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In questo thriller carico di azione e mistero, il premio Oscar® Denzel Washington interpreta Whip Whitaker, un esperto pilota di linea che, in seguito a una catastrofe ad alta quota, riesce miracolosamente a far atterrare il suo aereo, salvando così le vite di quasi tutti i passeggeri a bordo. Subito dopo l'atterraggio Whip viene considerato un eroe, ma con il passare del tempo sono più le domande che le risposte a sorgere riguardo chi fosse realmente responsabile dell'accaduto e cosa successe realmente su quell'aereo.
Flight dal regista premio Oscar Robert Zemekis con Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Don Cheadle e Melissa Leo.
Denzel Washington
Two-time Academy Award®-winning actor DENZEL WASHINGTON (Whip Whitaker) is a man constantly on the move. Never comfortable repeating himself or his successes, Washington always searches for new challenges through his numerous and varied film and stage portrayals. From Trip, an embittered runaway slave in "Glory," to South African freedom fighter Steven Biko in "Cry Freedom"; From Shakespeare's tragic historical figure "Richard III," to the rogue detective, Alonzo, in "Training Day," Washington has amazed and entertained us with a rich array of characters distinctly his own.
Washington will next be seen in the Universal thriller "Safe House," directed by Daniel Espinosa and co-starring Ryan Reynolds
Washington was most recently seen in "Unstoppable." The action/thriller, which once again paired him with director Tony Scott, was released in Fall of 2010.
In Spring 2010, Washington made his return to Broadway where he appeared opposite Viola Davis in a 14-week run of August Wilson's "Fences." His powerful performance as Troy, a one-time baseball star turned sanitation worker who struggles to reconcile his past and present, earned him his first Tony award.
In January 2010 Warner Bros' released "The Book of Eli," a post-apocalyptic Western that tells the story of one man's fight across America to protect a sacred book that contains the secrets to rescuing mankind.
In June 2009, Washington appeared alongside John Travolta in Tony Scott's remake of the 1974 film "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," for Columbia Pictures. "Pelham" tells the dramatic story of a subway dispatcher (Washington) who receives a ransom call from a hijacker (Travolta) who has taken control of one of the trains.
In late December 2007, Washington directed and co-starred with Academy Award®-winning actor Forest Whitaker in "The Great Debaters," a drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas who in 1935 inspired students from the school's debate team to challenge Harvard in the national championship.
In November of 2007, Washington starred alongside Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's "American Gangster." The film, which is based on the true juggernaut success story of a cult hero from the streets of 1970s Harlem during one of America's biggest drug wars, grossed $43.6M in its first weekend and earned Denzel his largest opening weekend to date.
March 2006 saw Washington in Spike Lee's "Inside Man." Co-starring Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, this film about a perfect bank robbery proved successful its opening weekend, grossing $29M and marking Mr. Washington's second biggest opening to date.
As 2006 came to an end, Washington thrilled audiences yet again in Touchstone Pictures, "Déjà Vu," re-teaming with director Tony Scott. In this "flashback" romantic thriller, Washington plays an ATF agent that travels back in time to save a woman from being murdered, falling in love with her in the process.
In 2005, Washington returned to his theatre roots starring on Broadway as Marcus Brutus in "Julius Caesar." The show was well-received by critics and fans alike.
In 2004, Washington collaborated with director Tony Scott on "Man on Fire." In this film, Washington plays an ex-marine who has been hired to protect a young girl, played by Dakota Fanning, from kidnapping threats. That same year, Washington was also seen in "The Manchurian Candidate," a modern day remake of the 1962 classic film for Paramount Pictures. In the film, directed by Jonathan Demme, Washington starred along side Meryl Streep and Live Schreiber, in the part that Frank Sinatra made famous. He played Ben Marco, a gulf war soldier who returns from combat and is unable to remember events as he has been brainwashed.
In 2003 Washington was seen in "Out Of Time," directed by Carl Franklin. Washington played opposite Eva Mendez and Sanaa Lathan in the murder mystery thriller for MGM. He played a Florida police chief who must solve a double homicide before he falls under suspicion for the murders himself.
December 2002 marked Denzel Washington's feature film directorial debut with "Antwone Fisher." The film, which is based on a true-life story and inspired by the best-selling autobiography, Finding Fish, follows Fisher, a troubled young sailor played by newcomer Derek Luke, as he comes to terms with his past. The film won critical praise, and was awarded the "Stanley Kramer Award" from the Producers Guild of America, as well as winning an NAACP Award for "Outstanding Motion Picture" and "Outstanding Supporting Actor" for Washington. Also, in 2002, Washington was seen in "John Q," a story about a down-on-his-luck father whose son is in need of a heart transplant. The film established an opening day record for President's Day weekend, grossing $24.1 million. The film garnered Washington a NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture."
Perhaps one of his most critically acclaimed performances to date was the Academy Award®-winning performance in "Training Day," directed by Antoine Fuqua. The story revolves around a grizzled LAPD veteran, played by Washington, who shows a rookie narcotics cop, played by Ethan Hawke, the ropes on his first day of the soul-city beat. The film was only one of two in 2001 that spent two weeks at the number one spot at the box office.
In September of 2000, he starred in Jerry Bruckheimer's box-office sensation ($115 million domestic gross) "Remember the Titans," a fact-based film about the integration of a high school football team in Alexandria VA. in 1971. Earlier that year, he starred in Universal's "The Hurricane," retiming with director Norman Jewison. Washington received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and an Academy Award nomination (his fourth) for his portrayal of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the world middleweight champion boxer during the 1960s who was wrongfully imprisoned twice for the June 17, 1966, murder of three whites in a New Jersey bar.
In November of 1999, he starred in Universal's "The bone Collector," the adaptation of Jeffrey Deaver's novel about the search for a serial killer, co-starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Phillip Noyce. He played the role of a quadriplegic police detective who is a forensics expert. In 1998, he starred in the Warner Bros. crime thriller "Fallen" for director Greg Hoblit, and in Spike Lee's "He Got Game," released by Touchstone (Disney). Also, he retimed with director Ed Zwick in the 20th Century-Fox terrorist thriller "The siege," co-starring Annette Bening and Bruce Willis.
In the summer of 1996, he starred in the critically acclaimed military drama "Courage Under Fire,' for his "Glory" director, Ed Zwick. Washington portrayed Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling, a tank commander in the Gulf War, who is charged with investigating conflicting reports surrounding the first female nominee for a Medal of Honor. Later that year, Washington starred opposite Whitney Houston in Penny Marshall's romantic comedy "The Preacher's Wife." Washington played an angel who comes to the aid of Reverend Biggs (Courtney B. Vance) whose doubts about his ability to make a difference in his troubled community are also affecting his family.
In 1995, he starred opposite Gene Hackman as Navy Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter in Tony Scott's underwater action adventure "Crimson Tide"; as ex-cop Parker Barnes in the futuristic thriller "Virtuosity," who was released from prison to track down a computer-generated criminal; and as World War II veteran Easy Rawlins, in the 1940's romantic thriller "Devil in a Blue Dress" (which Washington's Mundy Lane Entertainment produced with Jonathan Demme's Clinica Estetico).
Another critically acclaimed performance was his portrayal of Malcolm X, the complex and controversial Black activist from the 1960's, in director Spike Lee's biographical epic, "Malcolm X." Monumental in scope and filmed over a period of six months in the United States and Africa, "Malcolm X" was hailed by critics and audiences alike as one of the best films of 1992. For his portrayal, Denzel received a number of accolades including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In addition to his accomplishments on screen, Washington took on a very different type of role in 2000. He produced the HBO documentary "Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks," which was subsequently nominated for two Emmy Awards. Also, he served as executive producer on "Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream," a biographical documentary for TBS which was nominated for an Emmy Award. Additionally, Washington's narration of the legend of "John Henry" was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for Children and he was awarded the 1996 NAACP Image Award for his performance in the animated children's special "Happily Ever After: Rumpelstiltskin."
A native of Mt. Vernon, New York, Washington had his career sights set on medicine when he attended Fordham University. During a stint as a summer camp counselor he appeared in one of their theatre productions; Denzel was bitten by the acting bug and returned to Fordham that year seeking the tutelage of Robinson Stone, one of the school's leading professors. Upon graduation from Fordham, Washington was accepted into San Francisco's prestigious American Conservatory Theater. Following an intensive year of study in their theater program, he returned to New York after a brief stop in Los Angeles.
