MARCO POLO – Press Information –Biographies
Table of Contents – Biographies
I.
CAST
Ian Somerhalder - Marco Polo
Brian Dennehy – Kublai Khan
Desiree Siahaan – Temulun & Kensai
B.D. Wong - Pedro
Luo Yan - Chabi
Mark Jax – Niccolo
Alan Sherman – Maffeo
Kay Tong Lim – Chenchu
Michael Chow – Chi
II.
PRODUCTION
Kevin Connor – Director
Robert Halmi, Sr. – Executive Producer
Robert Halmi, Jr. – Executive Producer
Uwe Schott – Executive Producer
Matthew O’Connor – Producer
Michael O’Connor – Producer
Shan Tam – Producer
Ron Hutchinson - Writer
Horace Ma – Production Designer
Thomas Chong - Costume Designer
Tom Burstyn – Director of Photography
Lee Wilson – Visual Effects Supervisor
I. MARCO POLO – Cast Biographies
IAN SOMERHALDER (Marco Polo)
Film and television actor Ian Somerhalder, known to millions of viewers worldwide for
his role on the first season of the Emmy Award® winning dramatic series, Lost, stars as
the title character in RHI Entertainment’s historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo.
Somerhalder’s Marco Polo, one of the greatest explorers and historians of all time, is
handsome, strong willed, diplomatic yet not afraid to speak his mind, charming and
opened minded to learn about the world beyond his own Venetian environs. These
attributes allow Marco to be invited to stay in the mysterious East as a guest of ruler
Kublai Khan’s court. Over the course of his years in China, Marco not only learns of
many amazing inventions previously unknown to the West, but also has many life lessons
involving love, honor, courage and respect for cultures not his own.
Displaying astonishing versatility with a wide range of projects, Ian Somerhalder has
made his mark on Hollywood in a short period of time. Portraying Boone in J.J. Abrams’
phenomenal break-out hit television series Lost in its debut season earned him a Screen
Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama
Series. The series also won the Emmy Award® for Best Drama Series and was
nominated for a Golden Globe Award and People's Choice Award.
In the area of feature films, Somerhalder starred in the summer 2006 release Pulse.
Based on the Japanese horror movie Kairo, the film co-starred Kristin Bell and Christina
Milian and was directed by Jim Sonzero. Somerhalder recently wrapped production on
director-writer Aaron Wiederspahn's offbeat drama Sensation of Sight opposite David
Strathairn and Jane Adams. Somerhalder's other film credits include starring in Roger
Avary's The Rules of Attraction opposite James Van Der Beek, Kate Bosworth, Kip
Pardue and Jessica Biel; Irwin Winkler's Life as a House opposite Hayden Christensen,
Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott Thomas; Martin Guigui's Changing Hearts opposite
Lauren Holly and Faye Dunaway and Tony Giglio’s In Enemy Hands opposite William
H. Macy, Jeremy Sisto, and Scott Caan.
Additional television credits for Somerhalder include the leading roles in the series Young
Americans and the television movie Anatomy of a Hate Crime, as well as guest-star roles
on CSI, CSI: Miami, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Smallville.
On stage, Somerhalder starred Off Broadway in Trip Cullman's ensemble, Dog Sees God:
Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, an "unauthorized parody" that follows the travails
of iconic comic strip character Charlie Brown and his “Peanuts” cohorts as adults. He
co-starred with Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eliza Dushku, America Ferrera, Ari Graynor, Logan
Marshall-Green, Keith Nobbs and Kelli Garner.
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BRIAN DENNEHY (Kublai Khan)
Star of film, television and stage, two-time Tony Award® winner Brian Dennehy
portrays Kublai Khan in RHI Entertainment’s historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo.
As grandson of the infamous Genghis Khan and the present ruler, Dennehy’s Khan is a
monarch of enormous power, ego and charisma. Overcoming his initial instincts, Khan
allows a brash young Western barbarian, Marco Polo, to stay on as an envoy of the court.
Through their interactions, both Khan and Polo learn much about each other’s cultural
differences and similarities.
With more than 150 acting credits in film and television, millions throughout the world
have seen Dennehy’s work. However, some of his greatest acclaim has come from his
work as a stage actor. His portrayal of Willy Loman in the 50th anniversary Broadway
revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman earned him a Tony Award®. Performing
the Loman role in a London West End production of the play earned Dennehy an Olivier
Award® for Best Actor. When the project was adapted for cable television, his
performance earned him both a Screen Actors Guild Award® and a Golden Globe
Award®. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award®. He also received a Tony
Award® for his work as the patriarch in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s
Journey Into Night.
Other Broadway credits for Dennehy include a production of Brian Friel’s Translations.
At Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Dennehy appeared in productions of Death of A
Salesman, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, A Touch of the Poet, The Iceman Cometh and
Galileo. He took Iceman to the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Additional theatre credits
include The Cherry Orchard at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Majestic Theatre,
Wisdom Bridge Theatre’s production of Rat In the Skull, as well as Says I at Los
Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum and the Phoenix Theatre in New York.
Dennehy has starred in numerous television movies and miniseries. He received
additional Emmy® nominations for his work in Our Fathers, co-starring Ted Danson and
Christopher Plummer, The Burden of Proof, co-starring Hector Elizando and Mel Harris,
A Killing in a Small Town, co-starring Barbara Hershey, Murder in the Heartland, costarring Tim Roth and Randy Quaid, and for his chilling portrayal of serial killer John
Wayne Gacy in To Catch A Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Story. He starred in the
television movie Perfect Witness, opposite Stockard Channing and Aidan Quinn, scripted
by Ron Hutchinson, who also wrote Marco Polo.
In the feature film arena, Dennehy has co-starred in such hits as Semi-Tough, 10, Rambo:
First Blood, Gorky Park, Never Cry Wolf, Twice In A Lifetime, Cocoon, Silverado, F/X,
Legal Eagles, Best Seller, Presumed Innocent, Tommy Boy and Baz Luhrman’s
Romeo+Juliet. He also starred in Peter Greenaway’s The Belly of an Architect, for which
he received the Chicago Film Festival Award® as Best Actor. He also co-starred in the
hit comedy Tommy Boy. Recent film credits for Dennehy include Assault on Precinct 13
and Tenth & Wolf.
