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 42% of Americans believe in possession by the devil.

The Archbishop of Calcutta ordered an exorcism performed on Mother Theresa before she died.

The Catholic Church has at least 10 official exorcists in the US.

By conservative estimates, there are at least five or six hundred evangelical exorcism ministries in operation today, and quite possibly two or three times this many.

There are dozens of references of Jesus exorcising demons in the Gospels.

Exorcism is derived from the Greek word exorkizein which means "to bind by oath". Evil spirits (demons) which possess a person are exorcised (compelled to leave) by a higher authority, such as God or Christ. "Catholic exorcisms begin,
Adjure te, spiritus nequissime, per Deum omnipotentem
…which means "I adjure thee, most evil spirit, by almighty God…

During the 1980s, the world's largest interdenominational seminary--Pasadena's
Fuller Theological--offered a how-to exorcism course for future pastors. The class is no longer offered, however, a different version is in the works.

Possession by evil spirits (Jinn) or the Devil (Shaitan) and exorcism is said to have been a part of Islam since its beginning. It is believed that the Jinn can gain control only over those who do not hold true to God.
 Out of nearly 1,600 Christians surveyed, 57% felt strongly that believers have the power to cast out demons in the Name of Jesus.

The most influential of the genre (the one that started it all) is William Friedkin’s
1973 film The Exorcist that claimed to be based on real events.
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
The runaway success of the movie revived the interest in the role of the devil in
Christian theology and created an industry of paperbacks on Satanism, black magic, and related topics. Devil possession became almost fashionable, and priests revived long-forgotten rites of exorcism.

The Catholic Church in Germany, however, made the exorcism ritual very difficult to obtain after the 1973 death of exorcism victim Anneliese Michel, a 23- year-old who had her first psychiatric episode at the age of 16. She apparently suffered from depression, epileptic seizures, and various hallucinations.

A secularized version of exorcism is practiced by some therapists who specialize in unveiling and ridding their patients of "entities" which, the therapists believe, are the cause of the patient's troubles. Entity release therapists engage in this work even though there is about as much evidence for the "entities" as there is for the devils exorcised by Catholic priests and Protestant evangelicals.

Through the 1980s the subject of exorcism was kept alive within evangelical
Christianity, especially Pentecostalism.
 No exorcism should take place without the explicit permission of the diocesan bishop, nor should exorcism be performed until possible mental or physical illness had been excluded.

Exorcism has become somewhat institutionalized in charismatic churches, where it is referred to as "spiritual warfare."
Compiled by Dr. Ysamur M. Flores-Peña
Associate Professor
Liberal Arts and Sciences Department
Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, CA.
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Continuing where the first film left off, THE LAST EXORCISM PART II begins as Nell
Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is recovering after having survived a terrifying exorcism.
Completely traumatized, Nell can't remember entire portions of the previous months, only that she is the last surviving member of her family.
Although she is trying to start a new life, she cannot ignore her powerful nightmares or deny that she hears voices and sees and feels things that nobody else does. She knows something is very wrong and a dark evil is closing in on her, entirely beyond her control.
As these odd and frightening events become more frequent and intense, it becomes clear that the demon whose obsession with Nell led to the murder of her family in the horror hit THE LAST EXORCISM still holds great power. This evil force that once possessed her is back with other, unimaginably horrific plans that mean her last exorcism was just the beginning.
Strike Entertainment and StudioCanal present in association with Anton Capital
Entertainment, an Arcade Pictures Production. THE LAST EXORCISM PART II stars
Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark and Louis Herthum. The film is directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly, who also edited and wrote the screenplay with Damien Chazelle
(Chazelle also has a story by credit). The screenplay is based on characters created by
Huck Botko & Andrew Gurland. The producers are Eric Newman, Eli Roth, Marc
Abraham and Thomas Bliss. The executive producers are Gabrielle Neimand, Patty
Long, Olivier Courson and Ron Halpern. Director of photography is Brendan
Steacy. Production designer is Merideth Boswell. Costume Designer is Abby
O’Sullivan. Music by Michael Wandmacher. Casting by Ellen Parks, CSA.
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Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is the only survivor of the shocking, horrific ritual that concludes THE LAST EXORCISM . Her journey continues in THE LAST EXORCISM
PART II , though the murdered documentary crew and their camera are left behind in the bayou. Rather than using the first film’s faux-documentary approach, THE LAST
EXORCISM PART II adopted a fresh storytelling perspective.
