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The entertainment world has enjoyed a six-decade love affair with comedienne/singer Carol Burnett. A peerless sketch performer and delightful, self-effacing personality who rightfully succeeded Lucille Ball as the carrot-topped "Queen of Television Comedy," it was Burnett's traumatic childhood that set the stage for her comedy.
Carol's rags-to-riches story started out in San Antonio, Texas, on April 26, 1933, where she was born to Ina Louise (Creighton) and Joseph Thomas "Jodie" Burnett, both of whom suffered from acute alcoholism. As a child, she was left in the care of a beloved grandmother, who shuttled the two of them off to Hollywood, California, where they lived in a boarding house and shared a great passion for the Golden Age of movies. The plaintive, loose-limbed, highly sensitive Carol survived her wallflower insecurities by grabbing attention as a cut-up at Hollywood High School. A natural talent, she attended the University of California and switched majors from journalism to theater. Scouting out comedy parts on TV and in the theater, she first had them rolling in the aisles in the mid-1950s performing a lovelorn novelty song called "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" (then Secretary of State) in a nightclub act. This led to night-time variety show appearances with Jack Paar and Ed Sullivan and where the career ball really started rolling.
Carol's first big TV breaks came at age 22 and 23 as a foil to a ventriloquist's dummy on the already-established The Paul Winchell Show (1950) in 1955, and as Buddy Hackett's gawky girlfriend on the short-lived sitcom Stanley (1956). She also developed an affinity for game shows and appeared as a regular on one of TV earliest, Stump the Stars (1947) in 1958. While TV would bring Carol fans by the millions, it was Broadway that set her on the road to stardom. She began as the woebegone Princess Winnifred in the 1959 Broadway musical "Once Upon a Mattress" which earned her first Tony Award nomination. [She would later appear in three TV adaptations - Once Upon a Mattress (1964), Once Upon a Mattress (1972) and Once Upon a Mattress (2005).] This, in turn, led to the first of an armful of Emmy Awards as a repertoire player on the popular variety series The Garry Moore Show (1958) in 1959. Burnett invented a number of scene-stealing characters during this time, most notably her charwoman character. With the phenomenal household success of the Moore show, she moved up quickly from second banana to headliner and appeared in a 1962 Emmy-winning special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962) co-starring close friend Julie Andrews. She earned the Outer Critics Circle Award for the short-lived musical "Fade Out, Fade In" (1964); and made her official film debut opposite Bewitched (1964) star Elizabeth Montgomery and Dean Martin in the lightweight comedy Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963).
Not surprisingly, fellow redhead Lucille Ball, who had been Carol's treasured idol growing up, subsequently became a friend and mentor to the rising funny girl. Hilarious as a guest star on The Lucy Show (1962), Carol appeared as a painfully shy (natch) wallflower type who suddenly blooms in jaw-dropping fashion. Ms. Ball was so convinced of Carol's talent that she offered Carol her own Desilu-produced sitcom, but Burnett had her heart set on fronting a variety show. With her own team of second bananas, including character crony Harvey Korman, handsome foil Lyle Waggoner, and lookalike "kid sister" type Vicki Lawrence, the The Carol Burnett Show (1967) became an instant sensation, and earned 22 Emmy Awards during its 11-year run. It allowed Carol to fire off her wide range of comedy and musical ammunition--whether running amok in broad sketch comedy, parodying movie icons such as Gloria Swanson, Shirley Temple, Vivien Leigh or Joan Crawford, or singing/gushing alongside favorite vocalists Jim Nabors, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Tormé. She managed to bring in huge stars not known at all for slapstick comedy, including Rock Hudson and even then-Governor Ronald Reagan while providing a platform for such up-and-coming talent as Bernadette Peters and The Pointer Sisters In between, Carol branched out with supporting turns in the films Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Front Page (1974) and Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978).
Her program, whose last episode aired in March of 1978, was the last truly successful major network variety show to date. Carol took on new challenges to display her unseen dramatic mettle, and accomplished this amazingly in TV-movie showcases. She earned an Emmy nomination for her gripping portrayal of anti-Vietnam War activist Peg Mullen in Friendly Fire (1979), and convincingly played a woman coming to terms with her alcoholism in Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice (1982). Neither character bore any traces of the usual Burnett comedy shtick. Though she proved she could contain herself for films, Carol was never able to acquire crossover success into movies, despite trouper work in The Four Seasons (1981), Annie (1982) (as the hammy villainess Miss Hannigan), and Noises Off... (1992). The last two roles had been created onstage by Broadway's Dorothy Loudon.
Carol would return from time to time to the stage and concert forums with productions of "Plaza Suite", "I Do! I Do", "Follies", "Company" and "Putting It Together". A second Tony nomination came for her comedy work in "Moon Over Buffalo" in 1995. Carol has made frequent appearances on her own favorite TV shows too, such as Password (1961) (along with Elizabeth Montgomery, Carol was considered one of the show's best players) and the daytime soaper, All My Children (1970).
During the early 1990s, Carol attempted a TV comeback of sorts, with a couple of new variety formats in Carol & Company (1990) and The Carol Burnett Show (1991), but neither could recreate the magic of the original. She has appeared, sporadically, on various established shows such as "Magnum, P.I.," "Touched by an Angel," "Mad About You" (for which she won an Emmy), "Desperate Housewives," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Emmy nomination), "Hawaii Five-0," "Glee" and "Hot in Cleveland." Befitting such a classy clown, she has received a multitude of awards over time, including the 2003 Kennedy Center Honors and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. She was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1985. Her personal life has been valiant--tears in between the laughs. Married three times, her second union with jazz-musician-turned-variety-show-producer Joe Hamilton produced three daughters. Eldest girl, Carrie Hamilton, an actress and former teen substance abuser, tragically died of lung and brain cancer at age 38. Shortly before Carrie's death, mother and daughter managed to write a play, together, entitled "Hollywood Arms", based on Carol's 1986 memoir, "One More Time". The show subsequently made it to Broadway.
Today, at age 80 plus, Carol has been seen less frequently but still continues to make appearances, especially on TV. Most recently she has guested on the shows "Glee," "Hot in Cleveland" and the revivals of "Hawaii Five-0" and "Mad About You." As always she signs off a live appearance with her signature ear tug (acknowledging her late grandmother), reminding us all, between the wisecracks and the songs, how glad and lucky we all are to still have some of "this time together".- Producer
- Director
- Actor
Gilbert Cates was born on 6 June 1934 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for I Never Sang for My Father (1970), Absolute Strangers (1991) and Dragonfly (1976). He was married to Dr. Judith Reichman and Jane Betty Dubin. He died on 31 October 2011 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Gore Verbinski, one of American cinema's most inventive directors who was a punk-rock guitarist as a teenager and had to sell his guitar to buy his first camera, is now the director of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) which made the industry record for highest opening weekend of all time ($135,600,000) and grossed over $1 billion dollars worldwide.
He was born Gregor Verbinski on March 16, 1964 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Laurette Ann (McGovern) and Victor Vincent Verbinski, a nuclear physicist who worked at the Oak Ridge Lab. His paternal grandparents were Polish. In 1967, the family moved to California, and young Gregor grew up near San Diego. His biggest influences as a kid were Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and Black Sabbath's Master of Reality. He started his professional career as a guitarist for punk-rock bands, such as The Daredevils and The Little Kings, and also made his first films together with friends. After having developed a passion for filmmaking, he sold his guitar to buy a Super-8mm camera. Then Verbinski attended the prestigious UCLA Film School, from which he graduated in 1987 with his BFA in Film. His first professional directing jobs were music videos for alternative bands, such as L7, Bad Religion, and Monster Magnet. Then he moved to advertising and directed commercials for Nike, Canon, Skittles, United airlines and Coca-Cola. In 1993 he created the renowned Budweiser advertising campaign featuring croaking frogs, for which he was awarded the advertising Silver Lion at Cannes and also received four Clio Awards.
Verbinski made his feature directorial debut with Mousehunt (1997), a remarkably visual cartoonish family comedy. His next effort, The Mexican (2001), came to a modest result. However, Verbinski bounced back with a hit thriller The Ring (2002), grossing over $230 million dollars worldwide. His biggest directorial success came with the Disney theme park ride based Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), with a brilliant acting ensemble, grossing over $650 million dollars, and bringing five Oscar nominations and many other awards and nominations. Disney ordered two more films which Verbinski shot one after another on location in the Caribbean islands, for which he had to endure both tetanus and typhoid immunization shots. After having survived several hurricanes, dealing with sick and injured actors, and troubleshooting after numerous technical difficulties of the epic-scale project, Verbinski delivered. He employed the same stellar cast in the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and the third installment of the 'Pirates' franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
Gore Verbinski does not like publicity. He has been enjoying a happy family life with his wife and his two sons. He resides with his family in Los Angeles, California.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Born in West Covina, California, but raised in New York City, Tim Robbins is the son of former The Highwaymen singer Gil Robbins and actress Mary Robbins (née Bledsoe). Robbins studied drama at UCLA, where he graduated with honors in 1981. That same year, he formed the Actors' Gang theater group, an experimental ensemble that expressed radical political observations through the European avant-garde form of theater. He started film work in television movies in 1983, but hit the big time in 1988 with his portrayal of dimwitted fastball pitcher "Nuke" Laloosh in Bull Durham (1988). Tall with baby-faced looks, he has the ability to play naive and obtuse (Cadillac Man (1990) and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)) or slick and shrewd (The Player (1992) and Bob Roberts (1992)).- Geoffrey Gilmore was born in 1950.
- Actress
- Producer
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Autumn Reeser saw her breakout role as the individualist Taylor Townsend on the popular Fox drama series "The O.C." Since then she's become known for her intelligent and heartfelt performances in roles such as firecracker junior agent Lizzie Grant on HBO's "Entourage" and become an in-demand and beloved star in Hallmark movies.
Acting came into Autumn's life as a clear calling when she was six years old and her parents took her to see her first play at the community theater in the small surf town of Carlsbad, California. She begged to audition for the next one, the jumping off point for a lifelong love-affair with art, musical expression and the exploration of the human character and psyche. Strongly connected to Spirit, she followed her guidance to apply for only one college, a new musical theatre program being launched at UCLA, and was accepted. After many late nights waitressing to support herself and rigorous training at various acting programs throughout Los Angeles, she began working steadily in film and TV and has not stopped since.
Her first role was as an alien girl on 'Star Trek: Voyager' at the age of 20, followed by honing her comedic chops on sitcoms such as 'The George Lopez Show' and 'Grounded For Life', and pouring her heart out in dramas such as 'Cold Case' and 'CSI'. Her breakout role came in 2005, as the quirky-cute and socially awkward Taylor Townsend on the final two seasons of The O.C. (2003), for which she received high critical acclaim. She's also known for her role as firecracker junior agent Lizzie Grant on HBO's 'Entourage' as scientist Katie Andrew in ABC's No Ordinary Family (2010), along with actors Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz. In 2012, she starred as sexy weapons expert Kylie Sinclair in Shawn Ryan's short-lived political thriller Last Resort (2012), on ABC. She also appeared as Dr. Gabrielle Asano on Hawaii 5-0, sports agent Abby Bruce opposite John Stamos on Necessary Roughness, and lead the cast in numerous romances for Hallmark.
In 2021 she directed her first short film and earned her first executive-producer credit for developing Hallmark's "The 27-Hour Day," followed by 'The Wedding Veil' trilogy with Lacey Chabert and Ali Sweeney, which was Hallmark's most-watched series of 2022.
In addition to her film and television career, she has appeared onstage in "For the Record: Tarantino" at Rockwell, "The OC Musical" at the Montelban, "Too Much Sun" at the Odyssey, and numerous cabarets. She is a member of The WorkJuice Players alongside Paul F. Tompkins and Busy Phillips, best known for their ongoing radio play series and podcast, "The Thrilling Adventure Hour." In the last few years, she has directed two new musicals: 'City of Light' at Feinsteins 54 Below in New York and 'Modern' in USC's LiveRead Workshop program and is the co-creator of the musical 'Particle.'
Autumn lives in Los Angeles with her sons Finn & Dash and has served on the board of the SAG-AFTRA union. She is an advocate for women, performers and working parents, as well as a counselor and intuitive guide. She offers mentorship to artists through her website.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Robert Reiner was born in New York City, to Estelle Reiner (née Lebost) and Emmy-winning actor, comedian, writer, and producer Carl Reiner.
