Production Notes
“Me and my sister? We have a past.”
-- Hansel
A legendary fairy tale transforms -- taking a dark, twisting turn down a new path into fun,
fast-paced action and sly, sinister modern thrills -- in the rollicking action-horror adventure Hansel &
Gretel: Witch Hunters. The story picks up 15 years after siblings Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel
(Gemma Arterton) hatched their escape from a child-snatching witch, who changed their lives
forever . . . and gave them a taste for blood. Now they have come of age as fierce, formidably skilled
bounty hunters 100% dedicated to tracking and terminating witches in every dark forest -- hell-bent
on retribution. But as the notorious Blood Moon approaches and a familiar wooded town faces a
nightmare for its innocent children, Hansel & Gretel encounter an evil beyond any witch they’ve ever
hunted – an evil that could hold the secret to their frightening past.
Paramount Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures present a Gary Sanchez production
starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare, Hansel & Gretel: Witch
Hunters. The film is written and directed by Tommy Wirkola. The producers are Will Ferrell, Adam
McKay, Kevin Messick and Beau Flynn; and the executive producers are Denis L. Stewart, Chris Henchy
and Tripp Vinson. Bringing the visually mesmerizing world of Hansel & Gretel to life is a behind-thescenes team that includes director of photography Michael Bonvillain (Cloverfield), production
designer Stephen Scott (Hellboy, Hellboy 2), editor Jim Page (Disturbia), costume designer Marlene
Stewart (Real Steel, Tropic Thunder), Music by Atli Örvasson, Executive Music Producer Hans Zimmer
and visual effects supervisor Jon Farhat (Book of Eli, Wanted).
WHEN FAIRY TALES GROW UP – AND GET EVEN
Children around the world have long had their bones chilled by the classic fairy tale of Hansel
& Gretel, the brother and sister lost in the woods, then ensnared by an icy-hearted witch who cooks
and eats children. At the story’s end, the duo foil the witch’s cannibalistic clutches . . . but what
happened to them next? That’s what writer/director Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel & Gretel: Witch
Hunters dares to imagine, tackling the question in all its scary, funny and suspenseful potential.
Joining their story as the adult siblings emerge as the most lethal witch hunters ever to stalk the
woods, the film turns an ancient fable into a no-holds-barred epic of modern action and adventure.
Wirkola, who first came to renown with the eye-popping zombie comedy Dead Snow in his
native Norway, has been waiting all his life to revisit a tale that first mortified him as a very young boy.
He never could shake its impact, or the lingering image of hungry, hideous, horrifying witches lying in
wait for human innocents. Then, one day he began to imagine a “where are they now” scenario for
perhaps the most famous siblings in all of fabledom. A vision of Hansel & Gretel – all grown up and
irreverently battle-toughened – as vigilantes of the supernatural kind came into his mind.
“The story of Hansel & Gretel has been part of me since I was a young kid,” Wirkola explains,
“I have a strong memory from my childhood of just how dark and gruesome their tale was and I
wondered what would have happened to the two of them when they grew up? They had this dark
past and this intense hatred of witches. So as I thought about it, it made sense to me that of course
they would be fated to become great witch hunters.”
Immediately, Wirkola saw the makings of a visually ferocious, humor-laced and action-packed
experience for 21st Century audiences raised on the tale. As he began writing, he determined he would
stay true to the spirit of the original German folk legend -- first published back in 1812 by the famed
unearthly tale-collectors, The Brothers Grimm -- but put no limits on his imagination from there.
“I wanted the vibe of the original fairy tale but I also wanted to spice it with all the things I
love most in movies – comedy, horror and graphic action.” he summarizes. “A gruesome aura was
always there in the original tale, but I brought it to the forefront, while injecting humor. And the story
is still about this really strong bond between brother and sister – the way Hansel & Gretel are driven
to stick together, no matter what it takes, as they confront evil.”
When Wirkola pitched the idea to producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick and
Chris Henchy, they were instantly magnetized. “His pitch was exactly what you’d imagine from the
title,” recalls Messick. “Hansel & Gretel have come of age with a big beef against witches. Now,
they’re bounty hunters. So if your town has a witch plague and the kids have gone missing, you call
Hansel & Gretel.”
A fan of visually intense and boldly playful cinema, Wirkola also began crafting his own original
vision of Hansel & Gretel’s grown up world – one that still has the timeless look and feel of a medieval
fable but fused with the gritty, cutthroat action audiences have come to crave in our times. “We
wanted it to feel like this could be happening 300 years ago but at the same time, there is a modern
spin on all the action, characters and weaponry,” Wirkola explains. “It was a fun way to make a
classical world feel fresh. We took things that you have seen in all kinds of fairy tales before – and
then put a little bit of a new twist on each of them.”
Messick observes: “What’s great about the style of the movie is that you don’t think ‘I’m in
1850s or 1730s France.’ You think, ‘I am completely in a fairy tale universe.’”
That’s exactly what Wirkola was after: a fairy tale universe that has shape-shifted into
something so fast and furious it grabs 21st Century filmgoers. “What I hope is that Hansel & Gretel:
Witch Hunters gives audiences something that is out of the ordinary, with a wild energy you don’t see
in most action movies,” Wirkola concludes. “Most of all, I wanted it to be exciting and fun.”
HANSEL & GRETEL REBOOTED
To take Hansel & Gretel out of the annals of legend and into visceral, contemporary action,
Tommy Wirkola knew he would need to find two strong personalities who could morph these
characters from legend to real life. The search for a contemporary ideal of how Hansel & Gretel might
have turned out – after being raised on dreams of vengeance against the foul wickedness of witches –
led to the pairing of Jeremy Renner, Oscar®-nominated for his searing action role as an Iraq War bomb
expert in The Hurt Locker and rising British actress Gemma Arterton, whose allure came to the fore
when she joined the iconic circle of Bond Girls in Quantum of Solace.
Renner could not resist the sheer fun of the concept. “When I read the script, my first thought
was ‘I can’t believe this hasn’t been done yet.’ It’s such a great idea with so much potential,” he says.
“I loved that what Tommy wrote left so much room for character and I thought it would be exciting to
explore an amazing brother and sister bond inside a fantastical world.”
He also found himself wrapped up in what becomes Hansel’s guiding philosophy. “He and
Gretel have gone through an amazing tragedy,” Renner observes. “They don’t have parents, witches
have tried to eat them and what Hansel has taken away is that you’ve got to take your personal anger
and pain and do something good with it.”
That philosophy has left Hansel with a dry wit and a devastating way with the weapons
needed to go after hard-to-kill witches. For Renner, that meant preparing for some of the most
intensive action he’s done yet, and he especially enjoyed Wirkola’s take on how hard-fought and
harrowing each of Hansel & Gretel’s battle is against such magically empowered enemies.
“There’s a lot of really arduous action in the film,” Renner notes. “One of the big difference in
this movie is that while usually heroes win all their battles, Hansel & Gretel get their butts kicked
numerous times. So in a way we had to face getting beat up every day! But we also had a great time.
Tommy brought an incredible tone to the whole thing, a mix of serious and funny that I think gives the
film the quality of a real adventure.”
Arterton, too, was drawn to the twists of the story. “I love the original fairy tale and this starts
there, then makes a real departure,” she says. “The film joins up with Hansel & Gretel in the midst of
their fame as witch hunters. But it’s also a time when they’re starting to wonder who they are and
why these terrible things happened to them – which leads them into a very tense situation.”
