Paul is
just indescribably beautiful. This is a man deeply in pain, who has such a hard time
expressing it. It‟s clear that this is the first time Paul has been forced to connect with
another human being in this way.”
While Paul struggles to make sense of this encounter and wonders how to approach
his next challenge—mending the rift with his son—Adrienne is trying to decide how she
feels about Jack, whose heartfelt pleas, even in this remote outpost, are as close as the
telephone.
Christopher Meloni, who stars as Jack, sees his part as “the catalyst. Jack lights the
fuse of what becomes Adrienne‟s journey. He pushes her into this dilemma where she has
to reconcile and examine everything to figure out what‟s right or wrong for her and where
she goes next.”
The role is more complex than would first appear. Di Novi points out, “No one
sets out to be the bad guy. No one plans to do the wrong thing. There was a reason that
Adrienne fell in love with Jack and we must understand there was a reason they were
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married for so long. It was essential that the actor who played Jack was able to bring out
all these colors so he is not a black-and-white character.”
“He must be a worthy contender, so that you see Adrienne being genuinely and
believably tugged back in his direction,” adds Wolfe.
Ultimately, says Meloni, “Jack is sincere in wanting to be part of the family again,
but I don‟t feel he‟s coming back for the right reasons. Even through his sincerity you get
the sense that there‟s something not quite right about him, and, hopefully, audiences will
pick up some of the misgivings Adrienne feels toward him, without necessarily even
knowing why.”
One person who would likely agree is Adrienne‟s loyal friend and confidant Jean,
played by Viola Davis. Jean provides encouragement, humor and honest opinions
…without waiting to be asked. Clearly, the two women go back a long way together, as
Jean‟s home, the inn, is full of crafts they made as girls, plus photos and mementos that
share space with Jean‟s travel souvenirs and the eclectic mix of art she has either made or
collected through the years.
Says Di Novi, “Jean represents a completely liberated woman. She knows who she
is and doesn‟t care what people think. She gives full expression to her art and talent and
lives life to the fullest, and in some ways that‟s what Adrienne aspires to.”
Certainly Adrienne has those same elements in her nature, but, Davis observes,
“While Jean pursued the dreams they likely both had as younger women, Adrienne is the
one who suppressed some of that to raise children and lead a more stable, conservative life,
forsaking certain freedoms and putting everyone else‟s needs first. They‟re a good match
because they balance each other‟s choices while sharing a similar point of view.”
Similarly, Jean‟s freewheeling style is much different from the life Davis lives,
which added to the challenge and fun of the role, and was part of the reason Wolfe cast her.
“This is definitely not who I am,” she says. “Jean is much more flamboyant and free and
would do things I would never do. I‟m more grounded and introverted.”
Wolfe and Davis are both associated with the Public Theatre, but this the first time
that they have collaborated so closely as director and actor. In casting her for “Rodanthe,”
he was confident that “Viola could convey Jean‟s warmth and playful vitality as well as the
strong soul beneath, a woman who is fiercely protective of her best friend.”
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Joining the main cast is Mae Whitman (“Arrested Development”) as Adrienne‟s
emotional and headstrong daughter Amanda, whose desire for her parents‟ reconciliation
weighs heavily on Adrienne; and Pablo Schreiber (“The Wire”) as Robert Torrelson‟s son
Charlie, who vents his grief fiercely when Paul comes to talk.
Stormy Weather
Production began in May 2007 in the small town of Rodanthe and its environs on
the Outer Banks, an approximately 200-mile string of barrier islands that parallel the North
Carolina coast and seasonally bear the brunt of the ocean‟s fury. Known as the Graveyard
of the Atlantic, this hurricane-prone region rates one of the highest densities of shipwrecks
in the world.
“Nick‟s books are always set in North Carolina and Rodanthe is an isolated and
very specific part of the Outer Banks,” says Di Novi, confirming that the challenges of
filming there were well worth the effort. “There is something undeniably magical about
the place that we knew could not be duplicated anywhere else. It‟s a setting rarely seen on
film, a truly unique place in America that few people have experienced.”
Scouting locations for the film, Wolfe was particularly struck by the way the Outer
Banks suits the story‟s romantic drama. “It‟s a landscape that‟s breathtakingly beautiful,
but also vulnerable and exposed, a relatively thin strand of earth surrounded by water on
both sides. You can really feel the power of the ocean and the sky. It became clear to me
how the forces of nature and the elements played a part in making this love happen
between these two people.”
Screenwriter John Romano notes how Nicholas Sparks honors the storyteller‟s
tradition of harnessing these powerful external forces to his characters‟ emotional states
and the drama of their lives. “The hurricane rages outside, throwing them together, but
there‟s also a storm brewing within the house, between the two of them, that echoes it.
There‟s a seamless flow between the turbulence without and the turbulence within. It was
George‟s intention to see this realized on screen; in the way he imagined it—in the
dialogue, in the way he shot it and in what the actors bring to it with their tremendous
capacity for subtext.”
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While it may be true that nature and circumstance conspire dramatically to bring
Paul and Adrienne together, it is equally true that these forces seemed determined to scatter
the crew and their materials all over the coastline.
With a laugh, Wolfe vividly recalls, “There were times we began filming and the
ocean said, „No, you won‟t be doing that scene today because I‟m coming up to take away
a piece of your set.‟ And it would. There was nothing we could do but adjust our
schedule. It was a fascinating process, especially for me, as a person who‟s lived in New
York City for a thousand years, to go out there and find myself actively negotiating a
relationship with nature just to get my work done.”
Despite careful planning to avoid storm season, production was slammed on its
second day by a Nor‟easter, with 55 mph winds and rain. It was the earliest storm to hit
the area in the past 30 years, bringing with it the highest tides seen in more than a decade.
