Production Notes
http://www.mycityscreams.com/
For additional publicity materials and artwork, please visit:
www.lionsgatepublicity.com
Rating:
PG-13 (for intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief
nudity)
Runtime: 108 mins.
For more information, please contact:
Kate Hubin
Lionsgate
2700 Colorado Blvd.
Suite 200
Santa Monica, CA 90404
T: 310-255-4064
E: khubin@lionsgate.com
Todd Nickels
Lionsgate
75 Rockefeller Plaza
16th floor
New York, NY 10019
T: 212-386-6895
E: tnickels@lionsgate.com
THE CAST
The Spirit……………………………………………………………...GABRIEL MACHT
Sand Saref…………………………………………………………………EVA MENDES
Ellen…………………………………………………………………..SARAH PAULSON
Dolan……………………………………………………………………….DAN LAURIA
Plaster of Paris…………………………………………………………………PAZ VEGA
Mahmoud………………………………………………………………..ERIC BALFOUR
Lorelei……………………….………………………………………………JAIME KING
with
Silken Floss…………………………………………………...SCARLETT JOHANSSON
and
The Octopus……………………………………………………...SAMUEL L. JACKSON
Pathos, etc………………………………………………………........LOUIS LOMBARDI
Morgenstern……………………………………………………………….STANA KATIC
Donenfeld…………………………………………………………RICHARD PORTNOW
Young Spirit………………………………………………………...JOHNNY SIMMONS
THE FILMMAKERS
Written for the screen and directed by……….........................................FRANK MILLER
Based on the comic book series created by..………………………………WILL EISNER
Produced by……………………………………………………..DEBORAH DEL PRETE
GIGI PRITZKER
MICHAEL E. USLAN
Director of Photography…………………..…………………………....BILL POPE, ASC
Art Director……………………………………............................ROSARIO PROVENZA
Editor….………………………………………………………..GREGORY NUSSBAUM
Costume Designer……………………………………………......MICHAEL DENNISON
Music by…...………………………………………………………….DAVID NEWMAN
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor……………………………………..STU MASCHWITZ
Senior Visual Effects Producer……………………………………….NANCY ST. JOHN
Executive Producers…………………………………………….BENJAMIN MELNIKER
STEVEN MAIER
WILLIAM LISCHAK
Executive Producers……………….………………………………….MICHAEL BURNS
MICHAEL PASEORNEK
Co-Producers……………………………………………………..LINDA MCDONOUGH
F.J. DESANTO
Co-Executive Producer…………………………………………………..JEFF ANDRICK
Line Producer………………………………………………………...ALTON WALPOLE
Casting by...………………………………………………………...TRICIA WOOD, CSA
JENNIFER SMITH, CSA
DEBROAH AQUILA, CSA
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SYNOPSIS
Frank Miller, the visionary creator of SIN CITY and 300, takes the comic book
movie to dazzling new heights with his solo directorial debut THE SPIRIT. Adapted
from the seminal series by the great Will Eisner, THE SPIRIT fuses masterful storytelling
with brilliant CGI graphics to sweep us into a stylized world of adventure, danger and
romance. Miller set out with a baseline goal of creating a PG-13 film of Eisner’s
masterpiece, enabling himself to explore new ways of spinning a tale. In so doing, he
reveals another side of Frank Miller, the filmmaker.
THE SPIRIT is the story of Denny Colt, a murdered cop who is mysteriously
reborn as the masked crime fighter called the Spirit. Determined to keep his beloved
Central City safe, the Spirit pursues Central City’s villains from the shadows and seeks to
remove to the worst of them all: the psychotic megalomaniac known as the Octopus. Yet
as busy as his ongoing mission keeps him, the dashing crusader always manages to make
time for beautiful women, though he never quite knows if they want to seduce, love or
kill him. But there is one lady who will never betray him, and to whom he will always be
true: Central City, the proud old metropolis where he was born – twice.
In bringing this comic book classic to the screen, Miller has recruited a dynamic
cast of major stars and up-and-comers. As the titular hero, Gabriel Macht turns in a starmaking performance that harkens back to the golden era of Hollywood leading men. He
is joined by Samuel L. Jackson as the fiendish Octopus; Scarlett Johansson as the
Octopus’ sidekick, the brilliant, frosty Silken Floss; Eva Mendes as seductive jewel thief
Sand Saref; Sarah Paulson as the Spirit’s stalwart sweetheart, Dr. Ellen Dolan; Jaime
King as Lorelei, a bewitching underwater phantom; Paz Vega as the mad, knife-wielding
dancer Plaster of Paris; Dan Lauria as the hard-boiled Commissioner Dolan; Stana Katic
as Morgenstern, an enthusiastic young cop; and Louis Lombardi in multiple roles as the
Octopus’ cloned brotherhood of henchmen.
The film’s behind-the-scenes artisans
include acclaimed director of photography Bill Pope, ASC (SPIDERMAN 2 and 3, the
MATRIX trilogy, BOUND) and senior visual effects supervisor Stu Maschwitz
(FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, SIN CITY).
-2-
****
It’s a moonlit night in Central City, and a call comes in to the Spirit (Gabriel
Macht). Some sort of shady deal is about to go down at the mudflats near the waterfront,
involving an old, sunken cargo ship and the city’s most terrifying criminal, the Octopus
(Samuel L. Jackson). The Spirit leaps into action, but the Octopus is only too happy to
battle him until both men are several steps beyond punch-drunk.
Meanwhile, the
Octopus’ ice-cold accomplice, Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), is headed back to their
underground headquarters with one of two mysterious treasures looted from the bottom
of the sea.
As the smoke clears, one cop is dead and another is barely clinging to life. The
Spirit should be dead too: he’s been shot, knifed and kicked to kingdom come several
times over. And while his steady sweetheart, top surgeon Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson) is
there to stitch him back together, the Spirit knows he’ll heal up just fine, and fast. What
he doesn’t know is why.
However, there’s no time to ponder that riddle. As long as the Octopus is still at
large, no one in Central City is safe. What’s more, the Octopus wasn’t the only person at
the mudflats. There was a woman there, too, and all signs point to the same unlikely
candidate: the alluring international jewel thief Sand Saref (Eva Mendes).
Sand Saref. The name alone can make the Spirit’s heart skip a beat: a man’s first
love will do that to him. But that was long ago, back when Sand Saref and Denny Colt
were just neighborhood kids. Before a tragedy came between them, and sent them on
radically different paths in their lives. Sand had vowed never to return to Central City.
Could the woman at the mudflats really have been her? And could the ‘girl next door’
that Denny knew really have become a woman capable of murder?
As another dead body turns up, the Spirit intensifies his search for his lost love.
Meanwhile, the Octopus, Silken and their infinitesimal band of merry, identical
henchmen (Louis Lombardi) are also on the hunt for the jewel thief, seeking an exchange
of the treasures that brought them to the mudflats in the first place.
-3-
Once that exchange happens, the Octopus will be able to realize his master plan to
control all of Central City. Only one man, the Spirit, can possibly stop him. But the
Octopus knows more about our hero than he knows himself -- including not only the
cause of his seeming immortality, but the cure for it.
Lionsgate
and
Odd
Lot
Entertainment
present
an
Old
Lot
Entertainment/Lionsgate production of THE SPIRIT. Written for the screen and directed
by Frank Miller. Based on the comic book series “The Spirit” created by Will Eisner.
Produced by Deborah Del Prete, Gigi Pritzker and Michael E. Uslan.
Director of
Photography Bill Pope, ASC. Art Director Rosario Provenza. Editor Gregory Nussbaum.
Costume designer Michael Dennison. Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Stu Maschwitz.
Original music by David Newman. Executive produced by Benjamin Melniker, Steven
Maier, William Lischak, Michael Paseornek and Michael Burns. Co-Producers Linda
McDonough and F.J. DeSanto. Co-Executive Producer Jeff Andrick. Line Producer Alton
Walpole. Casting by Tricia Wood, C.S.A., Jennifer Smith, C.S.A., and Deborah Aquila,
C.S.A. Starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega,
Jaime King, with Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson as "The Octopus."
-4-
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
THE SPIRIT brings together two visionaries in the art of graphic storytelling:
Frank Miller, the creator of such edgy contemporary classics as “Sin City,” “300,” and
“The Dark Knight Returns”; and Will Eisner, a pioneer of the modern American comic
book. Eisner broke the comic book mold when he introduced “The Spirit” in 1940; now
Miller achieves a similar feat with THE SPIRIT, a comic book movie that looks like no
other before it.
Miller cites Eisner as one of his greatest and earliest inspirations. “I first
encountered Will Eisner’s comics when I was 13 years old, and I thought he was the hot
new guy,” Miller reports. “The work was about 40 years old but it looked fresher and
newer than anything I’d seen before.”
Eisner was barely into his 20s and already at the forefront of the new comic book
movement when he created “The Spirit” as a weekly, stand-alone newspaper insert. The
series not only accelerated the comic’s artistic evolution from the three and four-panel
strips of the “funny pages,” it became the incubator for a host of formal and narrative
innovations.
While invincible costumed crusaders like Batman and Superman were
making waves, Eisner created a masked hero in a suit, tie, gloves and fedora, with no
superhuman powers to his credit. He was neither millionaire nor alien, just a onetime cop
named Denny Colt widely believed to be dead. The Spirit was very much an adult
character, with a wry sense of humor, an eye for the ladies, and an unswerving devotion
to Central City, the gritty urban melting pot he called home. And Eisner chronicled his
adventures with a cinematic sense of style, in illustrations that evoked the stark
compositions and unusual spatial perspectives of works like CITIZEN KANE.
Miller had begun working in comic books when he met Eisner for the first time, at
a party in New York City. “I was writing and drawing one of my first issues of
‘Daredevil’ for Marvel Comics,” he recalls. “Eisner took a look at the opening page and
immediately told me what was wrong with it. We started arguing about the use of the
caption on it, and that began a debate that ran for 25 years about how to make comics and
how they work. We had a very fiery, healthy relationship and a very dear friendship. I
learned a lot from him.”
-5-
KEEPING TRUE TO “THE SPIRIT”
Producers Deborah Del Prete and Michael E. Uslan are both lifelong comics
enthusiasts.
In 1992, Uslan, who helped usher in the modern era of adult-themed comic
movies when he produced Tim Burton’s BATMAN (1989), acquired the rights to THE
SPIRIT from Eisner. In making the deal with Eisner, Uslan recalls that he made a
simple, sincere promise: “I swore to Will that nobody would touch THE SPIRIT -- not a
company, not a person -- unless they were willing to respect the property and do it the
right way.”
Almost a decade later, actor Dan Lauria introduced Uslan to Del Prete and her
producing partner Gigi Pritzker. Del Prete was intrigued when she learned of Uslan’s
background in comic book properties. “I said to Michael, ‘Look, I’ve always wanted to
make a comic book movie,’” Del Prete recalled. “‘We’re independent filmmakers. We
can develop things on our own. I’ve been looking for that kind of movie.’”
Uslan did not see the Odd Lot folks for a long time after. When he was still
frustrated in his “Spirit” quest, he went to meet with Del Prete in 2004, determined to
make his “Spirit” pitch. “We had a lovely conversation and then she said, ‘You finally
brought me something! What did you bring me?’,” he remembers. “I said, ‘Deb, I’m
bringing you the greatest creative work to ever come out of the comic book industry in
the last 70 years.’ She looked at me and said, ‘Don’t tell me you have the rights to ‘The
Spirit?’ And I looked up into the sky and I said, ‘Mama, I’m home!’ She was the first
person who knew about ‘The Spirit!’ It was a magic moment.”
Comments Del Prete, “Comic books are how I learned to tell a story in pictures.
I’ve always wanted to make a comic book movie, but not just any one. I’ve always
thought ‘The Spirit’ was a brilliant creation, and so I was very excited to produce this
movie.”
Frank Miller was on Odd Lot’s A-list as a potential writer for a ‘Spirit’ movie. In
many ways, Miller was an inheritor of Eisner’s mantle and Del Prete and Pritzker were
determined to seek him out. When Eisner died in January 2005 at the age of 87, they
asked Uslan, who would be attending the memorial in New York City along with Miller,
to approach him about writing and directing THE SPIRIT. At first, Miller demurred –
-6-
how could he touch the work of the master, his friend and mentor? Miller walked away,
but he soon called back with the words THE SPIRIT production wanted to hear: “I can’t
let anyone else touch it.”
Miller’s commitment added an even greater sense of occasion to THE SPIRIT.
As Del Prete explains it, “You have Will Eisner, literally one of the creators of comics.
Then you have the man who is the absolute leading icon of comics today, Frank Miller –
who was Will’s protégé, peer, friend and battle-partner. That’s a coup.”