Washington's professional New York theater career began with Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park and was quickly followed by numerous off-Broadway productions including "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men;" "When The Chickens Came Home to Roost (in which he portrayed Malcolm X);" "One Tiger to a Hill;" "Man and Superman;" "Othello;" "A Soldier's Play," for which he won an Obie Award. Washington's more recent stage appearances include the Broadway production of "Checkmates" and "Richard III," which was produced as part of the 1990 Free Shakespeare in the Park series hosted by Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in New York City.
Washington was 'discovered' by Hollywood when he was cast in 1979 in the television film "Flesh and Blood." But it was Denzel's award-winning performance on stage in "A Soldier's Play" that captured the attention of the producers of the NBC television series, "St. Elsewhere," and he was soon cast in that long-running hit series as Dr. Phillip Chandler. His other television credits include "The George McKenna Story," "License to Kill," and "Wilma."
In 1982, Washington re-created his role from "A Soldier's Play" for Norman Jewison's film version. Re-titled "A Soldier's Story," Denzel's portrayal of Private Peterson was critically well-received. Washington went on to star in Sidney Lumet's "Power," Richard Attenborough's "Cry Freedom" for which he received his first Oscar nomination, "For Queen and Country," "The Mighty Quinn," "Heart Condition," "Glory," for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and Spike Lee's "Mo' Better Blues." Washington also starred in the action adventure film, "Ricochet," and in Mira Nair's bittersweet comedy "Mississippi Masala."
Additional film credits include Kenneth Branaugh's film adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing," Jonathan Demme's controversial "Philadelphia" with Tom Hanks and "The Pelican Brief," based on the John Grisham novel.
Don Cheadle
Since being named the Best Supporting Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics for his breakout performance opposite Denzel Washington in "Devil in a Blue Dress," DON CHEADLE (Hugh Lang) has consistently turned in powerful performances on the stage and screen.
Cheadle most recently wrapped his new television show, "House of Lies," which aired January 2012 for Showtime. His latest feature film "The Guard," premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was released this past July by Sony Pictures Classics. Cheadle produced "The Guard" and stars in it opposite Brendan Gleeson. Don had previously last been seen in Marvel Studios' "Iron Man 2," as "James 'Rhodey' Rhodes" opposite Robert Downey, Jr., and in "Brooklyn's Finest," an ensemble crime thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua and co-starring Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke. He will next star in a movie based on the life of jazz legend Miles Davis and will then star in "Iron Man 3."
Cheadle's current philanthropic work includes serving as a UN Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme. He co-authored with John Prendergast The Enough Moment and Not on Our Watch, which reveals the steps being taken by engaged citizens, famous and unknown, here and abroad, to combat genocide, rape, and child soldierdom in Africa. Cheadle also produced the documentary film "Darfur Now," an examination of the genocide in Sudan's western region of Darfur.
In 2008, Cheadle starred opposite Guy Pearce in Overture Films' "Traitor," an international thriller which he also produced. Additional film credits include: "Talk to Me," a film directed by Kasi Lemmons and co-starring Chiwetel Ejiofor,; the 2006 Oscar-winning Best Picture, "Crash," which Cheadle also produced; "Hotel Rwanda," for which his performance garnered Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Broadcast Film Critics Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Actor; "Ocean's Eleven," "Ocean's Twelve" and "Ocean's Thirteen," directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney; Mike Binder's "Reign Over Me" with Adam Sandler; the Academy Award-winning film "Traffic" and the George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez-starrer "Out of Sight," both also directed by Soderbergh; Paul Thomas Anderson's critically acclaimed "Boogie Nights" with Julianne Moore and Mark Wahlberg; "Bulworth," directed by and starring Warren Beatty; "Swordfish" co-starring John Travolta and Halle Berry; "Mission to Mars" with Tim Robbins and Gary Sinise; John Singleton's "Rosewood," for which Cheadle earned an NAACP Image Award nomination; "Family Man," directed by Brett Ratner and starring Nicolas Cage; and the independent features "Manic" and "Things Behind the Sun." Cheadle was recently honored by both the CineVegas Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Festival and received ShoWest's Male Star of the Year award.
Cheadle is also well-recognized for his television work. He received a Golden Globe Award for his remarkable portrayal of Sammy Davis Jr. in HBO's "The Rat Pack," a performance that was also nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy. That same year, he received an Emmy nomination for his starring role in HBO's adaptation of the critically-acclaimed, best selling novel "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Gaines, in which Cheadle starred opposite Cicely Tyson and Mekhi Phifer. He also starred for HBO in "Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault," directed by Eriq La Salle.
Well known for his two-year stint in the role of 'District Attorney John Littleton' on David E. Kelley's critically-acclaimed series "Picket Fences," Cheadle's other series credits include a guest starring role on "ER" (a performance that earned him yet another Emmy nomination) and a series regular role on "The Golden Palace." He was also part of the stellar cast of the thrilling live CBS television broadcast of "Fail Safe" in which he starred opposite George Clooney, James Cromwell, Brain Dennehy, Richard Dreyfuss and Harvey Keitel.
An accomplished stage actor, Cheadle originated the role of "Booth" in Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Top Dog Underdog" at New York's Public Theatre under the direction of George C. Wolfe. His other stage credits include "Leon, Lena and Lenz" at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis; "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Liquid Skin" at the Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis; "Cymbeline" at The New York Shakespeare Festival; "'Tis a Pity She's a Whore" at Chicago's Goodman Theater; and Athol Fugard's South African play "Blood Knot" at The Complex Theater in Hollywood.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Cheadle later relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado before he finally settled in Los Angeles. He attended the prestigious California Institute of the Arts ("CAL ARTS") in Valencia, California, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts. With the encouragement of his college friends, Cheadle auditioned for a variety of and television roles while attending school and landed a recurring role on the hit series "Fame." This lead to feature film roles in "Colors," directed by Dennis Hopper, and the John Irvin-directed "Hamburger Hill," opposite Dylan McDermott.
A talented musician who plays saxophone, writes music and sings, Don Cheadle is also an accomplished director with the stage productions of "Cincinnati Man" at the Attic Theater, the critically-acclaimed "The Trip" at Friends and Artists Theater in Hollywood and "Three, True, One' at The Electric Lodge in Venice, California on an already impressive resume.
In addition to his many acting honors, Cheadle was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album for his narration/dramatization of the Walter Mosley novel Fear Itself.
Cheadle resides in Los Angeles.
Kelly Reilly
KELLY REILLY (Nicole Maggen) recently starred as Mary Morstan/MaryWatson in both "Sherlock Holmes" and its sequel, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. She was previously honored for her performance in Stephen Frears' acclaimed 2005 feature "Mrs. Henderson Presents," winning both London Film Critics Circle and Empire Awards for Best Newcomer, and also receiving a British Independent Film Award nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actress. She received another British Independent Film Award nomination, for Best Actress, for her work in 2008's "Eden Lake." She also starred in the internationally successful French film "L'Auberge Espagnole" and its sequel, "Russian Dolls" ("Les Poupees Russes") for which she was nominated for a Cesar Award.
Reilly was most recently seen in the independent feature "Me and Orson Welles," and the thriller "Triage," which has screened at several 2009 international film festivals, including Toronto and Rome. Her additional film credits include "Last Orders," "The Libertine," "Pride & Prejudice," "Meant to Be," "Ti present un amico," "1320," and "Edwin Boyd."
On the stage, Reilly is the youngest ever actress to be twice-nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress when she was nominated in 2004 for her performance in "After Miss Julie," presented at London's Donmar Warehouse Theatre, and in 2008 when she received another Olivier Award nomination in the same category for the role of Desdemona in the Donmar Warehouse production of "Othello."
Reilly has also appeared on the small screen, recently including the starring role of Detective Anna Travis in the 2009 television movie "Above Suspicion." She reprised her role in the ITV series "Above Suspicion 2: The Red Dahlia," and "Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent."
John Goodman
JOHN GOODMAN (Harling Mays) remembers the day in 1975 when he left his native St. Louis for New York, armed only with a degree in fine arts from Southwest Missouri State University, $1,000 his brother had lent him and a dream of becoming a professional actor. He didn't want to look back later and say, "I wonder if I could have…" He made the rounds, worked at odd jobs and just tried to keep busy. He's been busy ever since.
Goodman is starring in the fourth season of DirecTV's "Damages," playing the CEO of a mysterious military contractor who is put on trial in a wrongful-death suit. In addition, Goodman has joined NBC's "Community" as the new vice dean of Greendale's well-known air -conditioning program.
Goodman's recent film projects include the Weinstein Co's black-and-white French silent feature "The Artist," Warner Bros' drama "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and Warner Bros' political thriller "Argo."