“The tide washed most of the sand out from under the house,” says Oscar ®-winning
production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein (“Amadeus”), referring to the story‟s
primary exterior set—an existing local structure that became the movie‟s inn—which not
only lost up to four feet of sand from its foundation but also two flights of 18-foot steps,
along with props and equipment that had been stored there. “It was still standing, but at a
very precarious angle. With the loose sand washed away, we saw big bags of sand that had
been placed under the house to stabilize it during a prior storm, plus newly exposed roots
and stumps of Cyprus trees, probably centuries old, that appeared at the water‟s edge, left
over from a time when this area was a coastal forest.”
Under von Brandenstein‟s guidance, the crew brought in several additional
construction units from nearby Wilmington and worked over the next four days to rebuild.
“The two sets of stairs that washed down the beach were found a couple of weeks later and
dragged back,” she says. “In the spirit of recycling, we found a use for it in our other sets,
and that was appropriate, in a way, to the story. I like the idea of salvage, of taking
something that appears ruined and remaking it. You see it in the way that Adrienne carves
driftwood into treasure boxes, and then in the way that she and Paul salvage and remake
their lives.”
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Interiors were filmed in a comfortable two-family dwelling in Topsail Island, about
40 miles outside Wilmington, converted into a larger space to accommodate the inn‟s
lounge, dining room and kitchen by the removal of a few walls.
For Wolfe, the inn itself became “an integral character in the story, a place with
history and a soul, laden with the years and peoples‟ lives, and a kind of home to spiritual
forces.” Mindful of the region‟s unique multicultural history and imagining a rich backstory for Jean and her ancestral home, he sought to work some of those elements into the
inn‟s décor with the myriad, spiritually-themed artwork of generations sharing space with
Jean‟s own creations and the collected treasures of her interests and explorations.
Another remnant of Rodanthe‟s spiritual heritage became one of the inn‟s most
striking exterior details, its deep blue shutters—known locally, Wolfe discovered, as “haint
blue” and likely dating back to a time when survivors of slave ship wrecks settled in the
area, adding the influence of their cultures and religions to the indigenous population.
According to custom, people would paint the shutters of their homes blue to keep away the
“haints”—or haunts. Though tales of supernatural visitation are long gone, the custom,
and the color, remains. “It‟s generally a grey-blue, but ours was a sharper shade, owing to
the fact that Jean likes things bright and vibrant,” says von Brandenstein.
The shutters also play a role in setting the tone for the impending storm. Their
insistent banging against the widows signals trouble and helps create a sense of rising
unease and volatility as it gathers momentum.
The inn and its difficult topography, the ocean and the weather together, Wolfe
observes, “are representative of life. Even the fact that the house is positioned with the
ocean on one side and the inter-coastal waterway on the other is emblematic of what life is,
and what love is—both fragile and heroic. Most importantly, it‟s enduring, even when it
seems that nothing could endure.
“I think there exists inside all of us a need to see emotional truth and emotional
possibilities when we watch a story unfold on screen,” he continues. “We all understand
how fragile life is, how fragile love is, and how precious the time we have with each other.
In some ways happiness is like an air bubble; you grasp it too tightly and it‟s gone. It‟s
wonderful to see two people still learning about who they are and re-awakening to the idea
that great love is possible.”
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“I hope audiences will feel as though they have lived through something with these
characters,” says Di Novi. “I would love to think they might be inspired and uplifted and
maybe walk out of the theater with a slightly different perspective. They might want to
find that special person if they haven‟t yet, or hold them a little tighter if they have.”
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ABOUT THE CAST
RICHARD GERE (Paul) won a Golden Globe Award for his performance
opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger in the 2002 Oscar®-winning musical
hit “Chicago.” He also shared in a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for Outstanding
Cast Performance and earned a SAG Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his
performance as Billy Flynn. Gere has also graced the screen in such memorable hits as
“Unfaithful,” “Primal Fear,” “Pretty Woman,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “American
Gigolo” and “Days of Heaven.”
Gere will next be seen in Lasse Hallström‟s family drama “Hachiko: A Dog‟s
Story,” a remake of the 1987 Japanese classic based on the true story of a college professor
who forms a bond with an abandoned dog. Projects set for a 2009 release include the Mira
Nair-directed biopic “Amelia,” about Amelia Earhart, in which he stars with Hilary Swank
and Ewan McGregor; and Antoine Fuqua‟s “Brooklyn‟s Finest,” on which he is now in
production alongside Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke.
In 2007, Gere joined an ensemble cast in Todd Haynes‟ critically acclaimed film
“I‟m Not There,” about the life and songs of Bob Dylan, for which he shared in a Robert
Altman Award at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards. In addition, he recently starred in
Lasse Hallström‟s “The Hoax” and Richard Shepard‟s “The Hunting Party.” His feature
credits also include the indie film “Bee Season” and “Shall We Dance?” with Jennifer
Lopez and Susan Sarandon. In 2002, Gere starred in Adrian Lyne‟s thriller “Unfaithful,”
opposite Diane Lane, and the psychological drama “The Mothman Prophecies.”
Born in Philadelphia, Gere began his acting career on the stage when he landed the
lead role of Danny Zuko in the London production of “Grease” in 1973. After seasons
with the Provincetown Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre, he performed in
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numerous plays in New York, notably as the lead in Richard Farina‟s “Long Time Coming
and a Long Time Gone,” and Sam Shepard‟s “Back Bog Beast Bait” and “Killer‟s Head,”
before making his Broadway debut in the rock opera “Soon.” His additional theatre credits
include the New York production of “Habeas Corpus,” the Lincoln Center presentation of
“A Midsummer Night‟s Dream” and the London Young Vic Theatre production of “The
Taming of the Shrew.” In 1980, he returned to Broadway to star in “Bent,” winning the
Theatre World Award for his portrayal of a homosexual concentration camp prisoner.