Amid all the snowballing tension, Arterton loved the brother-sister dynamic that always stays
at the heart of the action, no matter how extreme things get. “The sibling relationship is such a great
one to explore,” ayes Arterton. “Hansel & Gretel have this unstoppable bond but they’re also so
different from each other. She’s the brains of the operation. He’s the brawn. He’s the joker and the
show-off. She’s more the watcher, the researcher, the one who tries to really understand witchcraft.
They have to each play to their strengths.”
On set, Renner and Arterton uncovered a natural rapport that made the sibling closeness –
and rivalry – feel real. Says Arterton of Renner: “Jeremy is so amazing at action, but at the same time
he also has a lot of sensitivity when needed. He brings a lot of fun to their relationship.”
In turn, Renner says of Arterton: “Gemma is a real gem. We were lucky to find her because
not only do she and I look a bit alike, but she brings a wonderful depth to Gretel.”
Both Renner and Arterton worked closely with stunt coordinator (and second unit director)
David Leitch to train for roles that draw on the whole pantheon of modern action-comedies as well
the ages-old fairy tale tradition. Notes Leitch: “The action in the film is hard, fast and, above all, fun. I
love that kind of Jackie Chan hybrid of comedy and action. Tommy gave us a completely open door to
find our action style --- so it became about finding humor and defining these characters.”
Hansel and Gretel each display their individuality in their unique fighting styles. “Hansel is the
kind of guy who leaps before he looks,” Leitch explains, “but Gretel’s has more of a plan.”
While game for anything, Arterton did not arrive a rough-and-tumble kind of gal. “When we
started she said ‘I don’t really see myself as a tough chick.’ But she worked hard and got very strong,”
says Leitch. Arterton threw herself into the training. “I came in before anybody else and worked with
the stunt team in a kind of intensive boot camp,” she explains. “It was great because it really rooted
me and made me more present in the action scenes. There’s so much Gretel goes through!”
For Wirkola, the duo was perfectly matched to his ink-black but lively vision. “Jeremy has that
leading man quality that can carry an action movie but he also has this darkness to him and an
unpredictability that I love. When we brought in Gemma, she connected to him straight away, but she
also proved that she can be just as funny and badass. I wanted Gretel to kick ass just as much as
Hansel and Gemma does. They both had so much fun with their roles.”
Adds producer Kevin Messick: “Jeremy has that Han Solo kind of quality. To have such a great
actor play Hansel in this fantasy world really helps ground the movie. And Gemma creates the perfect
brother-sister balance with him. She’s very sexy and tough but she also brings you into their sibling
relationship. They have that love-hate relationship of two people who grew up going through an
incredible ordeal together; it’s just that their ordeal was witches.”
SUPPORTING CAST
One of the greatest threats to Hansel & Getel is Muriel, the shape-shifting villainess played
former Bond Girl and X-Men series star Famke Janssen. “Muriel rules over all the other crazy
witches,” explains Janssen, who transforms throughout the film from a ravishing, raven-haired beauty
into a decaying, blood-curdling creature. “And she’s literally after Gretel’s heart.”
Muriel might have a vendetta against the infamous witch hunters, but she is an equal
opportunity tormentor. “It’s not just Hansel and Gretel I’m horrible to. I’m horrible to all the other
witches as well, even my sidekicks,” Janssen muses.
While witches lurk in the shadows, one of more potent villains in Hansel & Gretel’s world is
perfectly human: Berringer, the power-hungry Sheriff of Augsburg, portrayed by Peter Stormare,
known for his roster of screen villains. Says Stormare: “One of the ideas of the movie is that humans
can be just as dangerous as ghosts and goblins and that idea blossoms with my character.”
A friendlier face in town is Ben, a kind of fairy tale fan-boy obsessed with Hansel & Gretel as
the rock stars of their realm, played by the young American actor Thomas Mann. Says Gemma
Arterton of Mann: “Among all the crazy carnage, he brings more comedy.”
HANSEL & GRETEL’S WORLD: THE PRODUCTION
One of the most thrilling challenges for Tommy Wirkola was getting the chance to create a
whole new world for Hansel & Gretel to live in – and in so doing, let his audacious visual imagination
run truly wild.
He only had one inviolable rule: “It all had to look and feel like a fairy-tale,” says
Wirkola. “We needed those rich, saturated colors, the kind of colors that grab you -- the green of the
forest, the red of the blood and the blackness of the witches.”
All the standard details of fairy tale lore were re-engineered to meld with modern action and
effects. “Everything was a distinct choice,” notes producer Kevin Messick. “Each element of the
Hansel & Gretel tale was re-invented by Tommy and his team.”
To up the adrenaline another notch, Wirkola made the decision to shoot the film utilizing 3D.
“When you’re make a movie like this, you really want audiences to be completely immersed in it and
3D is all about that,” Wirkola explains. “It widens everything to the point that you feel like you are in
this fairy tale land.”
A team headed by special effects make-up artist Mike Elizalde, founder of the renowned
make-up effects company Spectral Motion (Hell Boy, Hell Boy 2), designed Edward the troll and took
on bringing the witches to life -- then Wirkola brought in the Berlin-based special effects makeup
studio Twilight Creations (Inglorious Basterds, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) to design the
Stone Circle witches.
sequences.
But the real fun was in watching the actors take these roles into action
“Each of the performers suddenly became their characters,” says Elizalde. “The actors
brought that jolt of electricity.”
Another essential for the witches in Wirkola’s vision was that they had to really, truly fly -furiously fast – in visceral chase scenes. “I always felt the witches had to have brooms, but I wanted to
use them in a new way, so that they are speedsters,” says Wirkola, who worked with visual effects
supervisor Jon Farhart, utilizing wires and green screens to launch the witches through the forest.
Helping to turn more of Wirkola’s imaginings into reality was production designer Stephen
Scott -- who also worked on Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy and Hellboy 2. Like Wirkola, Scott was
mesmerized by the chance to create sets ranging from cottages to caves and underground chambers.
“Stephen has one of the richest imaginations of anyone I’ve ever met,” comments producer Messick.
Heading for Germany – to the very landscapes that first inspired Hansel & Gretel – Scott was
especially thrilled to create sets in one of the haunting natural environments on earth: dark, virgin
forests . . . the kind with full of twisting branches that reach out as if to grab you,. “We founds forests
with a real medieval feel -- and also with trees that have a scary side,” Scott explains.
In addition to the forest sets, Scott and his team had fun building Muriel’s lair (which glows with
the dying embers of children’s souls), the mouth-watering but malevolent Candy House and the set
they called “Stone Circle,” scene of the film’s climactic showdown.
One of Wirkola’s favorite sets became the Candy House. “Everyone has their own idea of what
that house might look like,” notes the director. “But the important thing was that it needed to look so
tempting that a couple of young kids would ignore their skepticism.”
“We see it first in the moonlight,” continues Scott, “with all its gooey, melting chocolate,
gingerbread on the walls and sparkling sweeties. But it also has a hidden side because inside is the
Candy Witch, and the house and the witch are one and the same: an evil and nasty piece of work.”
