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RONALD
F. MAXWELL wears three hats as the director, producer
and screenwriter of Gods and Generals. His earlier Civil War production
of Gettysburg won plaudits here and abroad.
Distinguished
critic and film historian Richard Schickel wrote in TIME: "The
cinematic rarity, an intelligent epic, speaks well for writer-director
Ronald Maxwell's sober intentions and very creditable achievements
in this film."
Ron
Maxwell was educated at New York University College of Arts &
Sciences and graduated from NYU School of Arts, Institute of Film.
Maxwell's
directorial career was launched when he was serving as an assistant
to Charlton Heston during the filming of the 1973 film Antony &
Cleopatra, when Heston gave him the opportunity to direct a scene
with the 2nd unit.
Shortly
thereafter, back in the United States, Maxwell worked as producer/director
for Theater-in-America and Great Performances, PBS-WNET-13. He turned
to independent filmmaking in l978 and has never looked back.
His
early credits begin with The Guest, a 40-minute adaptation from
a short story by Albert Camus, which he scripted and directed for
the NYU Institute of Film. Next came a documentary history of the
Bible Society which he scripted and directed, Let There Be Light.
Maxwell
moved to the two-hour feature, Sea Marks, adapted from the Gardner
McKay play, which he produced and directed for WNET-13. Also for
WNET-13 he produced and directed a 90-minute feature adapted from
a short story by Paul Gallico, Verna: USO Girl, starring Sissy Spacek
and William Hurt. The latter brought Maxwell an Emmy nomination.
For
Paramount Pictures he directed Little Darlings, followed this with
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia for Avco-Embassy, and then
Kidco for 20th Century Fox.
In
a return to documentary filmmaking, he wrote, produced and directed
1987's In the Land of the Poets, a daring look inside the Nicaraguan
civil war.
Ron
is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild
of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
He holds an honorary Doctor of Letters from Concordia College. He
is the father of a daughter (Olivia) and a son (Jonathan) and the
alpha-male for two Westies (Tibbie and Willie). He resides in Los
Angeles and Rappahannock County, Virginia.
R.E.
TURNER (Executive Producer) is Vice Chairman of AOL Time
Warner and a member of its board of directors. In his current role,
Turner works closely with AOL Time Warner senior management across
all of the company's operations. Ted Turner is also a philanthropist,
environmentalist, bison rancher and an avid outdoorsman.
Turner
became Vice Chairman of Time Warner in October 1996, with the merger
of Time Warner Inc. and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Turner
oversaw Time Warner's Cable Networks division, which included the
assets of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), the CNN
Newsgroup, as well as Home Box Office, Cinemax, and the company's
interests in Comedy Central and Court TV. He also oversaw New Line
Cinema and the company's professional sports teams - the Atlanta
Braves, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers.
Turner
was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 19, 1938. When he was
nine years old, his family moved to Savannah, Georgia. Turner then
attended the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee from 1948
to 1956. He received a degree from Brown University, where he was
vice president of the Debating Union and commodore of the Yacht
Club. In 1999, he was elected to Brown University's board of directors.
Turner
began his business career as an account executive for Turner Advertising
Company (now Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.), and in 1963, became
president and chief operating officer, a position he held until
the company's merger with Time Warner in 1996. Turner entered the
television business in 1970 with the purchase of Channel 17, an
Atlanta independent UHF television station. Six years later, in
January 1976, Turner diversified the company by purchasing Major
League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. Later that same year, on December
17, he originated the "Superstation" concept, transmitting
the station's signal to cable systems nationwide via satellite.
In January 1977, TBS acquired the National Basketball Association's
Atlanta Hawks.
On
June 1, 1980, Turner inaugurated CNN, the world's first live, in-depth,
round-the-clock news television network. A second all-news service,
Headline News, began operation on January 1, 1982, offering updated
newscasts every half-hour. Launched in September 1985, CNN International
serves as the company's global news service and is distributed in
more than 212 countries and territories worldwide.
