Tom
Shadyac (Director/Producer) began his directing
career with Jim Carrey’s breakout hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
in 1994, and his films have since delighted millions with their
winning combination of humor, heart and an ultimate belief in the
human spirit. He followed Ace Ventura with the smash hit The Nutty
Professor, which starred Eddie Murphy, then re-teamed with Carrey
and Grazer for the 1997 sensation Liar Liar. More recently, Shadyac
directed Robin Williams in the Golden Globe-nominated Patch Adams,
yet another big hit, this time successfully blending comedy and
drama. He also executive-produced Murphy’s popular return
in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, and directed Kevin Costner in
the supernatural drama Dragonfly. Currently, he serves as executive
producer on ABC’s 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter.
Shadyac formed Shady Acres Entertainment, a production company based
at Universal Pictures, which is currently developing several films
in addition to television projects.
Shadyac moved to Los Angeles in 1983 after graduating from the University
of Virginia. At age 23, he became the youngest staff joke writer
for Bob Hope.
James D. Brubaker (Producer),
one of the motion picture industry's
most respected and accomplished producers, has worked on more than
50 films and countless television programs. His recent credits as
executive
producer include Tom Shadyac's Liar Liar, starring Jim Carrey, and
Dragonfly, starring Kevin Costner; A Walk in the Clouds, with Keanu
Reeves and Anthony Quinn; Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Life,
both of which featured Eddie Murphy. He served as producer of the
multi-award-winning Gia, starring Angelina Jolie, and was co-producer
of The Nutty Professor, also directed by Tom Shadyac.
Brubaker began his industry career as a driver for MGM, become the
studio's head of transportation, and eventually gained experience
in all phases of filmmaking. Among his early credits, as production
manager, are Raging Bull, Comes A Horseman and New York, New York;
he was associate producer on Rhinestone, Rocky III and True Confessions;
line producer on Patty Hearst; and co-producer on Rambo III. Among
the films for which Brubaker served as producer or executive producer
are Cobra, Rocky IV and The Right Stuff.
In 2000, Brubaker teamed with Tom Shadyac in the director's production
company, Shady Acres, and in February 2003 was appointed President
of Physical Production for Universal Pictures. Off the set, Brubaker
devotes his time to inspiring young people as a teacher and lecturer
at UCLA and USC, and as a board member of Streetlights, a training
program in the film crafts for disadvantaged inner-city youths.
He creates
Opportunities for these trainees on his films, providing them with
the experience necessary to forge careers in the business.
Michael Bostick (Producer) joined Tom Shadyac’s
company Shady Acres Entertainment in 2000 as a producer after nearly
a decade with Imagine Entertainment, where he served as President
of Production and was responsible for bringing in and supervising
two of the company’s most successful films, Apollo 13 (as
associate producer) and Liar Liar (as executive producer), which
earned $297 million worldwide. Most recently, he served as Executive
Producer on Universal Pictures’ Dragonfly. Currently, he executive
produces 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter for ABC,
winner of People’s Choice Awards for Best New Comedy Series
in 2002
In 1998, Bostick won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Producers Guild
Award for producing the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
The show was also honored with awards for Best Miniseries from both
the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Television Critics
Association.
Bostick started his career at Walt Disney and Touchstone Pictures
as a creative executive for two years before joining Imagine. He
received a Master’s Degree from the Peter Stark Motion Picture
Producing Program at the University of Southern California’s
School of Cinema-Television.
Roger Birnbaum (Executive Producer) founded
Spyglass Entertainment with partner Gary Barber; they share the
title of Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The company develops
and finances all of its projects independently.
Instinct, starring Anthony Hopkins and Cuba Gooding, Jr., was the
first Spyglass Entertainment film, released in 1999, followed by
The Sixth Sense; the record breaking hit starring Bruce Willis.
Other significant Spyglass hits include Rush Hour 2, which re-teamed
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, Shanghai Noon, starring Chan and Owen
Wilson, Unbreakable, the hit follow-up from Sixth Sense director
M. Night Shyamalan, and Keeping The Faith, the directing debut of
actor Edward Norton.
