- Notes provided by The Weinstein Co. -

From Cormac McCarthy, author of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, comes the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the beloved, best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, THE ROAD. Academy Award-nominee Viggo Mortensen leads an all-star cast featuring Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and young newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father (Mortensen) and his young son (Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm. A masterpiece adventure, THE ROAD boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of-a future in which a father and his son are sustained by love.

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It is more than ten years since the world was destroyed-by what, nobody can say. It could have been a nuclear event, or the collision of the Earth with another cosmic entity. Or the sun may have imploded and taken out the planet as collateral damage to its own flameout. One day there was a big flash of light, and then nothing. The result of this cataclysmic event, whatever it was, is that there is no energy, no power, no vegetation, no food. Millions of people have been eradicated, destroyed by fires and floods or scorched and incinerated in their cars where they sat when the event hit or suffocated by starvation and despair in civilization's slow death after the power went out.

The Man (Viggo Mortensen) and The Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) - "each the other's world entire," as McCarthy describes them in his novel - are on the move with all their precious possessions-whatever food and clothing they can scrounge, utensils and tools, plastic bags, tarps, blankets and anything else to keep warm in the frigid, sunless, ash-filled outdoors-on their backs and in a shopping cart outfitted with a bicycle mirror so they can see who's coming up behind them. Their desperate, improvised traveling gear and their scruffy unwashed bodies give them the look of the homeless. And that is what they are. That's what everybody is in this lifeless frontier.

As they trudge along on foot, following the once-magnificent American highway system west toward the ocean, they hide in the woods and in old abandoned structures, any shelter they can improvise that keeps them safe from the elements and the wandering bands who would think nothing of taking everything from them. They come across all sorts of desperate people. There is a road gang, a bunch of tough hombres who have somehow managed to fuel their big semi. There are scavengers and hunters of anything that moves, some well-fed cannibals who keep a cellar-full of barely human cuisine in a big house on a hill. And there are all manner of thieves.

And then there is an Old Man (Robert Duvall), who they come across bent and shuffling down the road in front of them, walking with a makeshift cane in shoes made of rags and cardboard. The Boy takes a liking to him and persuades his dad to share some of their food and camp with him. The old man, who admits his name is Ely, is equally impressed by the boy-impressed at his very existence as they are by his. He tells them that he's been on the road forever. He tells them that when he saw the boy he thought he'd died and gone to heaven, seen an angel.

Even in this bleak universe, there are moments of happiness. Occasionally, the pair comes across some food long forgotten in a cupboard or stashed in a fallout shelter. While rummaging in an abandoned mall, the father finds a forgotten can of Coke stuck in the bowels of an upturned vending machine. When he gives the treat to his son, who has never indulged in anything like it, the father is amused by his son's astonishment of the drink's fizzy sweetness. And when they come across a waterfall with relatively clean water, both jump right in for an session of skinny-dipping.

And then there are the numerous flashbacks to the man's life with his wife (Charlize Theron) before the great disaster, before she took her own life rather than see it taken by what or who she knew was coming. The man clings to these memories that nourish him spiritually and help him to push his increasingly frail body ever further in the quest to get his son to some kind of safety. The sweet memory of his life before the fall and of his halcyon childhood days are some of the bright spots that enliven the terrain for him and the boy.

The child's innate goodness, his compassion and his sense of wonder and curiosity are also bright spots in this story, reminding the man of why he must keep on going no matter what even when he has forgotten why he must do it.

THE ROAD is an adventure story, a horror story, a road movie and ultimately a love story between a father and his son, between a man and his wife, as it is a celebration of the inextinguishable will to live. It is a thrilling evocation of human endurance and an unflinching examination of people at their worst-and at their best.

For every mother, every father who's ever had a child, for every son of a father, THE ROAD will be a journey into the human spirit. It is a survivor's story in which the heroes carry the fire that is the life force that keeps hope alive no matter what.

About the Production

THE ROAD is a movie that had to get made. On the surface, a story about the Earth's end-game scenario that includes cannibalism and brutality and other unsavory elements is not exactly the right material for a popcorn movie. And though some studios initially passed on the project for these reasons, the producers, the director and the talent who were drawn to it were motivated by an absolute belief that Cormac McCarthy's novel would make an incredible picture.

Producer Nick Wechsler, a huge fan of the author, got beat out when he tried to buy the rights to McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, which went on to win the Oscar™ for the Coen Brothers, so he alerted literary agents to let him know when the next Cormac McCarthy book became available. He and producing partners Paula Mae and Steve Schwartz took advantage of competitors' skittishness and optioned the property when it was in manuscript form. "The great thing about this particular book was that it was so challenging that all of the studios and other producers were cautiously approaching it, weren't sure whether it could be made into a movie," he says. "That gave me an opportunity to seize the moment, outbid everybody else with the help of my partners, the Schwartz's, and acquire the material."

Like all the other filmmakers involved in making this movie, Wechsler was deeply moved by the experience of reading McCarthy's page-turner. He saw instantly, he says, that it would be great movie material. "I read the novel the evening that it was given to me and I thought it was an extremely powerful, emotional experience-the story of the father and the son and the journey they take and the passing of the fire, the passing of the idea of humanity from one to the other and back again.

"And I also thought that there were some good genre elements as well. The suspense and tension of the need to survive in an extremely hostile world-really obvious elements to make into a movie. I wasn't worried about the challenging aspect at all. I thought that an apocalyptic world is challenging and cannibalism in an apocalyptic world is challenging but that the emotional core of the piece was so fresh and so powerful that that's what would shine through in the making of a movie."

When Wechsler invited Rudd Simmons to come aboard as the film's executive producer, his choice of John Hillcoat to direct was already established. Simmons hadn't seen Hillcoat's film THE PROPOSITION, but when he did, he too was hooked on the director. "I was quite taken with John's film," he says. "What was interesting to me was what he did with the landscape and how much the characters seem to come right out of the landscape. THE ROAD is a fairly simple story in a way but it's mythic and the characters seem to just come right out of the earth. So, I talked to John and he and I got along great."

Another thing that impressed Simmons about the director's process was how prepared and how focused Hillcoat was on exactly how he was going to transform this great novel into a great movie. "At the very beginning John wrote a position paper-and I've never had that on any of the movies I've done," he says. "It was about three or four pages of what he was looking for, the themes that he was interested in, it had to do with genre and the overall look he wanted for the movie, and along with it were a lot of photographs.

"It was a pretty great thing because we gave this to everyone who came onto the project and right off the bat we were all on the same page. We knew exactly what he was looking for. We knew exactly what it was he saw in the story," he says.

"What makes a really good adaptation is if the filmmaker finds something in the book that he is passionate about and tells the story from that point of view," Simmons adds. "And we knew what that was for John."

Some of Hillcoat's statements do read like a manifesto, but in hindsight, the director was analyzing the movie thematically, even philosophically, much as a professor of cinema studies might do. Here are two paragraphs from Hillcoat's position paper that illustrate this:

"The movie will operate on a number of different levels, where it can be viewed as a more mythic metaphoric journey of the soul, a fable, an adult fairytale about the passing of one generation to another, that inescapable reality of mortality and the archetypal parent's greatest fear, guilt and heartbreak in leaving the child behind (and by extension everyone's fear of being left behind utterly alone). On another level is the morality tale, an urgent wake-up call to us all where kindness, trust, hope and faith must prevail against all odds in the face of impending destruction and horror. On another is the immediate visceral reality of a dark epic adventure filled with terror and tenderness.

"As we all bear witness to a new age of violent global conflict together with the specter of apocalyptic environmental catastrophe, THE ROAD manages to tap into our collective psyche with the force of a universal nightmare. It evokes our deepest and darkest fears -and with prescience and lucidity addresses what matters most."

In adapting the book, the filmmakers took great pains to retain the simple, gut-wrenching directness of it while bringing in some universal truths about this collective psyche so that a science fiction story about the end of the Earth could jibe with some of the most common fears of our post-9-11 era-global warming, high gas prices, economic uncertainty and the real possibility of a monumental natural catastrophe due to mankind's abuse of the planet. However, Hillcoat is very clear to point out that what actually happened to the world doesn't truly matter to this story. "What I loved about the book is you don't even know what happened. If a disaster of that scale occurred, whether it's nuclear or a comet or whichever way it goes, from that day on, it would be irrelevant about exactly what happened and what caused it. From that day on, people are fighting to cope with the radical change."

In scouting locations, the filmmakers gravitated toward natural disasters that wiped out huge swaths of territory, leaving it in a ravaged state. Prepping the film, Hillcoat embarked on a long journey with Simmons and his longtime production designer Chris Kennedy, in which they sought out places around the country that had been ravaged in that way, knowing that the locations would connect the audience with a modern-day horror story that could happen here. These distressed landscapes would tap into the collective American psyche by referring to some major traumas that devastated parts of this country.

"What was great about the book was that incredible, visceral reality to it," says Hillcoat. "Neither Chris or myself have ever really liked apocalyptic films that much as a genre. But this felt so different from anything else. So we immediately thought this story seems to tap into experiences of natural disasters and man-made disasters-so why not utilize all of that.

"So we immediately began doing a lot of research in which we were basically looking at man-made and natural disasters that have occurred, and that's what led us to things like New Orleans post-Katrina, and Mount St. Helens in Washington and mining in central Pennsylvania and around Pittsburgh where that industry left a kind of man-made disaster area in terms of the landscape-what's left of it. So the process was about utilizing all those things and gradually piecing it all together. It was like this huge tapestry."

For producer Paula Mae Schwartz the story was eminently filmable because of its inherent hopefulness and the tender emotional core of the novel. "We admired Cormac McCarthy very much, thought he had an original voice, and this particular book captured a unique love story between a father and son," she says. "We felt that the power of the love between the father and the son was palpable-so strong that it helped mankind survive after the apocalypse. So it's the ultimate story of survival."

Viggo Mortensen, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his riveting performance in EASTERN PROMISES, rooted his portrayal in the father-son dynamic as well. And though at the time he was offered the role, the actor was coming off a period of working a lot and looking forward to a break, he says, when he got the script and read the book, there was no way he couldn't do it.

"I thought, 'Wow, it's going to be pretty hard to say no to something like this, this kind of character.' It's one of those books that's hard to put down, once it gets going you want to know how it turns out," he says.

When The Road was first published, the novel was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her influential book list, and that helped get it out there in the universal consciousness, to be accepted by the public in addition to the critics who have always sparked to McCarthy's work. "The reason so many people have read this book," adds Mortensen, "is that it really struck a chord in America. The story is universal. Any parent that cares about their kid, has these feelings, these doubts, these fears, these concerns. What's going to happen when I'm gone? Is my kid going to be all right? If my kid gets sick what's going to happen? But the main one is what will happen when I'm not around."

In this story, Mortensen notes, that basic human concern is cranked up a few notches because it takes place in a bleak universe where every human certainty is gone. "It's taken to an extreme," he says. "It's not just that I'll be gone and his mother will take care of him or his aunt, extended family or just society somehow. There's nobody. Zero. If I'm gone he's alone in the world. As extreme as that is, it still connects for people with their own families. Any mother, any father, how they feel about their child, what they worry about.

"So, all those things are worth exploring," he says of his preparation for playing The Man in this movie of McCarthy's dystopian saga, "I realized that I had that inside of me. I needed to just sort of look inside to play this."

The story of THE ROAD is simple, yet compelling, and though there are other characters, it's really about the father and the son. Mortensen says the deep questions the book raises were what led him to find the soul of his character. "Because of what the story's about, and because of the thoughts I had when I first read the script and the book,' he says, "It made me think about what's happening, what does the future hold? When we are no more, what does it mean?

"In a way, that's what this story is about. What happens when everything is taken from you? I mean everything. These two people, this man and this boy, that's what's happened. And when you think nothing else can be taken, the boy loses everything. Even more. That's a pretty good recipe for a drama, if it's handled right. What happens when everything is taken from you? How do you behave, how do you react? How do you deal with people who you fear might take more things from you? Or people who have things that you don't have. And when you're tired, when you're afraid of them, how do you react. Do you act aggressively? Sometimes. Do you try to stay away from them? Probably. If you think you can, do you take their things? Sometimes you do, even if you think of yourself as a good guy. All those things happen in the story, all these tests. The tests of: what happens when you think everything's been taken from you. That's what carrying the fire means, even if you think they've taken everything from you, the fact that you're sitting here, thinking about it and complaining about it means they haven't. You're still here. Until you're not here, they haven't taken everything from you."

Mortensen adds that the film's title is more than ironic. "I knew that if we did it right, it would be a challenge emotionally. I would have to go on a journey."

For director Hillcoat, there was never any question that Viggo Mortensen should play the father. During the concept stage of pre-production, he says, his vision for the father was one of stolid strength heartened by a palpable inner vulnerability. His ideal for the role would be someone on the order of Gregory Peck. "It became clear that Viggo could be an everyman but also could have the intensity and the physicality the role demands. His character goes through a range of emotions."

If anyone could survive in a post-apocalyptic world, the director says, it would be Viggo. "It's such a challenging and extreme survival world that he has to do things that have to be credible," he says. And yet, the role requires not only physical verisimilitude, but the ability to show tenderness and inner strength. "For some actors it might be a stretch that they're so tender and sensitive to a child and yet be able to physically do what he has to do. Viggo's very intense and very wound up, and that is what the father is all about. He's so haunted by the suicide of his loved one-his wife and partner-and yet he has this incredible protective relationship with his son. It is a love story, and in such a challenging and extreme survival world, he has to do things that have to be credible."

