- Notes provided by Lionsgate Films -

Katherine Heigl brings Stephanie Plum - the popular heroine of Janet Evanovich's worldwide best-selling eighteen-book mystery series - to vibrant life in Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment's ONE FOR THE MONEY.

A proud, born-and-bred Jersey girl, Stephanie Plum's got plenty of attitude, even if she's been out of work for the last six months and just lost her car to a debt collector. Desperate for some fast cash, Stephanie turns to her last resort: convincing her sleazy cousin to give her a job at his bail bonding company...as a recovery agent. True, she doesn't even own a pair of handcuffs and her weapon of choice is pepper spray, but that doesn't stop Stephanie from taking on Vinny's biggest bail-jumper: former vice cop and murder suspect Joe Morelli - yup, the same sexy, irresistible Joe Morelli who seduced and dumped her back in high school.
Nabbing Morelli would be satisfying payback - and a hefty payday - but as Stephanie learns the ins and outs of becoming a recovery agent from Ranger, a hunky colleague who's the best in the business, she also realizes the case against Morelli isn't airtight. Add to the mix her meddling family, a potentially homicidal boxer, witnesses who keep dying and the problem of all those flying sparks when she finds Morelli himself...well, suddenly Stephanie's new job isn't nearly as easy as she thought.

Starring Katherine Heigl, ONE FOR THE MONEY is a fresh, funny action-comedy directed by Julie Anne Robinson and also starring Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo, Debbie Reynolds and Debra Monk. Lionsgate and Lakeshore Entertainment present a Lakeshore Entertainment Lionsgate Wendy Finerman Sidney Kimmel Entertainment production in association with Abishag Productions. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson. Screenplay by Stacy Sherman & Karen Ray and Liz Brixius. Based on the novel by Janet Evanovich.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