ABOUT THE SCREENPLAY
Miller surrounded himself with panels of Eisner’s artwork as he set to work on the
script. “I originally thought in terms of a novelist, a Raymond Chandler, and I was going
to do that kind of narrative,” says the writer/director. “But I discovered that Chandler
was the completely wrong reference, that Eisner was much more of an O. Henry. He told
a series of little short stories, many of which were quite beautiful. I decided to pick my
favorite, a two-parter about Sand Saref, and expand from that.”
Sexy international jewel thief Sand Saref is one of the many lovely ladies Eisner
created in “The Spirit.” Among the other seductresses and sweethearts who found their
way into Miller’s narrative are Ellen Dolan, daughter of Central City’s police
commissioner, the exotic chanteuse Plaster of Paris, the icy genius Silken Floss and the
underwater angel of death Lorelei. “What I wanted to capture in THE SPIRIT was
implicit in Eisner’s work,” explains Miller. “The Spirit himself was a bit of a cad. While
he had Ellen Dolan as his sweetheart, he had such an eye for the ladies. But the true love
of his life is Central City, and she’s always there to be his real soul-mate.”
The Spirit puts himself on the line for his city, and Eisner often subjected his hero
to all manner of physical injuries at the hands of his foes. The Spirit’s ability to take a
punch – and then some – became a central theme of Miller’s plot. “The Spirit knows that
he is a cop who was shot dead and mysteriously came back to life and he has no idea
how,” Miller states. “He’s not a superhero. He can’t fly, he can’t throw cars around.
But he has this one extraordinary quality: he can take ridiculous amounts of punishment,
and heal faster than anybody. So in the midst of this romantic adventure, he’s on an
existential journey to find out what he really is.”
-7-
The answer to that question, Miller decided, lay with the Octopus, one of Eisner’s
iconic villains. In the original series, the Octopus was represented solely by a pair of
white gloves. Miller decided to show the character in his entirety, reinventing him as a
resentful Central City coroner who finances his twisted genetic experiments through a
lucrative drug trade.
In grand comic book style, the Octopus is the Spirit’s polar
opposite. “As the Spirit brings order to the world, the Octopus brings chaos. As the
Spirit seeks to help people, the Octopus seeks to enslave them,” Miller affirms, adding,
“He’s also categorically nuts.”
Eisner always wrote his hero to be contemporary, and Miller followed that
example in writing THE SPIRIT. However, Miller added his own twist to the notion of
“contemporary,” fashioning a story that mixes design elements from several different
eras. Thus, THE SPIRIT unfolds against a landscape where women are dressed to the
nines, men wear suits and hats, and taxicabs are elegant sedans from the 50s. It’s also a
world of cell phones, flak jackets and cloning. The film’s adventures have a level of
grittiness and violence that says 21st Century, rather than 1940s.
Meanwhile, the
irreverent humor that was an intrinsic part of Eisner’s universe is fully accounted for, and
seasoned with Miller’s characteristic mordancy.
Producer Del Prete was a key collaborator during the months Miller spent shaping
and refining the screenplay. “The tone of the script is what I think the tone of the comics
was. It’s an adventure, it’s a romance, but there’s a lot of humor in it as well,” she says.
“We were always very careful to respect the elements of ‘The Spirit’ that are Eisner
traditions. That said, he is Frank Miller and he brings his own specific point of view.”
Pritzker, a newcomer to the world of comic books, served as a proxy for the
general moviegoer with no prior knowledge of “The Spirit,” Will Eisner or Frank Miller.
“It was important that THE SPIRIT be accessible to people who weren’t necessarily
insiders to the comic book world,” Pritzker states. “And I think it is. It’s got great inside
jokes for those who are really familiar -- but for those of us who aren’t, it’s a fantastic
story, and very funny.”
-8-
CAST AND CHARACTERS
While many comic book movies feature a major star in the hero’s role, the makers
of THE SPIRIT felt a different approach was warranted and sought a lesser-known actor.
As Del Prete puts it, “We wanted the Spirit to be simply the Spirit to the public.”
Gabriel Macht’s deep, rumbling voice and wry, understated delivery immediately
caught the filmmakers’ attention when he came in to read. “Hollywood has tons of
brilliant male actors, but Gabriel brought forth a Chandler-esque humor and a physical
presence, a manliness, that’s largely absent on screen today,” comments Miller. “He
makes a great Spirit in the film noir tradition.”
As he took on the challenge of the Spirit, Macht immersed himself in Eisner’s
drawings. Explains the actor, “By studying Eisner’s comics I was able to absorb his
physicality, the way he moves his head, the way he looks at someone, the way he wears
his hat or moves his shoulders – some of the things that really defined the Spirit to me.”
He appreciated the Spirit’s human imperfections.
“The Spirit can do things that other
cops can’t do and his physical strength is quite amazing. On the flip side, he’s a clumsy
guy and the way that Eisner drew him, he’s tripping over stuff all the time. That’s part of
what makes him charming.”
The prospect of working with Miller attracted an impressive roster of actors,
including Samuel L. Jackson, who portrays the Spirit’s archenemy the Octopus. As soon
as Miller decided to change the Octopus from a pair of gloves to a flesh-and-blood
antagonist, his thoughts turned to the celebrated star.
“I had to look for the best
conceivable villain around, and there was Sam. He was my first and only choice for the
part.”
Jackson, an ardent comic book fan, needed no convincing. “I’ve been a Frank
Miller geek for a very long time, from ‘The Dark Knight’ and the ‘Sin City’ series
through ‘300,’ and everything else,” Jackson declares. “The fact that Frank wanted me to
be the Octopus is a source of pride for me.”
With Jackson on board, the Octopus took on nearly operatic dimensions as a
villain who revels in his role and enthusiastically dresses the part. He’s a character who
inspires laughs as well as chills, making him a perfect fit for THE SPIRIT universe. As
Jackson notes, “Will Eisner had a great sense of humor, and this film had to maintain that
-9-
element of comedy. So, the Octopus is a bit theatrical; he puts on costumes and changes
guises according to his whim. He is a very smart individual -- or, as he refers to himself,
a criminal mastermind.”
Changing costumes in tandem with the Octopus is his cold-hearted aide-de-camp
and protégée Silken Floss, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. Miller re-wrote the character
as a younger version of Eisner’s original, after meeting with Johansson to discuss an
entirely different role. “I walked away thinking, ‘She’s wrong for that part, she’s too
young. But I’ve got to write something for her.’ I was so impressed by the woman and
how smart she was, how funny and acerbic,” he says. “Eisner’s character was a sexually
repressed astrophysicist who was very proper and very much in love with the Spirit. I
decided to do a counterpoint and give Silken a misspent youth.”
Johansson was delighted by her unflappable character, who she describes as
“very, very smart and easily bored. Silken’s there for the ride, helping this crazy guy
with his drug trade and wearing cool clothes. None of it is real for her. Part of that is
probably because she’s dipping into her drug supply all the time. It’s a strange phase in
her life and who knows what will happen next?”
Eva Mendes was cast as the pivotal character of Sand Saref, the only woman
capable of breaking the Spirit’s heart. Miller found in Mendes an actress “as haunting
and as gorgeous as the original brush illustrations.”
Sand has married well and often; she is breathtakingly sexy and seemingly cold as
ice. But beneath the tough demeanor is a wounded soul haunted by losing her father at
an early age. “Sand Saref is really just a broken little girl,” comments Mendes. “She’s
decided the only things she can count on are really expensive jewels. She loves shiny
things, as she calls them.”
The Spirit also has a complex relationship with Ellen Dolan, the daughter of
Central City’s police commissioner and the onetime fiancée of Denny Colt. “Ellen’s very
sharp,” says Miller. “In a bit of a digression from the comic, I made her a surgeon – the
woman who literally puts Spirit back together physically.”
Ellen is portrayed by Sarah Paulson, the gifted actress who won acclaim for her
role in Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” The actress found a vein of
melancholy in her driven, self-possessed character. “I think Ellen tries to distract herself
- 10 -
from the sadness she has over losing the fiancé she loved so much,” she comments.
“Like her father, she buries herself in her work. And she becomes obsessed with tending
to and taking care of the Spirit, making sure that he is well and healed.”
Miller tailored the role of Lorelei for Jaime King, who portrayed Goldie in SIN
CITY. The actress was thrilled to be reunited with the writer/director, who has become a
close friend. “Frank is so highly creative, and this script was unlike anything I've ever
read before,” comments King. “It was a sexy film noir, but also all these other things –
romantic, sinister, fun and edgy. And I was very excited to play this mystery woman,
who is really an angel of death beckoning to the Spirit throughout the entire film.”
The role of Plaster of Paris went to award-winning Spanish actress Paz Vega, who
made her American debut in SPANGLISH and is known for her sensual turns in films
such as SEX AND LUCIA. “Plaster of Paris is one of Eisner's strangest creations,”
Miller allows. “As played by Paz Vega, she is a very sexy fever dream of a woman. But
definitely a very dangerous one.”
Vega was more than happy to cross the Atlantic to perform her relatively brief
role. “I love comics, and to work with Frank Miller was a dream come true,” she
enthuses. Vega acknowledges that the Spirit has plenty to fear from Paris, particularly in
light of their prior history. “I think they had a very torrid relationship and that she’s still
in love with him. Paris is a very strange woman, and you never know what to expect
from her.”
Miller invented the character of Morgenstern, the rookie cop who is dazzled by
the Spirit but also eager to prove herself. Stana Katic, a rising star who is featured in
QUANTUM OF SOLACE, was cast as the young police officer, whose coltish
earnestness stands in contrast to the film’s more overtly seductive females.
“She’s the
only women in the piece who is not really aware of herself as a woman,” Katic
comments. “As a law enforcement person, Morgenstern admires the Spirit. Once she
meets him -- well, he’s just the cat’s meow and she develops this fantastic crush.”
Adding a bracing dose of noir-esque gruffness is Dan Lauria as Commissioner
Dolan, an old-fashioned cop who is the only person who knows that the Spirit is Denny
Colt. Lauria’s first reading was all it took to convince Miller he was right for the role.
“Dolan is the father that Denny Colt never had, and he has an ongoing, contentious
- 11 -
relationship with the Spirit. As Dolan, Dan exudes authority, weariness and concern. In
some ways, he’s my favorite character because he’s my encapsulation of Will Eisner
himself in a bad mood.”
A film buff with a home library of some 4,000 titles, Lauria relished the chance to
emulate the staccato delivery of the 40s movies he loves. “The actors in those films,
particularly in film noir, speak at a very rapid pace. Frank’s dialogue really lends itself to
that. So I would just fly through my dialogue, which gave it an edge that I love.”
Finally, there is the cloned brotherhood of cheerful henchmen created by the
Octopus, who freely dispatches them whenever they fail to meet his expectations –
which, given their lack of intelligence, is often. Miller initially imagined the thugs as
identical siblings named Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. “The idea started growing on me,”
remembers the writer/director. “I thought, ‘Why stop at triplets when you’ve got this guy
who’s a genetic master? Why don’t you just have him make a lot of them?’”
To play the multiple maniacs – collective known as Phathos -- Miller and Del
Prete sought out Louis Lombardi, best known as the cranky Edgar on “24.” As the actor
recalls, “Frank and Deborah told me they had a great role for me: ‘It’s a guy who gets
killed 50 times.’ I was, like, ‘Really?’ Frank told me all the ways I was going to be
killed and I thought, ‘Wow. This is gonna be exciting!’ And when Frank explained to me
how he was going to shoot the movie, I couldn’t wait to get to the set and start working.”
STAGES AND SCREENS
The filmmakers’ plan for THE SPIRIT was indeed ambitious: it called for
shooting the entire production using green screen technology and state-of-the art CGI
programs to create a hybrid of motion picture and comic book. Miller had first been
exposed to advanced digital filming techniques when he co-directed SIN CITY with
Robert Rodriguez. “What’s happened with computer technology and with CGI is timed
perfectly for someone with my set of skills,” he acknowledges. “I tell stories with
pictures. What I love about CGI in film is if I can think it, it can be there. And as much
this technology speaks to the future, it also can bring back some values of the past. Not
just the comic book values of the strange-looking city and the loud lighting, but also the
- 12 -
values of classic noir. I wanted THE SPIRIT to have the starker, scarier look of those old
movies.”
Del Prete carefully selected the top-flight crew that would help Miller realize his
vision for THE SPIRIT. Says the producer, “We set out to find people who were very
much simpatico with the concepts of the comics Frank had written. We wanted people
who knew of Eisner and ‘The Spirit.’ So Frank was surrounded by talented people who
really were excited about working with him on this film. Every single team member was
somebody who was very special.”
That certainly describes Miller’s key technical collaborators: the renowned
director of photography Bill Pope, whose credits include SPIDERMAN 2 and 3, THE
MATRIX trilogy and BOUND; and senior visual effects supervisor Stu Maschwitz, the
founder of the innovative visual effects house the Orphanage, whose stunning work
includes IRON MAN, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, SUPERMAN RETURNS and
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE.
