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Cast JON FAVREAU (John
Person) Crew STEVE
ANDERSON (Director and Screenwriter)
Multi-hyphenate talent Jon Favreau directed New Line Cinema’s upcoming Elf, a feature he co-wrote with Scot Armstrong and David Berenbaum. He will soon be seen in the upcoming movies, Wimbeldon by Universal Pictures and Something’s Gotta Give by Sony Pictures. Born and raised in Queens, NY, this son of schoolteachers dropped out of college and traveled throughout the US, landing in Chicago. Favreau had his first success when cast as the shy, overweight friend of Sean Astin's aspiring football player Rudy in David Anspaugh's biopic. Favreau made guest appearances on TV series like “Seinfeld” and “Chicago Hope” and landed big screen berths in Hart Bochner's PCU and Alan Rudolph's Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. Favreau began lifting weights, dropped 75 pounds and spent his time amid the young Hollywood hopefuls in the "cocktail nation" of the L.A. club scene. He continued to land small roles in films like Batman Forever and Notes From The Underground. He followed the adage to "write what you know" and turned his experiences as an aspiring actor and L.A. clubgoer into the story for the charming low-budget comedy Swingers, creating star-making roles for himself and his friend Vince Vaughn. In demand as both an actor and writer, he filmed a role as a racist tormenting Mary Stuart Masterson in Dogtown and also had a recurring role as a millionaire software developer who romanced Courtney Cox's Monica on the hit NBC sitcom “Friends.” Favreau's love of sports and solid frame helped land him leading roles in films such as HBO's 1999 biopic Rocky Marciano in which he played the legendary boxer, and the football comedy The Replacements. He again demonstrated strong leading man charisma opposite the seemingly out-of-his-league Famke Janssen in the appealingly neurotic romantic comedy Love And Sex, and he then re-teamed with Janssen and his Swingers co-star and close friend Vaughn in the largely improvised mob comedy Made, which Favreau wrote, directed and co-produced. The film featured some genuinely hilarious banter between Favreau, Vaughn and co-stars Peter Falk, Sean Combs and Faison Love. Favreau also developed two lucrative side careers: first as a script doctor polishing screenplays for various studios; second as voice-over performer on numerous animated series and specials. Demonstrating his personal appeal behind the camera as well as in front of it, Favreau recruited many of his on-screen co-stars and cinema idols to appear on “Dinner For Five,” a television series he produced and hosted for the Independent Film Channel. In each episode, Favreau would sit down at a different well-known Los Angeles restaurant with four guests from the world of film and the quintet would spend their meal sharing and exchanging anecdotes from their lives and careers, providing a fascinating and entertaining look into the entertainment industry. Favreau's latest major role was opposite Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner in the comic book superhero film Daredevil, in which he played Foggy Nelson, the stocky law partner (and comic foil) to Affleck's blind alter ego.
Enchanting Rachael Leigh Cook is well on her way to becoming one of her generation’s most talented screen stars. Cook’s ability to switch from comedic roles to more serious ones establishes her presence as a capable young actress. She just completed shooting the Jerry Bruckheimer produced pilot “Fearless” for the WB in the lead role of Gaia. Cook has also recently completed filming several independent movies such as Stateside opposite Jonathan Tucker. This past summer, Cook shot 11:14 opposite Hilary Swank and Colin Hanks. Other indies include Scorched with Woody Harrelson and John Cleese, which premiered in Cannes; 29 Palm for Davis Entertainment, in association with Cook’s Ben’s Sister Productions, in which she stars opposite Michael Rapaport and Jeremy Davies; and American Crime starring opposite Kip Pardue and Anabella Sciorra. Cook’s previous movies include Josie and The Pussycats for Universal in the starring role of Josie. She filmed opposite Tim Robbins and Ryan Phillippe in MGM’s Anti-Trust and can also been seen in Get Carter for Warner Brothers starring opposite Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine. Her breakout role occurred in the hit movie She’s All That, in the starring role of Laney for Miramax and Tapestry Films, opposite Freddie Prinze, Jr. Furthermore, Cook can be seen in Miramax’s Blow Dry starring in the role of Christina opposite Josh Hartnett and scripted by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty). Cook also co-produced and starred in the independent film Tangled opposite Shawn Hatosy and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Other previous credits include the independent features The Bumblebee Flies Away, starring opposite Elijah Wood; The Hi-Line, directed by Ronald Judkins, which debuted at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival; and All I Wanna Do, directed by Sara Kernochan and distributed by Miramax. Other projects included Showtime’s feature The Defenders with Beau Bridges, and the film Living Out Loud with Danny DeVito and Holly Hunter, where Cook portrayed Hunter as a young girl. Cook filmed the comedy, Naked Man, co-written by Ethan Coen, playing a “biker babe.” Previously, Cook appeared in the independent feature The House of Yes starring with Parker Posey. With a dark manic edge, Cook portrayed Posey’s character as a young girl on the verge of womanhood. On the television front, Cook has lensed a guest star appearance in “Dawson’s Creek” and has appeared in the CBS miniseries “True Women,” co-starring opposite Annabeth Gish and Dana Delany. Cook also starred in the CBS movie Country Justice. Cook began by modeling for local department stores in print, and with a canine co-star on the Milkbone dog biscuit box. Her first screen assignment came when writer/director Peter Syvertsen cast the untried actress in the short film 26 Summer Street. Set against the squalor of a 1930s tenement in Baltimore, the film stars Cook as a young girl watching a baby. Her simple conversations with a doctor (Syvertsen) illuminate his own life. The experience taught Cook, then fourteen, the basics of filmwork. Cook soon found herself in Los Angeles auditioning for feature roles. Success came quickly when cast by Barbara Cohen and Mary Gail Artz in her first full-length feature The Babysitter’s Club (Columbia), an ensemble film that cast Cook as a quiet conservative girl who must protect the secret of a loyal friend. Following, Cook played the savvy free-spirited Becky Thatcher opposite Jonathon Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro in Disney’s Tom & Huck. Despite success, Cook’s Midwest modesty is refreshing: “I’m always trying to appreciate how lucky I’ve been so far. But I started getting worried when I stopped taking hotel soaps!” she remembers. An art lover who acknowledges a passion for drawing, Cook hopes to broaden her artistic pursuits into screenwriting, but for the time being will settle for adventures in front of the camera.
