In a future world inhabited only by robots, one young inventor travels from his small town to Robot City in hope of making the world better. He encounters opposition from those who stand to profit by keeping things in Robot City status quo.
Acclaimed director Chris Wedge, who created the Academy Award® winning short film "Bunny" and the worldwide box-office smash ICE AGE, now brings his innovative filmmaking magic to ROBOTS, taking the computer generated animated film genre to an exciting new level. For the first time ever, an animated feature presents a totally imagined world--a wondrously clanky universe populated solely by mechanical beings.
And never has a cast of this caliber, encompassing five Oscar® winners, as well as Emmy® and Tony® honorees, been brought together for an animated feature. Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, and Robin Williams voice the principal roles. Also taking on key parts are Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti and Dianne Wiest.
ROBOTS marks Robin Williams' return to feature film animation, following his role in 1992's "Aladdin." In addition, ROBOTS is Mel Brooks' debut voicing effort in an animated feature.
Special "cameo" voices include Jay Leno, Dan Hedaya, James Earl Jones, "Today's" Al Roker, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Terry Bradshaw.
In the film you'll meet memorable bots Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor), a young genius inventor who dreams of helping robots everywhere; Cappy (Halle Berry), a beautiful, dynamic and savvy bot with whom Rodney is instantly smitten; the nefarious corporate tyrant Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) who locks horns with Rodney; Bigweld (Mel Brooks), a master inventor who has lost his way; and a group of misfit 'bots known as the Rusties, led by Fender (Robin Williams) and Piper Pinwheeler (Amanda Bynes). Fender's head, arms, and legs routinely fall off at the most inopportune moments. As Rodney fulfills Fender's ongoing need for repairs, the two become fast friends. Piper is Fender's tomboy kid sister, who surprises everyone with her determination and strength.
The result is a timeless, comedic tale that pushes the boundaries of animation while introducing characters rich with physical humor and soul, and a heart-warming story that proves that a robot can shine no matter what he or she is made of.
What if we created a world inhabited entirely by robots? How would it run? What would it look like? How would the robots act?
These were just a few of the questions pondered by director Chris Wedge when he and noted author and illustrator William Joyce first kicked around some thoughts for a new animated feature film. It was Twentieth Century Fox Animation president Chris Meledandri who teamed Joyce, whose beloved children's books include Santa Calls, Dinosaur Bob, A Day with Wilbur Robinson and Rolie Polie Olie, with ICE AGE helmer Wedge. Wedge also holds a key executive position at Blue Sky Studios, which produced ICE AGE and ROBOTS. Joyce and Wedge hit it off, and the ideas started flowing--including the notion of a robotic world.
"Ideas start with a setting," says Wedge, "and I thought a mechanical world would be a place I'd want to visit, creatively. There have been many movies with robots, many of them science fiction, but Bill Joyce and I wanted to create something different: a whimsical, colorful world of mechanical people.
"It would be a totally created world," Wedge continues. "Meaning, of course, we realized that we would have to invent everything. It's not a movie set in the ice age, or about insects or fish. There were no reference points we could draw from."
Joyce, like Wedge, embraced the challenges of devising this brave new world, while acknowledging the task would be a formidable one. "I once told a friend the thing that would make me happiest would be the chance to design an entire world," says Joyce. "And with ROBOTS I got the opportunity to do just that."
While Joyce worked on early designs, Wedge directed an animation test of robot characters. But before serious work could begin on ROBOTS, Chris Meledandri asked Wedge to direct an animated feature about a woolly mammoth, sabretooth tiger and a sloth, set during prehistoric times. This, of course, was ICE AGE. Wedge agreed, with the understanding that ROBOTS would follow ICE AGE, which became a box-office and critical hit in 2002. (A sequel, ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN is now in production.)
Following the successful release of ICE AGE, Wedge and Joyce could turn their attentions to ROBOTS. Joyce, who is the film's Executive Producer and Production Designer, researched ideas and concepts at junkyards, factories, second hand stores--even his own kitchen, where he found inspiration from waffle irons and a meat grinder. "We visited places that were machine-oriented," he notes.
Wedge and ROBOTS Co-Director Carlos Saldanha, who shared helming duties on ICE AGE, began mapping out ROBOTS' story and direction. Their experience on ICE AGE, as fruitful and demanding as it was, did little to prepare them for the challenges of the new film. "ROBOTS is a far more complex film than ICE AGE," says Saldanha. "The story, characters, setting--everything--was on another level versus what we had done before. With ICE AGE, we had vast areas colored white in the background with only three principal characters; with ROBOTS we created a massive, multi-leveled city and many more characters. And each of these characters has tremendous detail, like little bits of rust or chipped paint."
According to Fox Animation's Chris Meledandri, the story's themes give resonance to ROBOTS. "It's about the dreams parents have for their children," he says. "These dramatic expressions are conveyed through humor. They unfold through a big comedy framework that is visually dazzling and unlike anything we've seen before."
The film's unique visuals are largely the result of Blue Sky's proprietary technology, the cornerstone of which is its ray tracing renderer, CGI Studio. The renderer, the fastest and most advanced of its type, allowed the filmmakers to manipulate their animated environments as if they were working with real lights on a real set, working with materials that behaved the way they do in the "real" world.
"This is important in ROBOTS," says Blue Sky Co-Founder Carl Ludwig, "because in a mechanical world, almost every surface in the film is reflective, as it's a mechanical world." Adds Michael J. Travers, CG Supervisor for ROBOTS: "What you'll see in ROBOTS is lighting and a richness that makes you feel like you're looking at real-life metals, and actual painted and dented characters."
While this state-of-the-art technology helped give ROBOTS its unique look, veteran screenwriters Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel contributed much of its comedy and heart. One of Hollywood's premier comedy writing teams, Ganz's & Mandel's long list of credits include "Splash," "A League of Their Own," "City Slickers," "Parenthood" and Fox's upcoming "Fever Pitch." ROBOTS is their debut animated feature.
"We had a great time working on the relationship between Rodney and his father--how Rodney leaves home, with his dad's blessing, to pursue his dreams," says Ganz. "That material was partly based on our own experiences leaving New York and going to California to become writers. Rodney's trip to Robot City to fulfill his dreams communicated a sense of possibility that reminded us of our own journeys."
"It's a coming-of-age story in many ways," adds Mandel. "It's about Rodney believing in himself and trying to make a sharp-edged turn from adolescence into adulthood. Who can't relate to that?"
Ganz & Mandel embraced the back-and-forth creative process of an animated feature film. "With live action, you are limited in the amount of fine-tuning you can do once the film is in production," Ganz points out. "It's like a truck going downhill with no brakes.
"But with animated pictures, the filmmakers can stop and rethink a scene visually. So we found ourselves in situations where we could write the same scene again--only different. It was very exciting and something very different for us."
What does a robot look like? We've seen countless mechanical beings in a myriad of science fiction films, television shows--even stage productions. Some were threatening, others just plain silly. But for this new, computer generated animated feature film, Chris Wedge was determined to create mechanical beings unlike any seen before.
Wedge knew it would be a delicate balance between respecting the integrity of his mechanical beings--resisting the temptation to anthropomorphize them--and having the characters emote as much as a human would in a live action film.
William Joyce designed some of the principal characters, giving them a sense of fun and whimsy. Their sense of playfulness, together with Blue Sky's rendering programs, which added realism, and the actors' and animators' performances, all made significant contributions to make Wedge's vision a reality.
ROBOTS revolves around Rodney Copperbottom, whom Wedge and the filmmakers envisioned as journeying to the big city to pursue his dreams of being a great inventor. "Rodney is an Everyman--Everybot--with whom we all can identify," says Chris Wedge.
In casting Rodney's voice, Wedge was looking for someone who could be appealing and funny, and maybe provide a little something extra. "Ewan McGregor was all that and more," says Wedge. "He brings an edge to Rodney that brings another dimension to the character. His melodic, expressive voice was perfect for Rodney."
"Rodney has a lovely kind of country naiveté and passion that was a lot of fun to play," says McGregor, who saw a little bit of himself in the character. "Rodney's trip to Robot City reminded me of my own first visit to London," says the actor, a native of Crieff, Scotland.