Pope jumped at the chance to join Miller for his first solo directorial outing. As
he explains, “Frank Miller calls you up and says, ‘You want to do a movie?’ Here’s a
man who’s a master in another visual medium. You want to see what he does. What do
you do if Julian Schnabel calls you up? You say yes.”
Maschwitz also served as the film’s second unit director, and began advising
Miller on the film’s visual effects in pre-production. “Frank is abuzz with the energy that
you feel in his artwork,” he states. “He’s got a profound vision and it’s amazing to see
him work to bring these characters to life that he defines on the page with just a simple
pose or gesture.”
THE SPIRIT began production in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 8, 2007
and was the first feature film to be shot at the newly constructed Albuquerque Studios.
Stages 7 and 8 were transformed into a huge green screen stage, a black screen stage and
a stunt stage that could change from green to black. The ambitious 48-day schedule
involved over a hundred actors and stunt players.
For the actors and key technical departments, Miller created notebooks of the
original Eisner stories that THE SPIRIT would draw upon. And the writer/director began
each day by drawing storyboards that enabled actors and crewmembers alike to visualize
- 13 -
the scenes they would be shooting. Comments Del Prete, “Frank made sure that all the
people on this film really understood the original art, as well as his style of art. And he
did create a hybrid of the two. There wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t talk about
Will.”
Together, Miller, Pope and Maschwitz mapped out an adventurous visual
strategy. “We decided to make THE SPIRIT even more stylized, more in line with
Frank’s drawings than even Rodriguez did,” Pope explains. “Stu and I were acolytes, in
the sense that we understood Frank Miller and his sensibility. Our job was to translate
what was in his brain, what was in his drawings, into a technical world. Frank’s not a
technician. What he is fantastic with, is finding that moment, that emotional beat at the
core of every scene.”
A spirit of creativity and playfulness pervaded the set, on both sides of the
camera. For Miller, that attitude was essential for a proper adaptation of Eisner’s work.
“Will was always an adventurer in his work,” he explains. “What I wanted to do in this
movie was get back in touch with that sense of experimentation that he brought to ‘The
Spirit,’ that defined ‘The Spirit.’ The entire cast and crew – we were all willing to try
things.”
Sam Jackson agrees, noting that Miller was receptive to the actors’ ideas about
everything from line readings to facial hair. Once Jackson saw the completed costumes
and the minimal or nonexistent sets, he realized he could go even farther with the largerthan-life character he was creating. “We realized we could kick the Octopus into another
space with wigs and eye makeup and all kinds of elaborate things on my face. We had a
great time thinking about the character, and I think that helped us create a really fun,
memorable villain.”
Miller was thrilled with his cast. “I’ve got a history of sitting at a drawing board,
coming up with stories and pictures and making up my own actors. So probably the
biggest surprise is that I love actors, and love working with them. Everyone in the cast
was superb. Really, I think the actor creates the character. The director just helps them
along.”
THE SPIRIT called for vibrant and smartly delineated wardrobe design for all the
characters. It was a challenge that costume designer Michael Dennison embraced as he
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devised stylized garments that would reflect personality, history and changes in mood.
For Jackson’s Octopus, he created a series of outfits to complement the fiend’s adoration
of iconic evil, from the archetypal Western bad guy to a murderous samurai and even a
Nazi. And there were gorgeous and varied garments for the film’s splendid women:
gowns, suits, dresses and more that nodded to the feminine silhouettes of the mid-20th
Century while maintaining a modern feel.
In contrast, the Spirit’s wardrobe called for simple, statement-making pieces.
Dennison made a few subtle alterations to the Spirit’s attire to bring the character into the
present day. “The original Spirit wore a suit,” Dennison notes. “We pared his costume
down to just a shirt, tie, trousers, belt, sneakers, plus an incredible trench coat and a
fedora. The trench coat was lovingly referred to as the cape, because it floated, it flew, it
concealed, it wrapped. The scarlet tie was part of Frank’s vision. It’s a graphic image
that becomes the character’s signature.”
Some of the boldest innovations in THE SPIRIT involved the film’s extended
underwater sequences, including scenes of Mendes’ and Jackson’s characters pursuing
their loot beneath the mudflats of Central City. The filmmakers wanted to achieve an
effect possible only in comics, with Mendes’ Sand Saref looking as breathtaking
underwater as she does on land. To achieve this, Pope filmed the scenes using specially
designed lighting and a Phantom camera, a high-speed digital model generally reserved
for scientific applications. Mendes was suspended in a harness, and not a drop of water
was required. Says Del Prete, “We got what we asked for: totally believably underwater.
And Eva looks like a goddess -- her makeup and hair absolutely perfect -- because she’s
not actually underwater. Just like in the comics!”
THE SPIRIT was conceived as a contemporary noir, with color playing a highly
targeted, powerful role. The color palette was established in production, via lighting,
costume design, art direction and other cues, and carried through in post-production.
“We never felt that the film should be pure black and white; we wanted to see skin tone
and flesh,” says Pope. “So we worked our way to just an understanding of what the
thematic colors were. For example, when Frank wrote the scene of Young Spirit and
Young Sand on the porch, I knew that they were opening a locket. The locket could be
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gold, the memory could be a golden memory. And Sand is materialistic. So gold became
her color.”
Once production wrapped, the center of activity moved to the Orphanage’s
Northern California headquarters, where Maschwitz supervised a visual effects team of
some 200 people at 10 facilities around the world, including Australia, Los Angeles and
Canada.
For Maschwitz and his colleagues, the task at hand was nearly the reverse of
standard visual effects work. “Most often, our job is to take a shot that is complete
except for one small element, and insert that element into the shot,” Maschwitz explains.
“With THE SPIRIT, we have one small very important element, which is the
performance, and we’re filling in the entire background.”
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, editor Greg Nussbaum joined the post-production
team. Nussbaum came to the film after being recommended by Stu Maschwitz, with
whom he’d worked on commercials and music videos. “The difficulty with this type of
film is that your editor only has actors on green screen to cut. They really have to have a
lot of imagination to understand what they are doing. Deborah wanted someone who
would really understand Frank’s style like the rest of the team. Greg had been an editor
for the pre-viz period of THE SPIRIT and I knew he was very talented and would be a
good match,” recalls Stu Maschwitz. Del Prete gave the first few weeks’ footage to
Nussbaum as a test to see what he would make of it. She and Miller loved the results and
brought him aboard.
Post is one of the most important parts of the process – especially in a film like
THE SPIRIT and while they had Maschwitz and The Orphanage making sure every
visual was perfect, Miller and Del Prete also had to make sure the sound and music was
up to the standards of the picture. They spent a lot of time listening to scores and
meeting with composers. Producer Del Prete recalls, “We were very fortunate to have a
wealth of choices. After seeing samples of the footage literally everyone we wanted to
meet with was very excited about taking on the film. The hardest part was having to say
no to so many really great music makers. After consideration, the highly accomplished
multiple Academy Award® nominee David Newman (ANASTASIA, ICE AGE, THE
PHANTOM) joined the team. Frank wanted elements of the ‘40s jazz sound married
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with iconic heroic music and even a touch of the spaghetti western. David was able to
bring it all home for us.”
It was in post-production that Maschwitz worked with Miller to bring to life a
critical character in THE SPIRIT: Central City, the Spirit’s greatest love. Eisner based
the city on his native Manhattan, which is also Miller’s longtime home. Says Miller, “Stu
and his company created the Central City of my dreams, which is Manhattan from around
Jane Street up to Houston. That’s because the Spirit is more a neighborhood character
than a protector of an entire city. Stu and his team created an evocation of different eras
of New York. It is kind like Pompeii on top of Pompeii, on top of Pompeii. It goes as
modern as you want and as far back as you want.”
Adds Maschwitz, “Central City is the New York that Frank sees when he walks
around Manhattan. You pick and choose bits and pieces of a real city so that it has that
kind of tangible reality and messiness that a real urban environment does, but then you
selectively dis-include the parts of it that don’t fit in with Frank’s and Eisner’s world.
What you wind up with is Central City. And the movie really is a love letter to this
environment.”
It’s also a fond, respectful tip of the hat to Will Eisner, the man who helped create
the comics. “I threw myself into this,” says Miller about the huge undertaking to bring
THE SPIRIT to the screen. “If it was going to be THE SPIRIT it was going to be as good
as I could possibly make it. I hope Will doesn’t rise from the grave and strangle me
when he sees it.”
Actress Jaime King feels Miller has little cause for worry. “What Will Eisner did
with ‘The Spirit’ was very revolutionary; there was really nothing like it at the time.
That’s how I feel about what Frank has done with this film.”
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ABOUT THE CAST
In 2004, GABRIEL MACHT (The Spirit) received critical acclaim and a breakthrough award
for his performance starring opposite John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson in A LOVE SONG
FOR BOBBY LONG. He recently wrapped production on the Warner Bros. thriller WHITEOUT,
in which he will star alongside Kate Beckinsale. This past year, Macht was seen in Robert De
Niro’s THE GOOD SHEPHERD and Universal’s BECAUSE I SAID SO, opposite Mandy Moore
and Diane Keaton.
Macht starred in the BBC production ARCHANGEL co-starring Daniel Craig. He also appeared
in a series of action films including THE RECRUIT with Colin Farrell and Al Pacino, BAD
COMPANY with Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock, and BEHIND ENEMY LINES with Owen
Wilson and Gene Hackman. Other film credits include the western AMERICAN OUTLAWS,
THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION and the highly praised independent film THE
ADVENTURES OF SEBASTIAN COLE. Television credits include Steven Spielberg’s “The
Others,” “Sex and the City” and “Spin City.”
Onstage Macht portrayed Elvis Presley (a.k.a. ‘the visitor’) in Steve Martin’s off Broadway
smash hit Picasso at the Lapin Agile. He starred in the Joanne Woodward-directed La Ronde at
the Williamstown Theatre Festival and most recently in Turnaround, written and directed by
Roger Kumble at the Coast Playhouse.
Macht graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.
EVA MENDES (Sand Saref) captured the attention of moviegoers in a small, but pivotal role in
the critically acclaimed film, TRAINING DAY. Since then, Mendes has proved she is adept in
both comedic and dramatic roles. In a very short time, she has had the fortunate and unique
opportunity to work with such esteemed directors as Carl Franklin, Robert Rodriguez, Antoine
Fuqua, the Farrelly Bros. and John Singleton, therefore earning the reputation as a serious actress
who is committed to her craft.
Eva starred opposite Will Smith and Kevin James in the Columbia Pictures hit, HITCH. Directed
by Andy Tennant (SWEET HOME ALABAMA), the romantic comedy tells the story of a
professional matchmaker who is threatened by a female journalist who plans on exposing his
dishonest methods.
Mendes co-starred in the recent Fox Searchlight release TRUST THE MAN, opposite Julianne
Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup, directed by Bart Freundlich and opposite Nicolas
Cage in Sony Pictures’ highly-anticipated supernatural action-adventure, GHOST RIDER, based
on the Marvel Comic and which broke box office records around the world in it’s opening
weekend. She starred in WE OWN THE NIGHT, opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Walberg and
Robert Duvall. She has also completed the independent feature, LIVE!, in which she stars and
which marks her debut as an executive producer, as well as CLEANER for director Renny Harlin
opposite Ed Harris and Samuel L. Jackson. Most recently she starred in the all-star remake of the
classic, THE WOMEN.
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Mendes’ first serious role came when she was cast as Denzel Washington’s girlfriend in the box
office success TRAINING DAY for director Antoine Fuqua. Her portrayal led to the celebrated
director, Carl Franklin, hiring Mendes for the MGM feature OUT OF TIME, once more starring
opposite Denzel Washington. In the same year, Mendes appeared in Robert Rodriguez’s film,
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO opposite Johnny Depp.
Mendes has also starred in the action blockbuster 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS, the comedy feature film,
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS opposite Ice Cube, and the Farrelly Bros. comedy, STUCK ON
YOU opposite Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.
Mendes is also an international spokesperson for Revlon Cosmetics. Mendes currently appears in
the company of other world-class beauties including Halle Berry, Jessica Alba and Sheryl Crow
in Revlon’s print and television advertising campaigns. She is also an active participant and
ardent supporter in Revlon’s commitment in the fight against breast cancer.
Mendes, who is Cuban-American, was born in Miami and raised in Los Angeles. She began
acting in college and went on to study with the respected acting coach Ivana Chubbuck and soon
thereafter, made her dreams of becoming a working actress a reality.
Golden Globe nominated actress SARAH PAULSON (Ellen) has built an impressive list of
credits in film, television and on stage, challenging herself with each new role.
In early 2009, Paulson will be seen in Rob Thomas' ABC comedy "Cupid" opposite Bobby
Cannavale. Paulson stars as Claire Allen, a psychiatrist who's assigned to keep tabs on Trevor
Hale (Cannavale), who believes he's the titular god of love, after he's released from a mental
institution.