``Stephanie Plum is a woman who moves through the drama of her life with all the grace of an 'I Love Lucy' episode, laughs best-selling author Janet Evanovich. ``She destroys every car she owns. Her hair frizzes up in Jersey humidity. She can't cook. She's not going to stop a speeding train like Superman or catch a bullet in her teeth. But she's the woman we all want to be.
Since her first appearance in the 1994 bestseller, One For The Money, Evanovich's beloved New Jersey girl-turned-bond recovery agent has solved crimes and nabbed felons over the course of eighteen global bestsellers, the latest of which, Explosive Eighteen, hit bookshelves this November. As a recovery agent, Stephanie's record is stellar; but she's won the hearts of readers everywhere more for her genial humanity than her investigative prowess. ``She's heroic in small ways, offers Evanovich. ``She puts one foot in front of the other and at the end of the day, she's proud of what she's accomplished.
Back in 1994, Evanovich could never have anticipated that Stephanie Plum would garner her a worldwide following and firmly establish her as a leading writer of crime fiction. Neither could she have believed that after seventeen years of interest from Hollywood, she would actually be watching film and television star Katherine Heigl bring Stephanie Plum to life. ``Seeing One For The Money made into a movie after all these years is...it's terrifying, admits the author. ``It's also exciting, it's wonderful; it's amazing. I absolutely love the movie.
Known for her charismatic work on television's ``Grey's Anatomy and the $200 million dollar box office hit The Ugly Truth, 27 Dresses ($160M worldwide) and Knocked Up ($219M worldwide), Katherine Heigl eagerly embraced the opportunity to create Stephanie Plum onscreen. ``For me, it's always been about the story and it's always been about whether or not I liked the character, and that limits me, admits the star. ``But Stephanie Plum is so much fun and has so much life in her. I fell in love with her.
Over sixteen years ago, before it hit bookstores and the bestseller list, One For The Money caught the attention of producer Wendy Finerman. ``When I first read the galleys, I thought Stephanie Plum was the most relatable, enjoyable character anyone could connect with, Finerman recalls. ``She's a little bit of an every-woman. She's outspoken and she's brash and fun. And she's hit a sticky point where things haven't worked out like she planned. She's back in her hometown, trying to sort out her life.
Finerman spent years developing a screen adaptation, working with different writers on several variations of the story. At one point, a Stephanie Plum television series was seriously considered. But Finerman still felt the adaptations hadn't effectively captured the tone of Evanovich's sharp dialogue and her skillful mix of suspense and character-based comedy. ``Janet does an amazing job combining humor and drama, she explains. ``That's a very hard thing to capture on film. She's so detailed in her writing, so it's difficult to capture the world she creates and the sassiness she gives to Stephanie.
Eventually the project found its way to Lakeshore Entertainment, where Finerman partnered with producers Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi. ``I was introduced to the material by my wife, Lucchesi recalls. ``Every year she'd bring home another Janet Evanovich book and at a certain point there were twelve of them on the shelves and I turned to her one day and I said, 'What is it with these books?' she said, 'They're fantastic books.' So I read the first three and I thought they were great. It happened to be at that time we were making The Ugly Truth for Sony Pictures and had discovered that Sony held the rights to this material.
Like Finerman, Lucchesi and Rosenberg knew that effectively translating Evanovich's sparkling tone to film was crucial to the project's success.
``I was attracted to the fact that Stephanie Plum is a working class hero, says Rosenberg, ``and I thought it was the right time to deliver that to audiences. Stephanie isn't a doctor or a lawyer. She's very relatable and we thought that honesty and vulnerability would make her a character moviegoers could get behind.
But finding the right screenwriter proved difficult. Lucchesi explains, ``It wasn't until Liz Brixius, who's the show runner on 'Nurse Jackie,' became involved that we found a writer who could completely capture the voice of the material.
``Liz brought not only her experience as a successful screenwriter and filmmaker to the project, observes Rosenberg, ``but also her love for the books and for Stephanie herself. She was terrific at guiding the journey of the character from the page to the screen.
For Brixius, adapting One For The Money for the screen wasn't just any job offer. ``The whole thing started for me about 10 years ago when my sister gave me a paperback to read on the plane ride home from L.A. to Minneapolis, Brixius recounts. ``I read One For The Money and fell in love with it. I read the second one. Read the third one. My sister's read all of them. Then I got a phone call on the set of 'Nurse Jackie' from my manager saying, 'Lakeshore wants you to read One For The Money. I'm like, 'I already read One For The Money. I know One For The Money. I love One For The Money!'
Moments after she got the job, Brixius felt the immensity of the responsibility she had enthusiastically taken on. ``This comes out of Janet Evanovich's brain, she explains, ``and it's beloved by millions and millions of people and you just want to do it justice.
Meanwhile, Lucchesi and Rosenberg had become friendly with Katherine Heigl on the set of The Ugly Truth and thought Stephanie Plum would be an appealing change of pace for the actress. Lucchesi explains, ``Katherine's a very interesting actress and extraordinarily talented. We wanted to see her play a slightly more adult character that was a little tougher, a little bit out for the norm. She responded to that challenge.
Continues Rosenberg, ``Katie's talent lies in her versatility. She is capable of comedy, romance, drama, all of which are present in the script for One For The Money. In this film she really is Stephanie Plum, she's not Katherine Heigl.
Not only did Heigl have to transform herself into someone radically different, she also had the opinions of millions of fans with which to contend. ``Katie has a heavy burden because of the fan base, continues Rosenberg. ``Everyone has their idea of what Stephanie Plum should be. Katie had to make it her own while still delivering what the fans expected. There really aren't too many people who could pull that off.
``This project has been my little mountain to climb this year, says Heigl. ``It's been really, really satisfying on a million levels to get to be a part of it and to make the trek up the mountain and get to see the view.
Having seen Heigl's performance in the film, Evanovich can't imagine another actress in the role. ``Katherine Heigl is so talented, she enthuses. ``She's bold, she's brave. She's afraid. She's vulnerable. She's sexy. She has this wide range of emotions in this movie and she just nails them all. She walks like Plum. She talks like Plum. She absolutely is Stephanie.
With Heigl in place, the production focused all of its efforts on doing justice to the source material, which meant finding the ideal supporting cast and creating just the right look for the film. As Gary Lucchesi explains, ``We made a conscious effort to be loyal to the books' following. We paid very, very strict attention to every detail.
``I think it's really, really important to get everything right, adds Heigl, who is also an executive producer on the film. ``You really don't want to alienate the fans. They're the people who have made this franchise. They're the people who have given Stephanie and these characters a life after the first book.
Director Julie Anne Robinson turned to the novel again and again for guidance. ``I've looked at it down to details of dress colors, reveals Robinson. ``The description of Stephanie's apartment, I pulled it from the book. It had to be a red brick building. It had to be a place where a lot of old age pensioners could live. Even small details like Mrs. Delgado who lives opposite Stephanie; she's there in the book. The fact that Stephanie drinks a Big Gulp. The fact that she feeds Ritz crackers to Rex. We've gone down to the smallest detail. The actual cage that Rex is kept in is identical to the one described in the book.
At first glance, Robinson, a British director with a background at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court and the National Theatre, might seem an unlikely choice for a New Jersey-set story about working class Americans. But Heigl, who fondly remembered her experience working with Robinson on several episodes of Grey's Anatomy, suggested the director be seriously considered. ``After spending some time talking to her we realized that her vision was exactly right for the movie, recalls producer Lucchesi. ``Being a director you've got to steer a big ship of about 150 people and everybody's got an opinion. You need a captain who can really channel the way to the right port. And Julie Anne did that.
``Julie Anne came onto this project with such unbelievable energy and passion and determination, reports Heigl. ``She has incredible focus and I never saw her get tired or burn out. And I think she's just done a beautiful job with the casting of this movie, with the locations, the set design, everything. The right look and feel of this movie, the balance between comedy and drama, will be thanks to Julie Anne, for sure.
Actor Jason O'Mara, who plays Joe Morelli in the film, credits Robinson and the clarity of her direction for the vibrancy of the cast's performances. ``She's really what you want from a director. You come prepared, you know how you want to play the scene, but she says one thing to you and it changes the way you deliver the lines and suddenly it comes alive. Julie knows what she wants and there's never any indecision, but at the same time she's open to a lot of ideas. So she's been very collaborative and that's given everybody on this movie a sense of ownership and pride in their work. Hopefully that will come through.
Joe Morelli's tumultuous love/hate history with Stephanie Plum began when she was only six and culminated in a disastrous high school date. A former bad-boy turned vice cop, Morelli becomes an unlikely suspect in a homicide investigation and jumps bail, which seemingly points to his guilt. But as Stephanie tracks him down as her very first FTA (``Failed To Appear in bail bond speak), she realizes the case against Morelli is more complicated than she initially thought.
``Joe Morelli has to have humor, a little bit of danger, be handsome, but also authentic, says Rosenberg. ``You have to buy he's from Trenton and that he's a policeman. It's a very tough role to pull off, but Jason did it effortlessly.
``In Jason and Katie, we've got two actors who can match each other, adds director Julie Anne Robinson. ``She's a very powerful actress and he meets her head on in their scenes together. There's a tension and an electricity in every frame. They play off each other. They play off the script. It's great fun to watch. I fell in love with their chemistry.
From the moment O'Mara read the script, he was ready to sign on to the project. ``It really jumped off the page, remembers the actor. ``And when I read Katie's role I realized she was perfect for it and she was going to really knock this one out of the park. She's got a great sense of comic timing. The part of this I've really enjoyed is the comedy.
``Jason is going to be the only person people can think of from now on when they read the books, affirms Heigl. ``He's brought Morelli to life in the most seamless and perfect way.
But Joe Morelli isn't the only sexy, eligible - and potentially dangerous - man in Stephanie's life. When she realizes she needs formal training in order to succeed at her new job - and hopefully survive it - Stephanie enlists Ranger, a bounty hunter who specializes in fugitive apprehension, bodyguarding and other semi-legal business ventures, to show her the ropes. As played by actor Daniel Sunjata, Ranger is cool, confident and knowing, and his scenes with the bumbling Stephanie teasingly suggest that opposites really do attract. ``Stephanie and Ranger have a mentor-student relationship with sexual tension as the undertone, says Sunjata. ``I found his character to be interesting and appealing. It's a color that I haven't had the opportunity to show so far in my career.
Of all the people in her brash dysfunctional family, Stephanie Plum relates to her Grandma Mazur the most. As played by screen legend Debbie Reynolds, Grandma Mazur is a plucky, opinionated woman who's resolutely unwilling to grow old. ``Stephanie and Grandma Mazur are actually kindred spirits, explains Evanovich. ``They're like the two bad apples on the family tree, in a good way. Grandma Mazur's a woman of a certain age who doesn't see any limitations to her life. She's up for extreme bowling. She'll do nude karaoke. You name it, Grandma Mazur's there.
``Grandma Mazur is a real character, admits Debbie Reynolds with a laugh. ``The part reminded me of my girlfriend Thelma Ritter years ago when all she did was wonderful character parts, and I never really had the opportunity to play those roles. So when this was offered to me, I said, 'Well, I'd like to do that.'
``As a person she's fantastically funny and sharp-witted and raunchy, and she brought all of that to the part, says Heigl of Reynolds. ``I love her. And I love how she brought Grandma Mazur to life.
As Stephanie's mother, Mrs. Plum, New York actress Debra Monk appreciated portraying a real working class family onscreen. ``I think everybody can relate to this family, offers Monk. ``In today's world where people need jobs and are being let go and there's no money, it really speaks to what's happening today. It speaks to all working class families.
Having grown up in a blue-collar neighborhood, actor Louis Mustillo immediately understood the part of Mr. Plum. ``I see Mr. Plum as a really well-liked guy, he says. ``He says what he has to say at home and his mother-in-law is there all the time who's quite a lot to handle. So he's a saint, really. He's the type of guy who you could call at four o'clock in the morning and he'd come and help you fix your flat tire.
Apart from her family, Stephanie Plum encounters a colorful range of characters in her transition from lingerie salesperson to recovery agent. As she explores the seedy side of Trenton, Stephanie meets Lula, a prostitute played by Sherri Shepherd, who offers her information about the Morelli case. ``It was kismet, says Shepherd of winning the part of Lula. A longtime fan of Evanovich's book, Shepherd had fantasized about playing Lula before she ever heard of a film adaptation. ``I remember thinking, 'Gosh, if it ever becomes a movie I really want to play this woman. She's evolved and sassy and she's fun.' Shepherd got her wish, and she's thrilled to have a hand in bringing Stephanie Plum's world to life. ``Stephanie Plum is a woman who goes after what she wants even when the chips are down, she says. ``She fights, and she's a strong woman. I think we need to see more women like that.
As Stephanie investigates the darker underbelly of Trenton, she crosses paths with volatile men like Benito Ramirez, a boxer with a violent temper played by Gavin Keith Umeh, and Benito's manager, Jimmy Alpha, played by John Leguizamo. ``I'm the boss, says Leguizamo. ``I'm the alpha male in the movie. I'm a boxing manager and I've got my fighters that I promote and I'm trying to just make an honest living like a regular guy.
Observes Rosenberg, ``John had different approaches to each take, he ad-libbed new lines that were really very good. He gave us a lot of options to work with. He's a very creative actor who actually makes his role better.
All of these characters come together to create the vibrant diversity of Trenton, N.J., a city Evanovich knows well from her early years and which serves as the setting for the entire Plum series. Stephanie's particular neighborhood, known as ``The Burg, is an area with a strong cultural identity, a lot of attitude and plenty of food.
``The Burg is a real character in the film, says Evanovich. ``It's an inner city neighborhood, a little enclave of second-generation Americans. They're proud to be Americans and they're working class people for the most part. They have their rituals. They sit down to pot roast dinner at five o'clock and you'd better not be late. They gossip at the deli - this is the major way that information is passed in the Burg - and it's a very family-oriented situation. I like that the neighborhood is a family.
The production team searched extensively for locations that would stand in for Trenton as it looked fifteen years ago, finally settling on Pittsburgh, PA and its outlying areas. ``The look of the film is urban and it's not pretentious, Lucchesi says. ``It's very middle and working class, and Pittsburgh afforded us a number of locations. We shot in Braddock, which was once a thriving steel town. We also shot in a neighborhood called Friendship and in Bloomfield, which is the Italian-American district. That's where the Plum house is and it felt very right for Stephanie.
``There wasn't one set that I went to and thought, 'I think that should be different,' or, 'It looked different in my mind,' asserts Heigl. ``The look of this film is so vital. It was really important to all of us that this film not look like a glossy romantic comedy, because that's not what this is. It has the romance. It has the comedy. But it's also a murder mystery that takes place in Jersey. It has tough characters and a really blue-collar sense to the whole thing. These are real people in real situations.
Lucchesi hopes that Evanovich's loyal fans will experience a similar thrill watching the film as they did reading the novel. ``In most of the Plum novels, there are murders, people die and Stephanie's life is in danger, he says. ``But at the same time you've got characters like Grandma Mazur and Lula or Vinnie Plum who deliver broad character comedy. So you have this interesting blend of comedy and drama and action. That's what sets these books apart. And I think we've achieved that in our film version.
Evanovich agrees wholeheartedly. ``I think the movie was very successful in translating the tone of my book. In fact, I think it enhances it. This is an action adventure film. The movie is fast paced. It is sexy, it is funny, it is Jersey. I love the movie. Even if I didn't write the book I'd love the movie.

