Torque Preliminary Notes

TORQUE

Preliminary Production Information

Biker Cary Ford (MARTIN HENDERSON) has returned to his hometown to reunite with his girlfriend Shane (MONET MAZUR) and take care of a little unfinished business.

When he skipped town months ago, Ford was in possession of several motorcycles belonging to Henry (MATT SCHULZE), a ruthless drug dealer and leader of the Hellions biker gang.  Now Henry’s putting the squeeze on Ford in an attempt to retrieve the bikes, which have something a little more valuable than gas in their tanks.  When Ford is less than willing to cooperate, Henry frames him for the murder of Junior, younger brother of Trey (ICE CUBE), the fearsome leader of the Reapers motorcycle gang.

With the help of his loyal buddies Dalton (JAY HERNANDEZ) and Val (WILL YUN LEE), Ford must outrun an FBI agent (ADAM SCOTT) who’s hot on his trail while eluding both the misinformed Trey, hell-bent on revenge, and the callous Henry, who’s dead-set on getting back what is rightfully his. 

Racing across the desert in a perilous attempt to prove his innocence and convince Shane that he’s worth a second chance, Ford must outrace his enemies if he wants to clear his name and live to ride another day. 

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Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a Neil H. Moritz production.  Torque stars MARTIN HENDERSON, ICE CUBE, MONET MAZUR, ADAM SCOTT, MATT SCHULZE, JAMIE PRESSLY and JAY HERNANDEZ.  The film is directed by JOSEPH KAHN and produced by NEAL H. MORITZ and BRAD LUFF.  Written by MATT JOHNSON.  MICHAEL RACHMIL, GRAHAM BURKE and BRUCE BERMAN are the executive producers.  Music is by TREVOR RABIN. PETER LEVY A.C.S., A.S.C. is the director of photography; PETER J. HAMPTON is the production designer; and HOWARD E. SMITH A.C.E. and DAVID BLACKBURN are the editors. 

Torque will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and by Village Roadshow Pictures. 

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Torque: n. a force that produces rotation or torsion;

a turning or twisting force.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION 

The renegade bikers in Torque tear through the new Wild West on some of the world’s most powerful motorcycles, looking to raise hell.  Their high speed, high-octane world explodes when vengeful motorcycle gangs and the search for truth collide.

Producer Neal Moritz, head of Original Film, credits fellow producer Brad Luff with bringing the Torque script to his attention. 

“I had wanted to make a motorcycle film for some time,” recalls Luff, “and Torque had all of the elements I was looking for: visceral action, drama and compelling characters driving the story.” 

With a greenlight from Warner Bros. Pictures, Moritz and Luff moved on to their first order of business – finding a director with a distinct sense of style, one who could bring the world of lightening-fast motorcycles and daredevil stunts to the screen with a fresh, innovative approach.  

Enter highly acclaimed music video director Joseph Kahn.  Making his feature film directorial debut with Torque, Kahn brings with him a resume that boasts over 200 music videos for such artists as U2, Janet Jackson, Moby, Britney Spears, KoRn, Aerosmith, Destiny’s Child and DMX.  Kahn won the Best Director award at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards for Eminem’s hit Without Me.

“I’ve known Joseph for a long time,” says Moritz, “and I’ve watched his career blossom.  I think he makes the best and most groundbreaking videos.  We were looking for someone who could give Torque a new look and feel and we felt there was no better candidate than Joseph.”

Luff echoes this sentiment, calling Kahn’s videos “Amazing, totally cutting edge. We agreed that his style would bring an originality and hipness to the project.”

Kahn was initially drawn to Torque because directing the film afforded him the chance to work within a new format.  “There has never been a great motorcycle chase movie,” he says, “and I felt that this project could give me the opportunity to show some of my visual style.  I also felt that by turning it into a love story, on top of all the visuals, I could make the characters breathe.  I want the audience to feel the emotion of the story, to get wrapped up in the fantasy.”   

CASTING           

The filmmakers assembled an ensemble cast of talented up-and-coming young actors, anchored by relative newcomer Martin Henderson (Windtalkers), who was chosen to take on the role of fugitive biker Cary Ford.  After Martin’s audition, everyone agreed immediately that they had found their leading man.