Dennehy’s portrayal of detective Jack Reed in a series of five television movies also
marked his move behind the camera. For the first one, Jack Reed: Badge of Honor, he
acted and served as co-executive producer. The project’s director was Kevin Connor, his
Marco Polo director. For the next four television movies, Jack Reed: A Search For
Justice, Jack Reed: One of our Own, Jack Reed: A Killer Among Us and Jack Reed:
Death and Vengeance he did quad-duty as actor, co-executive producer, director and cowriter. He also did an actor/director/executive producer/writer stint for another television
movie, Shadow of A Doubt. For the television movie Indefensible: The Truth About
Edward Brannigan, he was star, director and executive producer. As an executive
producer/actor, his credits include the award-winning cable adaptation of his stage
triumph, Death of A Salesman, the television movies Warden of Red Rock and Three
Blind Mice, and the television series The Fighting Fitzgeralds.
Dennehy’s work in series television spans nearly thirty years. He has guest-starred on
recent shows like The West Wing and Just Shoot Me, where he had a recurring role as the
blustery and macho father of series regular David Spade. He also appeared on such series
as Miami Vice, Hunter, Knots Landing, Cagney and Lacey, Dallas and M*A*S*H, among
many others.
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DESIREE SIAHAAN (Temulun & Kensai)
Having just completed a starring role in RHI Entertainment’s fantasy miniseries Son of
the Dragon weeks earlier, Desiree Siahann stars again, this time with two roles, in RHI
Entertainment’s new historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo. Siahaan portrays
Temulun, a beautiful young Mongol woman captured by Khan’s soldiers and forced to
become a courtesan in the royal house. Fate turns again as she finds herself the wife of
the Western barbarian, Marco Polo. Although she becomes very fond of Marco, she
never loves him as he loves her. Temulun’s younger sister Kensai was also captured and
brought to the court. As the young girl grows into womanhood, Siahann portrays the
adult Kensai, who also finds her destiny intertwined with Marco’s.
Well known throughout Asia for her work as a television actress, model and host, Desiree
Siahaan stepped into the limelight at age 17 when she won first runner-up in the New
Paper “New Face Contest” in her native Singapore. This led to her appearing in a
number of advertising and public service campaigns in Singapore, as well other countries
throughout the Pacific Rim, including Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and
the Philippines.
Segueing from modeling and commercial assignments to acting roles, Siahaan began
appearing in such Singapore produced programs as the Channel 5 sitcom, Making Love,
the television movie Blue Print, the award-winning Ceceliation, and Troubled In Law.
She also guest starred in such local productions as the sitcom Living With Lydia, Training
Day and Chase and appeared in Arts Central’s production of Stage to Screen Series Travelling Light.
Recently Siahaan was seen on the series Heartlanders, alongside regulars Aaron Aziz
and Vincent Ng. She also hosted the reality series, Villa Wellness. Television audiences
throughout Asia know Siahaan through her starring role in MTV Asia’s first dramatic
action series, Rogue.
In addition to her acting roles and advertising campaigns, Siahaan continues to be known
as a “cover girl” for monthly magazines. She appeared on the front of the premier issue
of Maxim’s Singapore edition, as well as such publications as Her World, Seventeen and
New Man, among many others.
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B.D. WONG (Pedro)
Currently starring on the dramatic series, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, award
winning stage, film and television star B.D. Wong stars as Pedro in the RHI
Entertainment historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo. A Mongol abducted by Khan’s
soldiers, Wong’s Pedro is forced into the role of an indentured servant to Marco. Initially
taken aback by the barbarian Westerner’s ways, over time he comes to see his master as a
friend, and mentors him in his adjustment to life in ancient China. In turn he also learns
and begins to respect the world that Marco comes from.
A San Francisco native, Wong is the only actor ever to have received all five major New
York theater awards for a single role. For his performance in M. Butterfly, his Broadway
debut, he received the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Theater
World Award, the Clarence Derwent Award and the Tony Award®.
Wong came to the attention of television viewers with his role of the resilient prison
priest Father Ray on the acclaimed prison drama, Oz. His other television credits include
a starring role opposite comedienne Margaret Cho in the series All-American Girl and the
telefilm And the Band Played On, as well as guest-starring roles on Welcome to New
York, Chicago Hope, The X-Files, Bless This House and Shannon’s Deal.
Wong has also appeared in more than twenty feature films, including Steven Spielberg’s
Jurassic Park, The Freshman opposite Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, Father of
the Bride (1 & 2), Seven Years in Tibet, Executive Decision, The Salton Sea starring Val
Kilmer and Vincent D’Onofrio and Stay starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts.
Wong can also be heard as the voice of Shang in the Disney animated films Mulan and
Mulan II.
Wong’s New York theater credits also include The Tempest, A Language of Their Own,
As Thousands Cheer and playing Linus in the recent Broadway revival of the musical
You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. For his work in the Roundabout Theatre’s
production of Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures, Wong received a Drama League
nomination for distinguished performance.
Wong published his first book, Following Foo: the Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut
Man (Harper Entertainment), which chronicles his son Jackson’s struggle for life after he
was born 11 weeks premature.
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LUO YAN (Chabi)
Chinese actress, producer, writer and entrepreneur Luo Yan makes her North American
television debut with her portrayal of Chabi in the RHI Entertainment historical drama
miniseries Marco Polo. As Kublai Khan’s number one wife, Yan’s Chabi is beautiful,
gracious and knows her place in the royal household. But underneath the silk robes she
has a steely strength. It is her intervention with Khan on Marco’s behalf that saves the
young explorer from death and allows him to remain in China.
Raised in Shanghai, a teenage Yan went from being a textile worker to one of only
twenty applicants from a pool of 4,800 accepted at China’s top drama school, the
Shanghai Drama Institute where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts. She
appeared in numerous classical and contemporary productions for the Shanghai People’s
Art Theater and the Shanghai Drama Institute, including Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus,
Moliere’s Miser, Resurrection, The Song of A Returning Spring, Carl Marx’s Secret
Story, Love In My Heart and Off Your Veil. Yan received the Young Actress Award
(China’s Tony Awards®) for her stage work.
During these early years as a professional actress in Shanghai, Yan also appeared in
feature films. For her work in The Student Dormitory, Yan was nominated for a
Hundred-Flower Award (China’s Oscars®) as Best Actress and for her role in The Girl In
Red, she garnered another nomination, this time as Best Supporting Actress. She also costarred in Extraordinary Years.
Yan then received a full-scholarship to Boston University where she earned her Masters
In Fine Arts. As a successful BU alumnus, she established the Luo Yan Scholarship,
awarded to female students from Asia studying entertainment related curriculum.
Having worked as a production assistant for three years at Los Angeles Theater Center,
she established her own production company, Silver Dream Productions. The company
co-produced the feature film Midnight Girl in Australia, which Yan starred in. Silver
Dream also produced the animated feature Marco Polo’s Return to Xanado in China.