Rodney's Everybot qualities are evident in the character's design origin: Wedge's grandfather's outboard motor. Often used to power small fishing boats, the motor has a utilitarian design that partially drove Wedge's concept of Rodney. "I've never before based a character on a motor," says Wedge, "but this old motor, with its chips and dings, was inspiring."
Among the many things Rodney finds in Robot City is love--in the metallic form of the dynamic and savvy Cappy. Despite her polished, upgraded exterior, Cappy, like Rodney, hails from a working-class family. (Her dad was a vacuum cleaner, and her mom was the attachments; that's how they met.) Rodney is instantly smitten with the beautiful bot, and Cappy, too, takes a "shine" to Rodney.
Cappy's design was a challenge, because, as Supervising Animator Michael Thurmeier puts it, "How do you make a robot beautiful?"
Halle Berry voices Cappy, and the Academy Award-winning actress discovered much to admire in her on-screen incarnation. "Cappy has a lot of integrity," says Berry. "She stands up to the powerful, evil bots to help the downtrodden bots," she says. "At the same time, Rodney helps her realize that she's better than the sum of her upgraded parts."
"Halle obviously is an amazing actor," says Wedge. "Her talent just comes up out of her, and you can hear that in her voice."
True love notwithstanding, what brings Rodney to Robot City is his dream of being a great inventor, and his search for the iconic genius Bigweld. Wedge and the animators gave Bigweld a larger-than-life personality to match the big, round shapes of William Joyce's original drawings. "Bigweld is an iconic, yet warm figure, so we needed an iconic entertainment figure to play him," says Wedge. "Mel Brooks has all the qualities we needed for Bigweld--and more."
Brooks enjoyed ICE AGE, and he was more than happy to take on the challenges of voicing Bigweld. "The ROBOTS script was heartwarming, positive, and unique, and I knew I was in good hands with Chris Wedge," says Brooks. "Plus, I knew my six-year-old granddaughter would love it.
"Bigweld and I share a philosophy--that anything is possible," Brooks continues. "We both believe that you have to have faith and 'stick-to-it-iveness', be diligent, and go for your dreams."
Rodney is stymied in his search for Bigweld by the nefarious corporate tyrant, Ratchet, the President of Bigweld Industries. Ratchet regards robots like Rodney as "outmodes" ready for the trash heap, and his obsessive need for cleanliness fuels his diabolical plan to rid the city of rusty robots.
The ROBOTS team had a great time bringing Ratchet to life. "From the get go, we could let ourselves run wild with him," says Supervising Animator James Bresnahan. "It was like letting out our inner jerk."
According to Wedge, Greg Kinnear brought to Ratchet a potent combination of humor and empathy. "Greg just tore into the role, bringing out Ratchet's humor and the fact that the character is at heart an insecure, neurotic momma's boy," says the director. "You understand what led Ratchet to be who he is: nothing Ratchet ever did was good enough for her. Greg made him a multi-dimensional character."
"I think Ratchet is misunderstood," says Kinnear, with tongue firmly planted in cheek. "Is he evil? No! He may take apart old, outmoded robots, but he's still a decent guy when you get to know him. He just wants to please his mother--who happens to be Jim Broadbent. That's right, Jim Broadbent plays my mother. I never thought I would have the occasion to say that.
"But it truly was great fun to play Ratchet," Kinnear continues. "There were no restrictions on where I could go with the character, because there is no prototype for a robot that runs a corporation. At least, as far as I know."
The villain behind the villain, then, is Ratchet's evil and scheming mother, Madame Gasket. Gasket runs the city's underground bot Chop Shop, a place from which outmoded robots seldom return. She and her son envision a world where all robots have the latest and greatest in upgrades; yet Gasket herself is put together with old, rusty parts and lives on the "wrong side of the tracks"--in the lower depths of Robot City.
As mentioned, Jim Broadbent, an Oscar winner for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in "Iris," voices the pushy, demonic mother. "We had seen Jim in 'Moulin Rouge,' where his character was over-the-top, campy and fun," says Producer Jerry Davis. "We wanted that type of energy for Madame Gasket, and Jim gave us everything we needed."
"I used a 'heightened' voice," says Broadbent. "I raised it a few octaves, added an American accent, and Gasket's voice was born."
Gasket's Chop Shop is the last place where outmoded bots, like the Rusties, want to end up. A group of street bots living on the fringes, the Rusties are always in need of repair--none more so than Fender. The film's wildest character, Fender is constantly falling apart--literally losing his arms, legs, even his head.
According to Wedge, only Robin Williams could do justice to Fender's off-the-chart antics. "Robin is nothing less than a comedic genius who does nothing the same way twice," says Chris Wedge. "He's always fresh and funny, and it comes as no surprise that he gives the predominant comedic performance in the film."
Williams was delighted with his return to animation. "The fun thing about ROBOTS is that it has something for everyone--kids, teens and adults--in it. And it all works."
The character of Fender was a perfect match for Williams' comic brilliance. "Fender is literally the sum of his parts--many of which he seems to always lose," says Williams. "He has to be a scrounger--he always needs new parts because he loses the ones he has. He's constantly trying to improve himself, as new parts become 'available.' I like to think of him as borrowing them. I wouldn't use the word 'steal.'"
Williams, a graduate of Juilliard, also got the chance to put to use his musical theater background, crooning a hilarious riff on "Singin' in the Rain"--called "Singin' in the Oil."
Another prominent Rustie is Piper, Fender's tomboy kid sister. Perpetually frustrated at not being taken seriously by the other Rusties, she ultimately proves her worth to everyone. Here, too, the designers had a great time with the character, giving her pigtails made of shower heads.
One of today's brightest young stars, Amanda Bynes (from the hit WB series "What I Like About You") voices Piper, whom Bynes thinks will become a role model for girls everywhere. "Piper is really strong--a tough cookie, but sweet," says Bynes. "She was great fun to voice, but what I most appreciated about her was that she conveys something really important: that you should love who you are, and not conform to what others want you to be. It's a wonderful message."
According to Wedge, Bynes and Piper are a perfect match. "Girls really respond to Piper, and I know much of that comes from Amanda's performance and the fact that as an actress, she's so beloved by kids."
The Rusties also include Crank Casey (voiced by Drew Carey), the paranoid pessimist of the odd little group, always seeing the glass as half empty; Lug (Harland Williams), a gentle giant with a big heart; and the silent Diesel, who is searching for a voice box.
The Rusties live in a colorful working class neighborhood, in Aunt Fanny's cozy home. The kind-hearted Aunt Fanny, so named for her massive rear end, is constantly knocking things over, as she can't account for the size or location of her bottom. In short, the apartment isn't big enough for Fanny's fanny.
Jennifer Coolidge makes her animated film debut as the voice of Aunt Fanny. "I'm just a big kid at heart, so I'm surprised it took so long for me to be in an animated movie," says the "Legally Blonde" star.
"Jennifer just blew us away," says Wedge. "She came in for a reading and you could see what she was thinking; she absolutely inhabited the character. Our animators benefited greatly from that."
Obviously, ROBOTS' stellar, award-winning cast made significant contributions to breathing life into the characters. But it is important to note that the film's animation team, headed by Animation Supervisors James Bresnahan and Mike Thurmeier, were equally important in creating the bots' performances.
"We had an equal stake as the actors in the characters' development," says Bresnahan. "The actors give us the voice that makes the characters come alive, but the animators give the bots their 'souls.'"
The animators spent months testing character facial expressions, movements, and, for Rodney, even looking at old Jimmy Stewart films to study the way the famed actor moved. Pantomime and puppetry also were employed by the animators as they developed the characters.
The animators' work was regularly critiqued at Blue Sky's "Sweatbox," a forum at which the filmmakers analyzed a specific shot--sometimes even a single frame--to give the animators feedback on the character performances. "The Sweatbox really helped raise the level of our acting," says Bresnahan.
ROBOTS was a formidable, if not daunting challenge for the animation team, many of whose members worked on ICE AGE. "ROBOTS was much more difficult to animate than ICE AGE," says Michael Thurmeier, "because it is such a huge leap in character animation and complexity. For example, robots can appear to be uninvolved and unemotional if you don't spend a lot of time getting their eyes and mouths just right."
