Post on 26-Jun-2018
transcript
Production Information
“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success. . .
Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.”
—Nikola Tesla, Austrian inventor of the radio
Throughout modern history, brilliant inventors without the resources to protect
their patents have been shoved aside. Antonio Meucci: telephone. Jacob Davis: blue
jeans. Nikola Tesla: radio. Hans Lippershey: telescope. All were men whose inventions
were patented by others with names much more familiar:
Alexander Graham Bell. Levi Strauss. Guglielmo Marconi. Galileo Galilei.
Based on the true story of university professor and part-time inventor Robert
Kearns’ (GREG KINNEAR of Little Miss Sunshine, As Good as It Gets) decades-long
battle with the U.S. automobile industry, Flash of Genius tells the tale of one man whose
fight to receive recognition for his ingenuity would come at a heavy price. But this
determined engineer refused to be silenced, and he took on the corporate titans in a battle
that nobody thought he could win.
The Kearns were a typical 1960s Detroit family, trying to live their version of the
American Dream. Local college professor Bob married schoolteacher Phyllis (LAUREN
GRAHAM of Because I Said So, Bad Santa) and, by their mid-thirties, had six kids who
brought them a hectic but satisfying Midwestern existence.
When inveterate tinkerer Bob invents the intermittent windshield wiper—a device
that would eventually be used by every car in the world. Bob is not only proud and
thrilled, but the Kearns think they have struck gold. Working with family friend Gil
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Previck (DERMOT MULRONEY of Zodiac, About Schmidt), they develop the
revolutionary product and take it to market. But their aspirations are dashed after the
automotive giants who embraced Bob’s device unceremoniously take his creation and
shun the man who imagined it.
Ignored, threatened and then buried in years of litigation, Bob is haunted by what
was done to his family and their future. He turns to attorneys, including Gregory Lawson
(ALAN ALDA of The Aviator, Crimes and Misdemeanors), to help him fight the
seemingly impossible battle…but their approach and willingness to settle leaves Bob
with the realization he alone must pursue the justice he needs. He becomes a man
obsessed. His conviction is simple: his life’s work—or for that matter, anyone’s work—
should be acknowledged by those who stand to benefit. And while paying the toll for
refusing to compromise his dignity, this everyday David will try the unthinkable: to bring
Goliath to his knees.
Veteran producer MARC ABRAHAM (Spy Game, Children of Men, Dawn of the
Dead) makes his directorial debut with Flash of Genius, directing from a screenplay by
PHILIP RAILSBACK (The Stars Fell on Henrietta) that is based on JOHN
SEABROOK’s The New Yorker article of the same name.
Abraham’s accomplished behind-the-scenes team includes Academy Award®-
nominated cinematographer DANTE SPINOTTI (The Insider, L.A. Confidential),
production designer HUGO LUCZYC-WYHOWSKI (Snatch, Dirty Pretty Things),
editor JILL SAVITT (Secret Window, The Lookout) and costume designer LUIS
SEQUEIRA (Charlie Bartlett, Breach). The music supervisors for the drama are G.
MARQ ROSWELL (The Great Debaters, An Unfinished Life) and ADAM SWART (The
Grand, The Brothers Solomon), and the composer is AARON ZIGMAN (The Notebook,
Bridge to Terabithia).
Spyglass Entertainment partners GARY BARBER (Wanted, Eight Below) and
ROGER BIRNBAUM (Memoirs of a Geisha, The Pacifier) produce the film with
MICHAEL LIEBER (Joe Gould’s Secret). JONATHAN GLICKMAN (The Lookout, 27
Dresses), J. MILES DALE (Hollywoodland, Talk to Me), THOMAS A. BLISS (Spy
Game, Children of Men) and ERIC NEWMAN (Children of Men, Dawn of the Dead)
executive produce the drama.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 3
BEFORE THE PRODUCTION
Never Surrender:
Bob Kearns’ Lifelong Fight
“His remarkable success has made him one of the most famous inventors in the country, a hero to thousands of inventors with their
own patent-infringement horror stories to tell.”
—John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 1993
The phrase “flash of genius” refers to a 1941 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which
states that in order for his or her creation to qualify as an invention, the inventor “must
reveal the flash of creative genius, not merely the skill of the calling,” that inspired said
product. How to define the word “invention,” however, has been an ongoing conundrum,
and the answer is still vague at best. In the early days of the court’s decision, a person’s
invention was more protected and considered sacrosanct. As the power and influence of
corporations grew, the nature of that protection shifted to favor capitalist advancement.
The ‘60s was the golden era of the American automobile industry, and Detroit
was at the booming heart of it. Dr. Robert Kearns worked as an engineering professor at
Wayne State University in the Motor City in the late ‘60s and, in his off hours, was a
tenacious inventor in his basement workshop. Having damaged his eye in an accident
with an errant champagne cork on the evening of his wedding, Kearns was fascinated and
inspired by the adaptability of the human body. He grew curious to know if a windshield
wiper could be designed to work just like a blinking eye, drawing across the car’s glass
with intermittent timing, depending upon the needs of the driver in inclement weather—
from a smattering of raindrops to a more consistent downpour.