“We wanted to make a clear stylistic shift from the docu-style of the first film to a straight narrative in the sequel,” explains producer Eli Roth. “The new approach allows us to go deeper and darker. I never want to give away the secrets inside the haunted house, but now that we know who and what we’re dealing with, we really get to explore that.”
Elements of the “documentary” in THE LAST EXORCISM became a focus in its sequel.
“What we decided was that within the world of
THE LAST EXORCISM PART II , the first film existed. Not as a theatrical movie, but as a viral video people had seen,” Roth explains. “That felt like the smartest, most natural way to integrate the first movie while still having others in the film believe she was just a crazy girl breaking her fingers on the
Internet.”
“We had done our documentary-style film,” adds executive producer Gabrielle Neimand.
“That sub-genre only works if there is a valid reason for why the camera is there, and our crew died in the first film. A documentary-style film gets you in the director’s head. In this one, we wanted to tell a narrative film that got you into Nell’s.”
“One of the unanswered questions in the exorcism genre is ‘what does the demon want?’” producer Eric Newman points out. “We liked exploring the idea of what happens next. This demon and this girl have formed an intrinsic bond. They are enmeshed, and the demon can’t continue in the world without her.”
Newman, who had the initial seeds of inspiration for the first film, says his first instinct was actually to do the sequel about the town of Ivanwood in the wake of the murders in the first film. “Obviously there were lots of opportunities for scares, but I didn’t know what the movie was saying,” he says. “Then I started thinking about the power of someone accepting that they don’t need to be scared, that they are actually the one to be feared. Once I had that, we brought in Damien Chazelle to write the screenplay.”
“
THE LAST EXORCISM PART II follows Nell’s journey after the events of the first film, so I think it helps paint a more complete portrait of her character,” says co-writer Damian
Chazelle. “She’s truly the hero of the story and everything we see in the sequel is from her point of view.”
Some of the characters from THE LAST EXORCISM exist in the second film, but the structure shift allowed the natural inclusion of these characters in a way that ensures that those viewers who haven’t seen the first film can enjoy the new film without feeling like
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they missed something essential. Yet, fans of THE LAST EXORCISM will also be rewarded when they recognize characters and details in the new film that harken back to the first.
“The new approach allowed us to shift perspectives and really delve into Nell’s psyche: her past, her hopes for the future, her whole world-view,” Chazelle continues. “It felt like an opportunity to do a very classical horror film, and the resolution is something we’ve rarely seen in the exorcism genre.”
Deciding to make a sequel can be a difficult decision because, as Roth says, “you have to deliver what the audience is coming to see in a way that doesn’t repeat what you previously did.” Figuring out how to make the right sequel to THE LAST EXORCISM was the first hurdle in THE LAST EXORCISM PART II
’s production.
“It’s hard to ever say any film deserves or requires a sequel in creative terms,” states
Abraham. “With THE LAST EXORCISM, people liked the first film and seemed interested enough in Nell Sweetzer to want to find out what happened to her.”
Newman says the impetus for doing a sequel had nothing to do with the critical or commercial success of THE LAST EXORCISM . “Actually, the quality of the first film made approaching it even more daunting,” Newman says. “A sequel that provides more of the same is not particularly creatively appealing. It wasn’t until we arrived at a thematic point of view for the film that we began to see a direction for how to do it. ”
Roth says the idea of a sequel first came about during the editing process of THE LAST
EXORCISM : “We loved Nell’s character and wanted to see where she would go from here now that we’ve defined that she was, in fact, possessed. The first film was more of a thriller trying to decode if this was a girl suffering a mental breakdown due to abuse or if her father was telling the truth all along. The fun was in playing with the audience, and we knew the second time they would be going in for a different scary experience.
We also liked the idea of continuing the story in a traditional filmmaking style, and not necessarily sticking to the documentary format. It offered us many more creative opportunities.”
Once the sequel’s new approach had been settled upon and Chazelle had been brought on to pen the script, Neimand reached out to Ed Gass-Donnelly to direct and co-write the script with Chazelle, after falling in love with his thriller SMALL TOWN MURDER
SONGS .
“I had seen
THE LAST EXORCISM and liked it immensely, but what really attracted me most was the producers’ desire to make a sequel that was entirely different from the first film,” Gass-Donnelly says. “When so many sequels are just cookie cutter repeats of the original, I thought their approach was truly bold and refreshing.”
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Gass-Donnelly approached the project with the restraint and style of classic horror movies from the 60s and 70s, using the genre as a means of exploring more complex themes and ideas. “I’ve always believed that our imaginations can be far more frightening than anything we see,” he explains, “so we tried to embrace a more old school approach to the genre.”