Blue Sky's Materials group was also instrumental in shaping the look of the bots. As Michael Eringis, Materials Supervisor for ROBOTS, notes, "We gave the robots physical "character" by creating details like rust, chipped paint and oil splotches--all the critical touches that make up the surfaces of robots and a mechanical world."
To convey these important details, the Materials group researched photos and studied how metal and machinery ages. Junkyards were another valuable resource. "We learned that older machines with chipped paint and dings had their own special character," says Robert Cavaleri, Effects Supervisor for ROBOTS. "Giving dings to our bots gave them a bit of charm."
Blue Sky's revolutionary and proprietary technology helped the Materials group and animators bring to life these characters and their world. The ray tracing renderer, which provided unparalleled lighting schemes and realism, was only one of Blue Sky's technological marvels. The company also devised a web interface that allows the designers to swap out different bot body parts; as well as a tool that randomly generates robots in distant backgrounds, which lends scale and depth to specific scenes by filling it with robot "extras."
The filmmakers conceived the magnificent mechanical metropolis of Robot City--home to Rodney's dreams and to his destiny--as a multi-layered, vertically constructed city comprised of several social strata.
At the base of Robot City lays the down and dirty, pre-Industrial Age world of Madame Gasket and her dreaded Chop Shop. Heavy beams and other massive support structures make up much of this level.
Moving up to the next level, we find the world of the Rusties, everyday bots just trying to survive. This next-to-the-bottom stratum is homey, colorful and quaint, and put together with mismatched parts.
Progressing through a few more strata, where the robot middle class live and work, we reach the top level of Robot City. Sleek, polished, successful and corporate, with cooler, shiner color schemes, this level is where the upper-crust bots spend their days.
"Robot City is like any other great urban environment," says Martino."It has a wide range of design influences--from Art Deco to '50s-era automobiles to a sleek, forward-looking design."
Robot City's multi-layered, vertical look complements another key design influence: the pocket watch. "There's something really beautiful about the back of a pocket watch, where you see all the piece's inner workings," says Martino. "We loved exposing the mechanisms of our world."
ROBOTS presents a world where everyday objects take on unexpected dimensions. For example, at the end of a hard day's work shining its light over a city street, a lamp post picks up his lunch box and trudges home. And a fire hydrant will warn off a dog about to do its business. "We took everyday things in our world and tried to give them life in ways that are interesting and funny," Joyce explains.
Robot City is also full of wonderful Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions. Take the "Crosstown Express," a complex mass transportation system filled with fun and intricate surprises. After Rodney arrives in Robot City, he boards the Crosstown Express for what he thinks will be just a casual ride across the city, to Bigweld Industries. Instead, he experiences a harrowing, thrill-packed trip.
William Joyce remembers the scene's origins: "Chris Wedge and I were wondering how we would get our bots around. I came up with a giant spherical compartment that I based on some old toy designs." Joyce notes that the vehicle and scene have something for everyone. "Adults will appreciate the nostalgic look of the sphere, while a child will enjoy a new, dynamic experience."
Editing, sound design, and music were key elements of the film's post-production process. Composer John Powell, who worked on "Shrek," "Shrek 2," "Italian Job" and "The Bourne Identity," created a score rich with musical elements inspired by the film's mechanical world.
Stylized percussions from the celebrated Blue Man Group accented Powell's score, which is dynamic and edgy, yet warm and soulful.
Music Supervisor Becky Mancuso-Winding, who pioneered this position on films such as "Urban Cowboy" and "Footloose," also worked closely with John Powell. Mancuso-Winding selected and brought to the project several noted songs and artists, including Virgin Records recording artist Ricky Fanté, who performs the end title single "Shine," which reflects the film's central theme of robots being able to shine no matter what they're made of.
Also figuring prominently in the soundtrack are Fountains of Wayne's "Tell Me What You Already Did," Steriogram's "Walkie Talkie Man," Stacie Orrico's "More to Life," Fatboy Slim's "Wonderful Night" and Earth, Wind and Fire's "Love Dance."
Supervising Sound Editor/Re-recording Mixer Sean Garnhart, who worked on ICE AGE, designed not only the sounds of the robot world, but the sounds of each character. Garnhart's ambitious sound designs complement the film's whimsical tone. "It was a great opportunity for an organic use of sound," says Garnhart. "Even when there's no dialogue, through sound you could close your eyes and know that a specific character is on screen."
Although ROBOTS is set in a mechanical world, the filmmakers eschewed metallic and echo-y sounds, opting instead for a warmer feel. "If we had put a squeak or a clang on everything seen on screen, it would be cacophonous," says Chris Wedge. "You don't want to hear every metallic jostle."
Another key element of the post-production process was digitally remastering ROBOTS into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. ROBOTS will be released in IMAX® theatres in addition to conventional theatres.
This is the second IMAX DMR film release from Twentieth Century Fox, with the first being Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience" in November 2002.
IMAX Theatres offer unequalled clarity and intensity of image as audiences experience the magic, excitement and adventure of ROBOTS on screens up to eight stories tall and 120 feet wide, and surrounded by 12,000 watts of pure digital sound. (IMAX screens are three times larger than the average 35mm screen, 4500 times larger than the average TV screen, and are as wide as an NFL football field.)
To fully envelop IMAX Theatre-goers, the presentation is enhanced by a six-channel stereo surround system comprised of 44 custom designed speakers that extract 12,000 watts of pure digital surround sound. The IMAX Proportional Point Source loudspeaker system, specifically designed for IMAX Theatres, delivers superb sound quality to every seat in the theater. (For more information on IMAX, IMAX DMR technology and The IMAX Experience, please visit www.IMAX.com.)
"ROBOTS will be nothing short of spectacular on IMAX screens," says Chris Meledandri. "Even the test footage looked amazing. I am delighted about this association and look forward to working with IMAX to complete this special version of the picture using their unique process."
Through all the filmmaking magic employed by Chris Wedge and his team of writers, designers, artists, animators, and scientists, ROBOTS emerges as an event unlike any other animated picture. Its incredible world and memorable bots, though totally imagined, feel real to us.
"Ultimately," says Chris Wedge, "I wanted ROBOTS to look and feel like we trucked a film crew to a location called Robot City, shot the movie there, and then brought the film back to Blue Sky to work on. I wanted to sweep audiences up in the illusion that Robot City exists, and that these characters will be showing up for the film's premiere in March."
Ewan McGregor (Rodney Copperbottom)
was born in 1971 in Crieff, Scotland. Despite a small-town upbringing, he
became enthralled with the world of acting from a very early age, largely
inspired by his actor uncle, Denis Lawson (of "Local Hero" and "Star Wars"
fame).
Six months before his graduation from London's Guildhall School of Music and
Drama, McGregor was offered the role of Private Mick Hopper in Dennis Potter's
six-part musical comedy television series "Lipstick on Your Collar" (produced
by Rosemarie Whitman). Shortly after this first break, McGregor landed his first
film role in Bill Forsyth's "Being Human," where the producer Lord David
Puttnam was so impressed by McGregor's abilities that he added extra scenes
for him on the spot.
Following roles in the play "What the Butler Saw" and in a BBC production of
"Scarlet and Black," McGregor starred in the BAFTA winning "Shallow Grave,"
which pushed the young Scottish actor into the limelight. His portrayal of
Alex Law earned him the Hitchcock D'Argent Best Actor Award and a nomination
for Best Actor at the BAFTA Scotland Awards, as well as laying the roots for
a highly successful partnership with the director Danny Boyle. McGregor had
his first solo male lead in cult director Peter Greenaway's erotic film "The
Pillow Book."
Although "Shallow Grave" provided McGregor's breakout role, it was his portrayal
of smack-addict Mark Renton in author Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting" that
catapulted McGregor to international fame. To prepare for this role, McGregor
worked closely with ex-drug addicts who helped provide him with a level of
insight needed to tackle the graphic portrayal of drug addiction and withdrawal.
"Trainspotting" won a string of prestigious awards, including the BAFTA
Scotland award for Best Feature Film, while McGregor himself picked up BAFTA
Scotland's Best Actor accolade, and for the second year running, the Empire
magazine award for Best British Actor, plus a London Film Critics' Circle Award.