ABOUT THE CAST

KATHERINE HEIGL (Stephanie Plum, Executive Producer) became a box-office sensation starring first in Judd Apatow's smash hit comedy, "Knocked Up," followed by a starring turn with Ed Burns and James Marsden in the romantic comedy, "27 Dresses," and then opposite Gerard Butler in the romantic comedy "The Ugly Truth," which she also executive produced. These earned Heigl ``Female Star of the Year honors at the 2010 ShoWest awards.
Heigl will next be seen starring in Gary Marshall's "New Year's Eve" opposite Jon Bon Jovi for New Line Pictures, and recently completed filming on "The Wedding" alongside Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried and Topher Grace.
Heigl's film credits include "Life As We Know It," opposite Josh Duhamel, directed by Greg Berlanti; the action comedy ``Killers, opposite Ashton Kutcher for director Robert Luketic; the comedy "The Ringer"; Steven Soderbergh's critically acclaimed depression-era drama "King of the Hill"; "Under Seige 2: Dark Territory"; "Stand-Ins" and "That Night." Her first feature film leading role was in Touchstone Pictures' "My Father the Hero," starring opposite Gerard Depardieu.
Heigl will star in "The Knitting Circle" for HBO Films, executive producing the project with her mother and producing partner, Nancy Heigl, under their Abishag banner, alongside Pine Street Pictures. Craig Wright is writing the screenplay adaptation, based on the best-selling novel by Ann Hood. Abishag also recently announced that they will executive produce an original series, "Trending," for The CW Network. They are partnering with Lakeshore Entertainment and CBS TV Studios on the project. Gren Wells is writing the pilot.
On television, for six seasons, Heigl portrayed 'Dr. Isobel ``Izzie Stevens', the small-town girl constantly battling for respect amongst her peers, on ABC's critically acclaimed drama "Grey's Anatomy." In 2007, Heigl earned a Primetime Emmy(R) Award and a Golden Globe(R) nomination for her performance. Heigl also starred on the WB sci-fi drama series, "Roswell."
In May of 2009, Katherine Heigl and her mother Nancy launched the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation in honor of her older brother, who died much too young in an automobile accident and whose strong, compassionate nature and great love of animals was the cornerstone of their endeavors. The Heigls are using their resources to work directly to address the pet population crises in Los Angeles and across the country.
Toward that goal, the Foundation launched the ``Compassion Revolution in September of 2010, pledging over one million dollars to a variety of low cost and free spay/neuter programs in Los Angeles and surrounding counties, as a key component to reducing the number of animals in shelters. The Foundation also presently funds pet education programs, actively supports pet adoption programs, and fund and supports small dog transport from local kill shelters to both no kill shelters and rescues facilities throughout the country. To date the Foundation has funded the transport of over 4500 animals out of high kill shelters to areas where they are rapidly adopted.

