Photo (left): merging from a dumpster with the only weapon at hand – a hair dryer – Matt (Luke Wilson) takes aim at G-Girl (Uma Thurman). Photo credit Myles Aronowitz
UMA THURMAN (Jenny Johnson/G-Girl) has proven herself to be one of the most versatile young actresses by playing a variety of compelling characters. The daughter of a psychologist and a college professor, Thurman was raised in Amherst, Massachusetts and Woodstock, New York. She attended a preparatory school in New England, where at fifteen she was discovered by two New York agents. At sixteen she transferred to the Professional Children’s School in New York City in order to pursue an acting career.
Thurman’s entrance onto the mainstream film scene began with Johnny Be Good, opposite Anthony Michael Hall. But it was her role as the goddess Venus in Terry Gilliam’s 1988 fantasy The Adventures of Baron Munchausen which brought her international attention. This striking and versatile actress went on to receive critical acclaim for her portrayal of a virginal 18th century convent girl, Cecile de Volanges, seduced by John Malkovich in Stephen Frears’ Dangerous Liasons. The following year she starred opposite Fred Ward and Maria de Medeiros in Philip Kaufman’s Henry & June playing the neurotic and exotic bisexual spouse of Henry Miller. She then played Daphne McBain; one of a trio of Dabney Coleman’s spoiled children in the comedy Where the Heart Is, directed by John Boorman. In 1991, Thurman starred opposite Richard Gere and Kim Basinger as Diana, a conniving therapy patient in Phil Joanou’s thriller Final Analysis. She then reunited with Malkovich in the thriller Jennifer 8, playing Andy Garcia’s blind girlfriend, Helena. In Mad Dog and Glory, she played a barmaid who becomes an indentured servant to Robert De Niro for saving Bill Murray’s life. Her most eccentric movie to date is Gus Van Sant’s film, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, in which she played Sissy Hankshaw, a big-thumbed, bisexual hippie hitchhiker.
In 1996, Thurman received an Academy Award nomination for Quentin Tarantino’s critically lauded Pulp Fiction, in which she played Mia Wallace, a sexy and comedic mobster’s wife. Later that year, she was seen in the period romance A Month by the Lake with Vanessa Redgrave, and the contemporary romance Beautiful Girls directed by Ted Demme. Thurman next appeared in The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Batman & Robin, Gattacca, opposite Ethan Hawke, Les Miserables with Liam Neeson and The Avengers. In the spring of 1999, she made her stage debut in an updated version of Moliere’s “The Misanthrope” at the Classic Stage Company in New York.
Her film credits also include Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown, opposite Sean Penn and Samantha Morton; Vatel, opposite Gerard Depardieu and Tim Roth; the Merchant/Ivory film The Golden Bowl, with Nick Nolte, Angelica Huston and Jeremy Northam and TAPE with Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as Best Supporting Actress. Uma also starred in the HBO film, Hysterical Blindness, with Juliette Lewis and Gena Rowlands, which she also produced. She won the 2003 Golden Globe for Best Actress for her portrayal of Debby Miller and was nominated for a SAG Award.
More recently, Thurman was in Quentin Tarantino’s bloody action films, Kill Bill Vols. I & II, in which she played a deadly assassin in search of revenge of the people who wronged her; starred alongside Ben Affleck in the John Woo thriller Paycheck; starred with Meryl Streep in Prime; and starred with John Travolta and Danny DeVito in Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty.
Photo (left): Matt (Luke Wilson, right) gets some bad advice about sex and dating from his best frienid, Vaughn (Rainn Wilson). Photo credit Myles Aronowitz
LUKE WILSON (Matt Saunders) is a multi-faceted talent whose projects have earned him praise from critics and audiences alike, and Luke continues to display his versatility in his upcoming projects.
Wilson made his directorial and writing debut in the romantic comedy The Wendell Baker Story, in which he stars. The film also features Owen Wilson, Eva Mendes, Will Ferrell, Eddie Griffin, Harry Dean Stanton, Seymour Cassel and Kris Kristofferson. His oldest brother Andrew Wilson co-directed the film with Luke.
Wilson made his acting debut in the critically acclaimed independent film, Bottle Rocket. The film was the first written and directed by Wes Anderson and co-written by his brother, Owen, who also co-starred. Following Bottle Rocket, Wilson went on to appear in various cameo and supporting roles before winning lead roles in Bruce McCulloch's Dog Park and in Home Fries, opposite Drew Barrymore.
Luke re-teamed with Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson for 1998's Rushmore, which appeared on many critics’ Top Ten lists, and then most recently in Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, in which Wilson appeared with an all-star cast that included Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Bill Murray.
In 2003, Wilson co-starred with Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell in the Dreamworks hit comedy Old School. Other recent film credits include Rob Reiner's romantic comedy, Alex & Emma opposite Kate Hudson and Sony Pictures Classics' Masked & Anonymous opposite Bob Dylan, Penelope Cruz, and Jessica Lange.