Paulson's Golden Globe nominated role was in Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip",
where she starred opposite Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, and Steven Weber.
In this NBC dramedy, Paulson played Harriet Hayes, the most gifted cast member of a
controversial late-night sketch comedy series, who's also in a complicated relationship with the
show's executive producer.
Paulson's major television credits also include the lead role on the drama "Leap of Faith," the role
of Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Patterson in "The D.A.,” "Deadwood," "Path to War"
(opposite Alec Baldwin and Donald Sutherland), "Jack and Jill," the television movies “The Long
Way Home" (opposite Jack Lemmon) and "Shaughnessy," the series "American Gothic" with
Gary Cole, and the two-part special “Cracker.”
In addition to television, Paulson is also a veteran of screen and stage. Paulson made her film
debut in LEVITATION, an independent project released by Strong Pictures and directed by Scott
Goldstein. Her other film credits include Mary Harron’s THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE,
Paramount’s DOWN WITH LOVE (with Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor and David Hyde
Pierce), WHAT WOMEN WANT (opposite Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt), THE OTHER
SISTER, directed by Gary Marshall (starring Diane Keaton and Juliette Lewis), SWIMMERS,
directed by Doug Sadler, and DIGGERS, directed by Katherine Dieckmann.
On stage, Paulson completed a role starring opposite Alfred Molina and Annette Bening in the
critically acclaimed "Cherry Orchard" for the Mark Taper Forum playing Varya. She has
appeared on Broadway as Laura Wingfield in the revival of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass
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Menagerie," alongside Jessica Lange as well as Wendy Wasserstein's Tony Award-winning, "The
Sisters Rosensweig" at the Barrymore Theatre. Her other stage credits include Tracy Lett's offBroadway production of “Killer Joe” (opposite Scott Glenn and Amanda Plummer) and Horton
Foote’s "Talking Pictures" at the Signature Theatre.
Paulson currently resides in New York City.
DAN LAURIA (Dolan) has appeared as a guest star in over seventy television episodic
programs. He has a score of film credits which include STAKEOUT, ANOTHER STAKEOUT,
both with Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez and the commercial blockbuster,
INDEPENDENCE DAY and most recently BIG MOMMA TWO with Martin Lawrence.
However, Dan is most recognized as the Dad on the highly acclaimed, Emmy Award® winning,
ABC-TV, THE WONDER YEARS.
Dan is a very similar face to the off-off-off and regional theatre scene, having performed, written
or directed over fifty professional productions. Just recently, Dan starred in the Long Wharf
theatre production of Willy Holtzman’s controversial play “Hearts.” Prior to that Dan was in the
Coconut Grove production of Arthur Miller’s “The Price” with the great Jack Klugman. He
performed with the one and only Charles Durning in the Westwood Country Playhouse
production of Jason Milligan’s “Men In Suits” and not too long ago Dan toured with his former
television co-star Fred Savage in the play “Wendell And Ben,” marking Fred’s professional stage
debut.
Dan has most recently performed “The Guys” by Ann Nelson, a tribute he was honored to be part
of, to the brave firemen who lost their lives at the WTC on 9/11 both in NYC and on the road.
This was followed by Mark St. Germaine’s new play “Ears On A Beatle,” Ken Ludwig’s,
“Leading Ladies,” Lee Blessing’s “The Winning Streak” and Daniel Sullivan’s Christmas classic
comedy, “Inspecting Carol.”
For ten years Dan served as the Artistic Director of The Playwright’s Kitchen Ensemble (PKE) of
Los Angeles. With partner, Joe Cacaci, PKE produced over 450 public readings of new plays
with the finest actors in the business, in order to promote the development of the new American
playwright and to seek literary representation for new writers.
Born the 2nd of January 1976 in Spain, PAZ VEGA (Plaster of Paris) began her career in the
theater and decided to become an actress. She began her drama classes before trying her luck
in Madrid. After only a few months in the capitol, she made her debut in television. Her most
popular role is that of Laura, a young ingénue in the series "7 Vidas" (1997-2000).
She also played Olga in the renowned TV series "Mas Que Amigos" directed by Manuel Rios San
Martin. With him, she took her first steps in the movies with the comedy PERDON, PERDON in
1998. She then continued in “Companeros," another TV series directed by Pablo Barrera from
1998-2002. Her first role in 1997 however was in Pedro Olea's "Mas Allas del Jardin".
In 1999 she was seen in three films: ZAPPING by Juan Manuel Chumilla, RAISON DE VIVRE
(SOBREVIVRÉ) by Alfonso Albacette and JEU DE ROLE (NADIE CONOCE A NADIE) by
Mateo Gil which was a huge success starring Edurardo Noreiga, Nathalie Verbeke, Jordi Molla
and Pedro Alvarez Osorio.
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In 2000 she acted in EL CHICO EN LA PUERTA and in 2001 LUCIA Y EL SEXO by Julio
Medem, marking a decisive turn in her career. Paz won the coveted Goya award for the Best New
Actress. She then shot SOLO MIA directed by Javier Balaguer and that same year Pedro
Almodovar chose her for a role in HABLA COM ELLA.
In 2002, she then did the film EL ALTRO LADO DE LA CAMA by Emilio Martinez Lazaro and
then CARMEN by Vicente Aranda.
In 2003 she played Isabelle in NOVO by Jean-Pierre Limosin playing with Anna Mouglalis,
Eduardo Nogiera and Julie Gayet. In 2004 she rejoined Ornella Muti and Santiago Millan in the
film of Juan Calvo DI QUE SI.
Her first American film was SPANGLISH, a romantic comedy from James Brooks.
Playing alongside Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni, Vega confirmed her talent as an actress as she
incarnated the role of a Latin American who moves to Los Angeles with her 12-year-old
daughter.
The film debuted in 2004, for which Paz did a whirlwind international publicity tour which saw
her on the covers of the most prestigious magazines Vogue, Elle, Glamour and Cosmopolitan, etc.
In 2005, she acted in "Un Angel en La Oscuridad" the thriller by Raul Garcia.
In 2006, she was in 10 ITEMS OR LESS, directed by Brad Silberling (CASPER, LA CITE DES
ANGES, MOONLIGHT MILE) with Morgan Freeman. She was also in FADE TO BLACK with
Christopher Walken, Diego Luna, Ana Galiena and Dani Houston and in LOS BORGIA, directed
by Antonio Hernandez.
In 2007, she starred in TERESA, EL CUERPO DE CRISTO by Ray Loriga, a drama based on the
mythical life of the Spanish feminist Saint Theresa. She appeared alongside Victoria Abril and
Viggo Mortensen. She will be in “The lake farm” of the Taviani Brothers with Alessandro
Preziosi, Tcheky Karyo, Angela Molina.
ERIC BALFOUR (Mahmoud) has already made a name for himself playing interesting and
eclectic characters. His career in entertainment began at the age of fifteen when a talent scout cast
him as a series regular on the hit dancing and singing show "Kids Incorporated." He has since
established himself as the go to guy for both the television and film communities.
Most recently Balfour was seen in the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Fox TV drama "24”,
reprising his season one role as Milo, the smart and eccentric resident computer expert at the
CTU. In addition to his successful television career, Balfour has recently wrapped production on
several films including Dimension’s HELL RIDE, which will be released on August 8, 2008 and
Mandate Film’s THE HORSEMEN, opposite Dennis Quaid, also set for release in 2008.
Balfour’s extensive list of television credits includes a starring role in Dick Wolf, "Conviction”
on NBC where he played Brian Peluso within a group of young Assistant District Attorneys
battling some of the most difficult legal cases in New York. He was also seen as a series regular
on the Golden Globe winning HBO series “Six Feet Under” for creator/writer Alan Ball. Balfour
played Gabe, the drug addicted troubled boyfriend of Claire (Lauren Ambrose). Other television
credits include "NYPD Blue," "The West Wing" and "Chicago Hope" and most recently, “The Ex
List” opposite Elizabeth Reaser.
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On the big screen, Balfour has recently starred in several hits, including IN HER SHOES, for
Twentieth Century FOX, directed by Curtis Hansen and opposite Cameron Diaz and the remake
of the cult classic hit THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE - produced by Michael Bay for his
company Platinum Dunes and directed by Marcus Nispel. Balfour was also seen in the New Line
feature SECOND HAND LIONS opposite Haley Joel Osmett. Other credits include Revolution
Studio's AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS opposite Julia Roberts and John Cusak; Paramount
Pictures' Nancy Meyers' film WHAT WOMEN WANT opposite Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt,
CAN’T HARDLY WAIT and TROJAN WAR.
In addition to his screen time, Balfour is also involved is many other endeavors. As the lead
singer of his band Born as Ghosts, he sells out headlining shows at clubs around town including
The House of Blues and The Viper Room. With a lively sound that mixes reggae, hip-hop, soul,
rock and funk, Balfour and his band members are gearing up for the 2008 Summer Warped Tour.
In his downtime Eric likes to surf and snowboard. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
JAIME KING (Lorelei) began her career as a fashion model gracing the covers of international
fashion magazines and later landing advertising campaigns for Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and
Victoria's Secret. Her charm and all-American mass appeal lead to a variety of opportunities from
Revlon spokesperson for a global cosmetic campaign to an advertising campaign for Jay Z's
clothing brand.
King broke into television when she was selected to host MTV's "House of Style." King landed a
role on "Kitchen Confidential" and was later cast in a recurring role on the CBS comedy "The
Class" and the series lead of "Gary Unmarried."
King's feature film roles include PEARL HARBOR, BLOW, SLACKERS, TWO FOR THE
MONEY, WHITE CHICKS, SIN CITY, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2 as well as the
independent features PRETTY PERSUASSION, THE TRIPPER, THEY WAIT, A FORK IN
THE ROAD and THE PARDON. She will be seen next on the big screen in the upcoming films
MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D and FANBOYS.
She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, producer Kyle Newman. Her birthday is
April 23.
With more than a decade of work under her belt, four-time Golden Globe® nominee and BAFTA
winner, SCARLETT JOHANSSON (Silken Floss) has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most
talented young actresses. Johansson received rave reviews and a Best Actress Award at the
Venice Film Festival for her starring role opposite Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION, the
critically-acclaimed second film by director Sofia Coppola.
Johansson portrayed the title character in GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, a film adapted
from the novel of the same name about the painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth).
In February 2008 she stars in THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, opposite Natalie Portman and Eric
Bana for Sony. She recently wrapped production on the films HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO
YOU and MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTTS.
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At the age of 12, Johansson attained worldwide recognition for her performance as Grace
Maclean, the teen traumatized by a riding accident in Robert Redford’s THE HORSE
WHISPERER. She went on to star in Terry Zwigoff’s GHOST WORLD, garnering a Best
Supporting Actress award from the Toronto Film Critics Circle. Johansson was also featured in
the Coen Brothers’ dark drama THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE, opposite Billy Bob
Thornton and Frances McDormand.
Her other film credits include the critically acclaimed Weitz brothers’ film IN GOOD
COMPANY, as well as opposite John Travolta in A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG, which
garnered her a Golden Globe nomination (her third in two years) and Woody Allen's MATCH
POINT, which garnered her 4th consecutive Golden Globe nominee in three years. Other film
credits include THE ISLAND (opposite Ewan McGregor), Brian DePalma’s THE BLACK
DAHLIA, Christopher Nolan’s THE PRESTIGE and THE NANNY DIARIES.
Her additional credits include Rob Reiner’s comedy NORTH, the thriller JUST CAUSE with
Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne; and a breakthrough role at the age of 10 in the criticallypraised MANNY & LO, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best
Female Lead.
A New York native, Johansson made her professional acting debut at the age of eight in the offBroadway production of “Sophistry” with Ethan Hawke, at New York’s Playwright’s Horizons.
Johansson currently divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.
Respectfully labeled as one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood, SAMUEL L.
JACKSON (The Octopus) is an undisputed star as demonstrated in the fact that his films have
grossed the most money in box office sales of any other actor in the history of filmmaking.
Jackson made an indelible mark on American cinema with his portrayal of ‘Jules’, the
philosophizing hitman, in Quentin Tarantino’s PULP FICTION. In addition to unanimous
critical acclaim for his performance, he received Academy Award® and Golden Globe
nominations as Best Supporting Actor as well as a Best Supporting Actor award from the British
Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Among his many award-winning performances, Jackson made movie history with his portrayal of
a crack addict in Spike Lee’s JUNGLE FEVER for which he was awarded the first and only Best
Supporting Performance Award ever given by the judges at the Cannes Film Festival.