On the big screen, Gere first gained attention for his roles in the thriller “Looking
for Mr. Goodbar” and Terrence Malick‟s “Days of Heaven,” for which he won an Italian
David di Donatello Award. His early film credits also include “Bloodbrothers,” John
Schlesinger‟s “Yanks,” “American Gigolo” and the 1982 romantic blockbuster “An
Officer and a Gentleman,” which brought Gere his first Golden Globe nomination. He
subsequently starred in “Breathless,” “Beyond the Limit,” “The Cotton Club,” “Power,”
“No Mercy” and “Miles from Home.”
In 1990, Gere won acclaim for his portrayal of a corrupt cop in “Internal Affairs”
and then starred opposite Julia Roberts in Garry Marshall‟s smash hit romantic comedy
“Pretty Woman,” for which he earned his second Golden Globe nomination.
His
additional film credits include Akira Kurosawa‟s “Rhapsody in August”; Jon Avnet‟s “Red
Corner”; Michael Caton-Jones‟ “The Jackal”; Garry Marshall‟s box-office hit “Runaway
Bride,” reuniting him with Julia Roberts; and Robert Altman‟s “Dr. T and the Women.”
Gere also served as an executive producer on three of his films: “Final Analysis,” “Mr.
Jones” and “Sommersby.”
On television, Gere earned an Emmy nomination for his role in “And The Band
Played On,” the HBO adaptation of Randy Shilts‟ book about the early days of the AIDS
epidemic in America. Additionally, Gere is an accomplished pianist and composer.
A student and friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Gere has made numerous
journeys throughout India, Nepal, Zanskar and Tibet, Mongolia and China in the past 20
years, often applying his talent as a photographer. His book of photos, Pilgrim (1997,
Little, Brown and Company), is a collection of images that represent his 25-year journey
into Buddhism, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama.
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An outspoken human rights advocate, he is the founder of The Gere Foundation,
which contributes directly to numerous health education and human rights projects and is
especially dedicated to promoting awareness of Tibet and its endangered culture. In 1987,
he was the founding chairman of the Tibet House in New York. He subsequently became
an active member of the Board of Directors of the International Campaign for Tibet in
Washington D.C., and in 1996 became its Chairman. Gere has testified on Tibet‟s behalf
before the U.S. Congress, the European Parliament, and House International Operations
and Human Rights Subcommittee.
DIANE LANE (Adrienne) earned SAG®, Golden Globe and Oscar® nominations,
and was hailed Best Actress by the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film
Critics for her turn as an adulterous wife in the critically acclaimed 2002 Adrian Lyne film
“Unfaithful.”
One of the industry‟s premiere talents, Lane has top-lined a diverse slate of both
independent and major studio releases, helmed by some of the world‟s most renowned
directors.
Her filmography includes the acclaimed Francis Ford Coppola films “The
Outsiders,” “Rumble Fish” and “The Cotton Club.” Additional feature film credits include
Gregory Hoblit‟s recent thriller “Untraceable”; John Madden‟s “Killshot”; Doug Liman‟s
“Jumper”; Allen Coulter‟s period piece “Hollywoodland,” with Ben Affleck and Adrien
Brody; “Must Love Dogs,” with John Cusack; the drama “A Walk on the Moon,” which
landed Lane an Independent Spirit Award nomination; the Audrey Wells romantic comedy
“Under the Tuscan Sun,” which resulted in a Golden Globe nomination; Wolfgang
Petersen‟s action drama “The Perfect Storm,” with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg;
the highly successful adaptation of Willie Morris‟ childhood memoir “My Dog Skip”; the
critically acclaimed independent feature “My New Gun”; “Hardball,” opposite Keanu
Reeves; her portrayal of actress Paulette Goddard in “Chaplin,” for director Sir Richard
Attenborough; Peter Masterson‟s independent drama “The Only Thrill,” opposite Diane
Keaton, Sam Shepard and Robert Patrick; the political thriller “Murder at 1600,” opposite
Wesley Snipes; Francis Ford Coppola‟s “Jack,” opposite Robin Williams; and Walter
Hill‟s epic Western “Wild Bill,” with Jeff Bridges.
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Lane has also appeared in a wide range of roles in some of television‟s most
admired movies and miniseries, including TNT‟s “The Virginian,” opposite Bill Pullman;
“A Streetcar Named Desire,” opposite Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange; and her Emmynominated role, Lorena, in the CBS series “Lonesome Dove,” opposite Robert Duvall. She
also starred opposite Gena Rowlands in the Hallmark Hall of Fame drama “Grace &
Glorie.” In 1994, Lane starred with Donald Sutherland, Cicely Tyson and Anne Bancroft
in the epic miniseries “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All,” based on the bestselling novel by Allan Gurganus, in which Lane portrayed a character from her early teens
into her sixties.
The daughter of drama coach Burt Lane and singer Colleen Farrington, Lane
answered a call for child actors at La Mama Experimental Theater at age six. She won a
role in Andrei Serbian‟s unique version of “Medea” and subsequently appeared over the
next five years in his productions of “Electra,” “The Trojan Women,” “The Good Woman
of Szechuan” and “As You Like It,” both in New York and at theater festivals around the
world.
After performing in Joseph Papp‟s productions of “The Cherry Orchard” and
“Agamemnon” at Lincoln Center in 1976-77, she starred at The Public Theater in
“Runaways” and made her film debut, opposite Sir Laurence Olivier, in George Roy Hill‟s
“A Little Romance” in 1978.
SCOTT GLENN (Robert Torrelson), an actor of remarkable range, will follow
“Nights in Rodanthe” with a comic turn in “Surfer Dude,” alongside Matthew
McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson, and end the year with a starring role
in the Oliver Stone biopic “W,” as the controversial Donald Rumsfeld.