After the success of "Trainspotting," McGregor starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow
in an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel "Emma." He next starred opposite Tara
Fitzgerald in Mark Herman's César Award-winning "Brassed Off," which
juggled humor and pathos by portraying the fate of a brass band in a small
community threatened by the politically-motivated coal-mine closures of the
early 1980s.
McGregor's U.S. film debut was "Nightwatch," in which he played the lead role
of Marin Belos, a law student who worked part-time as a mortuary night watchman.
Walk-on parts in the BBC series "Karaoke" and "Cold Lazarus" provided him with
a chance to return to Britain before starring as a handsome Dutch landscape
artist in Philippe Rousselot's "The Serpent's Kiss."
Following his second short feature for director Justin Chadwick, "Swimming with
Fishes," McGregor teamed with Cameron Diaz in the quirky romantic fantasy "A
Life Less Ordinary," which reunited him with director Danny Boyle. McGregor's
character portrayal of Robert won him the Best British Actor award in the 1997
Empire Movie Awards--for the third time in a row.
McGregor received an Emmy Award for a guest-starring role in an episode of
"ER." He then played a crazed seventies rock star in the glam rock film "Velvet
Goldmine," executive produced by Michael Stipe of REM. McGregor next played
infamous trader Nick Leeson in "Rogue Trader" opposite Anna Friel. He then
teamed again with "Brassed Off" director Mark Herman in the Golden Globe
Award winning "Little Voice," which also starred Jane Horrocks and Michael Caine.
McGregor landed the coveted role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars: Episode I
The Phantom Menace." He reprised the role in "Star Wars: Episode II Attack
of the Clones" and again returns as Obi-Wan in "Star Wars: Episode III
Revenge of the Sith," set for release in May 2005.
In 1998, McGregor founded Natural Nylon, along with his friends Jude Law,
Sadie Frost, Jonny Lee Miller and Sean Pertwee. McGregor co-produced Natural
Nylon's "Nora," the story of the romance between writer James Joyce (McGregor)
and Nora Barnacle (Susan Lynch).
In Baz Luhrmann's Oscar and BAFTA award-winning musical film "Moulin Rouge!",
McGregor played Christian, a poet who falls in love with Satine (Nicole Kidman),
a courtesan of the tragicomic underworld of the Moulin Rouge--with music drawn
from twentieth century pop songs. In 2001, McGregor starred as an Army Ranger
specialist in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down."
In 2003, McGregor starred in "Young Adam," a thriller based on a novel by
Scottish beat writer Alexander Trocchi, set in the working canals between
Glasgow and Edinburgh. McGregor plays Joe, a young drifter, who finds work
on a barge owned by Les (Peter Mullan) and his wife Ella (Tilda Swinton).
That same year, he toplined Tim Burton's "Big Fish," a fantasy tale about
the life of a dying man, told in flashback. Albert Finney, Jessica Lange and
Billy Crudup also starred. In 2004 McGregor starred with Renée Zellweger
in the Fox retro romantic comedy "Down with Love." He recently completed a role
in director Michael Bay's epic action picture "The Island."
McGregor was in David Halliwell's play "Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against
the Eunuchs," which brought him back to work with his uncle Denis Lawson who
directed the play at both the Hampstead and Comedy Theatres. McGregor also made
a cameo appearance in "The Play What I Wrote," the critically acclaimed
celebration of the works of British comedians Morecambe and Wise.
Academy Award winning actress Halle
Berry (Cappy) continues to break down barriers, working hard to achieve
a career most actors dream of having.
Recently, Berry had the title role in "Catwoman" and headlined the psychological
thriller "Gothika." In the summer of 2003, she reprised her role as 'Storm' in
"X2," the sequel to the action hit "X-Men," which has grossed more than $200
million to date. In 2002 Berry starred as 'Jinx' in the James Bond feature "Die
Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan. The 20th installment in a franchise celebrating
its 40th anniversary; the movie is the highest-grossing Bond film ever.
For her spectacular performance in "Monster's Ball," she won an Oscar, a SAG
Award, the Berlin Silver Bear Award, and she was named Best Actress by the
National Board of Review.
No stranger to accolades, Berry earned the Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG and NAACP
Image Award for her extraordinary and critically acclaimed performance in
HBO's telefilm, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," which she also produced.
Critics and filmgoers took notice of Berry in her feature film debut, Spike
Lee's "Jungle Fever." She went on to star opposite Warren Beatty in the
socio-political comedy, "Bulworth." Other film credits include "Losing Isaiah,"
opposite Jessica Lange, "Executive Decision" (for which she won a Blockbuster
Award for Best Actress in an Action Drama), the live-action version of "The
Flintstones," "The Last Boy Scout," "Strictly Business," Reginald Hudlin's
"Boomerang" opposite Eddie Murphy and "Swordfish" with John Travolta and Hugh
Jackman.
On television, Berry starred in the highly-rated ABC mini-series, 'Oprah Winfrey
Presents: The Wedding,' directed by Charles Burnett. Additional television
credits include the title role in Alex Haley's mini-series, "Queen," the highest
rated sequel in television history; her performance earned Berry her first
NAACP Image Award for Best Actress, as well as Best Newcomer Award from the
Hollywood Women's Press Club. She starred opposite Jimmy Smits in Showtime's
original telefilm, "Solomon and Sheba," and she appeared in Winfrey's latest
production, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," also for ABC.
In recognition for her achievements as an actress, the Harvard Foundation at
Harvard University honored Berry as Cultural Artist of the Year. Currently,
she serves as an International Spokesperson for Revlon.
Robin Williams (Fender) first
captured the attention of the world as Mork from Ork on the hit series
"Mork & Mindy." Born in Chicago and raised in Michigan
and California, he trained at New York's Julliard School under John Houseman.
An Academy Award-winning actor and a multiple Grammy-winning performer
unparalleled in the scope of his imagination, Williams continues to enhance
his repertoire of indelible characters with several upcoming projects.
In addition to ROBOTS, Williams co-stars in the Lions Gate release
"House of D," directed by David Duchovny. In
the drama, Williams portrays a mentally challenged 40 year-old friend of a
delivery boy. Most recently, Williams completed principal photography on
Mark Mylod's "The Big White," a black comedy
co-starring Holly Hunter, Woody Harrelson and Giovanni Ribisi.
In 1997, Williams received Academy and Screen Actors Guild® awards for
his performance as Sean Maguire, the therapist who counsels Matt Damon's
title character, a math genius, in Gus Van Sant's
"Good Will Hunting." The Academy
previously nominated Williams for best actor in "The
Fisher King," "Dead Poets Society,"
and "Good Morning, Vietnam." Williams garnered a
special honor from the National Board of Review for his performance opposite
Robert De Niro in "Awakenings."
Williams' filmography includes a number of blockbusters. In 1993, he starred
in Chris Columbus' "Mrs. Doubtfire." For Mike
Nichols, Williams portrayed Armand Goldman in "The
Birdcage," for which the cast won a SAG ensemble award. In 1996, "The
Birdcage" and "Jumanji" reached the $100 million
mark in the United States in exactly the same week. Williams assumed the dual
roles of Peter Pan/Peter Banning in Steven Spielberg's
"Hook" and played a medical student who treats
patients with humor in "Patch Adams." Other
blockbusters included the aforementioned "Good Will Hunting," "Dead Poets
Society" and "Good Morning, Vietnam"; plus "Flubber"
and "Aladdin."
Williams collaborated with two accomplished young directors: Christopher Nolan
and Mark Romanek. For Nolan, Williams starred in "Insomnia"
opposite Al Pacino as reclusive novelist Walter Finch, the primary suspect in
the murder of a teenage girl in a small Alaskan town. In Romanek's
"One Hour Photo," Williams played a photo
lab employee who becomes obsessed with a young suburban family. Recently,
Williams starred as a cutter (a person with the power to edit individuals'
recorded histories) in Omar Naïm's sci-fi thriller 'The
Final Cut," co-starring Mira Sorvino and James Caviezel.
Williams' early motion picture credits include Paul Mazursky's
"Moscow on the Hudson," in which he played a
Russian musician who decides to defect, and "The World
According to Garp," George Roy Hill's adaptation of John Irving's acclaimed
best-selling novel about a writer and his feminist mother. He made his cinematic
debut as the title character in Robert Altman's "Popeye."