Yan and her company produced the dramatic feature Pavilion of Women, which she also
wrote and starred in opposite Willem Dafoe. The feature was acquired by Universal /
Focus Features.
Yan’s entrepreneurial acumen has allowed her to form and operate two other companies.
Her Moonstone International, Inc, is a licensed merchandise company with $3 million in
annual sales and her Shanghai Moonstone International Entertainment, located in Beijing,
provides film and television distribution and production services.
Yan’s acting credits for Chinese television include Woman’s Eyes, Lao Jia and His Sonin-Law and On A Journey. She is also the subject of a best selling biography,
Experiencing Hollywood written by Jiang Wei.
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MARK JAX (Niccolo)
Known to theatre, television and film audiences, English actor Mark Jax portrays
Niccolo, father of Marco Polo, in the historical drama miniseries from RHI
Entertainment, Marco Polo. Feeling responsible for having brought his young son to the
court of Kublai Khan, Jax’s Niccolo has the mixed emotions of fearing for his son’s life
and being enormously proud of his independent decision to stay on in China rather than
return home to Venice.
Jax has an ongoing relationship with Polo director Kevin Connor, executive producer
Robert Halmi, Sr. and RHI Entertainment. He also appeared in Frankenstein, In the
Beginning and Mary, Mother of Jesus, all produced by RHI Entertainment (under its
previous moniker Hallmark Entertainment). Jax also appeared in the company’s original
Merlin miniseries, executive produced by Halmi, Sr.
Other television movies, miniseries and series credits for Jax include Casualty, The Vice,
Doctors III, Jupiter Moon, The Two of Us, Family Affair, A View From the Bridge, The
Road to 1984, Grange Hill and Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, among others.
Jax has appeared in Clive Donner’s feature film Stealing Beauty. He also had a lead role
in director Peter Litten’s feature Living Doll.
Jax has credits in contemporary and classical theatre on the local, regional and national
level throughout England. These include such productions as Mirror For Princes,
Jamaica Inn, Barbarians, Laughter On The 23rd Floor, Macbeth, Peter Pan, Romeo and
Juliet, Mansfield Park, Rope, A Christmas Carol, The Dresser, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and The Futurist, among many others.
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ALAN SHEARMAN (Maffeo)
English actor, writer and director Alan Shearman portrays Marco’s uncle Maffeo in the
RHI Entertainment historical drama miniseries Marco Polo. Jealous of his nephew’s
youth, openness and social graces, Shearman’s Maffeo is a voice of negativity and doubt
as the Polos trek to the exotic East and enter the court of Kublai Khan. Working with
director Kevin Connor, executive producer Robert Halmi, Jr. and RHI Entertainment on
Polo is a reunion of sorts, as he also appeared in the adventure miniseries Blackbeard for
the same creative team.
Based in the United States for the past thirty-plus years, Shearman began his professional
career in theatre in his native England. Once stateside, he was a founding member of the
theatre group Low Moan Spectacular where he created the hit comedies El Grande De
Coca Cola, Bullshot Crummond and Footlight Frenzy. He made his film debut in the
Joel Schumacher comedy, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, starring Lily Tomlin. When
George Harrison’s production company produced the film adaptation of Bullshot
Crummond, now titled Bullshot, Shearman not only portrayed the title character but cowrote the screenplay as well. He also starred in the film adaptation of his Footlight
Frenzy. Some of his other film credits include The Death of Salvador Dali, John Tucker
Must Die, Dreamchild, Water and Escape From New York.
For the television movie The Apocalypse Watch, based on the popular Robert Ludlum
novel, Shearman played the character of Jones, and served as second unit director, under
Kevin Connor, who also directed him in Marco Polo. Shearman’s affiliation with
Connor includes being a co-writer on the miniseries The Seventh Scroll and acting roles
in Connor’s miniseries In the Beginning, his television movies Santa, Jr., Just Desserts, A
Boyfriend for Christmas, and his recently completed feature Domestic Import.
Other projects that found Shearman working on both sides of the camera as actor and
writer include the series Mog and the parody feature 2001: A Space Travesty. Remaining
off-camera, Shearman co-wrote the comedy feature The Shrimp on the Barbie. His other
television acting credits include Tracey Ullman’s Tracey Takes On series, the series Spy
TV and the television movie Murder Without Conviction.
In addition to his numerous on-camera roles, Shearman has an extensive list of voice
credits in both live action and animated feature films and television projects. These
include Tomb Raider: Legend, X Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, Batman: New
Times, Rave Master, Onimusha 3, Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown, The Lord of the
Rings: The War of the Ring, Family Guy, A Christmas Carol and Titantic Explorer.
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KAY TONG LIM (Chenchu)
Another actor who appeared in RHI Entertainment’s recently completed fantasy
miniseries, Son of the Dragon, Singaporean film, television and stage actor Kay Tong
Lim now portrays Chenchu, in RHI Entertainment’s historical drama miniseries, Marco
Polo. A member of Kublai Khan’s court, Chenchu acts as an intermediary and mentor to
Marco once he has been granted permission to stay on in China and learn more about this
mysterious new world.
Balancing his work in film and television with his stage work as an actor, as well as a
founder and director of the Singapore-based Theatreworks theatre company, Lim has
amassed a large list of credits in all three mediums. Holding a Bachelor of Arts with
honors in drama from Hull University in England, Lim also has a diploma in acting from
the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. His credits encompass
Asian based productions, as well as many produced throughout North America and the
United Kingdom.
His feature film roles include director Dijinn Ong’s Perth; A Sharp Pencil for director
Gallen Mei; portraying the chief investigating detective opposite Kate Beckinsale and
Claire Danes in Jonathan Kaplan’s drug-smuggling crime drama, Brokedown Palace;
director Rob Cohen’s biopic, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story; the romantic comedy, It
Could Happen to You, starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda; Christopher Crowe’s Off
Limits; director Jim Godard’s Shanghai Surprise; among others.
Television audiences worldwide have seen Lim’s work in such projects as the HBO
television movie, A Bright Shining Lie; reuniting with director Rob Cohen on his
television movie, Vanishing Son; guest-starring on the long-running hit sleuth series,
Murder She Wrote, starring Angela Lansbury; guest-starring on Christopher Crowe’s
series, H.E.L.P.; appearing on the Australian mystery series Ruth Rendall Mystery: The
Speaker of Mandarin; the WWII miniseries, Tanamera: Lion of Singapore; and the epic
miniseries, James Clavell’s Noble House. Lim was also a series regular as Charlie Tay
Wee Kiat for six seasons on the Singaporean television series, Growing Up. He also
appeared on the sci-fi series, Flatland, and the comedy series, Brand New Towkay. Lim
acted as a narrator and presenter for True Files as well as doing narration for TAB TV.
