whiteout production notes

Presents
Directed by
Dominic Sena
Produced by
Joel Silver
Susan Downey
Starring
Kate Beckinsale
Gabriel Macht
Release Date: Sept 11 / Running Time: 101mins / Certificate: 15
Press Contacts
Suzanne Noble suzanne@optimumreleasing.com
Neil Bhatt neil@optimumreleasing.com
Maria Carras maria@optimumreleasing.com
Tel: 0207 534 2700
Stills available to download from www.picselect.com and www.optimumreleasing.com/press
2
Antarctica…
The most isolated landmass on Earth
90° S. latitude, zero E. longitude
Six million square miles of ice
Six months of darkness
Temperatures at minus-120 degrees
Winds at 100 miles per hour
Nature never intended you to survive here.
For U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko, things are about to get even more dangerous. The
only law enforcement in this unforgiving territory, she has just been sent to investigate a
body on the ice. Antarctica’s first homicide. A shocking discovery in itself, it will plunge
her into an even more bizarre mystery and the revelation of secrets long-buried under the
endless ice…secrets that someone believes are still worth killing for.
As Stetko races to find the killer before he finds her, winter is already closing in.
In the deadly Antarctic whiteout, she won’t see him till he’s a breath away.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Dark Castle Entertainment, a
Dominic Sena Film: the action thriller “Whiteout,” starring Kate Beckinsale
(“Underworld”), Gabriel Macht (“The Spirit”), Columbus Short (“Stomp the Yard”) and
Tom Skerritt (“Contact”).
The film is directed by Dominic Sena (“Swordfish”) from a
screenplay by Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber and Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes, based on
the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber and published by Oni Press.
“Whiteout” is produced by Joel Silver, Susan Downey and David Gambino.
Executive producers are Steve Richards, Don Carmody and Greg Rucka. Co-producers are
Richard Mirisch and Adam Kuhn. The creative team includes director of photography
Chris Soos, supervising editor Stuart Baird, film editor Martin Hunter and production
designer Graham “Grace” Walker.
The costume designers are Wendy Partridge and
Nicoletta Massone. Music is by John Frizzell.
“Whiteout” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros.
Entertainment Company.
www.whiteoutmovie.co.uk
3
“This means a federal investigation. We could be stuck down
here all winter. Can you handle that?”
“Audiences won’t immediately know what circumstances brought U.S. Marshal
Carrie Stetko to seek a post in Antarctica, or what she hoped to find there, but they will
feel from the film’s opening beats that she is anxious to get out,” says Joel Silver, who
produced “Whiteout” under the banner of his Dark Castle Entertainment, and calls it “the
coldest thriller ever made.”
Director Dominic Sena, marking his second collaboration with Silver following
their 2001 action thriller “Swordfish,” concurs. “Whatever she came looking for at the
bottom of the world, she didn’t find it. Meanwhile, the place has gotten to her—the cold,
the claustrophobia, the isolation. She’s at the breaking point and counting down to that last
flight out before winter closes in with its six months of darkness.”
Stetko’s departure plans are put on hold when a body turns up in the ice field
between the U.S. research station, the Amundsen-Scott, and its distant Russian counterpart,
Vostok. It’s a popsicle, in the wry jargon of a region where losing a glove can mean losing
a hand and a few minutes’ exposure can kill anyone caught outside without protection.
Frozen to the ground by blood and ice, his arms and legs strangely contorted, the
body is that of an American geologist named Weiss, a member of a small research team
studying meteorite fragments. Closer examination reveals numerous broken bones and a
fresh gash in his leg that has been crudely stitched up, but the cause of death is a deep
chest wound delivered by an instrument very common to this rough terrain: an ice ax.
As much as Weiss’s death is a mystery, its location is even more baffling. Miles
from nowhere. No tracks, no maps, no gear. What was he doing way out here? A murder
victim is the last thing Stetko expected to find after two years of arduous but uneventful
duty, and certainly the last thing she wants to deal with now. Nevertheless, passing him
off to the nearest U.S. authorities at McMurdo Station 900 miles away is not an option.
Kate Beckinsale, who stars as Marshal Stetko, understands her position. “She
realizes that this man needs her to figure out what happened to him. Like it or not, her
sense of responsibility and her law enforcement instincts take over and she’s in.”
Unfortunately for a woman whose bags are already packed, this doesn’t look like
the kind of case that can be wrapped up easily. Instead, it becomes immediately more
complex as Stetko turns her attention to the two remaining members of Weiss’s team, men
4
who could be either prime suspects or the next victims of a killer whose motivation she
has yet to discover.
Meanwhile, amplifying the tension is the extreme weather, says Silver. “You feel
the raw force of Antarctica impose itself as an ever-present character in the story. Things
are more intense when every move you make is potentially fatal. Even investigating a
crime scene is a more dangerous proposition here than it would be anywhere else—the
transportation, the exposure, the possibility of being stranded. You take a risk every time
you step outside.”
“Though it’s part of our world, it looks like it could be outer space,” producer
Susan Downey attests, noting that sub-zero temperatures at the South Pole “can drop lower
than numbers recorded on equatorial Mars. With this as our setting, it allowed us to put
images onto the screen that have never been seen before in this genre, like the whiteout
sequences, which are really dynamic, the aerial photography of the base or the Twin Otter
coming in for a landing in weather that’s already getting too choppy to support a plane.”
Once the filmmakers committed to depict Antarctica, Downey confirms, they were
explicit in their intent. “We wanted to lay out clearly what the temperatures are, how
quickly a person can get frostbite or die from exposure. It’s all there and it’s all true.”
The producers selected Manitoba, Canada, to represent exteriors of the frozen Pole;
a location frigid enough to give cast and crew a feel for this element of the story and a
genuine respect for the whiteout, a natural phenomenon that can literally steal your senses.
Says Beckinsale, “There were times when I looked out and couldn’t distinguish where the
land and the sky met; it was just one huge whiteness. Totally disorienting. It’s easy to
imagine how scary that would be if you were alone. You could turn away from your camp
for a moment and not find your way back.”
“Antarctica will kill you. The elements alone tell us we don’t belong there, and
‘Whiteout’ demonstrates this dramatically,” states producer David Gambino.
That assessment is born out by the extensive research of Greg Rucka, who, with
Steve Lieber, created the original Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel Whiteout on
which the film is based, and also served as an executive producer. Declaring the continent
“a desert without sand,” Rucka says, “environment as a character intrigues me. So much
of what we do and who we are is a direct result of the physical situation we’re in.
Antarctica has its own beauty. It’s spectacular, but terrifying. It never allows you to let
down your guard. The sun can be out but the wind will suddenly rev up to 130 miles per
hour. You can’t afford to be careless and forget what’s beyond the door.”
5
Sena’s own fascination with these ideas, specifically the power of a severe
environment on human behavior, was piqued years earlier.
“I was in Lillehammer,
Norway, shooting commercials for the 1994 Winter Olympics. At that time of year there
were only about three hours of daylight. It was zero degrees at noon and 40-below at
night, too cold to go out, so we stayed cooped up in our rooms. After several weeks, it was
depressing. We found ourselves sitting around drinking night after night and it began to
affect everyone’s mood. My usually mellow producer started screaming if his coffee
wasn’t right and threatening to fire people over typos. Grips were fighting in the snow.
“I came home from that experience wondering what could happen to any group of
people trapped in a harsh, claustrophobic place, not for weeks but for months,” the director
continues. “What if you threw in some dramatic event? What would these people do? I
thought it was a great idea for a movie.”
“You find out a lot about characters when you put them under unusual stress. It
forces them to reach deep and reveal their best and worst qualities,” offers screenwriter Jon
Hoeber, who worked on bringing “Whiteout” to the screen with his brother and writing
partner Erich Hoeber. Adds Erich, “Sometimes people can be so bound up with surviving
that they lose their moral compass.”
When the graphic novel was published in four installments by Oni Press in 1998,
Sena followed it with avid interest. He tried unsuccessfully to secure film rights to the
property, which were already spoken for. Then, he relates, “One day my agent mentioned,
‘Joel Silver has a script called Whiteout; are you interested?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?
I’ve been trying to get ahold of this thing for five years!’ So I called him. I said, ‘Joel, I
know this project. I’ve been making this movie in my head for years!’”
Indeed, screenwriters Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes suggest that the film’s
capacity to shock is rooted in “the way that Dominic captures this unbelievable and
unpredictable world that so few people know, and the way in which he leads you to realize
that being in a whiteout is very much like being lost in the dark.”
It’s no surprise to Sena that South Pole workers undergo psychological evaluations
prior to long-term assignments. “The place can definitely get to you. What it comes down
to is that some people can handle it and some can’t. People who aren’t necessarily bad end
can up doing pretty bad things and that’s one of the themes this movie explores.”
As Beckinsale observes, “All that confinement can create a real powder keg.
Explosive emotions are ready to blow and you don’t always know what’s coming. That’s
6
why I love thrillers. I love trying to figure things out and wanting to see what happens
next.”
“You can lose yourself out there and be gone.”
“’Whiteout’ is every inch a thriller, but it’s character driven. It’s very much Carrie
Stetko’s story interwoven with the action, like two mysteries unfolding simultaneously,”
says Joel Silver. “She’s smart, she’s tough, and it’s a toughness that’s not just physical but
a fundamental part of her personality. She commands respect in a predominantly male
domain. But she’s also carrying a burden from her past that could complicate the work she
needs to do. I have always appreciated strong female protagonists, and particularly in
these kinds of stories. Kate really does a phenomenal job with the character.”
Caught between the cold and a cold-blooded killer, the troubled marshal’s history is
revealed in fragments through the escalating drama around her until it becomes clear why
she sought what Gambino calls “a metaphoric purgatory” in such a lonely place.
Says Sena, “We learn she was originally based in Miami. Something happened
there that made her question her instincts and wonder if she’s good enough at her job. So
she retreats to the middle of nowhere and as far away from Miami as you can imagine, a
place where nothing ever happens and she doesn’t even have to carry a gun. She doesn’t
expect to be challenged here and, more importantly, her compromised judgment—if, in
fact, it is compromised—won’t put anyone’s life in jeopardy.”
Sena believes Stetko’s decision to dig in and investigate Weiss’s murder is a
significant turning point for her. “In that respect, it’s kind of like a classic Western and
she’s the marshal in a one-horse town, forced to pick up her gun again.”
“What I found intriguing about the story and about Carrie Stetko is how human and
flawed she is,” says Beckinsale. “Because you don’t know her backstory, you don’t know
what she is capable of until you see events unfold. How damaged is she? Are her instincts
still good and will they carry her through or will they fail her again?”