The company recently produced The Recruit, which opened number one
at the box office and starred Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, directed
by Roger
Donaldson; and Shanghai Knights, the sequel to Shanghai Noon, which
opened number two at the box office. Both films remained in the
top five at the box office for five weeks.
Birnbaum¹s next Spyglass release, Seabiscuit is due out this
summer, and is being directed by Gary Ross and stars Tobey McGuire
and Jeff Bridges. Currently Birnbaum is producing Connie & Carla,
directed by Michael Lembeck (The Santa Clause 2) and written by
Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding). He is also working on Mr.
3000 starring Bernie Mac (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle).
Other recent projects include; Reign of Fire with Richard Zanuck
(Driving Miss Daisy, Jaws, The Sting), which Rob Bowman (The X-Files)
directed. Abandon, a film directed and written by Stephen Gaghan
(Traffic) and starring Benjamin Bratt and Katie Holmes. The Count
of Monte Cristo,
directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce
and Richard Harris. It was filmed on location in Ireland and Malta.
Spyglass
previously teamed with Tom Shadyac on the director¹s supernatural
drama Dragonfly, starring Kevin Costner.
Prior to founding Spyglass, Birnbaum, through Caravan Pictures (the
production company he helped build with partner Joe Roth), was responsible
for such box office hits as Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, Six Days/Seven
Nights, Inspector Gadget, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Three Musketeers,
Angels In The Outfield and While You Were Sleeping. Before joining
Caravan, Birnbaum held the title of President of Worldwide Production
and Executive Vice President of Twentieth Century Fox, where he
developed such films as Home Alone, Sleeping With The Enemy, Edward
Scissorhands, Hot Shots, My Cousin Vinny, The Last Of The Mohicans,
Die Hard 2 and Mrs. Doubtfire, among others. Prior to Fox, Birnbaum
was the President of World Wide Production at United Artists.
Earlier in his career, he produced the popular The Sure Thing, directed
by Rob Reiner, and Young Sherlock Holmes, in association with Steven
Spielberg¹s Amblin Entertainment. For television, he executive
produced the telefilms Scandal Sheer, Happily Ever After, When Your
Lovers Leave and the Emmy award-winning All The Kids Do It.
Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, and educated at the University of Denver,
Birnbaum was Vice President of A&M Records and Arista Records,
and a senior executive with the Robert Stigwood Organization before
entering the film business.
Gary Barber (Executive Producer) founded
Spyglass Entertainment with partner Roger Birnbaum, where they share
the title of Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Spyglass released
the blockbuster film The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis and
Haley Joel Osment (cume $661 million worldwide), which garnered
six Academy Award® nominations.
Spyglass has begun production and Barber is producing Connie &
Carla, written by and starring Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding),
and directed by Michael Lembeck (The Santa Clause 2); and Mr. 3000,
starring Bernie Mac (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.) Barber
is currently executive producing Seabiscuit, the story of the legendary
racehorse and a jockey who overcame insurmountable odds to launch
the greatest comeback in history and became the inspiration of a
nation. Directed by Gary Ross, starring Tobey Maquire and Jeff Bridges.
The film is slated for a July 25th release.
Recently, Barber produced The Recruit, starring Al Pacino and Colin
Farrell, and directed by Roger Donaldson; and Shanghai Nights, the
hit sequel to Shanghai Noon.
Spyglass Entertainment’s motion picture slate also includes:
The Count of Monte Cristo, a remake of the classic, directed by
Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,) starring Jim Caviezel,
Guy Pearce, and Richard Harris; Dragonfly, a supernatural thriller,
starring Kevin Costner and directed by Tom Shadyac ; Reign of Fire,
a sci-fi / action adventure, directed by Rob Bowman (“X-Files.”);
Keeping the Faith, a romantic comedy starring Ben Stiller and Edward
Norton; Shanghai Noon an action comedy, starring Jackie Chan and
Owen Wilson; and the Academy Award® nominated film The Insider,
starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and directed by Michael Mann.
Barber also served as an executive producer on the hit film Unbreakable,
written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, starring Bruce Willis.