Goodman's latest film project, HBO's biopic of Jack Kevorkian, "You Don't Know Jack," reunited him with Al Pacino ("Sea of Love") and Susan Sarandon ("Speed Racer"), for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, and a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. His recent TV credits include the HBO drama "Treme."
Goodman has garnered many accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and seven Emmy nominations for his role in "Roseanne." He also earned Emmy nominations for his starring roles in TNT's "Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long," CBS's production of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" and the Coen Brothers film "Barton Fink." In 2007, Goodman won his second Emmy, for Outstanding Guest Actor, on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."
Previous film credits include "In The Electric Mist," "Confessions of a Shopaholic," "Speed Racer," "Bee Movie," "Pope Joan," "Alabama Moon," "Gigantic," "Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School," "Beyond the Sea," "Masked and Anonymous," "Storytelling," "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Coyote Ugly," "What Planet Are You From?," "One Night at McCool's," "Bringing Out the Dead," "Fallen," "The Borrowers," "Blues Brothers 2000," "The Runner," "The Flintstones," "Mother Night," "Arachnophobia," "Always," "Pie in the Sky," "Born Yesterday," "Matinee," "The Babe," "King Ralph," "Punchline," "Everybody's All-American," "Sea of Love," "Stella," "Eddie Macon's Run," "C.H.U.D.," "Revenge of the Nerds," "Maria's Lovers," "Sweet Dreams," "True Stories," "The Big Easy," "Burglar" "The Wrong Guys," "Raising Arizona" and "The Big Lebowski."
He has lent his voice to numerous animated films, including "Monsters, Inc.," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Tales of the Rat Fink" and "The Jungle Book II." He also voiced a main character in NBC's animated series "Father of the Pride."
Goodman went to Southwest Missouri State intending to play football, but an injury forced him to switch his major to drama. He never returned to football and graduated with a degree in Theatre.
Goodman starred on Broadway in "Waiting for Godot," for which he received rave reviews as Pozzo. Goodman's other stage credits include many dinner theatre and children's theatre productions, as well as several off-Broadway plays. His regional theatre credits include "Henry IV, Parts I and II," "Antony and Cleopatra," "As You Like It" and "A Christmas Carol." He performed in a road production of "The Robber Bridegroom" and starred in two Broadway shows, "Loose Ends" in 1979 and "Big River" in 1985. In 2001, he starred in the NY Shakespeare Festival Central Park staging of "The Seagull" directed by Mike Nichols. The following year Goodman appeared on Broadway in the Public Theatre's "Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui".
Goodman and his family have homes in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
Bruce Greenwood
BRUCE GREENWOOD (Charlie Anderson) just wrapped production on the ABC Horror/Drama series "The River" where he stars as wildlife explorer and TV personality Emmet Cole who goes looking for magic in the uncharted Amazon and disappears while his family and friends set out on a mysterious and deadly journey to find him. Oren Peli, creator of "Paranormal Activity" and Steven Spielberg are Executive Producers.
In 2012 Greenwood will reprise his role as Captain Christopher Pike in the next Star Trek film for director J. J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures.
In summer 2011 he starred opposite Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in "The Place Beyond the Pines" about a motorcycle stunt rider who considers committing a crime in order to provide for his family, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician. Greenwood plays Bill Killcullen, an Assistant District Attorney. The film is written and directed by Derek Cianfrance.
He will next be seen in the supernatural mystery drama "Donovan's Echo" opposite Danny Glover. The film focuses on a series of uncanny déjà vu events that force a man to re-examine his tragic past, memory, instinct and future. The film premiered Fall 2011 at the Edmonton International Film Festival and will have a Spring 2012 release.
Previously he starred as the title character Stephen Meek in the critically acclaimed western "Meek's Cutoff" opposite Michelle Williams for director Kelly Reichardt. The Jon Raymond screenplay was inspired by historical accounts of Stephen Meek and the Tetherow Wagon Train of 1845 and chronicles an exhausted group of travelers hoping to strike it rich out west.
In 2010 he starred opposite Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in the comedy "Dinner for Schmucks" for director Jay Roach as well as the drama "Barney's Version," based on the novel by Mordecai Richler opposite Paul Giamatti.
Earlier he starred in "Mao's Last Dancer" for director Bruce Beresford. The film is based on the best selling memoir of dancer Li Cunxin. The film premiered as a Special Presentation at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.
In 2009 he starred in the Paramount Pictures blockbuster "Star Trek" as Captain Christopher Pike opposite, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Eric Bana for director J.J. Abrams.
His other credits include the Walt Disney action thriller "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" as the President of the United States opposite Nicolas Cage. In 2007, his dual role in the unconventional biopic of legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan "I'm Not There" opposite Cate Blanchett and Richard Gere for writer/director Todd Haynes earned the Independent Spirit Awards inaugural Robert Altman Award.
He is well known for his outstanding portrayal of President John F. Kennedy negotiating the Cuban Missile Crisis and its fallout in the riveting drama "Thirteen Days," opposite Kevin Costner and Steven Culp. The film earned Greenwood a Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2006 he appeared in the thriller "Déjà Vu" for director Tony Scott alongside Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer. In 2005 he starred opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote's partner, writer Jack Dunphy, in "Capote." That performance earned him a Screen Actors Guild Nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
In 2004 he appeared opposite Will Smith in the sci-fi box office hit "I, Robot" in which he played a ruthless CEO of U.S. Robotics who was suspected of murder. That same year he played the dashing paramour of an aging actress (Annette Bening) in the critically- praised "Being Julia." That role earned him a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1999 he starred opposite Ashley Judd as a murderous plotting spouse in the suspense thriller "Double Jeopardy," which earned him a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for Favorite Supporting Actor.
He has worked three times with acclaimed Canadian director Atom Egoyan. He had a lead role in "Exotica" as a tax inspector obsessed with a stripper. The film was nominated for the Palme D'Or at Cannes and named Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. He also starred in the drama "The Sweet Hereafter" playing a father of two children killed in a tragic bus accident. The film earned the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes and swept the Genie Awards including Best Motion Picture and also earned him a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor. Additionally he starred in the drama "Ararat."
Greenwood's other film credits include "Firehouse Dog," "Hollywood Homicide," "The World's Fastest Indian," "Eight Below," "Rules of Engagement," "Racing Stripes," "Here on Earth," "The Lost Son," "Thick as Thieves," "Disturbing Behavior," "Passenger 57" and "Wild Orchid."
Greenwood also enjoys a diverse and successful career in television. In 2009 he performed in the Hallmark Hall of Fame holiday movie "A Dog Named Christmas," based on the Greg Kincaid novel. In 2007 he starred in the David Milch HBO series "John from Cincinnati."
Earlier in his career he was a regular as Dr. Seth Griffith on the award-winning series "St. Elsewhere." He also appeared on the critically-acclaimed "Larry Sanders Show." He also starred in the remake of the "Magnificent Ambersons," as well as several movies-of- the week presentations, including "The Riverman," for A&E and "Saving Millie" for CBS.
Bruce and his wife Susan divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Melissa Leo
MELISSA LEO (Ellen Block) received an Academy Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award for her tour de force performance in "The Fighter." She also received Oscar and SAG nominations for her starring role in "Frozen River" for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead and a Spotlight Award from the National Board of Review among countless other accolades.
Leo shared a Best Ensemble acting award from the Phoenix Film Critics Society for her outstanding work in "21 Grams" opposite Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn and an Emmy nomination for the HBO miniseries "Mildred Pierce" directed by Todd Haynes in which she starred opposite Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce.
Recent work includes "Red State" written and directed by Kevin Smith, "Seven Days in Utopia" opposite Robert Duvall, "Conviction" opposite Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell and "Welcome to the Rileys" opposite James Gandolfini and Kristen Stewart.
Other notable film work includes "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" in which she starred opposite Dwight Yoakam and Tommy Lee Jones, and "Hide and Seek" in which she starred opposite Robert DeNiro.
Leo's television credits include the current HBO series "Treme" from executive producer David Simon, and she is known for her groundbreaking portrayal of Detective Kay Howard on "Homicide: Life on the Streets."
Leo studied Drama at Mount View Theatre School in London, England and later at the SUNY Purchase Acting Program.
Brian Geraghty
BRIAN GERAGHTY (Ken Evans) will next be seen in "Ten Year," written and directed by Jamie Linden, about a group of friends who reunite ten years after their high school graduation, which premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. The ensemble cast includes Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Justin Long and Kate Mara, among others. Geraghty wrapped production on "Refuge" from writer/director Jessica Goldberg and co-starring Krysten Ritter, as well as the Lionsgate comedy "Gay Dude," directed by Chris Nelson.