When Mortensen committed to the role, he began a period of intense preparation involving researching the character and the extreme milieu of the story. He immersed himself in the world of the novel and its extreme hypothetical situation. His research took him not only to books and materials, but also to noticing the patterns and habits of people in our times who must exist by their wits, scraping the refuse bin of society-the homeless. The actor also had some conversations with Cormac McCarthy, mostly about McCarthy's own relationship with his young son John Francis, to whom he dedicated the novel. "We talked about his relationship with his own boy and I talked about my son and how he was at the age of the character in the book," he says. "I thought about what I felt about my own family, my relations. A lot of chapters have ended as I was starting to shoot this and while I was shooting this. It's made me think about things, from years ago that I hadn't thought about. In terms of my son, when he was the age of the character of the boy now."

But for this movie, a science fiction tale about two isolated people walking thousands of miles across a dead planet, the actor's preparation would have to be about a lot more than internal geography. Mortensen has been described as a physical actor who incorporates his surroundings into his method, and this is another reason why he was perfectly cast to play the father. When the elements, the weather and the terrain get tough, Viggo gets going.

"Different actors have different processes that they use. What I've seen with Viggo is that he is able to use the environment more so than any other actor I've worked with before to put him where he needs to be emotionally," says producer Simmons, who had a lot to do with the physical setup of the film and its locations. "And maybe it's pouring down rain, and he'll walk away from umbrellas, raincoats. He'll walk away from any tent that's being offered or any blanket to be intentionally cold and wet, and it seems to take him to a place that's quite remarkable. I've seen it happen over and over again in the snow, the rain, cold, the fog - anything that he is able to use that puts him in the world of the character. He's a very physical actor as well, and it's been a remarkable process to watch that. I would imagine it takes an enormous amount of concentration to be able to not let the cold ground or the rocks on the road or whatever it may be break your concentration, but it's taken him to a place that is pretty amazing over and over and over again."

Nick Wechsler concurs. "Viggo has the perfect qualities as a man and as an actor to do this part. He's got incredible depth of soul. He so immerses himself in a particular character you think, 'Wow, that is the character. That's not an actor playing the character.' And that's what we wanted for this part- somebody who submerges himself into the role as well as any actor I've ever worked with."

Though the role of the father was sought after by many leading actors in Hollywood, there was never a question in the minds of the filmmakers that if they could get him, he would define the character. "Viggo was born to play this part, and he's absolutely riveting," says producer Steve Schwartz. "Part of the challenge for an actor doing a movie like this-where the material is so challenging and where there is so much sadness-is to stay in role amidst the tumult of the set. There's a lot of stuff going on on this set. There's stuff being moved, there's noise, there's rain and horrific weather-a lot of diversions. I was overwhelmed by the actor's ability to stay focused and stay in role. And I hope I'm not saying something out of school here-and I don't know how Viggo will feel about this-but for the first few days of the shoot, he slept in his clothes to stay in role. He paid attention to every detail. If his shoes weren't wet enough, he would spray himself. He was totally absorbed and obsessed with the part. He became The Man."

The producer continues, "As a result of that, I would say that this probably wouldn't be described as a particularly chatty set because when Viggo and Kodi were in the zone, people didn't want to mix it up with them. So, I don't know how Viggo and Kodi felt about being ignored sometimes, but when we saw them in that zone, we gave them space. And Kodi had his own way of staying in his zone. It was very impressive."

In order for THE ROAD to come together, it was clear to the filmmakers that casting the role of The Boy would be crucial. As grueling as the shoot was for Mortensen and the crew, the pre-teen actor who plays the son would have to be both a survivor and a great natural actor to keep up. After a series of casting sessions, they found that actor in Kodi Smit-McPhee, scion of a thespian family whose father Andy is an acting coach. Kodi's portrayal of another son opposite Eric Bana in ROMULUS, MY FATHER brought him to the attention of the filmmakers.

Though the casting process was thorough, encompassing a few hundred boys from around the United States and in Canada, an audition tape that Kodi's dad had sent from Australia was the one that won out. Wechsler explains that Kodi was the obvious choice. "This movie rises and falls with how well the actor does that plays the boy," he says. "And Kodi survived the challenge of all those boys and ultimately was the one that we had to go with because he had a soulful quality to him. He had charisma if you can attribute that word to a young boy. We knew that he would pop. We knew that he was the one."

The choice of Kodi Smit-McPhee made sense for many reasons, not the least of which was his affinity with the camera. The producers-and Mortensen, his co-star- were taken aback by the young actor's talent, professionalism and work ethic. "What does it mean to have talent as an actor?" says Simmons. "You look at Kodi and he can get to these moments that are real. It's a remarkable thing to see from take to take. He'll be working on something and all of a sudden he'll hit it and it just rings true. The thing I'm most impressed about with Kodi is his discipline - his concentration.

"I mean he's an 11-year-old boy. I remember what I was like when I was 11. I was running around playing army, doodling cartoons, and all of that. But Kodi comes in-Kodi works nine hours a day. He comes to set in the morning, goes through make-up and hair, he's on the set and he's focused like an adult actor. He has a presence that's quite remarkable. And then he'll turn right around and run off the set and play with another 10-year-old boy, and they're out there playing cowboys and Indians and it's a great thing to see. And then when he's done with that he comes back on the set and he's this amazing actor again."

To hear Viggo Mortensen tell it, the movie will be memorable not because of anything he might have done, but because of the extraordinary talents of his child-actor co-star.

"He's an extraordinary, extraordinary actor." Mortensen says. "I think that his performance will be a historic performance. Honestly, I think it's going to be one of those that people remember for years ... for years."

Were it not for the young actor's intensity, he adds, the movie would be a good movie, but with it, it'll be a real film. "When I read the script, I thought 'Well they need to find the best child actor ever, or the best young actor in the world to play this part. With an actor as good as Kodi it could be a really good movie. I have really enjoyed being on the ride with him."

And like the father in the saga who learns from his son, Mortensen says that working with Kodi was a revelation as an actor. "Kodi has great instincts, great presence and most importantly he has the gift of being able to relax to the point where he's always in the moment. He's almost never out of the real moment that's happening, not the script but what's really happening on the set, what's happening between the two of us. Most of the story is these two people-a man and a boy. They are pretty much always wearing the same filthy clothing. They don't talk much. The weather is uniformly terrible. It's brutal, very hard core. But if it works you can go on a real emotional journey, you could use the word spiritual journey."

The interaction between the boy and his father is what carries the story and elevates it above mere science fiction. While in the novel, there is much description of how the two interact with the tortured landscape and the battered environment, in a movie, which is a visual medium, all that must be conveyed with nuance and acting alone. Mortensen is convinced, he says, that the core of this inspired exposition in THE ROAD comes from Kodi.

"The book has some vivid descriptions of these barren landscapes, of this inhospitable weather, it's very beautiful," he adds. "But we don't use that. What you get though, that you can't get in a book, is all the subtleties of the interaction of the character with their environment and most especially of the Man and the Boy, how they relate to each other. So much happens between the words, and that is especially true because Kodi is such a fine actor. He's very attuned to what's going on, anything that happens, any error that happens. He welcomes the little accidents that happen. Kodi always goes with it so there is something extra.

"Each scene that's already on the page looks likes it's charged with emotion and you think, 'Well, how are we going to there,'" Mortensen says. "I think without exception, thanks to Kodi's way of working, we've always taken it a step further. There has been another layer, there's been something unexpected that came out of him or that happened between us. It has been a great ride, I can honestly say that in all the movies I've been a part of, all the scenes, all the rehearsals with actors from all over the world-I've been lucky, I've been able to work with some very good performers-I have never had a better acting partner, ever. That's from the oldest most experienced decorated performers to newer, younger, raw talent. I have never worked with someone who is so consistently in the moment, so consistently there with you. His performance will make this one of those movies that you watch years from now. I really think that."

There is a pivotal scene in THE ROAD which illustrates the bonding that took place between the two actors. During an encounter with a member of a roving gang, the father has to shoot the man to protect his son. Later, he takes the boy to a stream and attempts to wash the boy's hair in the freezing-cold water. "Now, that stream is snowmelt, so that stream is probably forty-five degrees - it's really cold," says Rudd Simmons, who along with an astonished crew watched the scene in awe. "The man takes the boy in his arms, and he dips his head in water-the blood and the gore from the gang member is splattered all over the boy-and he very gently rubs away the blood, and the boy comes back to life. Now that's the way it's scripted."

Simmons continues to explain the scene: "What happened was Viggo picked up Kodi, dipped his head in water, and the water was such a shock to Kodi, it literally jolted him alive. And he started to cry because it was so painful, and he couldn't stop. And so Viggo took him in his arms and cradled him, and literally brought him back to life in that moment. It's a remarkable scene. Viggo picked him up in his arms and took him over to a clearing right away from the stream in the sunlight. And he put him down, and he just cradled him and rocked him in the sun.

"Kodi's dad, Andy, came over and-if that had been my son, I would have jumped right in to see what I could have done. But Andy's a wonderful actor, he's a wonderful director, he's been working with Kodi as an acting coach. And Andy knew to step back and let Viggo and Kodi as actors have that moment together, where Kodi has gone to a place-a bad place-and Viggo is now helping bring him back. It was a remarkable thing to see. I think from that moment on, their relationship changed, and they became inseparable for the rest of the movie. They became like father and son to each other."

Mortensen picks up the story of that pivotal scene from his own generous point of view: "It was quite cold, there was still snow on the ground, and when I had to wash Kodi's head in that stream it was really, really cold water-there was still ice on the edges. And it was one of those moments that actually could have gone different ways, but the way it went was that when I pulled his head out of the water on the second take he was almost in shock, his head was hurting so bad from the cold, and I didn't realize how much it had upset him until I looked right into his eyes, right in the middle of the take, and he wasn't gone but he was really in real pain."

The actor, who has played opposite some of the seasoned greats-Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Cate Blanchett, Robert Forster, Armin Mueller-Stahl-speaks of his young co-star in tones normally reserved for some icon of the Actor's Studio. "And I just looked at him, but he stayed in character, this is the kind of actor he is," Mortensen says, "And he called me Papa and he's crying there for real, but he played the scene, yet I knew that it was really him. He's a brilliant young actor. He has a presence, he is appealing to look at and he is consistent from take to take ... pushing himself, pushing himself, pushing me ... pushing everybody."

It is both a tribute to Mortensen's own generosity and to Kodi's talents that Viggo's assessment of Kodi's performance is so effusive. "That day, it was almost like something broke and expanded inside him as an actor," he continues. "I've seen ROMULUS, MY FATHER, the movie he won awards for in Australia, and he's very good in that movie-really good-yet I think, however, that in this movie he goes way beyond what he did in ROMULUS. He had already done that by the time we were done shooting the scene by the stream. But that day he kind of stepped it up, he went into another gear and most importantly, I think the connection between us really was cemented somehow, in that moment and in the aftermath of that take. His father Andy is really good with him and he's also an actor, so he's very grounded and he has a real understanding of the process of preparing from day to day and what goes into a scene. There have been many, many moments like that that have led us deeper into the story than you would expect when you read the script, and closer to each other as people too."

While the novel The Road is a pas de deux, a solitary journey by two main players in which other people are either hazards, horrors, flashbacks or ancillary players, the movie version of the story called for a shift in emphasis in the human universe in which they live. So the filmmakers made a conscious decision to expand some of the key roles in the telling of the story. The characters known as The Woman (Charlize Theron), Old Man (Robert Duvall), The Veteran (Guy Pierce) and The Thief (Michael K. Williams) took on a much more important aspect in the film's development process. And once the word got out about an adaptation by the producer of SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE and THE PLAYER (Wechsler), the director of THE PROPOSITION (Hillcoat) and the writer of ENDURING LOVE (Joe Penhall), the short list of world-class stars became much shorter.

"It was very easy to cast this movie because the book had achieved such popularity," says Wechsler, "and the other roles, even though they might be small, they each packed a lot of punch-they each had a very specific purpose, and were very important to the movement of the piece. So any actor that was going up for one of these parts knew that that part would be a very fulfilling experience. So the casting came together quite well-the actors were willing to move around their availabilities and tried to get the producers of shows they might have been working on permission to carve out some time so that they could do a small part in our movie."

A notable departure from the way the story is told in the novel is the presentation of the man's wife, who commits suicide when she fears that whoever is out there will come for them. "Sooner or later, they will catch up with us and they will kill us," she says. "They will rape me ... and they will rape him. ... They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you won't face it. You'd rather wait for it to happen." The man's choice is to take his son after this tragedy and go out on the road in hopes of somehow finding a better future for the boy, if not for himself. In the book, the wife's choices are told starkly and pragmatically, against the backdrop of horror that has befallen them and the entire human race.

The relationship between The Man and The Woman is told in flashbacks, which the man returns to in daydreams, often-especially in the earlier scenes from their marriage when things were more upbeat-clinging to these vignettes like some elixir, the only bits of humanity he can grasp that keeps him going and reminds him of why he is on the road. One lyrical passage from the book illustrates this: "From daydreams on the road there was no waking. He plodded on. He could remember everything of her save her scent. Seated in a theatre with her beside him leaning forward listening to the music. Gold scrollwork and sconces and the tall columnar folds of the drapes at either side of the stage. She held his hand in her lap and he could feel the tops of her stockings through the thin stuff of her summer dress. Freeze the frame. Now call down your dark and cold and be damned."