Williams, who began his career as a stand-up comedian, is well known for
monologues in which he makes free associative leaps punctuated by one-liners
about subjects as varied as politics, history, religion, ethnic strife and
sex. Using only his voice, Williams created one of the most vivid characters
in recent memory--"Aladdin's" Blue Genie of the Lamp (which redefined how
animations are voiced). For audio versions of his one-man shows and the
children's record "Pecos Bill," Williams won five Grammy Awards. His stage
credits include a landmark production of Samuel Beckett's
"Waiting for Godot," directed by Mike Nichols,
co-starring Steve Martin, and, most recently, a short run in San Francisco
of "The Exonerated."
Offstage, Williams takes great joy in supporting causes too numerous to identify,
covering the spectrum from health care and human rights, to education,
environmental protection, and the arts. He toured the Middle East twice in as
many years to help raise morale among the troops, and he is perhaps best known
philanthropically for his affiliation with Comic Relief.
Academy Award nominee Greg Kinnear
(Ratchet) recently starred opposite Matt Damon in the Fox comedy "Stuck on
You." Before that he starred in the critically acclaimed "Auto Focus," and in
"We Were Soldiers" opposite Mel Gibson for writer-director Randall Wallace.
The latter focused on the battle of La Drang, which lasted over a month during
the Vietnam War. He starred in the critically acclaimed Norman Jewison HBO
movie "Dinner with Friends" alongside Toni Collette, Dennis Quaid and Andie
MacDowell. An adaptation of the Pulitzer-Prize winning play by Donald Margulies,
the movie followed two married couples, the bittersweet relationship among
them and the aftermath of a separation.
Next up for Kinnear is the film "The Matador," also starring Pierce Brosnan,
Dylan Baker and Hope Davis.
Over the past few years, he starred in the romantic comedy "Someone Like You"
with Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman, Sam Raimi's supernatural thriller "The Gift"
opposite Cate Blanchett and Katie Holmes, and in director Neil LaBute's black
comedy "Nurse Betty" opposite Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman and Chris
Rock. Kinnear recently starred in "Godsend" opposite Robert De Niro for Lions
Gate Films.
Kinnear successfully established himself as a respected member of Hollywood's
acting community with his heartfelt performance as Jack Nicholson's unfortunate
neighbor Simon in James L. Brooks' Academy Award nominated film "As Good As It
Gets." The National Board of Review named Kinnear Best Supporting Actor, and
he won Best Supporting Actor nominations from The Hollywood Foreign Press, The
Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Kinnear made his feature film debut in the Sydney Pollack-directed remake
"Sabrina," in which he co-starred with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. His
performance in "Sabrina" prompted the trade organization of movie theater
owners to name him NATO ShoWest's "Star of Tomorrow." Following his Oscar
nominated performance in "As Good As It Gets," he co-starred in Nora Ephron's
hit romantic comedy "You've Got Mail," opposite Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Mike
Nichols' "What Planet Are You From?" opposite Garry Shandling and Annette
Bening, and appeared in a cameo role as Captain Amazing in "Mystery Men."
Kinnear first gained prominence as the animated, wisecracking host of E!
Entertainment Television's "Talk Soup," for which he won an Emmy Award, and
established a cult-like following. As the host and executive producer of
"Talk Soup," Kinnear was the master of not one, but all talk shows, providing
often-hilarious commentary on clips from such programs as "Sally Jesse
Raphael," "Jerry Springer," and "The Montel Williams Show." As the popularity
of "Talk Soup" grew, Kinnear captured the attention of NBC executives who were
searching for a replacement for Bob Costas, host of "Later with Bob Costas."
In 1994 Kinnear became the host and executive producer of his own NBC late
night talk show, "Later with Greg Kinnear."
Mel Brooks (Bigweld), a director,
producer, writer and actor, is the creator of such comedy film classics as
"Blazing Saddles," "Young Frankenstein," "High Anxiety" and "Silent Movie."
Brooks received three 2001 Tony Awards for "The Producers: The New Mel Brooks
Musical" (Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Musical). In addition,
he won two Grammy Awards: Best Musical Show Album for "The Producers" and Best
Long Form Music Video for "Recording 'The Producers'--A Musical Romp with Mel
Brooks."
Brooks began his television career during its Golden Age, as a writer for Sid
Caesar on "Your Show of Shows" in 1951. In 1955 and 1957, Brooks received
Emmy nominations (with others) for Best Comedy Writing for "Caesar's Hour,"
and in 1956 he was nominated (with others) for Best Writing for a Variety
Show or Situation Comedy.
In 1952, Brooks wrote, with Joe Darion, sketches for Leonard Sillman's Broadway
smash hit revue "New Faces of 1952," and in 1957 Brooks wrote the book for
the Broadway musical "Shinbone Alley," which starred Eartha Kitt. In 1962, he
wrote the book for the Broadway musical "All American," starring Ray Bolger.
In the 1960s, Brooks teamed with Carl Reiner to write and perform "The 2000
Year Old Man" albums, which became immediate bestsellers. In 1960 and 1961,
Brooks and Reiner received Grammy nominations for Best Spoken Word: Comedy
album, for "The 2000 Year Old Man," and for Best Comedy Performance for
"2000 and One Years," respectively. In 1997, Brooks and Reiner again teamed,
this time for "The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000," released as both a
book and a compact disc; the CD won a Grammy in 1998 for Best Spoken Word:
Comedy album.
In 1964 Brooks wrote and narrated "The Critic," a short satire on avant-garde
art films, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject.
The following year, Brooks teamed with Buck Henry to create "Get Smart," the
long running television series starring Don Adams as bumbling Agent 86.
Brooks, along with others, received an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement
in a Comedy-Variety Special for "The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner,
Howard Morris Special."
In 1968 Brooks wrote and directed his first feature film, "The Producers,"
starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, which earned Brooks an Oscar for Best
Original Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Brooks went on to create
a remarkable string of motion picture comedies: he wrote, directed and acted
in "The Twelve Chairs" (1970); co-wrote, directed and acted in "Blazing Saddles"
(1974), for which he was nominated, along with John Morris, for Best Title
Song; wrote and directed "Young Frankenstein" (1974); co-wrote, directed and
starred in "Silent Movie" (1976); co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in
"High Anxiety" (1977); wrote, directed, produced and starred in "History of
the World, Part I" (1981); produced and starred in "To Be or Not to Be" (1983);
co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in the hit sci-fi spoof "Spaceballs";
co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in "Life Stinks" (1991); co-wrote,
directed, produced and starred in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993); and
co-wrote, directed, produced and starred in "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995).
For three successive seasons, 1997-99, Brooks won Emmy Awards for his role
as Uncle Phil on the hit comedy series "Mad About You."
Brooks is in an elite group, with Helen Hayes, John Gielgud, Rita Moreno, Audrey
Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch and Mike Nichols, as one of only seven
artists/entertainers to earn all four major entertainment prizes: the Tony,
Emmy, Grammy® and Oscar.
His visionary film company, Brooksfilms Limited, founded in 1980, has produced
some of America's most distinguished films: David Lynch's "The Elephant Man,"
starring John Hurt and Anthony Hopkins, with Hurt receiving one of the film's
eight Oscar nominations; David Cronenberg's memorable hit "The Fly," starring
Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis; "Frances," for which Jessica Lange and Kim
Stanley received Oscar nominations; Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year," for
which Peter O'Toole earned an Oscar nomination; and "84 Charing Cross Road,"
for which Anne Bancroft, starring opposite Anthony Hopkins, won the British
Academy Award.
Drew Carey (Crank Casey), a
comic-turned-actor and producer, had the rare honor of having two hit series--"The
Drew Carey Show" and "Whose Line is it Anyway?"--airing simultaneously.
Carey's lovable everyman appeal and original humor enabled "The Drew Carey
Show" to remain a long-time favorite for viewers. The show was praised for
its groundbreaking innovations such as a multiple time zone live episode,
website tie-ins, audience participation games and musical numbers. Carey
continues to diversify his career with his cutting edge standup comedy,
various cable and pay-per-view television specials and his work as an author.