Turner
originated the Goodwill Games in 1985 as an international, world-class,
quadrennial, multi-sport competition. The inaugural Goodwill Games
were held in July 1986 in Moscow and were followed by the 1990 Games
in Seattle, Washington, the 1994 Games in St. Petersburg, Russia,
the 1998 Games in New York City, the first winter games in Lake
Placid, New York in 2000, and most recently, the 2001 summer games
in Brisbane, Australia.
In
March 1986, TBS acquired the MGM library of film and television
properties. This library formed the initial programming cornerstone
of TNT, which was launched on Oct. 3, 1988. Versions of TNT are
customized for Latin America and the Caribbean, with programming
available in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
In
December 1991, Turner acquired the rights, library and production
facilities of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. Cartoon Network, launched
on October 1, 1992, showcases the company's vast library of cartoons
and original productions. Cartoon Network in Latin America was launched
on April 30, 1993, offering viewers in Latin America and the Caribbean
24 hours of cartoons in three languages. TNT & Cartoon Network
were launched in Europe on September 17, 1993, offering classic
films and animation programming in seven languages. TNT & Cartoon
Network in Asia Pacific, launched October 6, 1994, provides programming
in English, with some programs dubbed or subtitled in Mandarin and
Thai.
In
January 1994, Turner Broadcasting merged with New Line Cinema. Films
from New Line and the combined Turner and Warner Bros. library of
film greats provide programming for Turner Classic Movies (TCM),
a 24-hour commercial-free network launched in April 1994.
Turner
Broadcasting continued to expand its news and entertainment divisions
with the creation of CNNRadio and CNN Airport Network, which provides
programming for airline travelers in U.S. airports, and CNN.com,
the division responsible for multimedia/on-line news production
and distribution. CNN en Español, which was launched on March
17, 1997, offers 24-hour Spanish-language news to viewers throughout
the Americas. Turner Classic Movies, Turner Network Television,
Turner South and Boomerang all launched at various times throughout
the years and provide entertainment programming for all ages and
genders.
Turner
is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, industry awards and
civic honors, including being named Time magazine's 1991 Man of
the Year and Cable and Broadcasting's Man of the Century in 1999.
Turner was inducted into the Cable TV Hall of Fame in 1999, and
in June 2000 he received the World Ecology Award from the University
of Missouri. He is also a superior yachtsman, having won national
and world sailing titles, including a successful defense of the
1977 America's Cup, the 1979 Fastnet Trophy and four Yachtsman of
the Year awards. In October 1995, Turner accepted the Atlanta Braves'
first World Championship trophy on behalf of the team. In August
2000, he was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame.
Turner
has made his mark as one of the most influential philanthropists
in the U.S. He directs most of his philanthropic activities through
Turner Foundation, Inc. (turnerfoundation.org), which was founded
in 1991, the United Nations Foundation (unfoundation.org), which
was created in 1997, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (nti.org),
which was launched in January 2001.
Turner
is Chairman of Turner Foundation, Inc. (TFI), which grants up to
$50 million annually to support the following efforts: 1) clean
water and toxics reduction; 2) clean air through improved energy
efficiency and renewables; 3) wildlife habitat protection; and 4)
the development of equitable practices and policies designed to
reduce population growth rates.
TFI
has made grants to hundreds of organizations including: Advocates
for Youth, Alliance for Affordable Energy, American Bird Conservancy,
Coosa River Basin Initiative, Global Green USA, Georgia Campaign
for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Montana Land Reliance, National
Audubon Society, National Public Radio, National Safe Energy Communications
Council, Pacific Rivers Council, Planned Parenthood Federation of
America, Sierra Club Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists,
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the World Watch Institute. In
addition, the Turner Community Youth Development Initiative has
given almost $2 million in support of locally designed youth development
programs in 30 rural communities near Turner's properties. Since
1991, the Turner Foundation has given more than $152 million.
The
Turner Endangered Species Fund is a core grantee of the Turner Foundation,
which works to conserve biodiversity by emphasizing efforts on private
land, particularly on the Turner properties. Endangered species
that have been reintroduced or restored include black-footed ferrets,
condors, desert bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, Mexican wolves, red-cockaded
woodpeckers and West Slope cutthroat trout.