The biggest challenge of all was to find a director who could strike the right balance between creating story while keeping the suspense high and the scares constant. “When we were looking for a director for the sequel, we talked about finding someone that, like
Daniel Stamm on the first film, could bring an intelligence to the story. Someone who had experience in genres other than horror but whose style and sense of storytelling would lend itself to that genre,” Neimand says.
“Horror is a pretty specific skill and there are certainly a number of guys around that do it well, but for us the horror has to come out of the character and situation and not purely out of the way the camera moves,” Newman adds. “Ed shows a real acumen for the building of dread while at the same time maintaining a wonderful naturalism that pulls you in.”
“There is also simplicity and elegance in his storytelling,” Roth explains, which was critical for both the look and constant tension in the sequel. “Ed doesn’t let the camera get in the way of the story. Rather, he sits back and lets the story unfold in front of you.”
“He is incredibly specific and detailed in his work,” Ashley Bell, who reprises her role as
Nell Sweetzer, says. “In the weeks leading up to the filming we would walk New
Orleans and explore Voodoo shops and talk about specific scenes. It was a gift to work that way.”
Bell’s performance in the first film was especially noteworthy because she performed her own stunts, managing to twist and contort her body once Nell is possessed. For the sequel, Bell prepared herself physically for similar stunts and conditioned herself to achieve a lean, anxiety-ridden look. To achieve this, Bell did 40 minutes of cardio a day and core strengthening, in addition to ballet.
Bell’s talents go far beyond her physical ability. “When we were casting the first film, we really wanted actors who were able to improv,” Neimand says of Bell. “We quickly learned that actors who are great at delivering lines from a page can’t always improv and great improv actors sometimes have trouble turning written words into their own. Ashley is the best of both worlds. She grew up in a family with a mother who began the renowned Groundlings in Los Angeles and a father who is a noted voice over actor. So she channels characters incredibly well.”
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As THE LAST EXORCISM PART II picks up right where THE LAST EXORCISM left off, the production returned to Louisiana, this time to the Southern gothic surroundings of
New Orleans. The location was a joy for both the crew and the actors, on a number of different fronts.
“A s everyone knows, it’s the most exotic city in the world,” Abraham says. “It’s rife with ghost stories and rich in ghoulish history so it’s a perfect place to set a horror movie.”
Gass-Donnelly remarks on the range of locations which include “houses built on stilts to avoid flooding, above ground cemeteries, as well as the skeletal remains of buildings destroyed by the hurricane that are long since abandoned. You can have beautiful 300 year old buildings right next to a decimated office tower that no one has repaired since
Katrina.”
“Everything about New Orleans works for THE LAST EXORCISM PART II ,” says Long.
“It’s aesthetic as a city, its roots and its film community for physical production support.
And since both films were made with small film budgets, having that film community support goes a long way in being able to deliver a quality film with limited resources.”
“The people are wonderful, there’s an incredible talent pool and the crews are great,” says Roth. “I loved shooting there and would definitely work there again.”
“It’s just a unique cultural anachronism,” says Gass-Donnelly. “Where else can you find swamps, Mardi Gras and drive-thru daiquiri stands? There’s a mythology and personality to that city that makes it so unique, like a cross between Never Never Land and the The
Wild West.”
The sensual revelry of the city works particularly well as a shocking contrast to the
Louisiana bayous when viewed through the eyes of the character of Nell. Gass-Donnelly says, “The movie is ultimately about a young girl discovering who she is and who she was meant to be…and what better place to do that than New Orleans? The city is such a hub of culture, decadence, and debauchery. It was the perfect world into which thrust this sheltered young girl whose father wouldn’t even let her listen to non-religious music, let alone wear lipstick or kiss a boy.”
“Once she has escaped from the horrors she endured in the first film, she thinks she’s about to find some solace and peace in this new place,” says Abraham. “But, the fact that she cannot escape, even in New Orleans, makes it even more terrifying.”
And because New Orleans is almost as well known for its mystical mysteries as it is for its music and drink, it’s easy to make that shift as the city changes from Nell’s potential sanctuary to her nightmare.
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“New Orleans is a pretty notoriously haunted city. Several location’s owners were quite happy to talk about the ghosts in their homes,” Gass-Donnelly says.
“It’s a city that has been under siege about 9 different times so there are a lot of different cultures that have been integrated, cultures that are based on religious backgrounds,”
Abraham says. “And, anytime you have religion, you’re just on the other side of a supernatural story.”