“When he walked through the door and read the lines, we just connected – he spoke my language and I spoke his,” recalls Kahn, who sees in Henderson some of the same qualities that he admires in action heroes like Steve McQueen, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford.  “He’s got looks, charisma and acting ability – a very potent mix.”

For the role of Trey, the badass gang leader who is set up to believe that Ford has murdered his brother, the filmmakers turned to well-established actor/producer/hip-hop artist Ice Cube.  “When we started to discuss the character of Trey, he was the first person we thought of and we were lucky enough that he wanted to do the movie,” comments Moritz.

            “Having played several good guys in recent films, this role lets Ice Cube display his nasty streak,” adds Kahn. 

Torque also stars Jay Hernandez (crazy/beautiful) and Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day) as Ford’s buddies Dalton and Val, Monet Mazur (Forty Days and Forty Nights) as his biker girlfriend Shane, Matt Schulze (The Transporter) as Henry, the leader of the Hellions biker gang, Max Beasley (Kill Me Later) as Big D, Henry’s right hand man, Adam Scott (High Crimes) as the FBI agent hot on Ford’s trail, Jamie Pressly (Not Another Teen Movie) as Henry’s girl China, and Christina Milian (the upcoming If You Were My Girl) as Nina. 

WILD ONES

When Ford first rolls back into town, he re-unites with many of the people he left behind – some happier to see him than others – at a riotous motorcycle rally.  The rally scenes were shot in Piru, California, and for three days the town took on a festive, street fair-like atmosphere.  Over 1,000 motorcycle enthusiasts and 300 extras turned out on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2002 for the most involved day of filming, imbuing the town with an atmosphere reminiscent of Brando and company’s infamous invasion in The Wild One.  The Torque stunt riders had a chance to really show their stuff, and the leather-clad crowd was an appreciative audience.  Hundreds of motorcycles lined the street as far as the eye could see and the day of shooting went flawlessly.

MEAN MACHINES 

In addition to the talented young actors assembled for the film, the baddest of motorcycles needed to be “cast” as their rides.  Among the standout machines are Ford’s black and red Aprilia Mille RSV, Trey’s Triumph Daytona 955i and Shane’s Triumph TT 600.

The production was also fortunate enough to get permission to use the Y2K, a bike often referred to as the world’s fastest, and with good reason.  The Y2K has a carbon-filled chassis built around an inverted Rolls Royce Allison 25O-C18 turbine jet engine – originally designed to power a helicopter.  With over 300 horsepower and 425 ft/lbs of torque, the theoretical speed of the jet cycle is over 250mph.  Built by Marine Turbine Technologies in Louisiana, there are only ten of these extraordinary bikes in existence in the world (one of them owned by motorcycle enthusiast Jay Leno).  An eleventh Y2K is currently in the works. 

ON LOCATION

The production began its 59-day shooting schedule in Lancaster, California.  With the remoteness of the area’s time-gone-by buildings surrounded by the desolation of the flat, seemingly endless desert, the setting is perfectly suited for the film’s scorching, high-speed ride.

Additional locations include the Bronson Caves in Hollywood, Lake Castaic, Piru and the streets of downtown Los Angeles as well as areas outside of Palm Springs and Blythe. 

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ABOUT THE CAST 

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, MARTIN HENDERSON (Cary Ford) was introduced to acting when Strangers, a local television program, held an open casting call at his elementary school.  He was thirteen years old when he was cast in this series and he has been acting professionally ever since.

Henderson was most recently seen in the John Woo-directed war film Windtalkers starring opposite Nicolas Cage.  Later this year, he will be seen in the DreamWorks’ feature The Ring opposite Naomi Watt and A Piece of My Heart with Piper Perado and Jennifer Tilly.

 As the head of his own production company, Cube Vision, ICE CUBE (Trey) wrote, produced and starred in the cult hit, Friday, its successful sequel Next Friday and The Players Club, on which he made his directorial debut.  Cube Vision also has its stamp on the third film in the Fridays franchise with Friday After Next, scheduled for release in November, 2002.  Barbershop, which also stars Eve, Seann Patrick Thomas and Cedric the Entertainer, opened on September 13^th to great reviews and was #1 at the box office for the weekend.