In addition to his Theatreworks company, Lim has appeared on various stages in
Singapore and throughout Asia, as well as Hong Kong, England, Scotland and the United
States. He has worked with directors David Henry Hwang, Kuo Pao Kun, and Ong Keng
Sen on a number of occasions. Among the plays Lim has starred in include Origins,
FOB, Dance and the Railroad, The Coffin Is Too Big For The Hole, No Parking On Odd
Days, Art, Longing, House of Sleeping Beauties, Sansho the Bailif, Heavenly Bento and
Quills.
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MICHAEL CHOW (Chi)
Beginning work on RHI Entertainment’s historical drama miniseries Marco Polo only
weeks after completing a role in another RHI Entertainment miniseries, Son of the
Dragon, Michael Chow portrays Chi. Chow’s character, a court functionary, serves as a
matchmaker of sorts, when he determines that beautiful courtesan Temulan, having
served the royal leader Khan, is to be given to the visiting Westerner Marco Polo to
become his wife.
Born and raised in Canada, where he graduated from York University of Toronto with a
degree in psychology. Chow, also credited as Michael Chow Min-Kin, made the decision
to move to Hong Kong and pursue an acting career post college. Although his Cantonese
language skills were limited and he was only in the early stages of training as an actor
when he arrived in Hong Kong. Chow began working in film and worked his way up the
ladder. He has subsequently gone on to star in more than 30 features and his overall film
credits total more than 80. Many of these roles have blended his abilities as a dramatic
and comedic actor with his physical prowess.
Chow made his feature debut with a role in director Philip Chen’s comedy, Chocolate
Inspector. In addition to his extensive list of acting credits, Chow has also written,
produced and directed some of the projects he’s acted in. In the comedy Kung Phooey!,
Chow not only starred, but produced the film as well. For the film Mr. Mumble, he
served as star, producer, writer and co-director. For Spirit of the Dragon, he again multitasked as star, writer and co-director on the project. More recent feature acting credits
include The Era of the Vampire aka Tsui Hark’s Vampire Hunters, Dou Hap Yi Yan Ding
Sing Tin, Mint Condition and Snakeheads. Earlier credits include Forever Yours, Enjoy
Yourself Tonight, Asian Connection, Thief King, and He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,
among many others.
While Marco Polo and Son of the Dragon mark Chow’s first North American television
miniseries, he has appeared in such Chinese based projects as Tou Du aka Human Cargo,
a story on illegal immigration, as well as the television movie Love In Shanghai, among
others.
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II. Marco Polo – Production Biographies
KEVIN CONNOR - Director
With a career spanning more than three decades, directing the historical drama miniseries
Marco Polo, is only his latest collaboration with executive producers Robert Halmi, Sr.,
Robert Halmi, Jr., and RHI Entertainment. He most recently directed their adventure
miniseries Blackbeard, starring Angus MacFadyen in the title role and a cast including
Richard Chamberlain and Rachel York.
Connor has amassed an impressive list of directorial credits in television movies,
miniseries and feature films. His other collaborations with RHI Entertainment (or it’s
earlier moniker Hallmark Entertainment) include the miniseries Frankenstein, featuring
Donald Sutherland and Julie Delpy and the biblical miniseries, In the Beginning, starring
Martin Landau, Jacqueline Bisset, Bill Campbell and Eddie Cibrain. He also directed the
company’s television movie, Mary and Jesus, which included Polo co-star Mark Jax in
the cast.
Other miniseries credits for Connor include North and South: Book II with an all-star cast
including Patrick Swayze and Kirstie Alley, Mistral’s Daughter starring Stacy Keach and
Stefanie Powers, The Apocalypse Watch with Patrick Bergin, John Shea and Virginia
Madsen, and The Seventh Scroll, co-written by Polo co-star Alan Shearman. A partial
list of his television movies include Santa, Jr., Just Desserts, A Boyfriend for Christmas,
The Little Riders, Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, The Old Curiosity Shop, Diana: Her
True Story, The Hollywood Detective and Mary, Mother of God. He directed Polo co-star
Brian Dennehy in one of his Jack Reed series of television movies, Jack Reed: Badge of
Honor. He also directed three of the Hallmark Channel’s McBride mystery movies
starring John Laroquette, McBride: It’s Murder, Madam, McBride: Murder Past
Midnight and McBride: The Chameleon Murder. Connor has directed episodes of
numerous popular television series including Moonlighting, Hart to Hart, Hotel,
Remington Steele, Lazarus Man, Dirty Dozen: The Series and Space: 1999.
Connor’s feature directorial career began with the horror anthology From Beyond the
Grave. The cast included horror genre icons Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance, as
well as Margaret Leighton and Diana Dors. He directed film adaptations of two classic
Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, The Land That Time Forgot and At Earth’s Core, as well
as the camp horror classic, Motel Hell, starring Rory Calhoun. Additional feature credits
include Arabian Adventure, Trial By Combat and The House Where Evil Dwells.
Connor recently completed production on the feature Domestic Import, with Polo actor
Alan Shearman among the cast.
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ROBERT HALMI, SR. - Executive Producer
Robert Halmi, Sr., of RHI Entertainment, LLC (formerly Hallmark Entertainment, LLC),
is described in his 1999 Peabody Award citation as "perhaps the last of the great network
television impresarios." TV Guide calls him "TV's master showman." These and other
descriptions sit comfortably on the shoulders of one of the industry's most prolific and
respected producers; a man who, in little more than two decades, has created a signature
niche in the television business, producing quality, family-friendly long form
entertainment.
Halmi has produced nearly 200 television films, miniseries and motion pictures,
including five-time Emmy Award® winning The Josephine Baker Story, Gypsy (Bette
Midler), Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward) and Gulliver's Travels
(Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen), another winner of five Emmy® Awards.
More recently Halmi was honored by Reed MIDEM with a Lifetime Achievement Award
at the 2004 MIPTV international market in Cannes, France. While there, he received the
city of Cannes’ Palme D’Or, from the Mayor of Cannes, Bernard Brochand, at a special
event held in his honor at the Villa Domergue. That same week he was also was named
Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Letters by the French government, the country’s
highest honor in the fields of art and culture.