Emmy-Award winner Kelsey Grammer portrays Dr. Frasier Crane, the highbrow, Ivy League-educated psychiatrist in the top-rated comedy series “Frasier.” To date he has won three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, and has been nominated for 12 Emmy's for his portrayal of Dr. Frasier Crane in three different series (“Cheers,” “Wings” and “Frasier”). Grammer was born in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was raised by his mother and grandfather, first in New Jersey, then in Florida. After the death of his grandfather, the 12-year-old Grammer was drawn to the works of William Shakespeare, which fostered his love of English language. His first acting performance was in a high school production of “The Little Foxes” and with the encouragement of his English and drama teachers, he decided to pursue acting as a career. After two years at the Juilliard School, he was accepted by the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where he spent three years performing in classic works by Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He later performed in regional theatres across the United States--including the Guthrie in Minneapolis--before appearing in the off-Broadway productions of “Plenty,” “Sunday in the Park With George,” A Month in the Country,” and the Obie Award-winning “Quartermaine's Terms.” His Broadway credits include “Macbeth” and “Othello,” and he performed the title role in “Richard II” at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Grammer starred in Benedict Arnold for A&E and Mr. St. Nick for ABC’s Hallmark Hall of Fame. Grammer’s other film credits include New Line Cinema’s Fifteen Minutes and Showtime’s Sportspages. Grammer’s Paramount-based production company, Grammnet, produced the animated series “Gary The Rat” for Spike TV. Grammer serves as executive producer as well as the voice for the rat. He is also executive producer of “Girlfriends” on UPN. In “Frasier”’s first season, Grammer won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male in a New Television Series. During the second season, Grammer picked up a second Emmy Award, an American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Performer in a TV series, won aGolden Globe Award, and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and People's Choice Award. In the sixth season Grammer won his third Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and was awarded the Viewer's For Quality Television Award for the sixth consecutive year. In the seventh season, Grammer won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy. He was also nominated for an Emmy for the eighth season. Grammer lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Camille, and their daughter, his six dogs and several horses.
Sean Bean, probably best known for his memorable performances in Patriot Games, Ronin and Goldeneye, continues to deliver passionate and inspiring lead roles. As shown by his recent work, his exceptional talent has helped push him to the forefront of dramatic actors. In December 2001, Bean starred in one of the most highly anticipated films of all time – New Line’s Lord of the Rings. In the role of the human Boromir, a friend to the Hobbits and a believer in the greatness of man, he represents the seduction of the ring and the sacrifice of the individual to protect it from falling into the wrong hands. Bean followed that up with the Fox/New Regency action-thriller Don’t Say a Word, opposite Michael Douglas. As Patrick, the brilliant mastermind of a daring bank heist gone awry, he can only acquire his payoff if he can obtain information locked away in the battered psyche of a nearly catatonic patient under the care of a psychiatrist (Douglas). He will next be seen in the role of Odysseus in Wolfgang Petersen’s epic adventure, Troy, opposite Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. Bean’s additional screen credits include Anna Karenina, Equilibrium, Black Beauty and Stormy Monday. He has also performed on stage as Macbeth, at the Abery Theatre in London, in The Royal Shakespeare Company productions of “Romeo and Juliet,” “Fair Maid of the West” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and in The Royal Court Theater production of “Killing the Cat.” Born in Sheffield, England, Bean attended The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He currently resides in London.