Jackson was recently seen in the Rod Lurie directed film, RESURRECTING THE CHAMP and
in a supporting role in the Weinstein Co. film 1408 based on the Stephen King novel. Jackson
also recently starred in the Craig Brewer film BLACK SNAKE MOAN, New Line’s thriller
SNAKES ON A PLACE, directed by David R. Ellis and Irwin Winkler’s MGM war drama
HOME OF THE BRAVE. In 2008, Jackson’s films included the Doug Liman sci-fi, action film
JUMPER and the quirky crime drama CLEANER directed by Renny Harlin.
Other film credits include COACH CARTER, STAR WARS trilogy I, II and III, IN MY
COUNTRY, THE MAN, THE INCREDIBLES, S.W.A.T., FORMULA 51, CHANGING
LANES, CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE, RED VIOLIN, SHAFT, UNBREKABLE, 187, EVE’S
BAYOU, JACKIE BROWN, THE NEGOTIATOR, A TIME TO KILL, DIE HARD and DIE
HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT and DEEP BLUE SEA.
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On the small screen, Jackson serves as Executive Producer for the animated series for Spike TV,
“Afro Samurai” which premiered in 2007 and will be returning for a second season. In addition,
Jackson partnered with New Line Studios to produce and develop projects in which he has the
option of starring.
Appearing in notable feature films such as Frank Miller’s THE SPIRIT and the Oscar®-winning
THE USUAL SUSPECTS, LOUIS LOMBARDI (Pathos, etc.) has made a career of his
unmistakable acting style and unforgettable characters.
A film festival favorite, Lombardi has completed his first independent feature film titled
DOUGHBOYS (on DVD November 18, 2008.) Shot on location at the infamous Conti’s Bakery
in his hometown of the Bronx, this slice-of-life-drama was written by, directed by and stars
Lombardi.
Best known for his television characters in the hit series "24” as the loveable computer systems
analyst Edgar Stiles, and his recurring role on the "The Sopranos" playing tough New York
federal agent, Skip Lipari. Additional television credits include "Entourage,” “Ugly Betty,” "Las
Vegas" and “NYPD Blue.” He also co-starred as the brutish Cal, Mr. Roarke's obedient jack-ofall-trades, in the ABC 1998 remake of "Fantasy Island” as well as CBS's "EZ Streets" and "CSI:
NY."
In 1993, Lombardi co-starred in the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize Nominee
AMONGST FRIENDS, directed by Rob Weiss. His performance garnered the attention of
director Oliver Stone and led to his pivotal role in NATURAL BORN KILLERS. He has also
played featured roles in the comedy hit THE ANIMAL with Rob Schneider and DEUCES WILD.
Lombardi’s other directing credits include THE BOSS, an independent short film he also wrote,
directed and starred in. Filmed at the Roxbury, a trendy Los Angeles nightclub, THE BOSS tells
the story of a cruel nightclub owner on New Year's Eve. Lombardi ultimate passion is to write
and direct more film projects.
With an impressive body of work that encompasses film, television and theatre, STANA KATIC
(Morgenstern) is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought after talents as her career
continues to evolve with exciting and challenging projects.
Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screen, Stana recently finished working with
award winning director Robert Benton on his new film FEAST OF LOVE. This romantic
comedy, which also stars Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear, is about a community of friends in
Oregon who explore the magical, mysterious and painful incarnations of love. Stana also wrapped
a role in the Indie film STILETTO. Surrounded by an ensemble of Hollywood’s most notorious,
(Tom Sizemore, Michael Beihn, William Forsythe and Diane Venona), Stana plays a female
assassin on an avenging angel mission.
Stana Katic has been cast in Fox's drama "Company Man"( From the creators of "24"). The
project centers on a family man who winds up recruited by the NSA as a spy. Katic plays the sexy
and tough National Security Agency agent who recruits him.
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Stana recently joined the highest rated new show of the 2006 - 2007 television season, NBC’s
drama “Heroes,” as one of the able-bodied super humans. She portrays Hana Gitelman, a fierce
young woman with “wireless” mental abilities. “Heroes” received a Golden Globe® nomination
for Best Television Series - Drama and also won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New
Television Drama. Adding to her success, Stana is European information broker Collette Stenger
on primetime’s other powerhouse, Fox’s “24.” Stana also stars in CTV’s epic two part miniseries “Would Be Kings”, and has had memorable recurring roles on some of primetime’s highest
rated dramas including “The Closer,” “E.R.” and “The Shield.”
She also starred in the world premiere of “Private Fittings’ by renowned Broadway director Des
McAnuff. The show was written by former SNL writer Mark O’Donnell. Stana is a citizen of
both the United States and Canada, speaks five languages and has extensive combat training for
film. When she can grab some free time she enjoys horseback riding, astrophysics, flamenco
dancing, photography, archeology and designing clothes.
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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
An iconic figure in the creation of comic book super heroes, in his initiation of graphic novels as
one of the most popular of story-telling media and as a leading figure in the dominant box-office
genre of films adapted from comic books and graphic novels, FRANK MILLER
(Screenplay/Director) makes his solo film directing debut with his adaptation of the Will
Eisner¹s classic THE SPIRIT, an artfully-executed, action-packed, fun-filled adventure.
Miller, author of the graphic novel 300 and an executive producer of the record-setting motion
picture adapted from it, made his feature film directorial debut in 2005 with the filmization of his
graphic novel Sin City, which he co-directed with Robert Rodriguez. The critically acclaimed
film was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, won the Austin Film
Critics Award and garnered a Czech Lion nomination.
It was Miller¹s graphic novel The Dark Knight, a startlingly new and darker interpretation of Bob
Kane’s Batman, that lifted the graphic novel into popularity, as well as launching the Batman
franchise into one of the most profitable series of films ever. Even as his own film oeuvre is
starting, Frank Miller has become one of the most influential figures on both sides of the comicbook/motion-picture connection.
His creative career began in the US comic-book industry while still in his teens. It was in the late
1970s, when he came to prominence drawing and/or writing Marvel Comics properties such as
Spider-Man, Wolverine, Daredevil, and Elektra Assassin. He created the ninja assassin Elektra in
the pages of Daredevil during his critically acclaimed run on that title. Miller's Daredevil was the
basis for the 2003 feature film.
Miller then created Ronin, a science-fiction samurai drama, for DC Comics. Apart from its
artistic and critical success, Ronin was historically important as DC Comics' first creator-owned
project. Ronin is currently in development at Warner Bros. as a feature film. Also upcoming is a
release by Dark Horse of the complete Martha Washington series which Miller created with Dave
Gibbons and which plowed important new ground in racial awareness for the comic and graphic
novel genres. The series concerned a young black woman from the projects of Chicago,
following from the late 90s through the early part of this decade with a social consciousness that
had marked impact, concluding with the eponymous character¹s death.
After Ronin, Miller wrote and illustrated the aforementioned groundbreaking Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns. He also wrote Batman: Year One (illustrated by David Mazzuchelli), which was
a basis for 2005's BATMAN BEGINS. Miller returned to Batman with the best-selling Batman:
The Dark Knight Strikes Again, and is writing All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (with
Jim Lee illustrating).
Miller introduced his noir masterpiece, Sin City, in 1991, and it became an instant sales and
critical success. To date, he has written and illustrated seven Sin City graphic novels. In 2005,
Miller co-directed with Robert Rodriguez the feature film Frank Miller's SIN CITY.
300, Miller's award-winning graphic novel of the Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae, was
initially serialized in 1998 (with Lynn Varley). The Warner Bros. feature-film adaptation of 300
smashed box-office records last year.
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Miller also collaborated with illustrator Geof Darrow to create Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot
(which was adapted as an animated television series) and Hard Boiled (currently in development
as a feature film). The final chapter of the Martha Washington science-fiction series by Miller
and Dave Gibbons that started with Give Me Liberty was released in Summer 2007.
A veteran producer as well as director, DEBORAH DEL PRETE (Producer) is co-founder and
co-chief executive officer of Odd Lot Entertainment. Since 2001 Del Prete and longtime business
partner Gigi Pritzker have shepherded the growth of the L.A.-based development, finance and
production company.
Del Prete executive produced Paramount Classic’s MEAN CREEK, starring Rory Culkin and
Scott Mechlowicz, and produced the hit Columbia Pictures comedy THE WEDDING PLANNER
starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey; GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS, starring
Elijah Wood; Dimension’s BURIED ALIVE, starring Tobin Bell; the zombie comedy UNDEAD
OR ALIVE; and the romantic comedy SUBURBAN GIRL, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and
Alec Baldwin. She also produced the Odd Lot creature feature LIVING HELL for The SciFi
Channel. In addition, Del Prete is currently serving as executive producer on writer/director
Michael Meredith’s THE OPEN ROAD, starring Oscar®-nominated Jeff Bridges, Justin
Timberlake, Kate Mara, Harry Dean Stanton and Mary Steenburgen.
In addition to feature films, Del Prete and Pritzker develop and produce live stage productions
though their company Dee Gee Theatricals. Their first production, KISS AT CITY HALL by Joe
DiPietro, had a successful run at the Pasadena Playhouse in February, 2000. Their original drama
SYMMETRY, written by Dave Fields, premiered at the Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago in
Summer 2005. Recently they launched the new musical SNAPSHOTS, based on the book by
David Stern with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (WICKED), in Seattle, Washington,
Florida, and Ohio; F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE GREAT GATSBY which was the premiere
production at the New Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and has enjoyed two highly successful
productions in the U.S. with a third anticipated in London’s West End; and MILLION DOLLAR
QUARTET by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, a rock-and-roll story that broke box office records
during its runs in Daytona, Florida and Seattle, Washington recently opened to critical acclaim
and new box office records at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.
Under her previous shingle, Dee Gee Entertainment, co-founded with Pritzker in 1986, Del Prete
produced and/or directed a myriad of TV programs, music videos, commercials, industrials and
documentaries. Her first feature film as a director was SIMPLE JUSTICE, starring Doris Roberts
and John Spencer.
She then produced and directed Kate Hudson’s film debut RICOCHET RIVER. Among her
other produced projects are THE PEOPLE VERSUS, a five-part dramatic series starring Meg
Ryan for Viacom; the musicals SOMETHING’S AFOOT, starring Jean Stapleton for Showtime,
Barry Manilow’s THE DRUNKARD, starring Tom Bosley for A&E; JOURNEY TO
ADVENTURE, a long-running syndicated travel series; and MAINTENANCE MEN’S
LOUNGE, a comedy pilot for ABC.
Del Prete is a longtime past treasurer of the board of directors for the New York chapter of
Women In Film. She was an artistic advocate for the foundation of the Los Angeles County High
School for the Arts and serves as an executive mentor for both the Producers Guild of America
and Step Up Women’s Network.
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GIGI PRITZKER (Producer) started in the film industry as a producer of documentary films.
Her first production was BHUTAN, KINGDOM OF THE THUNDER DRAGON for the BBC’s
In the Footsteps of Man. In 1986 she founded Dee Gee Productions, her first company with
longtime business partner Deborah Del Prete, which produced numerous television programs,
commercials, industrials and documentaries, and in 2001 they founded Odd Lot Entertainment, a
prolific L.A.-based development, finance and production company.
Pritzker executive produced Paramount Classic’s MEAN CREEK, starring Rory Culkin and Scott
Mechlowicz, and produced the hit Columbia Pictures comedy THE WEDDING PLANNER
starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey; GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS, starring
Elijah Wood; and the romantic comedy SUBURBAN GIRL, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and
Alec Baldwin. She also produced SIMPLE JUSTICE, starring Doris Roberts and John Spencer
and RICOCHET RIVER, which marked Kate Hudson’s film debut. Pritzker is also currently
serving as executive producer on writer/director Michael Meredith¹s THE OPEN ROAD, starring
Oscar®-nominated Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara and Mary Steenburgen.
She and Deborah Del Prete also develop and produce live stage productions though their
company Dee Gee Theatricals. Their first project was KISS AT CITY HALL by Joe DiPietro (I
LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE), which successfully ran at the Pasadena
Playhouse in 2000. Their original drama SYMMETRY, written by Dave Fields, premiered at the
Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago during Summer 2005. Most recently, they launched the new
musical SNAPSHOTS, based on the book by David Stern with music and lyrics by Stephen
Schwartz (WICKED), in Seattle, Florida, and Ohio (September 2007); F. Scott Fitzgerald’s THE
GREAT GATSBY, THE GREAT GATSBY which was the premiere production at the New
Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and has enjoyed two highly successful productions in the U.S.
with a third anticipated in London’s West End; and MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET by Colin
Escott and Floyd Mutrux, a rock-and-roll story that broke box office records during its runs in
Daytona, Florida and Seattle, Washington recently opened to critical acclaim and new box office
records at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.
Pritzker dedicates much of her time to philanthropy and is a co-founder of the Chicago chapter of
the Tibetan Resettlement Project. She serves as chairman of the board for the Chicago Children’s
Museum; sits on the national board for the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, whose
Chicago chapter has raised over two million dollars in the last three years for HIV/AIDS-affected
children and their families; and is also on the board of the Chicago Children’s Theatre. She is also
involved in a variety of endeavors related to early childhood, brain research and education.