Carey is both producer and host of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" which is based
on a British series. "Line" debuted on ABC in August 1998 and stands among
the highest-rated non-scripted shows on television. The show is
executive-produced and created by Dan Patterson and also stars Ryan Stiles,
Wayne Brady and Colin Mochrie. In 2001 Carey teamed with Showtime and Frito-Lay
for a live pay-per-view improv comedy special, "Doritos Presents Drew Carey's
Improv All-Stars Live from the MGM Grand," featuring various members of the
rotating cast.
In May 2000, Carey starred in his first television movie as the title character
in "Geppetto," a presentation of ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney." He sang
and danced in the new telling of the classic Pinocchio tale, which also starred
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and featured music composed by multiple Academy and Grammy
Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz ("The Prince of Egypt," "Hercules" and
the Broadway musical "Wicked."). "Geppetto" topped the ratings on the evening
it aired.
Carey's debut book, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined, is a
hilarious look at life from his unique and comical perspective. The book, like
his standup comedy, is raw, honest, explicit and politically incorrect.
Published by Hyperion in 1997, Dirty Jokes and Beer spent three months on The
New York Times bestseller list.
In July 1997 Carey returned to his standup comedy roots when he hosted HBO's
"Mr. Vegas All-Night Party." He felt right at home as he performed musical
numbers and comedy sketches in Las Vegas, a city dear to his heart--along with
his native Cleveland, of course.
He began his successful career as a comedian in April of 1986 at the Cleveland
Comedy Club, and got one of his first big breaks competing on "Star Search 88."
In January 1991 Carey landed a spot on HBO's "14th Annual Young Comedians
Special." He also had his comedy dream come true with his first appearance on
"The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1991. He did so well that Carson
bestowed a rare honor on the comedian by calling him over to the couch and
keeping him there the whole show. Part of that appearance can be seen on the
"Best of Carson" videotapes.
Carey landed his own development deal at Disney, which led to an opportunity
for him to co-star in the series "The Good Life." Although the series lasted
for only half a season, Carey received critical acclaim for his work. He also
had the opportunity to work with Bruce Helford, who was a consulting writer on
the series. Helford was so impressed with Carey that he hired him as a staff
writer for "The Gaby Hoffman Show." Their experience led the two of them to
decide to co-create a series for Carey. Carey also went on to star in his own
Showtime special, "Drew Carey: Human Cartoon,"and performed in Showtime's
"Tenth Anniversary of the Montreal Comedy Festival."
Jim Broadbent (Madame Gasket) won
the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his
moving portrait of John Bayley, Iris Murdoch's loving husband, in "Iris,"
opposite Judi Dench. He recently appeared in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of
Reason" and in Mira Nair's "Vanity Fair," with Reese Witherspoon. He first
played Bridget Jones' dad in "Bridget Jones' Diary." He also appears in the
Oscar-nominated drama "Vera Drake," directed by Mike Leigh.
Broadbent co-starred in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and in the comedy
adventure "Around the World in 80 Days." He won Best Actor at the Venice Film
Festival for his role in Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy" and received acclaim for
his work in Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-winning "Moulin Rouge!" Other film credits
include "Bright Young Things," "Little Voice," "The Borrowers," "Bullets Over
Broadway," "The Crying Game," "Enchanted April," "Richard III" and "Brazil."
Broadbent's theatre work includes Sam Mendes' Donmar Warehouse production of
"Habeus Corpus." Richard Eyre directed him in the Royal Court's production
of Kafka's "Dick" and in the National Theatre production of "The Government
Inspector." He was a longtime member of the National Theatre of Brent, appearing
in productions of "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "The Complete Guide to Sex"
and "The Messiah." Most recently he starred in the National Theatre staging of
Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman," directed by John Crowley.
He is a frequent presence on U.K television, starring in a variety of projects
over the years, ranging from "Tales of the Unexpected" to "Blackadder" to
"Inspector Morse."
Amanda Bynes (Piper Pinwheeler) was
singled out by Entertainment Weekly for her "knack for slapstick reminiscent
of Lucille Ball." The young actress stars for a third season as the impetuous
Holly in the comedy "What I Like About You."
Born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, Bynes began her career at a
comedy camp, and has worked steadily since age ten. As she continued to work
on her craft, it was at a showcase performance in Los Angeles that producers
Brian Robbins and Dan Schneider discovered her and added Bynes to the cast of
Nickelodeon's "All That." After just one season, she was nominated for a 1997
Cable Ace Award, putting her in the company of such established actresses as
Tracey Ullman and Janeane Garofalo.
Known for her unique style of bold, no-holds-barred physical comedy, Bynes
remained on "All That" for four seasons. By age 12, Bynes became the youngest
performer to host her own variety sketch program, "The Amanda Show," which
earned her the Favorite Television Actress honor four years in a row from
Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards.
Bynes charmed audiences in the 2002 hit comedy "Big Fat Liar" with Frankie
Muniz. In 2003 Bynes starred in her first lead role in the hit film "What a
Girl Wants," also starring Colin Firth and Kelly Preston, for which she won
the Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actress. That same year, Bynes was featured
on the "It's Totally Raining Teens" cover of Vanity Fair, and she was nominated
for Choice TV Actress in a Comedy at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards. Bynes stars
in the upcoming romantic comedy "Lovewrecked."
Bynes, who resides in Southern California, spends her free time drawing,
painting and writing.
Jennifer Coolidge (Aunt Fanny) has
an impressive body of work that encompasses television, film, and theatre, and
she is emerging as one of Hollywood's most versatile and sought-after talents.
Last summer, she starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in "Legally Blonde II:
Red, White, and Blonde," as Paulette, the innocent manicurist with an unexpected
and hilarious tough side. She also returned to the screen as Stiffler's Mom
in "American Wedding," Universal's third installment in the raunchy teen comedy
film series. Coolidge recently appeared in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of
Unfortunate Events," directed by Brad Silberling, also starring Jim Carrey,
Meryl Streep, and Jude Law. She then starred opposite Hilary Duff in "A
Cinderella Story."
Coolidge recently signed a deal with NBC to develop and star in her own
half-hour comedy.
Coolidge is probably best known for her breakout performance in Christopher
Guest and Eugene Levy's critically acclaimed "Best In Show," in an unforgettable
role as a woman whose love for her 95-year-old husband is based upon such
similarities as peas and soup. In 2001, Coolidge starred in the Broadway
production of Claire Boothe Luce's comedy "The Women" and was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award® for Best Featured Actress in a Play. The all-star cast
also featured Kristen Johnson, Rue McClanahan, Cynthia Nixon and Mary Louise
Wilson. Coolidge started her career at the renowned Groundlings Theatre and
went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emerson College. She landed
roles in such films as "Trial and Error," "Restaurant," and "A Night at the
Roxbury."
More recently, she appeared in "Brown's Requiem," the hit comedy "Austin
Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me," "Broken Hearts Club," "Down To Earth," and
"Pootie Tang." Coolidge also appeared on television with recurring roles in
"King of the Hill" and as a guest star on "Seinfeld" as a bewildered girlfriend.
She has also appeared as a series regular on such shows as "Ladies Man," "Strip
Mall," "Blind Men," "Another Shot," "She-TV," and "Roseanne's Sketch Comedy
Show." Her guest star appearances have included roles on "Sex and the City,"
"Friends," "Sketch Pad" and "Rude Awakenings." She currently has a recurring
role as Joey's agent on "Joey," starring Matt LeBlanc.
Chris Wedge (Director) is an Oscar winning
director, and co-founder and VP of Creative Development at Blue Sky Studios.
He is the driving force behind the company's high standard of character
animation. The studio's commitment to research and development has brought
Blue Sky Studios to prominence as one of the top computer animation studios
in the world.
Wedge's release "Bunny," which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short
Film, was the first film to use radiosity, a complex computer application that
recreates the most subtle properties of natural and ambient light. Its warm,
cinematic style showcases Wedge's strong filmic sensibility and sets new
cinematic standards for the CGI community.
Next, Wedge directed the studio's first all computer-animated feature film,
ICE AGE, a critical and audience hit which Twentieth Century Fox released
in March 2002.
