From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes “Man of Steel,”TM starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Kal-El under the direction of Zack Snyder.
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary
powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover
where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him
must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol
of hope for all mankind.
The film also stars four-time Oscar®
nominee Amy Adams (“The Master”), Oscar® nominee Michael Shannon
(“Revolutionary Road”), Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner (“Dances
with Wolves”), Oscar® nominee Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”), Oscar®
nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”), Antje Traue,
Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, and Academy Award® winner Russell
Crowe (“Gladiator”).
“Man
of Steel” is produced by Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and
Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was
written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer & Nolan, based upon
Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by
DC Entertainment. Thomas Tull, Lloyd
Phillips and Jon Peters served as executive producers.
Zack
Snyder’s behind-the-scenes team included director of photography Amir Mokri,
production designer Alex McDowell, editor David Brenner, and multiple Academy
Award®-winning costume designer James Acheson (“Restoration”) and
costume designer Michael Wilkinson. The
music is by Academy Award®-winning composer Hans Zimmer (“The Lion
King”).
Warner
Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy
Production, a Zack Snyder Film, “Man of Steel.”
The film will be released in 2D and 3D in select theaters and IMAX®,
and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros.
Entertainment Company.
ABOUT
THE PRODUCTION
THE
EVOLUTION OF A MODERN SUPER HERO
JOR-EL
You will give the people of
Earth an ideal to strive towards.
They’ll race behind you.
They will stumble. They will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun.
In time, you will help them accomplish
wonders.
Born
Kal-El of Krypton, raised Clark Kent
“In the world of Super Heroes, Superman is the
completely uncompromising figure who exists to represent the best that all of
us can be,” director Zack Snyder states.
“He is the ideal; he’s what we strive for, that magical, golden god, the
kind of icon that has extended beyond the comics world and into all of popular
culture.”
Created
by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster and first appearing in the comic
book Action Comics #1, published on
April 18, 1938, Superman quickly became a cultural phenomenon, winning fans
around the world in live-action and animated form in nearly every known
entertainment medium. In feature films,
TV shows, radio, video games, social media and literature, he has battled some
of the greatest villains of all time.
Given
the character’s iconic status, Henry Cavill, who soars through the skies in
Snyder’s action adventure, was both excited and humbled to play the titular
character in “Man of Steel.” “Superman
is one of the truly special figures man has created throughout history,” he
relates. “He stands for hope, for the
ability to conquer adversity against all odds.
That’s something we can always hold onto, no matter where we are in life
or what’s going on in the world. We will
always face hardships in one way or another, and therefore hope will always
play a significant part in our lives. To
take on that mantle of hope as Superman was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Though
known for his ability to bring high energy action to his films, and create
fantastical worlds on screen, Snyder was initially hesitant to take on the
responsibility of bringing one of the first comic book Super Heroes back to the
silver screen. “I was pretty into comics
when I was growing up, and Superman was a favorite of mine, so I wasn’t sure I
wanted to do it,” he acknowledges. “I
wasn’t sure where I could take the character that he hadn’t gone before.”
Then
he read the screenplay David S. Goyer had written, based on a story Goyer
devised with one of the film’s producers, Christopher Nolan. “Without breaking the canon, without taking
away the things that make him Superman, they were able to make him totally
relatable,” Snyder says. “They took me
on a journey that was interesting to me, and that was the reason to do it.”
Nolan
offers, “Audiences will be very familiar with ‘Man of Steel’s’ portrayal of
Superman as the ultimate superhero, but where he was an impenetrable,
god-like figure in previous iterations of his story, we show him as a rather
more relatable figure who deals with very human issues of love, divided
loyalties and family, even as he is anything but human himself.”
The
story also captured the imagination of producer Charles Roven. “I really liked the script from the very
beginning, because I found that it had enough of what I grew up with, but was
still completely fresh, a different take on a very revered subject. He’s a very aspirational character; I think
that every kid grows up thinking that, one day, I could be like Superman. What I loved about this story is that he’s
still a character you want to be like, but he’s a lot more complex than we’ve
ever seen him before. It’s a much more
emotional road that he travels.”
To
take the character down that road throughout the production process, Snyder
instinctually knew it would be a departure for him as a filmmaker, despite
having worked in the genre before.
“We
were thrilled when Zack agreed to take on ‘Man of Steel,’” producer Emma Thomas
states. “He had amply demonstrated an extraordinary grasp of the
technical complexities and heightened storytelling demanded by this genre
with his previous work, and those qualities, combined with his love for the
character, made him the perfect man for the job of bringing this
contemporary take on Superman to the big screen.”
Producer
Deborah Snyder recalls, “One of the first things Zack said to me
was, ‘This is going to be the most realistic film I’ve ever done. How ironic is that?’ But that was our goal:
to
make Superman relevant for today’s audiences, to make him fit into our world.”
In
capturing that realism, the director chose to shoot on film and in 2D instead
of native 3D, to be converted into 3D in post.
Snyder continues, “Zack felt that an intimate filmmaking style,
including handheld cameras, would help us connect with Clark who, when
we first meet him, is kind of lost,
trying to find his place but feeling very out of place, which is something
we’ve all felt at some point in our lives.”
In
scripting the story he and Nolan wrote, screenwriter David Goyer determined
that “the film is very much about choices.
It’s about a man with two fathers: Jor-El, Kal’s Kryptonian father, and
Jonathan Kent, Clark ’s dad on Earth. Clark/Kal has grown up with two sets of
histories, though only one was known to him until now. And now he needs to reconcile those teachings
if he is to become the man that, arguably, both fathers would want him to be,
in their own ways.”
These
two very influential role models in his life are portrayed by two highly
regarded actors: Kevin Costner stars as Jonathan Kent, and Russell Crowe as
Jor-El. Diane Lane Clark ’s mother, Martha Kent, who serves as
a steady, calming presence throughout her son’s life. And, just as Clark is beginning to discover
the secrets of his birth and decide which course he must follow, he meets a woman
who could have a good deal of influence over the choices he makes, and who has
the power to turn his world upside down: investigative journalist Lois
Lane. Amy Adams stars as the comic book
world’s most famous newspaper reporter.
“Part
of Clark’s journey is finding acceptance,” Adams
notes. “He’s running from it, hiding
from it, because he hasn’t come to
terms with who he is, and that makes for a lonely existence. He’s had to work hard not to expose his
abilities, but he’s made some mistakes there, and that has made him extremely
intriguing to someone like Lois, whose job, whose very nature, is about
uncovering—and exposing—the truth.”
In
today’s über-technological world, very little information is withheld from
public notice and what is, is often uncovered and exposed, whether at the hands
of the media, by self-appointed wiki watchdogs, or via viral video. Thus, it’s difficult to imagine that an alien
from another planet could live among us, undetected, for any length of time. And, of course, once discovered, that
individual would likely never find peace again.
“We
knew that to tell Superman’s story in a modern context meant addressing the
trappings of our modern times,” Snyder remarks.
“And the character inherently comes with a lot of expectations as well,
having been around and idolized for 75 years.
So, it was important that we vetted the ramifications of every decision
we made in updating him and his environment, from Smallville to the S-shield.”
Cavill
relates, “Everything grows and evolves at some stage, and I think this
contemporized version is another stage of that evolution. If you read the DC comic books, like the New 52 from a couple years back, they’ve
been doing it as well—in a different way than Zack and Chris and David have,
perhaps—but the new Superman’s suit is entirely different, and his attitude has
changed a bit, while his core characteristics are still there. It’s growth for a modern reader, and our film
does that for a modern audience.”
Even
as the filmmakers explored the genesis of the legendary character, Snyder
offers, “We knew the action had to be bigger than big, with heart-pounding,
edge-of-your-seat thrills. We never lost
sight of the fact that we were making a Superman
movie.”
CASTING
AN ICON
CLARK/KAL-EL
I have so many
questions. Where do I come from?
When we first meet Clark Kent in
“Man of Steel,” he is a grown man hiding from the world. He is unable to remain unnoticed under the watchful
and increasingly suspicious eyes of the people of Smallville—thanks in large
part to the manifestations of his superpowers and his inability to keep them
completely under wraps, as his Earth father, Jonathan, advised him. Therefore, Clark has abandoned all he knows
and loves, wandering in a metaphorical desert of odd jobs and emotional
isolation in search of his true self.
“Clark
feels he has to stay on the fringes of society,” Zack Snyder explains. “That way, if he’s forced to use his
abilities—if he saves someone’s life or does anything else out of the ordinary—it
is easy for him to disappear.”
However,
it is a solitary existence, one devoid of companionship and equally filled with
longing. Knowing he is not of this
planet, he also worries about what humans would do to him if the degree of his
uniqueness were to be revealed. And, if
he is ever able to discover his true origins, will he find that he belongs
there instead?
The
director continues, “He’s wondering, ‘What is my purpose?’ We all ask that of ourselves, but it’s harder
for Clark because the things that he’s best at are also the things that are
most frightening about him to others; knowledge of his existence would call
into question everything we know about who we are. So he’s on his own, trying to find out what
his place is in the world, where he belongs, what is his destiny. I think the audience will relate because most
of us share those same questions and insecurities when we are starting out in
life.”
British
actor Henry Cavill, who stars in the multi-faceted role, says, “Clark has
always felt like an outsider. He was
raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent to never react in an aggressive, violent
manner and, most of all, never to reveal the things that he can do. But dealing with the very real growing pains
of becoming a young man unlike any other, and being unable to share that with anyone
else, has manifested a sense of isolation in him. That isolation is only amplified by the fact
that he feels powerless to do anything about it, while actually having all the
power in the world.”
“Henry
really found a way to play the many contradictions in the character,” Snyder
relates. “Clark is physically superior
but can’t show it, he has X-ray vision but must learn to regulate it, and even
though he’s misunderstood by the human race, he still finds the good in people;
he still instinctively wants to help.
Henry did an incredible job of conveying the conflict within him, while
also projecting that sincerity that is inherent to the role.”
In
taking on a part that was both physically and emotionally demanding, Cavill
says he found an ally and invaluable guide in Snyder. “Zack was fantastic,” the actor states. “His energy was always up and, as much as the
hours on set were long, he kept things interesting and moving, and it permeated
throughout the cast and crew. We were
making a Superman movie, after all,
and Zack’s positive attitude reminded us of that every day.”
According
to Roven, playing Superman gave Cavill a boost in much the same way it’s given
every child who ever donned a makeshift cape and imagined him or herself flying
through the skies. “When he put on that
suit, Henry’s whole demeanor changed. He
really owned the character, on- and off-camera, and put an amazing amount of
hard work and thought into every aspect of his performance. It was great fun to watch.”
Cavill
began conducting his research into the part at the source: comic books. “I got into the comics and that gave me a
great baseline to the character. He’s
far more complex than I think most people know.
He admittedly has a moral code, but he’s incredibly conflicted. In the story we’re telling, his origin story,
he’s learning everything about himself right along with the audience. So, when he’s faced with having to fight for
Earth or for Krypton, well…it’s not exactly an easy decision to make.”
LARA LOR-VAN
He’ll be an outcast. They’ll kill him.
JOR-EL
How? He’ll be a god to them.
Jonathan
and Martha Kent found their son when his spaceship landed on their farm in the
town of Smallville, Kansas. Rather than
alerting the authorities, they hid the ship, named the baby Clark, and raised
him as their own. The secret came at a
cost, though, as the alien boy exhibited otherworldly sensitivities and
abilities that gradually raised concerns in the community. The Kents lived in constant fear that there
would be a knock on their door, and Clark would be taken from them forever.
“Jonathan
and Martha understand right away that finding Clark was both a blessing and a
curse,” Snyder says. “Jonathan knows
that he is not only a father, but he also has to be the guy who, while protecting
his son no matter what, has to keep his eye on the ball. He realizes that this is bigger than him,
bigger than all of them. Clark could
change the course of history.”
Thus
it falls to the concerned, loving dad to impress upon his son the magnitude of
what his existence means for humanity, even if they are as yet unaware.
Kevin
Costner portrays Jonathan Kent, whose paternal responsibilities are greater
than most could ever imagine. “The
nature of a father is to teach and protect.
My character tells Clark that he’s a miracle, proof that we are not
alone in the universe,” the actor offers.
“It’s a huge burden to bear, but Jonathan believes that his son is on
Earth for a reason and, as he says to him, the day will come when he will have
to decide whether to stand proud in front of the human race, or not.”