Daryl Hannah was born and raised in Chicago, where she was selected while still in school to play a victim of lethal telekinesis in Brian De Palma’s psycho-thriller The Fury (1978). She made her first strong individual impression on audiences after re-locating to Los Angeles, when she was cast as the acrobatic android Pris in Ridley Scott's science fiction classic Blade Runner (1982). The erotic melodrama Summer Lovers (1982), James Foley’s Reckless (1984), and above all, Ron Howard’s Splash (1984), in which she played a mermaid named Madison who captivates Tom Hanks, established the willowy actress as one the definitive Hollywood icons of the 1980s. Since then, Hannah has appeared in more than 30 feature films including The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), Wall Street (1987), Roxanne (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), At Play In The Fields Of The Lord (1991), and Grumpy Old Men (1993). She recently made her stage debut in London in “The Seven Year Itch,” a revival of the George Axelrod play directed by Michael Radford. She subsequently acted in Radford’s semi-improvised film about Hollywood strippers, Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000). She also directed, produced and shot the documentary Strip Notes, based upon her research for the role; the 30-minute film appears as a special feature on the Blue Iguana DVD. She received the Berlin International Film Festival's Jury Award for Best Short for The Last Supper, a film that she wrote, produced and directed. Hannah can currently be seen in Quentin Tarantino's much-anticipated Kill Bill. She recently starred in the Polish Bros' Northfork, and John Sayles' Casa De Los Babys, playing a woman who travels to South American to adopt a child.
A member of the Saulteaux tribe from Manitoba, Canada, Adam Beach starred opposite Nicolas Cage in John Woo's WWII epic Windtalkers, about Navajo Marines who use a code based on their native language to send messages indecipherable to the Japanese. (The complexity of the Navajo language is a subtext of Skinwalkers, as well.) In 1998 Beach appeared in the critically acclaimed Smoke Signals, which won the Filmmaker's Trophy Award and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. He also starred in Squanto for Disney and Dance Me Outside, which earned him a Best Actor Award from the American Indian Film Festival. On television, he has appeared in “Lonesome Dove,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “The Rez,” and many other series. Movie audiences will next see Beach star in Posers for director Katie Talio. Television audiences will soon catch Beach as the title role in Sacrifice: The J.J. Harper Story and audiences who enjoyed Beach in PBS' American Mystery Special Skinwalkers will soon get to see him reprise the role of Jim Chee in Thief of Time and again in Coyote Waits.
Joey Lauren Adams’ combination of raw talent, unpredictable delivery and comic timing has made her an actress to watch. Not content to portray the same character over and over, her screen portrayals reveal a wide range. Joey is currently working on Loving Up a Storm, which she has written and is also set to direct. She will star opposite Vince Vaughn and Billy Bob Thornton. She has starred in James Toback’s Harvard Man with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Harvard Man explores what young people go through in their quest to find their own identity against a background of love, sex, basketball, crime and experimentation. Adams was also seen in Beeper opposite Harvey Keitel. Prior to that, In the Shadows was a film where Adams plays a doctor who falls in love with a hit man, who is sent to Hollywood to take the life of a stuntman – her father. This film also starred Matthew Modine, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and James Caan. Adams will next be seen starring in Shirley Maclaine’s directorial debut Bruno, the story of a 9-year-old spelling bee champion, along with Kathy Bates and Gary Sinise. Most notably, Adams starred opposite Adam Sandler in Big Daddy and before that, the critically acclaimed Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Other memorable roles include Nora Ephron’s box office smash Michael, Richard Linklater’s cult classic Dazed and Confused and Kevin Smith’s Mallrats. This Arkansas native came to Los Angeles in 1989 and soon established herself on television in such series as the “Married With Children” spin off “Top of the Heap,” with Matt LeBlanc, and “Vinny and Bobby.” She made television history as the woman who took Bud Bundy’s virginity on “Married With Children.” Adams also had a recurring role on the acclaimed series “Second Noah.” Adams also starred in a short film shown at the Sundance Film Festival titled Strange Habit in which she played a young woman suffering from bulimia. The film later aired on MTV. Adams is also a published poet and writes Country and Western music in her spare time.
Melora Walters earned rave reviews for her haunting portrayal of drug-addicted Claudia, the emotional center of Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed Magnolia. Her role as adult film star Jesse St. Vincent in Anderson’s earlier feature Boogie Nights, for New Line Cinema, propelled Walters into the Hollywood spotlight. She was most recently seen in Katherine Lindberg’s dark drama, Rain, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese and which made its international debut at the Venice Film Festival. In addition, she stars in Intermedia Films’ feature, Wise Girls opposite Mira Sorvino and Mariah Carey, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Walters co-stars with Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Giovanni Ribisi in the upcoming Miramax MGM feature Cold Mountain, directed by Anthony Minghella. She was recently seen opposite Nicolas Cage in Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men. Walters is also preparing to star in and produce the independent film Hideous Men for director Lawrence Johnson. The project is based on the book Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, by David Foster Wallace. Her numerous film credits include Hard Eight, Eraser, Los Locos, Cabin Boy, Beethoven, Twenty Bucks, Ed Wood, and her feature debut, Dead Poet's Society.