Perhaps the most ambitious set of all is the Stone Circle, where a daring rescue unfolds amidst
bloodthirsty witches. The scene involved hundreds of cast and crew, multiple cameras, cranes and
buckets of blood. “I love a big action finale,” says Wirkola. “It’s a fun mix of witches, machine guns
and a personal battle.”
Creative fun also fueled the film’s costumes, designed by Marlene Stewart (Terminator 2), who
designed and created nearly 100 costumes from scratch. She wanted Hansel & Gretel to look like they
belonged in a fairy tale world but also look like they could be badass bounty hunters of any era. Their
costumes might be made from traditional leather and linen – but there’s nothing antique about them.
“We turned all the traditions around by giving them a tough edge,” Stewart explains.
The actors were grateful for the inspiration the costumes provided. Says Gemma Arterton:
“Everybody went crazy for her costumes. My costume was both a little tomboyish and very sexy. She
did such a great job; honestly, I would wear that costume down the street, I loved it so much.”
While their clothing is timeless, Hansel & Gretel’s witch-hunting arsenal is as deadly as any from
our times. Simon Boucherie, a weapons designer from Berlin collaborated with Wirkola on all the
weaponry in the film. For the weaponry, Wirkola had a kind of “steampunk” vision of retro-futuristic
guns and bows that draw on century-old styles yet feature thoroughly modern firepower. “We had
this rule that all the weapons should look like they hand-made them,” he explains. “We had a lot of
fun coming up with crazy designs.”
Wirkola also made brother and sister’s choices of weaponry personal. “Hansel is the guy who
bursts in and tries to take everybody out with a shotgun, but Gretel is more about subtle precision, so
she has a double-barrel crossbow that speaks to her character, yet does what she needs.”
From the weapons to the effects to the action, that irreverent mix of the fantastical and the
fearsome became the guiding principle for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Tommy Wirkola
summarizes: “The film has a lot of action, but it was equally important that it have an adventurous
feel and a fun feeling to it. It’s still a fairy tale, but a very intense one.”
BIOS
JEREMY RENNER
Academy award nominee Jeremy Renner starred in the 2010 Best Picture winner “The
Hurt Locker.” Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film received six academy awards and was
inspired by true events about a team in present-day Baghdad that regularly deals with bomb
disposal under the constant danger of sniper fire. In his role as the self-assured Sgt. James,
Renner was awarded the Breakthrough Actor Award at the Hollywood Film Festival, the
Spotlight Award at the Savannah Film Festival and was nominated as Best Actor at the 2008
Independent Spirit Awards, as well as garnering a nomination for Breakthrough Actor at the
Gotham Awards in addition to his nomination for Best Ensemble Performance and, of course a
nomination as Best Actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Renner starred in “The Town” a film directed by Ben Affleck for Warner Bros. The film is an
adaptation of the Chuck Hogan novel “Prince of Thieves” and centers on a thief (Affleck) and his
best friend and member of his gang (Renner) and was released in the fall of 2010.
In 2007, Renner was seen in three different features, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the
Coward Robert Ford” for Warner Bros. directed by Andrew Dominik. Renner starred alongside
Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck playing a key member of James’ gang, Wood Hide; “28 Weeks
Later,” the highly anticipated sequel to “28 Days Later,” and, “Take” opposite Minnie Driver.
In 2006, he also starred in the acclaimed independent film “12 and Holding” (Independent
Spirit Award Nominee – John Cassavetes Award) demonstrating his dramatic range playing
‘Gus,’ a firefighter who moves to a new town after the haunting loss of a young girl in a fire and
who finds a way to heal himself by helping a young girl in his new town cope with her own loss
and grief.
Other recent film credits include the independent film “Neo Ned” in which he starred opposite
Gabrielle Union. “Neo Ned” was screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival and swept the
feature film category at the 11th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival in 2006. “Neo
Ned” was awarded Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actor went to Jeremy. The film
was also awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking Best Feature Film Award at the
Newport Beach Film Festival in April 2006. These awards come after winning the Audience
Award at the Slamdance, Sarasota and Ashland film festivals.
In Warner Bros.’ “North Country” Renner starred opposite Academy Award® winner Charlize
Theron. A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the U.S.,
Renner is at the center of the unfolding drama as ‘Bobby Sharp.’ Working with ‘Josie Aimes’
(Theron) at the mine in their hometown, ‘Bobby’ often clashes with the single mother over his
view that women shouldn’t work in such a demanding environment. Their disagreements drive
the drama, leading ‘Josie’ to file a class action lawsuit against the company.
Renner has been on a fast-paced production schedule the past few years. He has been seen in
“A Little Trip to Heaven,” where he again refined his skill for dark troubled characters. Starring
opposite Julia Stiles, Renner’s diabolical con man ‘Kelvin’ breaks out of prison to find his partnerin-crime/lover ‘Isold’ (Stiles), murdering her current lover, faking his own death and convincing
her to join him in a new scheme. “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things,” directed by Asia
Argento as adapted from the critically acclaimed novel by J.T. Leroy. Columbia Pictures’ “Lords
of Dogtown” for helmer Catherine Hardwicke and Aura Entertainment’s independent film “Love
Comes to the Executioner,” written and directed by Kyle Bergersen.
He also co-starred in the summer 2003 hit “S.W.A.T.” opposite Colin Farrell and Samuel L.
Jackson for Columbia Pictures
The one role that put Renner on the map and that earned the actor an Independent Spirit
Award nomination, was his role as ‘Jeffrey Dahmer’ in the indie hit “Dahmer.”
Renner recently starred opposite Tom Cruise in Mission : Impossible- Ghost Protocol for
Paramount Pictures, which released in December 2011.
With a background in theater, Renner starred in but also co-directed, “Search and Destroy,”
which was produced by Barry Levinson and received stellar reviews. Daily Variety said, “Renner
is excellent as a low-keyed sociopath,” while L.A. Weekly boasted “...dapper, would be wise guy,
Renner is terrific in finding eccentric comedy...expertly executed.”
Between film and theater, he finds the time to write, record, and perform his own music brand
of contemporary rock. Renner has written songs for Warner Chapel Publishing and Universal
Publishing.
GEMMA ARTERTON
Since graduating from RADA in 2007, Gemma Arterton has already garnered an Empire
Film award for ‘Best Newcomer’ and a nomination for the ‘Orange Rising Star’ award at the 2011
BAFTAs. Gemma has recently completed filming Brad Furman’s thriller ‘Runner, Runner’ in
Puerto Rico in the leading female role of ‘Rebecca Shafran’ alongside Ben Affleck and Justin
Timberlake. Gemma will next be seen in the lead role of ‘Gretel’ opposite Jeremy Renner in
‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’, written and directed by Tommy Wirkola, due for release in
January 2013. Gemma will also soon star in the London-set comedic drama ‘Song for Marion’
alongside Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp, as well as the highly anticipated ‘Byzantium’
directed by Neil Jordan and written by Moira Buffini, in which Gemma is set to star as vampire
‘Clara’ opposite Saoirse Ronan. Gemma has recently been announced as part of the cast for
2013’s Jeff Buckley biopic ‘Mystery White Boy’ and comedy thriller ‘The Wright Girls’ directed
by Andy Fickman.