In the movie, this scene is described without narration or dialogue, just cinematically, with sight and sound. While recounting the ups and downs of their life together, the flashbacks also serve to provide some elegiac moments of light, sun, music and happiness in an otherwise bleak world.

For this character, the filmmakers required not only a powerful actress but also a versatile one. "The thing in the book about The Woman is that the character's reality is very abrasive and harsh. And it is, and we keep that," says director Hillcoat. "But we wanted to really try and enrich that character and present her argument for making that choice as very sound because of the context of what is happening in the world."

The role demanded an actor who brought her own substantial talent. "What is great about Charlize," he continues, "is we wanted to try to find someone that had a real kind of gravitas, an emotional kind of depth to show that transition of life from the world that the privileged few are accustomed to and take for granted, and then having that all stripped away. We wanted to show the emotional damage that is inflicted by this global catastrophe. Her refusal to accept the new world is a huge shift, an emotional shift. So, Charlize is someone that has already shown incredible range. Her transformation in MONSTER was pretty astounding. She seems to be one of those actresses that really is able to transform and go to real emotional depths."

Another pivotal casting choice was the use of Robert Duvall for The Old Man, a character The Man and The Boy meet on the road and spend some time with, who provides another more philosophical perspective to their journey. Coincidentally, says Hillcoat-and this is one of a number of serendipitous coincidences about the production-"He knows Cormac McCarthy, he's so familiar with that world-that was really helpful."

Duvall's presence on the set was not only a link to the novelist's world view, it provided an opportunity for deepening the story, and inspiring the crew in the telling of it. And the actor brought some of his own magic to the piece under truly daunting circumstances.

"He did something that was quite extraordinary under extreme pressure," Hillcoat observes. While for most film crews, a sunny day is a good thing, for the makers of THE ROAD, a story about a world without light or warmth, the values were topsy-turvy. "We were plagued by weather problems. It was a day when the sun was out and the sun was our enemy. And that's been a running joke throughout the whole film that when it's actually beautiful weather that most people love we all get depressed, and when it's miserable we all get excited and run out into it.

"And that happened with Robert that we had just this bright, sunny day that was just a disaster for the landscape we were in where there's a huge coal ash pile of remnants of mining debris and a scarred landscape. We ended up being really pressurized for time. We talked about trying something where he would bring an extra bit of history to the character. In terms of that pain and damage, because his character's an old coot-everyone's wondering how the hell did he survive and where did he come from, and he's a very enigmatic sort of a Samuel Beckett-type character. And so within a couple of takes, he just came up with the most extraordinary bit of improvisation in the middle of the scene that was just heartbreaking and kind of helped shape the scene in a very quick time. That was great. It was hard to work under those conditions, and when you have actors with that kind of wealth of experience, you kind of wish you had more time to do stuff. But he rose to the challenge and beyond."

The producers draw their own parallels between the casting of Duvall, Mortensen and Smit-McPhee, and the job of their respective characters with regard to the theme of the story, about "carrying the fire," through a world of adversity into a future of hope. The scene around the campfire with the Old Man, The Boy and his father, says Paula Schwartz, "has three generations of actors in it. There's Kodi Smit-McPhee - the budding star, the boy - there's the father - Viggo Mortensen, an established star - and then there's the legendary star - Robert Duvall. So it's very symbolic to me-there is a message in this. It is not a tutorial, but there's the continuity, there's the evolution, and there's this continuation: carrying the fire. And the fire is the symbol of life, the symbol of survival, which is what the movie's all about. The boy is carrying the fire. The father is protecting the boy. And that was very touching."

On the day they filmed the scene, the set was hushed, and everyone knew that something magical was transpiring. "It was an incredible, very touching scene," Paula Schwartz continues, describing the setup where Robert Duvall's character "has accepted an invitation to sit by the campfire with The Man and The Boy. And it's very poignant because you can see the admiration for this old man, who has withstood the catastrophe, the apocalypse, and both the father and the boy listening to his wisdom about why this happened and will people ever survive. It was memorable because Robert Duvall is 77 years old now and he has tremendous wisdom and energy in his voice that is catching. It was a magical scene."

Rounding out the cast of supporting characters who were only ciphers in the book were The Veteran, a rugged survivalist, one of "The Good Guys" who becomes the ultimate protector of the boy once he nears the end of his journey, and The Thief, a crafty man who steals everything from the boy and his father.

"I'm really thrilled with the cast that we managed to get and the variety of different characters," says Hillcoat. "I couldn't think of anyone but Guy Pearce as the veteran and we were just very fortunate that we were able to get him. We wanted to convey that there are all these people wandering around this new world fighting for survival and Guy certainly, like Viggo, has some similar qualities-you can imagine him surviving. Adding to the mixture of personalities, Michael K. Williams brought a great kind of more urban, street thing to the thief, whereas Garret Dillahunt, who plays one of the road gang truckers, added a kind of more country, hick, backwater-type thing to it. And Molly Parker (Motherly Woman) was just great for the ending I think-a very difficult role to pull off, because she ends the film with Kodi. And really for them the challenge was to get across their damage in a fairly short time, screen time, to give you a sense of where they've come from and the kind of emotional damage - that they've all endured."

Mortensen says the production was fortunate indeed to get some strong acting talent so that the entire film is not just about him and Kodi. "John has cast the movie well, it's not just the two of us," he says. "Obviously Guy Pearce, who played the main role in THE PROPOSITION for John Hillcoat, plays a pivotal role towards the end. Very interesting character, he did that really well. He and Kodi interacted well. Molly Parker, Michael Williams is great. Everybody that's come in to do these sequences where the father and son actually run into people have been great, have been perfectly cast. We've been lucky ... lucky in a lot of ways."

For Hillcoat and his team, the mission was to convey the horrific aspect of a ravaged world without resorting to well-worn clichés from the end-of-the earth genre. His main go-to people in this respect were the editor John Gregory, the production designer Chris Kennedy and the costume designer Margot Wilson-all of whom he'd worked with before and had the comfort level and filmmaker's shorthand to get the job done.

"After my experience with THE PROPOSITION, I'd be very happy to work with them for the rest of my days," he says. "What I love about both Chris and Margot is their eye for detail. The richness of their understanding of the material goes so beyond what their official positions designate. Margot really, like Chris, really gets into the characters and why they're doing things, what the themes are and how they show up in their surroundings. What that says about them."

The director notes how the team's sensibility showed up in the interpretation of the material. "We wanted to avoid the Mad Max kind of thing that has defined the post-apocalyptic genre because it was such a landmark in that genre. So we thought about the imagery in the book and what sprung to mind is the shopping trolley and the ski jackets and the grime and all that and plastic bags and taping up runners and stuff. What that immediately brought to mind was the homeless in every major city in the world. This underclass is living that apocalyptic world of day-to-day survival on the streets with no money and no food.

"So that was our reference really. Margot collected loads of pictures and she was keeping an eye out on that whole world of being homeless and surviving on the streets. And hence she took that further where it was plastic lining in the jackets because the world was so cold to keep warm and the way people would recycle bits of clothing. It's just fantastically detailed."

When Margot read the script, she says, she had been sent photographs of some of the locations, and she began to piece together the types of characters that lived in them. "I read it about five times so I could get beyond the sort of sadness and the feeling and from all the emotions that that script evokes," she says. "One minute there's hope and then there's sadness-it takes you through the whole gamut. That's where I started feeling this love story between these two people, Viggo and Kodi.

"John sent me a whole lot of photographs along with his style notes," she continues. "But a lot of my research came from the homeless, unfortunately, because they're people that reflect what that world would be. They've got no clothing, they've got hardly any food and they just make do with what they've got and really that's what our characters are. The location photos gave me a sense of the bareness, of the nothingness really that we were dealing with and beautiful, stark landscapes. No color and dreary, but poetic at the same time."

Her method was then to think about the characters and make sketches of what they would look like in their improvised outfits. "When I read the script I knew who the characters were and that always helps because you're thinking about who the actors are and bringing them together with the characters, listening to the words that they're saying, developing what type of people they are," she says. "I wanted the audience to look at a garment and see something familiar about it and recognize it as clothing that we wear today."

Once she settled on a look for the character, there were hours of painstaking work, "aging" the garments, many of which were picked up at second-hand stores. Care was taken to use clothing that didn't match-everything in this world would have been scavenged and adapted for utility-warmth, shelter from the elements, ruggedness-not style.

She also came up with a philosophy of life on the road that extended to all the characters. It amounted to portability, layers and a substance that will probably outlast us all-plastic.

"We had to think about a lot of clothing, obviously, the layers. If you haven't got anything in the world and you are traveling across America to try and find safety, you're carrying your home on your back. So, the layers were incredibly important. For Viggo, we started off with he's brought his tee-shirt from home, he's brought a couple of shirts, a hoodie to keep his head warm, gloves, endless pairs of socks, shoes. But its not like you think, 'Yes, you can put a lot in a bag and we'll just carry the lot.' He had to think, 'What feasibly can I carry around on my back?' They can't be carrying endless luggage around."

That's where the philosophy of costume design interfaces with the mise-en-scene, she says. "You've got to sort of think of it from a minimalistic view, that it's almost like you're going camping and I can only take a certain amount with me and what's going to keep me warm and dry? For keeping them dry we used shower curtains. He's found that somewhere along the road and turned them into a raincoat. So he's had to utilize certain things that he's found along the road.

"With Kodi, when he was born all the shops had gone, there was no electricity, that sort of stuff so I brought in the idea that the father and mother have put together. It was Viggo's pants that they've made shorter, they got one of his jumpers and stapled it together with staples. He's got a bigger shirt on and the coat is a coat that they had, his parka, in the house, the shoes are too big for him, his gloves are far too big for him because they can't just go and buy it. With Viggo's shoes, he's walking across America so we need to get comfortable shoes for him. He just has that one pair of shoes and over the years they eventually start to fall apart so we aged them heavily and then put duct tape around them. He carries a roll of duct tape and mends bits of his clothing with it. He tapes up his wound from the arrow with it.

"All these little elements go together. He carries plastic bags with him and wraps his feet in plastic bags because plastic doesn't break down and it's one thing that keeps you warm, so that came in very handy but I also wanted to show that, I used plastic bags on Robert Duvall's character and also the thief because I wanted to show that plastic, whatever happens to the world, it will be one thing that will survive beyond everything else".

The story of THE ROAD is bleak indeed, but it is about survival, and underneath that is a story of hope for the world where the possibility of annihilation has come so close to all of us that it's nice to know that we could go on even if there was a catastrophe.

For the Schwartz's, as Steve Schwartz says, "There was never a question for us about whether we wanted to make this movie after we read the manuscript. Since the mid-20th century-since the invention of the H-Bomb-people have been wondering if mankind has been facing its last hurrah. But it seems since the start of this century, there's even more peril at every turn. People are more and more engaged with the thought of the end of the world. And THE ROAD paints a picture that is-in its devastation and in its realism that you just can't turn away from. But if that's all it did, we wouldn't be interested. In a sense the world is redeemed by the father and the son and their love, and at the end there is a glimmer of hope."

But make no mistake, he adds, THE ROAD is a horror story, an eco-disaster, post-nuclear apocalypse horror story, but a horror story nonetheless. Since 9-11, people have had good reason to be scared, and "people are going to be scared as they watch this. I hope people will think it's a smart scary movie, and of course if you're smart today, there's a lot to be scared about. But because it is so realistic, it's very scary. And Hillcoat is a genius at creating the kind of tension both on-screen and off that makes you squirm in your seat."

But it is about hope in the end-carrying the fire. To the boy, that is a process of staying the course. "The boy divides people up into two categories. What he's learned from his father is the good guys are the ones that don't eat people and the bad guys are the ones who do," says Paula Mae Schwartz, "and that's why he says to the veteran-who he meets after his father does die, 'Are you one of the good guys?' Do you eat people or not?"

"For me, the scary part is these aren't zombies eating people - these are people eating people-people like us," says Steve Schwartz.

"The earth itself is a cast member," he continues. "We don't signal the cause of the apocalypse, but it's apparent that there have been profound alterations to the planet, and they're not good. That's a simple statement, but how do you execute that? And once we got into the nitty-gritty details of that, you realize that you have to come up with a set of rules for how you're going to alter the planet, and those rules have to be consistent. I was very impressed early on with John Hillcoat's willingness to get his arms around this and to make sure that the new world we created was internally consistent. Hillcoat's vision was always very clear. He had a profound vision and it never varied. He saw this very clearly from the get go, and has stuck to this vision, and I think the resulting film reveals this very coherent visually interesting new world."

"Cormac McCarthy's book starts after the apocalypse. That's intentional, of course," Paula Schwartz adds. "I think one of the real thought-provoking results of that is that people are going to be much more aware of the multitude of causes that could have really caused the end of the earth so that they'd be aware of the environmental cause, the possibility of a nuclear war, the possibility of a planetary event, like a comet, but I think the awareness of the fragility of the earth is very important to the story-that we all have to be careful."

When he visited the set, McCarthy was very happy with the choices of locations-in particular New Orleans, where there has been an actual natural disaster. Nature and the environment are so important to this film.

"What I really loved about the book," says Hillcoat, "and what I love about Cormac McCarthy is he's so kind of unflinching in exploring the depths of humanity and not shying away from just how scary we really are and how we're our own and the entire planet's worst enemy and always have been and always will be. And yet what is extraordinary about the book that isn't in his other books is that incredible emotional richness and tenderness between the father and the son at the core of the story.