Ice Cube starred in the critically acclaimed Three Kings opposite George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.  Other film credits include John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, Anaconda with Jennifer Lopez and Jon Voight, Trespass, The Glass Shield, Higher Learning and Dangerous Ground.

Cube continues to be one of the most recognized hip-hop artists in the recording industry.  His thriving music career has included the double-platinum success of both discs of his double album War and Peace.  As a solo artist, Cube recorded such hit albums as Lethal Injection, Bootlegs & B-Sides, The Predator and Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.  His collaborative effort with Mack-10 and WC (Westside Connection) produced the platinum-plus album Bow Down.  A collection of his greatest hits, featuring two new songs, was released by Priority Records in December 2001. 

JAY HERNANDEZ (Dalton) burst onto the scene as the romantic lead starring opposite Kirsten Dunst in crazy/beautiful.  This was quickly followed by a starring role in Disney’s hit film The Rookie, opposite Dennis Quaid.

Born and raised in Montebello, California, Jay was in Hollywood with his parents when he was “discovered” in the classic movie fashion.  The Hernandez family shared an elevator with talent manager Howard Tyner, and by the time they reached the lobby, a career had begun.  His first acting job was in the independent feature Living the Life and he was then cast as a series regular on NBC’s Saturday morning comedy, Hang Time. 

MONET MAZUR (Shane) is one of the most exciting new talents to emerge in recent years.  She was last seen opposite Josh Hartnett in Miramax’s Forty Days and Forty Nights, Ted Demme’s Blow and opposite Jennifer Lopez in Angel Eyes.  She will next be seen in the Fox comedy Just Married, opposite Brittany Murphy and Ashton Kutcher, and the independent films Stark Raving Mad opposite Seann William Scott, Kiss the Bride, In Memory of My Father and Comic Book Villains.

Her additional film credits include The Mod Squad, Addams Family Values and Jay Roach’s Austin Powers.

Born in Los Angeles, Mazur was raised in Malibu, California.

MAX BEESLEY (Big D), son of jazz drummer Maxton Beesley and jazz singer Chris Marlowe, is a graduate of London’s highly acclaimed Guild Hall School of Music.  He began his performing career as a jazz and rock musician touring with such artists as Paul Weller, George Michael, George Benson and Jamiroquai before turning his attentions to acting in 1995 when he began study at the renowned Actors Studio in New York.  Soon after, Max received critical praise for his breakthrough starring performance as the title character in the BBC television production of Tom Jones.

Beesley can currently be seen in Kill Me Later, starring opposite Selma Blair, and in Mike Figgis’ upcoming ensemble film Hotel, starring alongside Selma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Burt Reynolds, Julian Sands and Saffron Burrows.

His additional feature film credits include Glitter with Mariah Carey; The Last Minute, director Steve Norrington’s follow-up to Blade; the British production Five Seconds to Spare opposite Ray Winstone; It Was an Accident co-starring Thandie Newton; and The Match starring Ian Holm and Tom Sizemore.

Beesley currently splits his time between homes in the U.K. and Los Angeles.

MATT SCHULZE (Henry) moved to Los Angeles nine years ago and immediately got work in a Levi’s commercial.  After modeling in Europe and the U.S., he quit modeling to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

Best known for his role as Vince in The Fast and the Furious, Schulze will next be seen co-starring in Luc Besson’s The Transporter.  Most recently, Schulze co-starred in the highly anticipated sequel Blade 2, in which he starred as Chupa, the leader of the Bloodpack.

Schulze also starred with Freddie Prinze Jr. in Boys and Girls and in the television shows Charmed and 7^th Heaven. 

ADAM SCOTT (McPherson) was most recently seen in Carl Franklin’s thriller High Crimes starring opposite Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd.  He recently completed principle photography on the independent black comedy Two Days, co-starring Paul Rudd.

His other feature film credits include Jonathan Frakes’ Star Trek: First Contact with Patrick Stewart and James Cromwell as well as several independent films including Robert Mickelson’s Off the Lip, Jonathan Kahn’s Girl, Ted Melfi’s Winding Roads, David McKay’s The Lesser Evil, Lawrence Trilling’s Dinner & Driving, and Derek Simonds’ Seven and a Match.