Glenn recently starred in the blockbuster hit “The Bourne Ultimatum,” the
independent adventure comedy “Camille,” Richard LaGravenese‟s drama “Freedom
Writers” and the 2004 film noir “Puerto Vallarta Squeeze,” based on the novel by Robert
James Waller. He also starred in Lasse Hallstrom‟s acclaimed drama “The Shipping
News,” the satire “Buffalo Soldiers,” Antoine Fuqua‟s “Training Day” and the action
thriller “Vertical Limit.”
After more than 20 years pursuing a career as a novelist, poet and journalist, Glenn
launched his acting career with a number of off-Broadway productions, including
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“Fortune & Men‟s Eyes” and “Collision Course,” and spent the late 1960s in traveling
theatrical productions across New York City.
Relocating to Hollywood, he won small parts in Robert Altman‟s “Nashville,”
some of Roger Corman‟s low-budget specials and Francis Ford Coppola‟s “Apocalypse
Now,” before making his big-screen starring debut alongside John Travolta in the 1980
classic “Urban Cowboy.”
Other major film roles soon followed, including Robert
Towne‟s “Personal Best”; John Frankenheimer‟s “The Challenge”; Philip Kaufman‟s “The
Right Stuff,” in which Glenn appeared as astronaut Alan Shepard; Lawrence Kasdan‟s
Western “Silverado”; John McTiernan‟s Oscar®-winning adventure “The Hunt for Red
October”; Jonathan Demme‟s Oscar®-winning “The Silence of the Lambs”; Stuart
Rosenberg‟s “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”; Ron Howard‟s acclaimed
“Backdraft”; the epic fantasy adventure “Tall Tale”; the dark comedy “Reckless”; Edward
Zwick‟s wartime drama “Courage Under Fire”; Ken Loach‟s festival favorite “Carla‟s
Song,” a love story set amidst the guerilla war in Nicaragua; Clint Eastwood‟s “Absolute
Power”; and Sofia Coppola‟s “The Virgin Suicides.”
Glenn‟s credits include numerous network and cable movies and guest-starring
roles in a wide range of hit television series over the past three decades. He recently
starred in the A&E biographical drama “Faith of My Fathers,” NBC‟s “Homeland
Security,” and the Hallmark Hall of Fame productions “Gone But Not Forgotten,” John
Gray‟s “The Seventh Stream” and “A Painted House,” based on John Grisham‟s novel. He
starred in the 1994 Showtime noir thriller “Past Tense” and has twice portrayed Sgt. Daniel
Muldoon in Showtime‟s “Naked City” films.
A lifelong member of The Actors Studio, Glenn made a triumphant return to
Broadway as Pale in Lanford Wilson‟s “Burn This,” and off-Broadway in “Dark Rapture”
and the critically acclaimed “Killer Joe,” for which he earned a Drama Desk Best Actor
nomination and a special honor at the Drama League Awards presentation. He also starred
in Arthur Miller‟s final play, “Finishing the Picture,” at the Goodman Theater in Chicago,
for which Miller wrote a scene for him.
Glenn has been married to artist Carol Schwartz since 1967. The Glenns are active
supporters of numerous charities, including the Naval Special Warfare Foundation, for
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families of fallen servicemen and The Delta Society, which helps train and sponsor service
and therapy dogs.
CHRISTOPHER MELONI (Jack) earned an Emmy Award nomination for his
role as compassionate detective Elliot Stabler in NBC‟s Top 10-rated “Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit,” and is currently starring in the series‟ tenth season.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Meloni also portrayed duplicitous inmate
Chris Keller on HBO‟s intense prison drama “Oz,” created by Tom Fontana.
His
additional work in television includes guest appearances on “NYPD Blue,”
“Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Scrubs.” He also starred in the series “Leaving
L.A.” and in several miniseries, including “In a Child‟s Name,” Mario Puzo‟s “The Last
Don” and, most recently, the telefilm “Gym Teacher: The Movie,” for Nickelodeon.
Meloni appeared in the hit comedy “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” and
more recently in its sequel, “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.” He will
soon appear in the film “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men,” starring Julianne Nicholson,
Timothy Hutton and Bobby Cannavale, written and directed by John Krasinski. Meloni
will also be seen in the Pastor brothers‟ feature “Carriers,” an apocalyptic thriller about a
dangerous viral pandemic, with Piper Perabo and Chris Pine, and the ribald comedy
“National Lampoon‟s Dirty Movie,” which he also directed and produced.
Previously, Meloni earned accolades for his performance as a temperamental chef
working at a summer camp in the hilarious independent film “Wet Hot American
Summer,” opposite Janeane Garafolo and David Hyde Pierce. His other film credits
include “Runaway Bride,” in which he starred opposite Julia Roberts as her sportsenthusiast fiancé, as well as “Twelve Monkeys,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,”
“Junior” and “Bound.”
He received critical praise for his work on the stage in 2005, when he starred as
Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller‟s “A View From the Bridge” at Dublin‟s prestigious Gate
Theatre, for which he was honored as Best Actor in Ireland‟s highest theater awards from
the Irish Times.
A native of Washington, D.C., Meloni attended the University of Colorado at
Boulder, where he first became interested in acting.
After graduation, he took a
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construction job in his hometown until a high school acquaintance inspired him to move to
New York to study acting. It was there that he apprenticed at the Neighborhood Playhouse
and got his first big break as the lead in the NBC comedy “The Fanelli Boys.”
VIOLA DAVIS (Jean) is a critically revered actress of film, television and theater
who made an indelible impression on the big screen with her heart-wrenching turn in
Denzel Washington‟s “Antwone Fisher,” which earned her an Independent Spirit Award
nomination.