Costner
felt the themes of the film, especially with regard to the relationship between
his and Cavill’s characters, have very real world implications. “People often talk about movies as being
make-believe,” he says. “But the truth
is, sometimes movies can construct moments that make you ask yourself, ‘What
would I do in this situation? What kind
of man am I?’”
Though
absent through all of Clark’s young life, it eventually falls to his biological
father, Jor-El, to ingrain in his son how crucial his existence is, but this
time for Krypton. Having only just
discovered his alien roots as the last son of that planet, and learned his true
name to be Kal-El, Clark nonetheless begins to feel a real sense of self for
the first time in his life.
Kal-El
is the light of his parents’ lives, if only for a moment. Almost immediately after he is born, his
father, Jor-El, the planet’s leading scientific mind, and mother, Lara Lor-Van,
must make the heartbreaking decision to send their infant hurtling through
space in search of a safe haven.
Krypton’s natural resources are depleted, and it is imploding at a rapid
pace. Jor-El’s pleas to evacuate have
fallen on deaf ears, and he feels the only way to preserve the Kryptonian race
is by rescuing its most innocent member, with the hope that Kal can survive
and, through him, their people.
“Jor-El
is very much an advocate of free choice, and that made him an outlier on
Krypton,” Goyer explains. “In effect, it
made him a criminal, an enemy of the State.
Part of his hope for Kal is that he will continue that philosophy of
free will.”
Russell
Crowe, who plays the renegade scientist, asserts, “If you come at the story
from the perspective that Jor-El is simply a good guy, I think that is
underselling the argument that exists, at least to my mind, that there’s a
touch of madness to him, a touch of massive desperation in what he’s
doing. As far as he’s concerned, it’s
the last roll of the dice for keeping Krypton alive.”
In
order to accomplish that goal, Jor-El must first relate to Kal the story of his
past, and impress upon him the importance of his future. This he accomplishes only when Clark’s
journeys bring him to the one place on Earth that Jor-El can connect with him: a
frozen tundra that holds a secret more than 20,000 years old…and that allows
for Kal to come face-to-face with the image of his father.
“One
of the really critical things that Jor-El tells his son is that in this world
he must step out of the shadows to help correct the mistakes made on Krypton,”
Crowe reveals. “It is a huge
responsibility, but if he doesn’t fulfill his destiny…there is nobody else.”
Jor-El’s
wife and the birth mother of Kal-El, Lara Lor-Van’s heart breaks as she and her
husband place their newborn child, Kal-El, in a space pod. With little to sustain them except the belief
that at least their son will live, they send him into the unknown. It is an act that is particularly painful for
the woman who had just given him life against all odds.
Ayelet
Zurer, who plays Lara, says “She’s an incredibly brave woman in unimaginably
sad circumstances. She reminds me of
women in war-torn countries, and what they do to save their kids. A mother would not send her son away against
all of her instincts…unless she thinks there’s hope.”
Despite
the strength of the paternal voices in his head, it could easily be said that
the women in Clark/Kal-El’s life hold great sway over his choices as well: one,
with quiet, nurturing strength, the other with quick wit and pure tenacity.
“I
think of Martha Kent as very pragmatic,” says Diane Lane of her character,
Clark’s Earth mother, in every sense of the word. “I think she has to be, because when you find
this ‘star’ child on your farm,” she laughs, “and you realize all of the
capacities that this young being has, there has to be a moral obligation to be
the best tour guide you can be. She
knows he’s special, and that she’s been given this opportunity, as a mother,
for a reason. I think she feels duty-
and honor-bound to explain the world to him as best she can.”
In
playing the role, Lane called upon her own parenting skills, and those of her
mother. “I remember being a little kid
and breaking all my crayons in order to convince my mother to do whatever I
wanted her to do. I imagine if I had had
the strength to tear down the house, I probably would have. At that point, you think, maybe there’s
another way to handle those feelings. In
the movie, Martha is the one who found the way to help her young son calm down
when things are too difficult for him, protecting him from outsiders without
having any shame about his gifts. She
knows that he’s going to require as much internal strength as he has physical
strength when he goes out into the world.”
“Diane
and Kevin just completely embodied the all-American parents,” Deborah Snyder
says. “They both worked so generously
with the younger actors playing Clark, and brought so much genuine emotion to
their scenes with them and Henry. It was
incredibly touching.”
Once
he does grow up and leave home, Clark drifts, but leaves an unintentional trail
of courageous, seemingly impossible and equally inexplicable acts behind
him. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Lois Lane of The Daily Planet is on
assignment in the Arctic when she witnesses firsthand Clark’s extraordinary
powers. Lois is convinced she is onto
the story of the century. Her
investigative skills are admirable, but Lois is blind to the consequences her
revelations may have for her mystery man.
Amy
Adams embodies one of the most famous female characters in comics, who has no
superpowers of her own—other than those of deduction. “Like so many journalists, Lois is singularly
focused; she’s only aware of the story she wants to tell. She has that fearlessness in pursuit of
truth, the belief that it is more important than one’s own wellbeing, but it
has become addictive, clouding her judgment and detaching her from the real
people behind her stories.”
So
it comes as a surprise, especially to Lois herself, when Clark’s assertion that
the world may not be ready for his truth makes her think twice about her
objectives. “She recognizes there isn’t
one truth, that there’s truth from different perspectives,” Adams continues,
adding that, because of her ambitions, and perhaps because of the nature of her
job, “Lois had lost trust and belief in goodness. To see and feel that Clark’s intent is so pure
is reinvigorating for her; it’s almost like a rebirth for her. I think it’s very interesting that it takes
this person from another world to make her more human.”
“There
are so many facets to Lois,” Deborah Snyder says. “She is tough as nails, feisty, and also
beautiful and sensitive and emotional, but she’s no damsel in distress. She’s a truly modern woman. We were so lucky to have such an accomplished
actress play her. Amy brought so much
depth and spirit to the character.”
While
Lois may believe she’s onto the Planet’s
ultimate front page story, her editor is understandably skeptical. Taking on the role of Perry White is Laurence
Fishburne, a fan of the genre who jumped at the chance to work with Zack
Snyder. “From my first conversation with
Zack, before we even started talking about the script or the story, I felt
really confident about the project,” Fishburne says. “I’ve always enjoyed his work, and I believe
he is a director who can really deliver a film that’s based in the comics and
graphic novel world, so I thought he’d do a terrific job with Superman.”
The
esteemed actor understands the popularity of the enduring Super Hero. “‘Joe Normal’ needs to feel like a Superman
sometimes, whether with his wife, his children, his coworkers or his
friends. There are always those moments
when we need someone to tell us that we are extraordinary, that we’re capable
of incredible things. What I liked about
the way the writers structured this particular story is that it suggests that
we are extraordinary, that we can do great things, and that it is less about
having superpowers than it is about the choices we make.”
Luckily
for Clark, Perry puts the kibosh on Lois’s account of an alien on Earth. However, unfortunately for both Clark and the
people of Earth, whether or not Lois chooses to pursue her story without
Perry’s consent will quickly become academic when the spaceship The
Black Zero, commanded by the ruthless General Zod, hones in on the planet.
“Someone
once said that no villain thinks of himself as a villain, he is always the hero
of his own story,” Goyer conveys. “In Zod’s mind,
he is a noble figure.”
However,
Michael Shannon, who portrays the charismatic, militant leader, believes, Zod’s
behavior isn’t entirely patriotic. “I
think anyone who spends their life as a warrior, who metes out orders, grows
accustomed to a certain structure. Once
that structure is taken away from them, they still have that impulse. Once one has power, one enjoys exercising it. But it is interesting to watch Zod try to stay
pure to his intentions.”
Both
Zod and his onetime compatriot, Jor-El, have, in their different ways, put the
survival of their species ahead of other considerations. “Zod genuinely believes that what he’s doing
is for the better of Krypton,” Cavill observes.
“He tried to explain it to Jor-El, but they just didn’t see things the
same way. So he’s trying with my character. When he tells Kal how beautiful Krypton was,
how it can be again, you see the strength and passion of his vision. It’s what he deems necessary to achieve that
goal that takes him from visionary to dictator and destroyer. Michael plays him with a wonderful stillness,
which carries a lot of weight.”
“There’s
a comparison to be made,” argues Shannon, “and it is certainly worth wondering
that, were Earth in as dire straits as Krypton is at the beginning of the film,
what would we do? Certainly there would
be more than one solution, more than one valid argument. What side would you take? Wouldn’t you try to stop it from happening? Zod, in his way, was taking a side, perhaps
no more forcefully than Jor-El was. It
was just a different side.”
Zack
Snyder observes that both Crowe and Shannon brought equal passion and power to
their scenes together. “Russell and
Michael complemented each other perfectly.
Because their characters have a long history in the movie, it was
important that you get that instantly, and because they’re so good, they really
brought a depth to the relationship that went beyond even what I could have
hoped for.”
Zod
and his merciless crew are warriors who no longer can protect their planet, so
now they are bent on preserving their race. Antje Traue, who plays Zod’s stalwart second-in-command,
Faora-Ul, says the single-minded nature of her character is due to the fact
that “she’s a creature for whom violence is satisfaction. She doesn’t feel remorse. She inflicts suffering and she experiences it
herself, but it doesn’t have any meaning; there’s no subtext. And her loyalty is absolute: Faora serves Zod,
she fights for him, she protects him, follows him without question.”
Goyer
explains, “Faora isn’t really a villain; she’s not evil, per se. We’re judging her through this human lens. On Krypton, there’s a caste system, and
everyone in Krypton has been raised to fit into a certain specific stratified
role. Faora was bred to be a warrior, to
kill and to obey orders. She’s not meant
to have compassion; that’s a weakness. So,
by following Zod, she’s doing what she was born to do, she’s fulfilling that
purpose.”
Zod’s
invasion is met by U.S. forces who are no less devoted to duty and to saving
their own planet. Among their leaders is
Colonel Nathan Hardy, played by Christopher Meloni. The Air Force colonel is initially very
distrustful of outsiders looking in on military operations, starting with Lois
Lane.
“Have
you ever seen a dog’s hair rise on its back?” Meloni smiles. “That’s what happens to Hardy when he first
meets Lois. She’s a real chop-buster;
she tries to steamroll him, but he doesn’t kowtow to her.” Hardy has an equally bristling view of Superman,
too. “He doesn’t trust him, possibly
fears him. I think he sees Superman as a
fairly potent weapon, which makes sense considering what Hardy does for a
living.”
Despite
the nature of the battle between the Kryptonian renegades and the U.S.
military, Meloni feels that the film offers an interesting commentary on the
nature of power. “Superman’s journey in
the film is partly about learning how to control his powers, which raises the
question, ‘What is true power?’ I think
true power is forgiving, true power is withholding, true power is not fear-based.”
Rounding
out the cast are Harry Lennix as Hardy’s Air Force commander, General Swanwick;
Richard Schiff as Dr. Emil Hamilton, a scientist aiding Swanwick’s military
unit in the Arctic; Michael Kelly as the Daily
Planet’s sports writer Steve Lombard; and Cooper Timberline and Dylan
Sprayberry, who play Clark Kent at ages 9 and 13, respectively.
“We
had a knockout cast,” Zack Snyder says.
“It was so important to all of us to make sure that the actors not only
fulfilled the needs of the story, but also would embody these well known,
beloved characters in the eyes of the legion of Superman fans. I think they accomplished that and more.”
WORLD
BUILDING
JONATHAN KENT
You’re the answer, son. You’re the answer to ‘are we alone in the
universe?’
I have to believe that you
were sent here for a reason, and even if it takes the rest of your life, you
owe it to yourself to find out what that reason is.
Going
back to the beginning of Superman’s story—to Krypton and its inhabitants—was an
opportunity for director Zack Snyder and production designer Alex McDowell to
“world build,” to create from scratch a fantastical yet logical imaginary
world. Their goal was for audiences to become so immersed in this new
environment that they never once question its reality, and are never drawn out
of the movie by the unfamiliarity of the surroundings before them. McDowell states, “You’re designing a space
that has to contain a complex narrative, building a history that will
reverberate throughout the story. And it
has to follow rules, rules that will drive the world forward.”
The filmmakers envisioned a planet
on the eve of collapse, a place whose leaders had surrendered to the inevitable
and turned inward, their inertia allowing their culture to decay along with the
land. Light years ahead of Earth in
their technology, they nevertheless had exhausted their resources, the mining
of Krypton’s core for energy having been the last insult the planet could bear.