Stetko’s first lead takes her to Vostok to speak with one of the victim’s former
partners. Claiming to be terrified and on the run, he has inexplicably taken refuge at the
Russian outpost. There, Stetko encounters U.N. investigator Robert Pryce, played by
Gabriel Macht. Pryce has been sent to help expedite the case and control the flow of
information about the crime—the first of its kind in a continent with no central
government, loosely controlled by a multi-national treaty. In many ways, Pryce could
7
prove to be the right man in the right place. But from Stetko’s point of view, his arrival
only means that she now has something else she wasn’t looking for: a partner.
Says Macht, “Pryce offers his help but finds her disinterested to the point of
hostility. From that beginning, it’s interesting to see how he attempts to gain her trust.
What develops is a kind of cat-and-mouse element between them that mirrors the cat-andmouse of their tracking the killer.”
Downey explains, “She’s not sure what to make of him. He appears unannounced
on site and essentially forces his way into the case. It seems to her that an awful lot of high
level attention is being focused upon the death of one unremarkable geologist.”
“Pryce has an interesting background, too, some of which is high-level military, but
he keeps his history as close to the vest as Stetko does. Gabriel lets the details emerge
subtly in a way that seems very natural for that kind of a personality,” says Sena.
Meanwhile, alleviating some of the tension between the two is the young pilot
Delfy, pulled from evacuation detail to fly Stetko first to the murder site and then to
Vostok, and who will remain with her as needed. Or, as long as he can keep his plane’s
engine from freezing up. Columbus Short stars as the optimistic Iraqi War vet on his first
civilian assignment, transporting personnel and equipment through the volatile conditions
at the Pole.
“This is Delfy’s second desert, with ice in place of sand,” says Short. “He has an
interesting view of the world. He sees the beauty in things, even in this desolate frozen
wasteland. No matter how strange or difficult the circumstances, Delfy looks for the
positive and the challenge and tries to meet it. To him, it’s all an adventure.”
“Columbus was outstanding,” the director declares. “He conveyed, through Delfy,
a different perspective on what they were facing, not just with his dialogue but his whole
approach to every new threat, as if to say, ‘OK, let’s just deal with this.’”
Not one to stand idly by, the keen-eyed pilot becomes increasingly involved in the
investigation and more valuable to Stetko than she could have known when she
commandeered his plane. But if Stetko places her faith in Delfy, it will be a rare thing.
During her service at the Pole she has come to count very few of her colleagues as friends.
On that short list is Sam Murphy, the Amundsen-Scott’s dedicated station manager, played
by Shawn Doyle, and Dr. John Fury, its only medic, played by Tom Skerritt.
Stetko and Murphy may have been more than friends at one point but, if so, that
situation appears to have evolved into an unsentimental but nuanced working relationship
by the time the story opens. In truth, it’s Doc with whom she has forged the closest
connection.
8
A first-rate card shark, the good doctor is also an excellent
conversationalist—partly for the stories he has accumulated in his many years of Antarctic
service, but mostly for the fact that he knows when to keep quiet, not ask questions and let
things go.
Skerritt offers his perspective, saying, “Doc is a friend. He knows Carrie came to
Antarctica to put distance between herself and some complication or betrayal back home,
some things that become partially revealed in time. Doc has had his own difficulties. In
some ways they’re a lot alike.”
Acknowledging that neither character is particularly open, Downey says, “There’s a
great deal of depth that Tom and Kate bring to their scenes together, as kindred spirits who
seem to get an awful lot out of a card game or just shooting the breeze over drinks at the
end of the day.”
By contrast, most of the men with whom Stetko has been confined there fall into a
category best typified by pilot Russell Haden and his rowdy comrades, who spend their
off-hours drinking and pulling harmless pranks like frat boys—an understandable tension
release after pushing themselves and their planes to the limit. “The pilots in this part of the
world are an extraordinary breed. On the one hand, as most would readily admit, they
have to be a little crazy to take this gig. On the other hand, they have to be phenomenally
skilled and competent to navigate in this treacherous terrain,” says Greg Rucka, who
confirms that many of the workers’ onscreen antics, like using million-year-old ice cores to
cool their drinks, are authentic and served as comic relief to the story’s darker themes.
Alex O’Loughlin, who stars as Haden, admits, “He’s a pretty audacious
personality. He has a lot of energy and confidence, and is a bit of a smartass. He does
okay with the ladies, although not with Carrie, and rather than be discouraged by that
unfortunate fact, he just tries harder and more shamelessly every chance he gets.”
“Alex was a real find, such a natural, charismatic actor,” says Gambino. “A good
portion of his dialogue was ad-libbed.” To which O’Loughlin responds, “The role called
for a cheeky Aussie pilot. I thought, ‘I don’t know how to fly but I’m a cheeky Aussie,’ so
I figured I could handle it.”
O’Loughlin’s first scene in “Whiteout” introduces Haden and his buddies in a
naked sprint patterned after a genuine South Pole tradition known as The 300 Club.
Screenwriter Erich Hoeber explains. “It’s called that because it involves soaking in a
sauna at 200 degrees, then running outside naked at 100-below for a few seconds, touching
the South Pole marker and then racing back inside before you freeze to death.” Doing their
9
own research, the Hoebers unearthed a wealth of such stories about how people in
Antarctica cope during extended assignments. Citing Greg Rucka’s initial investment in
local lore, Jon adds, “He wove so many interesting details into the story. The more we got
into it, the more we discovered additional angles and, since we had a bigger canvas to work
on, we were able to build on that and fill in some more of the color. It’s all part of the
background of the movie and the action.”
In this relatively tight-knit community, Stetko has lived and worked for two years
and has developed a certain level of ease, but that ease evaporates as Weiss’s murder now
calls into question every association and casual contact. How well does she really know
any of these guys?
“With everyone on the ice wearing multiple layers of protective gear, it’s
impossible to differentiate one face from another even if she knew who she was looking
for,” Gambino adds. “Most troubling is the timing. With most of the South Pole workers
either on route home or preparing to leave before winter prohibits all air transport, Stetko
faces the discouraging possibility that the killer might already be gone. Or, he could be
right beside her.”
Working and Fighting for Your Life at Sub-Zero Temperatures
Seeking a practical location that would evoke the cold, the barren spaces and utter
remoteness of the South Pole, the filmmakers relied upon executive producer Don
Carmody, a veteran of nearly 40 Canadian-based productions, who says simply, “I know
where the snow is.”
Carmody adds, “The first lesson about snow is that it generally doesn’t stay where
you want it. It can be hard to find a place that will be iced over for the time you need it.
Since this was meant to represent Antarctica, we not only needed snow but an expanse of
flat surfaces to recreate those incredible South Pole vistas and a frozen lake that would
support a set.” Following an encounter with an inquisitive polar bear while scouting
locations in Churchill (“It was as big as a Volkswagen,” he swears), Carmody and
production designer Graham “Grace” Walker found what they needed outside of Gimli,
Manitoba.
Arriving on set to shoot the exterior scenes of the film was a bracing experience for
the cast. Says Tom Skerritt, “It didn’t have to be Antarctica. Manitoba is plenty cold.
10
Everywhere you look, the ice is endless.” At times during the shoot, the mercury at the
Northern Canadian locale dropped lower than numbers logged that day at the South Pole.
Having worked in Budapest, Prague and other parts of Canada, Kate Beckinsale
believed she had a fair tolerance for cooler climes, but concedes, “This was a whole new
level of cold. My first breath outside made me cough like my throat was seizing up.
People were walking around with frost on their eyelashes and in their beards.”
To allay anxiety and help protect the cast and crew, production managers provided
everyone with what Beckinsale jokingly calls “a telephone directory on all the different
ways to die or be injured from the elements: frostbite, hypothermia, exposure. It was
terrifying. Columbus and I were convinced we’d never get out of there alive.”
“Yeah, the smart people on set didn’t read that,” Macht teases.
Aside from the camaraderie it fostered, one practical advantage to the weather was
how it allowed for protective padding under clothing for the high-impact stunt scenes. At
the same time, that posed its own challenge. Says producer Downey, “It takes a lot of
effort to move around with all those layers. The logistics of just getting from point A to B,
let alone staging an action sequence, can be exhausting.”
Beckinsale rises to the challenge physically in “Whiteout,” in which the action
unfolds not as superhero fantasy but as a series of gritty life-and-death struggles between
people desperate to survive. In that respect, notes Joel Silver, she brings credibility and
tenacity to the character. “She makes you believe that she will use her gun and her fists
and anything else that is available to her when she has to.”
Says Beckinsale, “The action is based in reality and I think that will make it more
intense for audiences because they might imagine what they would do in the same
situation. Stetko is not some fearless, invincible being with superpowers, scaling walls and
fighting off 14 attackers simultaneously; it’s not that kind of movie. She’s often taken by
surprise and reacts on a gut level.”
“Whiteout” placed Macht under the tutelage of stunt coordinator Steve Lucescu for
the second time, following their work together on “The Recruit” in 2003. Says the actor,
“It was like roughhousing with my brothers, growing up. I had a great time playing around
in the snow with the stunt crew. It brought back fond memories.”
During one perilous pursuit, characters best described as hunter and prey confront
each other while clinging blindly to rope guidelines, or “storm lines,” to avoid being blown
into oblivion by the gale force winds of an Antarctic whiteout. Writers Chad Hayes and
Carey W. Hayes orchestrated this sequence, involving multiple colored ropes connecting
11
the various out-buildings of the Amundsen-Scott. “It’s like fishing line, and you have to
hook into it to get from here to there. There’s a green line, a yellow line, a blue line… and
we have people crossing from one to another, constantly changing course,” Carey explains.
Adding to the risk, Chad cautions, “is not knowing which way to move when one
end of the line leads to safety and the other end could deliver you into the waiting arms of
a killer. You can’t see. When you feel the rope ahead of you tightening it means someone
else has just hooked onto that line. But how far away is he and which direction is he
moving in?”
As the characters grapple with one another, some of these lines are severed,
propelling them wildly out of control. Lucescu used winches, computer-calibrated to each
actor’s measurements, to safely monitor their acceleration and deceleration across the ice.
Still, there were moments when Beckinsale fought to remain upright. “She got
knocked over several times,” Sena remembers. “Kate has a small frame, so when she got
too close to a fan it could blow her off her feet. But she kept getting up; she was a real
trouper. We dragged her across the ice. There are many things a stunt double can do but
you want audiences to see the actors’ faces and know it’s them as much as possible. I had
a fantastic cast. We put them through hell and I couldn’t have asked for more enthusiasm
and commitment. I just hope their bruises have healed now and that they’ve forgiven me.”