Jon Gries recently starred opposite Christopher Walken, Sean William Scott and The Rock in Universal’s The Rundown. Gries is also starring opposite Barry Pepper in Charles Martin Smith’s feature film The Snow Walker, which made its world premiere at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. He recently starred in the ensemble feature film Northfork opposite James Woods, Nick Nolte and Peter Coyote for Paramount Pictures Classics and the Polish Brothers. He will be starring in the independent feature film Napoleon Dynamite. Gries starred in the Polish brothers’ second feature film, Jackpot, which was awarded the prestigious John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. He starred opposite Darryl Hannah and Anthony Edwards. Gries has had supporting leads in such major motion pictures as Twin Falls Idaho, Get Shorty and Men In Black, among others. On television, Jon has starred in two series: “The Pretender” for two seasons on NBC and “Martin” for two seasons on Fox. He has a recurring role on the HBO series “Carnivale” and has guest-starred on numerous series such as “24.”
Bud Cort, probably best known for his role as Harold in the classic Harold and Maude, has been bringing memorable characters to the screen for three decades. His recent feature film credits include roles in Made, Pollock, Coyote Ugly, The Million Dollar Hotel, But I’m a Cheerleader and Dogma. Bud received critical acclaim for his role in Harold and Maude, and was awarded the Crystal Star for Best Actor from the Academy of Cinema, Paris, France, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for the film. He also co-wrote and directed a feature film Ted and Venus and has since immersed himself in voice-over work, radio and nightclub performances, theatre, and television and independent film roles. Bud quickly established a career in television commercials in the late 1960s. It was while in a comedy review called “Free Fall” at Upstairs at the Downstairs in 1969, that he was "discovered" by director Robert Altman, who then cast him in MASH and later that year, in Brewster McCloud. He made appearances in such television shows as “The Governor and J.J,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”and “Room 222.”
Gary Farmer’s extensive career in film and television includes a various number of roles in “The West Wing” and “The Pretender” on NBC; Spike Jonze’s Adapation; Frank Oz’s The Score; Miramax’s Smoke Signals and Showtime’s Moonshine Highway. His theater credits include “Life Sentences” with the Factory Theatre; “Dry Lips Oughtta Move To Kapakasing” at the Royal Alexandra Theatre / Native Earth Theatre; “Guys and Dolls” at the Centaur Theatre; “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” with the Press Theatre and Bayview Playhouse’ and “Of Mice and Men” at the Magnus Theatre.
Brent Briscoe has played a number of roles in studio and independent feature films including The Majestic, Mulholland Drive, Beautiful, Waking Up in Reno, Another Day in Paradise, The Green Mile, Man on The Moon, Crazy in Alabama, Slingblade, and U-Turn. His television credits include roles in NBC’s “E.R.”; ABC’s “Maximum Bob” and “Knots Landing”; HBO’s “Tracey Takes On”; and CBS’s “Evening Shade.” He has also toured with the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles and has been featured in various theatre productions with the Missouri Summer Repertory.
STEVE ANDERSON (Director and Screenwriter) Steve Anderson makes his feature film writing and directing debut with The Big Empty. A Peabody Award winning cameraman, Steve Anderson has shot seven national documentaries for PBS and thousands of hours of broadcast television. He’s been charged by lions on the Serenghetti Plain, caught fire in the Malibu fires and been rattled homeless by an earthquake. He’s been blessed by Mother Theresa; seen John Wayne Bobbit’s penis and even once danced with Angelyne. Anderson has gotten drunk with Captain Kangaroo, been trained as a Hollywood stunt driver and flown upside-down with the Ray-Ban Gold Aerial Acrobatic Team. He’s been shot at in the L.A. riots, chased O.J. up the freeway and witnessed both breast and ass implants. Anderson has lounged in the grotto at the Playboy Mansion, walked the red carpet at the Oscars and met celebrities, politicians and movie stars from the Flying Elvises to Bozo the Clown to President Bush.
In 1997 Doug Mankoff started Echo Lake Productions by raising a private equity fund to finance and produce independent films. In addition to producing The Big Empty, Doug Mankoff executive produced David Riker’s La Ciudad, winner of awards at numerous film festivals including Havana (best foreign film), South-By-Southwest (best narrative film), Santa Barbara (best narrative film), and Taos (best feature); produced Allison Anders’ Things Behind the Sun, which won a Peabody Award for its “searing exploration” of the consequences of rape; and executive produced Jill Sprecher’s Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, which became Sony Pictures Classics’ highest grossing film of 2002. Most recently, Mankoff executive produced Ed Solomon’s Levity, which was chosen as the opening night film of the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.
Gregg L. Daniel is the co-founder of Rainstorm Entertainment, an L.A.-based feature film production company. A graduate of the American Film Institute's producing fellowship program, Daniel began his career assisting director Paul Aaron on the Glenn Close film Maxie. He has held posts at The Walt Disney Company, where he coordinated visual effects for George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on Captain Eo; served as a studio liaison on numerous Touchstone Film productions; and worked in the production departments of Jim Abrahams Big Business, Garry Marshall's Beaches, and Steven Spielberg's Always. He was the producer of Terror Tract, which premiered on the USA Network and won the "Silver Raven" and "Prize of the Audience" awards at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films, as well as “Best Feature” at the Rhode Island Horror Film Festival and “Shriekfest” in Los Angeles.