After many failed tries, the engineer invented a windshield wiper that worked
perfectly. He had created a solution to imperfect standard wipers: the intermittent
windshield wiper outfitted with “The Kearns Blinking Eye Motor.” While his creation
used three common electrical components that had long been used—a capacitor, resistor
and transistor—he put them together in a manner that no one had done before and no one
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has done better since. His flash of genius had given birth to a superior safety device that
would be installed in millions of automobiles worldwide.
Though he and a family friend who worked as an auto parts supplier secured the
patent for his “Blinking Eye,” Kearns did not know that the Big Three automobile
manufacturers had been working on the same idea. However, they had not cracked the
problem yet. Kearns went to juggernaut automotive manufacturer Ford with his
invention, but after a brief stint as a consultant, he was told Ford was no longer interested
in the project and his assistance was no longer required.
A couple of years passed before the engineer began seeing new cars on the road
that, to his astonishment, were using the very intermittent windshield wiper he had
designed. After he took one apart, he discovered that it was the invention he’d brought to
Ford. The company claimed it had already been working on the idea and didn’t need to
use his patent to manufacture and install the wiper into its line of cars.
Kearns knew they were not telling the truth.
Once he understood the gravity of the task at hand (and the fact that few attorneys
were interested in a seemingly impossible and possibly endless battle), Kearns enlisted
his children and wife to help with his fight. But the deeper his obsession became, the
more he put his family at risk. His wife Phyllis gave it everything she had—on top of
raising their six kids—but her dedication wasn’t enough. She finally left him.
Mrs. Kearns recalls of her decision: “It was like he had a drug problem—that
obsession was so strong. I said to him one day, ‘Bob, I don’t know if I can take anymore
of this. This is killing me.’ And he said, ‘This is no way to live a life, and without the
lawsuit, there’s no life.’ I realized how deep he was in it and the fact that he was losing
his patent to these guys because they plucked it away from him.”
Much of the younger Kearns’ childhoods—and, for that matter, lives—were spent
studying legal papers, researching patent law and scrutinizing jurors. At one point or
another, five of the six kids were employed by their father to assist in the quest. Eldest
son Dennis explains: “It was gradual over many years; stepping a little further out until
suddenly we realized we were in quicksand up to our necks, and we were alone.”
Though the designer had initially hired expensive lawyers to try his case, when
Ford came back with settlement offers in the multiple millions, he turned them down.
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The fiery professor with an everyman sensibility was committed to receiving credit for
his invention and receiving an apology from the company that took away his dream of
manufacturing the “Blinking Eye” with his family. Kearns was no longer just an inventor
who had a brilliant idea. His focus changed to crusader against injustice.
His story, despite the fact that he did what no one before him could have, is a tale
of the price of victory. His persistence was the source of both his success and his
undoing. It was never about personal gain for Dr. Robert Kearns; it was about fighting
exploitation by those with more money and power. He fought to the end with enormous
personal cost to his family, career and sanity. In the end, the jury found that Ford did
infringe patents held by Kearns and awarded him more than $10 million. Three years
later, he was awarded $18.7 million from the Chrysler Corporation.
When this case first went to court, the most Ford had ever paid anyone for a
patent was 11 cents per unit. Toward the end of the family’s lawsuit, inventors were
slapping Kearns on the back because they were receiving an unheard of two dollars per
unit. Not to mention the fact that, today, the auto industry still uses Kearns’ “Blinking
Eye Motor” mechanism for the windshield wipers installed in most cars.
To this day, nothing works better.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Producer to Director:
Adapting Flash of Genius
Robert Kearns’ lengthy travails with automotive giants and patent law were
chronicled in John Seabrook’s 1993 article for The New Yorker titled “Flash of Genius.”
Producer Michael Lieber was fascinated by the story, optioned Seabrook’s article and
brought screenwriter Philip Railsback onto the project to craft the script. In 1998, they
approached veteran producer Marc Abraham.
Abraham remembers that he was touched by the family’s plight: “I read the article
John wrote. I just loved everything about it—the American Dream, the experience, the
disappointment, the fact that Bob was a professor. I was a producer at the time, but I said
to Mike, Phil and John, ‘Just so you know, I’m planning on directing this movie. I don’t
Flash of Genius—Production Information 6
know when and I don’t know under what circumstances, but I’m going to direct it.’ And,
in the end, that’s what actually happened.”
The director saw all the elements of a film with which he would make his
directorial debut in Flash of Genius. “Marc’s eyes lit up,” recounts Lieber. “Here was a
family man living the American Dream who risked everything to go up against the big
system for a principle he believed in. The most amazing thing about Kearns is that he
was not particularly interested in money. He wanted justice.”
Throughout the next decade, the project would gel as Abraham continued to
produce critical and commercial successes—from Spy Game, starring Brad Pitt and
Robert Redford, and the surprise hit teen comedy Bring It On to the reimagined Dawn of
the Dead and director Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopic vision of a near future, Children of
Men. When the time was right, Abraham secured Spyglass Entertainment’s Roger
Birnbaum and Gary Barber as fellow producers for the film, and Abraham stepped into
the director’s role.