Davis will next star alongside Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the
highly anticipated film “Doubt,” written and directed by John Patrick Shanley from his
play and slated for a December release. She will also be seen in the features “State of
Play,” with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachael McAdams and Jason Bateman, directed
by Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”) and based on the popular BBC
television series; and Tyler Perry‟s “Medea Goes to Jail,” loosely based on the Atlanta
stage production. Both are set to debut in 2009.
Recently, Davis had a supporting role in the thriller “Disturbia,” starring Shia
LaBeouf, for director D.J. Caruso. She was also seen in the independent film “The
Architect,” opposite Anthony LaPaglia. Her additional film credits include Jim Sheridan‟s
“Get Rich or Die Tryin,‟” opposite 50 Cent; “Syriana,” starring George Clooney, directed
by Stephen Gaghan and produced by Steven Soderbergh (Davis‟ fourth collaboration with
the Oscar®-winning director); “Far from Heaven,” with Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore;
and “Solaris,” “Traffic” and “Out of Sight,” all directed by Soderbergh.
In Summer 2008, Davis starred in the Emmy Award-nominated A&E miniseries
“The Andromeda Strain.” Her additional television credits include a recurring role on
“Law & Order: SVU”; a recurring role in the CBS franchise “Jesse Stone,” opposite Tom
Selleck; a starring role in “Life is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story,” for
Lifetime; and starring roles in ABC‟s “Traveler,” CBS‟ “Century City,” “Lefty” and the
Steven Bochco series “City of Angels.” Additionally, she appeared in Oprah Winfrey‟s
“Amy and Isabelle” and Hallmark Hall of Fame‟s “Grace and Glorie.”
In 2004, Davis lit up the stage in the Roundabout Theatre Company‟s production of
Lynn Nottage‟s “Intimate Apparel,” for Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan.
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She garnered the highest honors for an off-Broadway play, including Best Actress awards
from the Drama Desk, the Drama League, the Obies and the Audelco Award, as well as a
nomination for the Lucille Lortel Award. She reprised her role at the Mark Taper Forum
in Los Angeles, where she was recognized with the Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics
and Garland Awards. In 2001, Davis was awarded a Tony Award for Best Performance by
a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in playwright August Wilson‟s “King Hedley II.”
She captured the attention of critics and audiences alike for her portrayal of Tonya, a 35year-old woman forced to fight for the right to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Davis also
received a Drama Desk Award for her performance.
A graduate of Juilliard, Davis also holds an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from
her alma mater Rhode Island College. She is married to actor Julius Tennon.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
GEORGE C. WOLFE (Director) makes his feature film directorial debut with
“Nights in Rodanthe,” following a distinguished theatrical career as a writer, director and
producer that includes two Tony Awards.
Previously, Wolfe directed “Lackawanna Blues” for HBO, which earned him the
Directors Guild Award for Best Directorial Achievement, a National Board of Review
Award, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature, a Christopher
Award and the Humanitas Prize. “Lackawanna Blues” won four NAACP Image Awards,
earned seven Emmy Award nominations and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Wolfe gained a national reputation as a gifted new voice in the American Theatre
for his play “The Colored Museum.” This was followed by “Spunk,” his adaptation of
three short stories by Zora Neale Hurston; and “Jelly‟s Last Jam,” his first Broadway
musical, which garnered eleven Tony Award nominations, including Best Book and Best
Director for Wolfe.
Shortly thereafter, Tony Kushner asked Wolfe to direct the Broadway production
of his much-acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Angels in America,” for which
Wolfe won the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
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Meanwhile, Wolfe took on a new and daunting task as producer of the Joseph Papp
Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival. It was here that he created such landmark
productions as “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk,” for which he received his second
Tony Award; “Elaine Stritch At Liberty”; and “The Tempest.” His other Broadway credits
include Suzan-Lori Parks‟ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Topdog/Underdog,” “The Wild
Party,” “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” “On the Town” and “Caroline or Change,” which
he recently directed at the National Theatre in London, where it received the Olivier and
Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical.
Wolfe‟s additional awards and distinctions include four Obies, the Dramatist
Guild‟s Hull-Warner Award, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers‟ Calloway
Award, a Bessie Award, the George Oppenheimer/Newsday Award, the Lambda Liberty
Award and the Actors Equity Paul Robeson Award. He was honored as a Library Lion by
the New York Public Library and named A Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks
Conservancy.
ANN PEACOCK (Screenplay) was born and raised in South Africa. After
teaching Law at the University of Cape Town, she emigrated with her family to Los
Angeles, where she began writing screenplays.
Peacock‟s most recent screenwriting credits are the thriller “The Killing Room,”
the comedy drama “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl,” the 2007 Hallmark Hall of Fame
television movie “Pictures of Hollis Woods” and the family fantasy adventure “The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
In 1999 she earned an Emmy Award for the teleplay for “A Lesson Before Dying.”
The HBO original drama also won the Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie
and garnered five additional nominations. Peacock‟s previous projects include the PBS
telefilm “Cora Unashamed,” adapted from a Langston Hughes short story, and the John
Boorman feature film “Country of My Skull,” which premiered to acclaim at the Berlin
International Film Festival.
JOHN ROMANO (Screenplay) is currently working on the A&E police drama
“The Beast,” the latest in an impressive collection of television credits beginning as
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executive story editor for the groundbreaking series “Hill Street Blues,” for which he
earned an Emmy Award nomination.
Romano was a writer/producer on numerous dramatic series, including “L.A.
Law,” “Early Edition” and “Providence,” and served as a show runner for “Knots
Landing,” “Party of Five” and the first season of “Third Watch.” Additionally, he created
the series “Class of ‟96,” “Michael Hayes” and “Sweet Justice.” For “Sweet Justice,” he
earned a second Emmy nomination, NAACP Image Awards and the Justice & Media
Award from President Clinton. He was also a consulting producer on “American Dreams.”