In
September 1997, Turner announced his historic gift of $1 billion
over ten years to the United Nations Foundation (UNF). To date,
the organization has granted more than $437 million in support of
the goals and objectives of the United Nations to promote a more
peaceful, prosperous and just world. UNF has identified four core
priorities: women and population; children's health; the environment;
and peace and security.
In
early 2001, Turner launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI),
a foundation he co-chairs with former Senator Sam Nunn. NTI is working
to close the growing and increasingly dangerous gap between the
threat from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the global
response.
The
Initiative is a place of common ground where people with different
ideological views can work together to make real and significant
progress to reduce the risk of use and prevent the spread of weapons
of mass destruction. NTI is committed to increasing public awareness,
encouraging dialogue, catalyzing action and promoting new thinking
about reducing the danger from nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons on a global basis. Turner has pledged at least $250 million
to the organization.
Through
Turner Enterprises, Turner manages the largest commercial bison
herd in North America, with approximately 27,000-head spread amongst
his 14 ranches in Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Kansas
and Nebraska. In addition, Turner owns property in California, Florida,
Georgia, South Carolina and Argentina. The mission of Turner Enterprises
is: to manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable and ecologically
sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species.
In
June 2001, Turner announced the creation of an independent film
production company, based in Atlanta, which produces both theatrical
films and documentaries. Ted Turner Documentaries is currently in
production on an eight-hour documentary series, Avoiding Armageddon,
about weapons of mass destruction that will be released in 2003.
In
January 2002, Turner opened the first Ted's Montana Grill in Columbus,
Ohio with his partner, George W. McKerrow Jr., founder of the Longhorn
Steakhouse chain and several other successful restaurants. Ted's
Montana Grill offers classic American comfort food, including bison
or beef burgers, in an authentic Montana bar and grill atmosphere.
Ten more restaurants will open in the next few years in Atlanta,
Columbus, Denver and Nashville.
Turner
also enjoys several outdoor sports, especially hunting and fishing.
JEFFREY
M. SHAARA (Author of Gods and Generals) grew up in Tallahassee,
Florida, and graduated from Florida State University in 1974, with
a degree in Criminology. From age 16, Shaara operated a rare coin
business, first out of his home, then in a retail store. Eventually,
Florida Coin Exchange became one of the most widely known precious-metals
dealers in Florida. In 1988, his father, Michael Shaara, passed
away, and Jeff made the decision to sell his business and take over
the management of his father's estate.
In
1992, during production of the Turner film Gettysburg, based on
his father's Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Killer Angels, Shaara
became friends with film director Ron Maxwell, who had been close
to Michael Shaara for the many years it took to bring The Killer
Angels to the screen. After the critical and commercial success
of Gettysburg, Maxwell approached Jeff about the possibility of
continuing the story, finding someone to write a prequel and sequel
to The Killer Angels. After some considerable soul-searching, Shaara
decided to try to tackle the project himself. The decision was challenging,
as he had no previous experience as a writer.
In
1996, Ballantine Books published Shaara's first novel, Gods and
Generals, the prequel to his father's great work. Two weeks after
its debut, Gods and Generals leapt onto the New York Times Bestseller
List, and rode a fifteen-week wave as a national bestseller. Critics
nationwide praised the book. In 1998, the sequel, The Last Full
Measure, was published, with the same result: thirteen weeks on
the New York Times Bestseller List, and universal praise from critics
and fans nationwide.
In
May 2000, Ballantine Books published Shaara's third novel, Gone
For Soldiers, which followed many of the familiar Civil War characters
back to their experiences in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s.
Received with much critical acclaim, the book became a nationwide
bestseller.
Rise
To Rebellion, published in 2001, departs from the Civil War era.
It is the first of a two-volume story of the American Revolution
as seen through the eyes of its key participants, and was also a
New York Times bestseller. The concluding volume just released,
The Glorious Cause, is Shaara's fifth book.