Chazelle finds that stories of possession make particularly compelling supernatural thrillers. “ They're primal. They hit on a fundamental fear --- that of losing all control.
The prospect of no longer being able to claim one's mind or body as one's own is a terrifying one.”
“
Possession is scary whether you believe in it or not,” says Newman. “The thought that some malady might befall you and bring out characteristics that you didn't know you had is terrifying. And for the non-believers, the cure is often more frightening than the illness. Like ghosts, demonic possession is something that can’t conclusively be proven either way.”
“Horror movies are the best date films,” Roth adds. “It’s the only time you are absolutely guaranteed to be squeezing your date’s arm, and if the film really works, no one ever wants to sleep alone after it’s over.”
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ASHLEY BELL – “NELL”
Ashley Bell made her feature film debut in Lionsgate and Strike Entertainment's thriller,
THE LAST EXORCISM . Her performance garnered her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and an MTV Movie Award nomination, while the film grossed nearly $70 million worldwide. The New York Post praised Bell's performance as “Oscar-worthy” and one of the 10 best performances of 2010 for her extraordinary portrayal of the possessed Nell Sweetzer, which she will reprise in the highly anticipated sequel, entitled THE LAST EXORCISM PART II , set to be released nationwide on March 1, 2013.
In 2012, Bell starred in Doug Aarniokoski's post-apocalyptic thriller THE DAY , which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Upcoming projects include Norry
Niven's romantic drama CHASING SHAKESPEARE opposite Danny Glover; the noir feature film SPARKS , based on the graphic comic; “The Marine: Homecoming,” along with Neil McDonough; and the romantic comedy THE BOUNCEBACK , directed by fellow Spirit Award nominee Bryan Poser. Bell is passionately involved with Elephants
In Crisis, and is in pre-production to produce and direct a documentary depicting the capture of two Asian elephants from a logging facility in Cambodia, and their subsequent release into the Cambodian Wildlife Sanctuary.
Bell’s voice has been featured in several top-selling video games, including the lead role of Erline in Sony PlayStation’s “Sorcery” and The White Queen in Disney's “Alice in
Wonderland. Her television credits include appearances in “The United States of Tara,”
“Grow,” and “
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
”
.
Bell, born and raised in Los Angeles, is the daughter of actor/voice animator Michael
Bell and actress and Groundlings co-founder Victoria Carroll. She studied acting and directing at Cambridge University, where she was awarded “Best Actress” for her portrayal of “Ophelia.” Bell later graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with honors, and was mentored by Oscar nominee Kathleen Turner.
JULIA GARNER – “GWEN”
Julia Garner’s first job was a supporting role in, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, which premiered in competition at Sundance 2011. But it was her first starring role, in the film ELECTRICK CHILDREN , which catapulted Garner to the next level. ELECTRICK
CHILDREN premiered at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival and then at the 2012
South by Southwest Festival to incredible reviews and fanfare. Garner is in every frame of the film and truly exploded off the screen. Garner next stars in WE ARE WHAT WE
ARE , which premiered at Sundance 2013, and THE LAST EXORCISM PART II for
Studiocanal. Julia also recently shot YOU CAN'T WIN , with Michael Pitt, and
UNICORNS , Leah Meyerhoff's film.
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Garner is one of five actors to be profiled in Variety in their "Searching for the Next
Sundance Darling" feature. She was selected as one of the “5 New Faces of the 2012
Berlin Film Festival" by The Hollywood Reporter, as well as one of the "10 Actresses on the Rise" by Indie Wire Magazine in 2012. She was most recently chosen as THE ONLY actor on the “25 New Faces of Independent film of 2012” by Filmmaker Magazine, as well as being featured in Variety's 2012 Youth Impact Report.
SPENCER TREAT CLARK – “CHRIS”
Spencer Treat Clark grew up in Southern Connecticut. He started acting at a young age, first appearing in films such as DreamWorks GLADIATOR directed by Ridley Scott with
Russell Crowe, as well as M. Night Shyamalan’s UNBREAKABLE with Bruce Willis and
Samuel L. Jackson. Through high school and college, Clark balanced acting with academics, working on such films as MYSTIC RIVER directed by Clint Eastwood opposite Sean Penn, and Wes Craven’s horror/thriller THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT .
Clark also appeared on television series such as NBC’s “Law and Order: SVU,” CBS’
“The Good Wife,” and TNT’s “The Closer.” He received a Bachelor Degree in Political
Science from Columbia University. Clark now lives in Los Angeles where he moved shortly after graduation. Spencer is close in age with his older sister, Eliza, who is a playwright and television writer; currently writing for the AMC television series “The
Killing.” He can next be seen in THE LAST EXORCISM PART II (March 1) directed by
Ed Gass-Donnelly and Joss Whedon’s film adaptation of MUCH ADO ABOUT
NOTHING (June 7 th
).
LOUIS HERTHUM – “LOUIS”
Louis Herthum started his acting career over 30 years ago in his hometown of Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. In 1982, he moved to Los Angeles to further his career. Over the last three decades, Herthum has remained gainfully employed as an actor appearing in over
30 stage productions; dozens of TV commercials and over 100 films and/or TV shows.
In 1991, after several guest-starring and co-starring roles, Herthum joined the cast of the long-running hit CBS television series “Murder, She Wrote” with Angela
Lansbury. Herthum played Deputy Andy Broom in the show’s final five seasons, 1991-
1996.
Herthum can currently be seen in two hit TV series, as werewolf “J.D.” in the fifth season of HBO’s mega hit, True Blood,” and as “Omar” in A&E’s new hit show, “Longmire.”
Recent TV credits include guest starring roles on, “NCIS,” “CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Mentalist,” “Treme,” “Breaking Bad,” and “CSI:
Miami.”
Recent film credits include THE LAST EXORCISM , I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS , IN
THE ELECTRIC MIST , THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON , AMERICAN
INQUISITION , THE OPEN ROAD and PRIDE .
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In early 1996 Herthum added “Producer” to his resume, producing his first of 6 feature films, FAVORITE SON . Since then Herthum has, through his Baton Rouge-based production company Ransack Films, produced a total of five feature films, including the award winning thriller, RED RIDGE , and one award winning feature length documentary,
THE SEASON BEFORE SPRING , about the first post-Katrina Mardi Gras in 2006.
Herthum resides in Santa Monica, California where he has lived for the past 30 years.
ED GASS-DONNELLY, DIRECTOR/WRITER / EDITOR
Ed Gass-Donnelly is a Toronto-based independent filmmaker. Hailing from roots in the theatre, he has approached his films with an unapologetically hands-on approach, often serving as director, producer, writer, and editor. After making numerous short film and music videos, Gass-Donnelly’s feature debut, THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2007 and went on to be nominated for four
Canadian Academy Awards (the Genie Awards). His sophomore feature, SMALL TOWN
MURDER SONGS, premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival to great critical acclaim and landed him a spot on Variety's coveted "10 Directors to Watch" list in 2011. Gass-Donnelly is writing and directing several new feature films including,
LAVENDER , a rural supernatural thriller produced by Michael de Luca, THREE IN THE
BACK, TWO IN THE HEAD, a political thriller based on the award-winning play, and PERMAFROST, a survivalist “eco-horror.”
DAMIEN CHAZELLE, WRITER
Born in 1985, Damien Chazelle wrote and directed his first feature film, GUY AND
MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH, while an undergraduate at Harvard University. It premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, was released theatrically in fall 2010, and was named one of the best films of the year by The New York Times, The Village Voice,
The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, Time Out New York, Film Comment, and The
Boston Phoenix. A musical shot on black-and-white 16mm for $60,000, it was nominated at the 2009 Gotham Independent Film Awards and was named “the best first feature of
2010” by Karina Longworth of L.A. Weekly and “easily the best first film in eons” by
David Fear of Time Out New York. It was one of Metacritic’s 20 best-reviewed films of
2010, and J. Hoberman of The Village Voice declared that “No movie I've seen this year has given me more joy.”
Shortly after Guy and Madeline’s release, Chazelle’s spec screenplay THE CLAIM was included in the 2010 Black List. Chazelle’s screenplay GRAND PIANO went into
12

production in the summer of 2012, with Adrián Guerra and Rodrigo Cortés (Buried) producing and Elijah Wood, John Cusack, and Kerry Bishé starring. Chazelle was also hired to pen the sequel to the 2011 hit THE LAST EXORCISM , produced by Strike
Entertainment and Eli Roth, which is currently in postproduction and will be released this
March. Chazelle recently returned to the 2012 Blacklist with his spec, entitled
WHIPLASH , and at the moment he is working on a rewrite for Bad Robot and Paramount.