Wilson appeared with Martin Lawrence in the hit comedy Blue Streak, and opposite Heather Graham in Committed, which was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. He appeared in the smash hit, Charlie’s Angels, and starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. In addition, Wilson reprised his roles for both sequels.
Wilson starred in Twentieth Century Fox's ensemble The Family Stone, with Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson and Sarah Jessica Parker. His other recent films include the Mike Judge comedy for Twentieth Century Fox, Idiocracy, Wil Shriner's Hoot and Nick Guthe's Mini’s First Time, in which he stars opposite Alec Baldwin, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jeff Goldblum.
ANNA FARIS (Hannah Lewis) recently appeared in New Line Cinema's Just Friends co-staring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart and Chris Klein, and in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. She recently starred in the fourth installment of the Scary Movie franchise for Dimension Films reprising her role of Cindy Campbell.
In 2003 she co-starred in the Oscar nominated Universal / Focus film Lost in Translation, alongside Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Giovanni Ribisi, for director Sofia Coppola. Lost in Translation emerged as both one of the year’s most critically acclaimed films, as well as a box office hit, and has earned Anna rave reviews in the process.
Faris starred in Scary Movie 3 for Miramax / Dimension Films, as well as in Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2. The film series is the company’s most successful franchise to date. Faris recurred on the final season of television’s number one comedy Friends, playing the surrogate mother to Monica and Chandler’s adopted baby.
Originally from Seattle, Faris started acting in theater at a young age. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
EDDIE IZZARD (Professor Bedlam/Barry) made his first stage appearance in London's West End in 1993 with his one-man comedy show Live at the Ambassadors, which earned him an Olivier Award nomination for outstanding achievement. He returned to the West End the next year with his second one-man show, Unrepeatable, followed by his dramatic West End debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet's The Cryptogram.
Izzard made his film debut in 1996 in The Secret Agent, which was followed by Velvet Goldmine with Ewan McGregor. In 1998 he staged his one-man show, Dress to Kill, which aired on HBO and earned him two Emmy Awards.
His other film work includes Mystery Men, The Criminal, Shadow of the Vampire with John Malkovitch and Willem DaFoe, co-starring opposite Kirsten Dunst in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat’s Meow, Revenger's Tragedy, The Avengers, and Ocean's Twelve.
RAINN WILSON (Vaughn Haige) portrays Dwight Schrute, an eccentric paper salesman whose ego knows no bounds in the NBC comedy series The Office. In 2005, Wilson co-starred in the feature film Sahara, starring opposite Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn and Penelope Cruz. He also starred as a hippie producer in the acclaimed film, Baadasssss and has appeared in such features as Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal, America's Sweethearts, House of 1,000 Corpses and Galaxy Quest.
In addition, Wilson is well-known for his recurring role on the television series Six Feet Under as Arthur Martin, the odd mortician intern. He has also guest-starred on CSI, NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Monk, and several other series.
Wilson’s theater career includes performances in two Broadway plays, London Assurance and The Tempest. He has also performed off-Broadway in The New Bozena, Plunge, Venus, Titus Andronicus, Twelfth Night, and regionally at the Guthrie Theatre, the Arena Stage, and Dallas Theatre Center. He attended the graduate acting program at New York University.
WANDA SYKES (Carla Dunkirk) was among Entertainment Weekly's 25 Funniest People in America. Her smart-witted stand up has sent her career in many different areas.
She voices a key role in the animated film Over the Hedge and co-stars in the upcoming comedies Clerks II and Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell.
Sykes starred in Comedy Central's Wanda Does It (2004), where she tried various non-showbiz jobs. Her first book was Yeah I Said It, published by Simon and Schuster in 2004. The book is a hilarious collection of essays touching on life, family and current events.
In 2003, Sykes starred on Fox's Wanda at Large (2003), which she wrote, produced and starred in. She also has a one hour Comedy Central special called Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied (2003). In addition, she co-stars on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm and on Comedy Central's Crank Yankers (2002) as the voice of Gladys Murphy.
Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in Maryland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampton University. Her stand-up career began at a Coors Light Super talent Showcase in Washington, DC where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience.
She spent 5 years as part of the HBO's critically acclaimed The Chris Rock Show (1997). As a performer and writer on the show, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy's and in 1999 won the Emmy for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special." In 2001, she won the American Comedy Award for "Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic". She won a second Emmy in 2002 for her work on Inside the NFL. In 2003, Wanda earned a Comedy Central Commie Award for funniest TV actress. Other writing credits include: the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, The MTV Movie Awards, The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002), The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show (1997), and Wanda at Large (2003).
She also appeared in the feature films Pootie Tang (2001), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Down to Earth (2001), and Monster-in-Law (2005).
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