RONALD
G. SMITH (Co-Executive Producer/Line Producer) has guided
production from behind the scenes on many of Hollywood's major motion
pictures.
As
either co-producer or production manager he shepherded the Warner
Bros. Pictures films Swordfish, Three Kings, Message in a Bottle
(Chicago shoot), Fire Down Below and Glimmer Man. At Paramount,
Smith was involved with such films as Virtuosity, Losing Isaiah
and Wayne's World II, and for Columbia Pictures, Nowhere to Run,
Mo' Money and Calendar Girl. He recently completed work on the live
action/animation feature Looney Tunes: Back in Action for Warner
Bros. Pictures and is currently prepping the feature Cat Woman,
also for Warner Bros. Pictures.
As
Vice President of Production at Warner Bros. Pictures from l987-l990
he oversaw all phases of pre-production, principal photography and
post production on such features as Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, Presumed
Innocent, Bonfire of the Vanities, National Lampoon's Christmas
Vacation and Tango & Cash, among others.
Prior
to his Warner Bros. Pictures post, he was production manager on
a number of films and television series for Universal Pictures until
he assumed producer/executive in charge of production duties for
four seasons on the Warner Bros. Television series Scarecrow and
Mrs. King.
Smith
graduated with a degree in finance and management at Texas Christian
University in his home state of Texas.
The
team of MOCTESUMA ESPARZA and ROBERT KATZ
(Executive Producers) joined talents in 1984 to form
Esparza/Katz Productions. Since then, the versatile partners continue
to develop and produce feature films for theatrical release and
television broadcast. Among the many projects the duo have produced
is Ron Maxwell's epic film Gettysburg.
Projects
currently in pre-production are Mathew Hufman's comedy The Wedding,
starring Cheech Marin and Jessica Alba; Lara, the Boris Pasternak
story to be directed by Simon Wincer; Salt of the Earth, a remake
of the only banned movie in U.S. history, to be directed by David
Ryker; Fillmore, the Bill Graham story written by Ron Terry and
to be directed by Harold Becker; and The Distributor, based on a
Richard Mathieson short story, being developed for FX as a series,
written by Paul Schrader.
Recent
Esparza/Katz productions include The Price of Glory, starring Jimmy
Smits; Martha Coolidge's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, starring
Halle Berry, one of the highest rated movies in HBO history, garnering
11 Emmy nominations, of which it won six, and earning Berry a Golden
Globe; Selma, Lord, Selma, nominated for the prestigious Humanitas
Award; The Sweetest Gift for Showtime, starring Dianne Carrol; Butter
for HBO, starring Ernie Hudson and Nia Long; Gregory Nava's Selena,
starring Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie;
The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca starring Andy Garcia, Esai Morales,
Edward James Olmos and Giancarlo Gianini, and The Roughriders, a
four-hour miniseries starring Tom Berenger and Sam Elliot for TNT.
Other
movies produced by the company include The Cisco Kid and Avenging
Angels.
ROBERT
G. REHME (Executive Producer), an experienced film producer
and past president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences,
was involved with the production of Gettysburg, along with his then-partner
Mace Neufeld.
Rehme is currently joined in film and television ventures with senior
executive-producing partner NICK GRILLO (Co-Producer), who had previously
been an executive with the Neufeld/Rehme Company.
As
executive VP in charge of development for the duo, Grillo comes
from a diverse production background, having handled feature films
as well as television movies and series. He produced Escape: Human
Cargo, starring Stephen Lang, and the award-winning Blind Faith,
at Rehme Productions for Showtime. Also for Showtime, Grillo produced
Conviction, released in 2002, and Deacons for Defense, which will
premiere February 2003.
Earlier,
partnered at Paramount Pictures, Neufeld/Rehme Productions produced
eight major features: The Hunt for Red October, Flight of the Intruder,
Necessary Roughness and Patriot Games, as well as Gettysburg for
Ted Turner, Beverly Hills Cop 3, Clear and Present Danger and The
General's Daughter.