Andrew Spaulding’s credits include executive producing Jill Sprecher’s critically acclaimed Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, starring Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, and Alan Arkin; and Ed Solomon’s Levity starring Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, and Holly Hunter. Spaulding joined independent production and financing company Echo Lake Productions in 2001 and serves as the company’s Executive Vice-President. Before joining Echo Lake Productions, he served as vice-president of the independent production company founded by veteran producer A. Kitman Ho (Ali, Platoon), where he worked on the production of Kathryn Bigelow’s The Weight of Water and Jonathan Kaplan’s Brokedown Palace.
Keith Resnick is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the American Film Institute. He has held executive positions at Arlington Television Network, Golden West Television Productions, and InterStar Films Releasing Company and has been responsible for hundreds of hours of television programming.> He was a partner at Giant Leap Entertainment, which produced Terror Tract. He is currently Executive Director of the Lili Claire Foundation, which provides outreach programs to children and their families that are affected by neurogenetic birth defects.
STEVE BICKEL (Executive Producer) Steve Bickel has broad experience in the international production and distribution arena. He started his entertainment career as an associate producer on the feature Somewhere in Time. Soon after, he assumed the role of vice president of independent sales for Warner Bros. International, building an extensive international sales network. He then moved to the Virgin Group as President of Virgin Vision, where he established the U.S. entertainment company and was a consultant to Banque Paribas’ Entertainment Division. Bickel was then appointed President of Samuel Goldwyn International, where he oversaw all film and television foreign rights’ distribution and marketing for a broad range of award-winning films, including The Madness of King George, Much Ado About Nothing and I Shot Andy Warhol. Most recently Bickel was President of Shooting Gallery International, where he was responsible for the sales and marketing of all Shooting Gallery pictures, including You Can Count on Me, winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. In September of 2001 Steve Bickel was named as President and Partner of Aura Entertainment; a film and television production, marketing and distribution partnership with Lou and Kelly Gonda's Lexington Entertainment Group. Since Aura's inception he has headed up international sales on the East of Doheny production A Time For Dancing. Bickel will produce Aura’s next feature Love Comes to the Executioner.
JEFFREY KRAMER (Executive Producer) Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning producer Jeffrey Kramer is one of the few top movie and TV executives in Hollywood who also plays a key role in new media. He recently served as President of Lexington Entertainment Group and its subsidiaries, including East of Doheny Productions, Lexington Road Productions and Lexington Films Capital. Kramer was previously President of David E. Kelley Productions, where he produced such shows as “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice” and “Chicago Hope,” winning numerous awards. During his career, Kramer has also been a successful actor in movies like Jaws; an independent producer and an executive at Twentieth Century Fox Television, where he oversaw the development of hits like “In Living Color,” “The X-Files” and “The Simpsons” before leaving to join Kelley.
STEVEN G. KAPLAN (Executive Producer) Steven G. Kaplan founded Rainstorm Entertainment in 2002, having had a successful run as an original founder of Giant Leap Entertainment, the production company behind Terror Tract, the comedic horror flick starring the late John Ritter. Kaplan is producing the upcoming Rainstorm Entertainment features All American Dad, Juggernaut and Night Calls the Green Falcon. As Executive Producer on Terror Tract and The Big Empty, Kaplan was responsible for packaging and providing financing for Rainstorm Entertainment and Giant Leap Entertainment projects. A law professional with well-respected business insight, Kaplan also serves as a managing shareholder of the business law firm of Levinson, Kaplan, Arshonsky & Kurtz. Kaplan represents independent filmmakers, writers and directors. After receiving his Bachelor’s of Arts from U.C.L.A. in 1985, Kaplan attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, earning his J.D. in 1988.
PETER WETHERELL (Executive Producer) After eleven years as an international film sales and distribution executive, Peter Wetherell created his own company in 1996, Magus Entertainment, in order to both provide senior consulting services to the film production and distribution community and to Executive Produce feature films. He has since represented a variety of production companies, private investors, financing institutions and foreign distributors. Clients have included Echo Lake Productions (L.A.), Halcyon Entertainment (L.A.), Four Boys Films (L.A.), Cinecitta Studios (Italy), The Quebec Film and TV Office (Canada) and Columbia Tristar International Television (L.A.). In addition to Wetherell's executive producing credits with Echo Lake on Thirteen Conversations About One Thing and Things Behind the Sun, his other credits include Deepwater, starring Lucas Black, Mia Maestro and Peter Coyote; Tangled, starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Gunshy starring Diane Lane and William Petersen. Wetherell was previously a Board member of AFMA for six years and is a current member of the AFEA council (American Film Export Association) and the AFMA Producer's committee.
Jory Weitz began his career in the New York theatre world casting Broadway and off-Broadway shows. He then transitioned into casting feature films working with an elite corps of directors such as Tim Burton, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Shelton, Stephen Frears, and Kevin Costner. Most recently, Jory executive produced and cast the indie film Napoleon Dynamite. His next project will be co-producing the Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas; Monkeybone) film Sleepless Beauty.