Last year, Gemma voiced the character of ‘Shelley’ in ‘A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s
Adventure’, an animated feature including voices from John Hurt and Dominic Cooper. She also
starred in the title role in ‘Tamara Drewe’ directed by award-winning director Stephen Frears,
opposite Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans and Tamsin Greig. In 2010, Gemma appeared alongside
Sam Worthington as the goddess ‘Io’ in Louis Letterier’s remake of the 1981 epic ‘Clash of the
Titans’, based on the classic Greek myth. She also played the lead female role of ‘Princess
Tamina’ in Disney’s ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’, directed by Mike Newell, starring
alongside Hollywood stars Jake Gyllenhall and Sir Ben Kingsley. In 2009, Gemma starred in J
Blakeson’s independent film ‘The Disappearance of Alice Creed’, a thrilling tale of kidnapping
and intrigue in which she played the title role alongside Martin Compston & Eddie Marsan.
Amongst her other film credits, Gemma starred in Richard Curtis’ ‘The Boat that
Rocked’, a period comedy set in the 1960's co-starring a host of greats such as Philip Seymour
Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson and in 2008, Gemma starred as
iconic Bond Girl ‘Strawberry Fields’ in ‘Quantum of Solace’, directed by Marc Forster and
starring Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench. Her other film credits include Guy Ritchie’s gangster
film ‘RocknRolla’, ‘Three and Out’, directed by Jonathan Gershfield, and the classic remake of
‘St Trinian’s’ directed by Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson for which she was nominated for
an Empire Award and won a National Movie Award.
For television, Gemma’s heartrending portrayal of the heroic ‘Tess’ in the BBC
adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ co-starring Eddie Redmayne and
Hans Matheson earned her rave reviews and numerous award nominations. She also played the
role of ‘Elizabeth Bennett’ in ITV’s costume drama ‘Lost in Austen’. In 2007 she also starred in
the BBC’s ‘Capturing Mary’, directed by Stephen Poliakoff, in which she played the character
‘Liza’ alongside Dame Maggie Smith, David Walliams and Ruth Wilson.
For theatre, in early 2010 Gemma made her West End debut at the Garrick alongside
Rupert Friend and Tamsin Greig, in Douglas Carter Beane’s Award-winning Broadway comedy
‘The Little Dog Laughed’. She also returned to the stage in November 2010 at the
internationally renowned Almeida Theatre in Henrik Ibsen’s ‘The Master Builder’, for which,
Gemma’s performance earned her critical acclaim for her ‘spellbinding’ turn as ‘Hilda Wangel’.
Her previous theatre credits include the role of ‘Rosaline’ at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in
‘Love Labour’s Lost’ directed by Dominic Dromgoole. After gaining an award for ‘Best
Supporting Actress for Kent’, she gained a full scholarship to RADA where she took lead roles in
productions such as ‘An Ideal Husband’, ‘Titus Andronicus’ and ‘The Beggar’s Opera’.
FAMKE JANSSEN
A true leading lady, Famke Janssen refuses to fill a stereotype. By taking on a wide
range of roles in both studio and independent features and working with some of Hollywood's
best directors, she has proven herself to be not only one of the most beautiful actresses in the
business, but also one of the most talented and diverse.
Janssen is currently shooting the Netflix series HEMLOCK GROVE, created by Eli
Roth. She stars as ‘Olivia Godfrey’, the beautiful and controlling grand dame of the town of
Hemlock Grove. She most recently reprised her role as ‘Lenore’ in Twentieth Century Fox’s
TAKEN 2, the sequel to the 2009 hit TAKEN, opposite Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace. Next she
will be seen HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS, in which she stars opposite Jeremy Renner
and Gemma Arterton.
Her directorial debut film BRINGING UP BOBBY, starring Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and
Marcia Cross, which she also wrote and produced, premiered at the 2011 Deauville American
Film Festival, and also had a screening at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. It premiered in the US
in October 2012.
Janssen is well known for her role of ‘Jean Grey’ in the original X-MEN trilogy for
Twentieth Century Fox. The X-MEN blockbusters all-star cast includes Sir Ian McKellan, Hugh
Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, James Marsden and Anna Paquin. Janssen received a
Saturn Award for best supporting actress for X-MEN: THE LAST STAND which Brett Ratner
directed.
Janssen is also known for her work on the FX original drama series NIP/TUCK where she
played ‘Ava Moore’, a life coach to Joely Richardson. Janssen received a Movieline Breakthrough
Award for her star turn on the show and the provocative drama received outstanding critical
acclaim as well as an AFI Award and Golden Globe nomination for season one.
Janssen was awarded with Special Jury Best Actress Prize at Hamptons Film Festival for
her work in TURN THE RIVER IN 2007. In 2006, Janssen was awarded with the Golden Starfish
Award for Career Achievement in Acting at the Hamptons Film Festival as well as the Susan B.
Anthony “Failure is Impossible” Awards at the High Falls Film Festival.
Janssen also earned critical-acclaim for her star-making performance opposite Jon Favreau in
Valerie Breiman's LOVE AND SEX, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000.
Other credits include THE WACKNESS, opposite Ben Kingsley, HIDE AND SEEK opposite
Robert Deniro and Dakota Fanning, John Dahl's ROUNDERS opposite Edward Norton and Matt
Damon for Miramax, Jon Favreau's MADE opposite Favreau and Vince Vaughn, Woody Allen's
CELEBRITY, opposite Kenneth Branagh and Leonardo DiCaprio and the James Bond megahit
GOLDENEYE, where she starred as the lasciviously lethal assassin, "Xenia Onatopp.”
Born in Holland, Janssen moved to the United States where she now resides. She
majored in writing and literature at Columbia and studied stagecraft with Harold Guskin.
PETER STORMARE
Whether you realize it or not, you’ve definitely seen prolific actor Peter Stormare
before, which wouldn’t be surprising since the Swedish-born actor/director has starred in over
100 different films and television series in the last 30 years, from big budget to indie, network to
cable, America to Sweden and dozens of countries in between. And, of course, that memorable
2011 Super Bowl commercial for Budweiser…“Tiny Dancer” in a wild-west saloon, anyone?
Stormare will soon be seen starring in LOCKOUT, a futuristic action-comedy produced by
famed French director Luc Besson. Co-starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace, Stormare plays
‘Scott Langral,’ the American president’s no-nonsense security chief in charge of containing the
overthrow of an experimental prison full of sadistic inmates – in space. Things get complicated
when it’s discovered that the first daughter is trapped aboard the orbiting facility and at the
mercy of 500 psychopaths! LOCKOUT hits domestic theaters on April 13th.
In January 2013, audiences will see Stormare starring opposite Jeremy Renner and Gemma
Arterton in Paramount’s HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS. Also in the can are the indies
JEWTOPIA with Jennifer Love Hewitt and SMALL APARTMENTS, a comedy with Billy Crystal and
Juno Temple. He’ll also appear in the features SIBERIAN EDUCATION, opposite John Malkovich,
Mel Gibson’s GET THE GRINGO, and LAST STAND, the Lionsgate film that marks the big screen
return of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also shot a guest spot on the hit CBS drama “NCIS: Los
Angeles.”
Currently, Stormare is voicing a lead role in the latest SCOOBY DOO animated feature, and
recently shot and starred in three films from China: INSEPARABLE with Kevin Spacey, TAI CHI
HERO, and THE TURTLE SOUP. Over the past several years, Stormare has worked with a who’s
who of Hollywood stars, such as Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga (HENRY’S CRIME), Willem
DaFoe (ANAMORPH), Nicole Kidman (BIRTH), and Sandra Bullock (PREMONITION).