On television, Scott’s credits include Payback, an ABC movie of the week as well as recurring roles on Wasteland, Party of Five and Murder One, along with guest roles on NYPD Blue and ER. 

Already touted as one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People 2002,” WILL YUN LEE (Val) will next be seen in MGM’s latest installment of the 007 adventure series Die Another Day opposite Pierce Brosnan.  He can also be seen in the independent film Face, directed by Bertha Day-Sa Pan and playing Danny Woo on TNT’s stylish weekly series Witchblade, which just premiered its second season in June 2002.

Born in Arlington, Virginia, Lee became an accomplished martial artist and won an athletic scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley.  While in college, he became seriously interested in acting, and after landing a role in Nash Bridges, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career.  Additional guest television appearances in Profiler and Brimstone led to his first feature film, What’s Cooking, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000. 

Born and raised in North Carolina, JAIME PRESSLY (China) spent eleven years training as a gymnast before beginning a successful career in modeling.  She broke into show business in 1988, appearing in numerous television shows.

 Pressly most recently starred in the Neal Moritz and Brad Luff-produced hit, Not Another Teen Movie.  Audiences will also recognize her from her role in the Jerry Springer mock-documentary Ringmaster, as well as from Can’t Hardly Wait, White Trash, 100 Girls, Ticker, Joe Dirt and Tomcats.

Pressly was also a regular on the TV series Jack & Jill. 

CHRISTINA MILIAN (Nina) is a talented up-and-coming singer/songwriter.  Her self-titled album Christina Milian was released in October 2001.  Milian also wrote Jennifer Lopez’s 2001 hit song, Play.  Most recently, she wrote the theme song (Call Me, Beep Me) for the TV series Kim Possible.

Milian is about to begin principal photography on her first starring role in the Alcon/Warner Bros. Pictures film If You Were My Girl.  Her other feature film credits include appearances in The Wood, American Pie and additional voices for A Bug’s Life.

Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Milian now makes her home in Los Angeles.

Busy actress JUSTINA MACHADO (Henderson) will reprise the role of Vanessa in HBO’s Six Feet Under, nominated for 23 Emmys, and can currently be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal and in Final Destination II.

Originally of Puerto Rican decent, Machado was born in Chicago where her introduction into acting began on stage at the Latino Chicago Theatre. Once in Los Angeles, Machado was equally at home on stage, on television and in films.  She performed at the Mark Taper Forum in the critically acclaimed Blade to the Heat and Black Butterfly.

She has appeared in Nick Cassavetes’ She’s De Lovely, Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and in Tom Shadyac’s Dragonfly.

She is currently waiting to hear if her ABC/Touchtone pilot Johnny Chronicles will be picked up for the mid-season television schedule. 

Stand-up comedian and actor FAIZON LOVE (Sonny) is currently shooting Fighting Temptations for director Jonathan Lynn.  Most recently, Love co-starred in Played, Blue Crush, Mr. Bones, Made and Howard Deutch’s The Replacements starring Keanu Reeves.

Love’s other film credits include Three Strikes, Player’s Club, directed by his current co-star Ice Cube, Money Talks, and Martin Lawrence’s Thin Line Between Love and Hate.

Love has appeared on many television specials including appearances as a stand-up comedian on such shows as Def Jam on HBO, Comic Justice on Comedy Central and Show Time at the Apollo on NBC. 

Actor and rap artist FREDRO STARR (Junior) earned a CableACE nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his acting debut in Forest Whitaker’s award-winning HBO drama Strapped.  He has also appeared in Sunset Park, Ride, Clockers and The Addiction.  Additionally, he co-starred opposite Usher in the drama Light it Up and performed one of the soundtrack’s songs (Ghetto’s a Battlefield) with the duet Blaze & Firestarr.  Starr was last seen in the hit film Save the Last Dance, for which he also recorded the love theme with Jill Scott.

On television, the renowned rap artist had a recurring role on Moesha and guest starred on NYPD Blue, Promised Land, Law & Order and New York Undercover.  Starr can currently be seen in a recurring role on HBO’s The Wire.

Prior to his acting career, Starr, a Brooklyn, New York native, co-founded the platinum-selling hip-hop recording group Onyx.  Their debut release, Bacdafucup, went platinum in 1993.   The rappers have also recorded the albums All We Got Iz Us and Shout ‘Em Down.  Starr’s first solo album is entitled Firestarr. 