MICHAEL E. USLAN (Producer) took his childhood love for comic books and made it into his
life’s work. His extensive film credits include Executive Producer of THE DARK KNIGHT,
BATMAN BEGINS, BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN FOREVER, BATMAN and
ROBIN and the animated GOTHAM KNIGHT, BATMAN & MR. FREEZE: SUB-ZERO,
BATMAN VS. DRACULA, BATMAN: MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN and "BATMAN
BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER (winner of the Annie Award).
Uslan was also Producer of CONSTANTINE, the animated feature BATMAN: MASK OF THE
PHANTASM, SWAMP THING and was Associate Producer of NATIONAL TREASURE. His
upcoming film projects include THE SHADOW with Sam Raimi and Josh Donen; SHAZAM
with Pete Segal and Michael Ewing and DOC SAVAGE.
- 28 -
His projects on the small screen include "Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?" for which Uslan
received the Emmy Award® as Executive Producer. He also was Executive Producer of "Three
Sovereigns For Sarah," the acclaimed PBS Salem Witch Trials mini-series for American
Playhouse, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Patrick McGoohan; Robin Cook’s "Harmful Intent,"
hit movie of the week for CBS; and “Swamp Thing,” the live action series for USA Network/The
Sci-Fi Channel. His credits in TV animation include: Executive Producer of "Little Orphan
Annie’s Very Animated Christmas”; "Fish Police "; “Swamp Thing”, and “Dinosaucers,” the
long-running series he created.
Considered an authority on comic book history, Uslan created and taught the first accredited
college course on comic books, authored the first text-book on comics, and has written and
provided historical Introductions for over two dozen books on comics, including THE SPIRIT
ARCHIVES and THE SPIRIT FEMMES FATALES. With FJ DeSanto, he is currently writing
the new comic book adventures of “THE SPIRIT” for DC Comics. Additionally in the world of
comic books and graphic novels, Uslan has written both “BATMAN” comic books and the
graphic novel, BATMAN: DETECTIVE #27, as well as the internationally syndicated newspaper
comic strip, TERRY AND THE PIRATES, "JUST IMAGINE" with Stan Lee (creator of "SpiderMan", "X-Men" “Iron Man’ and the pantheon of Marvel super-heroes), "THE SHADOW" comic
books, and the upcoming first ever “ARCHIE” graphic novel. His first children's book,
CHATTERBOX: THE BIRD WHO WORE GLASSES, was a Best Books Award Finalist as
"Best Hardback Children's Book."
Uslan is a member of the Advisory Board to the Discovery Channel Global
Education Partnership and is a former member of both the Board of The Center for Excellence in
Education and the Youth Grants Panel of the National Endowment for the Humanities in
Washington, DC. He’s the recipient of: The Independent Spirit Award for Film; The Iconosphere
Award for Film; The Distinguished Hoosier Award; and from his alma mater, Indiana University,
The President's Circle Award, The Academy of Law Alumni Fellows Award, The Hoagy
Carmichael Creative Achievement Award, and The President's Medal for Excellence.
Uslan in a motivational speaker with Greater Talent Network, NYC, and has
lectured on comic books and film all over the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York and The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
BILL POPE, ASC (Cinematographer) started buying Frank Miller's comics in the early 80's,
and has been a fan ever since. With THE SPIRIT, he decided to help Frank bring his style to the
movie screen, instead of just continuing to steal from him. “I'll do that later,” says Pope.
GREGORY NUSSBAUM (Editor) grew up in Ohio and studied film at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois. For the past fifteen years, he has worked in Hollywood as an
editor of commercials and music videos. Gregory is a creative partner with Pictures in a Row, a
production and post-production company he has helped manage and grow for the past ten years.
After editing the pre-visualization sequences for THE SPIRIT, he got the chance to cut the final
film. THE SPIRIT is the first movie Gregory has edited, and it’s just about the most fun he’s
ever had.
MICHAEL DENNISON’s (Costume Designer) more than 20 credits as wardrobe supervisor or
costumer have included The World According to Garp, Sophie’s Choice, Moscow on the Hudson,
The Falcon and the Snowman, Jagged Edge, Heartburn, The Mosquito Coast, Beaches, Jacob’s
- 29 -
Ladder, Chaplin, TV’s Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella for The Disney Channel, Starship
Troopers, Snow Falling on Cedars The Chronicles of Riddick, What Women Want, Unfaithful.
Mona Lisa Smile, starring Julia Roberts and an ensemble cast
DAVID NEWMAN (Music) has scored over 100 films in the 20 years of his career, ranging
from films such as WAR OF THE ROSES, HOFFA, BOWFINGER and HEATHERS, to the
more recent SERENITY AND ICE AGE. He has an Academy Award nomination for his score to
the animated feature ANASTASIA and was also the first composer to have his piece, 1001
NIGHTS, performed in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s FILMHARMONIC Series, conducted by
Esa-Pekka Salonen. In 1987, Robert Redford selected Newman as musical director of the
Sundance Institute. During his tenure he wrote an original score and conducted the Utah
Symphony Orchestra for the classic silent motion picture SUNRISE, which opened the Sundance
Film Festival in 1989. As a benefit for the Film Music Preservation Program at Sundance, he
began to conduct a series of concerts with orchestras including the Utah Symphony, The Los
Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and the American Symphony in New York. In
2005, Newman conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a subscription series of concerts at
the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Last year he conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra
at the Hollywood Bowl in their Movie Night Tribute to Paramount Pictures. He will also be
conducting the Hollywood Bowl movie night this year which will feature the films of Warner
Bros. Newman composed a Woodwind Quintet Concerto for the Long Beach Symphony
Orchestra all during their 2006-07 season. There was a single movement performed at each
concert, and the entire piece was performed last June in Long Beach. The Concerto was also
performed at the Spoletto Festival USA this summer with the Inami Winds, Emmanuel Villaume
conducting. Mr. Newman also composed and conducted “Yoko and the Tooth Fairy”, (a
children’s melodrama) at the Crossroads School where his daughter attends high school. In 2005,
the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra performed his composition “Songs of My Father”. It was
also performed at the Grant Park Festival, and the Spoletto USA festival that same year. Newman
is also President of the American Youth Symphony, a 43-year-old Pre Professional Orchestra
based in Los Angeles. Newman is part of the Film Music Family that included his father Alfred
Newman, who ran the music department at 20th Century Fox for 20 years from 1940-1960, as
well as recording artist and film Composer, Randy Newman, and his brother, film composer,
Thomas Newman. Happily married to wife Krystyna for the last 25 years, Newman is the father
of two girls, Diana and stepdaughter Brianne.
STU MASCHWITZ (Senior Visual Effects Supervisor) is a cofounder and the CTO of The
Orphanage, a San Francisco-based visual effects and film production company. Maschwitz spent four
years as a visual effects artist at George Lucas’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), working on such
films as Twister and Men in Black, and went on to create the award-winning Magic Bullet software for
making video look like film. At The Orphanage, Maschwitz has directed numerous commercials and
supervised effects work on films including Sin City. Maschwitz is a guerilla filmmaker at heart and
combined this spirit and his effects knowledge into a book: The DV Rebel’s Guide: An All-Digital
Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap.
LINDA McDONOUGH (Co-Producer) is Executive Vice President, Production &
Development, for Odd Lot Entertainment. She has been with the company since its inception in
2001, shepherding both development and production on company films. She recently produced
GREEN STREET 2: STAND YOUR GROUND, the sequel to the critically acclaimed cult-hit
GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS (which she associate produced) starring Elijah Wood and
- 30 -
Charlie Hunnam. She co-produced SUBURBAN GIRL starring Alec Baldwin and Sarah Michelle
Gellar, which was based on Melissa Bank’s best-selling short story collection The Girls’ Guide to
Hunting and Fishing.
On THE SPIRIT, McDonough was instrumental in securing Samuel L. Jackson for the role of
“The Octopus,” hiring The Orphanage for the visual effects, negotiating the key crew deals, and
negotiating the studio services contract. Prior to this, she served as vice president of development
for Drew Barrymore's and Nancy Juvonen's Flower Films, where she was involved in the
development of CHARLIE’S ANGELS I and II, THE DUPLEX, DONNIE DARKO and 50
FIRST DATES. McDonough worked previously as a coordinator on the writing staff at 1013
Productions and before that in the publicity department at 20th Century Fox Television.
F.J. DeSANTO (Co-Producer) has a number of motion pictures currently in development
including THE SHADOW (Columbia Pictures) which he is co- producing with Michael Uslan,
Sam Raimi and Josh Donen, SHAZAM (Warner Bros) with Peter Segal directing, DOC
SAVAGE (Branded Entertainment), SABOTAGE (iNDELIBLE Entertainment), and LOONY
(iNDELIBLE Entertainment). Also, he co-produced the animated direct- to-home DVD TUROK:
SON OF STONE (Classic Media) which was distributed by the Weinstein Company. In 2005, he
served as an assistant to the producers of CONSTANTINE (Warner Bros).
He has been responsible for acquiring, developing and maintaining a large slate of projects based
on comic books, graphic novels, manga and anime while also overseeing deals with writers,
agents, comic book companies, creators and movie studios. Before joining iNDELIBLE
Entertainment in 2008, he was the Senior Vice President of Production and Development and
Producer for Comic Book Movies Inc., and spent nine years as Vice President of Development
for Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker (Executive Producers of the BATMAN franchise).
Mr. DeSanto is also a comic book and manga writer. He has written an original manga based on
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION for Tokyopop, America’s largest manga publisher,
for release in 2009 and is a co- writer on the comic book series THE SPIRIT for DC Comics. He
is currently developing several graphic novel projects for 2009.
In 2007, he became the first person to ever speak on the topic of Japanese manga and anime at
The Smithsonian Institution when he moderated the “Manga to Anime: Astro Boy to Spirited
Away” seminar at Freer Galley of Art in Washington, DC.
F.J. DeSanto graduated New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Department of
Undergraduate Film and TV with an honors scholar award. Recently, Mr. DeSanto returned to
NYU as an adjunct professor, teaching a class entitled PROFESSIONAL COLLOQUIM. The
course, which Mr. DeSanto created, is designed to educate senior and graduate writing students
on the fundamentals of the motion picture business.
- 31 -
FINAL CREDITS
Unit Production Manager
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Associate Producer
Music Supervisor
Alton Walpole
Benita Allen
Frederic Roth
Dennis M. Crow
Marc Sadeghi
Dan Hubbert
CAST
(in order of appearance)
Lorelei
Spirit
Detective Sussman
Arthur The Cat
Damsel in Distress
Thug 1
Thug 2
Officer MacReady
Liebowitz
Sand Saref
Mahmoud
Octopus
Pathos, etc.
Silken Floss
Ellen
Dolan
Medic
Young Spirit
Young Sand
Uncle Pete
Mafioso
Officer Saref
Reporter
Donenfeld
Seth
Morgenstern
Handbag Thief
Handbag Man
Female Reporter
Poker Player
Doorman #1
Doorman #2
Doorman #3
Onlooker #1
Onlooker #2
Son
Young Mother
Onlooker #3
Jaime King
Gabriel Macht
Dan Gerrity
Himself
Kimberly Cox
Brian Lucero
David B. Martin
Larry Reinhardt-Meyer
Frank Miller
Eva Mendes
Eric Balfour
Samuel L. Jackson
Louis Lombardi
Scarlett Johansson
Sarah Paulson
Dan Lauria
Dan Hubbert
Johnny Simmons
Seychelle Gabriel
Michael Milhoan
John Cade
David Wiegand
Chad Brummett
Richard Portnow
Mark DelGallo
Stana Katic
Aaron Toney
Dean Eldon Squibb
Meeghan Holaway
Al Goto
Roman Tissera
Frank Bond
Hugh Elliott
Robert Douglas Washington
Bill Pope
Ben Petry
Marina Lyon
Paul Levitz
- 32 -
Onlooker #4
Onlooker #5
Onlooker #6
Onlooker #7
Plaster of Paris
Muffin
Wino
Creep
Officer Klink
Finger Puppeteer
Stunt Coordinator
Assistant Stunt Coordinator
Spirit Stunt Double
Octopus Stunt Double
Sand Serif Stunt Double
OS Stunt Double
Emily Cheung
Keith Kühl
Cayley Bell
Jasmine Mohamed
Paz Vega
Sammy/Spirit/Stewie
T. Jay O’Brien
Rio Alexander
Drew Pollock
Andy Linderkamp
John Medlen
David Hugghins
Ronn Surels
Kiante Elam
Boni Yanagisawa
Tad Griffith
Additional Stunts
Melissa Barker
Thomas DeWier
Michael Hansen
Anthony Kramme
Aaron Toney
Cayley Bell
John Cade
Lisa Hoyle
David Martin
Aaron Walters
Plaster of Paris Choreography by
ADR Voice Casting
Joann Jansen
Barbara Harris
ADR Voices
Catherine Cavadini
Barbara Iley
Terence Mathews
David Randolph
Vernon Scott
Andreana Weiner
Peggy Flood
Terence Jay
Jason Pace
Noreen Reardon
Joel Swetow
Production Supervisor
Production Coordinator
Assistant Production Coordinator
Production Secretary
Script Supervisor
Camera Operator
Steadicam Operator
1st Assistant Camera
2nd Assistant Camera
Technocrane Operator
Digital Imaging Technicians
Dawn Todd
Elaine K.Thompson
Crystal McAlerney
Sean Cardinalli
Pam Fuller
Vali Valus
Gregory Lundsgaard
Greg Luntzel
Charlie Newberry
David Hammer
Chad Rivetti
Brannon Brown
Bret Latter
Adam Barth
David J. Brownlow
Matthew Halbert
Digital Loader
Video Assist
Production Sound
Boom Operator
- 33 -
Utility Sound
Michael Becker
Robert Jerry Brownlow
Anthony T. Mazzucchi
Alexander Griffiths
Daniel Pershing
Otis Mannick
Charlie Arnold
Matt Debevec
Ronald “Pablo” Romero
Terry J. Sanchez
Hank Herrera
Gary Kangrga
Trevor “Zeke” Howe
Paul Judges
Michael J. Lucero
Bryan J. Smith
John “Fest” Sandau
Jim “Jimmy C.” Cornick
Georgia Tays
Greg Argarin
Jon Caradies
Lou Nelson
George Rizzo, Jr.