"It is a biblical story," says Paula Schwartz. "The story of the triumph of love over evil, and we feel that it will give people a good feeling when they leave the theater-that there is hope."

About the Physical Production

In a movie in which the planet is a central character, it became crucial for the filmmakers to find a great deal of varied terrain that reflected the changing scenery as the boy and his father made their way from a mountainous region across the country through rolling hills and finally to the ocean. And since the planet is one big disaster area, they had to find many ruined, abandoned or devastated locations as possible.

Over a long pre-production period, more than 50 locations were scouted which suited the production's needs. The majority of these were found in Pennsylvania, with notable detours to the shores of Lake Erie, the Katrina-hit areas of Louisiana and some areas in Oregon.

"Since Cormac never tells us what the apocalyptic event is, we've decided to look around the United States contemporary events that would look like they were apocalyptic events," says Wechsler. "So New Orleans gives us a great opportunity to show what can happen with a natural disaster. There are other areas in the United States that were caused by fire, by volcano, by human decay and the tragedy of society moving from one part of civilization to another part of civilization in terms of the application of money and resources. So we're taking advantage of man-made and natural events around the United States."

"The film crew decided that there were a lot of locations in and around Pittsburgh that could be very useful," Wechsler adds, "especially an abandoned turnpike, which is not far away, as well as abandoned coalmines, surface coalmines, coal dumping areas that would give a quality of blackened earth that we could use. Pennsylvania had some beautiful winter landscapes that were useful and the film commission and the people there were incredibly friendly and incredibly receptive, so it made it a great place to base our film."

For the production designer, Chris Kennedy, the script by Joe Penhall fairly well laid out the course he would take in setting up the long and arduous shoot. "When I read the screenplay, I was pretty impressed by how they had managed to translate it from the book," he says. "Joe managed to pull out all of the key dialogue because really most of the book is the man thinking. It's kind of the ambient sense of the world through his eyes, which was the key to how to think about visualizing it. Plus, we intended to use real locations, so it was pretty much straight away a matter of finding out where they may be. So there was a long search for places across the country that we could use."

When the decision was made to base the production in Pennsylvania, Kennedy was excited by the possibilities. "It's clearly set in America; it's about things American. I did a huge search on the web while I was in Australia before I came out and I pretty rapidly realized that there's a heap of abandoned and destroyed towns, cities, landscapes here, much more so than in Australia. There was a whole collection of things that got me really excited once I realized that the Pennsylvania coal mining areas-the abandoned turnpike down in Breezewood, eight miles of abandoned freeway -all those things that are just quite spectacular. It's The Road, so it seemed like this road actually became like a keystone to why to come here in the first place and then searched out from there and found all sorts of things. And here we have deciduous trees, which is a key to the whole theme-a dead landscape. I kind of covered the whole of America in my research, and the northern areas with deciduous forests in a winter landscape were obviously the place to start.

"Pennsylvania has coal landscapes, devastated mining areas, coal piles, fly ash piles, like blackened landscape. So it's a combination of elements -a depressed socio-economic situation in suburbs like Braddock and Keysport; winter landscape; deciduous trees; devastated landscape."

Kennedy's modus operandi would be to do his research, find likely areas and send photos and notes to his location manager, Andrew Ullman, who by coincidence went to school in one of the Pennsylvania areas where they shot. "They found the area or per se, and we sort of found the places," Ullman says. "Chris was interesting. He kind of fed me some material and said, 'This would be an interesting area to do something like this,' and that's how we came upon a few of the locations."

One of his prize finds was an old theme park in Conneaut, Pa., which served as the setting for some fires and a razed building. The place was a lucky find, according to Ullman. "There aren't a lot of theme parks that show wear-and-tear," he explains, "and this one obviously is a lake park over 100 years old that has gone through some unprofitable restructuring and hence met with decay and abandonment. We were able to make these fires here and they were kind enough to hold off tearing the building down for us."

The lake park, he says, "is a dinosaur. Nobody comes to lake parks anymore. This was for the people that couldn't afford to go anywhere else. They would hop on a train, and they'd come up here, and they'd summer here or spend a week or two weeks. This was for the coal miners, the working class."

The parameters of his job on THE ROAD were quite different from what he's used to. "Normally I look for bucolic, beautiful, you know, or something interesting, and it was interesting of Chris-and John-to find these iconic images, these graphic images in these ruins."

Another topsy-turvy aspect of the filmmaking was the quality of light the crew needed to simulate a planet devoid of bright sunlight. "We need overcast weather for subdued lighting," says Kennedy. "We're talking about a post-apocalyptic world under a nuclear winter or an equivalent. So, direct sunlight is a problem. In fact, Javier Aguirresarobe, the cinematographer, says, 'The sun is our enemy.' Both here and in Oregon another aspect of why it's good to shoot there is the amount of overcast days in the period that we're there."

While other film crews would rejoice at a bright sunny day, that is when THE ROAD crew got depressed and went inside to shoot interiors. "Working out in the snow in extremely cold weather and in mud and in awfully difficult conditions-if it's snowing or raining, then it's great. We rush out into it," Kennedy says. "I think it took people a while to get that into their head that actually this is an environmental film that's set out in a real environment, and what we want is the drama of that, not a nice, clear day."

Mortensen, who is such an intense incorporator of the environment into his method, describes the day-for night quality of the shoot as a test of the subconscious. On the set in Oregon, after most of the grueling weather scenes are behind him and he's preparing for some flashback scenes with Theron, he muses about the effect of the weather on filming. "We started out the whole shoot almost all the exteriors; we've had snow, mud, rain," he says. "We are inside now shooting interiors so we don't have to worry about it. It's this beautiful late spring day here in Oregon. And this morning was the first time in the shoot where I actually sat down for a second in the grass and I just looked at the green, watched a bird. I am someone who enjoys being outdoors, I like the change of seasons. I like to learn about trees and flowers. I am interested in places and natural places, but because of this movie I've ended up thinking always about no green, no sun, no anything.

"Mostly we've been lucky with the weather in that way," he continues. "So in a way, for the first time in my life, I've denied the coming of spring and I have denied life in a way. That's what talk in the story about carrying the fire really means to me. You can read that many ways, that idea, being someone who is a leader in a way is someone who carries the fire also. But carrying the fire means carrying some life force, and because everything is dead around us it's on us to keep that hope of life, of spring, whatever you want to call it, alive. It's been interesting that today I just realized I've been going to some quiet beautiful places, but looking but not seeing the natural environment, and I have never done that. Today, I am starting to let go a little, and look, it's very nice!"

The task of translating a world totally devoid of sunlight into the grey-toned brush strokes that were nonetheless photographed in color, the desolate yet exciting world that's up there on the screen, fell to the director of photography, Javier Aguirresarobe, a veteran of 35 productions, including THE OTHERS and VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA.

"A dull land is very difficult visually to bring to a film. So my life became more enriched with this film but also more difficult," Javier says. But to hear him tell it, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I think the most important thing for me as a director of photography is finding new aspirations, new places, new spaces that are absolutely different for me. I encountered this with THE ROAD. It really is the film of my dreams, because in part of the book Cormac McCarthy portrayed an apocalyptic land, a land naked of sun."

An early decision by John Hillcoat was to keep the use of CGI-computer generated imagery- to a minimum. If anything, the processing of the film stock to take out some of the colors that might have made their way into it was the primary use of digital manipulation on THE ROAD.

"On the technical side, I have to say that I've experimented a lot with different techniques," Javier says. "The film will be treated in different ways in the lab to get the film visually to the point where it's looking where we want it. I found a fantastic team that I have worked extremely well with and to whom I am very close and frankly I'm ecstatic to have been a part of THE ROAD. I think it's an incredible project and it was worth the effort even with the many challenges. This is day number 59 and that's a lot of days. I'm not so much tired as much as I am particularly satisfied with a job that I believe in visually, and I feel confident in saying that. THE ROAD is definitely the high point of my professional life and I think it's also the biggest of all my films"

The biggest challenge for a cinematographer, he says, was working with the weather, and maintaining visual continuity over more than 50 locations and 60 days of exterior shooting. And maintaining the "confidence to do the job correctly. Because this is an exterior film, we're always outside and dealing with the different climates and the changing weather. I came up with two sayings on the film that became popular with the crew. One is, 'The sun is the enemy' and the other is, 'Anything is possible on THE ROAD.' We were actually very lucky with the weather in the end and the sun stayed away most of the time.

"In this movie, the sun doesn't exist and the earth is apocalyptic. The color green doesn't exist; in fact colors don't exist cinematically either. At night the only light and color is from the red fire. We ended up using a lot of fireballs to create the light. They illuminate the sky and give the film an authenticity, realness.

"In this film, there isn't a manipulation of lights or a manipulation of things that are real," he adds. "For me I need the people when they leave the theater to have an impression of what can happen to this earth and that this can happen to them. I want them to feel while they watch the film that it's real and sincere. I think the biggest victory will be if the audience can believe in the reality of the story while watching it in the artificial world of the theater-that they see there is a truth to this story.

"In reality it's a recreation but it also morphs with reality and the photography is there to serve that. To create true light and the truth of the apocalyptic world; that is my role."

After a long and difficult shoot, Javier says he is blessed to have worked on THE ROAD. He tips his hat to the two people who carried the burden of filming-and the fire.

"Another reason I feel very satisfied on this film is because of a lot of people, but in particular two people," he says. "One of them is Viggo Mortensen and the other is Kodi, the principal protagonists. In creating this sort of reality I think I have also benefited from their performance because their acting form is truly natural. It's an extremely lucky coincidence having two extraordinary actors for this film. I think this is another of the many circumstances on this film that lead me on a path to great satisfaction, making a film that a lot of people are going to remember. I am truly convinced of that."

About the Cast

VIGGO MORTENSEN as The Man
Viggo Mortensen has consistently earned acclaim for his work in a wide range of films, including most recently EASTERN PROMISES, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. In 2008, he was honored with Academy Awardâ, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Actor for his performance in EASTERN PROMISES, directed by David Cronenberg. In addition, Mortensen won a British Independent Film Award and several critics' groups awards for his work in the film. He has previously collaborated with Cronenberg in the 2005 drama A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, in which he starred with Ed Harris.

Mortensen earlier shared in a SAG Award, a Critics' Choice Award and a National Board of Review Award as a member of the ensemble cast of the Oscar®-winning Best Picture THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING. He also starred in the previous two installments of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, "THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING" and "THE TWO TOWERS."

Most recently, he starred again with and was directed by Ed Harris in APPALOOSA. Also in 2008, Mortensen starred in GOOD, based on the play by C.P. Taylor, which explores the rise of National Socialism in Germany. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mortensen was born in New York City to an American mother and a Danish father. His family traveled extensively, however, and he spent most of his first eleven years living in South America. He later spent a few years living and working in Denmark. He began acting in New York, studying with Warren Robertson, and appeared in several plays and movies before moving to Los Angeles.

Mortensen made his feature film debut as a young Amish farmer in director Peter Weir's WITNESS and has since delivered a steady string of memorable performances in more than 40 feature films. He has received praise from critics for his work in such films as ALATRISTE, G.I. JANE, A WALK ON THE MOON, LA PISTOLA DE MI HERMANO, THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY, CRIMSON TIDE, CARLITO'S WAY, THE INDIAN RUNNER and THE REFLECTING SKIN, to name only a few.

Apart from his acting, Mortensen is also an accomplished poet, photographer, and painter. In 2002, he founded Perceval Press, an independent publishing house specializing in art, poetry and critical writing. Perceval's mission is to publish texts, images and recordings that might not otherwise be presented.

Most recently, Mortensen exhibited the photographic series "Skovbo" in Iceland, at the Reykjavik Museum of Photography, and "The Nature of Landscape and Independent Perception," with George Gudni, at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. Past shows include "Miyelo" at both the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles and the Addison Ripley Gallery in Washington, D.C. Mortensen has also shown his work at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York City, as well as in New Zealand, Denmark and Cuba. In October 2008, his photographic exhibition "Sådanset" opened in Roskilde, Denmark, at the Palæfløjen exhibition space. His books of photography and writing are available from Perceval Press.

KODI SMIT-MCPHEE as The Boy
Kodi leaped into prominence in 2007 after starring opposite Eric Bana, Marton Csokas and Franka Potente in the critically acclaimed ROMULUS, MY FATHER, directed by Richard Roxbury. For his work in the film, Kodi received the Australian Film Institute's Young Actor Award and was also nominated for the Institute's Best Lead Actor prize. He also received the Best Newcomer award from the 2007 Film Critics Circle of Australia.

The young thespian - he was born June 13, 1996 - comes from an acting family. His older sister Sianoa starred on the popular Australian television show NEIGHBOURS, and she recently landed her first U.S. role, filming the HBO pilot HUNG, which was written and directed by Alexander Payne. Kodi's father Andy has appeared in dozens of films and television shows in his native Australia and serves as his children's acting coach.

Besides ROMULUS and THE ROAD, Kodi has had a busy last two years of acting with the Australian feature films STRANDED and END OF TOWN, along with the television productions of Stephen King's NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES. He also appeared in Richard Frankland's theater production Walkabout.

Kodi Smit-McPhee lives with his family in Melbourne, Australia. Besides acting, Kodi enjoys skateboarding and making music on his computer.