These two key premises—the
exhaustion of resources and an organic basis to their technology—became the
foundation upon which the story of Krypton was built. “The planet has been mined for its
resources,” McDowell expounds. “They’ve
denuded the surface and gone underground, building a city inside a protected
space. The surface is furrowed and they’ve
carved through to caverns well below ground.
So, we designed their architecture and technology to have an organic
feel. Nothing is sculpted in the manner
that we understand; there are no straight lines whatsoever on Krypton.”
The challenge was how to build the
sets from what became “probably the most complex set of construction drawings
that have ever been issued from an art department,” laughs McDowell. The task became literally too much for the
computers, and the designers had to revert back to sculpting out of foam and
scanning those back in. Most
interestingly, perhaps, was the use of CNC (Computer Numerical Control)
drilling to carve out the hundreds of individual wooden “ribs” that form the
skeleton of Krypton. To carve these out
by hand would have been prohibitively time-consuming, yet building entire sets
using CNC would have been equally so. What
resulted was a marriage of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge
technology: CNC-built ribs pieced together by expert ship builders, then hand-lathed
and plastered by the construction crew, and finally painted by set artists.
“We
couldn’t do it traditionally,” McDowell recalls, “but neither could we build
all of this out of the computer. Every
step of the way, we had to make very refined decisions about which side of the
line we were falling on between digital technology and classical methodology—we
were breaking new ground. A great deal
went into creating these massive standing sets that allowed us to do so much
in-camera.” Even the much smaller
elements of architecture and props were created using a blend of sculpture and
rapid prototyping or 3D printing technologies, so that complex
computer-sculpted objects could exist in-camera and tangibly support the
actors’ performances.
For moviegoers paying close
attention, there is another dimension of Kryptonian culture on the walls of
this alien world: an entirely new language.
It all started with Superman’s glyph, which stands for “hope,” and that
led to a series of forty or fifty glyphs representing the other houses of
Krypton and, in turn, other abstract ideas.
Serendipity intervened when McDowell, while readying sets in Vancouver,
Canada, came across a newspaper story on a University of British Columbia
linguist, Dr. Christine Schreyer, who was using the fictional Klingon and Na’vi
dialects to teach her students how to understand lost languages. The linguist explained to the filmmakers the
basic rules for the development of language, one key rule being cultural
emphasis. For example, in English
culture, the focus is on the individual, so it is “I want an apple.” Krypton, the filmmakers decided, was
object-oriented, so in this case it became “apple I want,” putting the object
first. That set in motion the rules for
the Kryptonian language. Within a short
time and with Schreyer’s help, over 300 words and full phrases had been
developed, and then the team returned to writer David Goyer and the Superman
canon. Looking for key phrases, they
then began assigning those to the ancient engraved surfaces of robots and
swords and flying creatures, and so on.
McDowell
notes that creating a language was indicative of the kind of world-building
process that he cherishes. “Each one of
those details, like the fact that the ‘S’ in a shield exists on the chest of a
Super Hero from another planet, becomes a problem you have to solve. It opens up layers and layers of questions
that give us a way into the world.”
Resurrecting a “lost” language is
fitting, considering that loss is the unifying theme of all things Krypton:
lost loved ones, lost culture, lost opportunities and a lost technological
edge. This is reflected not only in the
barren landscape and crumbling edifices of Krypton, but also in the ancient fleet
of ships seen in the film, such as The Black Zero, initially a mothballed
Colony ship commissioned back into service as a penitentiary; and the Scout
ship, left in a patch of frozen Arctic on Earth when the ship failed in its
mission.
The
Black Zero—a huge, organically shaped tripod structure built to house thousands
of refugees and attached to a gigantic Phantom Projector capable of catapulting
the ship into the Phantom Zone—resembles, as McDowell puts it, “a few people
hitching a ride on an enormous engine.”
In contrast to Zod’s dirty but
functional fleet is the still pristine Scout ship, which resembles a seed pod,
a metaphor for its role in finding new and hospitable worlds for the
Kryptonians to propagate. Linked to the
house of El in its design, it reflects the softer, gentler approach to colonization,
as personified by Jor-El.
“Man of Steel,” however, is not only
concerned with this fantastical, fictional world of Krypton, but about Earth,
its beauty and its emotional hold on Clark Kent. Synder was determined to use practical locations
as much as possible. By eschewing a
stylized vision, Snyder wanted instead to pull the audience into Clark’s world
and invite them to share in his experiences.
Shooting took the crew to a diverse list of locations, from the small
town of Plano, Illinois, to the big city of Chicago. They also ventured to the glaciers of British
Columbia, boarding a real crab boat, called the Debbie Sue, off Ucluelet, Vancouver Island—for a scene in which
they were pounded by 35-foot waves. On
the other extreme, they went to California’s Mojave Desert, where they had the
privilege to film at Edwards Air Force Base.
At each location, as much as possible was shot in situ, rather than building mattes or adding green screen.
In
Chicago, McDowell’s team transformed an entire floor of the old Sears Tower,
what’s now the Willis Tower, into the Daily
Planet offices, and used 111 East Wacker in Chicago for some of the
Metropolis exteriors. The building was
designed in the 1950s by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and is considered one of his
classics.
One demanding sequence involved the
rerouting of 40,000 cars per day for the freeway overpass scene. “Normally when you do that kind of scene,
you’re looking for a place that is already closed for some reason,” supervising
location manager Bill Doyle relates.
“Usually it’s under construction and you can deal directly with the
contractor. But to close a working
expressway takes months of planning and SCAT (Signal Coordination and Timing)
studies, and getting permission is difficult.
But once we had the Illinois State Patrol on board it was much easier
and, I think, extremely successful. We
picked that spot because we needed cornfields and an overpass all in one place,
and there was nothing else like it within three-and-a-half hours of Chicago.”
One of the more critical locations
was the small city of Plano, Illinois, which would serve as Clark’s hometown of
Smallville. Deborah Snyder recalls,
“Plano just really embraced us. They let
us shut down their town and turn it into a backlot. We worked with their police and fire
departments, and a lot of the townspeople worked security for us. It was such a warm, welcoming community.”
The
town was the ideal foundation upon which to build the rest of Smallville. “In a way, Smallville represents Clark’s
innocence,” Goyer says. “It’s the human
side of him, a physical manifestation of his Earth heritage and a safe
haven. Unlike so much in his life, it’s
uncomplicated. It’s home.”
Gaps between buildings in Plano were
filled with facades for a Sears, a 7-Eleven and an IHOP, instantly identifiable
symbols of true Americana. Twenty
minutes outside of the town, a farm was planted with corn, and upon its idyllic
rolling hills, the crew constructed the Kent farmhouse.
“The Kent family farm also served to
ground the film in a contemporary reality that humanizes Clark and, at the same
time, brings home the economic crisis with a contrast between the young Clark’s
home and the one he returns to as an adult, decaying and in foreclosure,”
McDowell notes.
The support of Plano was
particularly important to the filmmakers because of the story’s need for
numerous stunts involving explosions, flying fragments and low-lying flight
sequences—using real military aircraft—that occur in Smallville. Plano, as Doyle puts it, essentially allowed
the production “to do all kinds of crazy things.”
Things that, without the support of
the Department of Defense, would have been impossible to achieve
in-camera. The DOD supplied the
production with junked aircraft pieces to serve as debris; piloted jets,
helicopters, and a cargo plane; technical advisors; and almost 300 soldiers as
extras.
Moving
to California, they were also grateful for the cooperation they were given by
Edwards Air Force Base for additional scenes and training for the actors. Filming on a working Air Force base was the
experience of a lifetime for the cast and crew, for whom it was likely the only
time they would ever encounter a C17 cargo plane or F35 fighter jet up close
and personal.
“We
had a wonderful time working with them,” raves co-producer Wes Coller, “coming
up with ideas of how one might respond to a threat such as the one that we face
in the film. It was interesting to play
in their sandbox, and on such an elite level.
To have been at Edwards Air Force Base where so much history lives and
so many notable things have happened was amazing. We were lucky to have been welcomed with such
open arms.”
“I
don’t think that we could have done this film without them,” Roven concurs. “They were great, not only in allowing us the
use of their incredible assets but in making sure that what we were doing was
credible and correct. It just added to the realism that we were dedicated to in
this film.”
Part of that realism was also achieved
by the almost exclusive reliance on a handheld camera, unprecedented in a film
of this size and scope. Zack Snyder collaborated
with cinematographer Amir Mokri to combine elements reflective of a gritty,
embedded journalistic documentary style.
The use of lenses not usually
associated with handheld work, as well as the use of special rigs and dollies,
bridged the gap between the immediacy of the Steadicam and the sleekness of a
traditionally shot big action film.
The actors also appreciated the more
intimate camera work. “I quite liked the
camera not being so rigid,” Cavill reflects.
“Nothing was off limits as far as the performance was concerned; it lent
a freedom to the acting, which was great.”
One of the most important aspects of
putting Superman on film involves special and visual effects, considering there
is little Superman can do that is not an effect in some form. But the director, who has built strong
relationships with second unit director/stunt coordinator Damon Caro and visual
effects supervisor John “DJ” DesJardin, felt confident his team could pull it
off. “We just take challenges as they
come now,” Snyder says. “We knew this
was a broader challenge conceptually, because Superman can’t do anything that’s
not at least partially achieved in post.
He can’t be flown on a wire. We
did put Henry on wires to get perspective shots and various angles, but not to
fly him, because the flight pattern of the modern movie Super Hero will not
support that concept.”
The
director continues, “And then there was all the subtle cape action that had to
happen. There were a trillion decisions
that we had to make on every little move.
Having Damon and DJ working with me on that was invaluable. We have a shorthand, and we’re all interested
in making the coolest movie we can.”
IF
THE SUIT FITS…
LOIS
What’s the ‘S’ stand for?
CLARK/KAL-EL
It’s not an ‘S.’ In my world, it means ‘hope.’
LOIS
Well here, it’s an ‘S.’
The
S-shield, perhaps the most instantly recognized family crest in history, has
long represented the strength and courage of the Super Hero who proudly bears
it on his chest. Originally standing for
Superman, the “S” has since become the heraldic symbol of the house of El, and
stands for “hope.” Similarly, Krypton’s
council members bear their own glyphs, as does Zod and other members of the
Kryptonian elite. The glyphs all have
origins in Kryptonian history and are not based on any Earthly symbology.
For
costume designers James Acheson and Michael Wilkinson, modernizing the glyph
and suit were two of the most exciting challenges they faced. They approached the task with both respect
and fearlessness, despite how widely identifiable they are. And, of equal importance in serving the film,
they were fully integrated into the aesthetic and heritage of the rest of the
Kryptonian universe Snyder and his production team had created.
Detailing
the evolution of the suit, Wilkinson states, “Rather than the traditional explanation
that the suit was made from the cloth his parents wrapped him in when he was
sent off from Krypton, we establish it as a foundation, the under garment all
Kryptonians wear as a protective layer.
On Krypton, therefore, when we see Jor-El or the council members or the
soldiers, they all have the same type of suit under various layers of robes and
armor, and each bearing the glyph of his or her own family line.”
With the origin of the suit established,
it was left to the designers to incorporate what the world knows as the
“Superman suit” into the backstory they had devised. Initial conceptualizing began with Acheson
and his team of illustrators drawing dozens of versions of the suit, with the
red shorts getting smaller and smaller until one day they were just no longer
there. The process was completed with
Wilkinson’s brilliant designs illustrated by Keith Christensen and Warren
Manser. After several months of development and numerous prototypes, they
felt they had found a suit that took the essential elements and modernized them,
taking advantage of all that today’s technology has to offer: 3D digital body
scans, computer design, and the latest in fabrics.
Taking the suit, and those of the
other Kryptonians, from design to reality was a bit more complicated. For example, based on the body scans they
took of Cavill, Wilkinson’s team made a full-size replica and added body
sculpting, giving them the makings of the under-suit. This was comprised of foam latex with a
brilliant chrome finish applied to the stretchy bodysuit. The complex over-suit was then made from a
special mesh material, to which was applied a custom print technique to
simulate a chain mail design which, when worn over the under suit, effected a
metallic look that photographed beautifully.
The computer-generated “S” glyph was produced via a 3D drawing program
and 3D printer.