As a child, his father was his role model, as Carl Reiner created and starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Estelle was also an inspiration for him to become a director; her experience as a singer helped him understand how music was used in a scene. Rob often felt pressured about measuring up to his father's successful streak, with twelve Emmys and other prestigious awards.
When Rob graduated high school, his parents advised him to participate in Summer Theatre. Reiner got a job as an apprentice in the Bucks County Playhouse in Pennsylvania. He went on to UCLA Film School to further his education. Reiner felt he still wasn't successful even having a recurring role on one of the biggest shows in the country, All in the Family. He began his directing career with the Oscar-nominated films This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, and The Princess Bride.
In 1987, with these successful box-office movies under his belt, Reiner founded his own production company, Castle Rock Entertainment; along with Martin Shafer, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick, and Alan Horn. Under Castle Rock Entertainment, he went to direct Oscar-nominated films When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and A Few Good Men. Reiner has credited former co-star Carroll O'Connor in helping him get into the directing business, showing Reiner the ropes.
Reiner is known as a political activist, co-founding the American Foundation For Equal Rights, a group that was an advisory for same-sex-marriage. He has spoken at several rallies on several topics, an advocate for social change regarding such issues as domestic violence and tobacco use.
Reiner made cameo appearances on television shows 30 Rock, The Simpsons, and Hannah Montana, and in films The First Wives Club, Bullets Over Broadway, Primary Colors, and Throw Momma From The Train, among many others.- Writer
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Although his name is often linked to that of the "movie brat" generation (Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian De Palma, etc.) Paul Schrader's background couldn't have been more different than theirs. His strict Calvinist parents refused to allow him to see a film until he was 18. Although he more than made up for lost time when studying at Calvin College, Columbia University and UCLA's graduate film program, his influences were far removed from those of his contemporaries--Robert Bresson, Yasujirô Ozu and Carl Theodor Dreyer (about whom he wrote a book, "Transcendental Style in Film") rather than Saturday-morning serials. After a period as a film critic (and protégé of Pauline Kael), he began writing screenplays, hitting the jackpot when he and his brother, Leonard Schrader (a Japanese expert), were paid the then-record sum of $325,000, thus establishing his reputation as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters, which was consolidated when Martin Scorsese filmed Schrader's script Taxi Driver (1976), written in the early 1970s during a bout of drinking and depression. The success of the film allowed Schrader to start directing his own films, which have been notable for their willingness to take stylistic and thematic risks while still working squarely within the Hollywood system. The most original of his films (which he and many others regard as his best) was the Japanese co-production Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985).- Actor
- Soundtrack
A Los Angeles native and UCLA theater graduate, Aaron became a recognizable player of the Disney Studios stable, appearing in many of their beloved films, including "The Mighty Ducks" series and "Newsies". A veteran of both the small and big screen, he appeared in the film adaptation of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical "Rent" directed by Christopher Columbus. Aaron has forged a strong working relationship with the renowned NY Public Theater appearing in several of their productions. Aaron's inaugural performance at The Public was in Tony award winner George Wolfe's acclaimed production of "Radiant Baby". This lead to his starring role in "See What I Want To See" by multiple Tony award nominee Michael John LaChuisa. Many remember Aaron's starring role in the potent and topical political drama "In Darfur" both at The Public and The Delacorte Theater. Aaron received his Master's Degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay in New York City and worked for the Jeffrey Descovic Foundation re-examining cases for the wrongfully convicted. He currently plays a critical role as Recovery Specialist/Therapist at an in-patient mental health and chemical dependency facility in Malibu California, working closely with some of the most prominent psychiatrists, addiction specialists, and therapists in the field of mental health and chemical dependency.- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Born in Huntington Beach, California, Jesse's directorial debut was The Bannen Way, a web-series/feature, that quickly became Sony's most successful online venture to date. The project, which he also wrote and executive produced, was nominated for 2 Webby Awards, and won 4 Streamy Awards, including Best Director and Best Series.
Prior to his film ventures, Jesse Warren Strutzel (as he was formerly known), excelled as a track star at UCLA, where he majored in theatre and film studies. An 8-time All-American, he set the 800 meter school record as well as the American Distance Medley Record in '99, and won NCAA nationals in 2000. Though he missed making the Olympic team by a second, Jesse has competed professionally under a Nike contract in over a dozen countries, from Beijing, China, to the Dominican Republic, and all throughout Europe. In 2004, he hung up his spikes to focus on his artistic passions.
Married to actress, Autumn Reeser, the pair lives in Los Feliz, Ca, with their newborn son and two dogs.- Actress
- Casting Department
- Casting Director
Jenn Wong is an American actress from San Diego, CA and the daughter of immigrants. Her father was born in Hong Kong and received a scholarship to study in the US and became a doctor. Her mother traveled from the Philippines as a nurse. Their meeting is an American love story. Her sister is actress Michelle Wong and her cousin is actress Sylvia Kwan.
In high school she became one of the founding members of the San Diego Asian American Repertory Theater (sdAART). She went on to study at UCLA's school of Theater Film & Television & was subsequently known for her work on Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020), Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) and Yo-kai Watch Movie: It's the Secret of Birth, Meow! (2014).- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Mayim Bialik grew up in San Diego and got her first acting job (Pumpkinhead (1988)) when she was just 12 years old. A number of TV roles followed until in 1990 she was cast in Blossom (1990), the role which made her famous.
By 1993, while Blossom was still airing, she had already won a deferred place at Harvard and was also accepted by Yale but chose in the end to attend UCLA. She was awarded her Bachelor's degree in 2000 and began reading for a PhD in Neuroscience (studying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome) which she eventually completed in 2007.
She continued working throughout her studies and was a regular on US TV screens, becoming a Prime Time face again in 2010 when she began her regular appearances as "Sheldon's friend who is not his girlfriend" in the hit series The Big Bang Theory (2007).- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Jaleel White is an American actor, producer, and writer who is known for playing Steve Urkel from "Family Matters" and voicing Sonic the Hedgehog in three cartoon series released during the 1990s. He also acted in "Big Fat Liar" starring Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes, "Scooby-Doo", "Guess Who", "Dreamgirls", "Grown Ups", and "Bones."- Actor
- Producer
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Milo Ventimiglia is an American actor, director and producer.
Milo currently stars on the critically acclaimed drama series "This is Us." He has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2017 & 2018) and a Critic's Choice Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series (2019) for his portrayal of the family patriarch, Jack Pearson. The show won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series and the People's Choice Award for Best New Drama. In 2016 he reprised his role of Jess in the continuation of critically acclaimed television drama "Gilmore Girls,' which returned with four 90-minute episodes on Netflix. His other television credits include a memorable recurring role as 'The Ogre' in the FOX drama "Gotham," the Frank Darabont helmed TNT drama "Lost Angels," NBC's "Heroes," the critically acclaimed drama "American Dreams" and David. E. Kelley's drama "Boston Public."
Milo's passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent features. Milo is wrapped production on the Fox 2000 feature film "The Art of Racing in the Rain," an adaptation of the international best-selling novel by Garth Stein. The book focuses on a family dog named Enzo who evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, a professional race-car driver named Denny Swift, played by Milo. The film will be released in September 2018. Ventimiglia recently starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy "Second Act" and had a memorable cameo in "Creed II." He starred alongside Sylvester Stallone as his son in sixth installment of the Rocky series "Rocky Balboa, in Adam Sandler's "That's My Boy," and "Grown Ups 2" and alongside Nicole Kidman in "Grace of Monaco." His other film credits include Xan Cassavetes' "Kiss of the Damned," a remake of the 1986 Burt Reynolds drama "Heat" alongside Jason Statham" and the "Killing Season" with Robert DeNiro.
Behind the camera Ventimiglia and his partner at Divide Pictures Russ Cundiff are involved in traditional content having sold TV shows to NBC, SyFy and FX, and producing the independent feature TELL which Ventimiglia co-starred along side of Jason Lee and Katee Sackoff as well as STATIC, which Ventimiglia co-starred with Sarah Shahi and Sara Paxton. Ventimiglia also produced the web-series Chosen, now in it's second season for Sony's Crackle as well as directed other digital projects for American Eagle Outfitters, Cadillac, GQ and Liberty Mutual. Divide Pictures' latest web-series "The P.E.T. Squad" Files for CW's Seed, is about a group of amateur ghost hunters who chase fame without having seen an actual apparition. The show launches summer 2013 from San Diego Comicon. Ventimiglia's passion for comic books led him to produce two titles for Top Cow / Image Comics "Rest" and "Berserker."
Ventimiglia spends his free time working with vets through the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America as well as taking USO tours to troops abroad.- Actor
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Tony Mouleart is known for The Fountain Pen (2019), Loveless in Los Angeles (2007) and Crossing Jordan (2001).- Director
- Production Designer
- Producer
Hardwicke's first film as a director was the Sundance winner THIRTEEN which explored the transition into teenage years with an authenticity that still captures young audiences (1.3 billion Tik Tok engagements.) Hardwicke directed LORDS OF DOGTOWN before she became best known as the director of TWILIGHT, which launched the blockbuster franchise and has since earned over three billion dollars. Recently her indie film PRISONER'S DAUGHTER premiered at TIFF 2022 and DREAMS IN THE WITCHHOUSE dropped on Netflix October 2022 as part of Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. MAFIA MAMMA premieres in theaters on April 14 2023.- Actress
- Producer
Louise Bale was born on 22 July 1972 in Cornwall, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for The Death of Batman (2003) and Dead World (2001). She is married to Shea Kline. They have one child.- Producer
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Mr. Roth won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump & has been nominated for his screenplays of The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, A Star is Born, & Dune. He wrote Mr. Kurosawa's Rhapsody in August, The Horse Whisperer, Ali, & Best Picture Nominee, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He was a producer of the Best Picture Nominee Mank. He received the WGA Laurel Award for Lifetime Achievement.- Producer
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Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller was born on November 30, 1965, in New York City, New York, to legendary comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. His father was of Austrian Jewish and Polish Jewish descent, and his mother was of Irish Catholic descent (she converted to Judaism).
His parents made no real effort to keep their son away from the Hollywood lifestyle and he grew up among the stars, wondering just why his parents were so popular. At a young age, he and his sister Amy Stiller would perform plays at home, wearing Amy's tights to perform Shakespeare. Ben also picked up an interest in being on the other side of the camera and, at age 10, began shooting films on his Super 8 camera. The plots were always simple: someone would pick on the shy, awkward Stiller ... and then he would always get his revenge. This desire for revenge on the popular, good-looking people may have motivated his teen-angst opus Reality Bites (1994) later in his career. He both directed and performed in the film, which co-starred Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke.
Before he got to Hollywood, he put in several consistently solid years in the theater. After dropping out of UCLA, he performed in the Tony Award winner, "The House of Blue Leaves". While working on the play, Stiller shot a short spoof of The Color of Money (1986) starring him (in the Tom Cruise role) and his The House of Blue Leaves (1987) costar John Mahoney (in the Paul Newman role). The short film was so funny that Lorne Michaels purchased it and aired it on Saturday Night Live (1975). This led to his spending a year on the show in 1989.
Stiller made his big screen debut in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987) in 1987. Demonstrating early on the multifaceted tone his career would take, he soon stepped behind the camera to direct Back to Brooklyn for MTV. The network was impressed and gave Stiller his own show, The Ben Stiller Show (1992). He recruited fellow offbeat comedians Janeane Garofalo and Andy Dick and created a bitingly satirical show. MTV ended up passing on it, but it was picked up by Fox. Unfortunately, the show was a ratings miss. Stiller was soon out of work, although he did have the satisfaction of picking up an Emmy for the show after its cancellation.
For a while, Stiller had to settle for guest appearance work. While doing this, he saved up his cash and in the end was able to scrape enough together to make Reality Bites (1994), now a cult classic which is looked upon favorably by the generation it depicted. Ben continued to work steadily for a time, particularly in independent productions where he was more at ease. However, he never quite managed to catch a big break. His first big budget directing job was Jim Carrey's The Cable Guy (1996). Although many critics were impressed, Jim Carrey's fans were not. In 1998, There's Something About Mary (1998) had propelled Stiller into the mainstream spotlight. He also starred in such hit movies as Keeping the Faith (2000) and Meet the Parents (2000).- Writer
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- Additional Crew
Darren Star was born on 25 July 1961 in Potomac, Maryland, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Sex and the City (1998), Emily in Paris (2020) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990).- Director
- Editor
- Cinematographer
Donna Deitch was born on 8 June 1945 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is a director and editor, known for Desert Hearts (1985), NYPD Blue (1993) and Angel on My Shoulder (1998).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Director, producer and screenwriter Alexander Payne was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents, Peggy (Constantine) and George Payne, ran a Greek restaurant. His father is of Greek and German ancestry, and his mother is of Greek descent; the family name was originally Papadopoulos. He is the youngest of three brothers.