Rehme
has served as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of New World
Entertainment and was President of Universal's Theatrical Motion
Picture Group; prior to that he served as President, Worldwide Distribution
and Marketing for Universal.
Prior to his work at Universal, Rehme was President and Chief Executive
Officer at Avco Embassy Pictures. One of the films he oversaw was
the Ron Maxwell-directed The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.
He
began his motion picture career at an early age, as an usher in
his hometown of Cincinnati. He later held several positions in the
theatre industry in the Midwest and moved to New York with United
Artists and Paramount in publicity/promotion executive positions.
When he later moved to the West Coast, he joined Roger Corman's
New World Pictures as Vice President before moving on to the Avco
Embassy post.
MACE
NEUFELD's (Executive Producer) first feature in 1976
was the immensely popular film The Omen. He went on to produce many
feature films, including The Sum of All Fears, starring Ben Affleck
and Morgan Freeman; The General's Daughter, starring John Travolta;
Clear and Present Danger, starring Harrison Ford, Anne Archer and
Willem Dafoe; Patriot Games, starring Ford and Archer; Flight of
the Intruder, starring Danny Glover and Dafoe; The Hunt for Red
October starring Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn and Sam
Neill; and served as executive producer on No Way Out starring Kevin
Costner, Gene Hackman and Sean Young.
Neufeld's
television work includes the television movie Angel on My Shoulder
and the Golden Globe-winning television miniseries adaptation of
East of Eden.
The
multi-talented producer also wrote musical material for Sammy Davis
Jr., Dorothy Loudon and others, in addition to the theme song for
the popular animated The Heckle and Jeckle Show.
In
2003, Neufeld received the Producer's Career Achievement Award from
the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
ROBERT
J. WUSSLER's (Associate Executive Producer) instinct
for innovation has left important imprints on commercial, cable,
and satellite television, where he has been responsible for groundbreaking
advancements during his career. In 21 years at CBS, where he began
in the mailroom, and then rose quickly to Executive Producer of
CBS News (overseeing special projects including election coverage
and man-on-the-moon) Wussler gained prominence as an innovator and
leader, from his early use of miniature cameras to his calm control
room demeanor as Walter Cronkite's producer. As President of CBS
Sports, he essentially invented the genre of pre-game telecasts
with "NFL Today," for which he hired Brent Musburger,
Irv Cross, Jimmy the Greek Snyder, and Phyllis George. Soon he was
named president of the CBS Television Network at a record-setting
young age.
In
1980 Mr. Wussler joined Ted Turner as a co-founder of CNN. For a
decade he served as number-two executive to the man who has written
"I couldn't have done it without Bob Wussler." Mr. Wussler
helped enfranchise Turner Broadcasting as a major power by acquiring
high-profile sports and entertainment properties including the NBA,
the NFL, the Goodwill Games and exclusive movie packages. For almost
10 years he oversaw the growth of SuperStation TBS as its President
and, in 1988, he was instrumental in the founding of TNT.
From
1989 to 1992, Wussler was President and CEO of COMSAT Video Enterprises,
which grew rapidly in the field of on-demand video in the hotel
industry. While there, he also managed the acquisition of the Denver
Nuggets, serving as Managing General Partner. Following several
international entrepreneurial ventures, including Metromedia's European
television distribution businesses, Mr. Wussler was President and
CEO of ABC Affiliate Enterprises, the new media and marketing arm
of over 100 ABC television affiliates.
Presently,
Mr. Wussler is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ted Turner
Pictures, a newly created company that develops theatrical motion
pictures and television documentaries on current and historical
issues. An eight-hour documentary, Avoiding Armageddon, the story
of weapons of mass destruction in the nuclear, chemical and biological
arena will air on PBS in the United States in April, 2003. This
program is scheduled to air in over 100 countries following its
premier performance in the U. S.
Wussler
has served as Chairman of the Board of the National Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences for three terms, in addition to serving as Treasurer
to the Board of Governors of the National Cable Television Association
and serving on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of
Cable Programming. He is a past member of the Board of Directors
of the Cousteau Society and the Washington Performing Arts Society.