Geraghty's additional film credits include the following: Kathryn Bigelow's Academy Award-winning thriller "The Hurt Locker" with Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie; "Easier With Practice," the directorial debut of Kyle Patrick Alvarez, for which Geraghty earned rave reviews; the short film "Bastard," directed by Kirsten Dunst; Emilio Estevez's "Bobby," for which the New York Times hand-picked his performance as one of the "Scene Stealers: Breakthrough Performances" of 2006; "We Are Marshall," directed by McG and starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox; "Open House" with Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer (Tribeca Film Festival 2010); "The Guardian," directed by Andrew Davis and starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher; "Jarhead," directed by Sam Mendes and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard; Terry Zwigoff's "Art School Confidential" with John Malkovich and Max Minghella; "An American Crime" with Ellen Page and Catherine Keener; "When a Stranger Calls" with Camilla Belle; "Love Lies Bleeding" with Christian Slater and Jenna Dewan; "Conversations with Other Women" with Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter; "The Optimist" with Leelee Sobieski; "Stateside" with Val Kilmer and Jonathan Tucker; and "Cruel World" with Edward Furlong.
Geraghty recently guest starred on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and, prior to launching into a film career, had guest starring roles on several top television series, including "The Sopranos," "Law & Order" and "Ed."
Originally from New Jersey, Geraghty graduated from The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City. His stage credits include roles in productions of "Berlin," "Midnight Moonlight," "Snipers" and "Romeo and Juliet." He began his professional career in New York before re-locating to Los Angeles. Geraghty recently returned to the stage in January when he appeared opposite Martin Sheen and Frances Conroy in Frank Gilroy's "The Subest Was Roses" about a young man's return from World War II. Geraghty starred as the young man, the role for which Sheen earned a Tony Award in 1964.
An ardent surfer, he has been a surf instructor and is an ongoing, active supporter of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization working to preserve our oceans, waves and beaches. He is also involved with TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), a resource for anyone who has suffered the loss of a military loved one, regardless of relationship to the deceased. They meet their mission by providing peer-based support, crisis care, casualty casework assistance and grief and trauma resources.
Geraghty currently resides in Los Angeles.
Tamara Tunie
TAMARA TUNIE (Margaret Thomason) is in her 12th season as Medical Examiner Dr. Melinda Warner in Wolf Films/Universal Media Studio's top-rated series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
Tunie has had other memorable roles on television, most notably as the longstanding character Jessica Griffin on the CBS Daytime Drama "As The World Turns," for which she received two NAACP Image Award nominations and two Soap Opera Digest award nominations. She also appeared in the highly visible role of Alberta Green in first season of the hit series "24" (when she worked on three series simultaneously), as well as guest appearances on "Law and Order," "Sex and the City," and "NYPD Blue." Next November, Tunie will also guest star in a multi-episode arc of NBC's "Days of Our Lives."
Last year, Tunie went behind the camera, producing and directing her first feature film entitled "See You In September," starring Justin Kirk and Estella Warren. Shooting on the streets of New York City, the film surrounds a woman who forms a support group for abandoned patients when all their therapists go on vacation in August and finds true love.
Tunie was recently seen onstage at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in Tracy Thorne's new play "We Are Here." She starred in "All's Well That Ends Well" at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, playing three roles and produced the musical "Frog Kiss," part of the New York Musical Theater Festival, simultaneously. She also starred on Broadway with Denzel Washington in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," the play's first Broadway staging in over 50 years, and received rave reviews for her turn in the lead role of Madame de Merteuil in "Les Liaisons Dangereuse" at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. She starred in "Fences" in "August Wilson's 20th Century Cycle" at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. In 2006—2007, Tunie became a Broadway producer on the team responsible for the Tony Award-winning musical "Spring Awakening." She also produced August Wilson's Tony Award nominated "Radio Golf." She has shared the Broadway stage with Lena Horne in the Broadway musical "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," and starred in David Merrick's revival of "Oh Kay!" with Brian Stokes Mitchell. Ms. Tunie toured Europe with "Bubblin' Brown Sugar," and portrayed Helen of Troy in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of "Troilus and Cressida" in Central Park. In addition, Tunie played Maggie in the first all African American production of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" at Theatre Virginia in Richmond. After September 11th, she co-starred with many veterans of Broadway, including Audra Mc Donald and Lillias White, in the 20th anniversary benefit concert of "Dreamgirls."
In film, Tunie has worked with some of the most respected directors of the screen, including Taylor Hackford, Brian De Palma, Mimi Leder, Harold Becker and Oliver Stone. She had the unique opportunity to work with the legendary Al Pacino; she portrayed the possessed wife of a partner in his law firm in the hit film "The Devil's Advocate," and his press secretary in "City Hall." She also worked with famed director Kasi Lemmons and Samuel L. Jackson on both "Eve's Bayou" and "The Caveman's Valentine."
Tunie is Chair Emerita of the Board of Directors of Figure Skating in Harlem, a non-profit organization that supports academic excellence and teaches life skills to young girls in the Harlem community through the art and discipline of figure skating. She is Chair of the Board of Harlem Stage/The Gatehouse, and serves on the Board of Directors of God's Love We Deliver. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Hearts of Gold and Landing Strip Films. In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg awarded Tunie the "Made in New York Award" from the City of New York for her support and commitment to Film, Television and Theater in Manhattan.
Nadine Velazquez
NADINE VELAZQUEZ (Katerina Marquez) recently played "Analisa" in the dramatic thriller "Snitch" directed by Ric Roman Waugh, in which she she stars alongside Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon and Barry Pepper.
On television, Nadine recurs on the FX Network comedy "The League" and the CW drama "Hart of Dixie." She spent four years as a series regular on the multi-award winning NBC comedy "My Name is Earl," playing "Catalina," the sweet and sexy hotel maid/stripper, where the cast garnered a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Originally from Chicago, Nadine graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in marketing. She began performing in commercials as well as theatre, most notably playing "Ines Serrano" in "No Exit."
Once in Hollywood, she honed her skills with guest starring roles on "Entourage," "Las Vegas" and the "Prison Break" pilot directed by Brett Ratner.
Other credits include guest starring roles on "Charlie's Angels," "Scrubs," "CSI: NY," the CBS sitcom "Gary Unmarried" directed by James Burroughs, and "CSI: Miami."
Nadine lives in Los Angeles and has studied at the Groundlings.
James Badge Dale
JAMES BADGE DALE (Gaunt Young Man) is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's most sought after lead actors, making his presence felt on both the small and silver screens. His talent has offered him the opportunity to work with people of such stature as Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Scorsese, Tom Hanks, Joe Carnahan and most recently the internationally respected and awarded, Steve McQueen.
Dale just completed filming back-to-back features "The Grey" and "Shame." The former, directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Liam Neeson, is the story of the survival of eight men in the wilds of Alaska hunted by a pack of wolves. The film is slated for release by Open Road Films in January 2012. In "Shame," the second picture directed by Steve McQueen after "The Hunger," which won international awards, Dale costars with Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in a very controversial and sexually charged drama premiered at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.
Dale's next project is Marc Forster's "World War Z" based on the highly successful novel by Max Brooks in which he stars alongside Brad Pitt and Matthew Fox.
Dale was most recently seen on the big screen as 'William Hamilton' in Robert Redford's historical drama "The Conspirator" starring Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Justin Long, and Evan Rachel Wood.
In television he starred in AMC's critically acclaimed series "Rubicon," constructed in the vein of the political thrillers "Parallax View" and "Three Days of The Condor." His most recognized role in television was his lead performance as 'Robert Leckie' in the Emmy and Peabody awarded HBO's epic miniseries "The Pacific." The 10-hour event intertwined stories of three U.S. Marines in the Pacific battles against Japan during World War II. Executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman.
He's also remembered as 'Barrigan' in Martin Scorcese's Academy Award-winning film "The Departed," and as 'Chase Edmunds', Kiefer Sutherland's younger partner in the hit television series "24."
Dale, who began his film career at an early age in "Lord of The Flies," is the son of late Broadway, film and television star Anita Morris and two-time Tony Award-winning Director/Choreographer, Grover Dale. Theatre being his passion, he followed his parents into the arts making his Off Broadway debut in 2003 with The Flea Theatre Company's "Getting into Heaven." Since then, he has returned to the stage to work with The New Group and New World Stages.