Stormare began his acting career in the theatre in his early 20s, working with the
legendary director Ingmar Bergman in their native Sweden at the Royal National Theater. After
earning much praise for his starring turns in “Miss Julie,” “King Lear,” and “Hamlet” among
others, Stormare toured with Bergman in the US, doing the aforementioned productions in both
New York and Los Angeles in the late 80s. Strong performances lead to an opportunity to star in
“Rasputin” off-Broadway with the renowned Actor’s Studio, and Stormare soon caught the eye
legendary ICM talent agent Sam Cohen, getting him one step closer to realizing his dream of
becoming a film actor in America.
After getting his first taste of the film world in several indies, Stormare was then cast in
AWAKENING, directed by Penny Marshall. While working off-Broadway again, this time at the
Public Theater doing “The Swan,” Stormare struck up a friendship with Frances McDormand.
The friendship eventually led to four career-changing days of work on the Coen Brothers cult
classic FARGO, where he played the hulking, blonde-haired half of a kidnapping duo alongside
Steve Buscemi. He’d work with the Coen Brothers again in THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and in between
he’d star in Spielberg’s THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK.
Roles in ARMAGEDDON (Michael Bay), 8MM (Joel Schumacher), MINORITY REPORT
(Spielberg again), BAD BOYS II (Bay again), CONSTANTINE, and THE BROTHERS GRIMM (Terry
Gilliam) followed and all the while Stormare continued to do several Swedish and international
films as well as television, starring in as a rogue electrician named ‘Slippery Pete’ in “Seinfeld” as
well as in the Emmy-nominated television miniseries “Hitler: The Rise of Evil.” He also served as
the associate director of the Globe Theater in Tokyo for eight years during his early film career.
Stormare starred in season one of FOX’s hit show “Prison Break” as mob boss ‘John
Abruzzi in his most visible television role at the time. His other television credits include a series
regular role in the Julia Louis-Dreyfus sitcom “Watching Ellie,” a recurring role in HBO’s
“Entourage,” and recent guest spots in FX’s “Wilfred,” USA’s “Covert Affairs,” “Leverage” for
TNT,” ABC’s “Body of Proof.” His recent film credits include THE TUXEDO, NACHO LIBRE, and
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS among others.
In addition to his impressive body of work theatrically, Stormare is passionate about his
music and formed a band called Blonde From Fargo, in homage to his breakout role in the Coen
Bros film. The five-member rock and roll band includes the guitarist from Roxette, the drummer
from Alanis Morrisette, and the bass player from Slash’s Snakepit, with Stormare writing all of
the music and playing guitar. The band has performed at Lebowski-Fest, as well as toured North
America and Europe.
Stormare currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
HANS ZIMMER (Executive Music Producer)
Hans Zimmer has scored over 100 films, grossing more than 15 billion dollars at the box
office worldwide. He has been honored with an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and four
Grammy’s. In 2003, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers presented him
the prestigious Henry Mancini award for Lifetime Achievement for his impressive and influential
body of work.
Hans’ interest in music began early, and after a move from Germany to the U.K., would
lead to playing with and producing various bands, including The Buggles, whose “Video Killed
the Radio Star” was the first music video to ever appear on MTV. But the world of film music
was what Hans really wanted to be involved with. Not long after meeting established film
composer Stanley Myers, the two founded the London-based Lillie Yard Recording Studios
together, collaborating on such films as My Beautiful Laundrette.
It was Hans’ solo work in 1988’s A World Apart, however, that gained the attention of
director Barry Levinson, who then asked Hans to score Rain Man, Hans’ first American film.
Levinson’s instinct was right – the score’s Oscar nomination that followed would be the first of
nine.
With Hans’ subsequent move to Hollywood, he expanded the range of genres of film
music he explored, and his first venture into the world of animation, 1994’s The Lion King,
brought Hans the Oscar. The Lion King’s soundtrack has sold over 15 million copies to date, and
The Lion King Musical has gone on to win a Tony Award, and to become Broadway’s ninthlongest-running show in history.
A number of scores for animated films have followed, including co-writing four Bryan
Adams songs for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, including the Golden Globe nominated “Here I
Am.” Hans has also scored The Simpsons Movie, Kung Fu Panda and collaborated with will.i.am
in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
Hans’ career has been marked by a unique ability to adeptly move between genres –
between smaller films and comedies (such as Driving Miss Daisy, Peter Weir’s Green Card, Tony
Scott’s True Romance, Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise, James L. Brooks’ As Good As It Gets,
Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give, and The Holiday) and big blockbusters (including Tony
Scott’s Crimson Tide, John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2, Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, Black Hawk
Down, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, Gore Verbinski’s The Pirates of the Caribbean series,
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, and Ron Howard’s The Da Vinci Code).
In the middle of Hans’ unparalleled pace of taking on new projects, his ability to
innovate, to re-invent genres is what is perhaps most striking. The film scores Hans has done this
for speak for themselves, whether it has been for drama in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man, action in
Ridley Scott’s Black Rain, war in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, or most recently the dark
comic book world of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, for which he received another
Grammy.
It was Hans’ unique take on the historical in Gladiator that earned him another Golden
Globe. The album sold more than three million copies worldwide and spawned a second album
“Gladiator: More Music from the Motion Picture.”
Hans’ roots in performing never left him, and in 2000, Hans performed his film music
live for the first time in a concert at the 27th annual Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent,
Belgium. With a 100-piece orchestra and 100-piece choir, he performed a number of newly
orchestrated concert versions of a selection of his work. The concert was recorded by Decca and
released as a concert album entitled “The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer.”
His background in collaboration and mentoring never left Hans either, and he created a
Santa Monica based musical ‘think tank’, Remote Control Productions, in order to build a
creative environment to nurture the talent of those new to the composing world. In the process,
he has launched the careers of an unparalleled number of film and television composers,
including John Powell (the Bourne Trilogy), Harry-Gregson Williams (Shrek, Bridget Jones: The
Edge of Reason), Geoff Zanelli (Disturbia), Heitor Pereira (Curious George), Henry Jackman
(Monsters vs. Aliens), James Dooley (Pushing Daisies), James Levine (Nip / Tuck, Damages),
Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man), Rupert Gregson-Williams (Hotel Rwanda), Steve Jablonsky
(Transformers), and Trevor Morris (The Tudors).
Hans has received a total of 10 Golden Globe Nominations, 10 Grammy Nominations,
and 9 Oscar Nominations, the most recent for Christopher Nolan’s Inception. His innovative and
powerful score has been praised as the Best Score of 2010 by countless critics’ groups and has
earned him BAFTA, Golden Globe, Grammy and Critics Choice Award nominations. His other
Oscar nominations include Sherlock Holmes, Rain Man, Gladiator, The Lion King, As Good As It
Gets, The Preacher’s Wife, The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt. Hans has been honored
with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Composition from the National Board
of Review. He also received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2010. Zimmer
served as Music Director for the 84th Academy Awards in 2012.
His recent films include The Dark Knight Rises, which marked his fourth collaboration
with director Christopher Nolan, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock
Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides directed by Rob
Marshall, Kung Fu Panda 2, Gore Verbinski’s Rango, Megamind, How Do You Know, Nancy
Meyers’ It’s Complicated, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, Frost / Nixon, The Dark Knight and Ron
Howard’s Angels & Demons.