Alexander attended Stanford University, where he majored in Spanish and History. He then went on to study film at UCLA Film School. His university thesis film was screened at the Sundance film festival, which led to him being backed by Miramax to write and direct Citizen Ruth (1996). Payne prefers to have control over his movies, from scripts to cast.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Christopher Gorham was born in Fresno, California, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Lincoln Lawyer (2022), Insatiable (2018) and Covert Affairs (2010). He has been married to Anel Lopez Gorham since 22 January 2000. They have three children.- Shannon Shepherd is known for Monogamy (2014), Hollywood, je t'aime (2009) and Ku Klux Kornea (2007).
- Actress
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- Soundtrack
Beth Behrs was born on December 26, 1985 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA as Elizabeth Ann Behrs. Beth spent her early years on the East Coast, first in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then in Lynchburg, Virginia, before moving with her family at the age of 15 to Marin County, just outside San Francisco. She studied drama both at high school and at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, appearing in a number of plays before enrolling to study drama at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles. A few one-off parts on high profile US TV shows led to her breakthrough role as Caroline Channing in 2 Broke Girls (2011).- Actor
- Music Department
- Actress
- Casting Department
Regina Schneider is an actress, known for her role as Babe Paley in Halston on Netflix. In addition, she plays First Lady, Miriam Diaz on NBC's The Blacklist. Regina has appeared alongside Glenn Close in the film Heights (2005), Martin Short in Primetime Glick (2001) and in both Law & Order SVU & CI. Regina was born the youngest of 8 children on October 31, in Long Island, New York, USA. Her father, Robert, was a teacher, and her mother, Ellen, a homemaker. Regina moved to California as a teen. She attended UCLA as an undergrad, and was invited back to return and complete her MFA there under the guidance of Tony Award winner, Mel Shapiro. Regina has been married to Steven Schneider since June 20, 2004. They have three children.- Writer
- Producer
- Location Management
Kathryn Stockwood is a story editor, writer, producer, director, and actor.
She was born in Toronto, Canada to a Latvian mother and English-Canadian father, and started her official theatre training while studying English at McGill University. Kathryn went on to receive her Master in Fine Arts at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television.
On the stage, Kathryn has worked with luminary Broadway director, Michael Langham, who helmed the Stratford Festival of Canada, Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre, the Julliard School of Theatre, and the Dallas Theatre Centre. She received accolades for her portrayal of "Ofelia" in the award-winning production of "Hamlet: The First Quarto," at the Theatre of Note in Los Angeles, and is featured in Arden Shakespeare's definitive publication of the work: "Hamlet: The Texts of 1603 and 1623" (2007).
Her best-known film role is "Patty" in Touchstone Pictures' "Sorority Boys."
Immediately upon moving to Toronto, Canada, Kathryn wrote and directed a short film which landed her on the cover one of Canada's most-read magazines. She was offered her first directing job in television by a producer who admired the film.
Kathryn now works primarily as a Story Editor and Writer, and has contributed to multiple television series, like "Yummy Mummy," "Party Mamas," "Re-vamped," "Million Dollar Critic," "Buy Herself," "Come Dine With Me Canada," "Recipe to Riches," "Buy It, Fix It, Sell It," and "Animals at Work."- Actor
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James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. After grade school, he moved to New York to pursue his dream of acting. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly small roles: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952); a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952).
He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) he played Cal Trask, the bad brother who could not force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955). George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant (1956), in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink who strikes it rich when he discovers oil, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder race car, collided with another car while on the road near Cholame, California on September 30, 1955. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. At age 24, James Dean was killed almost immediately from the impact from a broken neck. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.- Nikolai Kinski was born on 30 July 1976 in Paris, France. He is an actor, known for Masters of the Air (2024), Vikings: Valhalla (2022) and Farewell, Mr. Haffmann (2021).
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Bodie James Olmos was named after a ghost town in California which his mother, Kaija Keel, visited as a girl. He was only seven years old when he made his first acting appearance in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982). Once a triathlon athlete (swimming, biking, running) and cross country runner, Bodie still runs, but surfing has remained his favorite sport for nearly twenty years. He is also musically inclined and is an accomplished drummer. He and his brother enjoy getting together to jam and sing. Bodie likes to play traditional blues but says that his listening enjoyment is more diverse and that Carlos Santana is one of his favorite artists.
Bodie attended and graduated in 2000 from UCLA School of Theatre in Los Angeles. He took additional courses in acting and received a degree from the Sanford Meisner Center. He enjoys live theatre and has performed in a revival of the Luis Valdez play "Zoot Suit". He also performed in "War" at the Latino Theatre Company in the Los Angeles Theatre Center. In 2001, he joined the cast of American Family (2002) in the role of the young "Jess Gonzales". Bodie has also completed several short film including the UCLA Graduate short film "Capped". He recently finished another short movie entitled "Manejar" which has been accepted for competition by the 9th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival in October 2005.- Actor
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Jason Bushman is known for Hollywood, je t'aime (2009), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) and Serene Hunter (2007).- Actor
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Josh Cooke was born on 22 November 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Dexter (2006), Committed (2005) and I Love You, Man (2009). He has been married to Eleisha Eagle since 26 April 2011. They have one child.- Director
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Todd Holland's life was changed forever when, at the age of five, he saw an episode of Jonny Quest that scared the bejesus out of him - and from that moment he wanted life to always be that exciting. Story-telling became his gateway drug of choice. Since that fateful viewing, Todd has directed more than 200 episodes of television and three feature films including the gamer, cult-classic, The Wizard. His work has earned him three EMMY Awards, eight EMMY nominations, five Cable-Ace Awards, a DGA award, six DGA nominations and a WGA nomination. As a director and producer, he was a key creative force behind The Larry Sanders Show, Malcolm In The Middle and he co-created the short-lived but enduring-fan favorite, Wonderfalls. His episodic work spans the gamut of genres - from Twin Peaks, My So-Called Life, Stitchers and Shameless on the drama side to Tales From The Crypt, Friends, Black-ish and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt in comedy. He just signed his third overall deal with ABC Studios under his Dark Toy Entertainment shingle. While at ABC/Disney, Todd was proud Director/EP of ABC's The Real O'Neals -- a show that will forever hold a special place in his heart. Todd earned his big break after Steven Spielberg saw his UCLA short film, Chicken Thing, and hired him to write and direct for Amazing Stories. (Fun Fact: Chicken Thing was a fictionalized re-telling of that fateful night watching Jonny Quest at 5yo - but adding a giant Chicken Monster, because... why not?) Todd joined the DGA in 1986. He is co-Chair of the Diversity Task Force of the DGA, working to increase the number of women and men of color directing episodic TV. He is happily married to Scotch Ellis Loring and is the loving father of amazing Triplets.- Actress
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Mariska (Ma-rish-ka) Magdolna Hargitay was born on January 23, 1964, in Santa Monica, California. Her parents are Mickey Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield. She is the youngest of their three children. In June 1967, Mariska and her brothers Zoltan and Mickey Jr. were in the back seat of a car when it was involved in the fatal accident which killed her mother. The children escaped with minor injuries. Her father remarried a stewardess named Ellen, and they raised the three children and gave them a normal childhood. They also financially supported the children, since Jayne Mansfield's debt-ridden estate left no money for them.
Mariska majored in theater at UCLA. Her first motion picture feature was the cult favorite, Ghoulies (1984), where she gave a memorable performance as Donna. Unlike her mother Jayne, who had changed her name, her hair color, and did nude pictorials to become a star, Mariska took a very different approach on her journey to become a star. She rejected advice to change her name and appearance. And she refused to copy her mother's sexy image by turning down nude scenes in her next film Jocks (1986). She told casting directors that she was her own person when she held onto her dark locks and athletic figure, when they were expecting another blond, buxom Jayne Mansfield. Mariska continued with her acting classes and waited on tables, while she landed forgettable roles in short-lived television shows. She appeared a few times on the nighttime soap Falcon Crest (1981). She also appeared in the hit film Leaving Las Vegas (1995), credited as 'Hooker at the bar', and in the flop film Lake Placid (1999) as Myra Okubo. Her recurring role on the top-rated show ER (1994) in 1998 gave her career enough of a jolt to land her the starring role of Det. Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), the first spin off from the excellent franchise of Law & Order (1990). The hour-long show deals with sex crimes and the detectives who solve these cases. Mariska played Olivia as a tough, compassionate detective, who did action scenes and her own stunt work. She reaped the rewards from the hit TV show, after struggling and studying her craft for fifteen years. She became the highest paid actress on television, and she won Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her performance. The show also changed her personal life, since she met her husband actor Peter Hermann on the set and married him on August 28, 2004. That same year, she appeared in the television movie Plain Truth (2004), in which she played attorney Ellie Harrison. Mariska became an activist, when fans of her show who were abused, would write to her, and she founded a non-profit organization called "Joyful Heart Foundation" to help "survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse."
Mariska gave birth to her son August in 2006. But that tremendous joy was soon followed by tremendous sadness when her beloved father Mickey died just two months later at the age of 80. Mariska and her husband Peter adopted two children, a girl named Amaya, and a boy named Andrew, within a span of few months in 2011.
Mariska speaks English, Hungarian, French, Spanish, and Italian, and her husband also speaks several languages, including his native language German. They divide their time between New York and Los Angeles.- Writer
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Jorma Taccone's theatrical debut took place at Saint Mary's College-High School in Berkeley, California in 1993. He played one of the townspeople in The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt. His father, Berkeley Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Tony Taccone, attended his son's performance in spite of a recent surgery that had left him partially immobile with his leg in a cast.- Actress
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Zuniga was born in San Francisco, California to Agnes A. Zuniga (née Janawicz) and Joaquin Alberto Zuniga Mazariegos. Her mother is a Unitarian minister, of Polish and Finnish descent, and her father, originally from Guatemala, was an emeritus professor of philosophy at California State University, East Bay. Zuniga has two sisters: Jennifer Zuniga and Rosario Zúñiga.
In her early teens, Zuniga expressed interest in acting, and attended the Young Conservatory program of the American Conservatory Theater of San Francisco. After her parents divorced, Zuniga moved with her mother and sister from Berkeley, California to Reading, Vermont, where she spent the remainder of her teenage years. Zuniga graduated from Woodstock Union High School in Woodstock, Vermont, in 1980, after which she returned to California and enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles to study theater arts. After leaving college, Zuniga was close friends and roommates with fellow actress Meg Ryan.
Zuniga made her film debut in a supporting part in the slasher film The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982), while a student at the University of California, Los Angeles. She was then cast in the 1984 horror film The Initiation (1984), opposite Vera Miles and Clu Gulager. This was followed by a lead role, opposite John Cusack, in Rob Reiner's film, The Sure Thing (1985).
In 1986, she starred as Princess Vespa in Mel Brooks' memorable cult comedy Spaceballs (1987), followed by a supporting part in the science fiction horror sequel, The Fly II (1989). From 1992 to 1996, Zuniga portrayed Jo Reynolds on the wildly popular soap opera Melrose Place (1992), which garnered Zuniga wider mainstream exposure. Her role on the series would be followed by numerous appearances on television series, including a lead role as Shelly Pierce on American Dreams (2004) from 2004 to 2005, and a recurring on the popular CW series, One Tree Hill (2003), as Victoria Davis, a role which she played from 2008 until 2012.- Actress
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Nasim Pedrad (born November 18, 1981) is an American actress and comedian best known for her five seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975) from 2009 to 2014. She has since gone on to co-star in sitcoms such as Mulaney (2014), Scream Queens (2015), People of Earth (2016), and New Girl (2011).
Pedrad was born in Tehran, Iran, to a Muslim family. Her parents are Arasteh Amani and Parviz Pedrad. Pedrad's family emigrated to the United States in 1984 when she was three years old. Her younger sister is comedy writer Nina Pedrad. Both sisters are fluent in Persian. The sisters were raised in Irvine, California, and graduated from University High School. Nasim graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2003. She was a member of the UCLA Spring Sing Company.