Garcelle Beauvais
A Haitian-born actress, who immigrated to the United States at the age of seven with her sisters and mother, GARCELLE BEAUVAIS (Deana) has entertained both television and film audiences alike with her dramatic and comedic abilities. In June 2011, Garcelle debuted in her co-starring role alongside Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as 'Hanna Linden' in the hit TNT legal drama "Franklin & Bash." Garcelle also recently finished work on the documentary, "Eyes to See," which focuses on the Haiti earthquake, and is inspired by the writer/director's personal involvement with Haitian relief efforts right after the tragedy.
Garcelle began modeling at the age of seventeen and easily transitioned to acting in the Aaron Spelling series "Models, Inc." After that, she co-starred opposite Jamie Foxx for five years on the popular WB sitcom "The Jamie Foxx Show."
For four seasons she also starred on the highly rated Emmy© Award-winning series "NYPD Blue." Other television credits include "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and a starring role opposite Tim Daly in the ABC television show; "Eyes". She has also made guest appearances on several popular television shows including "Human Target," "Crash," "The Bernie Mac Show," and "The Bonnie Hunt Show."
Garcelle's feature film credits include the Film Independent Award-nominated "American Gun," with Forrest Whitaker, Marcia Gay Harden and Donald Sutherland, "Women in Trouble" with Simon Baker and Josh Brolin, "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," with Queen Latifah and "Bad Company," opposite Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins.
Besides her numerous acting endeavors, Garcelle has made a name for herself both as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. In 2008, in partnership with jewelry designer Mallory Eisenstein, Garcelle debuted the 'Petit Bijou by Garcelle' jewelry line, an exclusive collection for kids and teenagers. She is also involved with such charities as March of Dimes, Step Up Women's Network, and Paul Haggis' Haiti relief foundation, Artists for Peace and Justice.
Her most important role to date however is being a mother to her three sons, Oliver, and twins Jax and Jaid. Garcelle currently resides in Los Angeles.
ROBERT ZEMECKIS (Director) won an Academy Award®, a Golden Globe and a Director's Guild of American Award for Best Director for the hugely successful "Forrest Gump." The film's numerous honors also included Oscars for Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Picture. The Library of Congress recently selected the film to join the esteemed National Film Registry. Zemeckis re-teamed with Hanks on the contemporary drama "Cast Away," the filming of which was split into two sections, book-ending production on What Lies Beneath. Zemeckis and Hanks served as producers on "Cast Away," along with Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke.
Earlier in his career, Zemeckis co-wrote (with Bob Gale) and directed "Back to the Future," which was the top-grossing release of 1985, and for which Zemeckis shared Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Screen play. He then went on to helm "Back to the Future, Part II and Part III," completing one of the most successful film franchises ever.
In addition, he directed and produced "Contact," starring Jodie Foster, based on the best-selling novel by Carl Sagan; and the macabre comedy hit "Death Becomes Her," starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. He also wrote and directed the box office smash "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," cleverly blending live action and animation; directed the romantic adventure hit "Romancing the Stone," pairing Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner; and co-wrote (with Bob Gale) and directed the comedies "Used Cars" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
Zemeckis also produced "House on Haunted Hill," and executive produced such films as "The Frighteners," "The Public Eye," and "Trespass," which he also co-wrote with Bob Gale. He and Gale previously wrote "1941," which began Zemeckis' association with Steven Spielberg.
For the small screen, Zemeckis has directed several projects, including the Showtime feature-length documentary "The Pursuit of Happiness," which explored the effect of drugs and alcohol on 20th century society. His additional television credits include episodes of Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" and HBO's "Tales From the Crypt."
In 1998, Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke partnered to form the film and television production company ImageMovers. "What Lies Beneath" was the first film to be released under the ImageMovers banner, followed by "Cast Away," which opened to critical and audience acclaim in the Fall of 2000, and "Matchstick Men."
In March 2001, the USC School of Cinema-Television celebrated the opening of the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. This state-of-the-art center is the country's first and only fully digital training center and houses the latest in non-linear production and post-production equipment as well as stages, a 50-seat screening room and USC student-run television station, Trojan Vision.
In 2004, Zemeckis produced and directed the motion capture film "The Polar Express," starring Tom Hanks. Most recently, he brought the true life story of "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson to the big screen. In addition, he served as executive producer on both "Monster House," and the Queen Latifah comedy "Last Holiday."
Zemeckis produced and directed his second motion capture film, "Beowulf," which was also be produced by Rapke and Starkey. The feature, which stars Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and Ray Winstone is based on one of the oldest surviving pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, written sometime before the 10th Century A.D.
In November of 2009, Zemeckis released his most advanced motion-capture film to date: "A Christmas Carol," based on the celebrated and beloved classic story by Charles Dickens. Rapke and Starkey also produced the film, which was released by The Disney Studios in November 2009.
Presently, Zemickis is at work on "Yellow Submarine," for Image Movers Digital and The Disney Studios.
WALTER F. PARKES & LAURIE MacDONALD
The husband and wife team of WALTER F. PARKES (Producer) and LAURIE MacDONALD (Producer) hold the unique distinction of having helped to create Dreamworks, the first new studio in 5 decades, as well as being two of the most active producers working today.
Films produced or executive-produced by Parkes & MacDonald include Gladiator, Amistad, Men In Black I & II, Minority Report, The Mask of Zorro, Catch Me If You Can, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Terminal, Road to Perdition, Dinner for Schmucks and The Ring. In 2007, they created their own company and produced the screen adaptations of the acclaimed novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, and of Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton. In total, films produced or executive-produced by Parkes and MacDonald have earned in excess of $6 billion in worldwide box office.
As studio heads, Parkes and MacDonald were responsible for development and production of the company's diverse slate of films, which achieved both box office success and critical acclaim, including—for only the second time in the history of the Motion Picture Academy—three consecutive Best Picture Oscar® winners: American Beauty, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, the latter two produced in partnership with Universal Pictures. Other critical and commercial successes produced during their tenure include: Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Robert Zemeckis' What Lies Beneath, Adam McKay's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Michael Mann's Collateral, and Steven Spielberg's Academy Award®- and Golden Globe®-winning drama Saving Private Ryan, which was the domestically top-grossing film of 1998.
In 2009, Parkes and MacDonald teamed with the Abu Dhabi Media Company to form "Parkes+MacDonald Imagenation," a partnership that will fund future screenplay development for the duo's projects at DreamWorks and other studios, and provide production co-financing on selected films.
Parkes himself is a three-time Academy Award® nominee, earning his first nomination as the director/producer of the 1978 documentary California Reich, which exposed neo-Nazi activities in California. He garnered his second Oscar® nomination for writing (with Lawrence Lasker, Yale '72) the original screenplay for WarGames, and his third nod for his work as a producer on the Best Picture nominee "Awakenings." Parkes and Lasker also wrote and produced the thriller "Sneakers," starring Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier.
MacDonald began her producing career as a documentary and news producer at KRON, the NBC affiliate in San Francisco. She later joined Columbia Pictures, where she served as a Vice President of Production. After four years, she started a production company with Walter Parkes. Immediately prior to joining DreamWorks, MacDonald oversaw development and production at Amblin Entertainment.
This year they complete post production and released Men In Black 3, starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin which has grossed over $600 million worldwide to date.
STEVE STARKEY (Producer) earned an Academy Award® as one of the producers of Best Picture-winner "Forrest Gump." The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, became one of the highest grossing movies of all time and collected six Oscars®, including Best Director and Best Actor, as well as a Golden Globe Award®, the National Board of Review's highest honor in 1994, two People's Choice Awards, the Producers Guild Golden Laurel Award and Best Picture BAFTA nomination.
Starkey also pioneered performance capture technology in the Zemeckis-directed films, "A Christmas Carol," "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf" and the Gil Kenan directed film "Monster House," all of which were produced by Starkey with his ImageMovers partners.
Starkey's ImageMover's credits include the Zemeckis-directed epic drama "Cast Away," which re-teamed them with Tom Hanks, and the psychological thriller "What Lies Beneath" with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, also directed by Zemeckis. Starkey produced "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio," directed by Jane Anderson and starring Julianne Moore. He also produced "Matchstick Men," directed by Ridley Scott and starring Nicolas Cage.
Starkey's professional association with Zemeckis began in 1986 when he was associate producer on the innovative feature "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and went on to serve as associate producer on the second and third installments of the "Back to the Future" trilogy. Their collaboration continued as Starkey and Zemeckis produced the black comedy "Death Becomes Her," followed by "Forrest Gump" and "Contact." Starkey also co-produced the feature comedy farce "Noises Off" and produced the Showtime feature-length documentary "The Pursuit of Happiness," which explores drug and alcohol addiction and was directed and executive produced by Robert Zemeckis.