Unbeknownst to the producers, Dr. Kearns had turned down several other offers
from Hollywood. It took some time for him and his relatives to trust anyone with the
story of their lives. Eventually, the director and his team won the Kearns over with their
passion for the project and promise to honor the family’s story by keeping the film as
close to the truth as possible. The drama they wanted to make would be easier to hew
quite close to actual events, as the Kearns family provided documentation, home movies,
photographs and anecdotal information about the landmark case. Oldest son Dennis
Kearns represented his mother and siblings, and he worked with Marc Abraham and crew
for nine years while the project was finalized.
Of taking a chance on a new director, producer Barber explains, “We had
tremendous confidence in Marc because he had all the makings of a great director going
in. He’s well versed in all aspects of filmmaking; he’s well organized, articulate and has
time for all of the actors and crew. We also knew he would assemble the right team to
tell this authentic underdog story.”
Producer Birnbaum agrees with Barber’s assessment: “I knew Marc as an
experienced filmmaker who knows how to tell a story. He produces, he writes, he loves
making movies. Marc thought this project would be a great choice for his first turn as a
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director because of the roller-coaster ride Kearns took for so many years. The oddness of
the invention, and the iconic nature of the automotive industry in the ‘60s and ‘70s all
wove together to make a great story.”
With the principal filmmakers set and the Kearns family’s blessing secured, the
production would begin selecting the cast of friends and foes who would make Flash of
Genius a reality.
Casting the Film
It was paramount when casting the role of Robert Kearns for Flash of Genius that
audiences would believe this is a well-intentioned man who cherishes his family, but
loses himself in an unimaginable lawsuit. We want to like him; we want to believe in and
root for him even during the times he becomes unlikable. Enter actor Greg Kinnear.
“Refreshing and inspiring” are the words Kinnear uses to describe his draw to the
story. “The richness of character and the integrity of what Kearns was fighting for—not
the money, but his dignity and what was right. That kind of purity is rare.”
Director Abraham’s solid track record as a producer inspired the confidence in the
performer it would take to film the part. Kinnear continues: “Marc’s deeply passionate
about this story on both personal and cinematic levels, and he stuck to it and fought for it
and found the truth of it.”
To prepare for the role, Kinnear researched the Kearns’ family story and began to
assemble a portrait of the complex inventor and his family. He immersed himself in
articles about the case and studied the family’s home movies and an appearance by the
inventor on David Letterman’s late night show that captured the essence of the engineer.
The performer was keen to not simply paint Kearns as an infallible hero, but a
father and a husband who made some very difficult decisions on behalf of his family,
some of which devastated them. “This was a story worth telling, a fight ultimately worth
fighting,” he notes. “Even if you were watching him go through this, there are moments
where you want to stand up and say, ‘Bob, snap out of it!’ But he goes through this
battle, and you ultimately respect him for it.”
Flash of Genius—Production Information 8
Of Kinnear’s appeal and why he felt he was the right fit for the project, Abraham
surmises: “Greg allows himself to go to certain extremes that a lot of actors are afraid to.
He’s comfortable taking risks and playing both the greatest guy in the world, as well as a
guy who may have crossed a line. This makes him attractive as an actor and empathetic
to an audience. He gave every last ounce of blood and talent to the role, and we were so
in sync about what we admire and appreciate about Bob.”
Lauren Graham was cast as Phyllis Kearns, the long-suffering teacher and Kearns
family matriarch who watches as her husband’s obsession with legal retribution pulls
their family apart. Of his decision to work with Graham, Abraham reflects: “Phyllis’
character is critical, and we needed an actress who the audience could relate to and
therefore understand the choice she makes at a time in history when it was more difficult.
She also had to have the bearing and willingness to completely invest in a character who
has six children. Lauren’s a really smart, well-trained and committed actress who had the
skill and talent to manage all of these elements beautifully.”
The actor offers why she was intrigued to portray a woman who struggled so
much, and she offers the counterpoint that many in the Kearns family felt as they were in
the midst of hell: “There are pieces of this movie that I feel could be about almost any
addiction. What starts as his belief that he’s fighting for what’s right turns into an
obsession with getting everyone to say, ‘This was yours; we stole it from you, and we
were wrong.’
“It’s a classic David and Goliath story,” continues Graham, “man against the
machine. Rather than see the big picture and understand he may not get everything he
wants, there’s no room for compromise for him. What begins as something that the
family is behind, that they’re a team in, turns into his singular obsession—a vision that
goes from something they’re all championing to something that’s disruptive and
difficult.”
Flash of Genius’ supporting cast includes Dermot Mulroney as Kearns’ friend and
business partner, Gil Previck. Previck initially supports Kearns, but quickly realizes that
if he hopes to do business in Detroit for the next few decades, he cannot and will not take
on Ford. Explains Mulroney of his character’s actions: “When Bob decides to take the
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automotive companies to court, that’s when Gil has to say, ‘As a businessman, I’m out of
it.’ He separates from Bob so he can still do business in Detroit with other car products.”
Abraham said of the performer: “Dermot is a deceptively complex actor. He has
a casual demeanor that makes what he does appear easy. I loved the idea of him playing
a tough, pragmatic businessman and so did he.”
Veteran actor Alan Alda was asked to portray Gregory Lawson, a lawyer who
verses Kearns in the fine art of justice in America’s courts. Discusses Kinnear of
Lawson’s role: “As his attorney, Lawson says, ‘We’re gonna beat these guys up. We’re
gonna resolve this,’ the way high-powered lawyers do with major corporations guilty of
these kinds of misdoings. As time goes on, you realize that what his attorney’s version of
resolve is and what Bob’s version of resolve is are two entirely different things.”