Despite
the high tech design and production process involved, Snyder assures, “He has a
red cape, he has an ‘S’ on his chest, he has a blue suit and red boots. He’s Superman.”
In fact, it is established early on
that Krypton is a cape-wearing society, though the remainder of Krypton’s
vestments are not so colorful: Jor-El wears a very dark gray-blue, and Zod wears
black, subtle hints at the darkness their home has plunged into at the hands of
its people. The planet’s grand council,
Wilkinson says, is “weighed down by history, holding on to cultural restraints
that prevent looking at new solutions to problems.”
So,
in their heavy robes we see, literally, the weight of their world and the
grandeur that once was, but no longer exists.
“We created our own fabrics to convey this sense of alien textures—we
etched into velvets, embroidered and screen-printed over materials to achieve
raised textures and, hopefully, a sense of a grand culture that was once very
sophisticated but has long since gone into decline,” he adds.
On Earth, Clark’s need to disappear
into the background is reflected in his clothing. “He also wears many layers,” Wilkinson
says. “He has his hood down low. He has a beard. He blends in with the rest of the world. There are glimpses of something greater, but
it is not until he puts on the Superman suit that we see the beginning of his
transformation. That’s a whole different
silhouette and it really affects how he moves, and you can see that, indeed, he
is not like any other guy.”
BECOMING
SUPERMAN
JONATHAN KENT
You’re not just anyone…
You’re going to have to decide
what kind of man you want to
grow up to be. Whoever that man is,
good character or bad, he’s
going to change the world.
To develop the physique the role
required, Henry Cavill engaged in months of training with Mark Twight of Gym Jones. Twight, who first worked with Zack Snyder on
“300,” recalls, “Zack came to me and said, ‘I’ve got another project and it’s
probably going to be harder than the first one.
I need you to make somebody look like Superman.’”
The
very idea, Twight admits, “scared the daylights out of me. But Zack brought me someone who was willing
to put in the work. Fitness is not just
physical strength and conditioning, it’s also strength of character. It’s committing all of your available
resources to the achievement of an objective.
Only if expectations are higher can achievements be higher.”
Incorporating
a combination of various transferable functional training techniques, Twight
and his team, including trainer Michael Blevins, were able to work with the
actor to attain the skills, strength and confidence he needed to perform wire
work, fight scenes and stunts.
“Once
he realized he could dead-lift more than two times his body weight, he
believed,” Twight says. “Henry achieved
a level of discipline and a physical capacity that was outstanding.” Most importantly, Cavill reached his goals—and
added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame—with nothing more than hard work and
discipline. “Henry said he wanted to
look the same outside the suit as he did when he was wearing it,” Twight
adds. “He didn’t even need body makeup
for those scenes where he had his shirt off because he had done the work and he
wanted that work to show.”
“The training was a genuine
discovery,” Cavill remarks. “I learned I
could do all sorts of things that I never thought possible. Mark kept things constantly evolving and opened
my eyes to seeing past what I thought were my limits. He had the ability to crush me, but just
enough that I couldn’t walk properly and I felt horrible and a little sick…but
I still wanted to come back,” he smiles.
The intense training led to what Cavill calls a “recognition moment,”
during which “you think, okay, I can do this.
It’s not going to kill me, for one.
And two, I’m in safe hands. And
three, I’m actually enjoying it. Yeah,
it hurt. It was excruciating. But I liked pushing past that point to where
you realize your body is actually more than capable of doing it. The moment when that happens is wonderful.”
In this revelation, Twight sees
parallels between the character and the actor.
“Superman’s is a story of self-discovery. Henry’s journey was quite similar in a
way. He discovered his capacity and the
confidence that comes with being physically capable and knowing how to produce
whatever result in his body he wants.”
Roven adds, “Henry completely metamorphosed
his body. He already had a great
physique, but he really turned it into something super for this film.”
CREATING
A SUPER SCORE
CLARK/KAL-EL
My father believed that if
the world found out who I really was, they’d reject me.
He was convinced that the
world wasn’t ready.
What do you think?
Composing the music for an epic
Super Hero action adventure movie can be a daunting task, but Hans Zimmer is
more than well versed in the genre, having most recently scored Christopher
Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. “Man of
Steel” marks his first time collaborating with director Zack Snyder.
“Superman is so iconographic
throughout the world, so the challenge of creating a film score for such a
revered figure could seem overwhelming,” Snyder says, “but not to Hans.”
Zimmer quickly picked up and ran
with the imagery of the film, beginning with the vastness of the land in the
American Midwest, where Clark Kent grew up.
“I immediately had this idea of endlessness, the sound of infinity,
combined with the sound of flying,” he remembers, “and from there I kept
hearing pedal steel guitars, an archetypal American instrument, in lieu of a
traditional string section. And I wanted
to use them in an atypical way.” He brought
eight prominent pedal steel players together—Chas Smith, Marty Rifkin, Skip
Edwards, Boo Bernstein, Peter Frieberger, Rick Schmidt, JD Maness and John
McClung—to perform classical string parts.
Zimmer also assembled some of the
finest drummers in the world, which he called his “drum orchestra,” playing on everything
from rock drum kits to tympanis and field drums. The elite group included such top percussionists
as John JR Robinson, Jason Bonham, Josh Freese, Pharrell Williams, Danny Carey,
Satnam Ramgotra, Toss Panos, Jim Keltner, Curt Bisquera, Trevor Lawrence Jr.,
Matt Chamberlain, Ryeland Allison, Bernie Dresel, Vinnie Colaiuta and Sheila E.
“It seems that with each movie I
work on,” Zimmer reflects, “the story inspires me to do something out of the
ordinary, and ‘Man of Steel’ was no different.”
Snyder states, “I think what he has
done for ‘Man of Steel’ is, in a word, perfect.
Stirring, commanding, and subtly weaving through the story, adding just
the right tone to take us on this journey.”
Though
the Man of Steel has graced the pages of comics and the small and big screens
in various incarnations for over 75 years, his values have remained constant,
serving as a beacon in an ever-changing and increasingly complex world.
Cavill
admits he did not fully comprehend the extraordinary responsibility he took on
in playing the role of the world’s most recognizable Super Hero until one day
in Plano, when he met several Superman fans watching them film. “Their interest, and interaction with me,
were enormously flattering, but also made me understand how important it is to
them that I do justice to this character,” he relates. “I had always held the role in very high
regard, but that day really instilled in me the value of the choice I’d made,
and I was so honored. Thankfully, I
really believe we’ve stayed true to the Superman the fans expect, but brought
him into our modern times, and I hope they’ll really enjoy the result.”
“Superman
belongs to all of us,” Snyder concludes.
“He represents the ultimate hero, and a celebration of Super Hero
culture by encompassing all the incredibly cool attributes that inspire
us—flight, speed, strength—and the best of humanity, like the importance of
family, however you define that, and our need for love and a sense of belonging
in the world. That is why, amidst all
the awesome visuals, the intense battles, the problems of the planet that he
takes on on our behalf, we want him to win: because he’s true, because he has a
good heart and pure intentions. We want
him to choose us, because we want to be the best that we can be, just like
him.”
# # #
ABOUT
THE CAST
HENRY CAVILL (Clark Kent/Kal-El) has
made an impact on both the big and small screens.
Born in the United Kingdom, he made
his feature film debut in Kevin Reynolds’ “The Count of Monte Cristo.” He went on to star in Reynolds’ romance
“Tristan + Isolde,” with James Franco and Sophia Myles, and in Matthew Vaughn’s
fantasy adventure “Stardust,” alongside Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and
Robert De Niro.
Cavill next starred in director Woody
Allen’s comedy “Whatever Works,” and, most recently, in the mythological
actioner “Immortals,” under the direction of Tarsem Singh.
On television, Cavill starred on the
popular Showtime series “The Tudors” for four seasons.
AMY
ADAMS (Lois
Lane) is a four-time Oscar®
nominee, whose impressive body of work ranges from major studio hits to
acclaimed independent features.
She earned her most recent Oscar® nod for her
performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 drama “The Master,” for which she
also received Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations. She also won several critics groups awards,
including the Los Angeles Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics
Awards.
Following “Man of Steel,”
Adams stars in a number of diverse films, including the near-future drama
“Her,” for director Spike Jonze; David O. Russell’s “American Hustle”; and Tim
Burton’s “Big Eyes,” in which she portrays artist Margaret Keane, opposite
Christoph Waltz. In addition, she is set
to produce and star in “Object of Beauty,” based on the book by Steve Martin.
Adams earned her first Oscar® nomination for
her performance in the 2005 indie film “Junebug.” In addition, she garnered a Screen Actors
Guild (SAG) Award® nomination and won an Independent Spirit Award,
as well as a number of critics group awards for her work in that film.
She gained her second Oscar®
nomination for her role in John Patrick Shanley’s 2008 thought-provoking drama
“Doubt,” in which she starred with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour
Hoffman. Adams’ performance in the film
as the conflicted Sister James also brought her Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and
SAG Award® nominations.
Adams’ third Oscar®
nomination came for her work in David O. Russell’s true-life drama “The
Fighter,” in which she starred with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. For her portrayal of the
tougher-than-she-looks bartender, Charlene, she was also recognized with Golden
Globe, BAFTA Award, and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award®
nominations.
In 2007, she delighted
critics and moviegoers in Kevin Lima’s musical hit “Enchanted,” earning a
Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or
Musical for her performance as the displaced, would-be fairy tale princess,
Giselle.
Adams had first caught the
attention of critics and audiences when she co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio
in Steven Spielberg’s fact-based drama “Catch Me If You Can.” Among her other film credits are Adam McKay’s
“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” with Will Ferrell; Mike Nichols’
“Charlie Wilson’s War,” with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts; “Sunshine Cleaning”;
“Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”; “Night at the Museum: Battle of the
Smithsonian,” with Ben Stiller; Nora Ephron’s “Julie & Julia,” with Meryl
Streep; the family hit “The Muppets”; “Leap Year”; and Clint Eastwood’s
“Trouble with the Curve,” opposite Eastwood and Justin Timberlake.
On the stage, Adams starred last summer in the Public
Theatre’s revival of the award-winning musical “Into the Woods,” a presentation
of Shakespeare in the Park, at the Delacorte Theater.
MICHAEL
SHANNON
(General Zod) received an Academy Award® nomination for his
performance in Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary
Road,” based on the novel by Richard Yates, adapted by Justin Haythe,
and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates. He most recently starred in Ariel Vroman’s
crime drama “The Iceman,” and also recently appeared in the critically
acclaimed drama “Mud,” alongside Matthew McConaughey.
Shannon also starred in Floria
Sigismondi's “The Runaways,” opposite
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning; in Gela Babluani's “13,” with Mickey Rourke; in Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter” and
“Shotgun Stories”; in “The Broken Tower,” written, directed by and starring
James Franco; and alongside Gerard Butler in “Machine Gun Preacher.”
In
his more than 40 feature films, Shannon has worked with such prestigious
directors as Werner Herzog in “My Son,
My Son, What Have Ye Done” and “Bad
Lieutenant”; Sydney Lumet on “Before
the Devil Knows You’re Dead”; Oliver Stone in “World Trade Center”; William Friedkin on “Bug”; Curtis Hanson on
“Lucky You” and “8 Mile”;
Michael Bay on “Bad Boys II”
and “Pearl Harbor”; David McNally on “Kangaroo
Jack”; Cameron Crowe on “Vanilla
Sky”; and John Waters in “Cecil
B. DeMented.”
On the small screen, he stars in the
hit HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” the cast of which has been honored with a
Screen Actors Guild Award® for Outstanding Performance by an
Ensemble in a Drama Series two years in a row, in 2011 and 2012.
KEVIN
COSTNER
(Jonathan Kent) is a two-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker,
winning both Best Picture and Best Director for his directorial debut, “Dances with
Wolves,” which garnered seven total Oscars®, including a Best Actor
nomination for Costner. For his work on
the film, he also won the Golden Globe for Best Director and the Directors
Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.
Throughout his career,
Costner has varied his choices with comedy, action and dramatic roles. He has appeared in such popular box-office
hits as “No Way Out,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “The Bodyguard” and
“Wyatt Earp.” He has also appeared in
memorable roles in “JFK,” “The Untouchables” and “Robin Hood: Prince of
Thieves,” and re-teamed with his “Bull Durham” director, Ron Shelton, for the
hit feature “Tin Cup.”