Building a Set on Ice: Breaking Frozen Nails with a Frozen Hammer
An hour’s drive from Gimli and an approximate two hours from Winnipeg, the
“Whiteout” set took over a spit of private land jutting into Lake Manitoba that offered
multiple shooting angles guaranteed not to catch a tree line or hint of cityscape. Best of
all, the shallow lake provided four feet of solid ice. The downside, Don Carmody explains,
was that everything had to be brought in, “from gear to steel beams to Porta-Potties. There
was no electricity, nothing.” The first arrivals laid roads and an air strip so the rest of the
crew could get in.
Grace Walker, marking his fifth collaboration with Joel Silver on “Whiteout,” notes
that the producer is always looking for “something fresh, something that hasn’t been seen
before.” This gave him some creative leeway in presenting the American Antarctic base,
especially inside.
12
“In keeping with the almost lunar landscape at the South Pole, the idea was to
build a research center that looked a little like you would imagine a space colony to look
like,” says Silver.
Thinking “modern but functional and industrial,” Walker used floor tiles on the
walls, with exposed piping and stainless steel to get good reflections. “The walls are
primarily pinboard, appropriately lightweight and cheap to take to the South Pole. By
comparison, Vostok is older and shabbier with a 1960s or ‘70s vibe, which is true to life
because Vostok doesn’t have the funds the Americans have for their base. There were no
practical locations, every scene in the movie is something we created from scratch,” the
designer says, adding that the first floor was a physical set but the upper levels, where no
action takes place, were CGI extensions.
“The challenge was timing,” Downey explains. “Gimli gets so frigid at a certain
time of year that nails just shatter when they’re hit by a hammer. At the other end of the
schedule, beyond a certain period, the lake begins to melt under you.”
“Of course, it was our luck that Manitoba was having the warmest winter on
record,” Sena laughs, though emphasizing that “warm” is a relative term. He and
cinematographer Chris Soos had to rely on cameras specially oiled to resist freezing, with
special heating units attached to each magazine just to keep the film running.
The construction crew—a combined force of set specialists and local carpenters—
faced a number of interesting logistical problems: equipment would freeze and stop
working, cables would crack, high winds struck down newly raised walls, supply trucks
got stuck in the snow and generators seized. In addition, the lake bed was too fragile to
support the weight of standard cranes so the visiting team learned from the locals how to
rig Bobcats to hoist siding into place.
Trucks delivering bolts or wall panels and larger pieces built in warehouses in
Winnipeg often got delayed in transit. “There was always at least one tow truck bringing
up the rear when we traveled to the set because invariably one of the convoy would slide
off the road and need to be retrieved,” Sena recalls.
Oddly, in a place where cold was taken for granted, one of the biggest issues was
spot-thawing, which wreaked havoc on the newly constructed sets. The temperature might
be minus-30, but if the sun came out and hit the steel beams they would soak it up. That,
plus the weight of the steel itself, would begin to melt the foundation they rested upon just
enough to shift the whole structure. Ultimately, the steel was insulated against the sun’s
rays, and foundations shored up with gravel.
13
Striking sets and moving out was another race against the clock with its own
perverse humor. Says lead carpenter Tony Parkin, “A day before we got word to pull the
set down, the weather changed from minus-15 to plus-2 and it rained. We could have
traded our overalls for skin-diving suits for the amount of water that suddenly appeared.
The whole place turned into a marsh and we were constantly sinking. At one point we had
three trucks hooked up to each other and a crane to pull the first truck out of the mud.”
Volunteers from the nearby communities of Gimli and Eriksdale lent their help,
and portions of the set not earmarked for additional filming were left in their hands to be
recycled into a planned daycare center. The crew also took care not to leave anything
behind that could end up in the lake and be toxic to fish and other wildlife.
Production then moved the outdoors indoors, transporting and recreating the pieces
of their set like a giant jigsaw puzzle on soundstages in Montreal.
“We wanted the big whiteout storm scene on stage where we could control it and
that meant moving the foundations of four interconnecting buildings—the station and
airplane hangar—to Montreal. We then used giant fans to blast them with fake snow,
really beat them up with tons of salt,” says Sena.
The special effects crew created a variety of indoor snow: some lightweight for
blowing in the background, some in blanket form, some designed for having boots sunk
into and some to blow onto the actors. Additionally, 120 tons of sand was mounded up
and covered with 12 tons of salt to create giant drifts.
By Gabriel Macht’s estimation, it was the artificial snow that caused more
difficulty than anything they had encountered on the Gimli ice, mainly because it tended to
adhere to skin. “Some scenes required a lot of physical exertion and that meant heavy
breathing, so we needed to keep our passages open. The stuff got into our mouths and ears
and up our noses. There was no avoiding it.”
Fellow faux-snow victim Alex O’Loughlin offers his own take on it. “It’s starch
and salt, so you felt like you’d been rolling around in pizza dough all day.”
Whether manufacturing snow, building sets on a frozen lake or staging a full-scale
whiteout, every effort was made to offer entry into a world that few will ever experience.
Says Sena. “Rather than taking a stylized approach, I wanted to bring this story to
the screen in a realistic way and present this environment as true to life. Antarctica is such
an unforgiving place, and the whiteout is a powerful phenomenon. When those things hit
you can’t see three feet in front of you and your life expectancy can drop to minutes. It
really makes a compelling setting for a mystery.”
14
“The idea was to transport audiences to Antarctica. We want them to feel the
cold, the fear, the isolation and the will to survive in this extraordinarily difficult and alien
environment,” says Silver, before advising with a smile: “Better bring a sweater.”
ABOUT THE CAST
KATE BECKINSALE (Carrie Stetko) recently earned critical acclaim and a Best
Actress nomination from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for her starring role in the
independent political drama “Nothing But the Truth,” opposite Alan Alda and Matt Dillon.
She also starred in the 2008 independent drama “Fragments,” opposite Forest Whitaker
and Dakota Fanning.
Beckinsale will next be seen in the dark adventure comedy “Everybody’s Fine,”
alongside Robert De Niro and Drew Barrymore.
The English actress gained worldwide attention in Kenneth Branagh’s “Much Ado
About Nothing” and subsequently appeared in numerous memorable feature films in the
latter 1990s, including John Schlesinger’s “Cold Comfort Farm”; Whit Stillman’s “The
Last Days of Disco,” opposite Chloe Sevigny; Jonathan Kaplan’s “Brokedown Palace,”
opposite Claire Danes; the British comedy “Shooting Fish”; “Haunted,” opposite Aidan
Quinn; and Manuel Fleche’s “Marie- Louise ou la permission.”
In 2001, Beckinsale starred opposite Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett in the epic
“Pearl Harbor.” She went on to starring roles opposite John Cusack in “Serendipity,”
opposite Matthew McConaughey and Gary Oldham in “Tiptoes,” opposite Christian Bale
and Frances McDormand in the ensemble drama “Laurel Canyon,” and opposite Hugh
Jackman in “Van Helsing.”
She also starred in the hit vampire fantasy adventure
“Underworld” and its sequel, “Underworld: Evolution.”
Beckinsale’s starring role as screen legend Ava Gardner in Martin Scorcese’s “The
Aviator,” earned a SAG Award® nomination. Her additional recent screen credits include
the thriller “Vacancy,” with Luke Wilson, the hit comedy “Click,” with Adam Sandler, and
the independent drama “Snow Angels,” with Sam Rockwell, directed by David Gordon
Green.
15
GABRIEL MACHT (Robert Pryce) received critical acclaim for his 2004
breakout feature performance opposite John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson in “A Love
Song for Bobby Long.”
Macht was most recently seen starring in “The Spirit,” with Frank Miller directing
an all-star cast that included Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Mendes. His
upcoming projects include the independent comedy drama “Middle Men,” with Giovanni
Ribisi, Luke Wilson and James Caan, for director George Gallo.
Macht’s film credits include Robert De Niro’s “The Good Shepard”; “Because I
Said So,” opposite Mandy Moore and Diane Keaton; “The Recruit,” with Colin Farrell and
Al Pacino; “Bad Company,” with Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock; “Behind Enemy
Lines,” with Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman; and Les Mayfield’s “American Outlaws,”
with Colin Farrell, Scott Caan and Ali Larter.
For television, Macht starred in the series “The Others” and has had guest-starring
roles on “Numb3rs,” “Sex and the City” and “Spin City.” He also starred in the BBC
production “Archangel,” co-starring Daniel Craig, and portrayed William Holden in the
ABC biopic “The Audrey Hepburn Story.”
Onstage, Macht portrayed Elvis Presley (a.k.a. the visitor) in Steve Martin’s offBroadway smash hit “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.” He also starred in “La Ronde,” directed
by Joanne Woodward at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and in “Turnaround,” written
and directed by Roger Kumble at the Coast Playhouse.
Macht earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.
COLUMBUS SHORT (Delfy) is best known to film audiences for several recent
starring roles, including the lead in “Stomp the Yard,” a #1 box office draw for two weeks
that grossed more than $73 million.
He also starred in the holiday drama “This
Christmas,” opposite Idris Elba, Regina King and Chris Brown; the horror remake
“Quarantine”; and Darnell Martin’s “Cadillac Records,” with Beyonce Knowles, Jeffrey
Wright and Adrien Brody. For his role in “Cadillac Records” as the talented but selfdestructive harp player Little Walter, Short received an NAACP Image Award for Best
Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Short relocated with his family to Los Angeles at a
young age and, by his early teens, had landed work in television commercials. He was a
senior at Orange County School of the Arts when offered a part in Broadway’s famed
show “STOMP!” He then went on to choreograph Britney Spears’ “In the Zone” tour.
16
Short began his film career with a starring role in the 2006 release “Save the Last
Dance: 2” and in “Accepted,” opposite Jonah Hill and Justin Long. In 2007, he starred as
show runner Darius on Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed drama “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”
He can next be seen in the lead role of the action-packed thriller “Armored,” with
Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne. Short is also reuniting with “Stomp the Yard”
director Sylvain White to shoot a big-screen adaptation of DC Comics’ “The Losers,”
about a CIA black ops team. The film also stars Chris Evans, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and
Idris Elba, and is currently in pre-production. Additionally, he will star in a remake of the
British comedy “Death at a Funeral,” alongside Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Martin
Lawrence and Zoe Saldana.
Short plans to write and produce television and film projects through his production
company, Great Picture Show Productions. He has also been working with Grammy
Award-winning producers the Avila Brothers on his much-anticipated album, entitled “Act
One: Dimes and Dolls,” on which he will not only sing but play the bass, piano and drums.
TOM SKERRITT (Dr. John Fury), a Best Actor Emmy Award winner for his role
in “Picket Fences,” is currently starring in a recurring role on the ABC series “Brothers &
Sisters.” Among his most recent projects are the CBS miniseries “The Trojan Horse” and
the telefilm “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the feature comedy “Beer for My Horses” and the
comedy drama “Bonneville,” opposite Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates. Earlier this year, he
lent his voice to the animated family feature “The Velveteen Rabbit,” alongside Jane
Seymour and Ellen Burstyn.