Robert Halmi's "event" productions include Arabian Nights (Rufus Sewell, Dougray
Scott, John Leguizamo, Mili Avital), Alice in Wonderland (Tina Majorino, Martin Short,
Miranda Richardson), Cleopatra (Leonor Varela, Billy Zane, Timothy Dalton),
Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment (Ben Kingsley, Patrick Dempsey), Don Quixote (John
Lithgow, Bob Hoskins, Vanessa Williams, Isabella Rossellini), In Cold Blood (Anthony
Edwards, Eric Roberts, Sam Neill), Jason and the Argonauts (Jason London, Dennis
Hopper, Frank Langella), Merlin (Sam Neill, Isabella Rossellini, Martin Short, Miranda
Richardson), Moby Dick (Patrick Stewart, Gregory Peck), Noah's Ark (Jon Voight, Mary
Steenburgen, F. Murray Abraham) The Odyssey (Armand Assante, Greta Scaachi) and
The 10th Kingdom (John Larroquette, Scott Coen, Kimberly Williams).
Triumphs from recent seasons include the Emmy Award® winning and technically
groundbreaking Dinotopia, Animal Farm (Pete Postlethwaite, with the voices of Patrick
Stewart, Kelsey Grammer, Ian Holm), Dreamkeeper (August Schellenberg), King of
Texas (Patrick Stewart, Marcia Gay Harden), The Prince and the Pauper (Aidan Quinn),
and Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (Miranda Richardson).
2004 was truly a benchmark year, ushering in several major Halmi productions including
the highly acclaimed The Lion in Winter (Glenn Close, Patrick Stewart) for Showtime, a
musical version of A Christmas Carol (Kelsey Grammer, Jason Alexander, Jesse L.
Martin) for NBC, Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven (John Voight, Jeff
Daniels, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Imperioli) for ABC and Legend of Earthsea (Isabella
Rossellini, Danny Glover, Shawn Ashmore, Kristin Kruek) for The Sci Fi Channel.
In 2005-06, Halmi continued to churn out epic dramas including Human Trafficking
(Mira Sorvino, Donald Sutherland) for Lifetime and The Ten Commandments (Dougray
Scott, Omar Sharif, Naveen Andrews) for ABC, as well as Merlin’s Apprentice (Sam
Neill, Miranda Richardson, John Reardon), a sequel to the hit miniseries Merlin, and the
sci-fi thriller Final Days of Planet Earth (Daryl Hannah, Gil Bellows, Campbell Scott).
Having wrapped principal photography only weeks earlier on another miniseries, Son of
the Dragon (John Reardon, David Carradine), Halmi and RHI Entertainment began
production on Marco Polo. Both of these miniseries were shot in China and involved
much of the same production teams. This successful formula was done previously with
same producing team on Merlin’s Apprentice and Final Days of Planet Earth in
Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
The Hungarian-born Halmi was active in the anti-Nazi underground in World War II, and
later was arrested by the Communists when they took over the country. He came to the
U.S. in 1950 and worked for many years as an award-winning photographer for Life
Magazine. In 1994, Halmi sold his company, RHI Entertainment, to Hallmark Cards and
in January 2006 Halmi Sr. together with his son, Robert Halmi Jr. and affiliates Kelso &
Company, acquired all ownership interest in Hallmark Entertainment LLC and relaunched the company as RHI Entertainment, LLC.
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ROBERT HALMI, JR. - Executive Producer
Emmy Award® winner Robert Halmi Jr. currently serves as President of RHI
Entertainment, LLC (formerly Hallmark Entertainment, LLC). His career as a film
producer began in 1980 with Wilson's Reward, which garnered numerous awards,
including a gold medal at the Houston Film Festival. He has produced more than 100
movies and miniseries for television, including Dreamkeeper, Dinotopia, Arabian Nights,
The 10th Kingdom, Cleopatra, Alice in Wonderland, The Baby Dance, and Lonesome
Dove, which earned seven Emmy® Awards and a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries.
Recent Halmi, Jr. “event” productions include Earthsea, Mitch Albom’s The Five People
You Meet in Heaven, King Solomon’s Mines, La Femme Musketeer, Frankenstein,
Frederick Forsyth’s Icon, Supernova, Mysterious Island and The Poseidon Adventure.
In 1984, at age 26, Halmi Jr. became President of RHI Entertainment Inc. (RHI) a
publicly traded entertainment company founded by his father. In 1994, RHI was sold to
Hallmark Cards Inc. and Halmi Jr. became President and CEO of Hallmark
Entertainment, the successor to RHI. For over the past decade, Hallmark Entertainment
has remained the largest supplier of movies and miniseries in the television industry,
garnering more Emmy® nominations for television movies than any other production
company in the history of television. Under Halmi Jr.’s guidance, Hallmark
Entertainment produced over 2,000 hours of television programming. These shows
received 448 Emmy® nominations and garnered 104 Emmy® Awards.
From 1994-2005, Hallmark Entertainment provided four of the top five highest rated US
miniseries and movies made for television, including 2004’s highest rated original movie,
Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Hallmark Entertainment
productions have also topped the ratings charts of the major basic cable networks,
Earthsea for SciFi Channel (their highest rated miniseries in 2005), Single Santa Seeks
Mrs. Claus for Hallmark Channel (highest rated in the history of the network at the time),
and most recently Lifetime television with Human Trafficking, the highest rated
miniseries on basic cable for 2005.
In 1995, Halmi Jr. was instrumental in forming Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which owns
and operates pay television channels across the globe dedicated to high quality, broad
appeal, entertainment programming. In 2000, Crown Media went public on the NASDAQ
stock exchange. To date, Crown Media has launched channels in more than 122 countries
and in 25 languages.
In January 2006, Halmi Jr. along with members of senior management and affiliates
Kelso & Company, a private investment firm, acquired all the ownership interest in
Hallmark Entertainment, LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallmark Cards) and relaunched the company as RHI Entertainment, LLC.
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UWE SCHOTT – Executive Producer
A prolific producer of television movies and features in his native Germany, Uwe
Schott’s credits also include a number of English-language projects. The historical
drama Marco Polo marks the second miniseries collaboration for Schott with RHI
Entertainment, executive producers Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., producers
Matthew O’Connor, Michael O’Connor and Shan Tam. He also served as executive
producer on the RHI Entertainment fantasy miniseries, Son of the Dragon with the same
team. Both projects were produced back-to-back on location in China.
German audiences best know Schott for his work as producer of Verbrechen des
Professor Capellari, a continuing series of television movies. These crime dramas center
on the sleuthing skills of title character Professor Viktor Capellari, portrayed by Friedrich
Von Thun. With a total of 15 movies to date, they began with 1998’s Verbrechen des
Capellari: Still ruht der See, Die, with the most recent outing being 2004’s Verbrechen
des Professor Capellari: Der letze Vorhang, Die.