JASON O'MARA (Joseph Morelli) stars in the Fox series "Terra Nova." The science-fiction drama, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, premiered on September 26, 2011. The series centers on the Shannon family as they join the Tenth Pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first colony established in prehistoric Earth, as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. O'Mara stars as the show's patriarch, 'Jim Shannon.'
O'Mara made his U.S. television debut in 2001 as 'Lt. Thomas Meehan' in the Emmy(R) award-winning and critically acclaimed HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers." The following year, O'Mara starred as a regular on the CBS espionage series, "The Agency." He then continued to establish himself by taking multi-episode character arcs on several hit television series' including "Grey's Anatomy," "Men in Trees" and "The Closer." In 2006, O'Mara starred opposite Kyle MacLachlan in the crime drama series "In Justice." In 2007, O'Mara made his feature film debut opposite Milla Jovovich in "Resident Evil: Extinction." Returning to television in 2008, he notably starred as time-traveling detective ``Sam Tyler in ABC's U.S. adaptation of the British drama series "Life on Mars." Although the series only aired for one season, O'Mara received critical accolades for his performance.
Born and raised in Ireland, O'Mara never planned on acting as a profession. He was an avid rugby player and it wasn't until he suffered a sports injury that he was introduced to acting. While recovering, O'Mara tried out for the school play and won a part. The thrill of opening night sealed his fate, and his former passion for sports transferred to acting. He then attended Trinity College in Dublin, where he received his degree in drama.
His British television credits include the BAFTA-winning "Playing the Field," "Berkeley Square" and the hugely popular "Monarch of the Glen."
On the London stage, O'Mara appeared in "Popcorn" at the Apollo Theatre, "The Jew of Malta" at the Almeida Theatre and "The School for Scandal" with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He went on to join the ensemble of the award-winning production of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" with Ian Holm, which played in Dublin, London and at Lincoln Center in New York. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2002 Irish Theatre Awards for his performance in "Bash," written and directed by Neil LaBute. Returning to the London stage in 2010, O'Mara starred in "Serenading Louie" at the world-famous Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden.
O'Mara is married to actress Paige Turco and has one son, David. The family divides their time between New York and Los Angeles, and makes frequent trips to Ireland.
DANIEL SUNJATA (Ranger) is best known for his portrayal of firefighter 'Franco Rivera' in the critically-acclaimed FX series "Rescue Me" opposite Denis Leary for seven seasons. In 2006, Sunjata portrayed fashion designer 'James Holt,' in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel, "The Devil Wears Prada," starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway and in the romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" alongside Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey.
Sunjata's additional film credits include "Bad Company," which starred Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock; the 2004 Woody Allen film ``Melinda Melinda opposite Will Ferrell; and "Noel," starring Penelope Cruz and Susan Sarandon. Sunjata garnered rave reviews for his portrayals of Langston Hughes in the 2004 Rodney Evans film "Brother to Brother" as well as legendary baseball player Reggie Jackson in the ESPN TV series, "The Bronx is Burning." Sunjata's other television credits include notable appearances on "Love Monkey," "Law & Order, ``Law & Order: SVU," "Sex and the City," Showtime's film "The Feast of All Saints" and starring role alongside Andie MacDowell in "At Risk" and "The Front" - two movies adapted from the novels of America's 1 best-selling crime-writer Patricia Cornwell. Sunjata's repertoire is not only limited to film and television though. He was nominated for a Tony award for his role as 'Darren Lemming' in "Take Me Out," the 2003 Tony award-winning play by Richard Greenberg. He has also appeared in "Henry VIII" at the New York Shakespeare Festival, "Twelfth Night" at the Guthrie Theater and "Cyrano de Bergerac" opposite Kevin Klein at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Born in Evanston, IL, Sunjata was raised in Chicago and graduated from Mount Carmel High School. He did his undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University and the University of Southwestern Louisiana, and received his Masters degree in Fine Arts from New York University.
Sunjata recently wrapped production on the next installment of the Christopher Nolan "Batman" franchise in "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" opposite Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway. He will next be seen in the independent drama "Gone" opposite Amanda Seyfried.
Sunjata currently resides in Los Angeles.

A multi-faceted performer and Primetime Emmy(R) Award winner, JOHN LEGUIZAMO (Jimmy Alpha) has established a career that defies categorization. With boundless energy and creativity, his work in film, theatre, television and literature covers a variety of genres, continually threatening to create a few of its own.
Leguizamo can most recently be seen in ``The Lincoln Lawyer opposite Matthew McConaughey and the independent film "Vanishing on 7th Street" opposite Thandie Newton and Hayden Christensen. He also reprised his voice-over role of 'Sid' in "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" which was released with box office success in 2009.
In 2008, Leguizamo starred in Overture Films' "Nothing Like the Holidays" opposite Debra Messing and Alfred Molina. In addition to this, Leguizamo starred in the independent film "Where God Left His Shoes," in which he plays a struggling boxer desperately seeking a home for his family during the holidays.
Leguizamo's other recent film credits include "Love in the Time of Cholera," "The Happening," "Righteous Kill," "The Babysitters," and "The Take." In addition, Leguizamo has led his talents to a slew of other films including "Gamer," "Miracle at St. Anna," "Land of the Dead," "The Groomsmen," "Lies & Alibis," "Assault on Precinct 13," "Sueno," "Spin," "Moulin Rouge," "Summer of Sam," "King of the Jungle," "Spawn," "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet," "Dr. Doolittle," "Carlito's Way" and "Casualties of War."
For his performance as a sensitive drag queen in "Too Wong Foo: Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar, Leguizamo garnered a Golden Globe(R) nomination for Best Supporting Actor. John also won the ALMA Award for Best Lead Actor in ``Nothing Like the Holidays. Leguizamo has previously received ALMA Award nominations for his roles in "Moulin Rouge" (Best Supporting Actor) and "King of the Jungle" (Best Lead Actor).
In the summer of 2007, Leguizamo returned to television in Spike TV's limited series "The Kill Point," in which he played the leader of a gang of bank robbers who had recently returned from serving in Iraq. Additionally, the ever versatile Leguizamo appeared as a guest star in twelve episodes of NBC's cornerstone drama "ER" during the 2005/2006 season, and in 2006 did a guest star arc on the NBC hit "My Name is Earl."
Going back to his theatrical roots, Leguizamo recently returned to Broadway in a revival of David Mamet's "American Buffalo," which centers around the twisted plot of three men attempting to steal a rare coin.
In 1991, Leguizamo created an off-Broadway sensation as the writer and performer of his one-man show ``Mambo Mouth, in which he portrayed seven different characters. He received Obie, Outer Critics Circle and Vanguardia awards for his performance. The play's HBO special led to his first television comedy special, Comedy Central's ``The Talent Pool, for which he received a CableACE Award. His second one-man show, ``Spic-O-Rama, had an extended sold-out run in Chicago at the Goodman and Briar Street theaters before opening in New York. The play received numerous accolades including the Dramatists' Guild Hull-Warriner Award for Best American Play and the Lucille Lortel Outstanding Achievement Award for Best Broadway Performance. Leguizamo received the Theatre World Award for Outstanding New Talent, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance. ``Spic-O-Rama also aired on HBO, receiving four CableACE Awards.
"Freak, Leguizamo's third one-man show, billed as a ``Semi-Demi-Quasi-Pseudo Autobiography, ended a successful run on Broadway in 1998. Along with the Tony Award nominations for Best Play and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, Leguizamo won the Drama Desk and the Outer Critic's Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance. A special presentation of "Freak," directed by Spike Lee, aired on HBO and earned Leguizamo the Primetime Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program as well as a nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
In the fall of 2001 Leguizamo returned to Broadway with "Sexaholix...a Love Story." Directed by Peter Askin, the play is based on the sold-out national tour, "John Leguizamo Live!" Leguizamo was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for "Outstanding Solo Performance" and the show received a Tony nomination for Best Special Theatrical Performance. "Sexaholix" aired as an HBO Special in Spring 2002 and also toured the country.
Additional stage credits include ``A Midsummer Night's Dream and ``La Puta Vida at the New York Shakespeare Festival and ``Parting Gestures at INTAR.
To add to his list of attributes, Leguizamo is also an accomplished author. He recently penned his autobiography "Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, and All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends," which was released by Harper Collins in October 2006. The New York Times called the book "brutally funny," while USA Today coined Leguizamo as "one of the most exciting talents to come along in some time."
Raised in New York City, Leguizamo studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Wynn Handman at New York University. He was the recipient of the 2002 ALMA Award for Entertainer of the Year. Leguizamo currently resides in New York City with his wife and two children.