Scot Scalise began his editing career apprenticing on two Steve Martin comedies, All of Me and The Man With Two Brains. During his career, he has worked on such well-known films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid and Always. His recent work in independent films includes such diverse projects as Eight Lanes in Hamilton, Terror Tract, Limp, Rhinos and the short film Nougat. His extensive career in television includes movies such as Don King: Only in America, Fever, The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson and Amerika.
AARON OSBORNE (Production Designer) Aaron Osborne has worked as a production designer for over ten years on numerous studio and independent films, including I Am Sam, Trippin’, Another Day in Paradise, Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the ’Hood and the upcoming Employee of the Month. He recently won the 2003 Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series for the television series “Without a Trace,” which he shares with set decorator Jeannie Gunn.
CHRIS MANLEY (Director of Photography) Chris Manley earned his MFA in cinematography from the American Film Institute, where he was awarded the Eastman-Kodak Scholarship Award. His AFI thesis, My Mother Dreams the Satan’s Disciples in New York, won the Oscar for best live action short film in 1999. Since AFI, Manley has photographed such indie features as To Protect and Serve, Dahmer, and his latest, Neo Ned. He has also shot several TV movies, including The Phantom Eye, an original show for AMC that earned him an Emmy.
Brian Tyler most recently scored Paramount Pictures Timeline for director Richard Donner and The Hunted, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro for Academy AwardŽ winning director William Friedkin. He also scored the music for the upcoming Godsend starring Robert De Niro as well as the #1 box office hit Darkness Falls. Other films include Lions Gate Films suspense thriller Frailty, which garnered him a 2002 World Soundtrack Award nomination; and Last Call, starring Jeremy Irons and Sissy Spacek, for which Tyler received an Emmy nomination. Tyler received a Master's Degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor's Degree from UCLA.
DONDI BASTONE (Music Supervisor) Dondi Bastone’s recent projects include The Human Stain by Lakeshore; the Miramax and Showtime documentary series “Freshman Diaries” and the upcoming HBO feature Pornucopia. Bastone will be soon starting work on Alexander Payne’s upcoming feature, Sideways. He also served as a music supervisor for the indie hits Pollock and Election in addition to the commercial feature Home Fries. He started his music career as a music coordinator on Get Shorty.
KRISTIN M. BURKE (Costume Designer) Kristin Burke has designed costumes for over thirty-five feature films, two television series and countless commercials and promos. Her film credits include Star Maps, The Slaughter Rule and The Cooler. A California native, she learned to sew in 4H, and later attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned a degree in Film and a degree in French. She is also the co-author of the upcoming book Costuming for Film: the Art and the Craft, due out later this year from Silman James Press, and is currently writing a second book. Ms. Burke would like to express her gratitude for the help and support of The Big Empty team, and the people of Baker, California.
“I usually read a script until I don’t like it. After 12 pages of The Big Empty, I called my agent and said I want to meet this guy!” -Jon Favreau. When Steve Anderson first sat down to write The Big Empty, he gave himself a few simple rules. The first rule: there could be nothing in the script he didn’t own, or at least wouldn’t be able to get very easily. There would be no helicopter chases, no machine gun shootouts, or characters that drove Ferraris. The second rule: it had to be set somewhere where he could steal locations and not have to worry about cops or permits. The third rule: he needed to create compelling characters that actors would love to play. The reason for the rules: he’d be doing it all himself, so it needed to remain simple. Four weeks later, the script for The Big Empty was finished. This was not Anderson’s first writing venture. The scripts he had written before had garnered the attention of a number of Hollywood creative types and the writer was developing quite a fan base. Yet no one was willing to pay the price to make the movies he was writing… much less agree to let the first-time filmmaker direct. A veteran cameraman, Anderson had spent the last decade covering high-profile events and entertainment stories for CNN. He was a good writer. He was being told that. And he felt ready to direct his own material. Anderson’s journey began with the help of producer Gregg Daniel. “Steve and I met through a mutual friend,” Daniel recalls. “When I read his work, I knew he had talent. And I recognized the hurdles we would be up against if we tried to put those higher budget projects together and still have Steve direct.” Gregg approached his friend, former AFI schoolmate Keith Resnick. “Gregg and I were looking for a project to produce,” says Resnick. “He asked me to read some of Steve’s work and when I did, we both agreed that if he could write a film that could be made on a smaller budget, we would find the money.” “I had a lot of ideas running around in my head,” recalls Anderson. “I remember starting with a premise that was sort of influenced by a film at Sundance five or six years ago called Blood Guts Bullets and Octane. And I had a number of experiences through CNN, including covering the Heaven’s Gate suicides in San Diego. I always wondered, what would happen if that was still going on? I decided to write a story that touched on this theory and once I got started, it practically wrote itself. To be honest, I really don’t even remember writing it.” The team found themselves in the offices of producers Doug Mankoff and Andrew Spaulding at Echo Lake Productions. Having had previous success with such contemplative and intellectual art house films as Things Behind the Sun and 13 Conversations About One Thing, the producers were ready to tackle a comedy and were actively searching for a script that was intelligent, thought-provoking, and fun. “The Big Empty represents a fun departure for us,” says Doug Mankoff, President of Echo Lake Productions. “Most of the films we have done thus far have been serious dramas. The Big Empty, as a script, read like a fun ride, but it also had more. The odd way it looked at conventions and at the world made it a special story worth the time and resources we would invest. Steve Anderson clearly had a special vision for this film. I also happen to be a big fan of Jon Favreau. We had a lot of confidence that he could carry this film on his shoulders. As things came together, we couldn’t have been more delighted. A wonderful cast of actors and crew came together to help Steve fulfill his vision. It was a departure that we are proud to have made.” The next part of the process was taking the project to North by Northwest Entertainment in Spokane. We knew that North by Northwest has the ability to deliver a quality production at a real value and that was important to us. North by Northwest agreed to act as the Production Company and co-producer supplying a variety of services and attaching Rich Cowan as line producer and Tiffany Wallach as Unit Production manager. Rich’s experience as a producer and director gave us an experienced production executive in the trenches every day to make sure the movie came in on time and on budget. “We are a very material-driven company,” explains Andrew Spaulding, Executive Vice President of Echo Lake Productions. “The project came to us with Steve attached as director, and while we’re usually reluctant to work with first-time directors, this script was so strong, we had to make an exception. It also helped that Steve had worked for years as a cameraman putting together stories for CNN on a daily basis; we knew he had the experience needed to craft a good story.” Echo Lake guaranteed the budget and the filmmakers were on their way.