CHARLIZE THERON as The Woman
With her ability to capture a plethora of characters, Oscar®-winning actress Charlize Theron relentlessly demands the audience's full attention as soon as she appears on screen. This South African native is continuously being praised and admired for her inspiring and powerful performances.

Theron captivated audiences as female serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the independent gem MONSTER. For her emotionally devastating performance in that film, she received the Academy Award®, the Independent Spirit Award and the National Broadcast Film Critics Association award for Best Actress. She also won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, San Francisco Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online and Southeastern Film Critics awards and the Breakthrough Performance Award from the National Board of Review.

Charlize was next seen in the drama NORTH COUNTRY, opposite Frances McDormand and Sissy Spacek for director Niki Caro. Based on the real-life story of a group of women coal miners and the hostile work environment they faced on a daily basis, NORTH COUNTRY received great praise. Her incredible performance as Josey Aimes garnered her nominations for a Golden Globe, SAG, Critics Choice and an Oscar®.

Theron also captivated audiences in HBO's THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, opposite Geoffrey Rush, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Emmys.

Charlize was recently seen as Detective Emily Sanders in the film IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH written and directed by Paul Haggis. Soon after she received rave reviews for her film SLEEPWALKING, in which she both produced and co-starred alongside Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson, Nick Stahl and AnnaSophia Robb.

Most recently she was seen in HANCOCK, starring alongside Will Smith and Jason Bateman. Directed by Peter Berg, HANCOCK is an action comedy which was released by Sony Pictures in the summer of 2008. In addition, Theron recently finished filming and executive producing Guillermo Arriaga's directorial debut THE BURNING PLAIN in which she plays Sylvia, a woman who is forced to take an emotional journey to rid herself of a sin from her past. Theron stars alongside Kim Basinger in this upcoming drama produced by 2929 Productions.

Moviegoers were first introduced to the seductive charm of Charlize Theron in her feature film debut, MGM's 2 DAYS IN THE VALLEY, with James Spader, Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels. She has also been seen co-starring alongside Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in DEVILS ADVOCATE; with Tom Hanks in THAT THING YOU DO; and in Jonathan Lynn's TRIAL AND ERROR. In addition, Theron starred in Woody Allen's CELEBRITY, which she then followed with MIGHTY JOE YOUNG with Bill Paxton. In 1999 Theron starred in the Oscar®-nominated THE CIDER HOUSE RULES and in New Line Cinema's THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE, with Johnny Depp. In 2000, the much in-demand Theron tackled back-to-back roles in the following movies: Robert Redford's THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE, with Will Smith and Matt Damon, Fox 2000's MEN OF HONOR, with Robert DeNiro and Cuba Gooding, Jr., John Frankenheimer's REINDEER GAMES, with Ben Affleck and Miramax's THE YARDS, co-starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, James Caan and Faye Dunaway.

In 2001, Theron illuminated the screen in the Warner Bros tearjerker SWEET NOVEMBER, alongside Keanu Reeves, as well as in Woody Allen's CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION, co-starring Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd and David Ogden Stiers. In the fall of 2002 Theron starred opposite Patrick Swayze, Natasha Richardson and Billy Bob Thornton in WAKING UP IN RENO. She then moved on to star alongside Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Dakota Fanning in the feature film TRAPPED, directed by Luis Mandoki.

ROBERT DUVALL as The Old Man
Veteran actor Robert Duvall received his first Academy Award® nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Corleone Family legal advisor Tom Hagen in THE GODFATHER. In 1979, Duvall earned a second Oscar® nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Custer-like Kilgore in APOCALYPSE NOW. The next year, he drew yet another Academy Award® nomination, this time for Best Actor as the macho Marine pilot Bull Meechum in THE GREAT SANTINI. He was honored with the Academy Award® as Best Actor for the 1983 release TENDER MERCIES. He was nominated again for THE APOSTLE, a film he wrote and directed, won a Golden Globe for STALIN and received a Globe nomination as well as his sixth Oscar® nomination for A CIVIL ACTION.

Duvall made his screen debut in 1962's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. In the now-classic motion picture, Duvall played the pivotal role of the mysterious, misunderstood Boo Radley.

His impressive roster of additional feature film credits also includes THE CHASE, COUNTDOWN, THE DETECTIVE, BULLITT, THE RAIN PEOPLE, TRUE GRIT, M*A*S*H, THX 1138, THE GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID, JOE KIDD, THE CONVERSATION, THE GODFATHER PART II, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, THE KILLER ELITE, NETWORK, THE SEVEN PER-CENT SOLUTION, TRUE CONFESSIONS, THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER, THE NATURAL, LET'S GET HARRY, DAYS OF THUNDER, COLORS, RAMBLNG ROSE, FALLING DOWN, GERONIMO, WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY, THE PAPER, THE SCARLET LETTER, PHENOMENON, THE SIXTH DAY, JOHN Q, DEEP IMPACT, GONE IN 60 SECONDS, GODS AND GENERALS, OPEN RANGE, SECONDHAND LIONS and KICKING AND SCREAMING. In 2007, he appeared in LUCKY YOU, with Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana and WE OWN THE NIGHT with Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix.

Duvall formed Butchers Run Films so that he could become more actively involved in all aspects of film and television development and production. In June of 2006, his company's miniseries BROKEN TRAIL aired on AMC to the delight of 10 million viewers. BROKEN TRAIL garnered 16 Emmy nominations as well as three Golden Globe nominations and a Directors Guild Award. The Butchers Run's first co-production, A FAMILY THING in which Duvall co-stars, earned a Humanitas Award. He executive produced the TNT Original THE MAN WHO CAPTURED EICHMANN, in which Duvall portrayed the chillingly remorseless Nazi bureaucrat, Adolph Eichmann. In the beginning of 2001, he went to Argentina to direct, write, produce and star in ASSASSINATION TANGO. The actor is world-renowned as a devotee of the classic tango.

Duvall recently produced the feature CRAZY HEART, starring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal, with T Bone Burnett composing the soundtrack. He was also recently seen in FOUR CHRISTMASES with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.

GUY PEARCE as The Veteran
One of the most versatile actors of his generation, Pearce made his mark over a decade ago playing a pretty young drag queen in THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. The film was a critical and box-office hit, becoming one of the 10 most successful Australian films of all time and receiving an Oscar®, two Golden Globe nominations, two BAFTAs and numerous AFI nominations. Guy's diverse array of roles since that time include Ed Exley in the slick crime drama LA CONFIDENTIAL and the complex amnesiac Leonard Shelby in the intelligent thriller MEMENTO. More recently Pearce starred as Charlie Burns in John Hillcoat and Nick Cave's IF Award-winning feature, THE PROPOSITION.

Pearce also appeared in TWO BROTHERS, from acclaimed French director Jean-Jacques Annaud (SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET); the HG Wells adaptation THE TIME MACHINE, directed by the author's great grandson Simon Wells; the big-budget adaptation of the Dumas novel THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO; and the drama FIRST SNOW, shot in New Mexico for first-time feature director Mark Fergus. In 2006, Guy starred as Andy Warhol, opposite Sienna Miller in the Edie Sedgwick biopic FACTORY GIRL, directed by George Hickenlooper from The Weinstein Company.

MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS as The Thief
Williams' career began when he was a New York City street-dancer and choreographer, working on over 50 music videos and national concert tours. Catching the eye of fashion photographers David LaChapelle and Steven Klein, Michael was literally pulled off the street and into a modeling career. He soon began working in numerous runway shows and fashion shoots. These early photographs brought him to the attention of Tupac Shakur, who chose Michael to play his brother in the film BULLET. That picture led to a role in BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Early in his career, Michael added his love of theater to his passion for acting. He worked with the LaMama Theater in New York and appeared in various productions with the prestigious National Black Theater.

Named by USA Today as one of the "10 Best Reasons to Watch Television" and Barack Obama's favorite, Michael Kenneth Williams played Omar Little on HBO's THE WIRE, and is one of the few series regulars to have appeared on all five seasons of the show. Achieving critical acclaim and a loyal fan base, Michael has been nominated for a 2007 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Director J.J.Abrams, a huge fan of THE WIRE, created a recurring role just for Michael on his ABC-TV series ALIAS. In addition, Williams has had recurring roles and special guest appearances on LAW AND ORDER, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, SIX DEGREES, THE SOPRANOS, CSI, BOSTON LEGAL and recently, as the gifted sniper in KILL POINT, starring opposite John Leguizamo and Donny Wahlberg.

Hands-on star Edward Norton insisted on Michael for the role as the Harlem Bystander in THE HULK. Michael's other recent film work includes a scene-stealing cameo in I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, directed by Chris Rock; a sympathetic detective in GONE BABY GONE, Ben Affleck's directorial debut; MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA, directed by Spike Lee; and a starring role opposite Sanaa Lathan and Matthew Broderick in WONDERFUL WORLD. He can also be seen in the new Michael Cuesta (L.I.E) film, TELLTALE, starring opposite Josh Lucas. Michael recently wrapped work on BROOKLYN'S FINEST, directed by Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY), with Don Cheadle, Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.

Upcoming film releases for Michael include director Jonathan D. Rosenbaum's THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK 'N' ROLL and the UNTITLED TODD SOLONZ PROJECT.

GARRET DILLAHUNT as Gang Member
Garret Dillahunt's resume shows diversity from an actor who can morph effortlessly from role to role. He is probably best known for his work on the critically acclaimed HBO series DEADWOOD, where he portrayed two entirely different characters - the assassin Jack McCall and the complex and deadly Francis Wolcott. Recognizing Dillahunt's talent in his first incarnation, executive producer/writer David Milch created a second character for him. Dillahunt also co-starred in the HBO series JOHN FROM CINCINNATI from producer Milch.

He portrayed a very accessible Jesus Christ in the controversial NBC series BOOK OF DANIEL. Dillahunt has had recurring roles on ER, USA Network's THE 4400 and F/X's DAMAGES. He has guest starred in many TV series, including NUMBERS, LAW & ORDER and CSI.

Previously, he garnered attention from the controversial Sundance Grand Jury prize-winning THE BELIEVER, and the Oscar®-nominated short, BY COURIER. He also has been seen in the Coen Brothers' Oscar®-winning drama NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, opposite Tommy Lee Jones. Dillahunt portrayed a befuddled detective who worked with Jones and provided some much-needed comic relief in the film. In THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, Dillahunt portrayed Ed Miller, a James gang member - a simple, brutal but loyal man who suffers the wrath of his boss' paranoia - opposite Brad Pitt.

Dillahunt stars as the Terminator in the Fox Broadcasting series TERMINATOR: THE SARA CONNOR CHRONICLES." He recently completed filming as the bad guy Krug in Wes Craven's upcoming feature LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and opposite Winnona Ryder in WATER PILLS.

He has an impressive theatrical resume as well, having performed extensively on- and off-Broadway, and at such respected theater companies as Steppenwolf, ACT San Francisco, Seattle Rep, Huntington Stage, Williamstown and the Berkshire Theater Festival.

Born in California and raised in Washington State, he studied Journalism at the University of Washington and went on to earn his MFA at New York University's renowned graduate acting program. He resides in both Los Angeles and New York and is married to actress Michelle Hurd.

MOLLY PARKER as Motherly Woman
An actress of fierce intelligence, as well as both strength and delicacy, Molly Parker consistently garners acclaim for her craft as well as her bold, diverse choices in characters. She is currently starring on the hit CBS drama SWINGTOWN, from creator Alan Poul (ROME and BIG LOVE).

Parker's film credits include HOLLYWOODLAND, with Ben Affleck and Diane Lane; Matt Bissonnette's independent feature WHO LOVES THE SUN, opposite Lukas Haas and Adam Scott; Rodrigo Garcia's NINE LIVES, which topped numerous critics' best films of 2005 lists; Gillies MacKinnon's PURE; Wayne Wang's CENTER OF THE WORLD, which garnered her an Independent Spirit Award nomination, Best Female Lead, opposite Peter Sarsgaard; the Golden Globe-nominated drama SUNSHINE, in which she co-starred with Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; Keith Gordon's WAKING THE DEAD, with Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly; Neil LaBute's remake of THE WICKER MAN, starring Nicolas Cage; Menno Meyjes' MAX, co-starring John Cusack; and Michael Winterbottom's acclaimed WONDERLAND.

Parker also starred in Wiebke von Carolsfeld's MARION BRIDGE, which earned her a Genie Award Best Actress nomination; LOOKING FOR LEONARD, which she also executive produced; the comedies MEN WITH BROOMS and LAST WEDDING, for which she received Genie Award nominations; RARE BIRDS with William Hurt; Jeremy Podeswa's THE FIVE SENSES with Mary Louise-Parker and the Venice Film Festival entry SUSPICIOUS RIVER. Parker made her feature film debut as an alluring necrophiliac in Lynne Stipkewich's stunning KISSED, for which she received a Genie Award for Best Actress.

Parker is widely known for her work on HBO's critically heralded series DEADWOOD as Alma Garret, the former New York society woman who reinvents herself by working her claim, adopting an orphan girl and falling for Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant). She began a relationship with HBO when she appeared as Rabbi Ari on the award-winning series SIX FEET UNDER and subsequently starred with Hilary Swank and Angelica Houston as a young suffragette in IRON JAWED ANGELS. Additional television credits include TWITCH CITY, the Fox miniseries INTENSITY and the telefilm SERVING IN SILENCE, with Glenn Close.