Whether on stage or screen, Daytime Emmy(R) Award-winner SHERRI SHEPHERD's (Lula) magnetic personality and hilarious sense of humor never fail to delight audiences.
As one of the co-hosts on 'The View, she was a part of groundbreaking history in August 2009, when the Daytime Emmy(R) for Outstanding Talk Show Host was awarded to the multiple talk show hosts of ``The View. That same year the co-hosts were chosen as one of the ``100 Most Influential People in the World by Time, while Forbes ranked ``The View 11 among ``30 of the Most Influential Women in Media.
Sherri, in addition to daytime, has been a memorable player in primetime for years. She is currently a frequent guest star on the Emmy(R) Award-winning series ``30 Rock as 'Angie Jordan,' the wife of Tracy Morgan's character. She was the Executive Producer and star of her own sitcom ``Sherri on Lifetime and has made laugh out loud appearances in ``Less than Perfect, ``Everybody Loves Raymond, ``Joan of Arcadia, ``Suddenly Susan and ``The Jamie Foxx Show.
Sherri most recently wrapped production on Steve Harvey's ``Think Like a Man and has appeared in such feature films as the award-winning film ``Precious based on the novel Push by Sapphire as well as ``Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, ``Guess Who, ``Who's Your Caddy, ``Beauty Shop and ``Cellular.
She is the author of a humorous autobiography, ``Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Yourself a Break (Grand Central Publishing) and has also had a successful run in the critically-acclaimed, off-Broadway hit, ``Love, Loss and What I Wore.
Sherri is a celebrity spokesperson for March of Dimes and helped it kick off the 2010 ``March for Babies by ringing the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. She is also the national spokesperson for the YAI National Institute.
She has a six-year-old son Jeffrey and recently married Lamar Sally. Their wedding was captured by The Style Network and ``Wedding Fabulous: Sherri Shepherd Gets Married garnered the highest ratings for a wedding special on the network.
They reside in New York City.

As star of more than thirty motion pictures, to Broadway shows, two television series, as well as a dozen of television appearances here and abroad, in 2011 DEBBIE REYNOLDS (Grandma Mazur) celebrates her 63rd year in show business. Born Mary Frances Reynolds on April Fools' Day, 1932 in El Paso, Texas, she moved with her parents and her brother to Burbank, California when she was seven years old. An enthusiastic and energetic child she excelled in sports (particularly sandlot baseball), Girl Scouts, baton twirling and in music, where her specialty was the French horn.
Her early comedic talents first came to light when she auditioned for dramatic roles in school plays and found everyone laughing at her "serious" readings. Failing that, she had to content herself with doing "everything from the sound machine to the thunder and the lightning offstage," but she never made it to an onstage appearance.
At age 16 she entered a local beauty contest sponsored by Lockheed aircraft. Never considered one of the "beauties," she won on the strength of a lip-synching rendition of Betty Hutton singing "I'm Just A Square in a Social Circle." Two of the judges that night were talent scouts from Warner Bros. and MGM. On the flip of a coin, the Warner Bros. scout Solly Baiano, got first dibs at a screen test for Mary Frances. The test lead to a contract and the little girl's name was changed to "Debbie" by Jack Warner himself!
Debbie made her screen debut with June Haver and James Barton in ``The Daughter of Rosie O. Grady. Her first big break came in the MGM musical starring Fred Astaire and Red Skelton, ``Three Little Words in which she portrayed 'Helen Kane,' the boop-boop-a-doop girl of the late 1930s. A subsequent performance in a Busby Berkeley musical, ``Two Weeks With Love, convinced the legendary L.B. Mayer to choose her for the leading female role, in what became one of the greatest screen musicals of all time: ``Singin' In The Rain, starring Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.
Over a ten-year period, Debbie made more than twenty-five films, including ``How The West Was Won, ``The Unsinkable Molly Brown (for which she was nominated for an Oscar(R)), ``Susan Slept Here, ``The Tender Trap, ``Tammy and The Bachelor, ``The Pleasure of His Company, ``Mary Mary, ``Divorce American Style, ``Goodbye Charlie, ``The Rat Race, ``Mother and ``In and Out.
Her recording of "Abba Dabba Honeymoon" (from ``Two Weeks In Love) and "Tammy" (from ``Tammy and The Bachelor) both sold more than a million copies. In the mid-1960s Debbie put together her first nightclub act, which debuted at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. In the forty some years since she has been a headliner on the casino circuit from Reno Tahoe and Las Vegas to Atlanta city to the famed London Palladium, as well as in concert in every major American city, touring on the average of forty-four weeks a year.
In 1973, she took a break from her nightclub appearances to star in the Broadway revival of "Irene" (it being the first stage show to open the Minskoff Theater), breaking all previous records for a Broadway musical, and being the first person ever to be nominated for a Tony award before the show had officially opened! After an enormously successful national tour of the show Debbie returned to the musical stage with another hit revival of Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun," directed by the late Gower Champion (who also directed "Irene"). In 1983 she returned to Broadway again (this time at the famed Palace Theatre) to star the hit musical "Woman Of The Year." In 1989 and Debbie did a very successful national tour of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
Debbie's off-screen, off-stage life has been as active and versatile. Mother of two children, actress/writer Carrie Fisher and son, Todd Fischer. In 1992, Carrie made her a grandmother by giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, Billie Catherine.
She has been a lifelong supporter and fundraiser for the Girl Scouts, the founder President of The Thalians, a charitable organization which has raised millions of dollars for emotionally disturbed children and AIDS patients located at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
Since the late 1960s, she has been actively involved in a project closest her heart, the collection and preservation of memorabilia from Hollywood's first half century of film making, gathering thousands of costumes props and mementos of Hollywood studios and their greatest stars. While her dream of creating the largest individual collection of Hollywood memorabilia did not come to fruition, she is currently in the second phase of auctioning off her many of her possessions for excited fans worldwide.
The late 1970s anticipating her eventual retirement from performing, Debbie established at the Debbie Reynolds professional rehearsal studios in North Hollywood, California, which has since become one of the entertainment industry's leading rehearsal, as well as professional training studios.
In 1987, Debbie has published her widely read memoir "Debbie, My Life," (co-written with David Patrick Columbia) with William Morrow & Co., publisher.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