Early in his career, Starkey worked with George Lucas at Lucasfilm, Ltd., where he became an assistant film editor on "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." He later edited documentary films for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, was associate producer of Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" television anthology series and executive producer on the 1993 CBS series "Johnny Bago."
Upon his graduation from New York University Film School in 1975, JACK RAPKE (Producer) moved to Los Angeles to embark on a career in the entertainment industry. His first stop was the mailroom of the William Morris Agency. Four years later, Rapke joined Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where he rose, over the course of the next seventeen years, to become one of the most successful agents in Hollywood.
During a seven-year tenure as co-chairman of CAA's motion picture department, Rapke cultivated a high profile client list that included Jerry Bruckheimer, Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, Harold Ramis, Michael Bay, Terry Gilliam, Bob Gale, Bo Goldman, Steve Kloves, Howard Franklin, Scott Frank, Robert Kamen, John Hughes, Joel Schumacher, Marty Brest, Chris Columbus, Ezra Sacks, and Imagine Entertainment partners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Instrumental in building production companies around his clients, it was only a matter of time before he decided to build one of his own with client Robert Zemeckis.
In 1998, Rapke departed CAA to form ImageMovers with Zemeckis and producing partner Steve Starkey. Primarily focused on theatrical motion pictures, the company's first feature was the critically acclaimed "Cast Away," directed by Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. Rapke and partners went on to produce numerous hits including Zemeckis' thriller "What Lies Beneath" starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, the Ridley Scott-directed "Matchstick Men" starring Nicolas Cage, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, "Last Holiday" starring Queen Latifah, and "Real Steel," starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy.
Zemeckis' pioneering use of "performance capture" technology in 2004's "The Polar Express" blazed a new trail for modern 3D filmmaking. Rapke and partners produced four more films employing this revolutionary new technique: 2006's Oscar-nominated "Monster House," 2007's "Beowulf," directed by Zemeckis and starring Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone, and Robin Wright Penn, and 2009's "A Christmas Carol," for Walt Disney Studios, also directed by Zemeckis and starring Jim Carrey.
Rapke also served as executive producer of the Showtime drama series, "The Borgias," starring Jeremy Irons, which aired in Spring 2011.
Executive Producer
CHERYLANNE MARTIN (Executive Producer) has been responsible for the management and production of some of the most memorable feature films and television productions in recent history. From the HBO award winning miniseries "The Pacific" to the Academy Award winner "Forrest Gump," Ms. Martin has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.
A Marketing Communications major from Florida State University, Ms. Martin's career in entertainment began as a college intern in San Francisco, which segued with her working on Francis Ford Coppola's "One From the Heart." She went on to become a member of the Directors Guild of America where she was a Second Assistant Director on such acclaimed films as "Far and Away," directed by Ron Howard, "The American President," directed by Rob Reiner and "Mrs. Doubtfire," directed by Christopher Columbus. Soon after her work as a Second Assistant director she moved up to become a Unit Production Manager/Co‐producer on such notable feature films as "Road to Perdition," "Cast Away," "What Lies Beneath," "Contact" and "Constantine."
Ms. Martin is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences where she won the 2010 Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for "The Pacific." As a member of the Producers Guild of America, she also won the 2010 PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of Long Form Television for "The Pacific." In addition, she received two DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for "Forrest Gump" and "Rain Man."
JOHN GATINS (Screenwriter) is a native New Yorker, where his father was a New York City police officer. The family relocated to the Hudson Valley, near Poughkeepsie, where Gatins grew up and later attended Vassar College, graduating in 1990 as a Drama major.
Gatins then moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote the screenplay for "Summer Catch," which was directed by Michael Tollin. Gatins' second script, "Hard Ball," was also directed by Tollin, and starred Keanu Reeves and Diane Lane. He created and executive produced the Tollin/Robbins Warner Brothers pilot "Learning Curve" and co-wrote the basketball drama "Coach Carter," starring Samuel L. Jackson. Gatins made his directorial debut with his own screenplay, "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story," starring Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell.
John's most recent screenplay, "Real Steel," directed by Shawn Levy, was released in the summer of 2011 and starred Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly and Anthony Mackie. As an actor in "Real Steel," Gatins plays a character named "Kingpin."
Gatins also served as executive producer on Brian Robbins' comedy "Ready To Rumble."
Director of Photography
DON BURGESS, ASC (Director of Photography) has enjoyed a long association with Robert Zemeckis, having also lensed the directors' films "The Polar Express," "Cast Away," "What Lies Beneath" and "Contact." Burgess was previously honored with an Academy Award® nomination for his cinematography on Zemeckis' Oscar-winning hit "Forrest Gump." Burgess also received BAFTA and American Society of Cinematographer Award nominations for his work on that film. He earlier won a CableACE Award for his work on a Zemeckis-directed episode of "Tales from the Crypt."
Burgess was most recently the cinematographer on the family-comedy "The Muppets" directed by James Bobin, as well as the hit sci-fi thriller "Source Code," directed by Duncan Jones and starring Jake Gyllenhaal. He lensed the post-apocalyptic thriller "Priest," directed by Scott Stewart, and Albert and Allen Hughes' post-apocalyptic drama, "The Book of Eli," starring Denzel Washington.
Burgess' diverse feature film credits also include the smash hit comedy fable "Enchanted," the blockbuster action hits "Spider-Man" and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," the adventure film "Eight Below," and the comedies "Fool's Gold," "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," "13 Going on 30," "Christmas with the Kranks" and "Forget Paris."
Production Designer
NELSON COATES (Production Designer) recently designed "My Mother's Curse," starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand, and "Big Miracle," the first full-length studio feature to film entirely in Alaska and his second feature collaboration with director Anne Fletcher, having previously designed her hit movie "The Proposal," set in Sitka, Alaska, and New York City, but actually filmed in Massachusetts.
Nelson designed "The Last Song," Miley Cyrus' feature film debut, as well as her music video, "When I Look at You." He had to create New York City for "Thick as Thieves," a heist film with Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria, with Mimi Leder at the helm. Nelson worked in Chicago designing the period drama, "The Express," with Dennis Quaid. "The Express" marked Coates' sixth feature collaboration with director Gary Fleder. Their previous collaborations include "Runaway Jury," "Don't Say A Word," "Kiss the Girls," "Impostor," and Fleder's feature directing debut, "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead." Prior to their work on "The Express," they created the pilot and first six episodes of "October Road," a one-hour drama for ABC Television. Coates also designed Fleder's ABC television move, "Boston's Finest."
Equally adept at comedy and drama, Nelson has designed such films as "School for Scoundrels" and the live-action mermaid movie "Aquamarine" on Australia's Gold Coast. Other feature design credits include "Man of the House" staring Tommy Lee Jones, and Academy Award-winning actor turned director Denzel Washington's directing debut, "Antwone Fisher," named one of AFI's (American Film Institute) top 10 movies of 2002.
Coates has designed a wide variety of films from "Living Out Loud" starring Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito, to "Murder at 1600" featuring Wesley Snipes. He designed Kevin Spacey's directorial debut, "Albino Alligator," "Frailty" for Bill Paxton, as well as "Bastard Out Of Carolina" directed by Anjelica Huston. Additional credits include "Stir of Echoes," "Disturbing Behavior," "Blank Check," "CB4," "Three of Hearts," and "Universal Soldier."
His other television designs include the pilot/permanent sets of "Jonny Zero," "John Doe," and the miniseries "Stephen King's The Stand," which earned him an Emmy® nomination in recognition of the 220 sets and locations he designed. His design work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Design Magazine. Between movie projects, Nelson designs for the real world as the architect/interior designer on unique residential and commercial projects.
An actor, singer and dancer with stage, TV and film credits, Coates has composed and choreographed more than a dozen opening and closing numbers for the Albert Schweitzer Awards in New York, including the year the Gorbachevs were honored. He has also earned the distinction of performing for Presidents Bush, Reagan, Ford and Carter.
A magna cum laude communications graduate of Abilene Christian University in Texas, Coates was named Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year in 1996. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and serves on the Board of Trustees of Laguna College of Art and Design.
Costume Designer
LOUISE FROGLEY (Costume Designer) recently marked her fifth collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh on "Contagion," having previously designed costumes for "Ocean's Thirteen," "The Good German," "The Limey" and "Traffic." She earned Costume Designers Guild Award nominations for Excellence in Costume Design for a Contemporary Film for her work on both "Ocean's Thirteen" and "Traffic."
Frogley was also honored by her peers with guild award nominations for her work on "Good Night, and Good Luck.," directed by and starring George Clooney, and for Stephen Gaghan's "Syriana," also starring Clooney. She also teamed with Clooney on the comedy "The Men Who Stare at Goats," the period romantic comedy "Leatherheads," and the drama "The Ides of March," which he directed and also stars alongside Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei.