ERIC NEWMAN, PRODUCER
Eric Newman is a film and television producer and founding partner in NBC/Universal- based Strike Entertainment, a production company established in 2003 with partner Marc
Abraham. Movies produced by Newman include Zack Snyder’s reimagining of the horror classic DAWN OF THE DEAD , Alfonso Cuarón’s three-time Academy Award
®
- nominated CHILDREN OF MEN , and the box-office hit THE LAST EXORCISM, which at a budget of under $2 million has grossed over $70 million worldwide. Newman most recently produced the film IN TIME , which has grossed over $160 million worldwide. New recently produced THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS, the directorial debut of the Wu Tang founder the RZA, starring Russell Crowe and Lucy Lu. Newman’s films currently in post-production include Jose Padilla’s big budget reimagining of
ROBOCOP . Newman is also executive producer of the Netflix television series
“Hemlock Grove,” which will release all 13 episodes at once in April 2013.
Prior to the formation of Strike, Newman served as the ranking development and production executive at Beacon Communications, joining the company in 1999. Movies released during Newman’s tenure include SPY GAME , THE FAMILY MAN , BRING IT
ON, END OF DAYS , THE HURRICANE and THIRTEEN DAYS .
Newman began his career working as an intern in the talent office at “Saturday Night
Live.” He later joined producer Lorne Michaels’ Paramount Pictures-based Broadway
Video as a production executive, where he helped oversee the Chris Farley/David Spade films TOMMY BOY and BLACK SHEEP . Newman is a graduate of the USC School of
Cinema-Television.
ELI ROTH, PRODUCER
Eli Roth burst onto the film scene at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, with his debut film
CABIN FEVER , which he produced, directed, and co-wrote. Produced independently for a budget of $1.5 million dollars, CABIN FEVER sparked a frenzied seven-studio bidding war, and went on to be Lionsgate’s highest grossing film of 2003, earning $33 million at the box office worldwide, nearly $70 million on DVD and spawning a sequel. Roth’s second film, HOSTEL , which he wrote, produced and directed, was a massive hit worldwide, opening #1 both at the domestic box office and on DVD. Executive
Produced and Presented by Quentin Tarantino with a nominal budget of 4 million dollars,
HOSTEL has to date earned $150 million dollars in theatrical and DVD revenue. HOSTEL earned tremendous critical praise, winning an Empire Magazine
Award for Best Horror Film, was named Best American Film of 2006 by "Le Monde," and was ranked as the #1 scariest film of all-time on Bravo’s “Even 100 Scarier Movie
13

Moments.” Roth followed up with the sequel HOSTEL PART II . Produced for $10 million dollars, HOSTEL PART II earned $35 million dollars at the box office worldwide, an additional $50 million on DVD, and made Entertainment Weekly's list of the Top 20 horror films of the decade. All of Roth’s films have been made without major stars, and his success has given him name-above-the title status and first dollar gross. Roth will make his long-awaited return to the director’s chair with THE GREEN INFERNO, a horror thriller he is also writing.
As an actor, Roth appears in AFTERSHOCK , an earthquake thriller directed by Chilean filmmaker Nicolas Lopez, which he also co-wrote with Lopez and produced. After playing in the 2012 Toronto Film Festival to much praise, The Weinstein Company will release the film in 2013. Roth also appeared as an actor in Quentin Tarantino’s DEATH
PROOF segment of GRINDHOUSE and wrote and directed the popular faux trailer
THANKSGIVING that played in between the features in the film, as well. Tarantino was so pleased with Roth's performance he cast him in a lead role as Sgt. Donnie Donowitz in his World War II epic INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS , co-starring alongside Brad
Pitt. Roth and his cast members received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best
Ensemble, as well as a Broadcast Film Critic's Choice Award and a People's Choice
Award. He also directed the propaganda film-within-the-film,
NATION’S PRIDE
.
In 2009, Roth and producer Eric Newman teamed up to form Arcade Films, a new genre production company, with Roth writing, directing and producing his films only for the company. Their first production, THE LAST EXORCISM , produced with Strike
Entertainment, was produced for $1.8 million dollars, sold to Lionsgate, and opened at over $20 million. Their second production, THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS , was co- written by Roth and Wu-Tang Clan founder The RZA, with Roth and Strike producing, and RZA directing. The film starred Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, and RZA, and opened on November 2, 2012. Arcade Films recently joined with Netflix and
Gaumont International Television to adapt Brian McGreevy’s popular novel Hemlock
Grove into an original hour-long television series, starring Famke Janssen that will premiere exclusively on Netflix in April 2013. In addition to serving as executive producer, Roth will direct the first episode. Roth's upcoming projects as a producer include the horror film CLOWN and ENDANGERED SPECIES , which Roth will direct after THE GREEN INFERNO .