Pedrad was a performer with the Sunday Company at The Groundlings. She frequently performed her one-woman show Me, Myself & Iran at the Los Angeles divisions of ImprovOlympic and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The show was selected for the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Las Vegas. She received an LA Weekly Best Comedic Performance of the Year Award as the lead in the comedic spoof After School Special.
Pedrad made her first television appearance on an episode of Gilmore Girls (2000). In 2007, she made a guest appearance on The Winner (2007). She had a recurring role on ER (1994) as Nurse Suri. In 2009, she had a guest appearance on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005).
Pedrad joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2009 as part of the 35th (2009-2010) season. Pedrad is one of a handful of cast members born outside North America (joining Italian-born Tony Rosato, New Zealand-born Pamela Stephenson, English-born Morwenna Banks, and Chilean-born Horatio Sanz). Pedrad became a repertory player in the 2011-12 season after two years of being a featured player. Pedrad left SNL in 2014 to work on Mulaney.
In 2011, she was a recurring voice on the Fox animated series Allen Gregory (2011). She appeared with a small role in the 2011 film No Strings Attached (2011). In 2012, she had a supporting voice role in the animated feature film The Lorax (2012) and a small appearance in The Dictator (2012). In 2013, Pedrad had another supporting voice role in Despicable Me 2 (2013). In the autumn of 2014, she left Saturday Night Live to star in a new Fox sitcom, Mulaney. On October 18, 2014, Fox shut down production of the series by reducing the 16-episode order by three episodes. Filming for the thirteenth episode had just been completed prior to the order reduction, and the fourteenth episode was about to enter production.
Beginning in 2015, Pedrad has a recurring guest role as LAPD officer Aly Nelson on the Fox sitcom New Girl. She portrayed Gigi Caldwell in season one of Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.
In 2016, she appeared in a commercial for Old Navy alongside comedian Kumail Nanjiani and other SNL cast members Cecily Strong and Jay Pharoah.
In 2017, she joined the cast of season two of the TBS comedy series People of Earth. Later that same year, she also made guest appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013).- Additional Crew
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John Nein was born on 25 March 1971 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an assistant director and editor, known for The X Files (1998), The Wedding Toast (2003) and Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story (1996).- Producer
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James Ponsoldt was born on 5 September 1978 in Athens, Georgia, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Spectacular Now (2013), The Circle (2017) and The End of the Tour (2015). He has been married to Megan Holloway since 25 September 2010.- Actress
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Anders weathered a rough childhood and young adult life which not only encouraged an escapist penchant for making up characters but also an insider's sympathy for the strong but put-upon women who people her films. Growing up in rural Kentucky, Anders would always remember hanging onto her father's leg at age five as he abandoned her family. Traveling frequently with her mother and sisters, Anders would later be raped at age 12, endure abuse from a stepfather who once threatened her with a gun, and suffer a mental breakdown at age 15. Venturing back to Kentucky from Los Angeles at 17, she would soon move to London to live with the man who would father her first child. Upon her return to the US, Anders finally began to pick up the pieces of her life. She enrolled in junior college and later the UCLA film school and managed when a second daughter came along. Enchanted with _Wim Wenders_' films, she so deluged the filmmaker with correspondence that he gave her a job as a production assistant on his film Paris, Texas (1984). After graduating from UCLA, Anders made her feature writing and directing debut, Border Radio (1987), a study of the LA punk scene, in collaboration with two former classmates. Her first solo effort, Gas Food Lodging (1992), telling of a single mother and her two teenage daughters, and her followup, My Crazy Life (1993), looking at girl gangs in the Echo Park neighborhood of LA where Anders settled, have shown her to be a deeply personal filmmaker who has used her own experience to make grittily realistic, well-observed, gently ambling studies of women coming of age amid tough, sterile social conditions.- Actress
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Judy Kaye was born on 11 October 1948 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She is an actress, known for Diana (2021), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and Kojak (1973). She has been married to David Mark Green since 26 April 1987.- Producer
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Caroline Libresco is a leading curator, producer, and creative executive in the independent film sector. She spent 19 years as one of the head programmers of the Sundance Film Festival as well as director/chief curator of Sundance Catalyst, raising $31M for 89 films including Won't You Be My Neighbor, Social Dilemma, Truffle Hunters, and Crip Camp; and founding director of the Sundance Women's Initiative. Her producing credits include Food and Country (producer/story producer), Our American Family (executive producer), Disclosure (executive producer), American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs (producer), Sunset Story (producer), and Fanci's Persuasion (producer/writer). She is co-founder and co-executive director of Jewish Story Partners, a philanthropic foundation which has awarded $2.5M in its first two years to 85 documentary film projects including Last Flight Home, A Still Small Voice, and My Name is Andrea. She works as a story consultant and executive producer, and is an active moderator, juror, and tutor. A member of AMPAS, she holds degrees from UCLA Film School (MFA), Harvard (MA), and Oberlin (BA).- Actor
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George Takei was born Hosato Takei in Los Angeles, California. His mother was born in Sacramento to Japanese parents & his father was born in Japan. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he & his family were relocated from Los Angeles to the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas. Later, they were moved to a camp at Tule Lake in Northern California. His first-hand knowledge of the unjust internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans in World War II, poignantly chronicled in his autobiography, created a lifelong interest in politics & community affairs.
After graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1956, he studied architecture at UC Berkeley. An ad in a Japanese community paper led to a summer job on the MGM lot where he dubbed 8 characters from Japanese into English for Rodan (1956). Bitten by the acting bug, he transferred to UCLA as a theater arts major. Contacting an agent he had met at MGM led to his appearance as an embittered soldier in postwar Japan in the Playhouse 90 (1956) production. Being spotted in a UCLA theater production by a Warner Bros. casting director led to his feature film debut in Ice Palace (1960), various roles in Hawaiian Eye (1959) &other feature work. In June 1960, he completed his degree at UCLA and studied at the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-Upon-Avon in England that summer.
After starting a master's degree program at UCLA, he was cast in the socially relevant stage musical production Fly Blackbird! but was replaced when the show moved to New York. He took odd jobs until returning to his role at the end of the run. Getting little work in Manhattan, he returned to Los Angeles to continue his studies, once again appearing in TV & films. He earned his master's in 1964. Wanting a multi-racial crew, Gene Roddenberry cast him in Where No Man Has Gone Before, the second Star Trek (1966) pilot. Mr. Sulu remained a regular character when the series went into production. In the hiatus after the end of shooting the first season, he worked on The Green Berets (1968), playing a South Vietnamese Special Forces officer.
After Star Trek (1966) was canceled, he did guest stints in several TV shows, voiced Sulu for the animated Star Trek series & regularly appeared at Star Trek conventions. He also produced & hosted a public affairs show Expression East/West, which aired in Los Angeles from 1971-1973. That year, he ran for the L.A. City Council. Although he lost by a small margin, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, where he served until 1984 & contributed to plans for the subway. During this period, he co-wrote a sci-fi novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe. He campaigned to get more respect for his character in the Star Trek features, resulting in Sulu finally obtaining the rank of captain in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), a role reprised in the Star Trek: Voyager (1995) episode Flashback.
He has run several marathons and was in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Torch Relay. He received a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame in 1986. He also left his signature & hand print in cement at the Chinese Theater in 1991. His 1994 autobiography, To the Stars, was well-received. He remains active as a stage, TV & film actor as well as as an advocate for the interests of Japanese Americans.- Actor
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Forte was age 32 before he came to the public's attention on Saturday Night Live (1975), but had been working in comedy since 1997.
Will Forte was born in Alameda County, California, and is the son of artist Patricia (Stivers) and financial broker Orville Willis Forte III (divorced). He has an older sister, Michelle. A creative and artistic child, he was an athlete (football and swimming) in high school and voted Best Personality at Acalanes High School. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in History, Forte had a brief career at a brokerage house before deciding to try comedy. Although he rarely performed stand-up, he joined the world-famous "Groundlings" and was hired as a writer for the series The Jenny McCarthy Show (1997), The Army Show, and The David Letterman Show. He eventually caught the attention of Carsey-Werner executive Tom Werner when he wrote a pilot about two childlike idiot brothers (eventually turned into the film, The Brothers Solomon (2007)) and was hired for the shows 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) and That '70s Show (1998). In 2002, Forte moved from his home state of California to New York City to join Saturday Night Live (1975) as a writer and cast member. Although known as shy and reserved in his personal life, Forte was one of the individuals responsible for the shows move to absurd, surrealist comedy. Along with voice-over acting, guest appearances on television and small roles in films, Forte had his biggest opportunities to be a movie star with films he wrote. Forte wrote the screenplay for The Brothers Solomon (2007) (and had the leading role of childlike "Dean Solomon") and played the title role and co-wrote the SNL film MacGruber (2010). Both films were given small budgets ($10,000,000 each) and they were both considered box-office and critical failures, although they do have a cult following.
After MacGruber's theatrical release, Forte left SNL for personal and professional reasons, although he has returned as a guest performer. Forte has had a recurring role on the series 30 Rock and made numerous other guest appearances on other TV comedies. After leaving SNL, he increased his work as a voice artist and appeared in many films, including A Good Old Fashioned Orgy (2011), Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012), Rock of Ages (2012), That's My Boy (2012), and The Watch (2012).
Since 2012, he has moved into dramatic and straight roles on a television pilot titled Rebounding by the producers of Modern Family and Irish film Run and Jump. In August 2012, he was cast in the Alexander Payne film Nebraska (2013), beating out higher-profile actors such as Casey Affleck and Paul Rudd.
From 2015 to 2018, he starred on, and as The Last Man on Earth (2015), a television sitcom. In 2018, he headlined as National Lampoon co-creator Douglas Kenney in the biographical film A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018). The next year, he co-starred in more comedies, Booksmart (2019) and Good Boys (2019)- Actress
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Mary Alexandra Stiefvater was born in Chico, California and grew up in Stockton, where she was first introduced to theater and dance at a young age. Educated at The University of California at Los Angeles, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater, she also studied French cinema and philosophy abroad at the Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris III) and Le Centre Parisien d'Études Critiques. After graduation, she moved to England to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Five days after graduating from LAMDA, she packed her suitcase for New York to pursue work in theater, film, television and modeling. As well as being a skilled dancer, Mary Alexandra received her stage combat certificate from the British Academy of Dramatic Combat. She is trained in a variety of different weapons and unarmed combat.
Her first break came on The Late Show with David Letterman where she regularly appeared in comedy skits. At the same time, did motion capture work for the character of Mona Sax in Max Payne 2 with Rockstar Games. The collaboration with Rockstar Games continued on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and The Warriors.
Later, she moved to Los Angeles, where further success came in television (The Mentalist, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Wedding Bells & Happy Hour). Known mainly for her work in independent films (Supergator, Bear, Speed-Dating, Driving By Braille, Loveless in Los Angeles, The Perfect Boyfriend, Easy Rider: The Ride Back, & Four Lane Highway), she has also appeared in numerous print ads (Verizon, Babies-R-Us, Fera Skiwear, Quenchwear, Cargo magazine, Stuff magazine & The San Francisco Embarcadero Christmas Catalog), commercials (Bud Light, Volvo, Lupus PSA, Red Bull Sugar-free, Style Network, 1-800-Collect & TGIFriday's) and web-series (Playdate & Rules of the League).
In order to sustain longevity in the ever-changing entertainment industry, she started producing and writing. In 2006 she produced the award-winning short film, Bad Habits, with the production company she helped found, Habit Forming Films. Stiefvater then produced Wedding for One and 11-44, both directed by Kristina Lloyd. The two met in acting class at UCLA and have collaborated on several projects together. After many years of co-writing, her first, solo, full-length script, Squaw, was nominated for Best Screenplay in two festivals. In 2012, her first books, In My Contrary Garden and Cocoa For Saturdays were published. Her sophomore effort, On The Merry-Go-Round was released in 2013 with The Sun She Sets and Fair The Rose following in 2014.
Mary Alexandra continues to work as a producer, actress, model, screenwriter, photographer and poet.- Producer
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Moctesuma Esparza, producer of such films as Selena, The Milagro Beanfield War, Gettysburg (1993), and Gods and Generals (2003), founder of Maya Pictures will spend the next six months identifying directors and scripts about the contemporary American Latino experience. These projects will represent a wide variety of genres, including comedy, drama, and thrillers. Production is scheduled to start in early 2004. Latino directors from a wide variety of backgrounds, including independent film, music videos, commercials and television series are being tapped for the films. In addition, actors, writers and other film professionals will be offered opportunities for transitioning into directing.