JULIE ANNE ROBINSON (Director) spent many years in theatre working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court and the National Theatre (at different times, she assisted Sam Mendes, Harold Pinter, Stephen Daldry) She taught acting at a number of prestigious drama schools in London including Guildhall School of Speech and Drama, and Central School of Speech and Drama. She also worked with writers internationally, often on British Council fellowships, in places as diverse as Slovenia, Italy, Australia and various locations in the Middle East. She was offered a place on the prestigious BBC Director's training course and began working in film and TV. She also founded a theatre company called The Factory and directed eleven Shakespeare productions under its banner.
In television, her credits include the Golden Globe- and BAFTA-nominated ``Viva Blackpool (which won the Blue Ribbon at BANFF) as well as the BAFTA-nominated movie ``Coming Down The Mountain, starring Nicholas Hoult. In American television she has directed several pilots, including ``The Middle, currently Wednesday nights on ABC. Episodically, she has also directed drama and comedy, single and multi-camera including ``Pushing Daisies, ``Weeds, ``Big Love, ``Subugatory, ``2 Broke Girls, ``Grey's Anatomy, among others. She currently has a number of projects in development, including projects with ABC and Mike White's company.
Robinson directed the feature ``The Last Song for Disney, starring Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, Greg Kinnear and Kelly Preston, produced by Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot.
Robinson grew up in Africa, England and Papua, New Guinea.

STACY SHERMAN (Writer) and KAREN RAY (Writer) are writing partners, and sisters-in-law. Their first writing collaboration was a screenplay entitled ``Poor Holly which sold to Twentieth Century Fox.
Prior to writing, Karen worked as a development executive for various producers including Gale Anne Hurd, and Kathleen Summers and Dennis Quaid. Stacy has been nominated for an Academy Award(R) for a documentary she co-directed entitled ``God Sleeps In Rwanda, which then sold to HBO and won a Primetime Emmy(R). She sold a screenplay entitled ``The People's House to Imagine Entertainment and Warner Bros.
Stacy and Karen are currently working on a comedic roman à clef.

LIX BRIXIUS (Writer) grew up in Minnesota. She moved to Hollywood -- partly to be in the sun, and partly to write for film and television. Her dreams of an awesome climate were put on hold when she helped create Showtime's ``Nurse Jackie, which shoots in New York City. Her time is split between film and television. She lives in Los Angeles and New York and couldn't be happier about it.

Blockbuster bestselling author JANET EVANOVICH (Based on the novel by) is without a doubt one of the most prolific and successful novelists in the world with more than 75 million copies of her books sold around the globe, translated into over 27 languages, and thirteen consecutive 1 New York Times bestsellers. Her character Stephanie Plum, the original Jersey girl and former lingerie saleswoman-turned-bounty hunter, is one of fiction's most iconic and memorable characters. Evanovich has written more than seventeen novels featuring Plum as well as twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, ``Wicked Appetite (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series), and ``How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author. Her newest 1 bestseller is latest Stephanie Plum adventure, ``Explosive Eighteen.

Veteran producer SIDNEY KIMMEL (Producer) is chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based motion picture financing and production company.
Active in the motion picture industry for more than 20 years, Kimmel's passion as an independent producer throughout the 1980s and 1990s eventually led to the founding of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment in October 2004. The Company develops, finances and produces three to five features per year, working with esteemed filmmaking talent to create quality, commercial films.
Prior to his success in filmed entertainment, Kimmel founded Jones Apparel Group in 1975, which has since grown into a $4.5 billion diversified fashion industry empire. Kimmel also founded the Sidney Kimmel Foundation and its subsidiary, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, which is one of the nation's largest individual donors to cancer research. Kimmel is extremely involved in philanthropic endeavors benefiting his hometown of Philadelphia as well as Jewish education and continuity. He oversaw the opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, home of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra. He is also a partner in Cipriani International, the acclaimed international restaurant and catering establishment, and is a part owner of The Miami Heat.
Kimmel and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment co-financed and produced or co-produced more than 24 motion pictures since its inception. Among its productions are, in association with Universal Pictures, the Academy Award(R)-nominated ``United 93 directed by Paul Greengrass, who was nominated for an Academy Award(R) for his direction of the film, as well as the critical hit ``Breach, starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney.
Kimmel and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment financed and produced, both independently and with studio partners ``Adventureland, the Greg Mottola-directed critical hit, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, co-financed and co-produced with Miramax; ``Synecdoche, New York, the directorial debut of Academy Award(R)-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Sony Pictures Classics; and the remake of its own 2006 British comedy ``Death at a Funeral, with co-writer/co-producer Chris Rock leading an all-star ensemble cast. Kimmel most recently executive produced Sony's ``Moneyball, and produced the hit thriller ``The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe and William H. Macy, in association with Lakeshore Entertainment for release by Lionsgate. SKE has been aggressively pursuing production and co-financing deals throughout 2011, which, including ``Mr. Morgan's Last Love, may result in a total of five motion picture releases in 2012, including the January release of ``Gone, with Heitor Dahlia directing and Amanda Seyfried starring, produced with Lakeshore Entertainment and Summit Entertainment opening in February; the Taylor Hackford directed ``Parker, starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez, produced with Sierra/Affinity, and Incentive Filmed Entertainment to be released by FilmDistrict in the fall; and ``The Place Beyond the Pines, directed by Derek Cianfrance, starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes which will likely have a fall release. Prior SKE feature presentations include such critical successes as Jon Poll's ``Charlie Bartlett, starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., and Hope Davis; Frank Oz's ``Death at a Funeral, starring Matthew Macfadyen, Peter Dinklage and Ewen Bremner; Craig Gillespie's ``Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling; ``The Kite Runner, directed by Marc Forster and produced with DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Productions.