He will next be seen in the thriller “For Sale by Owner,” and is currently
developing several scripts that he has written or adapted.
Born in Detroit, Skerritt studied at Wayne State University and UCLA. Though
originally interested in directing, a performance in a UCLA theatrical production led to his
being cast in his first film, “War Hunt,” in 1961. His subsequent film credits span every
genre and include numerous classic and acclaimed titles, including “M*A*S*H,” “The
Turning Point,” “Alien,” “Top Gun,” “Steel Magnolias,” “A River Runs Through It” and
“Contact.”
Skerritt’s extensive television work includes a recent role as General Westmoreland
in the HBO drama “Path to War”; a new version of “High Noon” for TBS, in which he
reprised the Gary Cooper role as the conflicted sheriff; and a turn as Joseph Kennedy in the
CBS miniseries “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Life.” Among his additional television
17
credits are Lifetime’s “American Daughter,” the CBS miniseries “Aftershock,” the
Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation “What the Deaf Man Heard,” and the USA Network’s
“Divided by Hate,” which he also directed. Skerritt’s directorial debut was the ABC
Afterschool Special “A Question of Sex.” He has also starred in the telefilms “The Hunt
for the Unicorn Killer,” “Miles to Go,” “Poker Alice,” “Child in the Night,” “Getting Up
and Going Home,” “Two for Texas,” “The China Lake Murders,” “The Heist” and “Red
King White King,” and he has appeared in guest-starring roles in series such as “The Dead
Zone,” “Huff,” “The Grid,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The West Wing,” “Will & Grace,” and
“Cheers.”
After appearing with Lee Remick in a Los Angeles theatrical production of “Love
Letters,” he re-teamed with “Picket Fences” co-star Kathy Baker for several charity
performances of the play, including one to benefit the Laguna Art Museum.
Skerritt is one of the founders of The Film School in Seattle, where he now lives.
Additionally, he devotes his time to such interests as painting and running a
restaurant and microbrewery, the proceeds from which, in part, benefit Crested Butte’s
Adaptive Sports Center in Colorado, aiding spinal trauma rehabilitation and research.
ALEX O’LOUGHLIN (Russell Haden) is best known to television audiences for
his starring role as Mick St. John in the Sci Fi Network’s popular vampire series
“Moonlight,” produced by Silver Pictures, and as a recurring character in the FOX crime
drama “The Shield.”
In 2007, he starred with Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers,
Terrence Howard and Robin Williams in the drama “August Rush.” His additional film
credits include “The Holiday,” “The Oyster Farmer” and the Australian miniseries “Mary
Bryant.”
O’Loughlin is currently in production on the romantic comedy “The Back-Up
Plan,” with Jennifer Lopez, set for a 2010 release. He will also star in the upcoming CBS
medical drama “Three Rivers.”
Born in Canberra, Australia, O’Loughlin studied acting at the National Institute of
Dramatic Art in Sydney.
18
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
DOMINIC SENA (Director) is a founding father of Propoganda Films and a
director of award-winning music videos, commercials and feature films.
Sena made his feature film directorial debut with the controversial crime drama
“Kalifornia,” starring Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes. The
film earned the International Film Critics Award Jury Prize at the 1993 Montreal Film
Festival as well as taking top honors for its cinematography. He followed that with the
worldwide hit “Gone in 60 Seconds,” starring Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribissi and
Angelina Jolie, which featured an explosive 40-minute car chase sequence; then
collaborated with “Whiteout” producers Joel Silver and Susan Downey on the 2001 crime
thriller “Swordfish,” starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle and
Sam Shepard.
He next re-teams with Nicolas Cage for the adventure “Season of the
Witch,” also starring Ron Perlman, currently in post-production and scheduled for a 2010
release.
Sena began his career as a cameraman. During the early 1980s he began to emerge
as a top director of music videos, then still a developing and uniquely inventive medium.
He worked on hundreds of music videos and was honored with various cinematography
awards. In 1985 he became a director/cameraman and went on to create videos for such Alist artists as Sting, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams and Steve
Winwood, but is best remembered for directing a series of clips starring Janet Jackson that
helped to define the many facets of her career. Their choreography-focused collaborations
include “Miss You Much,” “The Pleasure Principal,” “Come Back to Me” and “Rhythm
Nation,” which earned Sena a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Video.
In the world of television commercials, he has created memorable spots for such
clients as Nike, Apple Computers, Acura, IBM, Coke and Honda, among others. Three of
Sena’s spots helped earn Propaganda the Palme d’Or at the International Advertising
Festival in Cannes. The Nike campaign also garnered Sena a Gold Lion for Individual
Achievement.
Sena’s commercials have won top honors at New York’s prestigious AICP Awards
and have been made a part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
19
JON HOEBER & ERICH HOEBER (Screenwriters) previously teamed on the
comedic thriller and Sundance Film Festival favorite “Montana,” starring Kyra Sedgwick,
Stanley Tucci, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
They are currently in pre-production on the action-comedy “Red,” starring Bruce
Willis and scheduled for a 2010 release.
The brother team also has several projects in development, including the
psychological horror-thriller “The Pact” and the action-adventure “Battleship.”
CHAD HAYES & CAREY W. HAYES (Screenwriters) previously worked with
producer Joel Silver and Dark Castle Entertainment on the 2007 thriller “The Reaping” and
the 2005 remake of the 1953 horror classic “House of Wax.”
Currently, the Hayes brothers have several screenwriting projects in development,
including the horror thriller “The Conjuring,” based on the true story of Vaticanrecognized demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, the couple whose case files included
the real-life tales that inspired “The Amityville Horror” and “The Haunting in
Connecticut”; and “Tag,” a supernatural thriller based on the graphic novel of the same
name. Additionally, they will serve as writer-producers on the jungle-adventure thriller
“The Hunted,” set for a 2010 shoot in India. The brothers will also be making their
directorial debut with the possession story “Djinn,” which they adapted from the Tahir
Shah novel The Caliph’s House, named one of Time magazine’s top ten “must reads.”
JOEL SILVER (Producer), one of the most prolific and successful producers in
the history of motion pictures, has produced over 50 films, including the groundbreaking
“The Matrix” trilogy, the blockbuster four-part “Lethal Weapon” franchise, and the
seminal action films “Die Hard” and “Predator.” To date, Silver’s catalog of films have
earned more than $10 billion in worldwide revenue from all sources.
Under his Silver Pictures banner, Silver is currently producing “Sherlock Holmes,”
directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams,
and set for a Christmas release; and the action thriller “The Book of Eli,” starring Denzel
Washington under the direction of Albert and Allen Hughes, and due out January 2010.
Silver recently structured a deal for his Dark Castle Entertainment production
company, which gives him green-lighting power and creative control of all films produced
under the banner, which will be released by Warner Bros. Upcoming Dark Castle films
include James McTeigue’s actioner “Ninja Assassin,” which Silver is producing with the
20
Wachowski brothers; and the psychological thriller “The Factory,” starring John
Cusack. They are currently in production on the action film “The Losers,” based on the
DC Comics graphic novels, which Silver is producing with Akiva Goldsman. The film is
being directed by Sylvain White and stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba,
Columbus Short, Chris Evans and Jason Patric.
Dark Castle previously produced a string of hit films beginning with the recordbreaking 1999 release of “House on Haunted Hill,” followed by “Thir13en Ghosts” in
2001, “Ghost Ship” in 2002, “Gothika” in 2003 and “House of Wax” in 2005. Dark Castle
more recently released Guy Ritchie’s critically acclaimed actioner “RocknRolla,” with an
ensemble cast led by Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton and Mark Strong,
and the horror thriller “Orphan,” starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard.
Previously, Silver’s 1999 production “The Matrix” grossed over $456 million
globally, earning more than any other Warner Bros. Pictures film in the studio’s history at
the time of its release. Universally acclaimed for its innovative storytelling and visuals,
“The Matrix” won four Academy Awards®, including Best Visual Effects. The first DVD
release to sell one million units, “The Matrix” DVD was instrumental in powering the
initial sale of consumer DVD machines. The second installment of the epic “Matrix”
trilogy, “The Matrix Reloaded,” earned over $739 million at the worldwide box office.
The opening weekend box office receipts for “The Matrix Revolutions,” the final chapter
in the explosive trilogy, totaled a staggering $203 million worldwide. To date, “The
Matrix” franchise has grossed $3 billion from all sources worldwide.
While overseeing production on “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix
Revolutions,” Silver produced the integral video game “Enter the Matrix,” which features
one hour of additional film footage written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and
starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Anthony Wong, who reprised their roles from the films.
He also executive produced “The Animatrix,” a groundbreaking collection of nine short
anime films inspired by the visionary action and storytelling that power “The Matrix.”
Silver later produced the action thriller “V For Vendetta,” based on the acclaimed
graphic novel and starring Natalie Portman, and the action comedy thriller “Kiss Kiss,
Bang Bang,” written and directed by Shane Black and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val
Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan. He also produced the hit films “Romeo Must Die,”
starring Jet Li and Aaliyah; “Exit Wounds,” starring Steven Seagal and DMX; and
“Swordfish,” starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry.
21
A successful television producer as well, Silver executive produced the CBS
series “Moonlight,” a romantic thriller with a twist on the vampire legend, which won the
People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama in its debut year. He previously
executive produced the critically acclaimed UPN television series “Veronica Mars,”
starring Kristen Bell. Silver also executive produced, with Richard Donner, David Giler,
Walter Hill and Robert Zemeckis, eight seasons of the award-winning HBO series “Tales
from the Crypt,” as well as two “Tales from the Crypt” films.
Silver began his career at Lawrence Gordon Productions, where he ultimately
ascended to President of Motion Pictures. During his tenure, he served as associate
producer on “The Warriors” and, with Gordon, produced “48 HRS.,” “Streets of Fire” and
“Brewster’s Millions.”
In 1985, Silver launched his Silver Pictures production banner with the breakout hit
“Commando,” followed by “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Predator.” Silver Pictures solidified
its status as one of the industry’s leading production companies with the release of the
“Lethal Weapon” series and the action blockbusters “Die Hard” and “Die Hard 2: Die
Harder.” Silver also went on to produce “The Last Boy Scout,” “Demolition Man,”
“Richie Rich,” “Executive Decision” and “Conspiracy Theory.”
Long before starting his producing career, as a student at Columbia High School in
Maplewood, New Jersey, in 1967, Silver and a group of his friends developed a game
called Ultimate Frisbee.
