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Lawrence Guterman (Director) Larry Guterman made his feature film directorial effort with the 2001 summer blockbuster comedy, Cats & Dogs, released by Warner Bros. This unique blend of live action, computer animation and animatronic puppetry, creating a convergence of technology never before seen on the screen won both critics and audiences alike. The film grossed over $200 million worldwide. Utilizing more than 27 dogs and 33 cats, in addition to the live action characters and voice talent (Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Tobey Maguire, Sean Hayes, Alec Baldwin, Michael Clarke Duncan and Susan Sarandon), the film focused on a supposed age old rivalry between cats and dogs to “rule the world.” In addition, Guterman and his producing partner Holly Rawlinson have several projects in development at their producing shingle Orange Grove Entertainment, including Backbone Entertainment’s hot property Death, Jr. which they will co-produce as a feature with the management company Circle of Confusion. The film is a potential directing vehicle for Guterman. Known to Hollywood filmmakers as one of the most talented and inventive directors in the business, Guterman graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Physics. While at Harvard, he served as editor and illustrator for the humor magazine, The Harvard Lampoon, and during his summers, he studied animation at the highly regarded Sheridan College of Art in Toronto. Later, Guterman relocated to Los Angeles and worked in computer graphics, as a script reader at Joel Silver’s company and in production development for Melinda Jason at Columbia. In 1995, he graduated from the Master’s program in filmmaking from the University of Southern California School of Cinema where he paid his tuition by teaching undergraduate physics. While at USC, Guterman sold 2 scripts – one to Paramount and one to TriStar, and he caught the attention of Robert Zemeckis and HBO by co-writing a script for an episode of “Tales From The Crypt”, which so impressed Zemeckis that he planned to direct it himself. From the money he acquired from selling these feature scripts, Guterman financed his 1995 Master’s thesis “Headless!”, a 35-minute, 35mm black comedy (about a former academic investigating a fad for collecting shrunken heads), starring Eddie Albert, which quickly made the “agent circuit” after winning rave reviews at USC’s First Look Festival and being awarded the grand jury prize at the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. (Other directors who have received this honor include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme and the Coen brothers). With “Headless!”, Guterman won an introduction to Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who hired him to direct the DreamWorks/Microsoft Corporation’s first live action CD-Rom, a game based on the “Goosebumps” series, which starred Jeff Goldblum and Isabella Rossellini. The “Goosebumps” CD-Rom received rave reviews and led to his involvement in the production of Antz. Guterman spent 2 years working on Antz in Palo Alto at Pacific Data Imaging (PDI) (where he had previously interned). He is credited with directing several memorable sequences from the movie, including “The March to Battle with the Termites” and the “Patton Speech.” After completing production on Antz, Guterman became involved with the project, Curious George, at Imagine, which he was attached to direct. He worked closely with Ron Howard in developing the project during 1998 and 1999, but the film never went into production due to executive changes at the company. In March of 1999, Guterman first read the script for Cats & Dogs and worked with the writers in developing the project for about a year. Early on, he directed an impressive test scene involving live action and special effects, which helped push Warner Bros. to green light the project. Cats & Dogs was a reinvention of the spy thriller. It was “Babe meets The Matrix,” “Men In Black With Your Pet.” Guterman was fascinated with the concept of reinventing the techno-thriller genre from the point of view of canines and felines and with creating never-before-seen images of domesticated animals battling it out for superiority right under our noses (doing kung fu, flying remote control attack planes, etc.) with the suburban household as the ultimate battlefield. The film was a unique convergence of technologies including live action, puppetry and animation. The puppeteers involved in Cats & Dogs were from the Henson Creature Shop and visual effects were done by Mill Film, Ltd. in London, Tippet Studios in Berkeley and Rhythm & Hues in Los Angeles. Raised in Montreal and Toronto, Guterman first became interested in visual storytelling and making films as a child, and he made his first short film when he was in the 8th grade. Later, as a senior at Harvard, he made a 15-minute film as a project for a documentary