About the Filmmakers

JOHN HILLCOAT / Director
John Hillcoat grew up in America, Canada and Britain. A career in Fine Arts led to enrollment at Swinburne Film School in Australia, where he produced two celebrated short dramas, THE BLONDE'S DATE WITH DEATH and FRANKIE AND JOHNNY. He went on to a successful career directing and editing music videos for such artists as Nick Cave, INXS, Crowded House, Depeche Mode, Robert Plant, Muse and Razorlight, for which he won several international awards and an Australian Recording Industry Award for Best Director.

After three years researching maximum-security prisons in America and Australia, John co-wrote and directed his first feature film GHOSTS ... OF THE CIVIL DEAD. The film was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards. His follow-up film, released in 1998, TO HAVE & TO HOLD is set in the jungle of Papua New Guinea and stars Tcheky Karyo and Rachel Griffiths.

John's third feature film THE PROPOSITION stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt and Emily Watson. The film is an Australian Western set in remote outback Australia and was released in 2006. It was nominated for twelve Australian Film Institute Awards and won four. It was also nominated for nine IF Awards (The People's Choice Awards) and won four including Best Film. The movie went on to win numerous other international awards.

In addition to THE ROAD Hillcoat is also in development on JOE PETROSINO, with Pete Dexter writing for Anonymous Content and Summit Entertainment, with Benicio Del Toro attached; THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD, with Nick Cave writing for Red Wagon and Sony Pictures; and MOB COPS, with Terence Winter writing for Spring Creek and 2929 Productions.

Nick Wechsler / Producer
Nick Wechsler's producing and executive producing credits include a distinctive and award-winning mix of independent and studio movies, such as 1989 Palme d'Or winner SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE; 1989 National Society of Film Critics Best Film DRUGSTORE COWBOY; 1991 Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture Comedy THE PLAYER; 1995 Venice Film Festival Silver Lion recipient LITTLE ODESSA; 2000 National Board of Review Best Picture QUILLS; 2000 Cannes Film Festival Main Competition Selection THE YARDS and 2000 Independent Spirit Awards Best Picture nominee REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. More recently, in 2006 he produced NORTH COUNTRY, which earned both Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand Oscar nominations, and executive produced Darren Aronofsky's THE FOUNTAIN, which was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Wechsler's recent releases include 2007 Cannes Main Competition Selection WE OWN THE NIGHT, directed by James Gray and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg and Focus Features' RESERVATION ROAD, directed by Terry George and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Connelly.

Wechsler's most recent release is New Line Cinema's THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. He is currently in post-production on Gaumont/Miramax's LAST NIGHT, written and directed by Massy Tadjedin. Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes and Guillaume Canet star.

RUDD SIMMONS / Executive Producer
Simmons first broke into the business as a line producer on a pair of signature Jim Jarmusch films, NIGHT ON EARTH and MYSTERY TRAIN, and as production supervisor on Tim Robbins' BOB ROBERTS. He went on to produce Robbins' DEAD MAN WALKING, which won an Oscar® for Susan Sarandon and nominations for Sean Penn and Robbins, and the director's EMBEDDED.

Simmons had always been associated with the top echelon of cinema auteurs, such as Robbins, Jarmusch, Stephen Frears (HIGH FIDELITY, THE HI-LO COUNTRY), Wes Anderson (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) and Julie Taymor, whose ACROSS THE UNIVERSE was nominated for a Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

The producer received his Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production at NYU.

Marc Butan / Executive Producer
Butan is the president of 2929 Productions, a production and financing company formed in 2005 and co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. Its productions to date include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, which was nominated for six Academy Awards®; the critically acclaimed drama AKEELAH AND THE BEE, starring Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett, which won Best Picture at the 2006 Black Movie Awards; and the cop thriller WE OWN THE NIGHT, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall and Eva Mendes.

In addition to THE ROAD, other recent releases are WHAT JUST HAPPENED?, starring Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn and Bruce Willis and THE BURNING PLAIN, starring Charlize Theron.

Prior to joining 2929 Productions, Butan was Executive Vice President of Production at Lionsgate from 2001-2004, where he was responsible for overseeing all creative elements of film development and in-house film production at the studio. Prior to that, Butan co-founded, with Michael Burns, who is currently Vice Chairman of Lionsgate, the production financing company Ignite Entertainment, which was folded into Lionsgate in 2001.

Prior to Ignite, Butan worked for five years as a media & entertainment investment banker for Kidder, Peabody & Company and then Prudential Securities.

Steve Schwartz / Producer
Steve Schwartz is the president of Chockstone Pictures. He is co-executive producer of Terrence Malick's upcoming film, TREE OF LIFE, starring Brad Pitt.

Projects in development include THE DYING OF THE LIGHT, based on a script by Paul Schrader, and AN EYE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD, a climbing adventure - both to be produced alongside Nick Wechsler and Paula Mae Schwartz.

In 1990, together with his wife Paula Mae, Steve co-founded Schwartz Communications, the largest PR agency in the world for emerging-technology companies. Previously, he had been Jack Welch's speechwriter at GE, as well as a software company executive.

Steve holds an MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts (Writing Division), where he studied with Anthony Burgess and Nadine Gordimer. Steve is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bowdoin College, where a building bears his name (the Schwartz Outdoor Leadership Center).

Paula Mae Schwartz / Producer
Paula Mae is CEO of Chockstone Pictures and co-executive producer, along with her husband, Steve, and Nick Wechsler, of Terrence Malick's upcoming film, TREE OF LIFE, starring Brad Pitt.

Projects in development include THE DYING OF THE LIGHT, based on a script by Paul Schrader, and AN EYE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD.

Chockstone Pictures is the second company that Paula Mae and Steve Schwartz co-founded. The first, Schwartz Communications in 1990. Now an international public relations firm with offices in Boston, London, San Francisco, and Stockholm, Schwartz focuses on innovative health care and technology.

Paula Mae is the former President and Board Chair of the Gloucester Stage Company, a professional equity theatre known for introducing new plays, many of which have gone on to Broadway and the world stage.

After getting a BA degree form Boston University, Paula Mae started her career in journalism at Newsweek, then moved on to D'Arcy McManus advertising and Richard Weiner, Inc., where the American Film Institute was her client. An avid film buff, Paula Mae taught in the "Filmmakers in the Schools" program in New York.

Joe Penhall / Written By
Award-winning writer and director Joe Penhall was described by The Financial Times as "one of the finest playwrights of his generation."

His play BLUE/ORANGE won an Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Award and the Critics Circle Award for Best Play. Joe wrote the award-winning television series THE LONG FIRM and won a National Critics' screenplay award for the feature film ENDURING LOVE, based on Ian McEwan's novel.

Among his motion picture credits are: LANDSCAPE WITH WEAPON, a feature film based on Penhall's original play, in development for the Weinstein Company; THE UNDERTAKER, a 15-minute film, which Penhall directed, starring Rhys Ifans and Natalie Press, which premiered at London International Film Festival 2005; ENDURING LOVE, a feature film for Film Four, directed by Roger Michel, based on the novel by Ian McEwan (2004). Nominated for the National Critics Award for Best Screenplay; SOME VOICES, starring Daniel Craig and Kelly McDonald (2000).

In television, MOSES JONES, an original 3 parter for BBC1, written and exec produced by Penhall, is his most recent credit. The adaptation of his play BLUE/ORANGE for the BBC, starring Brian Cox, John Simm and Sean Parkes was directed by Howard Davies in 2005. THE LONG FIRM, a four-part serial for the BBC, based on the novel by Jake Arnott was nominated for BAFTA award; and GO BACK OUT, directed by Mike Barker for the BBC in 1996.

His Theater productions include HAUNTED CHILD, an original stage play; LANDSCAPE WITH WEAPON, which premiered in 2007 at London's National Theatre. Directed by Roger Michell and starring Julian Rhind-Tutt and Tom Hollander; DUMB SHOW, a play for the Royal Court, starring Douglas Hodge and Rupert Graves (2004); BLUE/ORANGE (2001); THE BULLET, Donmar Warehouse (1998); LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING, Bush Theatre (1997); PALE HORSE: Royal Court (1995); and SOME VOICES, Royal Court (1994), winner of the John Whiting Award.

Chris Kennedy / Production Designer
THE ROAD is Chris Kennedy's third film with director John Hillcoat. He did the before production design of Hillcoat's seminal Australian film, GHOSTS OF THE CIVIL DEAD, which won him his first AFI (Australian Film Institute) Award for Best Production Design in 1989.

Since then Chris has collaborated with a range of filmmakers, exploring a diversity of styles and subjects in films such as COSI and ANGEL BABY. He has won another three AFI Awards for SPOTSWOOD, DIRTY DEEDS and Hillcoat's THE PROPOSITION (for which he also won an IF Award) and been nominated for a further five (DEAD LETTER OFFICE, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, THAT EYE THE SKY, GINO, SAY A LITTLE PRAYER).

In 2005 he was awarded the coveted AFI Byron Kennedy Award, given each year to someone whose "work is marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence."

Kennedy's passion for filmmaking and visual design took root at Swinburne College, Melbourne, where he graduated from the Film and Television course in 1982. He subsequently art directed films, music videos, commercials and short films.

Javier Aguirresarobe / Director of Photography
Javier Aguirresarobe, from Eibar in Northern Spain, has enjoyed the collaboration with such noted filmmakers as Woody Allen on VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, Pedro Almodovar on TALK TO HER; Alejandro Amenabar on THE SEA INSIDE and THE OTHERS; Victor Erice on THE QUINCE TREE OF THE SUN (Special Jury Award at Cannes International Film Festival, 1993); Milos Forman on GOYA'S GHOSTS and James Ivory on THE CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION. He is winner of the National Prize for Cinematography in Spain as well as six Goya awards.

Francine Maisler / Casting Director
One of the most highly respected casting directors in the industry, having cast over 50 features and a number of television projects Maisler's work has been honored by The Casting Society of America's Artios Awards with four awards and 14 nominations. In 2006, her achievements were recognized with the Hollywood Film Award for Casting Director of the Year.

After starting her career in casting at NBC, Francine began casting independently. Her first project was the original pilot of THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW. She then cast her first feature film, REALITY BITES, and soon after cast the breakout indie hit THE USUAL SUSPECTS.

Since then, Francine has collaborated with numerous filmmakers on casting their films including: Jean-Jacques Annaud, James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Marc Forster, Milos Forman, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Terrence Malick, Michael Mann, Rob Marshall, Andrew Niccol, Sam Raimi, Jay Roach, Bryan Singer, Steven Soderbergh, Ben Stiller and Gus Van Sant.

Recently completed projects include Ben Stiller's TROPIC THUNDER, Gus Van Sant's MILK, Joe Wright's THE SOLOIST, Nora Ephron's JULIE AND JULIA, Terrence Malick's TREE OF LIFE, Tom Tykwer's THE INTERNATIONAL and Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson's THIS SIDE OF THE TRUTH.

She is in the process of completing work on Rob Marshall's NINE and is about to start work on James L. Brooks' and Cameron Crowe's next feature films.

Jon Gregory / Editor
THE ROAD represents editor Jon Gregory's second feature film with director John Hillcoat, after editing the critically acclaimed THE PROPOSITION in 2005.

Over the years, the distinguished British film editor has collaborated extensively with renowned directors Mike Leigh and Mike Newell. For Leigh, Gregory cut SECRETS AND LIES, which went on to to sweep many of the world's top awards - including the Palme d'Or at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, five Oscar nominations (including for Best Picture) and such year-end lists as the London Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics. Gregory was also the editor on Leigh's NAKED, which won Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes in 1993, as well as his films LIFE IS SWEET, HIGH HOPES, SHORT AND CURLIES and A SENSE OF HISTORY.

For Mike Newell, Gregory served as the editor on the critically acclaimed box-office hits, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and DONNIE BRASCO, as well the films PUSHING TIN and AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE. Among other significant honors, FOUR WEDDINGS received two Oscar® nominations, including for Best Picture.

Gregory was nominated for two British Academy Film Awards, for FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and the critically acclaimed television mini-series, TRAFFIK (also the winner of an International Emmy Award); the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award for the Best Edited Episode from a television mini-series for A YEAR IN PROVENCE; and two nominations from the Australian Film Institute.