The fast-moving team sport has since become a global
phenomenon supported by tournaments in 50 countries.
SUSAN DOWNEY (Producer) is a prolific film producer who has collaborated
with some of the industry’s most noted talents from both sides of the camera. Her long list
of credits includes films ranging from action blockbusters to dramas to comedies to horror
thrillers.
Downey most recently produced several different upcoming features, including the
much-anticipated “Sherlock Holmes,” to be released on Christmas Day 2009. Directed by
Guy Ritchie, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams in an
action adventure mystery that brings Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective to the big
screen as never before.
In addition, Downey produced the upcoming horror thriller “The Factory,” directed
by Morgan O’Neill and starring John Cusack, and is an executive producer on the action
22
drama “The Book of Eli,” starring Denzel Washington under the direction of Albert and
Allen Hughes, set for a January 2010 release.
Currently, Downey is serving as an executive producer on “Iron Man 2,” the sequel
to the blockbuster action hit “Iron Man.” Slated for release in May 2010, the film reunites
director Jon Favreau with Robert Downey Jr., who is returning in the title role, and
Gwyneth Paltrow as the central character’s devoted assistant. Also joining the cast are
Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson.
Downey previously held the dual posts of Co-President of Dark Castle
Entertainment and Executive Vice President of Production at Silver Pictures. Joining
Silver Pictures in 1999, she oversaw the development and production of feature films
released under both banners, including “Thir13en Ghosts” and “Swordfish.”
In 2002, she made her producing debut as a co-producer on “Ghost Ship” and then
co-produced the 2003 release “Cradle 2 the Grave.” Downey went on to produce the
features “Gothika” and “House of Wax,” and also served as an executive producer on the
critically acclaimed comedic thriller “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.”
More recently, Downey produced Neil Jordan’s acclaimed psychological drama
“The Brave One,” starring Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard, and Guy Ritchie’s widely
praised crime comedy “RocknRolla,” starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie
Newton, Idris Elba, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Jeremy Piven, and the horror thriller
“Orphan,” starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard.
Prior to her tenure at Dark Castle and Silver Pictures, Downey worked on the hit
films “Mortal Kombat” and “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.”
Downey is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of CinemaTelevision.
DAVID GAMBINO (Producer) is the Senior Vice President of Production for
Silver Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment. He joined the companies in 2001 and has
served as the associate producer on “The Invasion,” starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel
Craig, as well as co-producer on “The Brave One,” starring Jodie Foster.
Gambino currently oversees a wide range of projects that include the feature
version of the Vertigo graphic novel “The Losers,” currently in production, Shane Black’s
action-comedy “The Nice Guys,” Guy Ritchie’s thriller “Gamekeeper,” and an update of
the sci-fi classic “Forbidden Planet.”
23
For Dark Castle, Gambino is producing the psychological thriller “The Factory,”
starring John Cusack, which is scheduled for release in 2010.
STEVE RICHARDS (Executive Producer) is Co-President of Dark Castle
Entertainment, and is in his fifteenth year working with producer Joel Silver. He was
instrumental in developing the business plan for Dark Castle and in forging the financial
partnership with CIT Group Inc., which will finance the production of 15 films over the
next five years.
Richards has served as executive producer on all of the films under the Dark Castle
banner, including the upcoming “The Factory,” and “The Hills Run Red.” He is currently
in development on the horror thriller “The Summoner.” He was also executive producer
on “RocknRolla,” “The Reaping,” “Thir13en Ghosts,” “Ghost Ship,” “Gothika,” “House of
Wax” and, most recently, “Orphan.”
During the formation of Dark Castle in 1999,
Richards organized the foreign financing and distribution of the shingle’s first film, the
remake of William Castle’s “House on Haunted Hill.”
In 1995, Richards joined Silver Pictures and is currently Chief Operating Officer of
the company. He counts among his film credits with Silver Pictures “Kiss Kiss, Bang
Bang,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Animatrix,” and two installments of the “Dungeons
& Dragons” fantasy game film adaptations. Additionally, upon joining Silver Pictures,
Richards aided in the launch of Decade Pictures and served as executive producer on
“Made Men” and as associate producer on “Double Tap.”
Richards began his career as a production executive for Tony and Ridley Scott’s
production company, Scott Free.
DON CARMODY (Executive Producer) has been producing films for more than
30 years. As vice president of production for Canada’s Cinepix (now Lionsgate Films), he
co-produced David Cronenberg’s early shockers “They Came from Within” and “Rabid,”
as well as the popular comedy “Meatballs.” Starting his own production company in 1980,
Carmody produced the smash hits “Porky’s,” “Porky’s II” and the perennially popular “A
Christmas Story,” as well as “Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone,”
“Whispers,” “The Big Town,” “Physical Evidence,” “Switching Channels” and the Chuck
Norris films “The Hitman” and “Sidekicks.”
24
He successfully returned to comedy with the “Weekend at Bernie’s” series, and
“The Late Shift” for HBO, which was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, three Cable
Ace Awards and the Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel.
In 2002 Carmody co-produced the hit film musical “Chicago,” which won seven
Academy Awards,® including Best Picture, three Golden Globe Awards, including Best
Musical or Comedy, and the Producers Guild of America’s Golden Laurel Award for Best
Picture, as well as many other awards and honors worldwide.
His credits number more than 90 films, including “Johnny Mnemonic,” “The
Mighty,” “Studio 54,” the Oscar®-nominated “Good Will Hunting,” “In Too Deep,” the
cult hit “The Boondock Saints,” “The Third Miracle,” “Get Carter,” “The Whole Nine
Yards,” “The Pledge,” “3000 Miles to Graceland,” “Caveman’s Valentine,” David
Mamet’s “The Heist,” “City by the Sea,” “Wrong Turn,” “Gothika,” “Resident Evil” and
“Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” “Assault on Precinct 13,” Lucky Number Sleven,” “Silent
Hill” and last year’s “The Outlander.” He most recently served as executive producer on
the horror thriller “Orphan,” for Joel Silver’s Dark Castle Entertainment.
Carmody’s upcoming collaborations with Joel Silver and Dark Castle include the
“The Factory,” starring John Cusack. His additional future releases include Mira Nair’s
“Amelia,” starring Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart, and the long-awaited sequel “The
Boondock Saints: All Saints Day.” He is also in production on the fourth installment of
the “Resident Evil” series and the sequel to “Silent Hill,” both slated for a 2010 release.
Combining his instincts for horror and comedy, he recently branched out into the
theatre world as part of the production team for the off-Broadway play “Evil Dead: The
Musical,” a campy send-up of Sam Raimi’s cult classic horror films “Evil Dead” and “Evil
Dead II,” which opened last Halloween to rave reviews.
Born in New England, Carmody immigrated to Canada with his parents as a boy.
He graduated film school in Montreal and has gone on to produce films all over the world.
GREG RUCKA (Author, Whiteout / Executive Producer) was born in San
Francisco and raised on the Central Coast of California, commonly referred to as Steinbeck
Country. He began his writing career in earnest at the age of 10 by winning a county-wide
short story contest, and hasn’t let up since. He graduated Vassar College with an A.B. in
English, and the University of Southern California’s Master of Professional Writing
program, with an M.F.A.
25
Rucka is the author of over a dozen novels, seven featuring bodyguard Atticus
Kodiak, including his latest, Walking Dead, and two featuring Tara Chace, the protagonist
of his Queen & Country series. The third Chace novel, The Last Run, will be published in
Summer 2010 by Bantam Books.
Additionally, he has written several short stories,
countless comics and the occasional non-fiction essay. In the comics realm, he has had the
opportunity to write stories featuring some of the world’s best-known characters—
Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman—as well as several creator-owned properties
himself, such as Whiteout and Queen & Country, both published by Oni Press, as well as
the upcoming Stumptown. His work has been optioned several times over, and his services
are in high demand in a variety of creative fields as a story doctor and creative consultant.
Rucka lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, author Jennifer Van Meter.
RICHARD MIRISCH (Co-Producer) has served as co-producer on Dark Castle
Entertainment’s “The Reaping,” “House of Wax,” “Gothika,” “Ghost Ship,” “Thir13en
Ghosts” and, most recently, “Orphan.”
He also served as associate producer on the
Wachowski brothers’ award-winning sci-fi epic “The Matrix,” and the highly successful
HBO series “Tales from the Crypt.”
Mirisch began his career in filmmaking working for The Avnet/Kerner Company
on “Less Than Zero,” and then was director Paul Brickman’s assistant on “Men Don’t
Leave.”
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mirisch and his wife, Belen, have a
daughter, Grace, and are expecting another girl in October.
ADAM KUHN (Co-Producer) has been at Silver Pictures / Dark Castle
Entertainment since 1998, and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Finance. Kuhn
earned his MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and is a Certified Public
Accountant in the state of California.
CHRIS SOOS (Director of Photography) is originally from Toronto, Canada, and
has worked on scores of award-winning commercials in the past 10 years.
His
groundbreaking visual style has been recognized with eleven Canadian Society of
Cinematographers (CSC) nominations, including six awards for Best Cinematography in a
Music Video.
26
His first film, “One Point O,” debuted in dramatic competition at the 2004
Sundance Film Festival.
His second feature, “Phantom Love,” received rave
reviews at Sundance as well, in the New Frontier collection section. Soos also shot Guy
Ritchie’s action comedy short “Star,” starring Clive Owen. Additionally, he lent his
cinematic eye and producing skills to the critically acclaimed documentary “ANVIL! The
Story of Anvil.” Soos recently completed principal photography on Jake Scott’s drama
“Welcome
to
the
Rileys,”
starring
James
Gandolfini
and
Kristen
Stewart.
STUART BAIRD (Supervising Editor) has twice been nominated for an Academy
Award®, first in 1979 for his work on Richard Donner’s “Superman” and again in 1989 for
Michael Apted’s “Gorillas in the Mist,” starring Sigourney Weaver.
Most recently, Baird earned a BAFTA nomination and an Eddie Award nomination
for his work on the 21st James Bond adventure, “Casino Royale,” which marked his
second collaboration with director Martin Campbell. He had previously edited Campbell’s
blockbuster “The Legend of Zorro,” starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas.
Baird also edited the 2008 action thriller “Vantage Point.”
His film credits include “Maverick,” “Lethal Weapon” and “Lethal Weapon 2,”
“Demolition Man,” “Radio Flyer,” “Die Hard 2,” “Ladyhawke,” “Tommy,” “Outland,”
and “Five Days One Summer,” for director Fred Zinnemann.
As a director, Baird’s credits include “Star Trek: Nemesis,” “U.S. Marshals” and
“Executive Decision.”