film course and became hooked on directing as a career. Some films that have been very influential to him include Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future Dr. Strangelove and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Combining exhilarating escapist entertainment with heart and a good dose of satiric wit was what Guterman set out to capture in Son of the Mask. Marrying live action with computer-generated images gave him the boundless possibilities to achieve it. Erica Huggins (Producer) Erica Huggins (executive vice president, production) was with Radar Pictures and its precursor, Interscope Communications, for over a decade. While at Radar her credits included, Merchant-Ivory’s Le Divorce starring Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts and How to Deal starring Mandy Moore. She also helped develop several of their projects including the second feature in the highly successful Jumanji franchise; Soldier Field, to be executive-produced by Joe Carnahan (Narc) and co-star Ray Liotta; a remake of the Oscar-nominated Everybody’s Famous; Jimmy Fallon’s (Saturday Night Live) big-screen debut Tanguy; and Widow’s Broom and Zathura, both based on children’s books by award-winning Jumanji and Polar Express author Chris Van Allsburg. Huggins first came to Interscope’s attention more than a decade ago when she was working as a film editor on one of the company’s productions. Her credits included John Waters’ classics Hairspray; Crybaby; Serial Mom; and Academy-Award-winning director Michael Cimino’s The Sicilian and Desperate Hours. Interscope was in search of executives with a non-traditional background to bring a fresh perspective to the development and production process and offered Huggins a position as in-house producer. At Interscope, Huggins produced What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding, Jr., which earned an Oscar for its groundbreaking visual effects; Boys, starring Winona Ryder; and the critically acclaimed Gridlock’d, starring Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth. In 2004 Imagine Entertainment hired Huggins as Senior Vice President of Motion Pictures where she currently is in post-production on Flightplan, Disney’s airborne thriller starring Jodi Foster and directed by Robert Schwentke. Huggins graduated Hampshire College with a dual degree in Anthropology and Documentary Film. She spent a year in Japan and China, researching her thesis and teaching at Kobe College. Scott Kroopf (Producer) Scott Kroopf is President of the Motion Picture Group at Intermedia, where he oversees a large slate of films in development at least two of which are scheduled to start production in 2005; Basic Instinct II, with Sharon Stone reprising the roll that made her an international box office superstar and Terminator 4, the latest film in one of the industry’s most popular and successful franchises. Prior to joining Intermedia Scott was President and COO of Radar Pictures, which he formed four years ago with Ted Field. At Radar Kroopf had assembled a slate of over 25 active projects embracing a wide range of styles and featuring some of the finest filmmakers working today. Most recently, Kroopf produced The Last Samurai, directed by Ed Zwick and starring Tom Cruise, Merchant-Ivory’s Le Divorce, starring Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts and The Chronicles of Riddick, starring Vin Diesel. Kroopf also supervised the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Kroopf and Field built Radar on the foundation of the former Interscope Communications, where Kroopf was responsible for the production of over 50 films in 14 years including Jumanji, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Pitch Black, Runaway Bride, Very Bad Things, Gridlock’d, Mr. Holland’s Opus, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Cocktail, Three Men and a Baby and Outrageous Fortune. At Interscope Kroopf started as an in-house producer and development executive and eventually became President of the company. Before joining Interscope, Kroopf was Executive in Charge of Production for Embassy Pictures from 1982 to 1985, where he was involved in the development and production of Stand by Me, The Sure Thing and A Chorus Line. He began his motion picture production career at Robe-Ackerman, a commercial/television/documentary production company.
Beau Marks (Executive Producer) Beau Marks credits include Where the Money Is directed by Marek Kanievska for USA Films as co-producer; Anaconda as co-producer and second unit director and Judge Dredd as producer. He has worked on four films directed by John McTiernan – Medicine Man as line producer; The Hunt for Red October as unit production manager and second unit director; Die Hard as associate producer and second unit director and Predator as associate producer and first assistant director. Beau Marks is a member of the Directors Guild of America, as was his father and grandfather.