Locking in the actors…. Jon Favreau has worked with many first-time directors. A talented director in his own right, Favreau has a good eye for material and a sense for what it takes to be a good director and make a good movie. “I usually read a script until I don’t like it,” says Favreau. “After 12 pages of The Big Empty, I called my agent and said ‘I want to meet this guy.’ “Steve’s script is so well written,” he continues. “It’s all on the page. The dialogue is unique and compelling and he drew on the noir genre, turned it on its ear a little, and threw in a bit of a sci-fi feel. I don’t do parts like this very often, but this is such a stylized piece and it has everything I like, especially in an independent film. And on top of all of that, John Person is who I would be if I hadn’t gotten a break!” “Jon called me after he read the script,” adds Gregg Daniel. “As soon as he said ‘It’s the first script I’ve read that I thought I wrote myself,’ I knew then that we had our lead!” Steve Anderson’s passionate determination to bring his vision to the screen, coupled with his talented writing, spoke to everyone who read the script. The caliber of actors he was able to attract is true testament to this talent. Kelsey Grammer was drawn to both the provocative style and mystery of the story and the independent spirit of the filmmakers. “I don’t have a lot of time to do films,” says the star of television’s top rated “Frasier.” “I enjoy the pioneer spirit that comes with making an independent film: everyone’s there for the right reasons and has a passion for what they are doing. I feel obligated to try different things once in a while and shake it up a little. For me, Agent Banks is my rendition of Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive. He is this relentless, strange man who pursues his target and has a bit of a sense of humor about what he’s doing. He’s a bit of a freak, but he fits into this freaky little world Steve Anderson has created so well.” Daryl Hannah, who portrays the sexy and grounded Stella, agrees. “With indie films, everyone is there because they want to be there, not just for the paycheck. The film becomes more of a labor of love and because of that there’s always a better energy on set, which ultimately translates onto the screen.” Joey Lauren Adams portrays Grace, the sweet girl-next-door (literally). Her experience with the first-time director was one she looks back upon fondly. “I have a lot of respect for Steve as both a writer and director,” says the actress. “I long to work with directors who give good direction that I’ve not thought of. He has a great way of coming up with direction that’s not the obvious choice. I would actually get excited to do the next take with his direction. That doesn’t happen to me a lot. For example, there is a scene when Cowboy is holding a gun to my head and my initial inclination was to turn away from the gun because I was afraid. But Steve came up to me and said ‘turn towards the gun.’ So I turned toward the gun and it made it creepier. It sent out a subliminal message about Cowboy, and how his character is so charismatic and can pull you in. The scene was so much better for that direction. Steve actually directs as though he’s acted before.” Having recently done a film with Jon Favreau (Made), Bud Cort quickly came on board as the strange neighbor, Neely. For Cort, the opportunity to work with Favreau again was appealing, but ultimately the script is what drew him in. “I loved the darkly funny, incredible dialogue in this script,” he says. “It would have been easy to go overboard on something like this, so the trick was to keep balance. But I work backwards from the text and the words were there, so I took a little from a few neighbors I’ve had over the years in New York, worked them into Steve’s words and came up with Neely. “Neely is a guy on a mission,” the actor continues. “He’s a bit of a dirt bag and a lower level messenger, but he’s aspiring to greatness.”