Eli Roth's Goretorium , a year round haunted attraction in Las Vegas, opened in
September 2012.
Roth currently resides in Los Angeles.
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MARC ABRAHAM, PRODUCER
Marc Abraham is an American producer, writer and director. In 2008 he directed FLASH
OF GENIUS starring Greg Kinnear. Among his many producing and executive producing credits are CHILDREN OF MEN, SPY GAME, THE FAMILY MAN, THE RUNDOWN,
DAWN OF THE DEAD, AIR FORCE ONE , 13 DAYS and THE HURRICANE . Currently,
Abraham is writing to direct I SAW THE LIGHT , a script based on the life of legendary singer-songwriter Hank Williams. In addition, this past winter, along with his partner
Eric Newman, Abraham produced the kung-fu western titled THE MAN WITH THE
IRON FISTS, directed by the leader of Wu Tang Clan, The RZA .
THOMAS BLISS, PRODUCER
Thomas Bliss was born in Hollywood and began his film career in junior high school with an 8mm camera. Bliss is a partner at STRIKE ENTERTAINMENT, where he produced THE LAST EXORCISM and executive produced THE MAN WITH THE IRON
FISTS, FLASH OF GENIUS, CHILDREN OF MEN , DAWN OF THE DEAD , SPY GAME,
THE EMPEROR’S CLUB, TUCK EVERLASTING, THIRTEEN DAYS, THE FAMILY
MAN, END OF DAYS, THE HURRICANE, AIR FORCE ONE, A THOUSAND ACRES and THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB ; and produced BRING IT ON, A LIFE IN THE
THEATRE, and BOX OF MOONLIGHT .
Bliss attended UCLA Film School, later returning to UCLA for a law degree. He has been honored with a Peabody Award, two Cable-ACE Awards, and an American Red
Cross Humanities Service Medal. Bliss serves on the Board of Trustees of the Directors
Guild of America - Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Training
Program, the Board of Trustees of California Indian Legal Services, the Board of
Governors of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation and the Board of Advisors of the UCLA
Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center. He is a member of the Directors Guild of
America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the State Bar of
California.
GABRIELLE NEIMAND, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Gabrielle Neimand is an entertainment executive and producer. She was raised in South
Florida and is a graduate of Northwestern University. Among other projects, during her time as an executive at Universal based Strike Entertainment, she co-produced THE
LAST EXORCISM , executive produced its sequel, and executive produced THE THING , a companion piece to John Carpenter’s classic film of the same title. Recently, she joined producer/financier Participant Media as their VP of Narrative Films. Neimand started her career at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) before moving to 20th Century Fox where she worked on the films I, Robot and Flight of the Phoenix . In addition to her corporate responsibilities, Neimand has produced short films, theater projects, and concerts.
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PATTY LONG, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Patty Long has been working in film and television production since the early 90’s. Her film production credits include BREAST MEN, THE CHUMSCRUBBER , FIRST SNOW,
MACGRUBER, THE LAST EXORCISM, LIMITLESS and SEEKING A FRIEND FOR
THE END OF THE WORLD .
OLIVIER COURSON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Olivier Courson is STUDIOCANAL Chairman and CEO.
In 6 years, he developed the company, building it into a European studio,
STUDIOCANAL being today one of the leaders of feature films production, acquisition and distribution, distributing directly on all media, across three main countries in Europe
– France, United Kingdom and Germany – as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
Olivier Courson strongly developed STUDIOCANAL’s productions, with films including
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY adapted from John Le Carré, directed by Tomas
Alfredson and starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy; the Coen brothers
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIES with Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan and John
Goodman; THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY , based on a Patricia Highsmith novel, directed by Hossein Amini, starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac;
MOOD INDIGO , adapted from Boris Vian’s novel and directed by Michel Gondry, with
Audrey Tautou, Romain Duris, Omar Sy ; NON STOP , action-packed thriller reuniting
UNKNOWN director Jaume Collet-Serra and actor Liam Neeson, and also starring
Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery.
Last year, STUDIOCANAL did a strategic move in TV business by taking a majority stake in Tandem Communications ( WORLD WITHOUT END, THE PILLARS OF THE
EARTH). CROSSING LINES , a new recurring series is now in production.