Mike Richardson (Executive Producer) Mike Richardson is the President/CEO and founder of Dark Horse Entertainment, for which he created The Mask, TimeCop, and many other properties. He has produced numerous projects for film and television, including Hellboy, The Mystery Men, and Barb Wire. He is also is the President and Publisher of Dark Horse Comics, the award-winning international publishing house he founded in 1986. In 2004, his company entered the world of mainstream publishing with the launch of M Press, The new imprint’s initial offering, “Shanghai Diary,” reached bookstores in September to unanimous critical acclaim. Mike owns a successful pop culture retail chain, Things From Another World, stretching from Universal’s City Walk in Los Angeles to his hometown in Milwaukie, Oregon. Mike has written numerous comics series, as well as co-authoring Comics Between the Panels and Blast Off, two criticality acclaimed books about pop culture. When not in Los Angeles he lives with his wife, Karie, and their three daughters in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Lance Khazei (Screenwriter) Based on his original pitch, Son of the Mask reinvents the Mask franchise in Lance Khazei’s feature writing debut. Khazei has also sold his screenplay Romantic Comedy to Bob Cooper’s Landscape Entertainment and MGM. Khazei is a co-producer on the project. In television, Khazei has created and developed original programming for MTV, Disney, Dreamworks, Klasky Csupo, Jim Henson Productions, and NBC Studios. A cartoonist, Khazei is currently partnering with Wang Films animation to produce “Crayos,” a prime time animated show Khazei created and designed. Khazei was nominated for an Emmy in animation writing for a series of Disney shorts voiced by Robin Williams. Khazei has written for sketch and late night comedies including John Leguizamo’s “House of Buggin” and Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect.” Before his creative work in the entertainment industry, Lance Khazei earned a B.A. from Harvard College, worked for City Year, a domestic urban peace corps, and founded Biomonitor Group, a company which writes, produces and “monitors” bios for entertainment industry professionals. Born in Boston, Khazei grew up in New Hampshire and now resides in Los Angeles where he enjoys the hobby of building tiny bottles inside model ships in bottles. Greg Gardiner (Director of Photography)Greg Gardiner most recently worked on New Line Cinema’s box office hit Elf. His other recent feature film credits include Biker Boyz for Dream Works SKG; Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black 2 for Sony Pictures and Jake Kasdan’s Orange County for Paramount Pictures. He also photographed the WWII prisoner of war drama To End All Wars, with Director David Cunningham, and Steven Gyllenhall’s Homegrown. Gardiner won the Best Cinematography Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival for the independent feature, Suture, directed by David Siegel and Scott McGehee.
Malcolm Campbell (Editor) Malcolm Campbell’s credits as editor include the smash hit Scary Movie 3 for Dimension Films; Shanghai Knights starring Jackie Chan for Touchstone Pictures; Stealing Harvard for Revolution Studios; Keeping the Faith directed by Edward Norton for Spyglass Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures; Superstar; My Favourite Martian; Home Alone 3; Nothing to Lose; Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls; Richie Rich; Wayne’s World and Wayne’s World 2; Nothing But Trouble; Coming to America; Real Men; Spies Like Us; Trading Places and An American Werewolf in London.
Leslie Dilley (Production Designer) Academy Award winning Production Designer Leslie Dilley most recently worked on Cold Creek Manor directed by Mike Figgis and starring Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid. Other film credits as Production Designer include The Abyss for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Achievement in Production Design; Pay it Forward starring Kevin Spacey; Men of Honour starring Robert De Niro; Inspector Gadget; Deep Impact for DreamWorks SKG; Diabolique; How to Make an American Quilt; Casper and The Peacemaker for DreamWorks SKG, starring Nicole Kidman and George Clooney. Dilley’s credits as Art Director include Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark both of which won him an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction/Set Direction; An American Werewolf in London directed by John Landis Legend directed by Ridley Scott; Never Say Never Again; Superman; Alien and The Empire Strikes Back, both for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.
Mary Vogt (Costume Designer) Mary Vogt’s most recent project was Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Her other credits include Men in Black; Men in Black 2; Inspector Gadget; Nick of Time; Hocus Pocus; Batman Returns; The Hard Way; Crazy People and Stakeout.