Zimmer’s upcoming films include Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder and set for
release in June 2013, and Rush, directed by Ron Howard and set for release in September 2013.
ATLI ÖRVARSSON (Music by)
From historical epics to courtroom drama to tales of the supernatural, Icelandic composer
Atli Orvarsson has provided innovative scores to tell all of these stories. Orvarsson’s talent,
experience, versatility, and skill combine with his Icelandic roots to produce an individualized and
compelling style. Orvarsson’s credits include orchestrating and writing music for some of
Hollywood’s biggest projects, including the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. He has contributed
music to films including “Angels and Demons” and “The Holiday,” and has scored numerous films
including “The Eagle,” “Vantage Point,” “Babylon A.D.,” the Morgan Freeman caper “Thick as
Thieves,” “The Fourth Kind” and the Nicolas Cage medieval fantasy “Season of the Witch.”
Orvarsson’s most recent credits include the drama/thriller “A Single Shot” starring Sam Rockwell,
the hit NBC series “Chicago Fire,” and working with Hans Zimmer to contribute music to the Zack
Snyder Superman reinstallment “Man of Steel. “
Originally from the small town of Akureyri, Orvarsson earned three platinum and two gold
records as a member of the Icelandic band Salin hans Jons mins before studying film composing at
Berklee College of Music and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Orvarsson was the recipient of
the Pete Carpenter fellowship, which brought him to Los Angeles where he began working alongside
TV veteran Mike Post on projects such as “NYPD Blue” and “Law and Order.” Orvarsson soon caught
the attention of the highly renowned composer Hans Zimmer who extended an invitation to
Orvarsson to join Zimmer’s team at Remote Control Studios. In addition to critical acclaim,
Orvarsson has received several ASCAP awards for his work and was nominated for the prestigious
World Soundtrack Academy’s Discovery of the Year Award for his score for “Babylon A.D.”
MARLENE STEWART (Costume)
Marlene Stewart received her Master’s degree in European History from UC Berkeley
and went on to get another degree in design from the Fashion Institute of Design &
Merchandising. She has since built a long and illustrious career, working with some of the most
prominent filmmakers of our time.
Stewart was an early pioneer in music videos, working with, among others, Smashing
Pumpkins, The Bangles, Eurythmics, The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Debbie Harry. She
also toured with Madonna three times and designed clothing for some of her most popular
music videos, including “Vogue,” “Material Girl,” “Like a Prayer” and “Express Yourself.” The
“Vogue” video earned her an MTV Music Video Award for Best Costumes.
During this time, Stewart designed a contemporary women’s clothing line, Covers, that
appeared in stores in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Milan and Rome.
Stewart’s feature-film credits include the upcoming “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,”
directed by Tommy Wirkola, "Oblivion," directed by Joseph Kosinski, “Real Steel,” "Date Night”
and the “Night at the Museum” movies, all directed by Shawn Levy, “Tropic Thunder,” directed
by Ben Stiller, “Stop-Loss,” directed by Kimberly Pierce, “The Holiday,” directed by Nancy Meyer,
“Hitch,” directed by Andy Tennant, “21 Grams,” directed by Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu, “Ali,”
directed by Michael Mann, “Coyote Ugly,” directed by David McNally, “Gone in 60 Seconds,”
directed by Dominic Sena, “Enemy of the State,” directed by Tony Scott, “The Phantom,”
directed by Simon Wincer, “True Lies” and “Terminator 2, ”directed by James Cameron, “JFK”
and “The Doors,” directed by Oliver Stone and “Siesta,” directed by Mary Lambert.
Stewart has also been awarded Costume Designer’s Guild award for career achievement
this year, as well as the Bob Mackie Award for Design.
JIM PAGE (Editor)
Jim Page is an editor with extensive experience in both film and television. Jim is
currently working on HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS, which is slated to be released in
March 2012. His previous films span a diversity of genres including comedy, action-thriller and
horror and feature projects such as LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, EAGLE EYE, DISTURBIA and KISS KISS
BANG BANG.
STEPHEN SCOTT (Production Designer)
Stephen Scott commenced his career in the BBC Television Design Department, and
then migrated in to the freelance film industry a decade later. He is a “studio trained”
professional, having worked his way up through the “ranks”, gaining experience and knowledge
along the way—and known within the industry for his innovative approach to design in all scales
and subject matter, with a fine and considerate attention to detail.
Scott’s credits as production designer include Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy and Hellboy
2: The Golden Army. Scott also designed Doom, Highlander: Endgame and episodes of the
original British television series Doctor Who. Further credits as art director include Die Another
Day, Tomorrow Never Dies, First Knight, Afraid of the Dark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,
Madame Sousatzka and Inspector Morse. He worked as assistant art director on Interview With
the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Scott lives in London, but enjoys working in all corners of the world—wherever the job
takes him. His work and his inspiring, untiring creative energy are widely admired by others,
and his generosity of spirit and leadership treasured by so many.
MICHAEL BONVILLAIN (Director of Photography)
Michael Bonvillain began working on commercials in New York before shooting his first
feature, “Amongst Friends,” which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival. He has worked with
J.J. Abrams on “Felicity,” “Alias” and “Lost.” Twice nominated for the ASC Award, he has three
Emmy nominations, winning once for the pilot of “Alias.”
He currently lives in Los Angeles.
DENIS L. STEWART (Executive Producer)
Denis L. Stewart recently served as executive producer on Cowboys & Aliens, his second
feature film with director Jon Favreau, after Iron Man 2. Prior to that he was co-producer for
Steven Spielberg on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which marked Stewart's
third film with Indian Jones producer Frank Marshall, having served as production manager on
Eight Below, The Bourne Supremacy and “The Bourne Ultimatum.
Stewart is a thirty year film veteran, working as production manager on Spider-Man 2
and 3, Munich, Bewitched, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Panic Room. Before that he worked
as first assistant director on more than 20 feature films including, Amistad, Speed 2: Cruise
Control, The Chamber, Executive Decision, The Mask, Random Hearts and Fair Game. He is
currently executive producing Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunters, starring Jeremy Renner.
CHRIS HENCHY (Executive Producer)
Chris Henchy runs Gary Sanchez Productions, co-founded by comedians Will Ferrell and
Adam McKay, which partnered with Sequoia Capital to launch www.funnyordie.com. Henchy
was involved in the creation of the website and is integral in its ongoing commitment to
showcase the best comedy on the web.
Henchy has been a writer and producer on such shows as “Entourage”, “Spin City” and
“I'm With Her”. He's a producer of the HBO comedy series “Eastbound and Down”. In addition,
Henchy wrote the feature films “Land of the Lost” for Universal Pictures, Sony's “The Other
Guys” starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and most recently finished "The Campaign” for
Warner Brothers, staring Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. Born in New York City, Henchy resides in
Los Angeles with his wife, actress Brooke Shields, and their two daughters. For more on Chris’
career:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0376260/
TRIPP VINSON (Executive Producer)
Tripp Vinson is a film and television producer with over 15 years of experience
producing studio and independent films in the genres of action, horror and science fiction.
Vinson’s credits include blockbusters such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, Journey 2: The
Mysterious Island, The Rite, The Guardian and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. In November 2011
Vinson launched his own production company, Vinson Films. Most recently, Vinson sold the
Japanese Anime film Vexille to Universal Pictures and the television show Intelligence to ABC.