For Alda, a major attraction to the role involved one of the scenes in which his
character relates to Kearns what a lawyer once said to Alda: “It was as discouraging to
me as it is to Kearns in the movie,” he remembers. “My lawyer said, ‘It’s the way things
work.’ It’s very surprising if you are looking to right a wrong and you find out the only
way it can be righted is through a settlement. If you accept the settlement, it looks like all
you wanted was the money and that you weren’t out for justice. And if you don’t accept
it, you may spend the rest of your life fighting.”
One of the most challenging aspects of casting was finding two sets of six young
actors to portray the Kearns children as they age over the decades-long court battle. The
younger and older actors had to be believably similar, and they all had to look like
siblings…as well as potential offspring of Greg Kinnear and Lauren Graham.
Twelve young performers hailing from all over North America were found to fit
the bill. Up-and-comer Jake Abel leads the cast of Kearns children as teenage Dennis
and, like most of the other young actors, was able to meet his real-life counterpart on set.
“It was surreal,” says Abel. “Here I am talking to the real Dennis Kearns while I’m made
up to look like him 30 years ago. I just hope I do the role justice.”
Flash of Genius—Production Information 10
Capturing the American Dream:
Design and Locations
Flash of Genius was lensed in and around Toronto during summer 2007.
Because the film is based on actual people—many of whom are still alive—and events
that spanned 13 years (from 1969 to 1982), the departments of production design,
costumes, props and set decoration went to great lengths to make the movie feel
authentic. Down to minutiae, it was important for Abraham’s crew to do justice to the
Kearns’ story and reflect their world accurately—to the art and wallpaper on the walls,
period-appropriate clothing and the actual model of typewriter the engineer used to create
documents that outlined his case.
One of the most important things for the director was to design a realistic-looking,
gritty film that felt as if it was released in the period in which it was shot. Abraham
didn’t want colors to jump out or the time frame to feel unrealistic. To accomplish his
goal, he and the producers brought on board production designer Hugo Luczyc-
Wyhowski and Oscar®-nominated cinematographer (and frequent Michael Mann
collaborator) Dante Spinotti.
Flash of Genius offered designer Luczyc-Wyhowski the opportunity to create a
portrait of a family in a period well known to much of the audience. That presented a set
of challenges far different from designing a movie set in a much older era; it forced a
higher degree of accuracy. The first step in his process involved a good amount of
research. Luczyc-Wyhowski’s team scouted Detroit public libraries and archives, where
they found that many of the Kearns’ 1980s court cases were well documented with
photographs and videotape.
The second step was collaborating with Abraham and the Kearns family. The
production designer commends: “Marc was specific about his vision and picked a great
group of creative people to bring that vision to life. Each of the Kearns have been
invaluable by sharing details of their home, anecdotes and family eccentricities.”
The filmmakers believed they could achieve the best lighting by lensing the new
Kearns’ home on location. Indeed, they found a similar house in Toronto to the one in
which the family had lived in Detroit. As Kearns had surrounded his clan with the
Flash of Genius—Production Information 11
paraphernalia of his dreams, their “new home” was designed to create a natural and
realistic portrait of an obsessive, middle-class engineer within a chaotic setting.
Dante Spinotti was just the man Abraham wanted for the job of director of
photography. The director doesn’t disguise his excitement at landing the well-respected
filmmaker: “From the moment I realized we were actually making this film, I thought
only of having Dante by my side. He’s a true artist and an even truer man. Working with
him was one of the greatest joys of my career.”
The renowned DP offers that story always dictates the angle with which he
decides to shoot. His technique involved lensing a scene with two cameras rolling the
majority of the time. “I like the dynamic of having two cameras, especially when you
have good performances,” Spinotti provides, “because it makes your coverage much
more dynamic, and you capture whatever’s great that’s coming from the actors.”
Spinotti used both Panavision’s high-end digital camera, the Genesis, as well as
traditional film stock to shoot Flash of Genius. The Genesis has proven itself in a variety
of difficult locations and delivered portability, sensitivity, depth-of-field control, range
and color that made shooting multiple rain sequences easier. “We used the Genesis for
interiors and technically complicated sequences [like rain] and used film for exteriors,”
Spinotti explains. As for the difference between digital and film: “I take a different
approach mentally and technically, although the fundamental concept is the same.”
Costume designer Luis Sequeira kept the wardrobe realistic and moving from one
period of fashion to the next between 1969 and 1982. He worked with Kinnear to give
Bob Kearns a very limited wardrobe over the course of those 13 years. Costuming
challenges on this film also included dressing 12 kids at various ages through the years.
One fashion Lauren Graham was glad to see has not withstood the test of time is
the liberal use of synthetics made popular in the era. She laughs of the challenge offered
by Sequeira, “I learned that polyester doesn’t breathe, and the A-line shape of a tent dress
makes it a hard thing to wear.”