Mr. Esparza is a multi-talented, award-winning filmmaker, producer, and entertainment industry executive. He has received over 100 honors including an Academy Award nomination, an Emmy, a Clio Award, and a Cine Golden Eagle Award. Esparza and Robert Katz are partners at Esparza/Katz Productions. His production credits include The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), directed by Robert Redford; The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982), a feature length theatrical film produced for PBS; and Selena (1997), directed by Gregory Nava.
Born in Los Angeles, California. Moctesuma Esparza received a B.A. of Theatre Arts-Motion Pictures, Television in 1971 and a M.F.A. of Theatre Arts-Motion Pictures, TV in 1973 from the University California Los Angeles.- Producer
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Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in a New York suburb in a creative, supportive Italian-American family. His father, Carmine Coppola, was a composer and musician. His mother, Italia Coppola (née Pennino), had been an actress. Francis Ford Coppola graduated with a degree in drama from Hofstra University, and did graduate work at UCLA in filmmaking. He was training as assistant with filmmaker Roger Corman, working in such capacities as sound-man, dialogue director, associate producer and, eventually, director of Dementia 13 (1963), Coppola's first feature film. During the next four years, Coppola was involved in a variety of script collaborations, including writing an adaptation of "This Property is Condemned" by Tennessee Williams (with Fred Coe and Edith Sommer), and screenplays for Is Paris Burning? (1966) and Patton (1970), the film for which Coppola won a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award. In 1966, Coppola's 2nd film brought him critical acclaim and a Master of Fine Arts degree. In 1969, Coppola and George Lucas established American Zoetrope, an independent film production company based in San Francisco. The company's first project was THX 1138 (1971), produced by Coppola and directed by Lucas. Coppola also produced the second film that Lucas directed, American Graffiti (1973), in 1973. This movie got five Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. In 1971, Coppola's film The Godfather (1972) became one of the highest-grossing movies in history and brought him an Oscar for writing the screenplay with Mario Puzo The film was a Best Picture Academy Award-winner, and also brought Coppola a Best Director Oscar nomination. Following his work on the screenplay for The Great Gatsby (1974), Coppola's next film was The Conversation (1974), which was honored with the Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and brought Coppola Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay Oscar nominations. Also released that year, The Godfather Part II (1974), rivaled the success of The Godfather (1972), and won six Academy Awards, bringing Coppola Oscars as a producer, director and writer. Coppola then began work on his most ambitious film, Apocalypse Now (1979), a Vietnam War epic that was inspired by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1993). Released in 1979, the acclaimed film won a Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and two Academy Awards. Also that year, Coppola executive produced the hit The Black Stallion (1979). With George Lucas, Coppola executive produced Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980), directed by Akira Kurosawa, and Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), directed by Paul Schrader and based on the life and writings of Yukio Mishima. Coppola also executive produced such films as The Escape Artist (1982), Hammett (1982) The Black Stallion Returns (1983), Barfly (1987), Wind (1992), The Secret Garden (1993), etc.
He helped to make a star of his nephew, Nicolas Cage. Personal tragedy hit in 1986 when his son Gio died in a boating accident. Francis Ford Coppola is one of America's most erratic, energetic and controversial filmmakers.- Director
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Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have built an impressive body of work by perpetually seeking innovative projects in a variety of mediums.
After introducing bands such as REM and The Red Hot Chili Peppers on their ground breaking MTV show The Cutting Edge, Jonathan and Valerie continued to work in music television directing music videos and documentaries for bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Macy Gray, Janet Jackson, Oasis, Weezer, and The Ramones. Their music productions have earned them two Grammy Awards, nine MTV Music Video Awards, and a Billboard Music "Director of the Year" Award.
In 1998, Jonathan and Valerie co-founded Bob Industries, one of the country's leading commercial production companies. Directing commercials for VW, Sony Playstation, Gap, Target, Ikea, Apple, ESPN amongst others, Dayton and Faris continue to push the medium into new vistas. In 2002, Creativity Magazine labeled them as one of their top ten best commercial directors.
Aside from their work in music videos and commercials, Jonathan and Valerie have done extensive work in television and film, including directing episodes of "Mr. Show with Bob and David" for HBO and producing two feature films, "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" for New Line Cinema, and "Gift" for Warner Bros. Music.- Actress
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As a child, Bree spent her time traveling the country with her family and her pro-football player father. During her teens, Turner's parents settled in Northern California where Bree first discovered a love for dance. In high school, she honed her talents in everything from ballet to jazz. When she moved to Los Angeles to study dance at UCLA, she was discovered by a dance agent and immediately landed roles as a dancer in countless high profile films such as My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), She's All That (1999) and The Big Lebowski (1998), among others. She danced her way into high profile nationally televised award shows and commercials, as well as major music videos with everyone from Brian Setzer to Sugar Ray. She appeared in spots for Hyundai, Gap, Dr. Pepper and the 2003 Budweiser spot "Top 10 of All-Time", which aired during the Super Bowl. Before she knew it, her passion had turned into a full fledged dancing career.
This career exposed her to countless hours on television and movie sets, where she truly felt right at home. She caught the acting bug and decided to turn her focus to this newfound passion. Turner credits her dancing for the focus she put forth towards acting. She immersed herself in the new art, studying theater at King's College in London and enrolling in a series of acting classes with some of the best teachers in the business.
She immediately made her mark in Hollywood as Rob Schneider's love interest, "Allison the Fish Girl", in the ever popular movie Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), and as the snobby bouffant haired Tri-Pi "Tiffany" in Sorority Boys (2002). She opened the mega-hit The Wedding Planner (2001) as a nervous bride, alongside Jennifer Lopez and captivated audiences as head cheerleader "Tina Hammersmith" in the hit film Bring It on: Again (2004). In addition, she starred in the critically acclaimed Carsey/Werner Oxygen Network comedy Good Girls Don't... (2004) as "Marjorie".
Bree has also made her mark within the independent film world including the Sundance award-winning piece The Quest for Length (2002), a critically acclaimed mockumentary in which Bree played the supportive girlfriend of a man who was on a comical quest to enlarge his penis. Not only do critics love her performance on the big screen, but they praise her for the work she does on stage as well.
Recently, Bree wrapped the indie comedy The Year of Getting to Know Us (2008), starring Jimmy Fallon and The TV Set (2006), starring Sigourney Weaver. She can be seen in Firehouse Dog (2007), a story that follows "Rexxx", Hollywood's most in-demand canine star. Turner plays "Liz Knowles", a Hollywood film producer who is the force behind the famous celebrity dog. Also, you can catch her in Just My Luck (2006), a comedy starring Lindsay Lohan about the luckiest girl in the world who somehow loses it. Bree plays Lohan's best friend "Dana" who helps her troubled friend try and reclaim the luck she once had through a whirlwind of events. Bree also starred opposite Ethan Embry in an episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror (2005), an anthology series directed and co-written by famed filmmaker Don Coscarelli.
When she is not working on a film or a television show, Bree spends her time honing her craft as an actress, working with charities and spending time with her family and friends.- Writer
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Dustin Lance Black was born on 10 June 1974 in Sacramento, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Milk (2008), Under the Banner of Heaven (2022) and J. Edgar (2011). He has been married to Tom Daley since 6 May 2017. They have one child.- Editor
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Though he's cut celluloid for some of the best in the business, chances are many film lovers wouldn't even recognize the name Pietro Scalia in a lineup of Hollywood's best film editors. Born in Sicily in 1960, Scalia resided in Switzerland before heading to Los Angeles to continue his education. After receiving his M.F.A. in Film and Theater Arts from U.C.L.A. in 1985, Scalia began his career as an assistant editor to Oliver Stone on such features as Wall Street (1987) and Talk Radio (1988). Later coming into his own with such films as JFK (1991) (for which he received a Best Editing Oscar) and Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead (1995), Scalia continued to work on such high-profile films as Stealing Beauty (1996) and G.I. Jane (1997). Scalia also received Best Editor Oscar nominations for Good Will Hunting (1997) and Gladiator (2000), though he would have to wait until the following year for his next win at the Oscars, as he received the Best Editing Award for director Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down (2001).- Producer
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Marius A. Markevicius was born on 3 September 1976 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Other Dream Team (2012), The Way Back (2010) and Like Crazy (2011).- Director
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Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, author and media strategist who has produced and directed four feature films, including most recently Bomb It 2, the follow-up to the acclaimed documentary Bomb It about graffiti and the battle over visual public space throughout the world. His experience releasing Bomb It with a hybrid strategy was the inspiration for writing Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution in the Digital Era, the first step-by-step guide for filmmakers to distribute and market their films.
Jon has worked with numerous filmmakers, companies and organizations that are looking to connect with audiences and distribute their work in the digital landscape. He has worked with and consulted for Paramount Pictures, Screen Australia, Film Independent, Creative Scotland, The South Australian Film Corporation and numerous film schools and festivals. Jon was the Senior Lab Leader at the IFP Filmmaker Labs for ten years from 2010-2019. Reiss also contributes to Filmmaker Magazine, Huffington Post, Indiewire, Screen Daily, Moviemaker Magazine and other publications. He also co-wrote Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul.
Prior to Bomb It, Reiss produced and directed the documentary feature film was Better Living Through Circuitry, featuring Crystal Method, Roni Size, and Moby, among others. The film played at such festivals as RESfest, Rotterdam, Sao Paulo, Copenhagen, Los Angeles Independent, Seattle, Vancouver, and Sheffield International Doc Festival before being released theatrically in the United States and on Showtime.
Reiss' first film, Cleopatra's Second Husband, is a dark psychological drama, which screened at the Los Angeles Independent, Seattle, Montreal World, Hamptons, Houston, Sao Paulo and Bangkok film festivals. The movie won Best First Feature at Cinequest before being released theatrically in the United States and on IFC
An award-winning music video director, Reiss has directed videos for Nine Inch Nails, The Black Crowes, Danzig, Slayer, and the Kottonmouth Kings. Reiss' "Happiness in Slavery" video for Nine Inch Nails received awards at the Chicago and San Francisco film festivals and was voted Top Ten by the Village Voice Critics Poll for Best Music Video. In 1995 the Toronto Film Festival curated a retrospective of Reiss' music videos. Jon's shorts have screened at festivals throughout the world, including Sundance, Berlin, New Directors/New Films, Edinburgh, and Chicago. Reiss received his MFA from the UCLA Film School.
Reiss received his MFA from the UCLA Film School and teaches in the Film Directing Program at the California Institute for the Arts. He guest lectures at universities around the world including UCLA, USC, NYU, Tisch Singapore, AFTRS in Sydney and Melbourne, among others.
Jon Reiss got his start in filmmaking and distribution at the infamous San Francisco documentary collective Target Video. Reiss not only shot seminal bands such as Black Flag, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, The Cramps, TSOL but was one of the first - if not the first person to conceptualize and execute video tours throughout Europe, carting 500 lbs of video deck and projector in a VW Bus across 15,000 miles.- Actor
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Michael Stewart Stuhlbarg was born in Long Beach, California. He attended UCLA, and then The Juilliard School in New York City, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. His other studies included time at the Vilnius Conservatory in Lithuania, the British American Drama Academy at Baliol and Keble Colleges at Oxford, and the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain in London, and at Northwestern University's National High School Institute "Cherub" Program . While at UCLA, he was awarded a scholarship to study with Marcel Marceau.
During the 1990s and most of the 2000s, Stuhlbarg was primarily a theatrical actor, working on Broadway in such productions as Cabaret, Taking Sides, Saint Joan, The Government Inspector, and The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh, which earned him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, and his first nomination for a Tony Award. His numerous Off-Broadway credits include the title roles in Hamlet and Richard II with the New York Shakespeare Festival, and David Mamet's adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance, which earned him an OBIE.
Stuhlbarg's first major film role was as Laurence Gopnik in Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination. His first major television role came in HBO and Martin Scorsese's period drama series, Boardwalk Empire, in which he was cast as the organized crime figure Arnold Rothstein. Most recently, he appeared in the highly acclaimed FX series Fargo, and will be seen in 2018 in The Looming Tower on Hulu.