THE ROAD
End Credit Roll

Dimension Films

2929 Productions

Directed by John Hillcoat
Screenplay byJoe Penhall
Based on the Book byCormac McCarthy
Produced byNick WechslerPaula Mae SchwartzSteve Schwartz
Executive ProducersTodd WagnerMark CubanMarc ButanRudd Simmons
Co-ProducersMike UptonErik Hodge
Director of PhotographyJavier Aguirresarobe, AEC
Production DesignerChris Kennedy
EditorJon Gregory, ACE
Music byNick Cave and Warren Ellis
Costume DesignerMargot Wilson
Casting byFrancine Maisler
Viggo Mortensen
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Robert Duvall
Guy Pearce
Molly Parker
Michael Kenneth Williams
Garret Dillahunt
andCharlize Theron
Dimension Films and2929 Productionspresent
A Nick Wechsler andChockstone Pictures production
A Film byJohn Hillcoat

Unit Production ManagerBuddy Enright
First Assistant DirectorJohn M. NelsonSecond Assistant DirectorsVernon A. DavidsonKaren C. Radzikowski
Unit Production ManagerBUDDY ENRIGHT
First Assistant DirectorJOHN M. NELSONSecond Assistant DirectorsVERNON A. DAVIDSONKAREN C. RADZIKOWSKI

CAST

Man VIGGO MORTENSEN
Boy KODI SMIT-MCPHEE
Old Man ROBERT DUVALL
Veteran GUY PEARCE
Motherly Woman MOLLY PARKER
Thief MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS
Gang Member GARRET DILLAHUNT
Woman CHARLIZE THERON
Bearded Man BOB JENNINGS
Archer's Woman AGNES HERRMANN
Archer BUDDY SOSTHAND
Bearded Face KIRK BROWN
Bearded Man #2 JACK ERDIE
Man on Mattress DAVID AUGUST LINDAUER
Well Fed Woman GINA PRECIADO
Well Fed Woman #2 MARY RAWSON

Stunt
Stunt Coordinators MARK DONALDSONMIKE WATSON
Stunts JEREMY FRYBOBBY PORTERBUDDY SOSTHAND

PRODUCTION
2929 Senior Vice Presidentof Production MIKE UPTON
2929 Senior Vice Presidentof Post Production MARC WUERTEMBURG
Additional Editor CRAIG WOOD, A.C.E.
Post Production Supervisor JAMEY PRYDE
Additional Editor RICK GRAYSON
Visual Effects Editor KEITH CROKET

Art Director GERSHON GINSBURG
Set Designer VICTORIA RUSKIN
Art Department Coordinator AMY LAMB
Set Decorator ROBERT GREENFIELD
Leadperson (Pennsylvania) KC BRADY
Leadperson (Louisiana) PAUL BLANCHARD
Leadperson (Oregon) CHANDLER VINAR
Swing Boss WILLIAM BRICKER
Set Dresser JASON A. POLLOCK
Swing Dresser MARK D. PASQUALE
Additional Set Dressers JOHN W. IWANONKIWBRETT KENNEDYDONALD RAGER
Set Dressers (Louisiana) PATCHAREE BLANCHARDJON GRAUBARTHWHITNEY GUERRA, JR.ELLA JACKSON
Set Dressers (Oregon) PHIL BLACKBURNADAM JOHNSONJENNIFER LAGURAJOE RYNEARSONDAVID LEE TOTH
Concept Artist HUGH MARCHANT
Storyboard Artists JANET KUSNICKLUIS RUSSO
Buyer (Pennsylvania) MERISSA LOMBARDO
Buyer (Oregon) BEKKA MELINO
On Set Dresser ROBERT GREENFIELD III
Art Department Production Assistant JESSE BEST

"A" Camera First Assistant GLENN KAPLAN
"A" Camera First Assistant (Oregon) ANDY HARRIS
Additional "A" CameraFirst Assistant RICK CRUMRINE
"A" Camera Second Assistant MATT HASKINS
"B" Camera Operator/Steadicam MATIAS MESAS
"B" Camera Operator/Steadicam (Oregon) DAN KNEECE
"B" Camera First Assistant PETER GERAGHTY
"B" Camera First Assistant (Oregon) STEVEN MANN
"B" Camera Second Assistant KEVIN HUVER
"B" Camera Second Assistants (Louisiana) LUIS LOPEZ DEVICTORIAGABRIEL VALESCO
"B" Camera Second Assistant (Oregon) DAVID SEEKINS

Camera Loader AMANDA ROTZLER
Remote Head Tech GUILLAUME RENBERG
Video Assist Operator JIMI JOHNSON
Stills Photographer MACALL POLAY

Script Supervisor REBECCA ROBERTSON

Sound Mixer EDWARD TISE
Boom Operator JASON JOHNSTON
Additional Boom Operator (Oregon) ROBERT JACKSON

Property Master KEITH WALTERS
First Assistant Property Master JOHN CAMERON

Costume Supervisor MICHELE DUNN
On-Set Costumer ANNE KEMMETER
Costume Shopper BARBIE PASTORIK
Fabric Artist KEITH WEGNER
Fabric Art Finishers DARCIE BUTERBAUGHCHRIS CAMPBELLDALLAH CHARISSA CESENNANCY HEACOCKCARELY HILLANDREW W. HUNTLEY IILINDSEY TENO-CLEMMENSNOELLE RAFFYRACHEL VALLOZZI

Department Head Hairstylist GEORDIE SHEFFER
Assistant Hairstylist JENNIFER SANTIAGO
Additional Hairstylist NANCY KESLAR
Stylist to Ms. Theron ENZO ANGILERI

Department Head Makeup Artist TONI G
Second Assistant Makeup Artist ROCKY FAULKNER
Third Assistant Makeup Artist MANDI ANN CRANE
Additional Makeup Artist DEBORAH PATINO
Prosthetic Teeth ART SAKAMOTO
Prosthetic Leg KEVIN HANEY

Production Accountant M. ROSS MICHAELS
First Assistant Accountant KAREN YOKOMIZO
Second Assistant Accountant LUCY KIM ROBERTSON
Payroll Accountant CYNTHIA SEABOCK
Accounting Clerk ROBERT JOHNSTON

Production Coordinator FRANSES SIMONOVICH
Assistant Production Coordinator ANNA BURD
Unit Travel Coordinator ELIZABETH L. CHAMBERS
Production Secretary JANET SMITH
Office Production Assistant JOE PACLAWSKI
Office Production Assistants (Oregon) AIMEE LYNN BARNEBURGCRYSTAL FAITH WALEN

2nd Second Assistant Director RYAN KRAYSER
DGA Trainee NATALIE S. BROWN

Gaffer JIM PLANNETTE
Best Boy Electric JEFF VANDER MOLEN
Set Lighting Technicians ALLAN BARCHMATT SCHAFERTERRY SHIRK
Additional Set Lighting Technicians CHAD DJUBEKJEFF GARTONPETER KLINGENBERGBRIAN POWERS
Set Lighting Technician (Louisiana) DANA MCCORMICK
Set Lighting Technicians (Oregon) ANDY BARDENSTEVIE HUBERTJEREMY MACKIEEFREM PETERSTEPHEN PURCELLGREG WICK

Key Grip MANNY DURAN
Best Boy Grip GREG EDWARDS
Dolly Grip JOSEPH RUIZ
"B" Dolly Grip MATTHEW BULLERI
Company Grips (Pennsylvania) SEAN EDWARDSJAMES SCHULZEJOHN E. TREMBA
Company Grips (Louisiana) CHARLIE FRANKLINJOHN MOISECLAYTON P. NEPVEUX III
Company Grips (Oregon) JOHN A. BANHOLZER IIBARRY "CHIP" INGRAMBRENT LAWSONBRIAN C. LAWSONJOE VITELLARO
Technocrane Operators (Oregon) CHRIS HAJEKSTEVE OLSEN

Construction Coordinator (Pennsylvania) JOE WATERKOTTE
Construction Coordinator (Oregon) CHARLES E. MILLER
Shop Foreman (Pennsylvania) BRENT PEELOR
Shop Foreman/Stand By (Oregon) ALAN FEFFER
Construction Gang Boss ROBERT BUNCHER
Carpenters (Pennsylvania) DAN BOTHEDARAGH BYRNEJIM R. HEASTINGSNORM JOHNSONJOSEPH A. MANNIDANIEL J. MCGUINNESSMICHAEL MCKEESCOTT G. SMITHLANCE R. WALTERSMARK ZANG
Carpenters (Oregon) SCOTT ALPLANALPPETER A. FRANTZRAYMOND LOVASZ
Laborer/Utility SHAWN TAMBELLINI
Utility EMILE BOSWORTH-CLEMENS
Charge Scenic LAURI MANCUSO
Second Charge Scenic DARIEN D'ALFONSO
Scenic Artists (Pennsylvania) COLIN BAXTERVINCE BORELLIEDGAR BUCHOLTZJULIE CHILLJOSHUA HOGANMARY M. O'BRIENEDWARD WAYNE PARRISH, JR.ALEXEI PLOTNICOVCHRISTOPHER ST. PIERRE
Scenic Artists (Oregon) ELLEN LEPINSKIRENEE PRINCE
Stand By Painter JOLENE ELYSE DRYLIE

Key Greens (Pennsylvania) GREGORY JONES
Key Greens (Oregon) CHARLES A. CARLSEN
Second Greens BRANDON PLONKA
Greens (Pennsylvania) MICHAEL CAMPISEJOE COWARDGINA FAVANO
Greens (Oregon) MICHAEL CROCKETTBRANDON JENKISBRADLEY JAY KIDDLEDALE A. PERKINSROBERT J. SHAFERJAIRUS SMITHWILLIE WILSON
Tree Service KEELEN BROS. TREE SERVICEJOEL F. KEEFERWYLLIE F. KEEFERRYAN BRADICHTONY GILCHBOB TAYLOR

Location Manager (Pennsylvania) ANDREW ULLMAN
Location Managers (Louisiana) BATOU CHANDLERJIMI WOODS
Additional Location Manager (Louisiana) THOMAS PETERS
Location Manager (Oregon) CRAIG W. VAN GUNDY
Key Assistant Location Manager (Pennsylvania) MONIQUE ANN LAMONTAGNE
Assistant Location Manager (Pennsylvania) JASON PLANITZER
Assistant Location Manager (Oregon) DON BALDWIN
Location Scout/Assistant (Pennsylvania) KARA HAAS
Location Scouts/Assistants (Oregon) THOMAS ANABLEKENNETH A. DEMPSSAM ROSSMICHAEL WEAVER

Assistant to Mr. Hillcoat BRETT HALEY
Assistant to Mr. Wechsler STEVEN GUERRY
Assistant to Mr. and Ms. Schwartz SUSAN O'NEILL-MACDONALD
Assistant to Ms. Theron ASHLEY IRISH
Assistant to Mr. Aguirresarobe RODOLFO ORNELAS
Assistant to Mr. Wagner STACI MITCHELL
Assistant to Mr. Cuban DAWN KNOX
Assistant to Mr. Butan JEFF ZAKS

Set Production Assistants (Pennsylvania) MATTEO FAETHYARDEN LEVOKRISTIN E. TRABUCCO
Set Production Assistants (Louisiana) STACY FORTENBERRYGERALD MEDINAWILLIAM WATT
Set Production Assistant (Oregon) BRIAN AMLIN

Casting Associate (Los Angeles) LAUREN GREY
Casting Assistant ELIZABETH CHODER
Casting Associate (Oregon) LORI LEWIS
Casting Assistant (Oregon) ERYN GOODMAN
Casting and Extras Casting by NANCY MOSSER CASTING
Casting Associate KATIE SHENOT
Extras Casting (Louisiana) ELIZABETH COULON
Extras Casting (Oregon) RUTABAGA BACKGROUND CASTINGLANA VEENKER
Studio Teachers LYNN RAINESJEFFREY RAINES
Dialect Coach DON WADSWORTH
Chaperone, Acting Coach and Mentor to Mr. Smit-McPhee ANDY MCPHEE

Special Effects Coordinator DAVID FLETCHER
Special Effects Supervisor TOM KITTLE
Special Effects VINCE BALLBILL CATANIAJAMES CHESHIREDANIEL GARRIGANHEATH HOODBRENDAN MCHALEJASON SILVISRAYMOND TASILLO
Special Effects (Oregon) JEREMY SPEICHER

Unit Publicist EMMA COOPER
EPK JERRY HUGHES

Set Medic (Pennsylvania) CARL KENT
Set Medics (Louisiana) WILLIAM GILSONMICHAEL HINKEL
Set Medic (Oregon) KARLA BENSON
Medic/EMT SOUTH PACIFIC COUNTY TECHNICAL RESCUE
Fire Safety Advisors WARRENTON FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATIONS

Stand In for Mr. Mortensen BEN MCGINN
Stand In for Mr. Smit-McPhee LOGAN C. SAYRE
Stand In for Ms. Theron GRETCHEN TRESER

Animals Provided by PAWS FOR EFFECT
Animal Trainer DAWN BARKIN

Catering by(Pennsylvania and Louisiana) COAST TO COAST
Catering by (Oregon) PREMIERE CATERING
Chefs(Pennsylvania and Louisiana) GREG POWERALLAN STEARNS
Chef (Oregon) PETER BARNETT
Assistant Chefs(Pennsylvania and Louisiana) ISRAEL MEDINAJOSH STEARNS

Craft Service (Pennsylvania) DREW SMITH
Craft Service (Louisiana) ANNE MENDEZ
Craft Service (Oregon) BRITTNEE DEWALD
Assistant Craft Service (Pennsylvania) GEORGE LUMPERTANDREA SPRING
Assistant Craft Service (Louisiana) TROY RILEY
Assistant Craft Service (Oregon) DAVID WILLIAMS

Transportation Coordinator (Pennsylvania) MARC SCOTT
Transportation Coordinator (Louisiana) POLAND PERKINS
Transportation Coordinator (Oregon) DAVID NORRIS
Transportation Co-Coordinator (Pennsylvania) KATIE SCOTT
Transportation Captain (Pennsylvania and Oregon) BYRON ROLAND
Transportation Captain (Louisiana) DONALD BURDETT
399 Gang Boss ERIC LEARNARD

Drivers (Pennsylvania)
MICHAEL ANGEL ROGER GRAHAM ROGER NICHOLAS
PETER ANGEL, JR. JOHN W. GRAY JOE POKORNY
MIKE BEARER ALBERT E. HIPPERT, SR. DARYN J. RAY
DAVID A. BELASCO KATHY JANDROKOVIC PATRICK REICHERT
MICHAEL P. BERRY DAVID N. JOCKEL KEVIN ROCHE
CHUCK BROWN JOHN JORDAN MARIO D. RUSSO
CARMEN COSTA ANDREW JOHN KOVACH ROBERT VITH
FRANCIS J. CONFORTI MIKE LUCKROTH TOM WEIFENBACH
WALTER J. DUSCH RICHARD P. MARENO TERRY WISE
THOMAS FLEMMING BRENDAN MCCULLA DAVID WITZORRECK
RONALD MILLER