Schott has also produced such English-language features as the family action adventure
Catch That Kid, directed by Bart Freundlich and the romantic comedy Venus and Mars,
co-starring Lynn Redgrave, Michael Weatherly and Julie Bowen. Schott also produced
the television movie Hart to Hart: Til Death Us Do Part. Starring Stefanie Powers and
Robert Wagner, audiences had the opportunity to enjoy a new crime solving adventure
with the wealthy, glamorous Harts, as they did throughout the run of their popular 1980’s
television series, Hart to Hart.
Among Schott’s other projects are the German features Cowgirl, Half Past Dead
(Halbtot), Ukulele Blues and Deadly Measures (Im Sog Des Bosen). He also executive
produced the German television series Typisch Sophie.
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MATTHEW O’CONNOR – Producer
Veteran filmmaker Matthew O’Connor, whose credits include award winning feature
films, television movies, miniseries and music videos, continues his decade-long
association with the Halmis and RHI Entertainment with his production of the historical
drama miniseries, Marco Polo. It is their thirteenth project together. O’Connor and the
producing team had completed principal photography on another RHI miniseries, Son of
the Dragon only weeks before shooting began on Polo. These two latest miniseries were
O’Connor’s first experience with shooting on location in China. Being in pre-production
on one project while another one was still shooting was not a new concept for O’Connor.
During the summer and fall of 2005 in his home base of Vancouver, B.C., O’Connor,
shot two miniseries back-to-back: the contemporary sci-fi thriller Final Days of Planet
Earth and the Camelot themed magical adventure Merlin’s Apprentice, both for Hallmark
Entertainment (now RHI Entertainment).
During his 25 years in the film industry he has worked his way through the production
ranks to become a leading producer and film executive. He is also a Partner in the
production and financing company Reunion Pictures.
With early credits as production manager and assistant director to his name, by the mid
1980’s O’Connor had formed Metro Pictures International, which produced music videos
for Long John Baldry, Poisoned and numerous others performing artists. Metro won two
West Coast music awards for best video and went on to produce a feature presentation for
The Canadian Pavilion at Expo ’86 in Vancouver, B.C.
O’Connor later founded Pacific Motion Pictures (PMP), which became one of Canada’s
largest and most respected motion pictures companies producing more that 80 films with
combined production budgets of $750 million. PMP later joined forces with other
entertainment powerhouses to form Sextant Entertainment Group, a diversified media
group in Vancouver B.C. where O’Connor spent two years as president of Sextant before
becoming Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Having produced more than 100 hours of long form television, O’Connor’s projects have
garnered numerous award nominations and wins. He received the prestigious Peabody
Award for the television movie The Baby Dance, produced in partnership with Jodie
Foster’s Egg Pictures. His television movies and miniseries have garnered him
nominations for the Emmys®, Golden Globes®, Genies® (Canadian Oscars) and Gemini
Awards® (Canadian Emmys). In 2003, O’Connor won the Gemini for Best Television
Movie/Miniseries for the docudrama 100 Days in the Jungle.
The first collaboration between O’Connor and Hallmark Entertainment was the television
movie Captains Courageous, starring Robert Urich in 1996. O’Connor was nominated
for a Gemini Award ® for producing and the project won in the categories of costume
design and photography. Other miniseries and television movies collaborations for
O’Connor and the Halmis include Earthsea, Dreamkeeper, The Colt, Snow White: The
Fairest of Them All, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Voyage of the Unicorn and
Snow Queen.
In the area of theatrical features, O’Connor has produced films for such major studios as
Columbia Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Tri-Star. Magic In the Water, a fantasy
adventure starring Mark Harmon and Joshua Jackson won Genie Awards in sound and
cinematography. Other films include Kiss The Sky starring William Petersen and Gary
Cole, the comedy thriller Masterminds with a cast headed by Patrick Stewart, the
romantic drama Bliss starring Craig Sheffer, Sheryl Lee and Terence Stamp, and A Boy
Called Hate, starring James Caan and Elliott Gould.
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MICHAEL O’CONNOR – Producer
Michael O’Connor is a 30-year veteran of the entertainment business with a wide range
of experience that has carried him well into becoming one of Vancouver’s most sought
after producers. The historical drama miniseries Marco Polo marks his ninth
collaboration with the Halmis. He and the others on the producing team of the miniseries
wrapped principal photography on another RHI Entertainment miniseries, the fantasy Son
of the Dragon only weeks earlier. Both of these projects were shot on location in China,
a first for O’Connor. Having the pre-production phase for Polo in progress while still
shooting Dragon was nothing new for O’Connor. During the summer and fall of 2005,
he did the same back-to-back production schedule shooting the contemporary sci-fi
thriller miniseries Final Days of Planet Earth and the magical Camelot themed miniseries
Merlin’s Apprentice in his home base of Vancouver, B.C.
O’Connor began his career in the art department of numerous acclaimed theater and film
productions and went on to become one of the top set decorators in western Canada. His
credits in this area include the Oscar® winning dramas The Accused, starring Jodie Foster
and Children of a Lesser God, starring Marlee Matlin and William Hurt. He worked on a
number of feature films, television series and movies for television, including Knight
Moves, Palace Guard, Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster, Sin and Redemption and
Don’t Talk to Strangers. For his work as set decorator on TriStar’s adventure fantasy
feature Magic In the Water, starring Mark Harmon and Joshua Jackson, O’Connor was
nominated for a Genie Award® (Canadian Oscars).
By the mid 1990’s, O’Connor made the transition into producing, starting as an associate
producer on the comedy thriller feature Masterminds, with a cast headlined by Patrick
Stewart. He began building a reputation for his expertise in post-production, particularly
those with complex visual effects. His first project with Robert Halmi, Sr. was serving as
post-production supervisor on Snow White: The Fairest of the Them All. As a producer,
O’Connor’s other collaborations with the Halmis include miniseries Earthsea, Voyage of
the Unicorn, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York and Snow Queen. The various projects
O’Connor has produced over his 30 years in the industry have garnered numerous
Emmy®, Genie® and Gemini® (Canadian Emmys) nominations.
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SHAN TAM – Producer
Having just collaborated with RHI Entertainment, executive producers Robert Halmi, Sr.,
Robert Halmi, Jr. and Uwe Schott, and producers Matthew O’Connor and Michael
O’Connor as a producer on the fantasy miniseries, Son of the Dragon, Tam continues her
association with them on a second miniseries shot on location in China, the historical
drama Marco Polo. Born in Hong Kong and living in Canada, producer Shan Tam has
been active in film and television on both sides of the Pacific for two decades where her
work has earned her multiple awards and numerous nominations.
Tam recently produced Julia Kwan’s inaugural feature, Eve and the Fire Horse, which
was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The film has also
appeared at other festivals throughout the world and has won several other awards.