The true test of design accuracy came when the Kearns family visited the set; they
agreed that there was an overwhelming feeling of coming home. Dennis Kearns was
particularly floored by how much his father’s laboratory looked like the actual basement
where he and his siblings helped their dad solder circuit boards.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 12
****
Robert Kearns passed away on February 9, 2005, from complications due to
cancer. He was 77 years old. Best summarizing his family’s feelings about having their
journey translated for screen is Mrs. Kearns. She concludes: “I never would have thought
that people would care that much about our story. When it sank in that this was really
going to happen, I thought, ‘Wow, people care about what happened.’”
It was as moving for the cast and crew to grasp that they were telling a very
unexpected American success story that was four decades in the making. Summarizes
Greg Kinnear: “Just meeting the family and seeing their reaction to Bob’s story being
realized in a movie was something I won’t forget. The idea that we all worked in tough
conditions and long hours to try to get a story out there that has real meaning. I loved
being a part of that.”
The final words go to our director: “Bob fought a battle that somehow has lived
on. I’m a believer that everybody’s life is important and as long as they do their job well,
they deserve their dignity. He did something important because he fought for a principle
that he believed in. I don’t know what’s more important than that.”
Universal Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment present Greg Kinnear in Flash of
Genius, starring Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney and Alan Alda. The music
supervisors are G. Marq Roswell and Adam Swart; the music is by Aaron Zigman. The
film’s costume designer is Luis Sequeira; the film is edited by Jill Savitt, ACE. Flash of
Genius’ production designer is Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski; its director of photography is
Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC. The drama’s executive producers are Jonathan Glickman, J.
Miles Dale, Thomas A. Bliss and Eric Newman. Flash of Genius is produced by Gary
Barber, Roger Birnbaum and Michael Lieber. It is based on The New Yorker article “The
Flash of Genius” by John Seabrook. The film is written by Philip Railsback and directed
by Marc Abraham. © 2008 Universal Studios and Spyglass Entertainment Funding, LLC
www.flashofgenius.net
Flash of Genius—Production Information 13
ABOUT THE CAST
GREG KINNEAR (Bob Kearns) continues to build upon his already impressive
resume with roles in the most diverse of projects. The busy Academy Award® nominee
recently starred in the comedy hit Baby Mama, alongside Tina Fey, and will soon be seen
in the comedy Ghost Town, with Ricky Gervais, and Universal Pictures’ Green Zone,
with Matt Damon.
Kinnear gave memorable performances in the indie hit Little Miss Sunshine and
the romantic comedy Feast of Love, then segued from beauty pageant and romance to the
gridiron and starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in Disney’s Invincible, and then on to
Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation. Kinnear starred in the dark comedy The Matador,
with Pierce Brosnan and in Bad News Bears, opposite Billy Bob Thornton; lent his voice
as Ratchet in the highly successful animated film Robots; and starred in Auto Focus, the
critically acclaimed biopic of actor and comedian Bob Crane. Kinnear starred opposite
Mel Gibson in the feature We Were Soldiers, focusing on the Vietnam War battle of La
Drang Valley, and lit up the small screen as well in the emotion-driven Norman Jewison
HBO movie Dinner With Friends, alongside Toni Collette, Dennis Quaid and Andie
MacDowell.
Kinnear’s other credits include the romantic comedy Someone Like You, with
Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman; the Farrelly brothers’ comedy Stuck On You, in which
he co-starred with Matt Damon; Sam Raimi’s supernatural thriller The Gift, alongside
Cate Blanchett and Katie Holmes; and director Neil LaBute’s black comedy Nurse Betty,
opposite Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock. Kinnear starred alongside
Jack Nicholson as his unfortunate neighbor Simon in James L. Brooks’ Academy
Award®-nominated film As Good As It Gets. His performance garnered him an Academy
Award® nomination. Kinnear made his feature film debut in the Sydney Pollack-directed
remake Sabrina, co-starred in Nora Ephron’s hit romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail and
Mike Nichol’s What Planet Are You From? and appeared in a cameo role as Captain
Amazing in Mystery Men. Kinnear first gained prominence as the animated,
wisecracking host of E! Entertainment Television’s Talk Soup in 1991, for which he
garnered an Emmy Award and rave reviews and established a cult-like following. In
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1994, after three successful seasons with Talk Soup, Kinnear left the show permanently
and became the host and executive producer of his own NBC late-night talk show, Later
With Greg Kinnear.
LAUREN GRAHAM (Phyllis Kearns) is best known for her critically acclaimed
portrayal of Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. She received Golden Globe, Screen
Actors Guild and Television Critics Association awards and became a producer on the
series.
Graham was recently seen in Universal’s hit romantic comedy Because I Said So,
opposite Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, and alongside Steve Carell in the comedy
Evan Almighty. Graham’s additional feature film roles include the dark comedy Bad
Santa, opposite Billy Bob Thornton; The Pacifier, opposite Vin Diesel; The Amateurs,
opposite Jeff Bridges and Tim Blake Nelson; Sweet November, starring Keanu Reeves;
the thriller Nightwatch, starring Patricia Arquette and Ewan McGregor: and as Renée
Zellweger’s best friend and confidante in the Meryl Streep drama One True Thing.
In addition to Gilmore Girls, Graham’s list of television credits includes
parts in Caroline in the City, NewsRadio, Law & Order, Seinfeld, 3rd Rock from the Sun,
Conrad Bloom and Townies.