Independent film and television producer WENDY FINERMAN (Producer) began her career in entertainment at The Movie Channel after graduating from the Wharton School of Business. After working as a business affairs executive for Universal Television, she joined Tisch Avnett as vice president of production and development in 1985 before founding Wendy Finerman Productions in 1988. Since then, she has worked with every major motion picture studio, television and cable network and has garnered numerous awards for her extensive list of credits. Collectively, all of her films have grossed 1.5 billion dollars in international theatrical release and been nominated for over 140 awards.
Finerman spent nine years bringing the story of ``Forrest Gump to the big screen and was rewarded with an Academy Award(R) for Best Picture in 1994, becoming the first solo female producer in the history of the Academy(R) to do so. The film was the third highest grossing movie after its theatrical release and currently ranks in the top 50 worldwide box office grosses of all time. ``Forrest Gump was nominated for a total of 13 Academy Awards(R) for which it won six. It also received a Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Picture Drama, Best Film from the National Board of Review and earned over 60 other award nominations. That same year, Finerman executive produced ``I Like It Like That, an independent feature that earned the New York Film Critics Award for Best New Director and four Independent Spirit Award nominations.
In 1997, she produced ``FairyTale - A True Story, a film based on the real-life tale of how two little girls caused a huge controversy with their photographs of alleged fairies in England during World War I. The film, which featured the legendary Peter O'Toole in the role of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, earned a BAFTA Award for Best Children's Film.
The following year, Finerman produced the critically and commercially acclaimed dramedy ``Stepmom, directed by Chris Columbus and starred Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon (who was nominated for a Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama) and Ed Harris. She later produced the 2002 hit ``Drumline, starring Nick Cannon and Orlando Jones, which received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture. She is currently working on a television adaptation.
In 2006, she produced the hit comedy ``The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Despite its modest $35 million budget, the film earned more than $330 million at the box office worldwide and resulted in 35 award nominations, including a Golden Globe(R) win and Oscar(R) nomination for Streep's performance.
Finerman followed up that success with ``P.S. I Love You, starring two-time Academy Award(R)-winning actress Hilary Swank alongside Lisa Kudrow, Gerard Butler and Academy Award(R)-winning actress Kathy Bates. Based on the 2004 novel by Cecelia Ahern, ``P.S. I Love You has grossed over $150 million in international box office sales.
Upcoming film projects include ``The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, based on the bestselling children's book by Kate DiCamillo, and ``Into the Beautiful, an original screenplay with Meg Ryan attached to direct.
Finerman has also been recognized for her work in television. She produced the Showtime original movie ``In a Class of His Own, the Rich Donato story, starring Lou Diamond Phillips. This film was nominated for a Daytime Emmy(R) in 2000 and also won several awards for literacy and education in media. She also executive produced the CBS telefilm ``Surrender Dorothy, which starred Diane Keaton.
Finerman has served on the Wharton School of Business Executive Undergraduate Board for over ten years. She also serves on the board of the CityKids Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports young people as they address complex social issues through artistic expression. Finerman is married with four children and resides in New York City.

TOM ROSENBERG (Producer) is the chairman and CEO of Lakeshore Entertainment, which he founded in 1994. He produced ``Million Dollar Baby, which won the 2004 Academy Award(R) for Best Picture. Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood and co-starring Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, the film also won Oscars(R) for Eastwood (Best Director), Swank (Best Actress) and Freeman (Best Supporting Actor). Rosenberg recently produced ``The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillipe. Rosenberg also produced ``The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, directed by Robert Luketic; and ``Crank and Crank: High Voltage, starring Jason Statham. He is currently in post-production on the fourth installment of the ``Underworld franchise, ``Underworld 4 starring Kate Beckinsale, as well as ``Gone starring Amanda Seyfried. He also produced ``Elegy, the film adaptation of Philip Roth's novel, ``The Dying Animal, starring Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.
Among the other recent feature film projects produced by Lakeshore is the reinvention of the movie classic ``Fame; ``Untraceable, starring Diane Lane and directed by Gregory Hoblit; ``Feast of Love, starring Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear, directed by Robert Benton; ``The Dead Girl, which was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature, directed by Karen Moncrieff; and ``The Last Kiss, starring Zach Braff and Jacinda Barrett, directed by Tony Goldwyn.
Additional Lakeshore projects include the first three ``Underworld films, ``The Exorcism of Emily Rose, ``The Cave, ``Wicker Park, ``The Human Stain, ``The Gift, ``Autumn in New York, ``Passion of Mind, ``The Mothman Prophecies, ``Runaway Bride, ``Arlington Road, ``200 Cigarettes, ``Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, ``'Till There Was You, ``Box of Moonlight, ``The Real Blonde and ``Going All the Way.
Rosenberg began his film career as co-founder of Beacon Communications, under whose banner he served as Executive Producer of such films as ``The Commitments, ``Sugar Hill, ``A Midnight Clear, ``Princess Caraboo, ``The Hurricane and ``The Road to Welville.

GARY LUCCHESI (Producer) serves as President of Lakeshore Entertainment, an independent film company based in Los Angeles. Lucchesi produced the upcoming films ``Underword 4: Awakening Kate Beckinsale and ``Gone starring Amanda Seyfried. Lucchesi was the Executive Producer on the critically acclaimed ``Million Dollar Baby which won Oscars(R) for Clint Eastwood (Director), Hilary Swank (Actress) and Morgan Freeman (Supporting Actor). His other recent credits include ``The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey and Marisa Tomei; ``The Ugly Truth, directed by Robert Luketic and starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler; ``Crank, starring Jason Statham; and ``Elegy, the film adaptation of Philip Roth's novel, ``The Dying Animal, starring Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.
Additional credits with Lakeshore Entertainment include ``The Last Kiss, starring Zach Braff and Jacinda Barrett, directed by Tony Goldwyn; box office smash ``the Exorcism of Emily Rose; ``The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney; ``Autumn in New York, starring Gere and Winona Ryder; and Sam Raimi's ``The Gift, starring Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank and Giovanni Ribisi. In addition, Lucchesi was the Executive Producer on the box office hit ``Runaway Bride, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and directed by Garry Marshall. Prior to that, he produced ``The Human Stain, based on the Philip Roth novel, directed by Academy Award(R) winner Robert Benton and starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman.
Lucchesi previously served as president of Gary Lucchesi Productions, an independent production company where he produced ``Primal Fear, for which Edward Norton was nominated for an Oscar(R). He also produced the Primetime Emmy(R)-nominated ``Gotti and ``Breast Men for HBO. In addition, Lucchesi produced the Primetime Emmy(R)-winning Showtime movie ``Wild Iris.
While president of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's The Really Useful Film Co., Lucchesi executive produced the film version of the musical ``Cats, as well as original feature films and direct-to-video releases of other theater hits.
Prior to becoming an independent producer, Lucchesi was President of Production at Paramount and oversaw such films as ``Ghost, ``Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, ``Fatal Attraction, ``The Hunt for Red October, ``Coming to America, ``The Naked Gun, ``The Godfather: Part III, ``Star Trek, ``Black Rain and ``The Untouchables. He also worked at TriStar Pictures for four years as both Vice President and Senior Vice President of Production.
Lucchesi began his career in Los Angeles as an agent for the William Morris Agency where he represented such stars as Kevin Costner, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and John Malkovich.