Currently prepping to shoot in January is Murder Mystery starring Charlize Theron, with John
Madden directing. The highly anticipated remake, Red Dawn starring Chris Hemsworth and Josh
Hutcherson will be in theaters nationwide on November 21st, 2012.
Prior to opening Vinson Films, Vinson was partner at ContraFilm, a New Line Cinema
based production company. The company boasts a worldwide box office gross of over $1 billion.
The first release under their banner was After the Sunset, starring Pierce Brosnan and Salma
Hayek and directed by Brett Ratner. Also produced by Contrafilm, in conjunction with
Lakeshore, was Screen Gem’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, directed by Scott Derrickson, which
not only grossed in excess of $150 million worldwide, but was also one the most profitable and
successful films of 2005. In early 2006 Contrafilm released the CG-animated film, The Wild, for
Disney, which has grossed over $100 million worldwide. That fall, Contrafilm produced The
Guardian for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, starring Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner. In
February of 2007, the company released the Jim Carrey thriller, The Number 23, starring Virginia
Madsen and directed by Joel Schumacher for New Line Cinema.
Contrafilm produced Journey to the Center of the Earth, the first ever live action film to
be shot in Digital 3D. Journey was a co-production between New Line Cinema and Walden
Media and was the first live action film completely shot in digital 3D, grossing over $101 million
domestically and $241 million internationally from its summer 2008 release. In the fall of 2008,
Contrafilm released their Sundance hit Choke, through Fox Searchlight. Choke was based on the
novel by acclaimed author Chuck Palahniuk, which starred Sam Rockwell and was directed by
Clark Gregg. New Line Cinema film, The Rite written by Michael Petroni, starring Sir Anthony
Hopkins and Colin O’Donoghue, was released in January 2011, grossing $96 million worldwide.
Currently in post production for Contrafilm is Battle of the Year: 3D with Sony Screen
Gems, based on the documentary. In the fall of 2011, What’s Your Number? was released,
starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was released this past
February 2012 and currently has grossed $325 million worldwide. Red Dawn starring Chris
Hemsworth, written by Carl Ellsworth and directed by Dan Bradley, will be released in
November 2012 by Film District/Open Road. Currently in active development is Murder Mystery
written by Jamie Vanderbilt, with John Madden directing and Charlize Theron attached to star,
as well as Bob the Musical set up at Disney. Along with that, Shadow Runner is set up at Sony
Pictures Entertainment, starring Chris Hemsworth and Inside the Machine is in development
with CBS Films.
WILL FERRELL (Producer)
Will Ferrell has come a long way since his days on Saturday Night Live, crossing over
from television icon to motion picture star.
Ferrell most recently starred opposite Zach Galifinakis in Warner Brother’s The
Campaign. Directed by Jay Roach, the film has earned over $100 million worldwide to date and
became the highest grossing political comedy in U.S. box office history.
Earlier this year, Ferrell toplined the esoteric comedy Casa de Mi Padre, opposite Latin
America’s biggest stars, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, in the all-Spanish film.
Ferrell will next begin production on the sequel to Anchorman early next year with the
film coming out in Christmas, 2013.
Other recent film credits include the acclaimed independent feature Everything Must
Go, directed by Dan Rush. Based on a Raymond Carver short story, Ferrell portrayed an alcoholic
who has relapsed and, in turn, loses his wife and job. In an attempt to start over, he holds a
yard sale on his front lawn where he discovers a new neighbor may be the key to his
recovery. This dramatic departure from comedies for Ferrell premiered at the 2010 Toronto
International Film Festival.
Ferrell lent his voice as the title character super villain, Megamind in the DreamWorks
Animation 3-D animated film. Released in the fall of 2010, Megamind also stars Brad Pitt, Tina
Fey and Jonah Hill, and went on to make over $140 million in the domestic box office.
Prior to Megamind, Ferrell was seen opposite Mark Wahlberg, as he collaborated with
his long-time producing and writing partner, Adam McKay to release the buddy-cop film, The
Other Guys. The film went on to make over $100 million domestically.
In 2009, Ferrell debuted on Broadway by headlining the sold out, one-man comedy
show You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush. Nominated for a Tony
Award in the “Best Special Event” category and directed by Adam McKay, Ferrell perfected his
infamous Saturday Night Live character "President George W. Bush" in this show that Daily
Variety called "consistently funny." At the end of its Broadway run, Ferrell performed the show
in its entirety live on HBO.
In 2007, Ferrell and McKay founded the popular and award-winning video website
Funnyordie.com. With hundreds of exclusive celebrity videos and a steady stream of huge viral
hits, Funny Or Die has become the “place to be seen” for comedic celebrities, and the obvious
destination for a daily comedy fix. The site's first video, “The Landlord,” has received over 78
million views and features Ferrell confronted by a swearing, beer-drinking two-year-old
landlord. The site averages over 7 million unique viewers per month and over 24 million video
views per month.
Soon thereafter, Ferrell and McKay joined forces to open their own production
company, Gary Sanchez Productions. Gary Sanchez is in production on the fourth season of the
dark HBO comedy series, Eastbound and Down starring Danny McBride who will be co-writing
with director Jody Hill.
Thus far, Gary Sanchez supported the 2006 Sundance hit The Foot Fist Way starring
McBride (Tropic Thunder), who also co-wrote with director Hill, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
starring Jeremy Piven, and Step Brothers which earned over $100 million domestically. In 2006
Ferrell starred in the hit comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with co-stars John
C. Reilly and Sacha Baron Cohen. Earning nearly $150 million at the U.S. box office, the film
became the season’s #1 comedy (non-animated) and continues to set records on DVD.
In the summer of 2004, Ferrell starred in the cult comedy Anchorman: The Legend of
Ron Burgundy for DreamWorks Pictures. Produced by Judd Apatow, Ferrell co-wrote the script
with McKay. Ferrell portrayed Ron Burgundy, a 1970s anchorman with an inflated ego
threatened by the arrival of an ambitious female newscaster who, unlike him, has mastered
journalism.
Ferrell starred for seven seasons on Saturday Night Live in 2002, having taken the nation
by storm during “Indecision 2000” by his portrayal of President George W. Bush on the
show. Some of his most memorable SNL characters include Craig the Spartan Cheerleader,
musical middle school teacher Marty Culp, and President George W. Bush. Among his many
impressions are Janet Reno, Alex Trebek, Neil Diamond and the late, great Chicago Cubs
sportscaster Harry Caray. His work on SNL earned two Emmy nominations in 2001 (Outstanding
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, and Outstanding Writing for a Variety,
Music or Comedy Program).
Ferrell’s previous film credits include Zoolander, Elf, the Woody Allen feature Melinda
and Melinda, Old School, and the screen adaptation of The Producers, which earned Ferrell his
first Golden Globe nomination in 2006 for Best Supporting Actor. In 2007, Ferrell earned his
second Golden Globe nomination (Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical) for his portrayal of IRS
agent Harold Crick in Stranger Than Fiction.
A testament to his impact on the American comedic landscape, Ferrell was named the
recipient of the 2011 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The award recognizes people who
have had an impact on American society in the same vein as social commentator, satirist, and
creator of memorable characters, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Previous recipients of the
prize include comedy greats such as the late Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve
Martin, and Tina Fey.