Barber has produced or executive produced over 40 feature films
including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and its highly successful
sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls; and the 1991 blockbuster,
Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, Young Guns
II, and Pacific Heights.
Linda Fields-Hill (Associate Producer) has
been associated with Jim Carrey near almost 10 years. She first
worked with the actor on Dumb and Dumber, Batman Forever, The Cable
Guy and The Truman Show before becoming associate producer of Me,
Myself & Irene, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
and The Majestic.
Janet Wattles (Associate Producer) continues
her association with producer James D. Brubaker and director/producer
Tom Shadyac as associate producer of Bruce Almighty. Previously,
Wattles served as production accountant on The Nutty Professor and
Liar, Liar, production supervisor on Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
and associate producer of Dragonfly, all of which were Shadyac/Brubaker
collaborations. She was also production supervisor of Gia and Life,
and production accountant on additional photography for Problem
Child, all of which were produced by Brubaker.
Immediately upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business
Economics from the University of California in Santa Barbara, Wattles
entered motion pictures as a production assistant on Meteor, followed
by two years as a staff accountant at Filmways Pictures. She then
became an assistant accountant on several films, including Death
Wish II, Losin’ It, Best Friends and Iceman.
Wattles began an association with director John Landis and producer
George Folsey, Jr. when she was asked to be post-production accountant
on Into the Night. She then served as production accountant on the
team’s Spies Like Us, Three Amigos and Coming to America,
also working with Landis as a production supervisor on Oscar and
Innocent Blood, and with Folsey on The Scout and Greedy. She was
also production accountant on Bye Bye Love.
Steve Koren (Screenwriter)
was a writer and co-producer of Seinfeld. Earlier, he was a writer
of Saturday Night Live, writing feature film spinoffs of characters
created on the comedy series, A Night at the Roxbury and Superstar,
both of which he also co-produced.
Mark O’Keefe (Screenwriter)
has written series episodes of NewsRadio, Kelly Kelly and Jesse.
Steve Oedekerk (Screenwriter)
has quickly established a multi-faceted career that includes producing,
directing, writing, acting, stand-up comedy and animation.
He has written and directed films that have grossed over $1 billion
in worldwide box office, recently received a Best Animated Film
Academy Award nomination for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius as well as
starring in and directing the wild retro-martial arts comedy Kung
Pow: Enter the Fist, which grossed its entire budget on the opening
weekend. In addition, Oedekerk has appeared in the top comedy clubs
in America, starred in and created television specials for NBC,
ABC and UPN. In the world of animation, he has created original
programming and supports them with groundbreaking technology.
In addition to Bruce Almighty, Oedekerk’s wide array of current
projects includes the further expansion of the Jimmy Neutron franchise,
for Nickelodeon and Paramount, with a second feature film in the
works, as well as 40 episodes of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron
with over $100 million dollars of sponsor support.
Oedekerk’s company, O Entertainment, is also leading the way
with the first IMAX 3D animated film, Santa vs. the Snowman, which
was released in November 2002. Oedekerk also created “Thumbmation”
technology, which will mark its debut in a series of Thumb Parody
projects to be distributed worldwide on DVD and video by Image Entertainment.
Kicking off the series is Thumb Wars, a send-up of the Star Wars
Trilogy. Five more films will follow in 202, including Thumbtanic,
Bat Thumb and The Godthumb.
His writing credits include some of the most successful movies in
recent history. While writing on the Fox series In Living Color,
Oedekerk collaborated with Jim Carrey on the surprise hit comedy
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, contributing to the film as an unbilled
writer. When that film became a break-out success, Oedekerk was
asked to write and direct its sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls,
which proved to be one of those rare sequels that surpassed the
box office gross of the original.
Following the success of the Ace Ventura franchise, Oedekerk wrote
The Nutty Professor, which became one of the highest-grossing films
of 1996. He also wrote, directed and appeared (in a scene-stealing
cameo) in Nothing to Lose, starring Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence.