Stuhlbarg has continued to appear regularly in a number of high-profile films in recent years, including: Arrival, Steve Jobs, Blue Jasmine, Hugo, Seven Psychopaths, Men In Black III, Trumbo, Lincoln, Miss Sloane, Doctor Strange, Miles Ahead, and Pawn Sacrifice to name a few. This season he is appearing in three films: Luca Guadinino and James Ivory's Call Me By Your Name, Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water, and Steven Spielberg's The Post.- Director
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Gavin Bellour is a director and producer known for working on commercial projects for Vogue, Red Bull and Netflix. He was a founding partner at Mustache Agency. Prior to moving behind the camera he appeared as an actor in film and television projects including A Buddy Story (2010) opposite Elisabeth Moss, Royal Pains (2012), and Army Wives (2007). He has been married to fashion designer and entrepreneur Rebecca Minkoff since June 5, 2009. They have three children.- Actor
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Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black was born on August 28, 1969 in Santa Monica, California and raised in Hermosa Beach, California to Judith Love Cohen & Thomas William Black, both satellite engineers. He is of Russian Jewish & British-German ancestry. Black attended the University of California at Los Angeles. While at UCLA, he was a member of Tim Robbins' acting troupe & it was through this collaboration that led to his 1992 film debut in Bob Roberts (1992). Although he was just a background voice in his first film, Jack's appearances in such television shows as The X-Files (1993), his breakthrough performance in High Fidelity (2000) & his rock-comedy band, Tenacious D have created an ever-growing cult following.- Writer
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Sacha Gervasi was born in 1966 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Anvil (2008), Hitchcock (2012) and The Terminal (2004). He has been married to Jessica de Rothschild since 2010.- Producer
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Justin Lin is a Taiwanese-American film director whose films have grossed $2 billion worldwide. He is best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious 3-6 and Star Trek Beyond. He is also known for his work on television shows like Community and the second season of True Detective. Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Cypress, California, in Orange County. He attended Cypress High School and University of California, San Diego for two years before transferring to UCLA, where he earned a B.A. in Film & Television and a MFA in Film Directing & Production from the UCLA film school.- Actor
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Thomas Mark Harmon was born on September 2, 1951, in Burbank, California, to football player and broadcaster Tom Harmon and actress and artist Elyse Knox (née Kornbrath). Harmon played college football and found success as one of TV's hunkiest actors. While many of his roles have relied on good looks, Harmon was impressive on St. Elsewhere (1982) as the suave doctor who contracted AIDS.
His sisters are Kelly Harmon, the Tic Tac model; and Kristin Harmon, a painter and ex-wife of musician Ricky Nelson. He is the uncle of musicians Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson of the band Nelson, and actress Tracy Nelson. In 1987, Harmon and his wife, actress Pam Dawber, sued his sister Kristin Harmon, for custody of her youngest son, Sam.- Writer
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David Koepp is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for writing Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi and Panic Room directed by David Fincher. He also directed You Should Have Left starring Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried.- Actress
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Natalie Avital was born in London, England, UK. Natalie is an actor and director, known for 3 Hikers (2015), Misled (2015) and Past God (2013).- Actress
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Jesse Draper is a multimedia talent. She began her career as an actress on the hit Nickelodeon series "The Naked Brother's Band", a family show created by her aunt Polly Draper that she starred in with her cousins Nat and Alex Wolff. She quickly became known as Jesse, the hot nanny.
Draper's career progressed with small movie roles in "The Mighty Macs" starring Carla Gugino and "Ticket Out" starring Ray Liotta. When she was knee deep in the Hollywood scene, she decided to create her own show using the internet as a medium.
Draper grew up in Silicon Valley in the midst of the dot com boom. Having a father (well known venture capitalist Tim Draper) in business, she created a talk show celebrating the 'movers and the shakers' of the business world.
Labelled as "must see startup TV" by USA today, "The Valley Girl Show" took off on Valleygirl.tv and she has since interviewed such guest as Ted Turner, MC Hammer, Eric Schmidt and Elon Musk: A fun interview by 'the Valley Girl' has become a coveted moment in a CEO's career.
Draper claims to be 'the Ellen Degeneres of business'. Valley Girl, Inc. is now a multi-platform media company that runs a series of blogs, "The Valley Girl Show" and Draper is a discoverer helping pave the way in the new world of social media. Valley Girl, Inc. recently acquired the LA technology culture blog Lalawag.
Draper is a blogger for Virgin.com, Business Insider, Pop17 in addition to Valley Girl, Inc.'s blog network.- Director
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Considered a cinematic feminist pioneer and one of America's foremost independent filmmakers, Menkes has shown widely in major international film festivals including multiple premieres at Sundance, the Berlinale, Cannes, The New York Film Festival, Locarno, Toronto, La Cinematheque Francaise, British Film Institute, Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA in New York, MOCA and LACMA in LA.
Nina Menkes synthesizes inner dream-worlds with harsh, outer realities. She has been called "Brilliant, one of the most provocative artists in film today" by the Los Angeles Times and her body of work was described as "controversial, intense and visually stunning" by Sight and Sound. Menkes has referred to herself as a witch, and Dennis Lim, writing in The New York Times, called her a "Cinematic Sorceress".
According to film critic and historian Berenice Reynaud: [Menkes] does not inscribe herself in a recognizable avant-garde tradition, she has no master and no disciples, which forces her to reinvent the history of cinema in her own terms, to struggle alone with formal and conceptual issues. This loneliness - both aesthetic and economic - is also embedded in the texture of the work. Yet, it is not the cliché loneliness of the romantic victim - it is more akin to the 'night of the soul' evoked by the mystics, Dante's travel though a dark wood - or the heroic solitude of the knight-errant."
For many years, Menkes worked closely with her sister Tinka Menkes, who was both her actress and creative collaborator, and Nina credits Tinka for many of the key radical aspects of their work. Menkes was one of the first women to present a feature film at the Sundance Film Festival ("Queen of DIamonds", 1990 in dramatic competition). She has won a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for her first feature "Magdalena Viraga", a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, an Annenberg Foundation Independent Media Grant, an American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Award, three Western States Regional Media Arts Fellowships, two Fulbright Research Awards to the Middle East, and a Creative Capital Award. In 2012, The Menkes sisters' feature film "The Bloody Child" was selected as one of the best five films of the past fifty years by the Viennale International Film Festival, in Vienna, Austria.
Menkes, a first generation American, has received two DAAD Artist in Residence in Berlin Awards (1996, 2009). During her residencies in Berlin she tried to face the brutal truth of her family history. Her mother's family were German Jews who fled Hitler's genocide, settling in Jerusalem in 1933; her father's Austrian Jewish family were gassed to death: trauma, alienation and murderous violence are central to her work. In 2002 Menkes shot and co-created a feature length, experimental documentary in Beirut, Lebanon, "Massaker", about the Sabra and Shatila massacre, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2005 and received a FIPRESCI Award.
Menkes's first fiction film without Tinka's participation, "Phantom Love" (2007) premiered at Sundance to rave reviews. The film features Marina Shoif and Juliette Marquis in an unsettling examination of an enmeshed family in crisis. Shot on 35mm black and white film, DP Christopher Soos controlled the lighting with Menkes on camera.
Her Hebrew and Arabic language feature, "Dissolution" (2012), shot in Jaffa, was a collaboration with David Fire, who played the lead role as well as contributed to writing and editing. The film won "Best Drama" at the Jerusalem International Film festival in 2010, and was a New York Times' Critic's Pick, being described as "Exquisite and remarkable".
in 2018-2019 Menkes toured with her cinematic talk "Sex and Power; The Visual Language of Oppression", which was presented at multiple high profile venues including AFI Fest, BFI London, Rotterdam Int'l Film Festival, Cannes, and Sundance. The talk was subsequently made into a feature documentary, entitled "Brainwashed" with support from Executive Producers Tim Disney, Susan Disney Lord and Abigail Disney. "Brainwashed" was selected in 2022 for Sundance, the Berlinale, CPH:DOX, IDFA, Frameline and dozens more international film festivals world-wide. Released by Kino Lorber, "Brainwashed" was named one of the ten best films of 2022 by numerous critics including Film Comment, Roger Ebert, IMDB, Screen Slate and The Association of Women Film Journalists.
Two of Menkes's early feature films, "Queen of Diamonds and "The Bloody Child" , both starring Tinka Menkes, were selected for restoration by the Academy Film Archive and Scorsese's Film Foundation, with funding provided by the Hobson/LucasFamily Foundation. The re-release of "Queen of Diamonds" (Arbelos Film Distribution) was a critical hit, being widely hailed as a modern masterpiece and selected as one the year's top ten films by Artforum magazine.
"The Bloody Child" had its restoration World Premiere at The New York Film Festival 2021, where Head of Programing, Dennis Lim, described Menkes as "One of America's most important filmmakers".
Nina Menkes has an MFA with high honors from the UCLA Film School (1989). She has taught film directing at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), and is a faculty member at California Institute of the Arts. She is a directing member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). By: Anonymous- Producer
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Frank was born in Glendale, California to musician Jack Marshall. He entered the film world when his parents invited him to a birthday party for the daughter of directing legend John Ford in 1966. There, he met Peter Bogdanovich and soon agreed to work on his first film, Targets (1968), later followed by collaborating on The Last Picture Show (1971) and many other films.
Continuing to branch out into the industry, he served as line producer on Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz (1978) and associate producer on Walter Hill's crime thriller, The Driver (1978). Marshall first worked as executive producer on Hill's cult classic The Warriors (1979). While producing the iconic Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), he met Steven Spielberg and their future wife Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank himself was hired to join the Amblin Productions company in 1980.
He continued producing memorable films with Spielberg including Poltergeist (1982) and Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) (while Kennedy separately produced E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)). He worked as executive producer on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and the Back to the Future (1985) trilogy.
He married Kathleen Kennedy in 1987, and after producing numerous films, he made his feature directing debut with Arachnophobia (1990). Reacting to the success of his directorial debut, he left Amblin in 1991. In 1992, The Kennedy/Marshall Company was formed, and the next year they released its first film Alive (1993), directed by Marshall. Both Kennedy and Marshall signed deals with Paramount in 1992, at the same time the company was formed. His productivity has only increased since then, as he took over primary duties of the production company since Kennedy was named president of Lucasfilm in 2012.- Producer
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Brad Silberling was born on 8 September 1963 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a producer and director, known for City of Angels (1998), A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) and Moonlight Mile (2002). He has been married to Amy Brenneman since 30 September 1995. They have two children.- Director
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Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have built an impressive body of work by perpetually seeking innovative projects in a variety of mediums.
After introducing bands such as R.E.M. and Red Hot Chili Peppers on their ground-breaking MTV show The Cutting Edge (1992), Jonathan and Valerie continued to work in music television directing music videos and documentaries for bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Macy Gray, Janet Jackson, Oasis, Weezer and The Ramones. Their music productions have earned them two Grammy Awards, nine MTV Music Video Awards and a Billboard Music "Director of the Year" Award.
In 1998, Jonathan and Valerie co-founded "Bob Industries", one of the country's leading commercial production companies. Directing commercials for VW, Sony Playstation, Gap, Target, Ikea, Apple, ESPN, amongst others, Dayton and Faris continue to push the medium into new vistas. In 2002, Creativity Magazine labeled them as one of their top ten best commercial directors.
Aside from their work in music videos and commercials, Jonathan and Valerie have done extensive work in television and film, including directing episodes of Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995) for HBO and producing two feature films, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988) for New Line Cinema, and Gift (1993) for Warner Bros. Music.- Director
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Thirty-one years ago, filmmaker Julie Dash broke racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) Daughters of the Dust. She became the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film. The Library of Congress placed Daughters of the Dust and her UCLA MFA senior thesis Illusions in the National Film Registry. These two films join a select group of American films preserved and protected as national treasures by the Librarian of Congress. Dash recently designed two rooms for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and VOGUE, In American: An Anthology of Fashion, featured at the NYC Met Gala 2022.- Director
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Spheeris is often referred to as a 'rock 'n roll anthropologist'.
In 1974 she formed the first Los Angeles music video production company, ROCK 'N REEL. She concluded her music video work with the Grammy-nominated, "Bohemian Rhapsody" video for "Wayne's World". Spheeris' feature film debut was the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, "The Decline of Western Civilization" which was received with stunning and unanimous critical praise. In 1983 she wrote and directed "Suburbia", produced by Roger Corman. It is a disturbing and prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. "Suburbia" won first place at the Chicago Film Festival. Almost 25 years later her documentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III" would eerily mirror the events she scripted in "Suburbia". In the mid-80s she directed "The Boys Next Door", starring Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield, then "Dudes" starring John Cryer, Flea, and Daniel Roebuck. Both films have attained cult classic status. "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years" was released in 1988, again to spectacular critical acclaim. Commentaries from Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, Lemmy of Motorhead, Poison, etc. make it one of the most memorable pieces of rock film history.