Raised in Irvine, California, Ferrell attended USC and graduated with a degree in sports
information. Upon graduation, he worked as a sportscaster on a weekly show broadcast over a
local cable channel. Soon after, he enrolled in acting classes and stand-up comedy workshops at
a nearby community college and was eventually asked to join the esteemed comedy/improv
group The Groundlings after just one year of training. It was at The Groundlings that Ferrell was
discovered for Saturday Night Live.
ADAM MCKAY (Producer)
Adam McKay is a writer, director, and producer whose film credits include Anchorman,
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, The Other Guys and most recently
The Campaign. McKay’s upcoming projects include Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters, starring
Jeremy Renner, Undroppable, a documentary that tackles the dropout rate in our schools and
Anchorman 2, all slated for release in 2013.
McKay is a former head writer of SNL and one of the founding members of the Upright
Citizens Brigade. Other past credits include writing for Michael Moore's show The Awful Truth
and co- founding the comedy website Funny or Die with Will Ferrell. McKay also produces HBOʼs
hit comedy series Eastbound and Down, now in its 4th season, through his and Ferrell’s
Company, Gary Sanchez Productions. In 2009 he took to the stage, directing the Tony
nominated Broadway show You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush.
KEVIN MESSICK (Producer)
Kevin Messick joined up with writer/producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s
Paramount based production company Gary Sanchez Production in January 2009. The first film
he Executive Produced for the company was Sony’s hit comedy THE OTHER GUYS starring Will
Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes and Samuel L. Jackson.
Prior to joining Gary Sanchez Productions, Messick was an independent producer with
his last film premiering in competition at the 2009 Sundance Film festival and it was there where
he spotted the potential of Norwegian writer/director Tommy Wirkola for the first time who
was premiering his new horror film “Dead Snow” to a packed house at a midnight screening.
Subsequently he heard Wirkola’s pitch for his idea about sibling bounty hunters based on the
famous fairy tale Hansel and Gretel – which immediately sold to Paramount for Gary Sanchez
Productions to produce. Less than two years after selling the pitch, Messick and Wirkola were in
Berlin shooting HANSEL AND GRETEL, WITCH HUNTERS starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma
Arterton.
Most recently, Messick was an Executive Producer on Paramount’s action/thriller JACK
REACHER as well as on CASA DE MI PADRE, a Spanish language film starring Will Ferrell, Diego
Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal. With Ferrell and McKay, Messick also produced THE GOODS: LIVE
HARD SELL HARD starring Jeremy Piven for Paramount Vantage.
Past producing credits include THE ANSWER MAN (Official Selection Sundance Film
Festival - Dramatic Competition), which starred Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham; Touchstone’s A
LOT LIKE LOVE with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet; the documentary AMERICAN PIMP
(Official Selection Sundance Film Festival - Documentary Competition) directed by Allen and
Albert Hughes; Sony’s TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. directed by Kiefer Sutherland starring
Vincent Gallo; THE BABYSITTER starring Alicia Silverstone; and New Line Cinema’s SURVIVING
THE GAME directed by Ernest Dickerson, starring Rutger Hauer and Ice T.
Messick graduated with an MFA from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
BEAU FLYNN (Producer)
One year ago, Beau Flynn announced the formation of his new solo venture, Flynn
Picture Company, where he continues to produce high concept, franchise and genre projects
across all media platforms, building on nearly 16 years of producing feature films. Prior to
launching FPC, Flynn co-founded production company, Contrafilm, in March 2004. Since that
company’s inception, he has produced films that have earned more than $1.2 billion at the
worldwide box office.
In January of 2013, Paramount will release the Flynn-produced “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D”,
starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton and Famke Janssen. September of 2013 will see the release
of Battle of the Year: The Dream Team, directed by Benson Lee based on his own documentary
starring Josh Holloway, Josh Peck and Chris Brown.
Flynn is also currently in post-production on the 2011 Blacklist title Two Night Stand, penned by Mark
Hammer, starring Analeigh Tipton and Miles Teller, for which Max Nichols made his feature directorial
debut. He produced with uber-director and first time producer Ruben Fleischer.
Presently in theatres for Flynn is the MGM remake of Red Dawn, starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh
Hutcherson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Red Dawn hit theatres during Thanksgiving 2012 and was
released by FilmDistrict in conjunction with Open Road.
Prior to that, his last released effort Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 3D, the sequel to the family hit
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, which starred Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson,
Vanessa Hudgens and Luis Guzman, grossed over $325 million worldwide after it bowed in February of
2012.
In 2011 Flynn released the modestly budgeted The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins and directed by
Mikael Hafstrom, for New Line which grossed nearly $100 million worldwide. He also released What’s
Your Number? for Regency/Fox, starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans.
In the summer of 2008, he produced the adventure hit Journey to the Center of the Earth, starring
Brendan Fraser. The first ever live-action film to be shot in HD 3D, it was the widest digital release in
history, and grossed over $250 million theatrically worldwide. In the fall of that year, Flynn released
the Sundance hit Choke, based on the novel by acclaimed author Chuck Palahniuk, starring Sam
Rockwell and directed by Clark Gregg.
Prior to these films, Flynn produced Scott Derrickson’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which grossed in
excess of $150 million globally, as well as After the Sunset, helmed by Brett Ratner.
Also, in 2007, Flynn released the thriller The Number 23, starring Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen
under the direction of Joel Schumacher. In Spring 2006, Flynn released his first CG-animated film, The
Wild, which grossed over $100 million worldwide. That fall, he produced The Guardian, starring
Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner.
On the TV side of things Flynn is executive producing Hatfield’s and McCoy’s for ABC Studios at NBC.
He is producing with Charlize Theron’s Denver & Delilah as well as Grady Twins Productions. He began
his television producing career in 2000 as a creator/executive producer on the groundbreaking reality
show Fear on MTV.
Prior to launching Flynn Picture Company, Flynn founded Bandeira Entertainment where he
independently produced such critically acclaimed films as Tigerland, Requiem for a Dream, The House
of Yes, The Alarmist, Guinevere and Johns. Flynn’s first job in the industry was as Scott Rudin’s first
assistant.
TOMMY WIRKOLA (Writer / Director)
Tommy Wirkola first captured the attention of Hollywood with “Dead Snow,” an
outlandish horror film he wrote and directed about an army of Nazi zombies haunting some
woods in contemporary Norway. After a sold out midnight screening of his film at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival, Wirkola landed both an agent and the interest of producers in hearing
what other original ideas the talented young Norwegian filmmaker had in mind as a follow up
film. Wirkola’s first Hollywood meeting was with Adam McKay, Kevin Messick and Chris Henchy
at Gary Sanchez Productions where he pitched them his revised take on the Famous fairytale
siblings Hansel and Gretel and his plans to make an R-rated action / horror film about the grown
up versions of the two children who survived being killed by the candy house witch. Gary
Sanchez Productions loved the idea and backed the young writer / director to Paramount
Pictures, who hired him to write the screenplay. Less than two years after selling the pitch.
Wirkola was in Berlin shooting HANSEL AND GRETEL, WITCH HUNTERS as a big budget studio
film in 3D with an international cast and crew.
Wirkola is currently writing HOLY MEN for Paramount and is producing a U.S. remake of
his hit Norwegian television series HELLFJORD, both with Gary Sanchez Productions producing.