Following a successful association with Francis Ford Coppola and Fred Fuchs, for
whose Zoetrope Studios he wrote and produced the Eric Roberts telefilm “Dark Angel,”
Romano wrote the adaptation for Coppola‟s independent feature “The Third Miracle.” He
also wrote the screenplay for the Coen brothers‟ comedy “Intolerable Cruelty” and the
upcoming drama “American Pastoral,” adapted from the Philip Roth novel for director
Phillip Noyce and set for a 2009 release.
Prior to his entertainment industry career, Romano was an Assistant Professor of
English at Columbia University, having earned a doctorate in English and Comparative
Literature from Yale as a Woodrow Wilson Scholar. He has written more than 100 literary
reviews for The New York Times Book Review, Harper’s, The New Republic and other
publications, as well as the book Dickens and Reality, and has lectured widely on the links
between television and the humanities.
In 2000, Romano presented the President‟s Talk to the National Endowment of the
Humanities in Washington, DC, where he is also on the board of the Center for Arts and
Culture. Following September 11th, Romano appeared before the House Committee on
Foreign Relations to advise Congress on the role that film and television might play in
improving the U.S. image abroad.
NICHOLAS SPARKS (Novel) is one of the world‟s most beloved storytellers.
With seven #1 New York Times bestsellers and more than 50 million copies of his
books in print worldwide in over 40 languages, including 36 million copies in North
America alone, his popularity continues to soar.
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Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, at age 28. It was
published in 1996 by Warner Books. He followed with the novels Message in a Bottle
(1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001),
Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer
(2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006) and The Choice (2007).
Additionally, Sparks published the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My
Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. All became domestic and international
bestsellers, with Dear John, True Believer and At First Sight alone selling over one
million hardcover copies each.
“Nights in Rodanthe” marks the fourth film adaptation of his books, following
the highly successful Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, which gained Sparks
an enormous teenage readership that continues to grow, and The Notebook, which
grossed over $80 million in the U.S. alone.
A big-screen version of Dear John is currently in production, starring
Channing Tatum and helmed by Oscar®-nominated director Lasse Hallstrom, and set
for a 2009 release.
Sparks lives in North Carolina with his family.
DENISE DI NOVI (Producer) made her producing debut on the cult hit comedy
“Heathers,” for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. She
then began a long association with groundbreaking filmmaker Tim Burton, during which
time she produced such diverse hits as “Edward Scissorhands,” “Batman Returns,” “The
Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Ed Wood” and “James and the Giant Peach.”
Her early credits include the 1994 remake of “Little Women,” as well as “Practical
Magic” and “Message in a Bottle,” the screen adaptation of Nicholas Sparks‟ novel, both
of which took first place at the box office in their opening weekends.
Her more recent film producing credits include “A Walk to Remember,” also based
on a Sparks novel, as well as “Original Sin,” “What a Girl Wants,” “New York Minute,”
“Catwoman,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” Curtis Hanson‟s “Lucky You” and
the recent release “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” which reunited the stars of the
original film to portray a new chapter in the lives of four beloved friends.
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In addition to her film credits, Di Novi has also ventured into television production.
She served as an executive producer on the longform projects “Eloise at Christmastime,”
“Eloise at the Plaza,” and “The „70s,” as well as the critically acclaimed series “The
District.”
Di Novi started out in journalism, rising from copy editor at the National Observer
(a Dow Jones weekly) to staff writer for “Canada AM” in Toronto. Segueing to the film
industry, she began her career as a unit publicist. In 1980, she became a principal in the
Montreal-based production company Film Plan, acting in various production capacities on
nine major studio releases, including “Scanners” and “Videodrome.” In 1983, Film Plan
relocated to Los Angeles and merged with Arnold Kopelson‟s Film Packages.
She then joined New World Pictures as Executive Vice President of Production,
later shifting into an overall deal as an independent producer. From 1989 to 1992, she
headed Tim Burton Productions, where she produced several of the director‟s most
successful films. In 1993, she set up her own production company, Di Novi Pictures, at
Columbia Pictures.
Di Novi currently has a production deal at Warner Bros. Pictures. She has a
number of projects in various stages of development, including “The Illustrated Man,”
with director Zack Snyder, based on a collection of Ray Bradbury stories; the love story
“Last Summer of You and Me,” based on the book by Ann Brashares; “The Jetsons,”
written and directed by Robert Rodriguez; and “Larklight,” based on a Philip Reeve novel.
DOUG CLAYBOURNE (Executive Producer) most recently served as executive
producer on the acclaimed “North Country,” a drama based on real events, for which stars
Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand earned Oscar® nominations.
Claybourne entered the entertainment industry from a background of advertising
and art direction studies. Following two years of post-graduate study at the Art Center
College of Design in Los Angeles, he turned to film, but it took a six-month stint as
assistant art director on The City of San Francisco magazine, and a working relationship
with its owner, Francis Ford Coppola, to convince Claybourne to make the switch official.
Early in 1976, during his first semester of film school, Claybourne offered to work
for Coppola, free, for eight weeks, to find out if the movie business was something he
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wanted to pursue. The film was “Apocalypse Now,” and eight weeks turned into three and
a half years.
Claybourne‟s association with mentor Coppola and Zoetrope Studios
continued with “The Black Stallion,” on which he served as assistant director; “The Escape
Artist,” as producer; “The Black Stallion,” as producer/assistant director; “Rumble Fish,”
as producer; “Peggy Sue Got Married,” as assistant director; and “Jack,” as executive
producer. The Zoetrope relationship also produced the 1992 Emmy and ACE Awardwinning documentary “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker‟s Apocalypse,” which
Claybourne conceived with George Zaloom and executive produced with his long-time
associate Fred Roos.