John Stearns
Ray Ortega
Jason Linebaugh
Frank Garcia
Christopher H. Sipes
Lucas P. Leggio
Louie Martinez
Alexander J. Perez
A. Todd Holland
Gabrielle Petrissans
Joel Goodell
Pierre L. Barrera
Benjamin M. Walsh
Michael Flowers
Bryan DeLara
Christopher Martin
Brooke Fair
John N. Ward
Alan Chao
Randy Eriksen
Chuck McSorley
Brett “Khan” Andrews
Robin Blagg
Kirk Newren
Albert Rivera
Sara Morgan Lewis
Steve Kahn
Brett Cole
Key Grip
Best Boy Grip
Dolly Grip
Additional Dolly Grip
Grips
Key Rigging Grips
Best Boy Rigging Grip
Rigging Grips
Chief Lighting Technician
Assistant Chief Lighting Technician
Dimmer Board Operator
Set Lighting Technicians
Rigging Gaffer
Best Boy Rigging Electric
Rigging Electricians
Assistant Art Director
Set Decorator
Leadman
Set Dressers
Buyer
On Set Dresser
Key Greens
Assistant Greens
Art Department Coordinator
Art Department Production Assistant
Property Master
Assistant Property Master
Prop Assistant
Construction Coordinator
Construction Foreman
Labor Foreman
Construction Auditor
Gang Boss
Prop Maker/Welder
- 34 -
Prop Makers
Arthur Arndt
Jeff Bolen
J. Christie
Kenneth Cook
Santino Davenport
Mark Gutierrez
Andy Linderkamp
Jesse McNamara
Tony Milhaupt
Curtis D. Mott
William S. Patterson
Jimmy Stephens
James Herman
Plasterers
Welder
Utility Techs
Key Scenic
Paint Foreman
On Set Painter
Set Painters
Assistant Costume Designer
Costume Supervisor
Key Costumer
Key Set Costumers
Costumer for Mr. Jackson
Costumer
Costume Buyer
Tailor
Seamstresses
Ager/Dyer/Costumer
Costume Production Assistant
Costume Supervisor (Los Angeles)
Costumer (Los Angeles)
Ager/Dyer (Los Angeles)
Costume Production Assistant (Los Angeles)
Make-Up Department Head
Assistant Make-Up Department Head
Make-up Artist for Mr. Jackson
Make-up Artist for Ms. Johansson
Make-up Artist for Mr. Macht
Make-up Artist for Ms. Mendes
Additional Make-up
Hair Stylist Department Head
Hair Stylist
Hair Stylist for Mr. Jackson
Hair Stylist for Ms. Mendes
Hair Stylist for Ms. Johansson
- 35 -
Javier Fuentes
Dana J. Mestas
Barton Slade
Nick Davis
Brooke Fair
Miguel E. Gurulé
Nigel Paul Conway
Dennis Collins
Phillip Brown
Daniel Herrera
Tim McCullough
Sebastian R. Ruiz
Katherine Wertz
Michael Crow
Richard Schoen
Frances Vega
Bradford Booth
Kathryn Czark
Askia Won-Ling Jacob
Lora Rael
Maureen O’Heron
Melissa Moody
Barbara Lee Brice
Olivia Ludi
Nancy Molleur
Bren Cook
Lane Stewart
Lynda Foote
Jorge Gonzalez
Julia Gombert
Virginia Lise Melin
Isabel Harkins
Art Anthony
Allan Apone
Heba Thorisdottir
Melanie Tooker
Elaine Offers
Bonnie Masoner
Camille Friend
Garnett Burk
Robert Stevenson
Cydney Cornell
Barbara Olvera
Additional Hair
Special Effects Coordinator
Special Effects Foreman
Special Effects Technicians
John Holland
Donald Frazee
C. Scott Lingard
Scott Hastings
Danny Maldonado
Jonathan Delaney Marsh
P13 Entertainment, Inc.
Anne Kurtzman
Gino Crognale
Al Tuskes
Melanie Tooker
Gabe Bartalos
Sam Tischler
S. Reuban Cook
N. Marty Radcliff
Robert “Bear” Molitor
Kenny Heath
Melissa A. Malcom
Alan Mienkes Berger
Thomas R. Buckley
Make-up Effects
P13 Project Coordinator
P13 Key Sculptor
P13 Shop Supervisor
P13 Key Prosthetics Applicator
Lifecasts
Location Manager
Assistant Location Manager
Transportation Captains
Driver for Mr. Jackson
Driver for Ms. Johansson
Driver for Mr. Macht
Driver for Ms. Mendes
Drivers
Jason “Jr.” Anderson
Steve Butler
Amber Dawn Cummings
Michael J. Roybal
Gary Shuckahosee
Steve Vandiver
Wilson Hayes
Key Office Production Assistants
Armando M. Cruz III
Jasmine Mohamed
Office Production Assistants
Dustin DellaVecchia
Jason R. Doutree
Wendy R. Kennedy
Assistant to Mr. Jackson
Assistant to Ms. Johansson
Assistant to Mr. Macht
Assistant to Ms. Mendes
Assistants to Mr. Miller
Destino Marfil Montez
Robert Vertrees
Brady Kephart
Volney Edward McFarlin III
Taryn Cox
Meredith Engelstein
Rowie Green
Mark DelGallo
Emily Cheung
Colette Stevens
Cayley Bell
Harris M. Miller II
Brad Arnold
Marcia A. Woske
Assistant to Mr. Walpole
Legal Counsel Frank Miller, Inc.
Second Second Assistant Directors
Set Production Assistants
Nick I. Allen
Julian Duran
Matt McAlister
J.J. Dalton
Ryan Lacen
Randy Rubin
Marcus Taylor
Production Accountant
First Assistant Accountants
Maeve Mannion
Beverly L. Jusi
Sherrie Bradshaw
Nick Cessac
Second Assistant Accountant
- 36 -
Payroll Accountant
Additional Accountant
Studio Teachers
Rich J. Tartaglia
Amy Eldridge
Kathleen Breton-Collier
Amber York
Reel Chefs Catering/
Steve Watson
Bobby Brual
Catering
Chef
Chef Assistants
Marco A. Blanco
Manny Gonzalez
Jose Cruz Tejeda
Horacio Vazquez
Marciano Moreno
Craft Service
Craft Service Assistant
Set Medics
JF Craft & Catering/Joe Fiske
John Montoya
David Bethel
Nicholas Salinas
Unit Publicist
Louise A. Spencer
Unit Still Photographer
Lewis Jacobs
Executive Marketing and Distribution Consultant
Al Newman
Rights & Clearances
Entertainment Clearances, Inc
Laura Sevier
Cassandra Barbour
Casting Associates (Los Angeles)
Samantha A. Finkler
Erin Toner
Casting and Extras Casting (New Mexico)
Gwyn Savage
Casting Assistants (New Mexico)
Valerie McVay
Vanessa Vassar
Animal Services Provided by Boone’s Animals For Hollywood
Head Animal Trainer
Ursula Brauner
Animal Trainer
Brian Turi
Undomesticated Quadruped Wrangler
Michael “Puck” Pucker
Second Unit
2nd Unit Director
Director of Photography
1st Assistant Camera
2nd Assistant Camera
Script Supervisor
Gaffer
Best Boy Electric
Electricians
Stu Maschwitz
Bobby Finley III
Chip Byrd
Ryan Eustis
Lois King
Ray Ortega
Jason Linebaugh
Frank Garcia
Christopher H. Sipes
Hank Herrera
Trevor “Zeke” Howe
Peter Weidenfeller
Paul Judges
Michael J. Lucero
Bryan J. Smith
Ester Kim
Lance Jay Velazco
EPC Joe Fineman
Key Grip
Best Boy Grip
Dolly Grip
Grips
On Set Dresser
Video Assists
Post Production Consulting by
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Post Production Supervisor
Post Production Coordinator
Post Production Accountant
Visual Effects Consultant
1st Assistant Editor
Apprentice Editor
Visual Effects Editor
Visual Effects Coordinator
Post Production Assistant
Michael Toji
Carl Bochek
Bob Weber
Bruce Jones
Stacey S. Clipp
Brad McLaughlin
A. Ryan Turner
Jonathan O’Brien
Keto Shimizu
Visual Effects by The Orphanage
Luke O’Byrne
Amy ‘“Hollywood” Wixson
Visual Effects Executive Producers
The Bunker Crew
Visual Effects Producer
Digital Production Manager
Jr. Digital Production Manager
Digital Production Coordinator
Digital Production Assistant
Kim Doyle
Paul Kolsanoff
Jaime Norman
Daniel Huerta
Joseph Miller
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor/Colorist
Post Production Supervisor
Visual Effects Editor
Assistant Visual Effects Editors
Aaron Rhodes
Leslie Valentino
Ivan Landau
Anthony Reyna
David Fine
Bob Snyder
Sean Wells
Michael Grawert
Mark Moore
Josh Viers
Peter Lloyd
On Set Technical Coordinator/Compositor
I/O Operators
Lead Concept Artists
The Orphanage Crew
Visual Effects Supervisor
Visual Effects Producer
Digital Production Manager
Production Coordinator
Computer Graphics Supervisors
Animator
Digital Artist
Matte Painter
Compositors
Systems Manager
Systems Engineer
Manager of Resource Administration
Render Wrangler
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Rich McBride
Alex Altrocchi Wolbach
Marny Nahrwold
Nichole Wong
Stephen DeLuca
Jon Harman
Christian Liliedahl
Sean Murphy
Thomas Esmeralda
Can Chang
Kyle McCulloch
Youjin Choung
Jon Green
Heather Abels
David Lloyd
Tim Gross
Joe C. D’Amato
Brad Isdrab
Set Production Coordinator
Set Production Assistant
Armando Kirwin
Daniel Dinning
Pre-Visualization Crew
Producer
Post Production Supervisor
Compositing Supervisor
Compositors
Paul Hettler
Diane Caliva
Alex Prichard
Kirsten Bradfield
Peter Demarest
Mike Kelly
Webster Colcord
Storyboard Artist
Animator
Visual Effects by FUEL VFX
Visual Effects Supervisor
Visual Effects Executive Producer
Visual Effects Producer
Senior Matte & Concept Artist
Lead Compositors
Dave Morley
Jason Bath
Felix Crawshaw
Kurtis Richmond
Sam Cole
Chris Davies
Max Stummer
Matthew Wynne
Compositors
Laura Dubsky
Brad Floyd
Danielle Hession
Demis Lyall-Wilson
Additional Compositors
Carlo Monaghan
Michael Ralla
Tim Walker
Matt Greig
Kyle Goodsell
Matte Painter
CG FX Artists
Lead TD
Lighting Lead
Lead CG Artist
CG Artist
CG Character Modeler
Rigging
Animation
CG Modelers
Visual Effects Editorial & I/O
Camera Tracking/Layout
Systems Administrator
Pipeline/R&D
R&D
- 39 -
Liam Neville
Ean Carr
Luke Bubb
Romain Buignet
Matthew Hermans
Ivan La Rosa
Pawel Olas
Mike Bain
Chris French
Kane Elferink
Michael Orbing
Gerard van Ommen Kloeke
Gael Matchabelli
Simon LeGrand
Nick Kacevski
Michael Chang
Sebastian Fletcher
Claudia Lecaros
Emily Tucker
Dylan Penhale
Luke Cole
An Nguyen
Visual Effects by Digital Dimension
Executive Producer
Visual Effects Producer
Visual Effects Coordinator and Editor
CG Supervisor
Lead Modeler
Modelers
Lead Texture
Texture Artist
Lead Matte Painter
Matte Painter
FX
Lighting Artists
Compositing Supervisor
Ben Girard
Julie Cardinal
Stéphane J.C. Paradis
Christian Garcia
Gaël Jacques
Robert de la Cruz
Patrick Ménard
Nicolas Fortin
Catherine Langevin
Philippe Langlois
Martin Sabran
Sébastien Chartier
Jonathan Germain
Patrick Martel
Jean-Sébastien Ouellet
Marc Morissette
Compositors
Mathieu Chatelier
Daniel Gaudreau
Martin Larrivée
Alexandre Tremblay
Virginie Goulet
Stéphane Rioux
Didier Bertrand
Jean-François Ferland
David Harisson
Stéphane Paradis
Vissal Nguon Ong
Sébastien Gagné
Éloi Brunelle
Claire McLachlan
Tracking
Patrick Lemay
Scot Thomson
Kim Richardson
Jocelyn Hudon
Animation Supervisor
Lead Animator
Visual Effects by RIOT
Visual Effects Supervisor
Digital Effects Supervisor
Executive Producer