A solid working relationship with Asian producers afforded Tam the opportunity to
produce the first feature co-production between Canada and Hong Kong with Young
Offenders in 1993. She also produced the second co-production between the two nations
with the feature Lunch With Charles. The film garnered a Genie Award® (Canadian
Oscars) nomination and won three Leo Awards (awarding excellence in film and
television for projects produced in British Columbia). For producing the one-hour
documentary Made In China, Tam was the recipient of the Canada Award at the 16th
annual Gemini Awards® (Canadian Emmys). She also recently produced the
documentaries Call It Karma and Hong Kong Express, both shot primarily in Asia.
Tam continues to promote film cultures across the Pacific. She was on the advisory
committee for Telefilm Canada and BC Film to develop Canada Asia co-productions. In
1999, she organized a Canadian Film Showcase which sold-out at the Shanghai
International Film Festival. Tam co-organized two national tours of the Chinese Film
Festival and served as a committee member for the Chinese Cultural Centre organizing
their annual film festival.
Over the years, Tam has line produced a number of international film productions
including Uwe Boll’s upcoming epic fantasy Dungeon Siege, Jackie Chan’s blockbuster
movie Rumble In The Bronx, and Andy Lau’s Savior Of The Soul II. She has worked
with such acclaimed film talent as Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-Fat, Yuen Wo-Ping and
Cory Yuen. Her projects have taken her to numerous countries in Europe, Asia, North
and Central America.
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RON HUTCHINSON – Writer
Ron Hutchinson, a versatile award winning writer, known for his works in film,
television and stage brought the story of one of history’s best known explorers to script
form with RHI Entertainment’s historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo. This is only the
latest collaboration with RHI Entertainment and executive producer Robert Halmi, Sr.
and Robert Halmi, Jr., with Hutchinson having written their recent ABC miniseries, The
Ten Commandments, starring Dougray Scott as Moses.
Hutchinson won an Emmy Award® for co-writing Murderers Among Us: The Simon
Wiesenthal Story, starring Ben Kingsley. He won a Cable Ace® Screenwriting Award
for his teleplay of Dead Man Out, starring Ruben Blades, Samuel L. Jackson and Danny
Glover. For the bio drama The Burning Season, starring Raul Julia as Brazilian activist
Chico Mendes, Hutchinson received the Humanitas Award® for his teleplay, as well as
an Emmy® nomination. His teleplay for the WWII historical drama The Tuskegee
Airmen, with a cast including Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding, Jr., garnered him
another Emmy® nomination. Most recently, Hutchinson, serving as an executive
producer, received an Emmy® nomination for the miniseries, Traffic. Inspired by the
acclaimed Oscar® winning feature film, he also wrote the miniseries’ teleplay.
Other award-winning television projects written or co-written by Hutchinson include The
Josephine Baker Story, starring Lynn Whitfield as the legendary chanteuse; Against The
Wall, dramatizing the Attica Prison riots, directed by John Frankenheimer and starring
Samuel L. Jackson, Kyle MacLachlan and Fredric Forrest; and Fatherland, starring
Rutger Hauer and Miranda Richardson and based on the best-selling novel depicting the
post WWII years had Hitler and the Nazi’s won the war.
Hutchinson co-wrote the television movie Perfect Witness, featuring Marco Polo co-star
Brian Dennehy, along with Aidan Quinn and Stockard Channing. Other television
movies and miniseries credits for him include Prisoner of Honor, The Marksman, Bird of
Prey, Bird of Prey 2, Bull Week, as well as the television series Unnatural Causes,
Connie and Play For Today. He is also working on the upcoming television projects
Darwin’s Children and Touched by Fire.
In the feature film area, Hutchinson’s credits include the screenplay for director John
Frankenheimer’s remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau, starring Marlon Brando and Val
Kilmer. He recently worked on the screenplay for the remake of adventure drama, The
Flight of the Phoenix. Hutchinson has also had exclusive writing deals with Sony
Pictures, Dreamworks and HBO.
Hutchinson’s writings for the legitimate stage include Rat In the Skull, which appeared at
the Royal Court Theatre, Wisdom Bridge, Public Theatre of NY and LA’s Mark Taper
Forum; an adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Flight at the Royal National Theatre;
Head/Case staged at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Soho Theatre. His play
Moonlight and Magnolias premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. When the
production was staged at New York’s Manhattan Theatre Club, it received the Outer
Circle Critics John Gassner Award for Best New American Play of the 2004 - 2005
theatre season. The play was also produced at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre.
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HORACE MA – Production Designer
With more than two decades of experience with art design, set design and props design
and numerous Chinese film credits as a production designer and art director, Horace Ma
collaborated with RHI Entertainment on their historical drama miniseries Marco Polo.
Based in Hong Kong where he also studied film production design and art, and fluent in
English, Cantonese and Mandarin, the miniseries marks Ma’s first North American
produced project.
Ma studied commercial design at Hong Kong’s First Institute of Art & Design, as well as
art design and product design at Hong Kong Polytechnic before he launched his
professional career. He later studied computer animation and digital effects at the City
University of Hong Kong.
One of Ma’s earliest credits, the historical drama Rogue, for director Stanley Kwan,
garnered him a Golden Horse Award for outstanding production design. His talents on
the film set allowed him to have ongoing collaboration with a number of feature
directors. With director Danny Lee, he worked on the drama Thank You Sir and the
action film Red Shield. Ma worked with director Gordon Chan on a number films,
including the comedies Fight Back to School, King of Beggars and Game Kids as well as
the dramas Long and Winding Road and Okinawa Rendezvous, and the action films First
of Legend and Thunder Bolt. He collaborated with Wong Pak Man on his drama Final
Justice and his comedy The Night Riders. With Cheung Tan Siu, he worked on the
comedies Inspector Pink Dragon, Never Ending Summer and She Start the Fire. For
director and action star Sammo Hung, he did A Nice Guy and Once Upon A Time in
America. He did the comedy Legend of the Dragon and the period drama Ten Brothers 2
with Lee Luk Chee Tailik. Ma also collaborated with Daniel Lee on his dramas Fighter’s
Blue, Till Death Do Us Part, Dragon Squad and Star Runner.
Ma’s film work also includes Police Story 2 for director-star Jackie Chan, as well as Cory
Yuen’s Enter The Eagles, and Joe Ma’s Lion Roar. His credits also include Project S,
Dr. Lamb and Untold Story. His expertise in creating production design for period pieces
has been seen in such films as director Stephen Sin’s The Great Conqueror’s Concubine,
Tony Au’s Au Revoir, Mon Amour, Ip’s Elixir of Love, Derek Yee’s Cross Road, Marco
Serafini’s House of Harmony and Sergey Bodrov’s Mongol.