Her other recent credits include the Marc Forster's James Bond adventure "Quantum of Solace," starring Daniel Craig; the romantic drama "The Last Song," Robert Redford's period drama "The Conspirator"; and the pilot for the acclaimed CBS series "The Good Wife."
Frogley began her career in London and Paris as a costume designer and set decorator. Her first movie assignment was as assistant costume designer on director Hugh Hudson's Academy Award®-winning drama "Chariots of Fire." She has since designed costumes for more than 30 features, including Neil Jordan's "Mona Lisa, Ron Shelton's "Bull Durham;" "Executive Decision," "U.S. Marshals," "Spy Game" and "Man on Fire" for director Tony Scott; Francis Lawrence's "Constantine," and Stephen Gaghan's directorial debut, "Abandon."
Visual Effects Supervisor
KEVIN BAILLIE (Visual Effects Supervisor) is co-founder and visual effects supervisor at the Emeryville, CA based Atomic Fiction, where he recently oversaw the company's work on the 2011 summer blockbuster, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."
Before launching Atomic Fiction, Baillie spearheaded the execution of Disney's animated feature "Mars Needs Moms" as VFX Supervisor and supervised a large portion of Disney's animated holiday film, "A Christmas Carol" starring Jim Carrey. Prior to his involvement in animated features, Baillie led visual effects work on live-action movies such as the Oscar-nominated box office hits "Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End," "Night at the Museum," "Superman Returns" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," and supervised teams on blockbusters such as "Hellboy," "Charlie's Angels," "Sin City," "The Day After Tomorrow" and "Spy Kids 3-D."
Baillie's film career began very early when he joined Lucasfilm Ltd.'s exclusive JAK Films division as a revisualization artist at the age of 18. While there, he helped to design 800+ shots on Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: Episode I" and served as sequence supervisor for one of the most challenging sequences for on Fox Animation's animated film, "Titan A.E."Outside of work, Kevin spends much of his time pursuing his other passions of photography and race car driving with SCCA and NASA.
JEREMIAH O'DRISCOLL (Editor) previously collaborated with Robert Zemeckis as editor of "A Christmas Carol," "Beowulf," "The Polar Express" alongside R. Orlando Duenas, and as assistant to Arthur Schmidt on five of the director's feature films, starting with "Death Becomes Her," followed by "Forrest Gump," "Contact," "What Lies Beneath" and "Cast Away." He recently edited the indie comedy film, "Goats," starring David Duchovny and Vera Farmiga. Among his additional feature credits as an assistant editor are "Driving Miss Daisy," "The Last of the Mohicans," "Addams Family Values," "The Birdcage" and "Primary Colors."
Award 678s:
something else
one more thing
Award 678:
Paranormal Activity seemed to have so far built on the strengths of its predecessor film, and with each installment throws the gauntlet down to the next creative team to see how much more they can add to its universe.
Award 678:
Paranormal Activity seemed to have so far built on the strengths of its predecessor film, and with each installment throws the gauntlet down to the next creative team to see how much more they can add to its universe.
Award 678a:
Paranormal Activity seemed to have so far built on the strengths of its predecessor film, and with each installment throws the gauntlet down to the next creative team to see how much more they can add to its universe.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Adam Arenson - The Great Heart of the Republic: St. Louis and the Cultural Civil War
Adam Arenson, assistant professor of history at the University of Texas at El Paso, examines the efforts of St. Louis' intellectuals and mercantile elite to make their city the capital of a vast Western empire in the wake of the Civil War.
That ambitious dream was never realized, but the city grew to be a vital cultural and commercial hub. The largest city along the border between free and slave states, St. Louis became a microcosm of the dueling moral systems and competing national visions that dominated mid-19th century America.
Co-sponsored by the UMKC Department of History, UMKC History Club, and UMKC Center for Midwestern Studies.


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A scathing report by the U.S. Justice Department released Thursday revealed a troubling pattern of excessive force by the Albuquerque Police Department and recommended that New Mexico's largest city become the latest municipality to adopt reforms aimed at cleaning up its police force.
The report, which immediately drew support from Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and other city officials, came after federal officials spent months conducting interviews, scouring videos and reviewing hundreds of pages of documents. According to the report, Albuquerque officers too frequently used deadly force on people who posed a minimal threat and used a higher level of force too often on those with mental illness, often violating their constitutional rights.
Albuquerque joins a list of cities targeted by the Justice Department over allegations of brutality and violations of constitutional rights by police officers. Portland and New Orleans, for example, are among those that have been investigated amid similar complaints.
In Albuquerque, federal investigators focused on 37 shootings — 23 of them fatal — by officers since 2010. By comparison, police in the similarly sized cities of Denver and Oakland have been involved in fatal and non-fatal shootings totaling 27 and 23, respectively.
Federal investigators found the majority of those Albuquerque shootings were unreasonable and violated constitutional rights. They also uncovered a significant number of instances in which officers used less lethal measures such as Tasers in an unconstitutional manner.
"Based on our investigation, we have reasonable cause to believe that APD engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment," Jocelyn Samuels, the acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote in a letter to Berry. "We have determined that structural and systemic deficiencies — including insufficient oversight, inadequate training, and ineffective policies — contribute to the use of unreasonable force."
The Justice Department recommended that Albuquerque make changes to its use of force policy to, among other things, place more emphasis on techniques for de-escalating potentially violent situations.
Samuels said the investigation was thorough and that it became clear the problems within the police department were systemic.
"The reforms we are proposing ... are going to result in the kinds of structures that will over time create a change in the culture," she said. "It starts with commitment from the top."
She acknowledged that changes will not happen overnight.
The findings served as validation for critics who have long complained that a culture of aggression has permeated the Albuquerque Police Department. However, some community members voiced concerns after Thursday's announcement that recommendations have been made in the past with city leaders failing to take action.
Berry said the city stands ready to work with the Justice Department to make needed changes.
It could take weeks to hammer out the final blueprint for overhauling the Police Department, but Berry said he fully expects that a federal monitor will be assigned to the city.
"It won't be quick and easy, but we can achieve it," he said of the goals laid out by the Justice Department report.
If a federal monitor is appointed, and the city agrees on terms, Albuquerque would join cities such as Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Seattle that have been subjected to federal oversight.
Scrutiny of the Albuquerque force is one of 15 investigations of police departments launched during President Barack Obama's first term.
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 gives the Justice Department the authority to file a civil suit against law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern or practice of misconduct. The law was enacted after Los Angeles police officers beat motorist Rodney King in 1991.
The Justice Department also can sue law enforcement agencies if they engage in discrimination and receive federal funds.
Samuels did not offer a timetable for negotiations with Albuquerque, but said the agency would remain engaged for "as long as is necessary."
Last week, Berry asked the federal agency to expedite its review and help overhaul the police force. His request followed a violent protest last month in response to the shooting death of a homeless man who had threatened to kill officers. The man was gathering his belongings and turning away when officers opened fire, helmet camera video showed.
The Justice Department recommendations also call for a more objective and rigorous internal accountability system that includes reviews and investigations when force is used.
Also, officers would be required to participate in crisis intervention training and higher eligibility standards would be set for supervisors and staff assigned to tactical units.
Samuels also noted that the department's "broken" civilian oversight process would need to be fixed.
Until Thursday's announcement, federal officials released few details of the Albuquerque investigation but conducted hundreds of interviews with officials and residents.
Jewel Hall, a retired teacher and president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center Board, participated in many of the meetings. She said she was hopeful the department would adopt some of the recommendations. Her group said the Justice Department recommendations didn't go far enough and called for a "full-fledged monitor" of Albuquerque police.
Still, she said the community "needs to be involved and their input needs to be respected."
New Mexico's acting U.S. Attorney, Damon Martinez, called Thursday a milestone for the city.
"The coming days and months will determine the next generation of what policing will look like in our city," he said. "We are at a unique time and place where the city can decisively determine the culture of the Albuquerque Police Department and its relationship with the community."
In a statement, the Albuquerque Police Officers' Association said the union appreciated the changes recommended by the Justice Department. "We as an association are committed to assisting all of our officers' in this (department) in addressing issues of concern that have been raised and helping them move forward in a positive fashion that is fair to all."
Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras
Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this report.


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AMSTERDAM (AP) — A group of international war crimes experts is calling for the creation of a special tribunal in the Syrian capital to try any top-ranking officials, soldiers or rebels who may have committed atrocities during the country's civil war.