Digital Producer
Digital Production Manager
Assistant Digital Production Manager
Production Coordinators
Production Assistant
CG Supervisor
Integration Supervisor
Integration Artist
Textures & Integration
Lead 3D Artist
3D Artists
Lead Modeler
Concept Art and Matte Paintings
Sequence Supervisors
- 40 -
David M.V. Jones
Kelly Bumbarger
Lindsay Burnett
Les G. Jones
Mark Edwards
Dustin Foster
Jennifer Avery
Tony Barger
Marla Neto
Alison Middaugh
Tim Conway
Alexander Tirasongkran
Del DePierro
Jason Yanofsky
Hiro Okubo
Brian Lutge
Shuichi Suzuki
Aaron Sims
Andy Rafael Barrios
Christopher Scott LeDoux
Brian Smallwood
Anthony Kramer
Shane Christopher Wicklund
Robert Adams
Matt Donnan
Cecile Tecson
Sean Looper
Michael Taylor
Marissa Walker
Jose DJ Marquez
Glenn Clyatt
Compositors
Jr Compositors
Roto/Paint
Paint
Pipeline Architect
Production Executive
Production Manager
Production Accountant
Engineer
Visual Effects by Entity FX
Visual Effects Supervisor
Visual Effects Supervisor
Head of Production
Supervising Producer
Visual Effects Producer
Visual Effects Coordinator
Lead Compositors
Mat Beck
Brian Harding
Trent Smith
Dan Rucinski
Jason Sanford
Krista Maryanski
Rob Reinhart
Takashi Takeoka
Kaz Yoshida
David Alexander
Roger Kupelian
Jason Dunn
Rik Panero
Mike (Pharoah) Barrett
Ian Wilson
Matt Collorafice
Suzette Barnett
Dan Blank
Sarah Grossman
Ante Dekovic
Jeremy Renteria
Dax Siplin
Todd Daugherty
Viet Nguyen
Christopher Blazick
Nate Smalley
Aaron Leichter
Nate Ilejay
Lead 3D Environments
Head of 3D
Matte Painter & Conceptual Artists
3D Artists
Compositors
Rotoscope Artists
Head of Technology
Systems Engineering
3D Technical Support
Data I/O
Visual Effects by FURIOUS FX
VFX Supervisor
Kevin Lingenfelser
CG Supervisor
Mark Shoaf
VFX Executive Producer
Scott Dougherty
VFX Producer
Tiffany A. Smith
CG Artists
Chris Mackinnon
Bryan Shepperd
John Baker
Compositors
Sean O’Connor
Kim Pepe
- 41 -
Frank Maurer
Kristine Lankenau
Visual Effects by LOOK Effects Inc.
VFX Supervisor
Max Ivins
VFX Producer
Melinka Thompson-Godoy
Digital Supervisors
Brad Kalinoksi
Buddy Gheen
Digital Compositors
Christian Cardona
Doug Witsken
Andranik Taranyan
Michael Collins
Martha Soehendra
Zachary Lo
Chad Schott
3D Supervisor
Michael Capton
3D Artists
Shawn Lipowski
Antonello Stornelli
Alex Hsu
Visual Effects by Rising Sun Pictures
VFX Supervisor
Tom Proctor
VFX Producer
Martin Wiseman
Senior Matte Painter
David Woodland
CG Supervisor
Carsten Kolve
Compositing Lead
Keith Herft
Animation Lead
Dylan Yeo
FX & Shading Lead
Miles Green
Lighting Lead
Luke Millar
Modeling Lead
Nick Pitt-Owen
VFX Production Manager
Katrin Arndt
VFX Coordinator
Jenny Basen
VFX Editor
Nick Murphy
Additional Visual Effects by Ollin VFX
VFX Supervisor
Charlie Iturriaga
Associate VFX Supervisor
Arriaga Adriana
VFX Producer
Robin D’Arcy
2D Supervisor
Natalia de la Garza
3D Supervisor
Victor Lizarraga
2D Compositor
Jorge Mendoza
Additional Visual Effects by Cinesoup
VFX Supervisor/Producer
John Grower
Compositor
John Carey
Supervising Sound Editor/Designer
Craig Henighan
Sound Mixers
Paul Massey
David Giammarco
Craig Henighan
Supervising Dialogue Editor
Helen Luttrell
Supervising ADR Editor
Jill Purdy MPSE
Sound Effects Designers
Warren Hendriks
Derek Vanderhorst
Paula Fairfield MPSE
Carla Murray MPSE
Foley Artist
Steve Baine
Foley Assistant
Gina Gyles
Rotoscope Artist
- 42 -
Foley Recordist
Additional Foley Editing
Sound Recordists
Peter Persaud
Tim Rakoczy
Tim Gomillion
Dennis Rogers
Re-Recording Engineer
William Stein
Digital Intermediate by Modern VideoFilm Inc.
DI Colorist
Skip Kimball
IQ Artist
Roger Ames Berger
DI Post Supervisor
Zara Roberts
DI Scheduling Manager
Wendy Romo
Digital Imaging
Kris Gregg
VP Feature Post
Pat Repola
Account Executive
Tal Fiala
Main Title Design by PIC
Pamela Green
Jarik Van Sluijs
Florian Bailleul
Sarah Coatts
Julio Ferrario
Storyboards Drawn by
Spirit Logo Designed by
Spirit Meat Chart Illustration by
Frank Miller
Steve Miller
Geof Darrow
Music
Supervising Music Editor
Jeff Carson
Score Recorded and Mixed by
Fred Volger
Scoring Assistant
Krystyna Newman
Orchestration
Greg Jamrok
Electronic Programming Assistant
Marty Frasu
Pro Tools Operator
Thomas D. Graham II
Music Preparation
JoAnn Kane Music Service
Vocalist
Diana Newman
Score Recorded at Newman Stage, Fox Studios
Score Mixed at M5 Studios, Malibu
"Deutschland Uber Alles"
Performed by Captain Helmut Witten
and the German Airforce Band
Written by Joseph Haydn
Courtesy of Legacy International
"Falling in Love Again"
Performed by Christina Aguilera
Produced by Linda Perry
Written by Frederick Hollander and Sammy Lerner
Christina Aguilera appears courtesy of
Sony/BMG Music Entertainment
ODD LOT ENTERTAINMENT
EVP Worldwide Distribution & Acquisitions
- 43 -
Brian O’Shea
EVP Business & Legal Affairs
Senior Vice President Finance
VP Worldwide Marketing and Publicity
Executive, Physical Production
Creative Executive
Accounting Manager
Manager, International Affairs
Executive Assistant to Ms. Del Prete
Assistant to Ms. Del Prete
Office Coordinator for Ms. Pritzker
Assistant to Ms. Pritzker
Assistant To Mr. Lischak
Assistant to Ms. McDonough
Assistant to Mr. Michiel
Assistant to Mr. O’Shea
Aaron Michiel
Natalya Petrosova
Andrew Boyd
Chris Ranta
James Smith
Yvette Pereira
Shirley Kim
Jasmine Mohamed
Mandi Hicks
Marcie Friedman
Erika Pahk
Jamie Abramowitz
Craig Thompson
Nat McCormick
Wei-ning Yu
BATFILM PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Assistant to Mr. Uslan
Batfilm Assistants
Jacqeline Knox
David Uslan
Chad Sugerman
LIONSGATE
Executive Vice President, Production
Donna Sloan
Senior Vice President, Production
John Sacchi
Supervisor of Production
Curtis A. Miller
Supervisor of Production
Rosemary Lara
Manager of Production
Bree Bailey
Senior Vice President, Post Production
Carl Pedregal
Manager, Post Production
Mark W. McCoy
Assistant to Mr. Paseornek
Lindsey Ramey
Assistant to Ms. Sloan
Ami Cohen
Assistant to Mr. Sacchi
Jina Jones
Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs
Robert Melnik
Assistant to Robert Melnik
Megan Hughes
Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations
Wayne Levin
Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs
Charlyn Adkins
Contract Administrator
Bill Jacks
Manager of Production Accounting
Mark Pedante
Attorney
Simon R. Lamb
Co-President, Theatrical Marketing
Tim Palen
Co-President, Theatrical Marketing
Sarah Greenberg
Vice President, Assets and Unit Publicity
Yon Elvira
President of Music
Jay Faires
General Manager & Executive Vice President,
Business Affairs
Lenny Wohl
Music Clearance & Licensing
Jeanne Fay
Senior Coordinator, Music
Diana Beas
Budget Coordinator
Chris Brown
Soundtracks & Digital
Chris Fagot
The Producers Wish To Thank:
- 44 -
Ann Eisner
Carl Gropper
Denis Kitchen
T. Jay O’Brien
Terence Jay O’Brien
Madeline “Chicky” Del Prete
Richard Del Prete
Lexi Alexander
Abby “The Goose” Pucker
Maggie “Snub” Pucker
Jessy “The Bonz” Pucker
Ron Wray
The Film Commission of New Mexico
Lisa Strout
Jennifer Schwalenberg
Ann Lerner
State of New Mexico
Albuquerque Studios
Joyce Smith, Southwest Suites and The Studio Concierge
Suzanne Brace & Lauren Mora, Advantage Rent A Car
Julie Magoon & Gary Medina, Aquila Travel
Wendy Shaw, Candlewood Suites
Yvette Tapp, Mountainair Films Inc.
Ursula Garcia, Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
Imperial Limousine Service
Bulgari
Nokia Mobile Phones
Pepsi
Aquafina
Campari Liquor
Mr. Miller Wishes To Thank:
Button
Neal Adams
Johnny Craig
Geof Darrow
Flint Dille
Jack Kamen
Mark Lichtman
Hildy Mesnik
Paul Pope
Robert Rodriguez
Bob Schreck
Diana Schutz
Jim Shooter
Bill Sienkiewicz
Silenn Thomas
Tyler Wright
Cyclone
Monkeyface
Pickle
Remus
Romulus
Skunk
Stretch
- 45 -
White Gown worn by Eva Mendes designed by Mark Zunino
Book “Jason and the Golden Fleece” © Frances Lincoln Publishers
Crime SuspenStories courtesy © William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.
Production Financing Provided By
Continental Entertainment Capital and Qualia Canyon
Capital Partners, LLC
Insurance Provided by
Completion Guaranty Provided by
AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services, Inc.
International Film Guarantors
Michael Levine
Tracy McCollum
Michael Harker
Additional Production Legal
Babock & Levin, LLP
Travel Arrangements Provided by
Aquila Travel
Chapman Camera Dollies provided by Serious Grippage & Light Co.
Lighting and Grip Equipment Provided by New Mexico Lighting & Grip
Phantom Camera by
Abel Cinetech
Filmed with remote cranes and heads from Panavision Remote Systems
Panavison
[logo]
No. 44585
Motion Picture Association of America
[logo]
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
AFL-CIO
[logo]
This Picture Made Under The Jurisdiction Of
I.A.T.S.E.
Affiliated with A.F.L.-C.I.O.-C.L.C.
Filmed at Albuquerque Studios
American Humane Association monitored the animal action.
No animal was harmed. (AHAD01021)
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names herein are fictitious,
and any similarity to the name, character or history of any person
is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
- 46 -
The persons and events in this motion picture are fictitious.
Any similarity to actual persons or events is unintentional.
This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries.
Any unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and
criminal prosecution.
© 2008 Spirit Films, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Spirit trademark is owned by Will Eisner Studios. Inc.
and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
122208
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