In 1998, Claybourne completed “The Mask of Zorro,” which was nominated for
two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Antonio Banderas.
During the filming of “The Legend of Billie Jean,” Claybourne met filmmaker Rob
Cohen, which led to a three-picture producing association with the Taft/Barish Company:
“The Fast and the Furious,” with Cohen directing, as well as Light of Day” and “The
Serpent and the Rainbow.” In 2003, Claybourne executive produced his 23rd feature, the
family adventure “Duma,” directed by Carroll Ballard in over 60 locations in South Africa.
Claybourne also actively develops projects for his own production company, Poetry
& Pictures Inc., while pursuing his passion for writing poetry and painting in watercolors.
He has published a book of poetry, One Hundred Love Sonnets and One Sad Poem.
ALISON GREENSPAN (Executive Producer), as President of Di Novi Pictures,
most recently served as an executive producer on the ensemble drama “The Sisterhood of
the Traveling Pants 2.”
Previously, Greenspan executive produced the features “New York Minute,”
“Catwoman” and “What a Girl Wants,” and the telefilms “Eloise at the Plaza” and “Eloise
at Christmastime,” for ABC.
She helped develop the romantic drama “A Walk to
Remember,” as well as the script for the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants,” on which she was also an executive producer.
Greenspan began her career with a two-year stint at Creative Artists Agency and
then spent three years as a creative executive at ImageMovers, Robert Zemeckis and Jack
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Rapke‟s production company. She joined Di Novi Pictures in 1999 as Vice President of
Development.
Greenspan graduated Suma Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania in
1994. At U Penn, she enjoyed a four-year stint as performer, writer & director in the
nation‟s only all-female collegiate comedy troupe, Bloomers.
Greenspan‟s upcoming producing projects include “The Jetsons,” to be directed by
Robert Rodriguez, and “Ramona,” based on the bestselling series of books by Beverly
Cleary, both of which are currently in pre-production.
DANA GOLDBERG (Executive Producer) is President of Production at Village
Roadshow Pictures. Since joining the company in 1998, Goldberg has been involved with
Village Roadshow Pictures‟ entire slate of films, including “Ocean‟s Eleven” and its
sequels, “The Matrix” trilogy, “Training Day,” “Mystic River,” “Miss Congeniality,”
“Rumor Has It…” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
She has also served as an executive producer on the blockbuster “I Am Legend,”
starring Will Smith; the drama “The Brave One,” starring Jodie Foster under the direction
of Neil Jordan; the Oscar®-winning animated feature “Happy Feet,” directed by George
Miller and featuring the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Nicole
Kidman and Hugh Jackman; “The Lake House” starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra
Bullock; “The Dukes of Hazzard,” starring Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott;
and “Taking Lives,” starring Angelina Jolie.
Prior to joining Village Roadshow Pictures, Goldberg spent three years with Barry
Levinson and Paula Weinstein at Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures, where she was Vice
President of Production.
She began her career in show business as an assistant at
Hollywood Pictures.
BRUCE BERMAN (Executive Producer) is Chairman and CEO of Village
Roadshow Pictures.
The company will co-produce 65 theatrical features in a joint
partnership with Warner Bros. through 2008, with all films distributed worldwide by
Warner Bros. Pictures and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
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The initial slate of films produced under the pact included such hits as “Practical
Magic,” starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman; “Analyze This,” teaming Robert De
Niro and Billy Crystal; “The Matrix,” starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne;
“Three Kings,” starring George Clooney; “Space Cowboys,” directed by and starring Clint
Eastwood; and “Miss Congeniality,” starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt.
Under the Village Roadshow Pictures banner, Berman has subsequently executive
produced such wide-ranging successes as “Training Day,” for which Denzel Washington
won an Academy Award®; “Ocean‟s Eleven,” starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia
Roberts; its sequels “Ocean‟s Twelve” and “Ocean‟s Thirteen”; “Two Weeks‟ Notice,”
pairing Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant; “Mystic River,” starring Sean Penn and Tim
Robbins in Oscar®-winning performances; the second and third installments of “The
Matrix” trilogy, “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions”; Tim Burton‟s
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” starring Johnny Depp; the Oscar ®-winning animated
comedy adventure “Happy Feet”; Neil Jordan‟s “The Brave One,” starring Jodie Foster;
the blockbuster “I Am Legend,” starring Will Smith; and, most recently, “Get Smart,”
starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.
Village Roadshow‟s upcoming projects include the comedy “Yes Man,” starring
Jim Carrey, and “Gran Torino,” directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.
Berman got his start in the motion picture business working with Jack Valenti at
the MPAA while attending Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC. After earning his
law degree, he landed a job at Casablanca Films in 1978. Moving to Universal, he worked
his way up to production Vice President in 1982.
In 1984, Berman joined Warner Bros. as a production Vice President, and was
promoted to Senior Vice President of Production four years later. He was appointed
President of Theatrical Production in September 1989 and, in 1991, was named President
of Worldwide Theatrical Production, where he served through May 1996. Under his aegis,
Warner Bros. Pictures produced and distributed such films as “Presumed Innocent,”
“GoodFellas,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” the Oscar®-winning Best Picture
“Driving Miss Daisy,” “Batman Forever,” “Under Siege,” “Malcolm X,” “The
Bodyguard,” “JFK,” “The Fugitive,” “Dave,” “Disclosure,” “The Pelican Brief,”
“Outbreak,” “The Client,” “A Time to Kill” and “Twister.”
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In May of 1996, Berman started Plan B Entertainment, an independent motion
picture company at Warner Bros. Pictures. He was named Chairman and CEO of Village
Roadshow Pictures in February 1998.