He then went on to write the box office smash and Golden Globe nominated
Patch Adams starring Robin Williams. On the small screen, Oedekerk
directed, wrote and starred in his own television special for NBC,
produced an animated Christmas special for ABC as well as the original
Thumb Wars special for UPN.
Oedekerk resides in Southern California with his wife, two children
and a badger, pound for pound known to be the most vicious mammal
on the planet.
Dean Semler (Director of Photography) won
an Academy Award for his work on Kevin Costner’s epic of the
American West, Dances With Wolves. One of the world’s most
accomplished cinematographers, Semler has photographed a wide range
of productions both in his native Australia, the United States and
around the world.
Semler began his career as a camera operator at a local television
station photographing news stories. This led to a nine-year-long
stint at Film Australia, where he made documentaries and anthropological
films for educational and research purposes. His first credit as
feature cinematographer was Stepping Out in 1980.
In Australia, Semler served as cinematographer for Hoodwink, the
now classic futuristic thriller The Road Warrior and its followup
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Razorback (for which he won an Australian
Film Institute Award), The Coca-Cola Kid, The Lighthorsemen and
Dead Calm. His U.S. credits have included Young Guns and Young Guns
II, Cocktail, Farewell to the King, City Slickers, The Power of
One, The Three Musketeers, The Cowboy Way, Waterworld, The Bone
Collector, Eye See You, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Heartbreakers
and Dragonfly. Semler most recently photographed Randall Wallace’s
powerful Vietnam War drama We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson,
followed by the Summer 2002 action blockbuster XXX, starring Vin
Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson. Following the completion of his work
on Bruce Almighty, Semler segued to photograph the epic historical
drama Alamo on Texas locations. Semler also directed the action
feature Firestorm.
For television, Semler photographed Return to Eden in Australia,
and in the U.S., Passion Flower. He also served as cinematographer
and second unit director of the television miniseries Lonesome Dove
and Son of the Morning Star.
During the filming of XXX, it was announced that Semler was the
recipient of a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia,
appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Linda DeScenna (Production Designer) began
her career as a set decorator and was one of the first three women
to join the set decorators union as a set dresser. She received
her first Academy Award nomination in 1980 for Star Trek: The Motion
Picture. Four nominations for set decoration followed for her work
on Blade Runner, The Color Purple, Rain Man and Toys.
DeScenna became a production designer on Barry Levinson’s
Jimmy Hollywood and went on to design A Family Thing, Father of
the Bride II, Mouse Hunt, Galaxy Quest and three collaborations
with director Tom Shadyac, Patch Adams, Liar Liar and Dragonfly.
She most recently worked on Bringing Down the House with director
Adam Shankman.
Judy Ruskin Howell (Costume Designer) was
born in Philadelphia and attended the Tyler School of Fine Arts
there and in Rome. She designed costumes for three previous Tom
Shadyac films, Patch Adams, Liar Liar and Dragonfly. Her career
includes a diverse collection of films including the period drama
Remember the Titans, Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer
and Albert Brooks’ Mother.
She designed for Alfonso Arau on A Walk in the Clouds, and for three
films in which Billy Crystal starred, Forget Paris, City Slickers
and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold. Her costume
designs were featured in Forest Whitaker’s Waiting to Exhale
and Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle. Howell made her debut
on Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July. Her other credits
include My Life, Jennifer Eight, Man Trouble and Young Guns II.
For television, she designed for the series Kojak and the pilot
Equal Justice.
Scott Hill (Film Editor) has previously
worked with Tom Shadyac as an assistant editor on Liar Liar and
Patch Adams and Dragonfly. Hill was also the negative cutter on
Steven Soderbergh’s landmark independent film sex, lies and
videotape.
Recently, Hill was one of the editors of the romantic comedy Just
Married.
John Debney (Composer)
has been a successful composer of film music for more than 15 years.
He previously worked with director Tom Shadyac on Liar Liar and
Dragonfly.