In 1992, Spheeris directed her seventh feature, and first studio film, "Wayne's World" at Paramount Pictures. Subsequently she directed and produced "The Beverly Hillbillies" (Fox), wrote and directed "The Little Rascals" (Universal), then directed "Black Sheep" (Paramount), etc. In 1999, Spheeris documented The Ozzfest, America's most successful summer concert tour, and the reunion performances of the original Black Sabbath. Both as director and one of the cinematographers, Spheeris achieved a remarkable and historic film which offers the audience a unique view of life on the road: "We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N Roll".
(2016) She is currently touring with her Producer/daughter Anna Fox, screening "The Decline" trilogy in support of the Shout Factory DVD release.- Writer
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Gina Prince-Bythewood (Writer/Producer/Director) studied at UCLA Film School, where she received the Gene Reynolds Scholarship for Directing and the Ray Stark Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate. She was a member of UCLA's track and field team, qualifying for the Pac-10 Championships in the triple jump.
Upon her graduation, she was hired as a writer on the television series "A Different World." She continued to write and produce for network television on series such as "Felicity," "South Central," and "Sweet Justice" before making the transition to directing.
Prince-Bythewood wrote and directed the widely-acclaimed feature film "Love and Basketball", which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Prince-Bythewood won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and a Humanitas Prize for her work on the film. She followed that success with the HBO film "Disappearing Acts."
In 2008, she wrote and directed the celebrated adaptation of the best-selling novel, "The Secret Life of Bees." The film won two People's Choice Awards and two NAACP Image Awards. Her third feature "Beyond the Lights" came in 2014 and garnered an Oscar nomination for best song and landed on a number of top critics Best of 2014 lists including the NY Times, Washington Post and Vulture.
She is the first Black woman to direct a superhero film, "The Old Guard," based on the celebrated graphic novel by Greg Rucka for Skydance and Netflix. It premiered on Netflix July 10, 2020 to record ratings, and 6th most popular film of all-time on Netflix.
Prince-Bythewood, along with her husband Reggie Rock Bythewood, created and produced "Shots Fired," a ten hour special event series for Fox, which premiered in 2017. TIME magazine praised, "An achievement...a testament to how ambitious even broadcast television has become."
She directed the pilot for the Marvel series "Cloak and Dagger" starring Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph, which debuted to record ratings for Freeform. She directed the pilot for the ABC limited event series "Women of the Movement," about Mamie and Emmett Till which is currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
She directed the feature film "The Woman King" for Tri-Star and Sony. The historical epic action drama features an amazing ensemble including Oscar-winner Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, John Boyega, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and Adrienne Warren, releasing theatrically September of 2022.
She is proud to fund a scholarship for African American students in UCLA's film program. She resides in Southern California with her husband Reggie and their amazing sons, Cassius and Toussaint.- Producer
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Alex Gibney was born on 23 October 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) and Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015). He has been married to Anne Gibney since 14 August 1982. They have three children.- Actress
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Together with her younger sister, Crystal McKellar, she began acting at a young age in her mother's dance studio. In 1982 the family moved to Los Angeles and a few years later she appeared in her first commercial. A few guest appearances in The Twilight Zone (1985) was followed by her breakthrough in The Wonder Years (1988). She has had good grades in math and French. In her spare time she likes to go skiing, swimming and surfing.- Alyse Courtney is a third generation San Franciscan who has been acting on the stage since the age of 7 years old. As a student of the San Francisco School of the Arts, she studied theater and competed in the National Shakespeare competition. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theater from UCLA. She regularly works in Theater, Film and Television and currently resides in Los Angeles with her dog Watson.
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Kristin is best known for directing and developing the international smash-hit Rock of Ages. In 2009, Ms. Hanggi's rocking jukebox musical received five Tony Award nominations, including a nomination for Best Direction of a Musical for Kristin. She has directed the productions on Broadway, the West End, Australia, Toronto, Las Vegas, and two National Tours.
Ms. Hanggi made her feature directorial debut with Grantham & Rose starring Jake T. Austin and Marla Gibbs. Ms. Hanggi recently directed her follow-up, Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List, an adaption of Rachel Kohn & David Levithan's novel of the same name, starring Victoria Justice.
For television, Ms. Hanggi adapted and directed the hit book series, Dear Dumb Diary into a musical movie, under Executive Producer Jerry Zucker for Walden Media.
Ms. Hanggi's other stage productions include the acclaimed pop opera bare, which ran to sold-out audiences in Los Angeles and off-Broadway. Bare brought Ms. Hanggi numerous accolades including the Ovation Award for Best Musical, LA Weekly Award for Best Musical, and the Robby Award for Best Director.
Ms. Hanggi also directed the initial production that launched the Pussycat Dolls, Pussycat Dolls Live at the Roxy with stars such as Christina Applegate, Carmen Electra, and special guests Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Brittany Murphy, Nikka Costa, and Academy Award winner Charlize Theron.
Other stage productions include: And the Curtain Rises at the Signature Theater; the winner of the New York's Fringe Festival, Catch The Fish; Twelfth Premise (LA Times Critics Pick); the Los Angeles Premiere of Terrence McNally's Corpus Christi (Ticketholder Award, Best Production; Ticketholder Award, Best Director; Robby Award, Best Director of a Play); Crane, Mississippi (LA Times Critic's Choice, Backstage West Critic's Pick).
Ms. Hanggi is working alongside Amy Heckerling to develop Ms. Heckerling's hit 1995 film Clueless into a musical for the stage.
Ms. Hanggi graduated with her Masters from USC after receiving her Bachelors from UCLA in Theater. In June of 2013, Kristin returned to her alma mater when she received the UCLA School of Theater, Film, & Television Distinguished Alumni Award.- Writer
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Derek Taylor Kent is known for Rock Obama: The Barack Obama Musical (2008), Naughty and Moving Fast (2010).- Camera and Electrical Department
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Aaron Hendry is an actor, writer, horseman, swordsman, aerialist, landscaper, and father. Born in Indiana, Hendry spent his childhood in Colorado and Alaska, coming to Los Angeles for college and staying to make a career. His love of adventure, politics, and the human struggle have fueled his work and shaped his craft. Aaron prides himself on thorough, unique, and physical performance.- Transportation Department
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- Anel Lopez Gorham was born on 10 March 1975 in the USA. She is an actress, known for Popular (1999), Felicity (1998) and Easy Six (2003). She has been married to Christopher Gorham since 22 January 2000. They have three children.
- Tobias Slezak is known for R.L. Stine's the Haunting Hour (2010), Stargate SG-1 (1997) and Stargate Universe (2009).
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Jenny D. Martin is known for Wedding for One (2008), Lost and Found (2006) and It's a Wonderful City (2003).- Director
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Reza Safai was born on 1 May 1937 in Mashhad, Iran. He was a director and editor, known for Little Hero (1967), Tricksters (1967) and The Dangerous Chase (1965). He died on 11 February 2019 in Tehran, Iran.- Actor
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Justin Doran was born on 18 April 1978. He is an actor, known for 2012 (2009), The Predator (2018) and The Revenant (2015).- Actor
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- Producer
As an actor he has appeared in numerous independent films including Another Day in Paradise, The Beat (*Sundance), Blues, and ShangHai Kiss. TV work includes DirtySexyMoney and The List (both on ABC). His many roles on the stage include Macbeth (Macbeth), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), Tom (Glass Menagerie), and Danny (Danny and the Deep Blue Sea). He has performed with Neil Patrick Harris, Patrick Adams, Sandra Oh, and Zachary Quinto and he was singled out as "outstanding" by Backstage West for his performance as Joe in the world premier of Robots vs. Fake Robots at the Powerhouse Theater in LA.
As playwright/performer, he is garnering much acclaim for his solo work along with the work he has created and co-written with Sekou Andrews. They were invited by HBO to perform their play, no easy choice, at the 12th Annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, CO. Their celebrated play The Word Begins (originally developed at Ojai Playwrights Conference) earned 3 Helen Hayes Award nominations in addition to rave reviews. It has delighted audiences across the country, most notably at places such as the Signature Theater, Yerba Buena Center, South Coast Rep, and the renowned New York Public Theater. It headlined the inaugural LA RADAR festival where it was called "...a masterpiece" by the LA TIMES. His smash one-man show, 40 Days, (directed by Kristen Hanggi, Tony nominated director for Rock of Ages) was hailed as "breakneck, mind-boggling theatre," earning multiple critics picks, and being named the Best Solo Performance of the year from Entertainment Today. His work in the short film, "Downsizing", won him the "Best Actor" award and URB magazine declared him one of the "100 Faces To Watch." His newest solo work, Against Oblivion, ran at South Coast Repertory as part of their new Studio Series.
In addition, by fusing poetry, comedy, and acting into a transformative and original experience, he has evolved into a powerful and compelling messenger for companies, organizations and non-profit groups looking to engage and elevate their audiences with a customized presentation. Featured on ABC World News, Good Morning America, HBO Def Poetry and others, he has created work for such prestigious organizations as TEDMED, NIKE, Sony/Universal, Pioneer Electronics, Farmers Insurance, and Gap Inc. and such celebrated luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, James Cameron, Norman Lear, Julie Taymore, and Quincy Jones. Private highlights include performing at Oprah Winfrey's celebration of Maya Angelou, the Quincy Jones Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Marion Anderson Gala (honoring Maya Angelou/Norman Lear); as well as special events for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, (special request: Quincy Jones), and President Obama, (special request: Oprah Winfrey).
"Transit Space", (Music Center co-commission), a collaboration with visionary choreographer Jacques Heim, and the world famous Diavolo Dance Company, followed it's LA premiere at the Broad Theater with a performance at the Greek, and can be seen performing regularly in theaters and festivals all over the world. Currently, his work can be seen on PBS as part of a docu-series, Shelter Me, and he was recently honored to be given a commission to create a new piece for South Coast Repertory.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Courtney Dawn Logan is known for To End All Wars (2001) and The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006).- Tracie Lockwood is known for Tachyon: The Fringe (2000).
- Art Director
- Additional Crew
Jacques Heim has been a transformative Director for over 20 years, founding DIAVOLO in 1992, and has directed the Company's work ever since. Mr. Heim was born and raised in Paris, France. His earliest experiences with performance came from street performing. He attended Middlebury College (B.F.A. in Theater, Dance, and Film), the University of Surrey in England (Certificate for Analysis and Criticism of Dance), and the California Institute for the Arts (M.F.A., Choreography). Heim is not a dancer or acrobat but calls himself an "architect of motion". He is like a drill sergeant or a football coach. He loves working with dancers; pushing them beyond their own physical and emotional limits to make them feel like they can conquer anything...to make them realize they are heroes.
Jacques Heim is named directly after his grandfather, the late and revolutionary fashion designer, who in 1946 launched the first ever two piece bathing suit called "Atome", later renamed The Bikini, and also invented "le pret a porter", or Ready to Wear. Just as his grandfather broke ground in the fashion industry, Jacques Heim continues to challenge and break the mold of conventional wisdom surrounding dance, developing the unique and incomparable aesthetic of Architecture in Motion®.
In addition to his work with DIAVOLO, Mr. Heim has worked extensively for other companies in dance, theater, TV, and special events worldwide. Jacques created five new performances based on DIAVOLO creations for NBC's America's Got Talent 2017. DIAVOLO appeared as one of the top ten contestants in AGT's finale at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. He also recently directed DIAVOLO for a special appearance on Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde's New Year's Eve 2017, one of the most watched TV shows in France and Francophone countries. DIAVOLO also appeared on Helene Fischer's 2017 Christmas Spectacular.
In 2004, Mr. Heim choreographed KÀ for Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas; a destination show featuring apparatus inspired by DIAVOLO structures and architecture. In 2010, he was invited to be a Creative Director for the Opening Ceremony of The 16th Asian Games, in Guangzhou, China. Mr. Heim worked with Guy Caron and Michael Curry as consulting choreographer on Ice Age Live!, a "mammoth" arena show which had its world premiere at London's Wembley Stadium in November 2012 and is now touring Europe.