Most recently, JAMES WHITAKER (Director of Photography) lensed ``Stolen (starring Nicolas Cage) for Millennium Films with director Simon West.
Recent films include ``Crossing Over, Whitaker's third feature collaboration with writer/director Wayne Kramer, having shot the gritty crime drama ``Running Scared for New Line Cinema and ``The Cooler starring William H. Macy, Maria Bello and Alec Baldwin. Whitaker also photographed Jason Reitman's critically acclaimed debut ``Thank You For Smoking, as well as the Sundance Film Festival darling ``King of California, starring Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Whitaker studied still photography at the Maine Photographic Institute before moving to Los Angeles and immersing himself in the art of the moving picture. Whitaker's work garnered immediate attention in the commercial and music video worlds after several high profile spots with Nike and Hummer, and he has since gone on to lens numerous award-winning ads for companies including Ikea, Sony, Lexus and AT&T. Whitaker has also lent his artistry to the music video world, filming such renowned artists as Jay-Z, Radiohead, The Black Eyed Peas and Carlos Santana.
Notable short films include the Academy Award(R) nominated ``Everything in This Country Must, as well as the Jordan & Ridley Scott-helmed ``Jonathan, part of a series of ``Unicef shorts which premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.
Other feature credits include additional photography on ``The Crow: Salvation and Michael Winterbottom's ``A Might Heart, starring Angelina Jolie. Whitaker resides in Los Angeles with his wife Nicole and two sons Miles and Xander.

FRANCO-GIACOMO CARBONE (Production Designer) began his career as a stage designer in New York City working for avante guard theater companies such as La Mama and Circle Repertory Company. He transitioned to film during the independent film boom of the mid nineties, after graduating from the AFI film program with a Masters of Fine Art degree in production design for film and television. Franco is also a previous graduate of the Parsons School of Design and the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Some of Franco's notable film credits include Lionsgate's release of ``Hostel produced by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Eli Roth; ``Wonderland, starring Val Kilmer; ``Down in the Valley, starring Edward Norton; and William Friedkin's ``Bug, starring Ashley Judd.
Last summer's ``The Expendables was Franco's third film collaboration with actor/director Sylvester Stallone. He first teamed up with Stallone on ``Rocky Balboa then set off for the jungles of Thailand for ``Rambo.
Recently, Franco has wrapped Tracy Lett's ``Killer Joe, directed by William Friedkin and starring Matthew Maconahay and Emile Hirsh.
Currently Franco is in production on ``The Last Stand, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger for Lionsgate.
LISA ZENO CHURGIN, A.C.E. (Editor) is currently editing ``Pitch Perfect for Gold Circle. Her credits include such films as ``Priest for Screen Gems and director Scott Stewart; ``Henry Poole is Here; ``The Last Kiss; ``In Her Shoes; ``House of Sand and Fog; ``Moonlight Mile; ``The Cider House Rules, for which she received an Academy Award(R) nomination; as well as ``Embedded, ``Dead Man Walking and ``Bob Roberts for director Tim Robbins. Other films include ``Unstrung Heroes, ``Reality Bites, as well as episodes of Tom Hanks' HBO series ``From the Earth to the Moon.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Churgin graduated from Oberlin College with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She then moved to New York where she started her editing career as an assistant to Susan Morse on ``The Warriors. She was then an assistant editor on ``Raging Bull.

Named by The Hollywood Reporter as a top composer to look out for, DEBROAH LURIE (Music by) has repeatedly proven herself to be one of the most versatile composers and arrangers in Hollywood.
Deborah's recent film score credits include the Lasse Hallström directed films ``Dear John and ``An Unfinished Life; the Tim Burton-produced animated feature ``9; Paramount's 2011 releases of ``Footloose, ``Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and Disney's ``Prom.
Lurie has collaborated frequently with Danny Elfman, composing additional music for ``Wanted, ``Spiderman 3, and the IMAX film ``Deep Sea: 3D as well as arranging/orchestrating for ``Charlotte's Web, ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and ``Alice in Wonderland.
In addition to work on film scores, Lurie has an extensive background as an arranger and producer of pop, rock, and theater music. Lurie has arranged for such artists as Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Perri, Daughtry, The All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Papa Roach, 3 Doors Down, Creed, Hawthorne Heights and Adam Lambert. In film, Lurie's arrangements appear in the musicals ``Dreamgirls and ``Fame. Her arrangement for Christina Perri's song ``A Thousand Years was featured on the ``Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 soundtrack in 2011.

After graduating from NYU's TISCH SCHOOL of the ARTS and THE STELLA ADLER CONSERVATORY, DEBROAH AQUILA, C.S.A. (Casting by) worked on the first two seasons of "Miami Vice and several feature films including Michael Mann's "Man Hunter and "The Pope of Greenwich Village, as an associate. Her independent casting director career began with Steven Soderbergh's "Sex, Lies and Videotape and Uli Edel's "The Last Exit to Brooklyn. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1993 to cast Frank Darabont's "The Shawshank Redemption, Deborah had completed over 40 independent films in New York.
In 1993 she was named Senior Vice-President of Features Casting for Paramount Pictures. The more notable films Deborah cast at Paramount were: "Primal Fear, ``Mission Impossible II, ``Double Jeopardy, ``Varsity Blues, ``The Brady Bunch, ``Kiss the Gidls, ``Mother and ``What Women Want.
Her most recent film credits include ``My Week with Marilyn; ``Twilight; ``The Lincoln Lawyer; ``I Am Number 4; ``Red; ``Red State; ``Man on a Ledge; the critically acclaimed F/X original series "The Shield, starring Michael Chiklis; and Showtime's ``Dexter starring Michael C. Hall; and ``Chicago Code.
Deborah has been recognized fourteen times by the Casting Society of America, and in 2011, won the Artios Award for Outstanding Casting for the comedy feature ``Red. In 2003, she was recognized by the Hollywood community with the HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1994.

TRICIA WOOD, C.S.A. (Casting by) - Bio Forthcoming

JULIE TUCKER, C.S.A. (Casting by) - Bio Forthcoming

ROSS MEYERSON, C.S.A. (Casting by) - Bio Forthcoming