Ma’s production design talents were seen in the television series Yellow Thread Street for
Yorkshire TV Productions. He has also worked in the area of television commercials,
including campaigns for such companies as McDonald’s, Motorola, Pizza Hut, IBM,
Microsoft and General Electric.
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THOMAS CHONG - Costume Designer
Having designed costumes for numerous major features produced in China and starring
some of the biggest names in Asian cinema, Thomas Chong continues his collaboration
with RHI Entertainment on the historical drama miniseries Marco Polo. The new
miniseries began only weeks after Chong wrapped production on another RHI
Entertainment miniseries, Son of the Dragon. These two miniseries marks the first time
that Chong has designed for any English language produced television projects.
Chong’s costume designs have appeared in such features and television projects as The
Touch, directed by Peter Pao and starring Michelle Yeoh; Fearless, directed by Ronnie
Yu and starring Jet Li; The Myth, directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan;
Armour of God II, directed by and starring Jackie Chan; Who Am I, co-directed by Jackie
Chan and Benny Chan; three Ringo Lim directed projects – School on Fire, Wild Search,
Undeclared War; Better Tomorrow III, directed by Tsui Hark and starring Chow Yun
Fat; among others.
For The Legend of Zu, another Tsui Hark feature, in addition to the costumes, Chong also
was the production designer and was awarded a Golden Horse Award. He also received a
nomination for his production design work on Hark’s Green Snake, starring Maggie
Cheung, and another nomination for his design work on Waiting Alone for director
Dayyan Eng.
A graduate from Hong Kong Polytechnic, having majored in commercial design, Chong
worked as an art director and creative director at major international advertising agencies.
He served as Image Director for such organizations and programs as Brain Child
Productions, ATV’s Miss Asia Beauty Pageant, the Future Idol singing contest, and
Guangzhou’s Oriental Paradise Theme Park. Chong continues to provide his image
consulting services to a wide array of clubs, restaurants and cafes throughout China.
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TOM BURSTYN - Director of Photography
Having wrapped principal photography only weeks earlier on another RHI Entertainment
miniseries also shot entirely on location in China, Son of the Dragon, Tom Burstyn
reunited with the producing team and served as director of photography on their new
historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo. This project marked the third time that the
company, executive producer Robert Halmi and producers Matthew O’Connor and
Michael O’Connor completely shot a project on the high definition video format, or HD
as it is commonly known in the industry. Son of the Dragon was also shot in the format,
with Final Days of Planet Earth, a contemporary science fiction thriller miniseries shot in
Vancouver, B.C. in 2005 the very first HD project for Burstyn with RHI and the
producing team.
Based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Burstyn is known as one of the premier
cinematographers working with the HD process. He has also amassed an extensive body
of work using traditional film cameras.
Beginning with a documentary short, Flash William, which he also directed, Burstyn was
on his way to amassing an impressive list of credits in both feature films and television.
His first television project was the miniseries, Tales of the Klondike. Other television
credits in this period included Broken Vows, Ford: The Man and the Machine, Foxfire,
Leap of Faith, Empire City, Silent Motive, A Child Lost Forever: The Jerry Sherwood
Story and Hush Little Baby.
Early feature film credits for Burstyn include The Lost Tribe, Heavenly Bodies, Native
Son, La Grenouille et la Baleine (aka The Tadpole and the Whale), Arctic Blue, The
Lotus Eaters, Andre, and Exquisite Tenderness.
Burstyn collaborated with Son of the Dragon producer Matthew O’Connor on the feature,
Magic In The Water. Starring Mark Harmon and Joshua Jackson, the family fantasy film
was nominated for a number of Genie Awards® (Canadian Oscars), with Burstyn
winning as Best Cinematographer for his work on the project. His other feature credits
include Crying Freeman, City of Industry, Spooky House, Where the Money Is, La
Premiere Fois, Lost Junction, and The Boys and Girls from County Clare.
Additional television projects for Burstyn include Crazy Horse, Dead Silence, Peter
Benchley’s Creature, When Trumpets Fade (aka Hamburger Hill 2), A Marriage of
Convenience, The Girl Next Door, Deadlocked, All Souls, Walking Shadow and Going to
the Mat.
Burstyn received an Emmy® nomination for his work on the series The 4400. He also
worked on the miniseries Terminal City, starring Final Days lead, Gil Bellows. He
recently worked on the horror thriller feature film Population 436. Upcoming projects
for Burstyn include the feature Oops, Ups and Downs: The Murder Mystery of Humpty
Dumpty.
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LEE WILSON - Visual Effects Supervisor
A long time collaborator with RHI Entertainment, executive producers Robert Halmi, Sr.
and Robert Halmi, Jr., and producers Matthew O’Connor and Michael O’Connor, the
historical drama miniseries, Marco Polo is the latest project for Lee Wilson and his team
at Anthem Visual Effects. He is one of the creative team behind the cameras who
worked back-to-back in China, as production on Marco Polo began only weeks after
principal photography wrapped on the fantasy miniseries, Son of the Dragon. Helping
authentically recreate the ancient 13th century China of Polo, as well as a myriad of 3-D
environments and characters for a mystical fantasy China depicted in Dragon, began only
months after Wilson and his team had finished up the visual effects for the contemporary
science fiction thriller Final Days of Planet Earth and the magical world of Camelot for
Merlin’s Apprentice. Both of these miniseries for RHI Entertainment, Halmi, Sr. and the
O’Connor’s, were also shot back-to-back during the summer and fall of 2005 in
Vancouver, B.C.
During his many years based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Wilson has amassed numerous
credits in the area of feature films and television movies, series and miniseries. His first
project with producer Matthew O’Connor and executive producer Robert Halmi, Sr. dates
back to the television movie Captains Courageous. Over the years he has worked with
them on a number of projects, including Earthsea, for which he received an Emmy®
nomination. He won a Leo Award® (awarding excellence for film and television
produced in British Columbia) for his visual effects work on the miniseries. His other
projects with the producing team include Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Voyage of
the Unicorn, Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, Mr. St. Nick and Snow Queen.
Wilson’s feature and television credits also include the series, Masters of Horror, the
miniseries 10.5, which also garnered him an Emmy® nomination, the series So Weird,
the features The Butterfly Effect 2, Wrongfully Accused, Mr. Magoo and Free Willy 3:
The Rescue, among others. He is currently serving as visual effects supervisor and a
consulting producer on the upcoming television anthology series, Masters of Science
Fiction. Additional credits for Wilson as an effects supervisor include the films
Videodrome, The Fly and Dead Ringers.
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11/2006
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