Costner also starred in “Thirteen
Days,” successfully collaborating again with his “No Way Out” director, Roger
Donaldson. His other film credits
include “The Company Men,” “For Love of the Game,” “The War,” “3,000 Miles to
Graceland,” “Dragonfly,” “The Upside of Anger,” “Rumor Has It,” “The Guardian,”
“Mr. Brooks,” “Swing Vote,” “The New Daughter,” and “The Postman,” his second
directing effort. Costner last directed
the box office hit and critically acclaimed film “Open Range,” in which he also
co-starred alongside Robert Duvall and Annette Bening. He began his acting career in independent
films, his first major motion picture being the coming-of-age comedy
“Fandango.”
Costner was most recently seen on the
small screen in the History Channel’s record-setting miniseries “Hatfields
& McCoys,” in which he portrayed “Devil” Anse Hatfield, the patriarch of
the famed clan, opposite Bill Paxton.
Costner also served as a producer of the series, which received 16 Emmy
Award nominations, with five wins, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Miniseries or Movie for Costner. He also
received the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards® for his
performance.
He will next be seen in the revival of
Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan” franchise, opposite Chris Pine, and in “Three Days to
Kill,” a thriller from director McG.
When Costner is not working on films,
he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar in his band, Modern West, and can be
seen playing venues across the country. The
band recorded a collection of songs Inspired by “Hatfields & McCoys” for an
album entitled Famous For Killing Each Other, featuring the song “These
Hills.” Their song “The Angels Came
Down,” from their album Turn It On, was adopted by the Gold Star Moms
and Gold Star Wives organizations, which support the mothers, wives and
families of fallen soldiers.
DIANE
LANE
(Martha Kent) has garnered Screen Actors Guild® (SAG), Golden Globe
and Oscar® nominations for her work, and recently earned excellent
reviews for her performance in Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth” at the
Goodman Theater in Chicago. Previously,
she received an Emmy Award nomination for her leading role in HBO’s
well-reviewed and prestigious movie “Cinema Verite,” co-starring James
Gandolfini and Tim Robbins. Before that,
Lane starred opposite John Malkovich in “Secretariat,” directed by Randall
Wallace.
Lane was hailed as Best
Actress in 2002 by the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film
Critics and received an Academy Award® nomination for her turn as an
adulterous wife in the critically acclaimed Adrian Lyne film “Unfaithful.” Lane’s lengthy filmography includes four
films with Francis Ford Coppola; George C. Wolfe’s “Nights in Rodanthe,”
opposite Richard Gere; Allen Coulter's 1950s era “Hollywoodland,” with Ben
Affleck and Adrien Brody; the comedy “Must Love Dogs,” with John Cusack and
Christopher Plummer; the drama “A Walk on the Moon,” which landed Lane an
Independent Spirit Award nomination; the Audrey Wells romantic comedy “Under
the Tuscan Sun,” earning her a Golden Globe Award nomination; Wolfgang Petersen’s
action film “The Perfect Storm,” opposite Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney; the
highly successful adaptation of Willie Morris’s childhood memoir “My Dog Skip”;
and her portrayal of actress Paulette Goddard in “Chaplin,” for director Sir
Richard Attenborough.
On television, Lane has
appeared in a wide range of projects, including “A Streetcar Named Desire,”
opposite Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange; her Emmy-nominated role as Lorena in
the CBS series “Lonesome Dove,” opposite Robert Duvall; and TNT’s “The
Virginian” with Bill Pullman. She also starred
opposite Gena Rowlands in the Hallmark Hall of Fame drama “Grace & Glorie,”
and in the CBS epic miniseries “The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All,”
based on the best-selling novel by Allan Gurganus, with Donald Sutherland and
Cicely Tyson. Sharing her character with
the venerable Anne Bancroft, Lane portrayed the title character from her early
teens into her sixties.
The daughter of drama coach
Burt Lane and singer Colleen Farrington, Lane answered a call for child actors
at La Mama Experimental Theater at the age of six. She won a role in Andrei Serbian’s famously
primal version of Eurepidis’ Greek “Medea,” and subsequently appeared over the
next five years in his productions of “Electra,” “The Trojan Women,” “The Good
Woman of Szechuan” and “As You Like It,” both in New York and touring theater
festivals around the world with La Mama.
After performing in Joseph Papp’s productions of “The Cherry Orchard”
and “Agamemnon” at Lincoln Center in 1976 and `77, Lane starred at The Public
Theater in “Runaways,” and made her film debut opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in
George Roy Hill’s “A Little Romance” in 1978.
Lane is an ambassador for
Neutrogena®, a worldwide leader in the development of highly
effective, dermatologist-recommended skincare and cosmetics. Her focus has lately included Heifer
International, Oceana, and Half the Sky Movement.
LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Perry White) has achieved an impressive body of work not only as an
actor but as a producer and director. In
1992, he won a Tony, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critic's Circle Award and a
Theater World Award for his portrayal of Sterling Johnson in August Wilson's
"Two Trains Running." His appearance in the 1993 premiere episode of
Fox TV's "Tribeca" landed him an Emmy Award. And to complete the triple crown, he was
nominated for a 1993 Oscar® for his portrayal of Ike Turner in “What's Love Got to Do
with It.”
Fishburne just received
another Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Thurgood Marshall in the HBO
adaptation of his one-man show, “Thurgood.” He originated the role in the
2008 Broadway debut of the play, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor
and winning Drama Desk and Outer Critics’ Circle Awards. In 2010, he
reprised the role at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse and the Kennedy Center in
Washington, DC.
Fishburne’s recent screen credits
include the sci-fi thrillers “The Colony,” from Jeff Renfroe, “Contagion,” from
director Steven Soderbergh, and also “Predators” and the heist film “Armored,” both
for director Nimród Antal. In 2008, he
joined the cast of the CBS hit primetime show "CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation" and signed a first-look production deal, via his Cinema
Gypsy Productions, with CBS Paramount Network Television. Cinema Gypsy film
credits include “Akeelah and the Bee,” “Five Fingers” and “Once in the
Life.” Also in 2008, Fishburne was seen
in the box office success “21,” alongside Kevin Spacey. He has also signed to star in, direct and
produce “The Alchemist,” currently in development. He can currently be seen in the hit NBC crime
drama “Hannibal.”
In 2006, Fishburne reunited
with his “What’s Love Got to Do with It” co-star Angela Bassett in “Akeelah
& the Bee,” a performance that earned him a Best Actor Award at the 2006
Black Movie Awards. The film swept the show with three other wins, including
Best Picture. Immediately following, he
co-starred in ”Mission Impossible III,” and
the acclaimed indie “Bobby,” for which he shared a Screen Actors Guild
Award® nomination for Best Ensemble Cast.
On stage in 2006, Fishburne
starred in Alfred Uhry’s drama “Without Walls,” directed by Christopher Ashley,
at the Center Theatre Group’s Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and was awarded
Best Actor at the 17th Annual NAACP Theater Awards. He then starred
opposite Angela Bassett at The Pasadena Playhouse in August Wilson’s “Fences,”
breaking the Playhouse sales record with a sold-out run.
In 2005, he starred in
“Assault on Precinct 13,” and, previous to that, was an integral part of the
box-office sensations “The Matrix,” “The Matrix: Reloaded” and “The Matrix:
Revolutions.” He also appeared in Clint
Eastwood’s critically acclaimed “Mystic River” and in “Biker Boyz.”
In
2000, Laurence made his directorial debut, in addition to starring in and
producing “Once in the Life.” The screenplay,
which he wrote, was based on the one-act play “Riff Raff,” in which Fishburne
starred, wrote, and directed in 1994 and which received critical praise and was
later brought to New York's Circle Rep Theater.
Its initial Los Angeles run
was the first production under his L.O.A.
Productions banner.
In 1999
he appeared at the Roundabout Theater on Broadway as Henry II in “The Lion in
Winter.” In addition, he starred in and executive produced “Always
Outnumbered,” directed by Michael Apted for HBO. In 1997, Fishburne received an Emmy
nomination and an NAACP Image Award for his starring role in the HBO drama
“Miss Evers’ Boys,” which he executive produced. Based on the true story of the controversial
Tuskegee medical study, “Miss Evers’
Boys” was awarded five Emmys, including Outstanding Made for Television Movie
and the coveted President’s Award, which honors a program that illuminates a
social or educational issue.
Fishburne’s
extensive film credits include Paul Anderson’s “Event Horizon”; Bill Duke’s
“Hoodlum,” which he starred in and produced; the action-comedy “Fled”;
“Othello,” making him the first African American to play the Moor in a major
screen release; the original HBO film “Tuskegee Airmen,” for which he received
an NAACP Image Award as well as Golden Globe, Emmy and CableACE nominations; “Bad Company”; John Singleton’s “Boyz in the
Hood” and “Higher Learning,” which earned him an NAACP Image Award; “Searching
for Bobby Fischer”; “Deep Cover”; “Just Cause”; and Steven Spielberg’s Oscar®nominated “The Color Purple.”
Fishburne
has been acting since he was 10, starting on "One Life to Live,"
before making his feature film debut at age 12 in “Cornbread, Earl and
Me.” At 14, he was cast in a show for
the Negro Ensemble Theater and accepted to the High School of Performing Arts
and, at 15, appeared in the epic “Apocalypse Now.” Following that, he continued to rack up
impressive credits, including the features “Class Action,” “King of New York,”
“Red Heat,” “Nightmare on Elm Street 3,” “Cotton Club” and “Rumble Fish,” and
the telefilms "Decoration
Day,” “For Us the Living” and “Rumor of War.”
Fishburne serves as an Ambassador
for UNICEF. In 2007, he was honored by
Harvard University with an Artist of the Year Award for his outstanding
contributions to American and International Performing Arts, as well as his
humanitarian contributions.
ANTJE TRAUE (Faora-Ul) already had a strong body of work in her
native Germany when she broke out into the international marketplace in the
science fiction film “Pandorum,” where she played the lead opposite Ben Foster
and Dennis Quaid.
After “Man of
Steel,” Traue will be seen in the fantasy action adventure “Seventh Son,” in
which she stars as the witch Bony Lizzie, alongside Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes
and Julianne Moore. The film is directed by Sergei Bodrov and based on
the popular book series The Last
Apprentice, by John Delaney.
In 2012, she
starred in the independent “Nobel’s Last Will,” and was recently seen in
theaters starring opposite Val Kilmer and Rupert Friend in Renny Harlin’s “5
Days of War.”
As a teenager,
Traue attended the International Munich Art Lab, where she was cast in the lead
role in the theatre play “West End Opera.”
For four years she toured with the ensemble cast throughout Europe and
then to New York. In 2002, Traue moved
to Berlin and landed roles in feature films and television projects, including “Kleinruppin
Forever,” Berlin am Meer” and “Phantomschmerz.”
Presently Traue splits her
time between Berlin and Los Angeles.
AYELET
ZURER (Lara
Lor-Van) is
a prolific and talented actress who has made tremendous achievements both at
home in Israel, and also Stateside, where she has worked with such major
directors as Steven Spielberg, Lawrence Kasdan and Ron Howard. She has been nominated for awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Israeli Academy Awards
and the Israeli Television Academy
Awards, and has won Best Actress awards for her roles in the Israeli
film “Nina’s Tragedies” and the HBO series “Betipul.”
Zurer was born and raised in Tel Aviv. After completing her military service in the Israel
Defense Forces, she moved to the United States to pursue a Hollywood career,
and then moved back to Israel in 1991. She
starred in the television series “Inyan Shel Zman” and in the Israeli film “Nikmato Shel Itzik Finkelstein.” During this time she also acted in the cable
television show “Yetziat Hirum.”
In 1997, Zurer starred in the television
show “Florentine” on Israeli Channel 2. She followed that up in 2000 with the Israeli
television series “Zinzana,”
and in 2002, the series “Shalva”
and “Ha'Block.”
On the big screen, she played the lead in the
1998 film “Ahava Asura” (aka “The Dybbuk of the Holy Apple Field”),
also starring Moshe Ivgy. A few years
later, she starred in the movies “Laila
Lelo Lola” and “Kikar
Ha'Halomot.” She next starred in “Nina's Tragedies,” portraying the
title character, in one of Zurer’s best known roles. She won an Israeli Academy Award for Best
Actress for this role.