GICHI GAMBA’s (Nomo) first feature film was Magic Love, directed by Ivory Iverson.  This was quickly followed by appearances in Frank Marshall’s Congo, Scott Sanders’ Thick as Thieves, Kinka Usher’s Mystery Men and Robert Townsend’s The Little Richard Story.  He was most recently in Charlie’s Angels, Humanoid and Heroine Helen.

Gamba’s additional credits include television appearances on True Lives, Footsteps of the Holy Family, Stripmall, Sister, Sister and Claude’s Crib. 

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS 

JOSEPH KAHN (Director) began his directing career when he was barely out of his teens, shooting videos for local hip-hop acts in his hometown of Houston.  In a few short years, he amassed a library of over 200 videos, each one sharpening his skills, developing his style, and building a reputation as an innovative tastemaker.  Now one of the most sought after directors, Kahn’s resume includes work for an impressive roster of artists including U2, Britney Spears, DMX, Aerosmith, Faith Hill, Moby, The Backstreet Boys, George Michael, Christina Aguilera, Wu-tang Clan, Garbage, KoRn, Janet Jackson, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias and Destiny’s Child, among others.

Most recently Kahn was nominated for 14 MTV Music Video Awards and took home the award for Best Director and Video of the Year for his work on Eminem’s Without Me.  Other videos he directed which were nominated for this year’s MTV awards are Enrique Iglesias’s Hero, DMX’s Who We Be and Moby’s We Are All Made of Stars.

Kahn is currently CEO of SuperMega, a production company he began in 1999.  Kahn oversees a full staff including two protégé directors, Todd “superAmerica” Kellstein and Hayley Cloake.

Kahn makes his feature film directorial debut with Torque.   He currently has two other projects in development at Warner Bros. Pictures, and is developing Invisiblz in-house at SuperMega/Palomar with producer Joni Sighvatsson. 

NEAL H. MORITZ (Producer) is the owner of Original Film, an established feature film, television, commercial and music video production company.  Neal has a degree in economics from UCLA and a graduate degree from the Peter Stark motion picture producing program at the University of Southern California.

Neal produced this summer’s $145 million-plus sleeper hit The Fast and the Furious, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster, the third film Neal had collaborated on with director Rob Cohen.  Other films they have done together include The Skulls, starring Paul Walker and Joshua Jackson and the HBO movie The Rat Pack with Ray Liotta and Don Cheadle, which was nominated for 11 Emmys.

Neal’s earlier credits helped establish him as one of the most profitable producers in Hollywood.  Juice was his first major film, followed up by the hit I Know What You Did Last Summer, which featured break-through performances by Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillipe and Freddie Prinze, Jr.  Its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, followed, adding pop sensation Brandy to the cast.  Neal’s next film Urban Legend spawned a successful sequel, Urban Legends: Final Cut.  Cruel Intentions was Original Film’s first self-financed feature.

Neal’s most recent credits include Not Another Teen Movie, a spoof of the genre of teen movies that Neal helped to create, and the college comedy Slackers starring Jason Schwartzman and Devon Sawa.  Other films Neal has produced include Volcano; Blue Streak with Martin Lawrence; Saving Silverman with Jack Black Steve Zahn and Jason Biggs; the Leelee Sobieski-starrer The Glass House and the highly successful XXX; a modern-day James Bond with Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson.  He can currently be seen in the romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon.     

Neal is currently producing the Denzel Washington thriller Out of Time, directed by Carl Franklin.  Filming later this year are S.W.A.T., based on the 70’s TV show, starring Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson and Michelle Rodriguez, and The Fast and the Furious 2, bringing back Paul Walker for more action, this time set in Miami and helmed by John Singleton. 

BRAD LUFF (Producer) is the Executive Vice President of Production at Original Film.  Luff most recently executive produced two films – the box office hit Not Another Teen Movie and Saving Silverman starring Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Jack Black and Amanda Peet.

Other producing credits for Luff include Urban Legend, Urban Legends: Final Cut, Implicated and the television movie Monster for UPN.