James E. Price (Visual Effects Supervisor, 2nd Unit Director) James E. Price has been a filmmaker since childhood, when he made animated movies with his father's 8mm camera. He obtained a degree in Computer Science in the late 1980s and began his career in visual effects shortly thereafter. He has served as Visual Effects Supervisor on such films as The Time
Randy Edelman (Composer) With his scores for such films as Shanghai Noon, The Skulls, The Whole Nine Yards, Passion Of Mind, EDtv, 6 Days / 7 Nights, Anaconda, For Richer or Poorer, Daylight, Dragonheart, Diabolique, The Quest, Angels in the Outfield, The Mask, The Indian in the Cupboard, While You Were Sleeping, Beethoven’s 2nd, Gettysburg, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Last of the Mohicans, The Distinguished Gentleman, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Ghostbusters II, Citizen X, Beethoven and My Cousin Vinny, it may be easy to forget that Randy Edelman is also a first-class songwriter, having penned numerous classics for the Carpenters, Barry Manilow, the Fifth Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears and other musical greats. As a solo artist, Edelman himself has released over a dozen albums internationally. He has performed as a solo artist in such renowned concert halls as the London Palladium, the Drury Lane Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall. He has also appeared on television across the United States, England, Ireland, Japan, Australia and Scandinavia. Edelman’s most recent contributions to film include scores for Surviving Christmas, Connie and Carla, Gods & Generals, Shanghai Nights, XXX, National Security, Black Knight, Corky Romano, Panda: The China Adventure, Who is Cletis Tout?, Osmosis Jones. His upcoming films include Miss Congeniality II and Stealth. In light of his current success, there is little doubt that Edelman’s evolution from performer to composer has been aided by his skill as a hit-maker. A native of Teaneck, New Jersey, Randy Edelman developed a love for music in a family with few musical leanings -- his father a CPA, his mother a teacher. A student of the classics, Edelman preferred the pop genre, playing piano by ear and writing original songs by age 14. Attending the University of Cincinnati as a pre-med major, Edelman nonetheless knew he’d rather study cadenzas than cadavers. Forging a reputation as an arranger for local bands, he was soon hired by the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, to orchestrate songs for King Records. In 1970, Edelman headed to New York and was hired by then-music executive Tony Orlando as a staff writer for CBS. Work as a musician continued -- a highlight for Edelman came as keyboardist for the Broadway production of “The Boyfriend.” Earning work as an arranger and conductor, Edelman began to record his own music to mass acclaim. With over a dozen solo records to follow, his career had found its roots. In 1972, after relocating to Los Angeles, Edelman’s talents caught the attention of the Carpenters, who recorded two of his songs and made him their opening act. His appeal proved eclectic when Edelman also toured with the grand Mother of Invention, Frank Zappa. Meanwhile in England, his own records had caused a flurry of excitement, catapulting the singer/songwriter to cult status with live concerts and multiple television appearances in Great Britain, while back in the States his music was being recorded by the likes of Patti LaBelle, Olivia Newton John, Bing Crosby, Nancy Wilson and Barry Manilow, who made a hit with Edelman’s “Weekend in New England.” He also made numerous U.S. TV appearances as a solo artist on such popular shows as Merv Griffin and many others. Lending his prolific skills to the realm of television, Edelman began to score such series as “Ryan’s Four,” “Maximum Security,” “Mr. Sunshine” and “MacGyver.” Edelman acknowledges that years spent in recording studios as a musician and arranger has taught him how to adapt as a film composer, a trait he has found invaluable. Enjoying the creative latitude afforded him by film work, he admits the only drawback may be the accelerated pace demanded by the medium -- besides the perennial conflict of choosing between “popular” and “important” films. Regardless of the project, the composer continues to orchestrate everything himself, sequencing electronic passages and collaborating with directors to achieve the desired sound. Though now removed from the spotlight of being a celebrated singer/songwriter, Randy Edelman continues to address his worldwide audiences through the medium of film. His music for Gettysburg and his NFL Sports Theme were heavily featured in both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In fact, Edelman was honored with an Emmy Award for his contribution to NBC’s coverage of the Games. He currently has his biggest hit to date with Nelly’s smash single “My Place” from the multi-platinum Suit, recently nominated for the Best Rap Album Grammy. He also received his honorary doctorate degree in Music from the University of Cincinnati last June.
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