Mr. Wussler presently serves on the Boards of Directors of the following
companies: Transaction Information Systems; Visual Data Corporation
(NASDAQ: VDAT); Streamedia Communications (NASDAQ: SMIL); and MDI
Entertainment (NASDAQ: LTRY).
Mr.
Wussler has received six Emmy awards, in addition to the prestigious
NATAS Trustees Award, presented in the past to such recognized leaders
as David Sarnoff, William S. Paley, and Ted Turner. He holds a bachelor
of communication arts degree from Seton Hall University and honorary
doctorates from Seton Hall and Emerson College.
KEES VAN OOSTRUM A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
was the highly praised cinematographer on Ron Maxwell's spectacular
epic drama Gettysburg. Oostrum has a long list of diverse credits
in film and television.
Among
Oostrum's feature films are Drive Me Crazy, Thinner, Separate Lives,
A Certain Fury and Blue Heaven. On the television side, he won an
A.S.C. Award for Best Cinematography and an Emmy nomination for
Best Cinematography for Return to Lonesome Dove, an Emmy nomination
for Miss Rose White, and A.S.C. nominations for Medusa's Child and
Burden of Proof.
DONALD
"CORKY" EHLERS (Film Editor) previously worked
on the production of Gettysburg, his fast paced and original editing
style earning him high praise for this epic drama that dissected
three days of violent battle.
Ehlers' other feature film credits include Harley Davidson &
the Marlboro Man, Jaws 3-D, The Great Smokey Bridge Roadblock, Stunts,
Skateboard, Food of the Gods, Return to Macon County and Abby.
Among
the television mini-series that Ehler has edited are NBC's 4-hour
LIZ: The Elizabeth Taylor Story; CBS's 8-hour Lonesome Dove, which
earned him an Ace award nomination; its 7-hour sequel, Return to
Lonesome Dove; and the CBS 7-hour Robert Kennedy and His Times.
He has worked on more than 30 motion pictures made for television.
MICHAEL
HANAN (Production Designer), who created 150 sets for
Gods and Generals, has received several awards and nominations for
artistic achievement in both film and television.
For
the Turner Network Television production of Wallace he won the Society
of Motion Picture Art Directors Award for Best Art Direction and
received a Cable Ace nomination. The Civil War drama Andersonville
brought him a Cable Ace for Best Art Direction and an Emmy nomination.
Hanan's
production design work also includes the films Blow and Ronin, and
the hit TV series Miami Vice ('87-'88), The Burning Season, Roswell
and Against the Wall.
Hanan
served as 2nd unit director on Ronin, Wallace, The Island of Dr.
Moreau (also as Special Visual Effects supervisor), Andersonville
and The Burning Season.
During
his tenure as general manager at George Lucas's influential and
groundbreaking Industrial Light and Magic, THOMAS G. SMITH (Visual
Effects Producer) oversaw the work on immensely popular and critically
acclaimed films including: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom, Poltergeist, Dragonslayer, Return of the
Jedi and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Smith
most recently served as visual effects producer on Honey, I Blew
Up the Kid, Muppet Treasure Island and Muppets From Space.
Smith
also wrote Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects,
one of the most successful books on visual effects currently in
print. It chronicles the rise of ILM and gives a behind-the-scenes
view of the creativity and labor behind cinematic visual special
effects.
In
addition to his visual effects work, Smith has also produced the
Disney theme park productions MuppetVision 3-D and Honey, I Shrunk
the Audience; the feature films Honey, I Shrunk the Kid and The
Arrival, and television movies of the week The Ewok Adventure, Caravan
of Courage and The Jim Henson Company's Jack and the Beanstalk.
Smith
had three forbearers who served in the Civil War: his great-grandfather
Private William H. Clark of the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, killed
in a battle with William Quantrill's "Raiders" in Baxter
Springs, Kansas in 1863 at the age of 18; great-great grandfather
Private John A. Kramer died of disease at the age of 42 while serving
in a New York Infantry unit; and great-great grandfather Theodore
Cock, who fought in a Wisconsin unit and was the only one of the
three to survive the war.