 Neal H. Moritz and Luff are attached to produce films at just about every studio in town – at Sony the comedies Employee of the Month and Untitled Repo Man, a family comedy by the writer of Big Daddy as well as the actioner Rapid; at MGM Witch Hunt, Spring Break and May the Best Man Win; at Disney the comedy Field Trip; and at MTV/Paramount the comedy Skip Day starring Ludacris.

Prior to joining Original Film, Luff worked for Fox Broadcasting Company at Fox Night at the Movies and was the Vice President of Production at Harpster and Associates, a production company with a first look deal at New Line Cinema.  Before entering the entertainment industry, he worked for Mitsui Bank and Wells Fargo Bank as a financial analyst.  Luff is a graduate of UCLA with a degree in Political Science.

Luff currently resides in Los Angeles. 

BRUCE BERMAN (Executive Producer) joined the production department of Warner Bros. Pictures and rose through the ranks of executives to become President of Worldwide Theatrical Production.  Under his aegis, the studio produced and distributed such titles as the Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy, as well as Goodfellas, Presumed Innocent, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Batman Forever, Malcolm X, The Bodyguard, JFK, The Fugitive, Dave, A Time to Kill and Twister.

In 1996, Berman started Plan B Entertainment, the Warner Bros. Pictures-based independent production company, which was later acquired by Village Roadshow Pictures.  Village Roadshow Pictures, where Berman now holds the post of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, currently has 20 projects in various stages of development at Warner Bros. Pictures.

Most recently, through Village Roadshow’s partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, Berman served as executive producer on Eight Legged Freaks, Three Kings, The Matrix, Analyze This, Deep Blue Sea, Practical Magic, Space Cowboys and Castle Rock Entertainment’s Miss Congeniality. 

MICHAEL RACHMIL (Executive Producer) most recently executive produced the spoof Not Another Teen Movie.  He has also served as executive producer on The Glass House, The In Crowd, Universal Soldier: The Return, Major League: Back to the Minors, The Glimmer Man, Nowhere to Run and Flatliners.        Rachmil’s producing credits include Major Payne, Lassie, L.A. Story, No Holds Barred, Punchline, Roxanne, Quicksilver and Runaway.

 MATT JOHNSON (Screenwriter) was born on the base hospital at Fort Hood, Texas, home of the 2^nd Armored Division, and spent his childhood growing up in Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.  He wrote his first script when he was 9 and shot his first film soon after with his dad’s Super-8 camera.  Johnson graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, then went skiing and rock climbing for two years in Telluride, Colorado before moving to Hollywood to become a screenwriter.

In addition to selling original screenplays to New Line, Universal, Paramount, Fox 2000 and Warner Bros. Pictures, Johnson has also collaborated with screenwriter and novelist Barry Gifford (Wild at Heart, Lost Highway) and French director Andre Bonzel (Man Bites Dog) on independent projects.

Torque is an original script by Johnson and his first produced feature film.

He currently lives in Venice, California with his wife, Amy, and their dog, Presley. 

JP DONAHUE & KEVIN POLAY (Screenwriters) have written several feature scripts as a team and they currently have six in development, most of them at Warner Bros. Pictures, including two with producer Jon Shestack.  At Paramount, the duo has Wired Tight with Renny Harlin attached to direct; at Dreamworks another Jon Shestack produced project, Adrenaline, and at Village Roadshow, Hijack with Renny Harlin set to direct.

For television, Donahue and Polay have just signed a deal with Fox TV for a television project called LBC, which will be produced by Neal Moritz.  Also in development for Dark Horse Publishing is a comic book trilogy called Ominiscience.  

SKIP WOODS (screenwriter) wrote, directed and co-produced the 1998 film Thursday.  This was followed by Swordfish, the crime-thriller starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, which he also co-produced in addition to writing the screenplay. 

Most recently nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for his work on the pilot of the hit television show 24 by the American Society of Cinematographers, Director of Cinematography PETER LEVY, ASC, ACS, has had a long career, shooting a wide variety of films.

Levy’s most recent feature credits are the suspense thriller Under Suspicion and the space adventure Lost in Space.  Other film credits include Broken Arrow, The War at Home, Cutthroat Island, Blown Away, Judgment Night, Ricochet and Predator 2, for which he won the Australian Cinematographers Society’s Cinematographer of the Year award.