MARTIN HUNTER (Editor) worked on the enduring fan favorite “Underworld,”
a fantasy action thriller about vampire warriors that starred Kate Beckinsale. He also
served as editor on David Twohy’s 2004 action thriller “The Chronicles of Riddick,” and,
more recently, “The Flock,” starring Richard Gere and Claire Danes, “The Perfect Sleep”
and “Not Forgotten,” which debuted at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival.
His work will next be seen in the Swedish comedy drama “Prinsessa.”
Hunter’s previous editing credits include Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed war drama
“Full Metal Jacket”; Allan A. Goldstein’s “Cold Front”; Martin Sheen’s “Cadence”; Mike
Figgis’ “Liebestraum”; “Cruise Control”; the telefilm “The Water Engine,” based on
David Mamet’s play; Dominic Sena’s “Kalifornia”; “Minotaur”; “Above Suspicion”;
“Mortal Kombat,” David Twohy’s “The Arrival” and “Below”; “Event Horizon”;
“Soldier”; “In the Shadows”; and “Other Voices,” which earned a Grand Jury Prize
27
nomination from the Sundance Film Festival, and on which Hunter also served as an
associate producer.
Hunter also worked with legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick as a research
assistant, photographer and editor in a collaboration that spanned nine years.
GRAHAM “GRACE’’ WALKER (Production Designer) counts “Whiteout” as
his fifth collaboration with Dark Castle Entertainment, having worked on the company’s
earlier releases “The Reaping,” “House of Wax,” “Gothika” and “Ghost Ship.” He
recently wrapped his sixth Dark Castle effort, the stylish action drama “Ninja Assassin,”
scheduled to debut in November of this year.
Walker won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in
Production Design for “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.” He also earned AFI nominations
for his production design work on Phillip Noyce’s “Dead Calm,” Dusan Makavejev’s “The
Coca-Cola Kid” and “The Chain Reaction.”
His additional film credits include “Queen of the Damned”; “Pitch Black,” starring
Vin Diesel; “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” directed by John Frankenheimer and starring
Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer; Peter Faiman’s “Crocodile Dundee”; “The Sum of Us,”
starring Russell Crowe; George Miller’s “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”; and, most
recently, the action thriller “The Condemned.”
WENDY PARTRIDGE (Costume Designer) started by dressing her dolls at the
age of seven and has gone on to design for some of the most visually exciting films in
recent years, including “Underworld” and “Underworld: Evolution,” starring Kate
Beckinsale; “The Cave,” starring Cole Hauser; “Fantastic Four,” starring Julian McMahon
and Jessica Alba; and “Hellboy,” for which she received a 2004 Saturn Award nomination
from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
Partridge is a two-time Genie Award winner for Best Costume Design, for the 2008
historic war drama “Passchendaele,” directed by Paul Gross, and the 1986 drama
“Loyalties.” She has earned three additional Genie Award nominations, for the features
“Come l’America,” “Isaac Littlefeathers” and “Latitude 55°.” Her additional film credits
include “Resurrecting the Champ,” for director Rod Lurie; the horror fantasy “Silent Hill”;
“Blade II,” starring Wesley Snipes; “Texas Rangers”; “Highlander: Endgame”; and “Snow
Day.”
28
Partridge’s designs most recently appeared on screen in the Canadian production
of “The Last Rites of Ransom Pride,” a drama for director Tiller Russell which debuted in
June, and will next be seen in the action thriller “Legion,” currently in post production and
set for a 2010 release.
NICOLETTA MASSONE (Costume Designer) most recently designed costumes
for the feature drama “Emotional Arithmetic” and the thriller “Slow Burn,” as well as the
telefilms “Marie-Antoinette,” “I Do (But I Don’t)” and Showtime’s “The Reagans.”
Massone served as the Montreal costume designer for the popular romantic drama
“The Notebook” in 1994. Her previous film credits include the crime drama “One-Eyed
King,” the family drama “Kayla,” “Windigo,” “Margaret’s Museum,” “Momentum,”
“Some Girls” and “Captive Hearts.”
In 1994, Massone earned an Emmy Award for her work on the television biography
“Zelda,” starring Natasha Richardson and Timothy Hutton.
Her additional television
work, encompassing American, Canadian and UK programs, includes Peter Werner’s
telefilm “After Amy”; “The Killing Yard”; the acclaimed World War II drama “Varian’s
War,” for which she earned a Canadian Genie Award nomination; Robert Markowitz’s
“The Great Gatsby”; “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”; the Emmy Award-nominated
miniseries “P.T. Barnum”; and “Big Bear,” for which Massone won a Gemini Award, the
Canadian equivalent to an Emmy.
JOHN FRIZZELL (Composer) recently composed scores for the thrillers
“Shelter” and “Evil Angel,” “The Lodger,” the Luke Wilson comedy drama “Henry Poole
is Here” and the comedy “Tenure,” due for release in November. For television, he wrote
music for the pilot of Diablo Cody’s new Showtime comedy series “The United States of
Tara,” as well as episodes of “Masters of Science Fiction” and the Sci-Fi Channel’s
“Moonlight,” executive produced by Joel Silver.
He is currently working on the action thriller “Legion,” set for a 2010 release.
Frizzell’s work includes scores for films as varied as “Alien: Resurrection,” “Office
Space,” “Gods and Generals” and “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.” He collaborated
with rap star DMX’s producing team on the score for the crime drama “Cradle 2 the
Grave” and composed the score for the Looney Tunes characters in the short “The
Whizzard of Ow.” His additional film credits include “I Still Know What You Did Last
Summer,” “Beautiful” and “Thir13en Ghosts.” For television, he created the score for the
29
award-winning biopic “James Dean” and the acclaimed telefilm “Crime of the Century,”
to name only a few.
Frizzell began his musical career singing in the chorus of the Paris Opera Company
and the Metropolitan Opera Company. He studied at the USC School of Music and the
Manhattan School of Music, during which time he met his mentor, guitar legend Joe Pass.
After college, he worked for acclaimed producer/vibraphonist Michael Mainieri, who
owned a Synclavier, the first digital music workstation.
Frizzell became a master
synthesist, which led to work with Oscar®-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, for
whom Frizzell provided orchestrations to Oliver Stone’s landmark miniseries “Wild
Palms.” Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Frizzell met and subsequently collaborated with
composer James Newton Howard on “The Rich Man’s Wife” and “Dante’s Peak.”
An advocate for film music issues, Frizzell serves on the Executive Board of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has instructed graduate students at
USC Thornton School of Music, and was the Honorary President of the 2007 International
Film Music Conference in Ubeda, Spain.
30
CAST
CARRIE STETKO ......................................................................... KATE BECKINSALE
ROBERT PRYCE...............................................................................GABRIEL MACHT
DR. JOHN FURY .................................................................................. TOM SKERRITT
DELFY ............................................................................................COLUMBUS SHORT
RUSSELL HADEN ........................................................................ ALEX O’LOUGHLIN
SAM MURPHY...................................................................................... SHAWN DOYLE
JACK .........................................................................................................JOEL KELLER
RUBIN .......................................................................................................... JESSE TODD
McGUIRE.......................................................................................... ARTHUR HOLDEN
RHONDA .................................................................................................. ERIN HICOCK
RUSSIAN PILOT ..................................................................................BASHAR RAHAL
RUSSIAN CO-PILOT .................................................................................JULIAN CAIN
RUSSIAN GUARDS...........................................................................DENNIS KEIFFER
ANDREI RUNTSO
ROMAN VARSHAVSKY
MOONEY............................................................................................ STEVE LUCESCU
LAB TECH ..................................................................................PAULA JEAN HIXSON
AIRCRAFT TECH ................................................................................CRAIG PINCKES
OPERATIONS TECH ..............................................................................SEAN TUCKER
WEISS ............................................................................ MARC JAMES BEAUCHAMP
NEWBIE................................................................................................ NICK VILLARIN
MAN IN HALL ....................................................................................... LOUIS DIONNE
MIAMI PRISONER .....................................................................PATRICK SABONGUI
STUNT COORDINATOR & KEY RIGGING ................................... STEVE LUCESCU
STUNTS
CARL CIARFALIO
MARIE-FRANCE DENONCOURT
COLIN FOLLENWEIDER
FRANCK GAUTHIER
JERE GILLIS
NATHALIE GIRARD
BRIAN JAGERSKY
STEPHANE JULIEN
PATRICK KERTON
WILLIAM LEAMAN JR.
KARINE LEMIEUX
CHRISTOPHER McGUIRE
SARAH MURPHY-DYSON
DANIEL SKENE
JAMIE JAMES YUNGBLOOD
STUNT RIGGERS
JAKE BRAKE
DEAN COPKOV
JEFF HABBERSTAD
TIG FONG
JAKE LOMBARD
HUGH O’BRIEN
ED QUEFFELEC
LARRY SHORTS
SCOTT SPROULE
JIM STEPHAN
BRIAN WILLIAMS
NICK WORON
FILMMAKERS
DIRECTED BY ...................................................................................... DOMINIC SENA
SCREENPLAY BY ................................................ JON HOEBER & ERICH HOEBER
and CHAD HAYES & CAREY W. HAYES
BASED ON THE GRAPHIC NOVEL WRITTEN BY ............................ GREG RUCKA
AND ILLUSTRATED BY ...................................................................... STEVE LEIBER
AND PUBLISHED BY ....................................................................................ONI PRESS
PRODUCED BY ........................................................................................ JOEL SILVER
SUSAN DOWNEY
DAVID GAMBINO
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ............................................................ STEVE RICHARDS
DON CARMODY
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER....................................................................... GREG RUCKA
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY.................................................. CHRIS SOOS, C.S.C.
PRODUCTION DESIGN BY ..................................... GRAHAM “GRACE” WALKER
SUPERVISING EDITOR........................................................... STUART BAIRD, A.C.E.
31
FILM EDITOR ...................................................................................MARTIN HUNTER
MUSIC BY ........................................................................................... JOHN FRIZZELL
CO-PRODUCERS...........................................................................RICHARD MIRISCH
ADAM KUHN
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR................................................... DENNIS BERARDI
COSTUMES DESIGNED BY...................................................... WENDY PARTRIDGE
NICOLETTA MASSONE
CASTING BY....................................................................................MARY GAIL ARTZ
and SHANI GINSBERG, C.S.A.