He also directed the character animation sequences for the Warner Bros./Geffen
Films Production "Joe's Apartment," and he was a Creative Supervisor on the
feature films "Alien Resurrection," "A Simple Wish," and "Star Trek Insurrection,"
as well as numerous commercials.
Beginning his career as a stop-motion animator, Wedge later joined
MAGI/SynthaVision, where he was one of the principal animators for the
groundbreaking Disney movie "Tron." Wedge taught animation at The School of
Visual Arts (NY) at the MFA Computer Lab.
Carlos Saldanha (Co-Director) is
currently directing ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN, the follow-up to Blue Sky's and
Fox's blockbuster 2002 animated feature, on which Saldanha was Co-Director.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for directing the animated short film
"Gone Nutty," featuring ICE AGE's much put-upon Scrat character.
He has been part of Blue Sky Studios' creative team since 1993, after finishing
his animated short film "Time for Love," which has been screened at animation
festivals around the world. Saldanha has won several awards, including the
People's Choice Award at Images du Futur in Montreal and Best Artistic Film
at the International Computer Film Festival in Geneva, Switzerland.
Saldanha was Blue Sky's Supervising Animator for the talking and dancing roaches
in the feature film "Joe's Apartment" (1996). He was also the Director of
Animation for the computer generated characters in "A Simple Wish" (1997) and
"Fight Club" (1999).
In addition to feature projects, Saldanha has directed and animated a number
of television commercials. "Big Deal," a spot for Bell Atlantic, won numerous
awards, including a 1997 Bronze Clio. In 1999, he won a Gold Clio for the
animation on "Re-Incarnated," a Tennents Beer commercial for its 1998 Soccer
World Cup campaign in Europe.
Saldanha earned an M.F.A. degree in animation from the School of Visual Arts
in New York, where he discovered his passion for animation. He continues to
keep in contact with that school's future artists, teaching and advising
students in the animation program.
David Lindsay-Abaire's
(Screenplay/Story) "Fuddy Meers" premiered at Manhattan Theater Club in fall
1999, and later transferred to The Minetta Lane Theatre for a commercial run.
It has since received over 200 productions in the U.S. and abroad, been
translated into several languages, and is currently being developed into a
motion picture.
The following season, his "Wonder of the World" was produced at MTC and
starred Sarah Jessica Parker, after premiering at Washington D.C.'s Woolly
Mammoth Theatre, where it was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award as
Outstanding New Play of the Year.
Lindsay-Abaire's next play, "Kimberly Akimbo," was commissioned by South
Coast Repertory. It premiered at that theater in 2001, received the LA Drama
Critics Circle Award for playwriting, three Garland Awards, and the prestigious
Kesselring Prize. The play had a sold-out New York run at Manhattan Theater
Club where it was hailed as "The Comedy of the Year" by The New York Times.
Lindsay-Abaire is currently adapting "Kimberly Akimbo" into a screenplay for
Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks SKG.
In addition, he is adapting the novel Inkheart for New Line and writing the
librettos for the stage musicals "Shrek," "High Fidelity" and "Betty Boop."
Lindsay-Abaire's other plays include "A Devil Inside," "Dotting & Dashing"
and "History Lesson." He has received awards from the Berrilla Kerr Foundation,
the LeComte du Nuoy Fund, Mixed Blood Theater, Primary Stages, the Tennessee
Williams Literary Festival, and the South Carolina Playwrights Festival.
In addition to being a proud Dramatists Guild member, and its representative
on the American Theatre Wing's Tony Nominating Committee, he is a New Dramatists
Resident Playwright, a member of the WGA East, and a graduate of the Juilliard
School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program.
Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
(Screenplay) have 18 produced screenplays to their credit, including "Night
Shift," "Splash," "Gung Ho," "Parenthood," "City Slickers," "A League of Their
Own," "Mr. Saturday Night," "Forget Paris," "ED-TV," "Where the Heart Is," and
Fox's upcoming "Fever Pitch."
They are both from New York City, but did not meet until they each came to
Los Angeles.
Before Ganz and Mandel teamed up, Ganz and his former partner Mark Rothman
wrote for "The Odd Couple," produced "Happy Days" and created "Laverne and
Shirley."
Mandel spent this time restoring his Fiat.
Ron Mita & Jim McClain (Story)
wrote the story for the 2003 box-office hit "SWAT." They met as students in
the film program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Their first
screenplay, "Trackdown," caught the attention of Jodie Foster, and was
purchased by Columbia Pictures. Shortly thereafter, The Los Angeles Times
named the duo as among the brightest talents of the year. Their second
screenplay, "The French Teacher," was purchased by Nina Jacobson; next, they
sold a pitch to Steven Spielberg.
Recent projects include "Doom," out later this year, and "Sniper 2," starring
Tom Berenger. They sold "Video Killed the Radio Star--The MTV Story" to TNT,
as well as a movie/backdoor pilot to CBS about a true-life, all-female SWAT
team in Washington, D.C.
Jerry Davis (Producer) has been
associated with some of the most acclaimed animated films in recent history,
including "Toy Story," "Iron Giant" and "Ice Age."
He began his career with producer Alexander H. Cohen, working on Broadway
shows, the annual telecast of the Tony Awards, and the "Night of 100 Stars"
television spectaculars. Davis later produced several successful off-Broadway
productions, including "Psycho Beach Party" and the record-breaking Charles
Busch camp classic "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom."
In 1991 Davis joined Walt Disney Feature Animation to help develop the
first-ever computer animated feature from early concept through greenlight.
That movie ended up being Pixar's "Toy Story."
At Warner Bros., Davis was instrumental in bringing the classic Ted Hughes
children's book The Iron Giant to its animation division. He spearheaded the
adaptation of the book and the effort to integrate CGI and traditional
animation, and that project became director Brad Bird's ("The Incredibles")
critically acclaimed first feature.
In 1998 Davis returned to New York to join Blue Sky Studios, working with
Chris Wedge to build a world-class feature animation studio. While preparing
ROBOTS for production, Davis supervised the pre-production on the Oscar-nominated
ICE AGE.
Davis, a graduate of Vassar College, is married to Katie Davis, the children's
book author and illustrator.
John C. Donkin (Producer) began
his computer animation career in 1983 when he joined the world renowned CGRG
(Computer Graphics Research Group) at The Ohio State University under the
direction of CG pioneer Chuck Csuri. Shortly thereafter he began working as
a senior animator at Cranston/Csuri Productions (Columbus, OH). His work there
included such notable clients as ABC News, as well as cable channels including
HBO and ESPN.
In 1987 Donkin returned to Ohio State as a Researcher and Adjunct Professor
for the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD). He directed
animation sequences for The Fernbank Museum of Natural History and the IMAX
film "Antarctica." Donkin was part of the development team for the visualization
software toolkit apE. In 1991, he joined Lamb & Company (Minneapolis, MN)
where he served as an Animation Director and Manager at the studio.
Donkin came to Blue Sky Studios in 1998, where one of his first projects was to
help in the completion of the company's Academy Award winning short film
"Bunny." He served as the Managing Technical Director on other projects at
the studio including "Jesus' Son," "Titan A.E." and numerous commercial projects.
Donkin developed the production pipeline for Blue Sky Studios' first feature
film project, ICE AGE, before becoming the film's Associate Producer, managing
the production and its 160-person crew.
He produced the award-winning short "Gone Nutty," featuring the character Scrat
from ICE AGE. Donkin and Director Carlos Saldanha were nominated for an Academy
Award in 2004 for the short.
Donkin holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Cinematography and a Masters of
Art Degree in Computer Animation, Art Education from The Ohio State University.
William Joyce (Producer/Production Designer) lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, with his lovely wife, Elizabeth, and their children, Jack and Mary Katherine. George Shrinks joins his many other award-winning and best-selling modern classics, Dinosaur Bob, Santa Calls, The Leaf Men, A Day with Wilbur Robinson, Bently & Egg, and Rolie Polie Olie.
Christopher Meledandri (Executive
Producer/President of Twentieth Century Fox Animation) oversees the business
and creative operations of Blue Sky Studios, Fox's wholly owned CGI animation
studio based in New York.