In addition to three USA Fellowship nominations and four Alpert Award nominations, Mr. Heim has received the Martha Hill Choreography Award of the American Dance Festival, the Special Prize of the Jury at the 6th Saitama International Dance Festival, a Brody Arts Fund fellowship, a James Irvine Foundation Fellowship and is the 2016 Barney Creative Prize recipient.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Justin Lerner is the son of two developmental psychologists, one Jewish and one Catholic, who compromised by sending him to Quaker school in Pennsylvania until the age of eleven. After getting his BA in Theatre Arts at Cornell University, he moved to Galicia, Spain, and then returned the following year to get an MFA in Directing at UCLA's graduate film school. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American poet, singer, and songwriter from Florida. He was the lead vocalist of the rock band "The Doors" (1965-1973), and has been cited as "one of the most influential frontmen in rock history". Morrison recorded a total of six studio albums with the Doors, all of which sold well. Morrison struggled with alcohol dependency for most of his adult life, and displayed erratic behavior both on and off the stage. He was described as "A Jekyll and Hyde" by record producer Paul Rothchild, due to often displaying contradictory character traits in his interactions with others. Morrison died unexpectedly in Paris, France at the age of 27. No autopsy was ever performed, and the cause of Morrison's death remains disputed. His mysterious death has inspired a large number of theories, and has fascinated people for decades.
In 1943, Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, a city located 72 miles (116 kilometers) southeast of Orlando. Melbourne emerged as a new settlement in the 1870s. It was named after Melbourne, Australia, because the new town's first postmaster had spend most of his life in the Australian city. Morrison's parents were George Stephen Morrison (1919-2008) and his wife Clara Virginia Clarke (1919-2005). Morrison's father was a career officer of the United States Navy, and would eventually reach the rank of rear admiral. George is primarily remembered for his service in the Vietnam War. The Morrisons were part of a Scottish-American family that had been living in the United States since the 18th century. Genealogical research has indicated that they were descendants of Clan Morrison, a Scottish clan which is primarily associated with the Isle of Lewis and Harris.
Morrison experienced the typical nomadic life of a military brat, as his family never settled permanently in any location. At various points in his childhood, Morrison lived in San Diego, in northern Virginia, in Kingsville, Texas, and in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1957, Morrison started his high school years in Alameda, California. In 1959, he was transferred to the George Washington High School, located in Alexandria, Virginia. He graduated from there in June 1961. During his last years of high school, Morrison maintained a grade average of 88. He reportedly tested in the top 0.1% with an IQ of 149.
Following his high school graduation, Morrison went to live with his paternal grandparents in Clearwater, Florida. He initially attended the St. Petersburg Junior College, which had been operating as a private, non-profit institution since the late 1920s. In 1962, Morrison started attending the Florida State University (FSU), located in Tallahassee. In September 1963, he was first arrested for the police. He had been found drunk at a home football game, and was charged with disturbing the peace.
In 1964, Morrison was transferred to the film program at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He enrolled at a class which studied the works of Antonin Artaud (1896-1948), and reportedly developed a fascination with surrealist theatre. In 1965, Morrison completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA's film school. He refused to attend the graduation ceremony, and the University mailed his diploma to his mother.
Following his university graduation, Morrison followed a bohemian lifestyle in Venice Beach, California. He lived on the rooftop of a building, and wrote song lyrics without having a chance to perform them. In the summer of 1965, Morrison and his recent acquaintance Ray Manzarek decided to form a rock band. They soon recruited the guitarist Robby Krieger and the drummer John Densmore. Morrison decided to name the band "The Doors", after the autobiographical book "The Doors of Perception" (1954) by Aldous Huxley. The name of the book was a reference to using "psychedelic drugs as facilitators of mystical insight".
Morrison soon emerged as the primary lyricist of the band, though Krieger wrote or co-wrote several of their hit songs. Morrison typically avoided using music instruments in live performances, though he learned to use both the maracas and the tambourine. In June 1966, the band were the opening act at the nightclub "Whisky a Go Go" in West Hollywood. During their performances there, Morrison interacted with the Irish singer Van Morrison (1945-), and studied aspects of Van's stage persona and stagecraft. He eventually incorporated several of these aspects into his own stage persona.
In November 1966, Morrison and the other members of the band produced the promotional film "Break On Through (To the Other Side)", named after the title of their first single. They would continue to create short music films throughout the initial years of the band. In 1967, the band signed a contract with the record company Elektra Records. The company would promote their songs to nationwide. The band had its breakthrough hit in the summer of 1967, with the single "Light My Fire". It spent three weeks at the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The band was soon booked to perform two of their songs in the variety television series "The Ed Sullivan Show". The show's censors insisted on changes to "Light My Fire", due to the show's explicit references to drug use. The band feigned compliance, but instead used the explicit version of the song. The resulting controversy caused the cancellation of their six further bookings for television appearances. However, their popularity among rock fans increased.
In September 1967, the band released their second album "Strange Days". It reached the 3rd place number on the US Billboard 200, and earned favorable reviews by the music press. The bands distinctive blend of blues and dark psychedelic rock had turned them into one of the most popular rock bands in the United States. However, Morrison would soon gain notoriety for different reasons. He was arrested on stage in New Haven, Connecticut, after narrating to the audience his recent encounter with a police officer who had maced him. The local police charged him with indecency and public obscenity, though the charges were eventually dropped. Morrison was the first rock performer to be arrested onstage during a live performance.
In September 1968, the Doors played in Europe for the first time. They gave four performances at the Roundhouse, London. Their performances were filmed by Granada Television for the television documentary "The Doors Are Open", which introduced the band to a wider British audience. As the band was gaining international popularity, the members increasingly took note of Morrison's self-destructive behavior. They were aware that he was a heavy drinker, but they realized that he started regularly appearing inebriated in their recording sessions.
By early 1969, Morrison had gained weight. He decided to stop wearing leather pants and concho belts, and to dress casually instead. He also ditched his typically clean-shaven look, and grew a beard for the first time. On March 1, 1969, Morrison increased his own reputation for rebellious behavior. While performing at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, he encouraged the audience to start a riot and threatened to expose his penis on stage. Within days, six warrants for his arrest were issued by the Dade County Police department. One on them on charges of indecent exposure.
Due to Morrison's ongoing legal problems, many of the Doors' scheduled concerts had to be canceled. On September 20, 1970, Morrison was convicted of indecent exposure and profanity in a jury trial in Miami. In October 30, he was officially sentenced to imprisonment for 6 months and a fine of 500 dollars. Morrison remained free on a bond of 50,000 dollars. He commented in a press interview that the American judicial system favors the wealthy, and that (in his words) "if you have money you generally don't go to jail".
Morrison's last album with "The Doors" was "L.A. Woman". It was recorded between December 1970 and January 1971, and eventually released in April 1971. The album was heavily influenced by the blues genre, even more so than their previous works. It was co-produced by the veteran sound engineer Bruce Botnick. The album peaked at the 9th place on the Billboard 200, and the 28th place on the UK Albums Charts. Its most popular song was "Riders on the Storm", which peaked at the 14th place on the U.S Billboard Hot 100.
After finishing the recording of the album, Morrison announced to his band-mates that he planned to move to Paris, France. They had no objection to his decision. In March 1971, Morrison joined his longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson (1946-1974) at her rented apartment in Rue Beautreillis. This Paris street was noted as the former residence of the poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867). While staying in Paris, Morrison shaved his beard and lost some weight.
On July 3, 1971, Courson found Morison dead in the bathtub of their apartment at approximately 6:00 a.m. No autopsy was performed, as it was not required by French law. The official cause of death was heart failure, though this was just an educated guess. There were initial rumors of an accidental heroin overdose, but no evidence could confirm them. Morrison was buried at "Père Lachaise Cemetery", the largest cemetery in Paris and the most visited necropolis in the world. The cemetery was founded by the emperor Napoleon in 1804, and houses the remains of several famous writers and artists. Morrison has continued to inspire musicians for decades, and has repeatedly been cited as a main inspiration for the gothic rock genre.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Throughout his years in the industry, Alex Cox, an English writer-director, has not only proven his loyalty and integrity to cult cinema, but also his love for it. This all began in 1977, when Cox dropped out of Oxford University to study Radio, Film & TV at Bristol until graduating in 1977. Seeing difficulties in the British film scene at the time, Cox first went to Los Angeles to attend film school at UCLA in 1977. Here he produced his first film, Edge City/Sleep is for Sissies.. The same year, Cox wrote a screenplay for Repo Man, which he hoped to produce for a budget of $70,000, and began seeking funding.
Sometime after, Monkees member Michael Nesmith agreed to produce Repo Man, and convinced Universal Studios to back the project with a budget of over a million dollars. The initial cinema release was limited to Chicago, followed by Los Angeles, and was short-lived. After the success of the soundtrack album, there was enough interest in the film to earn a re-release in a single cinema in New York City, but only after becoming available on video and cable. Nevertheless, it ran for 18 months, and eventually earned $4,000,000.
Continuing his fascination with punk music, Cox's next film was an independent feature shot in London and Los Angeles, following the career and death of bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, initially titled Love Kills and later renamed Sid and Nancy. It was met warmly by critics and fans, though heavily criticized by some, including Pistols' frontman John Lydon, for its inaccuracies.
After this, Cox wrote and directed Straight To Hell, a neo-western starring Joe Strummer of The Clash. The film was widely panned critically, but was successful in Japan and retains a cult following.
On his next film, Cox's "Walker" followed the life of William Walker, set against a back drop of anachronisms that drew parallels between the story and modern American intervention in the area. The $6,000,000 production was backed by Universal, but the completed film was too political and too violent for the studio's tastes, and the film went without promotion. When Walker failed to perform at the box office, it ended the director's involvement with Hollywood studios, and led to a period of several years in which Cox would not direct a single film. Despite this, Cox and some critics maintain that it is his best film.
After this, Alex struggled to find work in America, and stopped writing/directing big budget films. Since then, he has written+directed many internationally funded films including Highway Patrolman, Searchers 2.0, Death And The Compass, Repo Chick and the cult classic Three Buisnessmen. Although, In 1998, Cox co-wrote "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" with Terry Gilliam, who also directed the film.- Costume Designer
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Additional Crew
Jane Ruhm is known for Amazing Stories (1985), Death Race 2000 (1975) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982).- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Jennifer Arnold is an Emmy-nominated director who was raised a drama-geek / skateboard kid in Santa Barbara, California. Her summers were spent living off the grid, without electricity, in the Trinity Alps and Alaskan wilderness with her extended family. She became a world traveler at age sixteen; moved to Kenya at nineteen and continues to work and travel abroad. She credits her story sense to her adventurous upbringing.
In the episodic space Arnold has most recently directed "Based on a True Story," "P-Valley" and the pilot for "XO Kitty." which went number one on Netflix within 24 hours. Her other television credits include "Emily in Paris," "American Horror Story," "Younger," "Shameless," "The L-Word: Generation Q," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," and "The Last Man on Earth among others. Her independent and documentary work has premiered at prestigious festivals around the world, including four appearances at Sundance. Arnold's feature documentary A Small Act (HBO) won the Humanitas Prize, a NAMIC Vision Award, and was nominated for the Best Documentary Emmy. Her other documentaries include The Diplomat (ESPN), Tig (Netflix), and Thicker Than Water, about Greg Louganis for ESPN's 30 for 30 shorts series.
She has been an advisor at the Sundance labs and CNEX workshops in Asia and traveled to Kazakhstan with American Film Showcase. She attended UCLA's Graduate Film School and studied African History as an undergrad at UCLA and University of Nairobi. She lives in Los Angeles with her wife, the esteemed ASC cinematographer Patti Lee.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Visual Effects
Elliot Davis was born on 23 May 1948 in the USA. He is a cinematographer, known for Out of Sight (1998), Twilight (2008) and Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995).- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Producer
Dagmar Weaver-Madsen is known for A League of Their Own (2022), Only Murders in the Building (2021) and High Maintenance (2016).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Gregory Nava was born on 10 April 1949 in San Diego, California, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Selena (1997).- Writer
- Producer
- Script and Continuity Department
Laeta Kalogridis was born on 30 August 1965 in Winter Haven, Florida, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Shutter Island (2010), Alita: Battle Angel (2019) and Alexander (2004).- Animation Department
- Director
- Producer
Erick Oh is an artist of Korean origin, living and working in California. His independent films have been introduced and nominated at Student Academy Awards, Annecy Animation Festival, Hiroshima Animation Festival, Zagreb Animation Festival, Siggraph, Anima Mundi, Ars Electronica, Angelus Film Festival, Cleveland Film Festival and numerous other film festivals. After receiving his BFA from Fine art Department at Seoul National University, Erick recently finished his study at UCLA's MFA film program