PRODUCTION MANAGERS
R.J. GILBERT
DEB LEFAIVE
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
CRAIG PINCKES
SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
BETHAN MOWAT
CANADIAN CASTING...........................................................ANDREA KENYON, CSA
RANDI WELLS, ADCQ
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS................................................................... ETHAN ERWIN
AARON AUCH
ART DIRECTORS ......................................................................................GILLES AIRD
MARTIN GENDRON, JEAN KAZEMIRCHUK
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR....................................................... CAROLINE ALDER
ART DEPARTMENT COORDINATORS ..........................................CARRIE FOSTER
KATHARINA STIEFFENHOFER
ASSISTANT ART DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR............................. MANON CYR
ART DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT ............................................... MARTINE GRAVEL
GRAPHIC DESIGNER ..........................................................................CARL LESSARD
SET DESIGNERS ..............................................................................BRETT LAMBERT
CÉLINE LAMPRON, MARYSE DE LOTTINVILLE
ILLUSTRATOR ...............................................................................JEAN-MARC BOCK
PLAYBACK GRAPHIC ARTIST ................................ MÉRIK MARTIN PELLETIER
KEY SET DECORATOR...........................................................DANIEL CARPENTIER
ON-SET DRESSER..............................................................................ALAIN SÉNÉCAL
DECORATORS..................................................................................... ROBERT PARLE
REJEAN LABRIE
ASSISTANT SET DECORATORS .....................................................FRANCIS MORIN
FRANÇOIS SÉNÉCAL
CAMERA OPERATORS ................................................................... ROBERT STECKO
STEVE MORRISON, EINAR SIGURDSON
ALFONSO MAIORANA, SYLVAINE DUFAUX
STEADICAM OPERATORS.....................................................................TIM MERKEL
CHRISTOPHER TJ McGUIRE, FRANÇOIS PERRIER
WESCAM OPERATOR..................................................................... JEREMY BRABEN
FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA......................NICOLAS MARION, ERIC GODBOUT
MICHEL BERNIER, MARIE-ANDRÉE PAQUET
SECOND ASSISTANT CAMERA..................................................... ROCH BOUCHER
ERIC AUBIN, ALAIN ROUSSEAU
MÉLIA LAGACÉ, CYLVAN DESROULEAUX
LOADER ............................................................................................... AUDREY DAVID
VIDEO ASSIST OPERATOR ................................ STÉPHANIE GIRARD-HAMELIN
24 FPS SUPERVISOR ..........................................................................ANATOL TREBA
STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER ......................................................................................RAFY
32
SCRIPT SUPERVISORS .............................................................. LORETTE LEBLANC
ISABELLE FAIVRE-DUBOZ
FIRST ASSISTANT EDITOR ..................................................... JASON WASSERMAN
ASSISTANT EDITORS ........................................GLENN COTE, HAROLD PARKER
TOM REAGAN, PETER SMITH
POST PRODUCTION COORDINATOR..................................... PATRICK FOGARTY
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR.............................................RICHARD YURICICH
VISUAL EFFECTS EDITOR ................................................ALESSANDRA CARLINO
VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR ................................... MATTHEW MAGNOLIA
DIGITAL ARTISTS ................................................................................ ERAN BARNEA
CHOZ BELEN
SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR ...........................................................MARK LARRY
DIALOGUE / ADR SUPERVISOR...........................................STEPHANIE L. FLACK
FOLEY SUPERVISOR .......................................................... CHRISTOPHER B. ALBA
SOUND EFFECTS EDITORS ...................................... ERIC WARREN LINDEMANN
DANE A. DAVIS, MPSE
GREGORY A. HEDGEPATH, MPSE
TOM OZANICH, MPSE
DAVID A. WHITTAKER, MPSE
DIALOGUE / ADR EDITOR ...................................................CLIFF LATIMER, MPSE
FOLEY EDITOR....................................................................MARLA McGUIRE, MPSE
ASSISTANT SOUND EDITORS ............................................ NANCY BARKER, MPSE
DREW YERYS
APPRENTICE SOUND EDITOR.......................................MATTHEW W. KIELKOPF
RE-RECORDING MIXERS ........................................................................ JOHN REITZ
GREGG RUDLOFF
MIX TECHNICIAN ............................................................................... RYAN MURPHY
ADR MIXER ..........................................................................THOMAS J. O’CONNELL
ADR RECORDIST.................................................................................. RICK CANELLI
FOLEY ARTISTS .......................................................... PAMELA NEDD KAHN, MPSE
VINCENT GUISETTI
FOLEY MIXER..................................................................................... KYLE ROCHLIN
SOUND MIXER............................................................................ LOUIS MARION, CAS
BOOM OPERATOR ...................................................................................LOUIS PICHÉ
CABLE PULLERS .............................................................................. JOSÉE BERNARD
CÉDRIC CHARRON
CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIAN ................................................... JEAN COURTEAU
ASST. CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIANS ............................... SYLVAIN BERGEVIN
JOHN CLARKE
KEY RIGGING GAFFER ...................................................................GILLES FORTIER
BEST BOY RIGGING ELECTRIC .....................................................JACOB FORTIER
GENERATOR OPERATOR ..................................................... STÉPHANE BOISVERT
ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR ................MARIE-CHANTAL CRÊTE
LIGHTING BOARD OPERATOR .................................................JONATHAN BARRO
KEY GRIPS..........................................................................................ROBERT BAYLIS
CHRISTOPHE NACHTIGALL
BEST BOY GRIP ........................................................................... ROBERT LAPIERRE
DOLLY GRIP............................................................................... RICHARD BOUCHER
CRANE OPERATORS ..................................................................... DAVID WACJMAN
ADAM OPPENHEIM
KEY RIGGING GRIP ....................................................................... STÉPHANE PILON
BEST BOY RIGGING GRIPS ....................................................... DANIEL ROBIDOUX
COLIN NOEL
33
GRIP DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR ......................................... MÉLANIE MORIN
ASSISTANT TO COSTUME DESIGNER............................................ DIANE DAOUST
COSTUME DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR ................................... ALAIN VALLÉE
KEY DRESSER.............................................................. CATERINA CHAMBERLAND
DRESSERS.......................................................................MARIE-NOELLE TANGUAY
SUZIE COUTU
EXTRAS DRESSERS .......................................................... MARIE-LYNN BEAULIEU
MATHILDE LEMAIRE-BARETTE
WARDROBE ASSISTANT ............................................................ SYLVIE GUILLARD
KEY MAKE UP ARTIST .................................................... JOCELYNE BELLEMARE
MAKE UP FOR MS. BECKINSALE .................................................. VASILIOS TANIS
MAKE UP ARTISTS
MAGALIE MÉTIVIER
KATHY KELSE
CHRISTOPHE GIRAUD BRENDA MAGALAS
AMANDA LESAGE
DOUG MORROW
KEY HAIR STYLIST ........................................................................CORALD GIROUX
HAIR STYLIST FOR MS. BECKINSALE ................................JUDI COOPER-SEALY
HAIR STYLISTS ................................................................... MARIE-JOSÉE BINETTE
GAÉTAN LANDRY, GHISLAINE SANT
PROP MASTER ....................................................................................... DENIS HAMEL
PROPS ASSISTANTS ................................................................ KATIA-KIM DÉPATIE
SIMONE LECLERC, KATHLEEN SPEIGHT
FIREARMS ............................................................. MARIE-FRANCE DENONCOURT
EXTRAS CASTING ............................................................................... JULIE BRETON
MÉLISSA NEPTON
CASTING ASSISTANTS .................................................................FREYA KRASNOW
SHAWN ROBERTS
2ND SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTORS................MARIELOU BÉLISLE-PIERRE
MEGAN BASARABA
THIRD ASSISTANT DIRECTORS .......................................... GENEVIÈVE DUGUAY
KATE GODLEY
MEGAN HEKE
PRODUCTION COORDINATORS ....................................................... YANIE SALVAS
MELISSA GIROTTI
U.S. PRODUCTION COORDINATOR ................................................STEVE BENDER
PRODUCTION SECRETARY ........................................................STEPHANIE AUBIN
PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT ..........................................................TOM DI BLASIO
FIRST ACCOUNTANT ...............................................................GILLES MONTREUIL
UNIT PUBLICIST..............................................................................CARA LEIBOVITZ
TECHNICAL ADVISOR ................................................................... BILL COUGHRAN
ASSISTANT TO MR. SILVER ..............................................................STACY RASKIN
ASSISTANT TO MR. SENA......................................................... DANIEL GRIESMER
ASSISTANT TO MR. CARMODY............................................................ SARAH JENÉ
ASSISTANTS TO MR. GAMBINO ........................................................DJ GOLDBERG
LUCAS AYOUB
ASSISTANT TO MR. RICHARDS .................................................PAUL McCLOSKEY
ASSISTANT TO MRS. DOWNEY ...................................... LARA KHAJETOORIANS
ASSISTANT TO MS. BECKINSALE................................................ NATALIE TORRE
SPFX SUPERVISOR .................................................................................LOUIS CRAIG
SPFX COORDINATOR.......................................................... PIERRE ‘BILL’ RIVARD
SPFX DEPARTMENT COORDINATOR............................................DENIS LAVIGNE
SPFX BEST BOY.............................................................................ANDRÉ LAFOREST
34
SPFX TECHNICIANS
GASPAR BRABANT
GEORGES CHARTRAND
FRANCIS CHOQUETTE
FRANÇOIS DION
KARIM EL-FASSI
ANDRÉ ESSIEMBRE
JACQUES LANGLOIS
LOUIS PEDNEAULT
MARTIN-PHILIPPE TREMBLAY PIERRE L’HEUREUX
BERNARD GUAY
STÉPHANE DALPÉ
SPFX MAKE UP ARTIST .................................................................... ERIK GOSSELIN
ASSISTANT SPFX MAKE UP ARTISTS ......................JEAN MICHEL ROSSIGNOL
JULIE BRISEBOIS
CONSTRUCTION COORDINATORS ............................................. RÉJEAN BROCHU
PHILLIP TELLEZ, MARTIN CHALIFOUX
KEY SCENIC ARTISTS......................................................................ALAIN GIGUÈRE
MARY ESTHER GRIFFITH
SUPERVISING HEAD CARPENTERS................................................. SERGE GAGNÉ
TONY PARKIN
LEAD METAL FABRICATORS ........................................................ALEX TELLNOW
IVAN ALAMINA, DANIEL MARTIN
HEAD CARPENTERS...................................................................BERNARD GAGNON
SCOTT KINKEAD
HEAD SCULPTOR............................................................................ALAIN DALLAIRE
KEY GREENSMAN / SNOW ................................................... DYLAN LA FRENIÈRE
GREENS / SNOW .......................................................................... VÉRONIQUE PICHÉ
BURKHARD WEISS
UNIT LOCATION MANAGER ........................................................ ROBIN MOUNSEY
LOCATION MANAGER................................................................MICHAEL COWLES
UNIT MANAGER........................................................................ GILLES PERREAULT
ASSISTANT UNIT MANAGER ................................................DAVID BEAUCHEMIN
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
PAULO QUINTANS
MARIE-LAURE LEMAIRE-VIENS
JEAN-PHILIPPE GAGNON
HUGO LONGTIN
PIERRE-OLIVIER CHÉNARD CAROLINE D’AVIGNON
MEDIC .......................................................................................MÉLANIE BERGERON
CATERING SERVICE .................................................................BONS PETITS PLATS
LUC CHAMPAGNE/CREW CALL
CRAFT SERVICE.............................................................................SYLVAIN CHAPUT
MICHEL BACHAND
TRANSPORTATION COORDINATORS .................................. DANIEL MATTHEWS
‘DIESEL’ TROSKY
TRANSPORTATION CAPTAINS .............................................................JOHN BOBER
SPIRO TSOVRAS
DRIVERS
ALECK DUNCAN
PIERRE CHABOT
OWEN COUGHLAN
PHILIPPE GILBERT
TASSO MATHIOPOULOS TANIA VERI
CLEMENT SASSEVILLE RAYMOND SALVAS
PABLO REINOSO
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ................... STREAMLINED PICTURES, INC.