RON HALPERN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Ron Halpern oversees the international productions and acquisitions for
STUDIOCANAL. Current productions include I GIVE IT A YEAR starring Rose Byrne and Simon Baker and written and directed by Dan Mazer; THE TWO FACES OF
JANUARY written and directed by Hoss Amini and starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten
Dunst and Oscar Isaac; NON STOP directed by Jaume Collet Serra and starring Liam
Neeson and Julianne Moore and Serena, directed by Susanne Bier and Starring Bradley
Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Previous productions included Batfa winning and
Academy Award nominated TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, THE TOURIST with
Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, THE LAST EXORCISM and CHLOE.
STUDIOCANAL also co-produced Collet Serra's UNKNOWN starring Liam Neeson.
Ron also oversees the theatrical adaptations and productions of STUDIOCANAL, notably THE PRODUCERS by Mel Brooks, The Graduate and The Ladykillers .
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BRENDAN STEACY, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Brendan Steacy’s body of work includes a number of impressive film projects. He recently wrapped the feature film, THE LAST EXORCISM PART II with director Ed
Gass-Donnelly, produced by Strike Entertainment starring Ashley Bell. He lensed the feature THE LESSER BLESSED , with director Anita Doron and First Generation Films; the feature STILL MINE , with director Michael McGowan and the Mulmur Feed
Company, starring Academy Award nominated actor James Cromwell; and YOU BURY
YOUR OWN , with director Rob Wilson and Samaritan Entertainment. Both THE LESSER
BLESSED and STILL MINE premiered last year at the Toronto International Film
Festival. Recently, Steacy received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for
Achievement in Cinematography for his visual work on STILL MINE .
His feature film, SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS starring Peter Stormare and Jill
Hennessy, with director Ed Gass-Donnelly and produced by Resolute Films, premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival and garnered Steacy a CSC nomination for Best Theatrical Feature Cinematography. He has also worked on a wide range of diverse television projects and is a sought after commercial cinematographer.
MERIDETH BOSWELL, PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Merideth Boswell grew up in Bryant, Arkansas and graduated from the University of
Arkansas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art. After doing graduate work in photography and sculpture at Louisiana State University she moved to New Orleans where she began art directing European and national commercials and eventually working as a Set
Decorator for feature films. She has decorated films for, among others, Oliver Stone, Ron
Howard, Barry Levinson, Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones. Her collaboration with Ron
Howard and Michael Corenblith produced two Academy Award nominations for Art
Direction: APOLLO 13 and HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS . She also began her work as a Production Designer on Ron Howard’s large budget period western, THE
MISSING . Her other Production Design credits include IN THE ELECTRIC MIST with one of France’s most esteemed directors, Bertrand Tavernier, as well as two critically acclaimed projects directed by Tommy Lee Jones: THE THREE BURIALS OF
MELQUIADES ESTRADA and HBO’s THE SUNSET LIMITED . She is currently designing THE HOMESMAN an 1850’s drama also directed by Tommy Lee Jones.
In addition to films, Boswell also has designed interiors in Arkansas, LA, NY and France.
Her client list includes Ron and Cheryl Howard, Imagine Entertainment, Beacon Pictures,
Tom Hanks, John Tyson and Philippe and Corinne Bideau.
After fifteen years in Los Angeles, she divides her time between Fayetteville, Arkansas and New York City. She is represented by Ann Murtha of the Murtha Agency in Los
Angeles.
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MICHAEL WANDMACHER, COMPOSER
Composer Michael Wandmacher is one of the most sought after rising composers in
Hollywood. His diverse roster of over 30 feature credits and dozens of TV shows and games includes everything from the hugely successful horror thrillers MY BLOODY
VALENTINE and PIRANHA 3D , high-octane Nicolas Cage flick DRIVE ANGRY ,
Marvel’s PUNISHER: WAR ZONE , and comedic scores for titles such as Disney’s MAX
KEEBLE’S BIG MOVE and Activision’s videogame adaptations of Dreamworks’s
MADAGASCAR and OVER THE HEDGE . He has also garnered wide recognition for his sparse, emotional and melodic scores for the Academy Award® shortlisted
ANA’S
PLAYGROUND and THE KILLING FLOOR , directed by Homeland Mastermind, Gideon
Raff. He recently scored the FOX comedy series “Breaking In” and the upcoming
HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT 2: GHOSTS OF GEORGIA for Lionsgate and Gold
Circle Films.
In addition, Wandmacher writes and produces songs, including last year’s EP release
PLAYGROUND , which garnered two major song placements, including the single “Can
You Hear Me” in the latest installment of videogame megahit THE SIMS 3 for Electronic
Arts.
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