In 2005, Zurer starred in the Israeli hit
television series “Betipul,” a
drama about a psychologist and his patients' therapy process. Her work on the series won her a Best Actress
award from the Israeli Television Academy; the show was later remade as the
highly successful Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning HBO series “In Treatment.” The following year, Zurer acted in an Israeli sketch
comedy television show called “Gomrot
Holchot,” which dealt with the world of young women: relationships,
marriage, sex, career and so forth. The
show was based on the British sketch comedy show “Smack the Pony.” Zurer made
her first stateside television debut in NBC’s series “Awake,” and also appeared
in Tim Kring’s “Touch,” with Kiefer Sutherland.
Zurer’s first international film role was in Steven
Spielberg's “Munich,” which was
nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Picture and in
which she played opposite star Eric Bana. She later played the role of an exotic
terrorist in the American thriller “Vantage
Point,” appearing alongside Dennis Quaid, William Hurt and Sigourney
Weaver. Her next international role was
in Paul Schrader's “Adam Resurrected,”
playing a nurse who falls in love with the title character, a disturbed Holocaust
survivor played by Jeff Goldblum. Prior
to that, Zurer starred in “Fugitive
Pieces,” the story of a boy who survives the Holocaust in Greece and
becomes a troubled young adult who falls in love with her.
In 2009, Zurer played the
female lead in “The Da Vinci Code”
sequel, “Angels & Demons,”
opposite Tom Hankes and under the direction of Ron Howard. She then appeared in “Hide Away,” from
director Chris Eyre, starring Josh Lucas, and in Lawrence Kasdan’s “Darling
Companion,” with Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline.
CHRISTOPHER
MELONI
(Colonel Nathan Hardy), already one of Hollywood’s most successful television
actors, also stars in a number of diverse feature films. He most recently portrayed Leo Durocher in
the hit drama “42,” about Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball’s
color line.
After the release of “Man
of Steel,” Meloni next stars in “Small Time,” with Bridget Moynahan and Dean
Norris, due for a limited release later this summer. In October, he co-stars with Josh Brolin,
Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, and Mickey Rourke
in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” the sequel to 2005’s screen adaptation of
Frank Miller's highly regarded graphic novel.
He also has two other films slated for 2013/2014: “They Came Together,”
directed by David Wain and also starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and Ed Helms;
and “White Bird in a Blizzard,” based on the book of the same name by Laura
Kasischke, with Shailene Woodley and Eva Green.
The Washington, D.C. native studied acting at the
University of Colorado - Boulder before graduating with a degree in
History. He worked in construction and
as a bouncer before breaking into acting, studying his craft in New York with
legendary teacher Sanford Meisner. His
television breakout role was on “NYPD Blue,” opposite Kim Delaney. That led to being cast on HBO’s gritty series
“Oz,” playing the psychotic, bisexual murderer Chris Keller, in an ensemble
cast that also included J.K. Simmons, Lee Tergesen and Rita Moreno.
In 1999, he landed his starring role on the popular and
long-running NBC series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” with Meloni
working in both series simultaneously until “Oz” ended its run in 2003. He continued on “Law & Order: SVU” for
twelve seasons, earning an Emmy nomination for his performance as Detective
Elliot Stabler. Meloni returned to
television last year for a major arc on HBO’s award-winning series “True
Blood.”
Meloni’s other big screen credits include the Terry
Gilliam films “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Twelve Monkeys”; the
Wachowskis’ first film “Bound”; the romantic comedy “Runaway Bride,” with
Richard Gere and Julia Roberts; “Nights in Rodanthe,” with Gere and Diane Lane;
and such cult favorites as “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Harold & Kumar Go to
White Castle,” and its first sequel, “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo
Bay.”
This coming television season, Meloni will play thte role
of Jack in the new FOX comedy “Surviving Jack.”
RUSSELL CROWE
(Jor-El) is an Academy Award® winner who is regarded as one of
the finest actors of our time. Crowe’s
many acting honors include three consecutive Best Actor Oscar® nominations:
for his work in the acclaimed 1999 drama “The Insider”; the 2000 Best Picture
winner, “Gladiator,” for which he took home the Oscar®; and 2001’s
Best Picture, “A Beautiful Mind.”
In addition to the Academy Award®, Crowe’s performance
as Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator,” earned him Best Actor
honors from several critics’ organizations, including the Broadcast Film
Critics and London Film Critics Circle.
He also received Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
Award® nominations.
The year prior, Crowe had gained his first Oscar® nomination
for his portrayal of tobacco company whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand in Michael
Mann’s fact-based drama “The Insider.” He
was also named Best Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association,
Broadcast Film Critics Association, National Society of Film Critics and
National Board of Review, and garnered Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and SAG®
Award nominations.
Crowe’s masterful portrayal of Nobel Prize winner John Forbes
Nash, Jr. in Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind” brought him his third Oscar® nomination,
as well as his third consecutive Critics’ Choice Award from the Broadcast Film
Critics Association. He also won Golden
Globe, BAFTA and SAG Awards, and several other critics groups’ Best Actor Awards. Reuniting with Howard
in 2005, Crowe earned Golden Globe and SAG Award® nominations, and
won an Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award, for his portrayal of Jim Braddock
in “Cinderella Man.”
Crowe most recently starred as Inspector Javert in Tom Hooper’s
acclaimed screen adaptation of the beloved musical “Les Miserables,” and as
Mayor Hostetler in Allen Hughes’ “Broken
City.”
Following
“Man of Steel,” he stars in “Winter’s
Tale,” directed by Akiva Goldsman, and in the title role of Darren Aronofsky’s
epic “Noah.”
Born in New Zealand, Crowe was raised in Australia, where he was
first honored for his work on the big screen and began gaining international
attention. He was recognized for three
consecutive years by the AFI, starting in 1990, when he was nominated for Best
Actor for “The Crossing.” In 1991, he won the AFI’s Best Supporting
Actor Award for “Proof.” The following year, he received Best Actor Awards
from the AFI and the Australian Film Critics for his performance in “Romper Stomper.” Additionally, the 1993 Seattle International
Film Festival named him Best Actor for his work in both “Romper Stomper” and “Hammers Over the Anvil.”
Crowe made his American film debut in 1995 in Sam Raimi’s
Western “The Quick and the Dead.” He
went on to earn acclaim for his role in Curtis Hanson’s crime drama “L.A.
Confidential.” His early film credits
also include “Mystery, Alaska,” “Heaven’s Burning,” “Virtuosity,” “The Sum of
Us,” “For the Moment,” “Love in Limbo,” “The Silver Brumby,” “The Efficiency
Expert” and “Prisoners of the Sun.”
He has since starred in a long and diverse list of films,
including the Ridley Scott-directed projects “A Good Year,” “American
Gangster,” “Body of Lies” and “Robin Hood.”
Among his other credits are Peter Weir’s “Master and Commander: The Far
Side of the World,” for which Crowe earned a Golden Globe nomination; Taylor
Hackford’s “Proof of Life”; “3:10 to Yuma,” with Christian Bale; Kevin
Macdonald’s “State of Play,” with Ben Affleck; Paul Haggis’ “The Next Three
Days”; and RZA’s “The Man with the Iron Fists.”
ABOUT
THE FILMMAKERS
ZACK SNYDER (Director) is a filmmaker best known for his meticulous attention to
detail and fine art aesthetic, bringing his unique and vivid style to each of
his projects, as a director, writer and producer. He produces through
his Warner Bros.-based shingle Cruel & Unusual Films, which he co-founded
with wife and producing partner, Deborah Snyder.
Currently, the Snyders’ company is in
post-production on “300: Rise of an Empire,” directed by Noam Murro from a
script Zack co-wrote with Kurt Johnstad and scheduled for release on March 7,
2014. The film is another chapter of the
“300” saga, following the 2007 blockbuster “300,” which Snyder wrote and directed.
Most recently, Snyder wrote, directed
and produced “Sucker Punch,” an action fantasy that follows a young girl whose
dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Released in March 2011, the film was Snyder’s
first produced original story and featured an ensemble cast, including Emily
Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jon Hamm, and Carla Gugino.
Snyder first made the jump
to feature direction from the commercial and music video world with his
inspired re-imagining of the George Romero classic “Dawn of the Dead.” He then directed the groundbreaking action
epic “300,” based
on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Grossing more than $450 million worldwide, “300” established Snyder as one of the film
industry’s most artistic and sought-after directors. Snyder followed with the expertly crafted “Watchmen,”
bringing the “unfilmable” graphic novel to the big screen in 2009. He made his animation debut with the 2010
adventure “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,” based on the beloved
books by Kathryn Lasky and featuring a voice cast that included Oscar®
winners Helen Mirren and Geoffrey Rush.
Cruel & Unusual Films is presently
developing a wide range of projects, including: “The Last Photograph,” from a
story by Snyder and screenplay by Kurt Johnstad; “Army of the Dead,” an
action-thriller written by Joby Harold, from an original story by Snyder; and “Illusions,”
based on the novel by Richard Bach.
CHARLES
ROVEN (Producer) is a distinguished producer and leader in the
entertainment industry for nearly three decades, and the founder of Atlas
Entertainment. Through the years, Roven has built a reputation of creative
collaboration and innovation, and has garnered international acclaim for his
work in film, television, and music. During
his illustrious career as a producer, founder and board member on a number of
major entertainment companies, Roven has helped generate billions of dollars in
revenue.
Roven was a
producer on Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” which have collectively earned over
$2.45 billion at the worldwide box office. The films are among the most successful in the
history of Warner Bros., breaking box-office records around the world and
earning numerous accolades, including seven Academy Award®
nominations and two wins; 12 BAFTA nominations and one win; as well as awards
at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards®, the
Critics’ Choice Awards, the People’s Choice Awards and the AFI Awards, among
others.
Roven’s involvement in branded, franchise properties began with
the $275 million-plus worldwide box office hit “Scooby-Doo” and its sequel, “Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.” His distinguished credits also include
blockbusters and critically acclaimed films such as the suspense thriller “The International”; “Get Smart,” inspired by the hit TV
show; the critically acclaimed film “The
Bank Job”; the highly acclaimed post-Gulf War tale “Three Kings”; the fantasy-romance “City of Angels”; “Fallen”; the Oscar®-nominated
“Twelve Monkeys”; “Final Analysis”; and the supernatural
action adventure “Season of the Witch.”
For his prolific contribution to film,
Roven was honored with the ShoWest Producer of the Year Award, as well as
Filmmaker of the Year at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2008.
Under
the umbrella of Roven’s Atlas Entertainment lies Atlas Independent, which
produces indie-minded movies with modest budgets, betting on the potential high
profit margins of smaller films. Atlas Independent produced “Revenge for Jolly!” which was
released on May 7, 2013. Atlas Independent also has the Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego-directed
“Open Grave” in
post-production.
Roven's success, however, is not limited to producing films. In 1990, with partner Robert Cavallo, Roven
co-founded Roven/Cavallo Entertainment (RCE), the predecessor to Atlas
Entertainment, which in addition to producing films, guided the trajectories of
some of the largest names in music, including multi-Grammy®-winning
recording artists Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Seal, Goo Goo Dolls, Weezer,
Savage Garden, LeAnn Rimes, All American Rejects, and Paula Abdul. RCE fostered Morissette throughout her early
career, including the release of her debut album Jagged Little Pill,
which remains the best-selling album of all time by a female artist. In
1993, the legendary Dawn Steel joined the venture and the RCE production banner
was re-named Atlas Entertainment and its music management affiliate became
Atlas/Third Rail Management. Roven took the sole reins of Atlas
Entertainment after an eight-year partnership with Cavallo in 1998, when
Roven's Atlas Entertainment produced the $200 million fantasy-romance “City Of Angels.” Atlas/Third Rail simultaneously packaged its
soundtrack, which won three Grammy® Awards, yielding #1 singles for
Atlas/Third Rail artists Alanis Morissette and the Goo Goo Dolls, also making
the soundtrack the largest selling album of the year, earning ten platinum
records.
Roven went on to merge the Atlas Entertainment entities with the
talent management group The Gold/Miller Company to form Mosaic Media Group
(MMG), a company with unrivaled synergies. The Gold/Miller Company's
talent management clients included blockbuster comedians Ellen DeGeneres, Vince
Vaughn, Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, the Wayans family and Sacha Baron Cohen, as
well as comedy directors Jay Roach, Judd Apatow, and Adam McKay. This merger
came from the common desire of the principals to be part of a true multimedia
company with the ability to package projects, fully exploit opportunities for
their clients through a multi-platformed approach and acquire entertainment
related media assets. One of their first such ventures was MMG's
strategic relationship with MP3.COM, which helped
to launch music online and allowed MP3.COM to become one
of the first internet media companies with a successful IPO.