AFFONSO BEATO, A.S.C., A.B.C. (Director of Photography) is an award-winning,
internationally renowned cinematographer whose career spans nearly 40 years. Among his
most recent projects are “Love in the Time of Cholera,” for director Mike Newell, “The
Queen,” for Stephen Frears, “Dark Water,” for Walter Salles, “The Fighting Temptations,”
for Jonathan Lynn, and “Ghost World,” for Terry Zwigoff.
Beato has an ongoing partnership with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro
Almodóvar. In 2000, his cinematography for Almodóvar‟s Oscar®-winning “All About
My Mother” earned a Goya Award, Spain‟s most prestigious honor for film, as well as a
nomination from the International Film Festival Cameraimage. Previously, the two teamed
on “Live Flesh” and “The Flower of My Secret.”
Beato also frequently collaborates with director Jim McBride, most notably on
“The Big Easy,” “Great Balls of Fire” and “Uncovered.” His other feature film credits
include Matthew Parkhill‟s “Dot the I,” Bruno Barreto‟s “View From the Top,” “Price of
Glory,” “Five Days, Five Nights” (for which he won Best Cinematography at the Gramado
Film Festival), “Mul e Uma” (for which he won the Brazilia Festival of Cinema‟s Best
Cinematography Award), “Orfeu” and “Antônio das Mortes,” which won the Jury Prize at
the Cannes Film Festival.
His television credits include “Plainsong,” “Dead by Midnight,” “Pronto,” “The
IRA Informant” and “The Wrong Man.”
Born in Brazil, Beato is multi-lingual and works around the globe. He has served
in numerous capacities for the Brazilian State Film Agency and, since 1977, has been
president of the U.S.-based Latin American Film Project.
PATRIZIA VON BRANDENSTEIN (Production Designer) is currently working
on the historical drama “The Last Station,” directed by Michael Hoffman, for whom she
designed “The Emperor‟s Club” in 2002.
She began her film career in 1972 with a debut screen credit as a set decorator on
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the acclaimed drama “The Candidate” and subsequently worked as both a scenic artist and
costume designer, with credits including “Between the Lines” and “Saturday Night Fever.”
Teaming with husband and fellow production designer Stuart Wurtzel on Joan Micklin
Silver‟s turn-of-the-century immigrant tale “Hester Street” helped move von Brandenstein
into art direction. Soon she was designing sets for films as varied as the teen comedy
drama “Breaking Away” and Milos Forman‟s lavish period recreation “Ragtime,” for
which she shared an Oscar® nomination as art director.
Von Brandenstein won the Academy Award® for her vividly detailed rendering of
the age of Mozart for “Amadeus,” her second collaboration with Forman.
By the early 1980s she was a full-fledged production designer, assuming
supervisory capacities and laying out much of the visual texture of her films. Among her
notable projects was the striking “Heartland,” set in the old West. She worked with
director Mike Nichols on “Silkwood,” “Working Girl” and “Postcards from the Edge.”
Von Brandenstein received her third Oscar® nomination for Brian De Palma‟s “The
Untouchables,” and further distinguished herself with her work on the teen musical “Beat
Street,” the high-society comedy drama “Six Degrees of Separation” and a return to the
West for “The Quick and the Dead.”
Her additional production credits include “A Chorus Line,” “Billy Bathgate,”
“Sneakers,” “Leap of Faith,” “Just Cause,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt” and “Mercury
Rising,” as well as “A Simple Plan,” “Man on the Moon,” “Shaft,” “The Ice Harvest,” “All
the King‟s Men” and “Goya‟s Ghost.”
BRIAN A. KATES (Editor) reunites with George C. Wolfe on “Nights in
Rodanthe.” The two previously collaborated on Wolfe‟s Emmy Award-winning HBO
drama “Lackawanna Blues,” for which Kates earned a 2006 Eddie Award from American
Cinema Editors.
Kates‟s work as a feature film editor includes the Oscar®-nominated “The
Savages,” for writer/director Tamara Jenkins and starring Laura Linney and Philip
Seymour Hoffman; “Shortbus,” for director John Cameron Mitchell; “The Woodsman,”
for director Nicole Kassell; the Emmy-nominated “The Laramie Project,” for director
Moisés Kaufman; “Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop,” for directors Danny Hoch & Mark
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Benjamin; and “Trick,” for director Jim Fall. He was Jonathan Caouette's co-editor on the
groundbreaking documentary “Tarnation,” which was named Best Non-Fiction Film by the
National Society of Film Critics.
He is currently editing Ross Katz‟s “Taking Chance,” starring Kevin Bacon.
Kates grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and lives in New York City. He studied
film production and Judaic Studies at New York University.
JEANINE TESORI (Music) has written three Tony-nominated scores for
Broadway: “Twelfth Night” at Lincoln Center, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (lyrics, Dick
Scanlan) and “Caroline, or Change” (lyrics, Tony Kushner).
The National Theatre
production of “Caroline, or Change” in London received the Olivier Award for Best New
Musical.
Her first musical, “Violet,” written with Brian Crawley, received the New York
Drama Critics Circle Award. Tesori has also received Drama Desk and Obie Awards, and
was cited by ASCAP as the first woman composer to have two new musicals running
concurrently on Broadway. She composed the music for The New York Shakespeare
Festival‟s “Mother Courage,” translated by Tony Kushner.
Her film scores include “Winds of Change,” “Show Business: The Road to
Broadway” and “Wrestling With Angels.” She composed songs for the movie “Shrek the
Third” and for the Disney DVD releases “Mulan II,” “Lilo and Stitch 2” and “Little
Mermaid: Ariel‟s Beginning.”
A graduate of Barnard College, Tesori is married to
conductor and musician Michael Rafter.
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