DERMOT MULRONEY (Gil Previck) will soon be seen in Burn After Reading,
starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, and Jolene, directed by Dan Ireland and based on
the E.L. Doctorow story. Mulroney also just wrapped an indie titled Run for Her Life,
directed by Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, in which he stars opposite Diane
Kruger. His most recent film credits include roles opposite Elisabeth Shue in the
independent drama Gracie, directed by Davis Guggenheim, and David Fincher’s Zodiac,
which also starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr.
Additional credits include roles in The Family Stone, Georgia Rule, Must Love
Dogs, The Wedding Date, Undertow, About Schmidt, The Safety of Objects, My Best
Friend’s Wedding, Lovely & Amazing, Griffin & Phoenix, Trixie, Goodbye Lover, Where
the Money Is, Copycat, Living in Oblivion and How to Make an American Quilt.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 15
Mulroney’s earlier work includes critically acclaimed performances in Longtime
Companion; Where the Day Takes You; Samantha, with Martha Plimpton; Staying
Together, with Stockard Channing; Peter Bogdanovich’s The Thing Called Love; Young
Guns, with Kiefer Sutherland; Point of No Return, with Bridget Fonda; Blake Edwards’
comedy Sunset; and Career Opportunities, opposite Jennifer Connelly.
His television work includes a multi-episode guest-starring role on the hit NBC
comedy Friends; the Lifetime Network movie-of-the-week The Memory Keeper’s
Daughter; the HBO film Long Gone; ABC’s four-hour drama Family Pictures, with
Anjelica Huston; and the TNT feature The Heart of Justice.
ALAN ALDA (Gregory Lawson) has the distinction of being nominated for an
Oscar®, a Tony and an Emmy Award—as well as publishing a best-selling book—all in
the same year (2005). His Emmy Award nomination was for his role on The West Wing.
Alda also received a Tony Award nomination for his role in the Broadway revival of
David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. On film that year, he appeared in Martin
Scorsese’s The Aviator, for which he received an Academy Award® nomination and a
BAFTA Award nomination.
In 2006, Alda received his 32nd Emmy Award nomination and won his sixth
Emmy for his appearance on The West Wing (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama
Series). He has earned international recognition as an actor, writer and director. In
addition to The Aviator, Alda’s films include Crimes and Misdemeanors; Everyone Says I
Love You; Flirting With Disaster; Manhattan Murder Mystery; And the Band Played On;
Same Time, Next Year; California Suite; The Seduction of Joe Tynan, which he also
wrote; and The Four Seasons, Sweet Liberty, A New Life and Betsy’s Wedding, all of
which he wrote and directed.
On Broadway, Alda has appeared as the physicist Richard Feynman in the
play QED. He starred in the first American production of the international hit play Art.
In addition to his nomination for Glengarry, he was also nominated for the Tony Award
for his performances in Neil Simon’s Jake’s Women and the musical The Apple Tree.
Other appearances on Broadway include The Owl and the Pussycat, Purlie Victorious
and Fair Game for Lovers, for which he received a Theatre World Award.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 16
Alda played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic television series M*A*S*H
and wrote and directed many of the episodes. His 32 Emmy nominations include one in
1999 for his performance on ER. In 1994, he was inducted into the Television Hall of
Fame. Alda hosted the award-winning series Scientific American Frontiers on PBS for
11 years, interviewing leading scientists from around the world. Other television
performances include Truman Capote’s The Glass House and The Caryl Chessman Story,
for which he received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Caryl Chessman, an
inmate who spent 12 years on death row.
His first memoir, “Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I’ve
Learned,” became a New York Times best seller, as did his second, “Things I Overheard
While Talking to Myself.”
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
MARC ABRAHAM (Directed by) makes his directing debut with Flash of
Genius. Abraham, president of film production company Strike Entertainment, has
produced many major motion pictures over the past 20 years, most recently Alfonso
Cuarón’s Children of Men, the three-time Academy Award®-nominated film that offers a
searing glimpse into the future, starring Clive Owen, Michael Caine and Julianne Moore.
Other motion pictures produced by Abraham include Universal’s hit Dawn of the
Dead, a successful remake of the cult favorite; The Rundown, starring Dwayne “The
Rock” Johnson, Seann William Scott and Christopher Walken; Spy Game (produced with
Douglas Wick), starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt; The Emperor’s Club, starring
Kevin Kline; and Tuck Everlasting, starring Oscar® winners Sir Ben Kingsley, William
Hurt and Sissy Spacek.
In 2000, Abraham produced the summer blockbuster Bring It On, starring Kirsten
Dunst, as well as The Family Man, starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. He also
produced A Thousand Acres, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, starring Michelle
Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Abraham has executive produced many
films, including the action thriller Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford; The Hurricane,
Flash of Genius—Production Information 17
starring Denzel Washington and directed by Norman Jewison; and For Love of the Game,
starring Kevin Costner.
Prior to founding Strike Entertainment, Abraham was a founding partner and
president of Beacon Communications, the successful financing/production company
founded in 1990. Abraham also spearheaded the formation of Beacon Records, which
released five soundtracks that sold more than four million units worldwide.
Abraham has several new projects in development, including Trouble Is My
Business, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s detective-noir classic, starring Clive
Owen, and a remake of the Universal Pictures’ classic Creature From the Black Lagoon.