Professor Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve University, acting as spokesman, showed The Associated Press a copy of the draft statutes that have been quietly under development for nearly two years. They could serve as a template for such a tribunal after the civil war ends.
He said Friday that U.S. diplomats also have copies of the 30-page document, and are sympathetic to the idea of a Syrian war crimes court.
"We believe it's playing a role in closed-door discussions throughout the U.S. government," Scharf said.
He said the group wants to push the issue of accountability for war crimes into the ongoing international discussions over Syria, and hopes the prospect will deter combatants from committing further atrocities, such as the violation of the Geneva Protocol in the Aug. 21 use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Syria is not a party to the International Criminal Court — the permanent war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC doesn't have jurisdiction over war crimes committed there unless the U.N. Security Council grants it.
However, conflict-specific war crime courts such as the proposed Syrian court have been created in individual countries in recent years. Scharf himself was an adviser to judges at the Iraqi High Tribunal, which tried Saddam Hussein.
The experts who participated in creating the Syrian draft statutes, which are to be formally introduced at the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday, have no political power, though they are well-respected figures internationally.
They include Egyptian-born legal scholar Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni, who chaired the drafting of the ICC's statutes, and South Africa's Richard Goldstone, the first prosecutor of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, among others.
Sharif Shehadeh, a Syrian legislator and political analyst, told The Associated Press that he believes Syria's legal system is equipped to prosecute anyone — civilians or soldiers — who commit such crimes. But he also questioned whether a proposed special tribunal in Damascus would be able to arrest and prosecute rebels who have "committed massacres against Christians ... and ruined churches and mosques."
Loay al-Mikdad, spokesman for the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, welcomed the initiative.
"Any type of justice, especially based on international law, will help the Syrian people," he said in an interview. "We are sure we need the international community's help."
He said those who committed crimes against humanity, whether fighting on the rebel side or for the government, should face justice.
"The revolution is not an excuse to do bad things," al-Mikdad said. "If there are some rebels, any of them, that did anything against humanity or the law, they should face justice."
Human Rights Watch spokesman Richard Dicker in New York said Friday his organization supports prosecution of war crimes, but top suspects should be tried in The Hague because if they have been on the losing side of a conflict they are unlikely to receive a fair trial at home.
"What makes ICC involvement so critical is the reality that atrocities have been committed on both sides," he said. "It's imperative that you have impartial application of the law."
Contributions from Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Ryan Lucas in Beirut.


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Fight against terror takes pals to the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama had gone to his residence after a difficult week when an urgent email brought him rushing back to the Oval Office. The suspect in the Boston bombings had been apprehended.
"They have him in custody, it is white hat," White House counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco wrote chief of staff Denis McDonough. That was reference to the cap that 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was seen wearing in surveillance video that led to his capture.
Soon Monaco was briefing the president on developments.
Elsewhere in the West Wing, Tsarnaev's apprehension got White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler thinking about what legal rights the suspect should have. She consulted with the FBI on the legal rationale to initially question Tsarnaev without notifying the suspect of his Miranda rights, to quickly learn whether anyone else was in danger, and she advised Obama on the conclusion not to prosecute him as an enemy combatant.
For Monaco and Ruemmler, the events were another step in more than a decade of teamwork for friends who first met amid the shock and confusion of the Sept. 11 attacks and worked together as prosecutors and at the top levels of the Justice Department.
The Boston bombings were Monaco's first high-profile test since she replaced John Brennan, the current CIA director, as Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser.
She was the first to brief the president on an attack that hit close to home for her. Monaco is from the Boston suburbs, she graduated from Harvard and her brother lives near the finish line, but was unharmed.
Monaco kept Obama updated day and night, along with developments in the investigation of possible poisonous letters sent to the president and the Senate, and the explosion that killed 14 in a small Texas town.
Ruemmler, who joined the White House in 2010, has become a trusted member of Obama's tight-knit inner circle, a rarity in a White House that has proved difficult to navigate for outsiders.
When Obama attended a memorial service in Boston on April 18, Ruemmler went along to keep him prepared to respond to any developments in the investigation. Tsarnaev was captured the next night, and Ruemmler updated Obama on the FBI's decision to have agents interview the hospitalized prisoner before notifying him of his right to remain silent under the public safety exception.
Ruemmler also advised Obama on the debate over whether to prosecute Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant before a military tribunal. She helped conclude that wasn't an option because Tsarnaev is a naturalized U.S. citizen entitled to a federal trial.
The issues are familiar for Ruemmler, 42, and Monaco, 45, who for years have been at the heart of the country's battle against the terrorism threat.
As director of the Justice Department's national security division for the past couple years, Monaco approved the prosecution and requests for secret surveillance of suspected terrorists. From the White House, she is now responsible for helping determine the targets of drone attacks.
Ruemmler oversees legal strategy on the drone strikes and handling of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, along with every other important legal issue for Obama.
The women have worked closely together since their days as assistant U.S. attorneys in the District of Columbia, where they rose from the entry level of prosecuting misdemeanors to the high-profile Enron Task Force.
They met in a training class along with Ann Petalas, who remains friends with them. She recalls when their instructors' pages started going off simultaneously early on the second day of class.
Monaco left the room to check what was happening, and returned to announce that a hijacked plane had flown into the World Trade Center, Petalas said. Soon the devastation hit much closer to home.
"We were on the ninth floor, and I remember seeing smoke rising" over Washington, Petalas said. "And we weren't sure whether it was the Pentagon or the White House at the time."
But it was clear Washington had been hit, and their office was evacuated in fear the hijackers might target another federal building. Like many people in those cities gripped by terror that day, they took off with no instruction where to go. Petalas said she and Ruemmler fled northwest on foot.
Monaco and Ruemmler declined to be interviewed for this story.
But in a speech on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Monaco spoke of the importance of remembering that day "not only as a turning point in history, but as a human tragedy with flesh-and-blood victims, heroes and murderers."
"The shock and suffering of September 11th left every American asking how could people do something so terrible and how can we prevent it from happening again? For those charged with protecting our nation, it became clear that there was much that could be done to stop another attack," Monaco said.
She noted that two stumbling blocks to preventing the attacks included information-sharing and coordination between intelligence and law enforcement — something she would play an important role in shaping.
On his second day as president, Obama signed executive orders ordering a review of America's detention and interrogation policies and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, whose closure remains an unrealized goal.
Ruemmler and Monaco were among a small group assigned to get Obama's Justice Department up and running, summoned to the White House Situation Room and asked to start the review process.
"It was just an extraordinary amount of work and it had to be done yesterday," said Matthew Miller, the Justice Department spokesman at the time. Miller said the women impressed colleagues with their handling of the job. "The national security world isn't completely male-dominated, but it's high testosterone as the entire legal profession can be."
At the time, Ruemmler was the top political appointee at the Justice Department and Monaco was her chief deputy on national security issues, having worked for President Bill Clinton's attorney general, Janet Reno, and as chief of staff to President George W. Bush's FBI director, Robert Mueller.
Monaco has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Mueller when he steps down in September; it's job no woman has ever held.
In 2011, Obama nominated Monaco to direct the national security division, created in 2006 to improve coordination among law enforcement and intelligence agencies against terrorist attacks and espionage plots. She oversaw terrorism prosecutions and took a special interest in strengthening pursuit of the rapidly spreading threat of cyberattacks against U.S. national security interests.
As Monaco was confirmed, Obama promoted Ruemmler as lead White House counsel after she'd been serving as the No. 2 in that office.
Among the many debates she's weighed in on, Ruemmler was on the winning side of a split among Obama's advisers over the defense of his health care law before the Supreme Court last year. Some in the White House opposed making the argument that the government could fine people who don't buy insurance under its taxing powers. Ruemmler was among those who pushed to make that case.
"She and the president talked a lot about it during the consideration of that matter," McDonough said in an interview. "Kathy with the president took a tough call there — a not uncontroversial call for that matter."
McDonough said he watched as Ruemmler approached the Oval Office to tell Obama the arguments had won over a majority of justices. Obama embraced her in a hug. "They were both quite elated," McDonough said.
Ruemmler also helped craft the administration's response last month to questions from Senate Republicans over the limits of the president's power in using drones. With Brennan's nomination being held up over the inquiry, the administration finally replied that Obama does not have the authority to use a drone to kill a U.S. citizen not engaged in combat on American soil.
The answer cleared a block on Brennan's nomination, which allowed Monaco to take his place. That put Ruemmler and Monaco working side by side, again.
AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.
Follow Nedra Pickler on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nedrapickler


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What happens when other B and B owners stay at a rival's establishment? Will they rate it or hate it? Four In A Bed lets you find out!
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