Roven, together with MMG president Allen Shapiro, also oversaw the
acquisition of the venerable company Dick Clark Productions (DCP), whose
celebrated programming includes the Golden Globe Awards, the American Music
Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the annual Dick Clark's New
Year's Rockin' Eve. Roven served on the board that packaged the first
original hit series for DCP in over a decade: the reality competition show, “So You Think You Can Dance.” In
2006, Roven, together with Shapiro, supervised the sales of the publishing
catalogues and in 2007, Roven served as chairman of the negotiating committee
which sold DCP to Red Zone Capital Fund, the investment team chaired by Daniel
Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins.
After tremendous success and accomplishing the goals they set
almost a decade before, the remaining partners of MMG took back their
individual organizations in 2009 and decided to go their separate ways, and
essentially disbanded MMG.
Currently,
Roven is in post-production on David O. Russell’s “American Hustle,”
starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and
Jennifer Lawrence. The film is an Atlas Entertainment production and is
due for release on December 25, 2013.
Roven is in
pre-production on the highly anticipated feature film “Warcraft.” To be directed by Duncan Jones (“Moon,”
“Source Code”), the live-action film is based on Blizzard Entertainment’s
award-winning Warcraft universe and was written by Charles Leavitt (“Blood
Diamond”).
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (Producer / Story) is an
award-winning filmmaker who has been honored for his work as a director, writer
and producer. Nolan and his wife and
producing partner, Emma Thomas, also helm their own production company,
Syncopy.
Nolan recently wrote,
directed and produced “The Dark Knight Rises,” the conclusion to his blockbuster
trilogy, which began in 2005 with “Batman Begins,” starring Christian Bale in
the title role. Three years later, Nolan
directed, co-wrote, and produced “The Dark Knight,” which went on to gross more
than a billion dollars at the global box office and received worldwide critical
acclaim. In addition, Nolan was nominated
for a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award, Writers Guild of America (WGA)
Award and Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award for his work on the film,
which also received eight Oscar® nominations. In bringing the story to a close, 2012’s “The
Dark Knight Rises” earned more than one billion dollars worldwide.
In 2010, Nolan captivated critics
and audiences with the acclaimed sci-fi thriller “Inception,” which he directed
and produced from his own original screenplay.
The thought-provoking drama was a worldwide hit, earning more than $800
million dollars and becoming one of the most talked-about films of the
year. Among its many honors, “Inception”
won four Academy Awards® and received four more Oscar® nominations,
including two for Nolan, for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Nolan was also recognized by his peers with
DGA and PGA Award nominations, and won a WGA Award for his work on the film.
Currently, Nolan is in
pre-production on the science fiction film “Interstellar,” which he will direct
from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother, Jonathan. He is also producing the film under the
Syncopy banner.
Born in London, Nolan began
making movies at an early age with his father’s Super-8mm camera. While studying English Literature at University
College London (UCL), he shot 16mm films at UCL’s film society, where he
learned the guerrilla film techniques he would later use to make his first
feature, “Following.” The noir thriller
was recognized at a number of international film festivals prior to its
theatrical release.
Nolan’s second film was the
independent feature “Memento,” which he directed from his own screenplay, based
on a short story by Jonathan Nolan.
Starring Guy Pearce, the film brought Nolan numerous honors, including
Academy Award® and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Original
Screenplay; Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay;
and a DGA Award nomination. Nolan went
on to direct the critically acclaimed psychological thriller “Insomnia,” starring
Oscar® winners Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank; and
directed, co-wrote and produced the mystery thriller “The Prestige,” starring
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman.
EMMA THOMAS (Producer) has produced a
wide range of successful and critically acclaimed films. Together with her husband, Christopher Nolan,
she also heads up their own production company, Syncopy.
Thomas recently concluded
her producing work on Nolan’s “Dark Knight” film franchise with “The Dark
Knight Rises,” which took in more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box
office. She had earlier produced the
2005 hit “Batman Begins,” followed by 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” which shattered
box-office records on its way to grossing more than one billion dollars
worldwide. Thomas was honored with her
first Producers Guild of America (PGA) Award nomination for her work on the
film. “The Dark Knight” also received
eight Academy Award® nominations, winning four, and nine BAFTA Award
nominations, among its honors.
Currently, Thomas is in
pre-production on the science fiction film “Interstellar,” which Nolan will
direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Thomas
will produce the film under their Syncopy banner.
In 2010, Thomas received an
Oscar® nomination as a producer on the widely acclaimed sci-fi
thriller “Inception,” which was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Earning more than $800 million dollars at the
worldwide box office, the film garnered numerous honors, receiving four Academy
Awards® and four more Oscar® nominations, as well as four
Golden Globe nominations and nine BAFTA Award nominations, all including Best
Picture. Thomas also received a PGA
Award nomination.
Thomas studied at the
prestigious University College London before beginning her career at Working
Title Films in physical production.
During her five years with the company, Thomas gained a solid foundation
in film production, which later helped her segue into producing.
The turning point in
Thomas’ career came when she produced the independent feature “Following.” Shot on a shoestring budget and on weekends
over the course of a year, the noir thriller captured the art of guerilla
filmmaking at its best. Prior to its
release, the film went on to gain recognition at film festivals around the
world and received international distribution.
Thomas then served as an
associate producer on the internationally acclaimed independent film “Memento.”
The film went on to win a number of
awards, including an Independent Spirit Award, a British Independent Film
Award, and several critics groups’ awards for Best Film. On the heels of this success, Thomas
co-produced her first major studio release, the hit psychological thriller
“Insomnia,” starring Oscar® winners Al Pacino, Robin Williams and
Hilary Swank.
Thomas also produced “The
Prestige,” starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as two magicians whose
jealous obsessions lead to tragedy and murder.
The Christopher Nolan-directed film earned two Academy Award®
nominations, for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.
DEBORAH SNYDER (Producer) develops and produces visually
arresting films that are both thought provoking and entertaining. Bringing a unique, consumer-minded vision to each
project she takes on, Snyder is heavily involved with
the creative marketing and advertising strategy behind her films, applying her
previous experience in the advertising industry. As Co-President of Cruel & Unusual
Films, formed with her producing partner Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder stands
among the top producers in the entertainment industry.
The Snyders’ company is currently in
post-production on “300: Rise of an Empire,” directed by Noam Murro from a
script co-written by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, and scheduled for release
on March 7, 2014. The film is another
chapter of the “300” saga, following the 2007 blockbuster “300,” which her company produced and was
written and directed by Zack Snyder.
Deborah Snyder most recently produced “Sucker
Punch,” an action fantasy that follows a young girl whose dream world provides
the ultimate escape from her darker reality; the film, written and directed by
Zack Snyder, opened in March 2011. In addition, she is presently developing a
wide range of projects under the Cruel & Unusual banner, including: “The
Last Photograph,” from a story by Zack Snyder and screenplay by Kurt Johnstad; “Army
of the Dead,” an action-thriller written by Joby Harold from an original story
by Zack Snyder; and “Illusions,” based on the novel by Richard Bach.
Snyder made her producing debut as an
executive producer on the worldwide hit feature “300,” based on the graphic
novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley and directed by Zack Snyder. A breakout success, “300”
took in more than $70 million at the box office in its opening weekend and went
on to gross over $450 million worldwide.
Snyder then produced Zack Snyder’s critically acclaimed “Watchmen,” the
long-awaited adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, and executive produced
the animated adventure “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.”
DAVID S. GOYER (Screenwriter) previously collaborated with
Christopher Nolan on the mega-hit “Dark Knight” trilogy, starting with the screenplay
for “Batman Begins,” which successfully brought the iconic character back to
his origins. Goyer went on to team with Nolan
on the story for the billion-dollar blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” for which
they received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Adapted
Screenplay, followed by the story’s conclusion in “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Goyer has
earned a reputation for telling character-driven stories adapted from the
otherworldly realms of superheroes, fantasy and the supernatural. His breakout came in
1998 when he wrote the action hit “Blade,” starring Wesley Snipes, based on the
Marvel Comics vampire hunter who is, himself, half-vampire. He then wrote 2002’s “Blade II,” on which he
also served as an executive producer. In
2004, he directed, wrote and produced the last of the trilogy, “Blade:
Trinity.”
In 2002, Goyer made his
feature film directorial debut with the drama “ZigZag,” for which he also wrote
the screenplay, based on the acclaimed novel by Landon Napoleon. His other directing credits include “The
Invisible,” starring Justin Chatwin and Marcia Gay Harden, and the hit
supernatural thriller “The Unborn,” based on his own original screenplay and
starring Odette Annable and Gary Oldman.
In addition, Goyer recently signed on to direct an adaptation of the
classic revenge tale The Count of Monte Cristo.
In
addition to screenwriting, Goyer made his debut in video games with the story
for the smash hit “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” and penned the story for its
blockbuster follow up, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.”
His love of comic books also led to a four-year stint actually writing
one for DC Comics. He is a co-writer of The Justice Society, which was one of
DC’s biggest hits.
Goyer’s
latest television series, “Da Vinci’s Demons,” in which he serves as creator,
writer, director and executive producer, is currently airing on Starz. Focusing on the complex life of Leonardo da
Vinci, the show garnered critical acclaim and strong ratings since its premiere
in April of this year.
THOMAS
TULL
(Executive Producer) is Chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures and has achieved
great success in the co-production and co-financing of event movies.
Since its inception in 2004, Legendary Pictures, a division of leading media
company Legendary Entertainment with film and comics divisions, has teamed with
Warner Bros. Pictures on a wide range of theatrical features.
The many hits released
under their joint banner include Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster “Dark Knight” Trilogy, which kicked
off with “Batman Begins,” followed by the award-winning phenomenon “The Dark
Knight,” which earned in excess of a billion dollars worldwide. Nolan
brought the story to an epic conclusion in 2012 with “The Dark Knight Rises,”
which earned more than a billion dollars at the global box office.
This highly successful partnership has also produced such films as Zack
Snyder’s “300” and “Watchmen”; Ben Affleck’s “The Town”; Nolan’s award-winning
action drama “Inception”; the worldwide hit “Clash of the Titans” and its
sequel, “Wrath of the Titans”; and Todd Phillips’ “The Hangover,” “The Hangover
Part II,” which is the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time, and the
recently released “The Hangover Part III.”
Legendary also recently
released director Brian Helgeland’s hit drama “42,” the story of baseball
legend Jackie Robinson.
Legendary’s upcoming film
slate includes “Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim,” from
director Guillermo del Toro; “Seventh Son,” starring Jeff Bridges; and “300:
Rise of an Empire,” the new chapter in the “300” saga. Legendary is also
in production on “Godzilla,” slated for release in May 2014, “Gravel” and
“Warcraft.”
Before forming Legendary,
Tull was President of The Convex Group, a media and entertainment holding
company headquartered in Atlanta, on whose Board of Directors he also
served. Tull is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the American
Film Institute (AFI) and the Board of Directors of Hamilton College, his alma
mater, and Carnegie Mellon University. He serves on the board of the San
Diego Zoo and is a minority partner in the six-time Super Bowl champion
Pittsburgh Steelers.
LLOYD PHILLIPS (Executive
Producer) was a respected producer and unit production manager, whose work took
him all over the world and teamed him with many noted directors and actors.
He
had recently served as an executive producer on Quentin Tarantino’s World War
II-era film “Inglourious Basterds,” which earned eight Oscar®
nominations, including Best Picture. Phillips also collaborated with director Martin
Campbell on several projects, producing the films “The Legend of Zorro,”
reuniting Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones; “Beyond Borders,” starring
Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen; and “Vertical Limit,” starring Chris O’Donnell
and Bill Paxton.
Phillips’
additional film credits included “The Tourist,” starring Jolie and Johnny Depp;
Tom Tykwer’s “The International,” starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts; “Racing
Stripes,” starring Hayden Panettiere; “Running Free,” directed by Sergei
Bodrov; Lee Tamahori’s “The Edge,” starring Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins;
and Terry Gilliam’s “Twelve Monkeys,” starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.