Late writer PHILIP RAILSBACK (Written by) previously wrote Warner Bros.’
The Stars Fell on Henrietta. The film starred Robert Duvall and Aidan Quinn, was
directed by James Keach and produced by Clint Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions and
Railsback’s brother Steve. Prior to that, Railsback wrote La Cruz de Iberia, in which his
brother also starred.
One of Railsback’s final screenplays, Barstow, will be brought to the big screen
and directed by his brother for Monterrey Pictures.
JOHN SEABROOK (Based on The New Yorker Article “The Flash of Genius”
by) has been a contributor to The New Yorker since 1989 and became a staff writer in
1993. Seabrook has addressed a range of issues including technology, genealogy, design
and natural history.
Seabrook is the author of “Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing—The Marketing
of Culture,” which was published in 2000, and “Deeper: My Two-Year Odyssey in
Cyberspace,” which was published in 1997.
Before joining the magazine, Seabrook was a contributing editor at Vanity Fair
and a senior writer at Manhattan Inc. magazine. His work has also appeared in Harper’s,
The Nation, Vogue, Travel + Leisure and The Village Voice.
Seabrook lives in New York City.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 18
GARY BARBER (Produced by) founded the production, finance and distribution
company Spyglass Entertainment with partner Roger Birnbaum, where he serves as co-
chairman and CEO.
The company’s savvy production choices from the beginning led to the
phenomenal box-office success of The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis, which went on
to gross more than $661 million worldwide and garnered six Academy Award®
nominations. Further successes include The Count of Monte Cristo, with Jim Caviezel
and Guy Pearce; Keeping the Faith, with Ben Stiller and Edward Norton; Shanghai
Noon, with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, and its sequel, Shanghai Knights; and the
dynamic teaming of Al Pacino and Colin Farrell in The Recruit.
Barber executive produced and co-financed two milestone movies: Bruce
Almighty, starring Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston, which grossed over $485 million in
worldwide box office and is considered one of the blockbuster comedies of all time, and
Seabiscuit, the tale of a legendary racehorse, starring Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper and
Jeff Bridges, which received seven Oscar® nominations with its moving story of triumph
over adversity.
Barber went on to produce The Pacifier and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy. The Pacifier, a family comedy starring Vin Diesel, earned approximately $200
million in worldwide box-office sales, while The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an
adaptation of the Douglas Adams best seller, crossed the $100 million mark globally.
Spyglass also co-financed and Gary Barber executive produced The Legend of
Zorro, the sequel to the 1998 smash hit The Mask of Zorro, with Catherine Zeta-Jones
and Antonio Banderas and directed by Martin Campbell, and Memoirs of a Geisha, based
on the best-selling novel, helmed by Rob Marshall (Chicago) and starring Ziyi Zhang and
Ken Watanabe. Memoirs of a Geisha earned Spyglass three Oscar® wins out of six
nominations, bringing a total of 26 nominations to the company.
2006’s successful Walt Disney Pictures’ Eight Below was co-financed by
Spyglass and executive produced by Barber. In 2007, Spyglass produced and financed
the releases of The Invisible and The Lookout (through Miramax Films and Touchstone
Pictures, respectively). Last summer, Spyglass saw the releases of Evan Almighty, the
Flash of Genius—Production Information 19
comedy follow-up to Bruce Almighty, and Underdog, Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action
feature of the beloved classic cartoon series star.
This year is revving up to be a prolific one for Spyglass, with the out-of-the-gate
winning release of 27 Dresses, which Barber produced and Spyglass co-financed,
followed by the release of The Ruins, a horror/thriller produced in association with
DreamWorks. Summer 2008 brought to theaters three major Spyglass releases: M. Night
Shyamalan’s latest, The Happening, a paranoid thriller released by Sony; the hit action-
thriller Wanted, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie; and The
Love Guru, the latest comedy co-written by and starring Mike Myers, with Justin
Timberlake and Jessica Alba co-starring. Spyglass is currently in postproduction on Four
Christmases, starring Oscar® winner Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn.
A seasoned veteran of the business, Barber has been directly responsible for
operating companies in feature film production and distribution, foreign theatrical, video
and TV distribution, exhibition, pre-recorded music and music publishing. He was
responsible for building these companies from the ground up.
Barber is a former vice chairman and chief operating officer of Morgan Creek
Productions. During his eight-and-a-half years at the company, he was in charge of all
day-to-day operations for each of Morgan Creek’s business entities, including feature
film production, foreign distribution, music, exhibition and interactive.
Gary Barber has produced or executive produced more than 60 feature films and
television shows, including the 1994 hit that rocketed Jim Carrey to stardom, Ace
Ventura: Pet Detective, and its highly successful sequel, Ace Ventura: When Nature
Calls, as well as the 1991 blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin
Costner.
ROGER BIRNBAUM (Produced by) founded the production, finance and
distribution company Spyglass Entertainment with partner Gary Barber, where they share
the title of co-chairman and CEO. The company develops and finances all of its projects
independently.