“Let’s put Baker on the map!” –Steve Anderson. The Big Empty took four years to go from page to screen and 27 days to put into the can. And when Steve Anderson wrote the script, $27,000 was the amount he was actually in debt. In a way, he became the John Person character in that he had to take make his own big break and make a movie to pay off his debts. Anderson knew Baker would be the perfect backdrop for his story. “When I first came from New York, I drove across country,” he remembers. “It was 1989, and Baker was the first town I hit as I drove into California. It’s always a big moment when you are coming out of Las Vegas and you hit the California border and you’re like ‘Here we are, California, the promised land.’ And there it is … Baker, this little truck stop and home to the world’s largest thermometer, one gas station, one motel, and one bar. “I just thought it was an interesting place and it’s own special kind of hell,” he continues. “You walk 100 yards outside of town and you’re in this dry desert lake-bed with nowhere to go for hours in each direction. And there it was, the Royal Hawaiian Motel, in the middle of the desert. It was very surreal and a very natural film noir setting. I’m a huge fan of noir films. I’ve seen every one. But I don’t feel like I’ve ever seen Baker on film and I’ve never seen specifically the Royal Hawaiian Motel, which I thought was great. Having to spend even one night there would be a chore. And when I started to write The Big Empty, Baker was the first character I created. I thought ‘let’s put Baker on the map!’” Baker is an odd place. The people there are all very nice but there’s a certain sort of craziness to living in the middle of the desert. Three quarters of the year it’s over 100 degrees and the other part of the year it’s around 25 degrees. Steve Anderson was surprised to learn about some similarities between his script and actual events that have taken place in Baker.. “Our production coordinator read the script and asked me if I had spent time there or had interviewed any of the locals before writing it. Apparently there was a crazy guy named Randy who had pulled a knife on a few locals. There was also a cop who had gotten caught with an underage girl who was the daughter of the bar owner. It was very surreal. It turned out to be very … recognized. “I came across a few real-life truck stop hookers,” he adds. “It was four or five days into pre-production, and we went up there and pulled up to one of four corners of the town. There was a stop sign and a young woman standing next to it who was obviously a working girl. She looked at us and nodded. I came back two days later and a camera crew was prepping. They needed a model to do some tests on and it turned out to be the hooker. That night we ran by the motel and she was working the front desk!”
Subliminally speaking…. Throughout the film, Steve Anderson, production designer Aaron Osborne and director of photography Chris Manley worked on laying down some real clues to not only underline the film’s noir quality, but also provide fun for the second viewing. “We really played on the emptiness aspect of the movie,” says the director. “With the Mojave as our set, we were pretty much living and shooting in the middle of the biggest emptiness you could imagine. The Mojave is filled with rocks and dust in all directions, and it really provided the best existential set for this kind of story.” “The Big Empty also plays into my reflection of the characters’ states of mind,” he adds. “Their lives are empty. People are disappearing and it means nothing. It helps underline the noirness of it all. We also designed the movie with lots of empty scenes, empty gas stations, empty glasses and empty suitcases. There was a lot of emptiness in there. The characters also say the word ‘nothing’ a lot in the script. Nothing really matters.” The biggest subliminal design came with the use (or absence) of the color blue. “I knew we were going to have a very short time to shoot this movie and that we had great actors,” says Anderson, “so my temptation as a cameraman was to do all this fancy stuff and quick editing swirling the cameras. But then I realized that we’d get the best movie if we put the camera on the actors and let them do their thing. Our thing should be to design the movie as best we could so everything that ends up on screen, the set, costumes and makeup all mean something. “We decided to drop subtleties along the way to hint at the supernatural,” he continues. “We almost did it for a second viewing as opposed to someone recognizing it when they see it for the first time. The first part of the movie is noir-like, very dark and gray. There is nothing blue in the movie at all until Neely comes in with the blue suitcase, wearing a blue jumpsuit. We wanted anything that had to do with the ‘other world’ to be blue. We added blue throughout the rest of the movie anywhere we could. Anything that is blue has some significance. Bud Cort was given contacts so Neely had very blue eyes in the beginning. All compromised people would have blue eyes, wear blue, be in a blue room, carry a blue suitcase, talk on a blue phone, etc. Kelsey Grammer wore brown contacts because his eyes are naturally blue. And we kept his eyes brown until the very end. “Grace’s eyes suggest that she becomes compromised half way through the movie. At the beginning Joey Lauren has very brown eyes but at the end at the bowling alley she wears blue contacts. We designed all this in. We did not have blue cars or blue signs or anything blue unless it meant something. It’s very subtle. And if you notice, in the very last scene of the movie John’s eyes turn from brown to blue.” In addition we decided to change the eye color of three of the other characters and for that we turned to North by Northwest and their digital effects editor Jeff Douglas. Jeff changed the eye color of the actors in eighty-nine shots including the last shot when Johns eye color changes from brown to blue. Twenty-seven days later, The Big Empty was in the can, along with writer/director Steven Anderson’s dream. “I’d like to think, as a first-time director, I did a pretty good job,” he says. “I’ve spent so many years waiting for this to happen, and to this date I still have not popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate because I feel like there’s still so much to do.” Sean Bean compliments the director best by saying that he “had no idea this was Steve’s first film” until three days into the shoot when someone mentioned it on the set. “We should be seeing a lot more of Steve Anderson,” he says. “I certainly hope we do!”
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