Debney’s early credits include such television series as Star
Trek: The Next Generation, The Young Riders, Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine and such Steven Spielberg productions as SeaQuest DSV, the
pilot Class of ‘61 and animated Tiny Toon Adventures, winning
three Emmys along the way. His numerous feature films have included
White Fang II: Myth of the White Wolf, Little Giants (another Spielberg
production), Houseguest, Cutthroat Island, The Relic, I Know What
You Did Last Summer, Paulie, Inspector Gadget, The Adventures of
Elmo in Grouchland, End of Days, Michael Jordan to the Max, The
Replacements, The Emperor’s New Groove, See Spot Run, Spy
Kids, Heartbreakers, Cats & Dogs, The Princess Diaries, Jimmy
Neutron: Boy Genius, Snow Dogs, The Scorpion King and Spy Kids 2:
The Island of Lost Dreams.
Bill Taylor (Visual Effect Supervisor) is
co-owner and director of photography at Illusion Arts, Inc.
While he was in junior high school, Taylor began a life-long interest
in stage magic and sleight-of-hand. Ray Harryhausen’s miraculous
effects in the movie fantasy Jason and the Argonauts seemed like
magic on an enormous scale, and inspired him to seek a career in
visual effects.
Taylor spent 10 years as an optical cameraman; during that time
he learned Petro Vlahos’ Color Difference composite process
from the inventor and became a specialist in blue-screen photography
and compositing. After a stint with Linwood Dunn at Film Effects
of Hollywood, Taylor moved to Universal Studios to work for another
longtime friend and mentor, visual effects artist Albert Whitlock.
The Hindenburg, his first film with Whitlock, won the Oscar for
visual effects; Taylor continued with Whitlock until the latter’s
retirement in 1984.
In 1985 Taylor and his matte artist colleague, Syd Dutton, founded
Illusion Arts, Inc. They have credits on more than 160 films, most
recently The Time Machine, The Score, for which Taylor supervised
the effects, and The Fast and the Furious, with Illusion Arts leading
a consortium of three effects companies. Taylor also supervised
the Hughes Brothers’ From Hell and served as a consultant
on The Lord of the Rings, for which he devised the “moving
camera trick perspective” scheme which allowed hobbits and
normal size humans to co-exist in-camera, without post-production
compositing.
Previously, Taylor supervised effects for Gus Van Sant’s recreation
of Psycho, The Jackal and The Birdcage, and co-supervised Daylight,
The Age of Innocence, Cape Fear and Coming to America, among others.
Taylor also shot miniatures for Clockstoppers, Red Planet and Daylight.
Taylor won an Emmy Award for the mini-series A.D. and an Academy
Scientific/Technical Award for compositing technology. He is a member
of the American Society of Cinematographers and Vice-Chairman of
the Board of the Visual Effects Society. Taylor is in his third
term as a Governor of the Motion Picture Academy, where he had the
privilege of hosting an Academy tribute evening in honor of his
early inspiration, Ray Harryhausen.
Taylor is the co-author with Petro Vlahos of the chapter on digital
compositing in the current Eighth Edition of the American Cinematographer
Manual. In his spare time, he creates stage illusions for professional
magicians around the world.
David Kelsey (Special Effects Coordinator)
began his career working in various special effects capacities on
such films as John Carpenter’s The Thing, Weird Science, Carpenter’s
Big Trouble in Little China and Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy.
He soon became either special effects supervisor or coordinator
on a number of films, among them Indecent Proposal, The Craft, Mad
City, BASEketball, Message in a Bottle, Anywhere But Here, The Bachelor,
Next Friday, Dude, Where’s My Car? and Legally Blonde.
Mickey Gilbert (2nd Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator)
is a famed 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator with more than three
decades of experience. Just a sampling of his numerous credits are
When the Legends Die, Junior Bonner, The Milagro Beanfield War,
Old Gringo, Freejack, Young Guns II, City Slickers, City Slickers
II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold, Stir Crazy, Problem Child,
When A Man Loves A Woman, Above the Law, The Last of the Mohicans,
Waterworld, Meet the Deedles, The Horse Whisperer and National Security.
Gilbert previously worked with Tom Shadyac on The Nutty Professor,
Liar Liar and Dragonfly, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, which
Shadyac executive produced. |