In
1993, JOHN FRIZZELL (Co-Composer) orchestrated
for Academy Award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto on Oliver Stone's
landmark miniseries Wild Palms. After hearing his aggressive integration
of synthesized sounds with traditional orchestra, Los Angeles producer
John Sacret Young hired him to score the Fox television series VR5.
After
moving to Los Angeles he met composer James Newton Howard, who became
an encouraging mentor to John's young film scoring career. Howard
composed the main themes, which Frizzell incorporated into his scores
for The Rich Man's Wife, starring Halle Berry, and Dante's Peak,
directed by Roger Donaldson.
These
scores led to John's work on Alien Resurrection, starring Sigourney
Weaver and directed by France's esteemed filmmaker, Jean-Pierre
Jeunet. Twice he has collaborated with director Mark Rydell, scoring
HBO's Crime of the Century and James Dean, the latter featuring
the Golden Globe-winning performance by James Franco. John has also
worked with writer/director Mike Judge on the hit animated feature
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America and the cult comedy classic, Office
Space starring Jennifer Aniston and Ron Livingston. In addition,
John scored Sally Field's romantic comedy Beautiful, Kevin Williamson's
Teaching Mrs. Tingle, and Mafia!, a comedy from director Jim Abrahams.
John's
recent credits include Josie and the Pussycats starring Tara Reid,
Rachael Leigh Cook and Rosario Dawson; Scorched, a comedy directed
by Gavin Grazer and starring John Cleese, Woody Harrelson and Alicia
Silverstone and Lockdown, which is being released in February. John
has done three films with Joel Silver including Thir13een Ghosts,
Ghost Ship and Cradle 2 the Grave, an action film featuring Jet
Li and DMX, being released on February 28.
RANDY
EDELMAN (Co-Composer) wrote the score for Gettysburg,
which, along with his NFL Sports Theme, was heavily featured in
both the opening and closing ceremonies of the l996 Olympic Games
in Atlanta, GA. He was honored with an Emmy Award for his contribution
to the Games.
Edelman
has scored such films as: XXX, The Whole Nine Yards, Passion of
the Mind, Shanghai Noon, Diabolique, 6 Days, 7 Nights, Anaconda,
Angels in the Outfield, The Mask, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Last
of the Mohicans, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Ghostbusters II, Citizen
X, Beethoven and My Cousin Vinny.
He
is a leading songwriter, having penned numerous classics for The
Carpenters, Barry Manilow, the Fifth Dimension, Blood, Sweat &
Tears and other top groups. As a solo artist he has released over
a dozen albums internationally and has performed solo in renowned
concert halls in the United States and London, England. His prolific
skills have included scores for a number of television series and
telefilms.
A
native of Teaneck, New Jersey, Edelman left to attend the University
of Cincinnati as a pre-med major ("I soon knew I'd rather study
cadenzas than cadavers"). As an arranger for local bands, he
was given the opportunity to orchestrate for King Records by the
"Godfather of Soul," James Brown.
DAVID
FRANCO (Music Producer) is still taking bows for his
musical supervision of the soundtrack for Gettysburg, which has
sold in excess of 400,000 albums and tapes to date.
For
Gods and Generals, the 10th Turner film project for which Franco
has supervised music, he created 25 musical interludes. As a musician
(violinist) and music producer, he has accumulated credits for well
over 100 feature films, TV movies, series and miniseries, and has
produced 50 soundtrack albums.
A
graduate of Boston University's Film School and the New England
Conservatory of Music, Franco began his career at Columbia Records
in New York. He was then hired by RCA Records to head their International
A&R Department (he is fluent in five languages).
From
New York, Franco relocated to Burbank, CA as Vice President of international
production for Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Record Group. With a special
affinity for film and television music, he extended his activities
to include the production of soundtrack albums for Warner Bros.
projects. After his tenure with Warner Bros., he went on to open
his own music production company, which has worked with topflight
composers, producers and directors for the past 15 years.
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