In an effort to position Twentieth Century Fox in a competitive and evolving
animation marketplace, Meledandri oversaw the acquisition of Blue Sky Studios,
which was at that time a leading creator of CGI animation for commercials and
visual effects. In Blue Sky, Meledandri saw an opportunity to move their core
creative talent and their cutting edge rendering software toward the production
of feature films. Later that year, Blue Sky's "Bunny," directed by Chris Wedge,
broke new ground and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
In 1999, Meledandri supervised the expansion of Blue Sky into a studio capable
of producing feature films. Blue Sky produced ICE AGE, a Fox-developed project
that Meledandri saw as the perfect first film for director Chris Wedge and the
newly expanded team. ICE AGE went on to gross over $366 million worldwide and
sell over 27 million videos. Meledandri served as the Executive Producer of ICE
AGE as well as the Academy Award nominated spin-off short film GONE NUTTY.
Meledandri is currently supervising the production of Fox and Blue Sky's next
animated feature, ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN. The film will be released in 2006
and is being directed by Carlos Saldanha.
Meledandri previously served as President of Fox Family Films, the division
responsible for the traditionally animated "Anastasia" and "Titan A.E."
"Anastasia" won critical acclaim and went on to gross over $127 million in
worldwide box office. In addition, Meledandri supervised the production of
the live action films "Ever After," starring Drew Barrymore, and "Mighty
Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie."
He was Executive Producer of Buena Vista's "Cool Runnings" and "Swing Kids,"
and he was the Producer of Imagine Entertainment's "Opportunity Knocks."
Meledandri currently serves on the Steering Committee for News Corporation's
Creative Council (a cross-divisional synergy group). He is an Executive Advisor
to the Foxstar Mentor Program and a member of The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences. Meledandri attended Dartmouth College.
John Carnochan (Supervising Editor)
received a professional degree in Architecture. After making animated films
to illustrate architectural concepts and solutions, he moved to the West Coast
to pursue a career as a film editor.
The National Geographic Society and Jacques Cousteau were his first projects
as an assistant editor. In 1977, Carnochan and his wife Kathy Levitt made a
documentary film, "Umbrella," which took them on an around-the-world photographic
expedition. He then worked as an assistant on the 1980 feature film "The Stunt
Man."
He edited the independent films "The Boss's Son," "Heartbreakers" and "Baja
Oklahoma." Television projects included pilots for David Gerber Productions,
plus "The Man Who Fell to Earth" and "Elysian Fields," the latter written and
directed by Joan Tewkesbury.
Carnochan's move to feature film animation began when Walt Disney Studios
enlisted him as the first live action editor to shepherd an animated movie.
Disney was re-invigorating its animation department and hoped his feature
experience and understanding of animation could aid that effort. The success
of "The Little Mermaid" was the beginning of a new golden era of animation at
Disney. Carnochan's favorite film-making experience remains "Beauty and the
Beast," which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. "The Lion
King" capped his career at Disney.
Carnochan contributed to many outstanding animated films including DreamWorks'
"The Prince of Egypt" and "The Road to El Dorado," as well as Aardman Animations'
"Chicken Run."
John Powell (Music) landed a job
composing music for commercials and television at London's Air-Edel Music in
1988. There, he worked alongside composers Hans Zimmer and Patrick Doyle,
and made his first foray into feature films by assisting Doyle with the score
of "Into the West" and writing cues for Zimmer on "White Fang."
Adhering to one musical regime is not in Powell's nature. Before moving to
Los Angeles, he played for more than 15 years with the Fabulistics, a London
soul band that performed for everyone, from Lady Diana to denizens of the
local pub.
Powell's hauntingly thematic score for the Nicolas Cage/John Travolta film
"Face/Off" put him on the map. Next he wrote romantic melodies with a quirky
comedic sensibility, for Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock in "Forces of Nature."
For DreamWorks' animated "Antz," featuring the voices of Woody Allen and Sharon
Stone, Powell created a musical mélange of jazz, Latin and classical
sounds with a highly imaginative theme.
Next came "Endurance," developed and co-produced by Terrence Malick. In an
almost wordless film, Powell's score serves as dialogue, conveying the central
character's joy, dignity and struggle. For the animated films "Shrek" and "Shrek
2," Powell impressed audiences and critics alike in creating a sophisticated and
intelligent score. He again won the hearts of audiences with the poignant score
for "I Am Sam."
Powell has scored a wide variety of films, including "Alfie," "Be Cool,"
"Chicken Run," the action films "The Italian Job," "The Bourne Identity," and
"The Bourne Supremacy," the romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" and the Twentieth
Century Fox audience-favorite "Drumline." From action and thrillers to comedies
and dramas, he has proven himself to be one of the most talented and original
new voices on the film-music scene.
In 2003 Powell scored the John Woo action film "Paycheck," and last year,
Charles Stone III's "Mr. 3000." In addition, Powell wrote the score to
director Paul Greengrass' "The Bourne Supremacy," the sequel to the "The
Bourne Identity."
Upcoming for Powell is another venture into the world of animation, with "Happy
Feet" for George Miller. He will also re-team with director Doug Liman ("The
Bourne Identity") for Fox/Regency's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."
Steve Martino (Art Director)
completed his undergraduate degree in Graphic Design and began his career
designing back-lit animation in 1981. He commenced his graduate work in
computer animation at The Ohio State University's Computer Graphics Research
Group in 1983. That same year Martino joined Cranston/Csuri Productions and
used his skills as a designer and animator to help shape computer animation
solutions from storyboard to final production for clients such as ABC, CBS,
NBC, HBO and ESPN.
In 1987, Martino became a founding member of MetroLight Studios in Los Angeles
where he spent over seven years as one of the studio's principal Creative
Directors. In 1991 Martino was recognized by the Television Academy with a
Primetime Emmy in Graphic Design and Titles for "ABC's World of Discovery."
Martino joined 7th Level Studios in 1994 as the Vice President of Creative,
where he developed entertainment and educational properties for the interactive
marketplace. Martino's work with Howie Mandel on "Lil' Howie's Fun House"
and his collaboration with Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle on a series of Monty
Python interactive products resulted in numerous awards and recognition in
the field of interactive entertainment.
In 1997 Martino helped start Click 3X LA, where he was a partner and Animation
Director. Click 3X was a creatively driven studio specializing in the design
and production of animation and visual effects for film, television and
advertising clients. With his character animation focus he began directing
commercials utilizing a variety of animation, compositing and live action
techniques for such clients as Terminix, Toyota, and Warner Bros.
The opportunity to collaborate with William Joyce and Chris Wedge in the
design of ROBOTS brought Martino to Blue Sky Studios in 2002. As Art Director
on the film, he has been instrumental in developing the look and in
collaborating with the Technical Directors to bring that vision to the
screen.
Martino holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design (Visual Communication
Design) and a Master of Art Degree in Computer Animation, Art Education
from The Ohio State University. The Television Academy, International Film
and Video Festivals of New York, The International Monitor Awards, The
National Computer Graphics Association, and The Broadcast Designers Association
have recognized his work.
Carl Ludwig (Co-Founder, Vice
President, Chief Technology Officer--Blue Sky Studios) began his career in
the aerospace industry at the Bendix Corporation, after graduating from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At Bendix, he designed instrumentation and
air data equipment for the Lunar Excursion Module, and the C5A, Mohawk, S3A,
and B1B aircraft. During his tenure at Bendix, he received two patents for
his work.
Ludwig then was a design consultant at Celco, a specialty display company.
While at Celco, he was instrumental in the design of NASA's first "quick
look" film recorder and the company's line of 35 millimeter digital film
recorders, which became the standard for the motion picture industry. In 1982,
Ludwig joined Magi, a company that created the first digital effects for
the motion picture industry in the movie "Tron." At Magi, he began writing
3D rendering software to create computer imagery.
In 1987, with some colleagues, Ludwig co-founded Blue Sky Studios and served
as head of Research and Development as well as writing the studio's rendering
software. In 1999, Blue Sky received an Oscar for Best Animated short for its
film "Bunny" and in March 2002, it released its first computer animated feature
film ICE AGE, which was nominated for an Academy Award. Also in March 2002,
Ludwig received an Academy Award for his pioneering work on digital film
recording equipment.
Ludwig continues to serve as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at
Blue Sky Studios.