Born
in South Africa, Phillips grew up in New Zealand. His early work as a photojournalist earned
him entry into the National Film School in the UK. In 1981, he made his producing debut with the
short “The Dollar Bottom,” which won an Oscar® for Best Live Action
Short and also made him the first New Zealander to win an Academy Award®.
Phillips
then produced the feature “Nate and Hayes,” which he also co-wrote with John
Hughes. He went on to produce “Heart of
the High Country” and Graeme Clifford’s “Ruby Cairo,” and was a production
consultant on Roger Donaldson’s sci-fi hit “Species.”
Apart
from his film career, Phillips was a producer on the Broadway shows “Shogun,
The Musical” and “Three Penny Opera,” starring Sting. He was also an avid photographer, who
published a personal photo journal of each film project he produced. An exhibition of his photography from “The
International” was shown in Berlin during the 2009 Berlin Bienale.
“Man
of Steel” marked Phillips’ final film.
JON
PETERS
(Executive Producer) has been responsible for bringing to the screen some of
the most beloved and successful films of all time, from “A Star is Born” to
“Flashdance” to the “Batman” franchise.
A native of California’s San Fernando Valley, the Italian
/ Indian American entered the industry through unconventional means: as one of
Hollywood’s most successful hairdressers.
His career in this industry led to his entrée into another, the movie
industry. Forging a powerful bond with
Barbra Streisand at the cusp of her phenomenal entertainment career, Peters
became her manager and produced the 1976 hit “A Star is Born,” starring Streisand and Kris
Kristofferson. The film grossed over
$100 million at the box office and garnered four Oscar® nominations,
winning the award for Best Song with “Evergreen.” Peters also produced a string of best-selling
albums for Streisand, as well as the film “The Main Event,” which also starred
Streisand. Additionally, Peters produced
the haunting thriller “The Eyes of Laura Mars,” and the cult classic
“Caddyshack,” starring Chevy Chase and Bill Murray.
In 1982, Peters joined with Peter Guber, a perfect
complement to Peters’ cowboy way, to form the dynamic film company
Guber-Peters, which produced a string of hits, including “Vision Quest,” “The
Witches of Eastwick,” “Missing” and the blockbuster “Flashdance.” Guber-Peters was also responsible for
producing such socially conscious films as “The Color Purple,” “Gorillas in the
Mist,” “A Few Good Men,” and “Rain Man,” which was the recipient of the Best
Picture Oscar® in 1988, before going on to produce the highly
successful “Batman” franchise. Peters
also had a hand in the rediscovery of “Spider-Man,” which was later produced by
his longtime friend, Laura Ziskin. In
true Hollywood tradition, Guber and Peters were memorialized in the industry
chronicle Hit and Run.
Sony purchased the
Guber-Peters Company in 1989 and the pair was retained to run Columbia
Pictures, but Peters soon left to form his own production company, Peters
Entertainment. His new venture produced
such films as “Money Train,” “My Fellow Americans,” “Rosewood,” “Wild, Wild
West” and the powerful biopic “Ali,” starring Will Smith as Mohammad Ali. “Ali” garnered several Oscar® bids
as well as gaining significant recognition from the NAACP and other
African-American organizations.
During a visit to New York,
Peters happened upon a copy of the Superman
comic book, The Death of Superman,
which led him to investigate the film rights and resulted in his producing
“Superman Returns.”
AMIR
MOKRI
(Director of Photography) most recently shot Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Dark
of the Moon,” having previously worked with Bay on “Bad Boys 2,” starring Will
Smith, Martin Lawrence and Gabrielle Union.
Mokri attended Boston
University and Emerson College in Boston and, upon graduation, became a
cinematography fellow at the American Film Institute. Shortly thereafter
he met director Wayne Wang. The duo collaborated on several films,
including “The Joy Luck Club,” “Life is Cheap . . . but Toilet Paper is
Expensive,” “Eat a Bowl of Tea” and “Slamdance,” Mokri’s feature film
debut. He earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best
Cinematography for “Life is Cheap” and “Slamdance.”
His other credits include
“Season of the Witch,” “Fast & Furious,” “Vantage Point,” “National
Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “Lord of War,” “Taking Lives,” “Salton Sea,”
“Coyote Ugly,” “An Eye for an Eye,” “Freejack,” “Pacific Heights,” “Whore,”
“Blue Steel,” “Queens Logic” and “House of the Rising Sun.”
Mokri’s work on commercials and music videos is extensive, as is his resume of
short films, which includes “The Waiting,” “A Hero of Our Time,” “L.A. Games,”
“Air Lock,” “Mr. Daddy” and “Messenger.”
ALEX MCDOWELL (Production Designer) has
worked as a production designer for over 30 years, on both live action and
animated features, and has also received praise for his work blending practical
and digital production design in film genres ranging from period and contemporary
to science fiction and fantasy. He also
made his producing debut as a co-producer on the indie film “Bunraku,” starring
Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Ron Perlman and Josh Hartnett.
McDowell previously worked with Zack
Snyder on the action adventure “Watchmen,” based on the seminal graphic
novel. His work was most recently seen
in the sci-fi films “Upside Down” and “In Time,” and in the animated comedies
“Fantastic Mr. Fox,” from Wes Anderson, starring the voices of George Clooney
and Cate Blanchett, and “Arthur Christmas,” on which the designer served as a
consultant.
McDowell earned a BAFTA Award
nomination and an Art Directors Guild (ADG) Award nomination for his work on
Tim Burton’s 2005 fantasy film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” He also collaborated with Burton on the 2005
stop-motion animated film “Corpse Bride.”
McDowell previously won an ADG Award for Steven Spielberg’s 2004 film
“The Terminal,” for which he designed a full-size airport terminal, one of the
largest architectural sets ever built for a film. The designer had earlier worked with
Spielberg on 2002’s sci-fi action hit “Minority Report,” for which McDowell
received his first ADG Award nomination.
His additional film credits include
Anthony Minghella’s “Breaking and Entering”; “The Cat in the Hat”; “Fight
Club,” for director David Fincher; Terry Gilliam’s “Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas”; and “The Crow.”
A classically trained painter,
McDowell attended Central School of Art in London. In 2006, he was named Royal Designer for
Industry by the RSA, the UK’s most prestigious design society, and for five
years was a Visiting Artist at MIT’s Media Lab.
He serves as a member of the AMPAS Science and Technology Council. He is also creative director of USC’s 5D
Institute, a transmedia and world building design forum.
DAVID
BRENNER
(Editor) won an Academy Award® for his
work on Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July.” He also edited
Stone’s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," “World Trade
Center,” “The Doors,” “Heaven & Earth,” and “Talk Radio.”
Brenner is also known for his collaboration with Roland Emmerich, for
whom he edited “2012,” “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “The
Patriot.”
Brenner’s
25-year career has also encompassed works as diverse as Rob Marshall’s “Pirates
of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”; “Wanted”; “Identity”; “The River
Wild”; “Kate & Leopold”; “Fear”; “Lolita”; and “What Dreams May Come.”
JAMES
ACHESON (Costume Designer) is a
three-time Academy Award® winner for his costume designs, earning
his first award in 1988, for his work on Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last
Emperor,” starring Peter O’Toole. He
followed up with a second win in 1989, for Stephen Frears’ “Dangerous
Liaisons,” starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Keanu
Reeves, and Uma Thurman. Acheson was
honored with his third Academy Award® in 1996, for his designs for
the Michael Hoffman-directed “Restoration,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Meg
Ryan, Ian McKellen, and Sam Neill.
Acheson most recently
worked on “The Warrior’s Way,” for director Sngmoo Lee. He previously designed the costumes for Sam
Raimi’s trio of blockbuster Spider-Man hits, and also served as costume
designer for “Daredevil,” starring Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck.
His numerous other film
credits include “The Man in the Iron Mask,” “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,” “The
Sheltering Sky,” “Highlander,” and Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Little Buddha,” on
which Acheson served as costume designer and production designer. He has collaborated with several members of
the Monty Python comedies, starting in 1979, when he designed the costumes for
Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits,” starring John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley
Duvall, and Michael Palin. He then
designed costumes for Gilliam’s “Brazil,” as well as Terry Jones’ “Monty
Python’s The Meaning of Life” and “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,” for which he also did
production design.
MICHAEL
WILKINSON’s
(Costume Designer) costume design work includes Zack Snyder’s worldwide hit
“300” and Joe Kosinski’s futuristic action movie “Tron: Legacy.” He was nominated for a Costume Designers
Guild Award and a Saturn Award for both projects. Previously, Wilkinson won the Saturn Award
for his designs for Snyder’s widely praised action thriller “Watchmen,” and was
nominated for the CDG Award for his contemporary designs seen in the
international ensemble drama “Babel.”
Wilkinson’s most recent work includes
the costumes for Darren Aronofsky’s epic re-imagining of the biblical “Noah,”
and David O. Russell’s love letter to the `70s, “American Hustle.” Variety
magazine included Wilkinson in their recent “Below the Line Impact” list of
film-makers that have significant impact in their field of expertise.
Wilkinson’s additional film credits
include the action fantasy “Sucker Punch,” worldwide blockbusters “The Twilight
Saga: Breaking Dawn” Parts 1 and 2, the post-apocalyptic “Terminator
Salvation,” the Civil War drama “Jonah Hex,” and the contemporary films “The
Nanny Diaries,” “Friends with Money,” “Party Monster,” “American Splendor” and
“Garden State.” For TV, he designed the pilot for the HBO series “Luck,”
directed by Michael Mann.
Earlier in his career, Wilkinson
worked as a design assistant for such films as the Wachowskis’ “The Matrix,”
and Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!” and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet.”
Beyond film, Wilkinson’s theater work
includes award-winning costume designs for the Sydney Theater Company, Opera
Australia, the Australian Dance Theater, Radio City Hall and the Ensemble
Theatre. He also works in special
events, having created hundreds of designs for the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Wilkinson has a degree in Dramatic Arts (Design) from the
National Institute of the Dramatic Arts in his hometown of Sydney, Australia.
JOHN “DJ” DesJARDIN (Visual
Effects Supervisor) has been creating visual effects for more than 25 years,
and has built a body of work encompassing over 30 feature films.
He
first worked with director Zack Snyder on the comic book actioner “Watchmen,”
for which DesJardin was nominated for an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy
& Horror Films’ Saturn Award for Best Special Effects. They followed up that collaboration with the
action fantasy “Sucker Punch” in 2011.
DesJardin
collaborated with the Wachowskis as a visual effects supervisor on the second
and third films in the blockbuster “Matrix” trilogy, “The Matrix Reloaded” and
“The Matrix Revolutions,” as well as on their award-winning video game “Enter
the Matrix.” His credits as visual
effects supervisor also include the action hit “Fantastic Four” and the Middle
East-set thriller “The Kingdom,” as well as the earlier thrillers “Firestorm,”
“The Astronaut’s Wife” and “End of Days.”
His
film credits also include “X-Men: The Last Stand,” as additional visual effects
supervisor; “Friday Night Lights,” on which he served as on-set visual effects
supervisor; and “Mission: Impossible II,” as CG supervisor.
HANS
ZIMMER
(Composer) is one of the film
industry’s most influential composers, whose career spans three decades and
encompasses well over 100 films. Zimmer
earned his ninth and most recent Academy Award® nomination, for his
score for Christopher Nolan’s 2010 blockbuster “Inception,” which also brought
him Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations.
He previously collaborated
with Nolan on “Batman Begins”; the record-breaking hit “The Dark Knight,” for
which he earned a BAFTA Award nomination; and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
His recent credits also
include the animated hit “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock
Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” and Rob Marshall’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On
Stranger Tides.” Zimmer is currently
scoring the historical drama “Twelve Years a Slave,” directed by Steve McQueen
and starring Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch.
In 1994, Zimmer won both an
Oscar® and a Golden Globe Award for his score for the animated smash
hit “The Lion King,” which spawned a hugely successful soundtrack album.
Zimmer has also garnered six
Oscar® nominations for his previous scores, including those heard in
the films “Gladiator,” “The Thin Red Line,” and “Rain Man.” In addition, he won a Golden Globe Award and
earned Grammy and BAFTA Award nominations for “Gladiator,” and has also
received seven more Golden Globe nominations, for his composing work on such
films as “Frost/Nixon” and “The Prince of Egypt.”
In 2003, ASCAP presented
the composer with the prestigious Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement,
recognizing his extraordinary body of work.
In 2010, he was named the Composer of the Year at the Hollywood Film
Festival and also received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (PR)
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