Drivers (Louisiana)
GERARD O. CALLAHAN, JR. STANTON J. FERNANDEZ LOUIS M. ROBINETTE, SR.
DAWN R. COOK JOHNNY D. FOSTER, JR. MELVIN E. THERIOT
BRUCE LANE

Drivers (Oregon)
WILLIAM A. BENEDICT MARK HOLMES THOM J. PLATT
DON BOOMHOWER WALT KOVACH GREG ST. AMANT
JOHN BRENNAN TONY LAUGHLIN ARMANDO SANTANA
STEVEN C. EVANS BRENDON MCKEON THOMAS "DEAN" STARKEY
ANDREW FORGASH ANDREW MOTT RICHARD J. WALKER, JR.
DOUGLAS HENNECKE JUSTIN PAGEL ANDREA YOUNG
ROBERT PAUL PLATT

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Unit Production Manager MIKE UPTON

First Assistant Director DAVID WEBB
Second Assistant Director KYLE LEMIRE

"A" Camera First Assistant JEFF GRAHAM
"A" Camera Second Assistant KYRIL CVETKOV
"B" Camera Operator ERIC EDWARDS
"B" Camera First Assistant DON BENSON
Camera Loader MOIRA MOREL
Hot Head Tech BOB WEBECK
Stills Photographer FRANK DIMARCO
Video Assist Operator KALE JESSEN

Best Boy Grip JOE VITELLARO
Dolly Grip BRIAN C. LAWSON
Company Grips MATT SEMCHEEGABE SMITH

Sound Mixer ERIC GOLDSTEIN
Script Supervisor HEIDI STURDEVANT

Buyer SEAN KENNEDY
Property Master JOHN CAMERON
Greens CHRIS CARLSEN

Special Effects BRENDAN MCHALEGREG OLIVER

Additional Makeup Artist/Beard JUSTIN STAFFORD

Location Manager DON BALDWIN
Set Production Assistants DIANE KERSTEINJENNA RAEDEREK WILSON
Catering/Craft Service CATERING BY CAPRICE
KRYSTA KELLEY
Assistant Craft Service SUSAN FUNKJULIANA TOBON

Animals Provided by TALENTED ANIMALS
Stand In for Mr. Mortensen JAMES "TJ" CIVIS
Stand In for Mr. Smit-McPhee CHRISTIAN BLAIR
EPK ROD PARMENTER

399 Gang Boss JAY VIGIL

Drivers
BRITTNEE DEWALD MARK HALESTON SEAN TICHENOR
RYDER GREENE DAVID WILLIAMS

2929 PRODUCTIONS
2929 Physical Production DOROTTYA HEGEDUS-LUM
Assistant to Mr. Upton KANDIS ERICKSON
Assistants to Mr. Wuertemburg SAM MOLLEURTREVOR BYRNE
Production Counsel SHEPPARD MULLIN
2929 Business and Legal Affairs JESSICA RODDYCHRIS MATSONHEATHER WAYLAND
Assistant to Business and Legal Affairs ELLEN NICHOLSON
Immigration Counsel by RALPH EHRENPREISJIM SAUNDERSSHERMAN KAPLAN

POST PRODUCTION
Post Production Accountant TRACY MARSHAK-NASH
Post Production Assistants MICHEL DEASCENTIISPAUL O'NEILL

Post Production Sound by WILDFIRE POST PRODUCTION
Sound Designer LESLIE SHATZ
Supervising Sound Editor ROBERT C. JACKSON
Sound Effects Editors DAVID ESPARZAJOSH REINHARDT
Background Editors WADE BARNETTMICHAEL FARKAS
Assistant Sound Editor CALLIE THURMAN
Foley Editor BRIAN DUNLOP

Supervising Music Editor GERARD MCCANN
Music Editor MATT SHELTON

Re-Recording Mixers CHRIS DAVIDTODD BECKETT
Re-Recording Recordist GABRIEL J. SERRANO

ADR Mixer ERIC THOMPSON
ADR Recordist TRAVIS MACKAY

Foley Recorded at FOOTSTEPSPOST-PRODUCTION SOUND INC.
Foley Artists GORO KOYAMAANDY MALCOLM
Foley Recording Mixers JACK HEERENDON WHITE

ADR Voice Casting BARBARA HARRIS
Loop Group DOUG BURCHCATHERINE CAVADINIJOHN DEMITAJAKE EBERLEPEGGY FLOODAARON HENDRY

Digital Intermediate by
EFILM
Digital Intermediate Colorist MICHAEL HATZER
Digital Intermediate Producer LOAN PHAN
Digital Intermediate Editor DEVON MILLER
Digital Intermediate Assistant MARC LULKIN
Digital Intermediate Assistant Producer PHILIPPE MAJDALANI
Digital Opticals PATRICK CLANCEY

Visual Effects Supervisor
MARK O. FORKER

DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS BY

DIVE
Philadelphia, PA
Executive Producer ANDY WILLIAMS
Visual Effects Producer PHILLIP MOSES
Compositing Supervisor ED MENDEZ
Compositors TIM BOWMANRYAN LEONARDANTON MOSS
Digital Effects Artists KEVIN FANNINGJEREMY FERNSLER
Paint and Roto Artists STEVE DINOZZICRYSTLE SCHRECENGOST
Integration Specialist NICK JUSCHYSCHYN
Visual Effects Coordinator ADDIE MANIS
2D Coordinator EILEEN DARE
Visual Effects Editors BRYAN BAKERMARK WAWRZENSKI
Facilities Manager JOHN-MICHAEL TROJAN
Facilities Support MATT WOLFORD
Facilities Engineer ROBERT PYLE

CRAZY HORSE EFFECTS
Venice, CA
Visual Effects Supervisor PAUL GRAFF
Visual Effects Producer CHRISTINA GRAFF
Visual Effects Coordinator LILY KERRIGAN
Lead Compositors MATT COLLORAFFICESARAH GROSSMANN
Visual Effects Design Consultant ROBERT STROMBERG
Matte Painters DYLAN COLECHRIS EVANSBRIAN FLORASTEVEN MESSING
Compositors KURT FREYBRIAN SALESTAKASHI TAKEOKA
Lead 3D Artist JOHN G. CHALFANT
Digital Artist JUSTINE WHITEHEAD

SPACE MONKEY
New York, NY
Digital Effects Supervisor JOE DIVALERIO
Compositor CHRISTOPHER RIEMANN

EDEN FX
Hollywood, CA
Visual Effects Producer ANDREA D'AMICO
Digital Producer SAMANTHA MABIE-TUINSTRA
Digital Effects Supervisor FRED PIENKOS
Digital Artists JOHN KARNERTOBY NEWELL

BRAINSTORM DIGITAL
New York, NY
Visual Effects Producer RICHARD FRIEDLANDER
Visual Effects Supervisor GLENN ALLEN
Visual Effects Coordinator BRICE LIESVELD
Lead Compositor JAMES PASTORIUS
Compositors CATHY GOCHNOURCHRIS WESSELMANJUN ZHANG
Digital Artist R. KEVIN CLARKE
Matte Artist MATTHEW CONNER
Senior Systems Engineer JUSTIN BALL
Facilities Manager GUY BARRESSI

INVISIBLE PICTURES
Toronto, Canada
Visual Effects Supervisor NOEL HOOPER
Visual Effects Executive Producer NEIL WILLIAMSON
Visual Effects Producer CHRISTA TAZZEO
Lead 3D Artist AARON POZZER
Digital Artist HAYDN MASUDA
Compositing Artist KYLE BOYLEN

ADDITIONAL VISUAL EFFECTS

PHIL BRADSHAW JOHN GORAJ JASON PINARDO
JEFF COX CRAIG NEEDELMAN LEON SANGINITI
OTHMAR DICKBAUER NO JOKE FX CLARISSA SHANAHAN
LUKE FORKER MARK NORMAN JACK SWERN
GORAJ STUDIOS TONY TROVARELLO

MUSIC PERFORMED BY

Piano, Pump Organ NICK CAVE
Violin, Alto Flute, Loops WARREN ELLIS
Bass MARTYN CASEY
Cello GERARD MCCANN
Percussion PAUL CLARVIS
String Leader THOMAS BOWES
Principal Second Violin WARREN ZIELINSKI
Principal Viola PETER LALE
Principal Cello JONATHAN WILLIAMS
Principal Bass CHRIS LAURENCE

Recorded and Mixed at AIR STUDIOSLondon, England
Recorded and Mixed by JAKE JACKSON
Assisted by ADAM MILLER

Score Produced by NICK CAVE and WARREN ELLIS with GERARD MCCANN
Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by MATT DUNKLEY
Orchestra Contractor ISOBEL GRIFFITHS
Assistant Orchestra Contractor LUCY WHALLEY

"SONATA FOR VIOLIN AND HARPSICHORD NO. 3IN E MAJOR: ADAGIO MA NON TANTO"Written by J.S. BACHArranged by RYAN FRANKSPerformed by RYAN FRANKS & HARRY SCORZOCourtesy of CRUCIAL MUSIC CORPORATION

Soundtrack Available onMute Records

In Association with
MICHAEL LAVELLE

STOCK FOOTAGE PROVIDED BY

GETTY IMAGES
FRAMEPOOL
MACGILLIVRAY FREEMAN FILMS
THOUGHT EQUITY MOTION

Titles by PACIFIC TITLE
Color Timer STEVE SHERIDAN
Shot on EASTMAN KODAK
Dailies Coordinator JOEY VIOLANTE
Video Dailies by COMPANY 3 NY
Cameras Provided by OTTO NEMENZ INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Camera Cranes & Dollies by CHAPMAN/LEONARD STUDIO EQUIPMENT, INC.CAMERA SERVICE CENTERTM MOTION PICTURE EQUIPMENT RENTALS, INCPACIFIC GRIP & LIGHTING
Grip Equipment Provided by KILLER GRIPS
Lighting and Grip Equipment Provided by LIGHTSPEED GRIP & LIGHTINGPACIFIC GRIP & LIGHTING
Cranes ICHABOD CRANE
Product Placement & Rights/Clearances by KAREN NEASI
Script Clearances ENTERTAINMENT CLEARANCES, INC.CASSANDRA BARBOURLAURA SEVIER
Avids Provided by HULA POST
Insurance Provided by GALLAGHER ENTERTAINMENTA division of ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Film Guaranty Provided by INTERNATIONAL FILM GUARANTORS
Payroll Company ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS
Dolby Sound Consultant JIM WRIGHT

For
LOUIE HILLCOAT

SPECIAL THANKS

POLLY BORLAND
CORMAC and JOHN MCCARTHY

PENNSYLVANIA FILM OFFICE, DEPARTMENT of COMMUNITY and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PITTSBURGH FILM OFFICE
LOUISIANA FILM and TELEVISION OFFICE
OREGON FILM & VIDEO OFFICE
WASHINGTON STATE FILM OFFICE

ABOVE THE LINE
RICK ALBERT and PANASONIC
LARA BANDLER and GLACEAU
CABELA'S, INC.
CARNEGIE MUSEUM, DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY
KATHRYN COMO and AIM
SHANON CHAIKEN and GIBSON
COMPANY 3, JACKIE LEE and SIGGY FERSTL
TRUSTEES of CONNEAUT LAKE PARK INC.
DAVIE-BROWN
GREG DOWNEY and COCA-COLA
FEATURE THIS
AMY FORS and NORCROSS SAFETY PRODUCTS
AGNES HERMANN
ERICA HESS and PEET'S COFFEE
SUZANNE LINDBERGH and APPLE
MICHAEL NUSINOW and PREMIER ENTERTAINMENT
PACIFIC NATURAL FOODS
FRANKIE PINE
PORTLAND SHERATON AIRPORT HOTEL
ROGERS & COWAN
VANESSA SINGLETON and CES
DEB TARYS and CARHARTT, INC.
UPP

Shot on location in Pennsylvania, Oregon, New Orleans and Mount St. Helens
This project was made possible with the support of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Film Office
Support and Contribution byOregon Production Investment FundAdministered by the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department and by the Oregon Film & Video Office
Special Thanks toThe Office of Entertainment Industry DevelopmentThe People of Louisiana
Gifford Pinchot National ForestMount St. Helens National Volcanic MonumentRod Ludvigsen

Color byTechnicolor Released onKodakMotion Picture Film Released on Fujifilm Professional Motion Picture Products
Dolby Digital Sony Dynamic Digital Sound DTS
LATSE Teamster 399 SAG

This Motion Picture
Copyright (C) 2009 2929 Productions LLC

Music Score
Copyright (C) 2009 2929 Productions LLC

All material is protected by the copyright laws of the United States and all countries
throughout the world.
All rights reserved.

Country of First Publication: United States of America. 2929 Productions LLC is the author of this motion picture for purposes of copyright and other laws.
Any unauthorized exhibition, distribution, or copying of this film or any part thereof (including soundtrack) is an infringement of the relevant copyright and will subject the infringer to severe civil and criminal penalties.

The story, all names, characters and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons, places, buildings and products is intended or should be inferred.