Earlier in his career, he shot Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Dangerous Game, The Edge of Power, Short Changed, Robbery and With Prejudice. 

Among HOWARD E. SMITH’s (Editor) numerous credits are The Glass House directed by Dan Sackheim, Sonny directed by Nicolas Cage, City of Ghosts written and directed by Matt Dillon, Roger Donaldson’s Dante’s Peak and James Cameron’s The Abyss (second editor) starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastantonio.

Smith has developed an ongoing working relationship with three directors, editing several films each for James Foley, Tim Hunter and Kathryn Bigelow.

Smith edited the James Foley directed films The Corruptor starring Chow Yun Fat and Mark Wahlberg; Glengarry Glen Ross starring Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Alec Baldwin; as well as After Dark, My Sweet, starring Jason Patrick, Rachel Ward and Bruce Dern; At Close Range, starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken; and Two Bits starring Al Pacino and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

For Tim Hunter, Smith edited River’s Edge starring Keanu Reeves, The Saint of Fort Washington starring Danny Glover and Matt Dillion, Sylvester starring Melissa Gilbert and Richard Farnsworth, and Tex starring Matt Dillon and Meg Tilly.

Smith also edited The Weight of Water, starring Sarah Polley, Catherine McCormack, Sean Penn and Elizabeth Hurley, Strange Days starring Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett, Point Break starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze and Near Dark starring Adrian Pasdar and Bill Paxton, all for director Kathryn Bigelow.

Smith’s other credits include the George Miller segment of Twilight Zone – The Movie, Baby, Big Man on Campus and The Chosen, directed by Jeremy Kagan.

Smith’s background also includes work as a producer and director of photography.  He was associate producer and editor on the ABC-TV specials Oscars Best Actors and Oscars Best Movies.  He worked on six Academy Awards shows, producing and editing the film segments for the broadcasts.  He was the supervising editor on the two-part four-hour ABC special The Movies. 

Smith was the director of photography on the KCET-TV Visions feature He Wants Her Back, directed by Stanton Kayes as well as on many AFI films, including Tim Hunter’s Devil’s Bargain.

While at Northwestern University, Smith made over 50 films.  Prior to becoming a Fellow at the American Film Institute’s Center for Advanced Film Studies in Los Angeles, he received one of the AFI’s first filmmaking grants made to Independent Filmmakers.   

Born in London, England, DAVID BLACKBURN (Editor) graduated from West Surrey College of Art with a B.A. in film in 1994.

In 1997 he moved to Los Angeles and edited a string of independent films.  An early screening of LAX, directed by Uri Zeigelboim, brought Blackburn to the attention of the much-acclaimed music video director Joseph Kahn.  Kahn liked David’s work on LAX and asked him to cut music videos for his company, Supermega.

Blackburn has since cut videos for such artists as Sum 41, George Michael, Bon Jovi, Moby and Eminem.  He was nominated for a 2002 MTV Video Music Award for Editing for the Eminem video Without You. 

Award-winning costume designer ELISABETTA BERALDO most recently worked on MGM’s Hart’s War.  She also designed the costumes for the film Simone starring Al Pacino.

Early in Beraldo’s career, she won the David di Donatello Award for Best Costume Design for the 1993 film Jon ache visse nella balena.  Her additional film credits include Camilla, Fluke, Afirma Pereira, Selena, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Frequency and Swann, which earned her a nomination for a Genie Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design in 1996. 

PETER J. HAMPTON (Production Designer) worked with director Ridley Scott as production designer on a number of films including White Squall, The Duellists, and Blade Runner, for which he designed extra scenes in London.

Hampton’s other feature credits include director Roger Christian’s Berlin Calling and Nostradamus, Colin Buskey’s Dealers, Michael Papas’ Lifetaker, Robert Freeman’s The Touchables and The Corpse for director Viktors Ritelis. 

Hampton’s work has also been seen in the world of music videos and commercials, including this year’s Janet Jackson video directed by David Meyers and the much talked about Britney Spears commercial for Pepsi, directed by Joe Pytka.

On television, the award winning production designer created the principal set for 32 episodes of Capital City.

His most recent film was Tom Dey’s Shanghai Noon with Jackie Chan. 

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