SECOND UNIT OPENING SEQUENCE DIRECTOR ............................. BRIAN SMRZ
UNIT PRODUCTION MANAGERS.....................................................DAVID SANGER
35
RICHARD GELFAND
SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.................................................... LARRY D. KATZ
SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR ............................................................. IAN HUNTER
ART DIRECTOR ........................................................................................ C.J. STRAWN
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR.................................................... FOREST P. FISCHER
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY .....................................................TONY CUTRONO
CAMERA OPERATOR .........................................................................SCOTT FULLER
FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA................................................................ JAMES THIBO
GAFFER .............................................................................................. VICTOR ABBENE
KEY GRIP .......................................................................................... MIKE ANDERSON
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR .............................................................RACHEL PARKIN
PROP MASTER ................................................................................... PETER BANKINS
SOUND MIXER.........................................................................STEPHAN VON HASSE
VIDEO ASSIST......................................................................................... BRIAN MARIS
SPECIAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR .................................................. JOHN E. GRAY
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR ..............................................................E.M. BOWEN
ADDITIONAL MUSIC BY .................................................... FREDERIK WIEDMANN
ORCHESTRATIONS BY ............................................KEVIN KASKA, HYESU YANG
THOMAS PARISCH, JOHN FRIZZELL
TECHNICAL SCORING ASSISTANT......................................... MICHAEL DOBBINS
MUSIC RECORDED BY...............................................................GERRY O’RIORDAN
PETER FUCHS
MUSIC CONTRACTOR............................................................... PAUL TALKINGTON
CONDUCTOR ...................................................................................... ALLAN WILSON
ASSISTANT SCORING ENGINEER ............................................... MARTIN ROLLER
ORCHESTRA MANAGER ...............................................................MARIAN TURNER
LIBRARIAN.............................................................................VLADIMIR MARTINKA
MUSIC EDITOR .....................................................................................JIM HARRISON
MUSIC SUPERVISOR .......................................................................................IAN NEIL
DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS BY ..................................................................MR. X INC.
VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCER.....................................................SARAH McMURDO
ON SET LEAD................................................................................BRENDAN TAYLOR
SEQUENCE LEADS
MANDY AU
KEVIN QUATMAN
DOMINIC REMANE
TAMARA STONE
KYLE YONEDA
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
MICHAEL BORRETT
DOUG MELVILLE
ISABELLE LANGLOIS
SARAH BARBER
LEANN HARVEY
PIPELINE SUPERVISOR............................................................AARON WEINTRAUB
DIGITAL ARTISTS
JEREMY DINEEN
KHI KIM
JIM PRICE
BEN SIMONS
ETHAN LEE
STEPHEN WAGNER
MATHIEU ARCHAMBAULT BARB BENOIT
IOAN BALCOSI
KRISTY BLACKWELL
WAYNE BRINTON
ANDY CHAN
OVIDIU CINAZAN
ROBERTO D’IPPOLITO
AMÉLIE DUBOIS
DANNY DUCHESNEAU
MIKE DUFFY
SAEED FARIDZADEH
TIMO HUBER
COLIN LASKI
CLAIRE McLACHLAN
JAIDEEP MOHAN
PETE O’CONNELL
HOJIN PARK
PAUL SAINT-HILAIRE CAROLYN SHELBY SÉBASTIEN VEILLEUX
JEFF CAPOGRECO
MATHEW BORRETT
AYO BURGESS
JIM GOODMAN
JASON GOUGEON
LISA KELLY
ERIC LACROIX
MAI-LING LEE
JACKSON LI
ELLIOT MALLON
MATT MAZIERSKI
SEAN MILLS
JESSICA NOLET
JUNSOO PARK
MATT SCHOFIELD
WOJCIECH ZIELINSKI DAN CARNEGIE
HUBERT CHAN
CHRIS DE SOUZA
PETER DYDO
DANIEL MIZUGUCHI
MATT RALPH
ABHISHEK SAXENA
GAVIN SOARES
JIM SU
CLEMENT YIP
ZAC CAMPBELL
36
RICHARD CHIU
VISHAL RUSTGI
JERRY SEGUIN
EDITORIAL COORDINATORS & I/O
BRANDEN BRATUHIN
ROB PHILLIPS
WILSON CAMERON
ADNAN AHMED
MATT GLOVER
SEBASTIEN PROULX
SAFIA SIAD
SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION & OPERATIONS
GLEN CHANDLER
RORY FALLOON
DAVID FIX
JESSICA HARRISON
LINDA MILLARD
RYAN McDONALD
MALLY MOYER
CHRIS NGUYEN
DIANA PAZZANO
VISUAL EFFECTS BY ..................................................................................... HYBRIDE
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR & PRODUCER ............................ DANIEL LEDUC
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISORS ..............................................RICHARD MARTIN
MICHEL BARRIÈRE
VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR ....................... ANOUK DEVEAULT MOREAU
VISUAL EFFECTS ARTISTS
PATRICE-ALAIN BARRETTE VÉRONIQUE GUAY SEAN O’CONNOR
OLIVIER BEAULIEU
NADINE HOMIER
SÉBASTIEN RIOUX
PIERRE BLAIN
JEAN-FRANÇOIS HOUDE KATY SAVOIE
CÉDRIC BONNAFFOUX
FRANÇOIS LEDUC
JOAO SITA
JOANIE CROTEAU
WINSTON LEE
GUILLAUME ST-AUBIN-SEERS
TAO JIANG
JOCELYN MAHER
GAÉTAN THIFFAULT
MATHIEU DUPUIS
FRANÇOIS MÉTIVIER
VÉRONIQUE
TREMBLAY
CAROLINE BRIEN
CHRISTIAN MORIN
RAPHAËL VALLÉ
VISUAL EFFECTS BY ...................................................................................... CAFÉ FX
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR......................................................JEFF GOLDMAN
SENIOR VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCER .................VICKI GALLOWAY WEIMER
VISUAL EFFECTS COORDINATOR .............................................WENDY HULBERT
CG SUPERVISOR ................................................................................. SETH LIPPMAN
VFX EDITORS .................................................................... BERNARDO RODRIGUEZ
ELISA DIAMOND
STEVE ARGUELLO
KEVIN GILLEN
JONGWOO HEO
VOTCH LEVI
BRIAN SMALLWOOD
VISUAL EFFECTS ARTISTS
MIKE BOZULICH
MIKE FISCHER
ROBIN GRAHAM
MANUEL H. GUIZAR
BRANDON KACHEL VAL KHARITONASHVILI
SAY RINTHARAMY RUBEN RODAS
GABRIEL VARGAS
NICK WAKEN
VISUAL EFFECTS BY ...................................... PACIFIC TITLE AND ART STUDIO
ADDITIONAL DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS BY ........................................ ANIBRAIN
JESH KRISHNA MURTHY • ROOPESH GUJAR • SOURAV PAUL
ADDITIONAL DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS BY ............... ROCKET SCIENCE VFX
ADDITIONAL DIGITAL VISUAL EFFECTS BY ...................INVISIBLE PICTURES
DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE BY..................................................................COMPANY 3
CO3 EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / COLORIST .......................STEFAN SONNENFELD
DI PRODUCER.........................................................................................ERIK ROGERS
ON-LINE EDITOR ...................................................................................... JIM EBERLE
MAIN AND END TITLE SEQUENCES DESIGNED BY ............. PROLOGUE FILMS
37
“LASER LOVE”
“THE LETTER”
WRITTEN BY MARC BOLAN
WRITTEN BY WAYNE CARSON THOMPSON
PERFORMED BY T-REX
PERFORMED BY THE BOX TOPS
COURTESY OF
COURTESY OF ARISTA RECORDS, INC.
SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
BY ARRANGEMENT WITH
O/B/O ITS MUSIC PUBLISHING BV
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
“BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE”
WRITTEN BY JANICE MARIE JOHNSON
AND PERRY KIBBLE
PERFORMED BY JANICE MARIE
COURTESY OF
SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
O/B/O TASTEBUDS RECORDS
“WIPE OUT”
WRITTEN BY
BOB BERRYHILL, PAT CONNOLLY,
JAMES FULLER & RONALD WILSON
PERFORMED AND PRODUCED BY
STEVE ISLES
“IMAGINANDOTE”
WRITTEN BY MARIA VICTORIA RODRIGUEZ SOSA
PERFORMED BY
MARIA VICTORIA Y SU LATIN SON
COURTESY OF
SUNFLOWER ENTERTAINMENT CO. INC.
O/B/O ORUN MUSIC
“PROSHCHAY” (FAREWELL)
ARRANGED BY
EUGENE RASKIN & MICHAEL NAZARETZ
PERFORMED AND LICENSED COURTESY OF
THE SAMOVAR RUSSIAN
FOLK MUSIC ENSEMBLE
LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY ............................................................. HEENAN BLAIKIE
LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE ..............................................................................RONALD LEVIN
INSURANCE PROVIDED BY
B. F. LORENZETTI & ASSOCIATES INC.
COMPLETION GUARANTY SUPPLIED BY
INTERNATIONAL FILM GUARANTORS
FINANCIAL AND AUDIT SERVICES BY
JOE IACONO AND ORTENSIA PALMERINO WEISBORD DEL GAUDIO IACONO
STUNT RIGGING & EQUIPMENT
ZERO HOUR INDUSTRIES INC. AND ADVANCED CINEMAGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGIES
SPECIAL THANKS TO
THE TOWN AND COMMUNITY OF ERIKSDALE, MANITOBA
QUEBEC FILM AND TELEVISION COUNCIL
VALENTINA MADATOV
CORBIS
FILMED ON LOCATION IN MANITOBA AND QUEBEC
FINANCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH STUDIOCANAL
KODAK MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTS
PRINTS BY TECHNICOLOR®