Spyglass Entertainment’s box-office successes range from The Sixth Sense, with
Bruce Willis, which earned $661 million in worldwide box-office sales, to the smash hit
Flash of Genius—Production Information 20
Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, which earned $485 million. Also included in the
Spyglass library are Oscar®-nominated favorites such as Seabiscuit, with Tobey Maguire,
and The Insider, with Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. In total, Spyglass has accumulated
more than 26 Oscar® nominations, including three wins. Other company successes
include The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezel and Guy Pearce; Keeping the
Faith, with Ben Stiller and Edward Norton; the dual hits Shanghai Noon and its sequel,
Shanghai Knights, with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson; The Recruit, with Al Pacino and
Colin Farrell; The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, with Sam Rockwell and Mos Def;
and the smash family film The Pacifier, with Vin Diesel.
Spyglass also co-financed and executive produced The Legend of Zorro, the
sequel to The Mask of Zorro, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Antonio Banderas and
directed by Martin Campbell; and Memoirs of a Geisha, the adaptation of the best-selling
novel, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago). Both films were released internationally by
Spyglass and have each grossed more than $150 million in worldwide box-office sales to
date. Memoirs of a Geisha drew numerous kudos and awards, culminating in three
Academy Awards®.
In 2006, Birnbaum co-financed and produced the action adventure Eight Below,
based on the true survival story about a group of sled dogs in Antarctica. The film had
strong legs at the box office, earning more than $120 million worldwide. Spyglass also
produced and financed the crime thriller The Lookout, helmed by acclaimed writer-turned
first-time-director Scott Frank. In the summer of 2007, Spyglass saw the releases of
Evan Almighty, the comedy follow-up to Bruce Almighty, and Underdog, the live-action
feature with Walt Disney Pictures, based on the beloved cartoon series.
In 2008, Spyglass has co-financed a bountiful roster of films, including the hugely
successful 27 Dresses, with Katherine Heigl, which Birnbaum produced; The Ruins, a
horror/thriller produced in association with DreamWorks; M. Night Shyamalan’s latest,
The Happening, a paranoid thriller; the hit action-thriller Wanted, starring James
McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie; and The Love Guru, a comedy co-written
by and starring Mike Myers with Justin Timberlake and Jessica Alba. Spyglass is
currently in postproduction on the holiday comedy Four Christmases, starring Oscar®
Flash of Genius—Production Information 21
winner Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, which New Line has slated for release at
the end of this year.
Prior to founding Spyglass Entertainment, Birnbaum co-founded Caravan
Pictures, where he was responsible for such box-office hits as Rush Hour, Six Days Seven
Nights, Inspector Gadget, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Three Musketeers, Angels in the
Outfield and While You Were Sleeping.
Before joining Caravan, Birnbaum held the titles of president of worldwide
production and executive vice president at 20th Century Fox, where he developed such
films as Home Alone, Sleeping With the Enemy, Edward Scissorhands, Hot Shots!, My
Cousin Vinny, The Last of the Mohicans, Die Hard 2 and Mrs. Doubtfire, among others.
Prior to that, Birnbaum served as president of production for United Artists, where he
developed the Oscar®-winning film and all-time cinema favorite Rain Man.
Earlier in his career, he produced The Sure Thing, directed by Rob Reiner, and
Young Sherlock Holmes, which were presented in association with Steven Spielberg’s
Amblin Entertainment. For television, he executive produced the telefilms Scandal
Sheet, Happily Ever After and When Your Lover Leaves, as well as the award-winning All
the Kids Do It.
Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, and educated at the University of Denver,
Birnbaum built a successful career as vice president of A&M Records and Arista
Records, before entering the film business to produce motion pictures. He is currently
co-artistic director of the AFI Conservatory and serves on the advisory board for UCSB’s
Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television, and New Media. He is also a mentor to USC’s
Peter Stark Producing Program, as well as the UCLA Graduate Film Program.
MICHAEL LIEBER (Produced by) wrote several spec scripts and was given a
writing deal at Disney. He then joined New Century Productions, first as its story editor,
then as V.P. of creative affairs and development, and later turned back to writing and into
production, initiating Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall. Lieber has had projects
in development at many of the studios, most based on his original ideas and stories. He
has also taught film at the Otis-Parsons School of Art and Design and exhibited his
photographs. Lieber has developed several projects based on The New Yorker magazine
Flash of Genius—Production Information 22
pieces. He produced Joe Gould’s Secret for USA Films (now Focus), based on The New
Yorker pieces by Joseph Mitchell. It was directed by Stanley Tucci and starred Tucci, Ian
Holm and Susan Sarandon.
Lieber received his PhD from Yale and worked as a cultural anthropologist for
nine years, teaching at a number of universities. His fieldwork in urban Trinidad focused
on how various sorts of street hustlers made a living and construed their lives, and his
work resulted in a book, “Street Life.” This was followed by a research grant, which
brought him to the department of dance at UCLA. There he focused on the photographic
and film record of Balinese ritual performance and dance. An interest in documentary
and ethnographic film and photography finally led him to abandon anthropology, and he
turned to feature films.
JONATHAN GLICKMAN (Executive Producer) is responsible for the
development and production of all Spyglass Entertainment films. In 1993, Glickman
joined Caravan Pictures as an intern, and by 1997, he had worked his way up to president
of the company. During this time, he brought in such projects as While You Were
Sleeping, serving as associate producer. Later, Glickman executive produced Grosse
Pointe Blank and Walt Disney Pictures’ Inspector Gadget. In addition, he also produced
the international smash hits Rush Hour and its sequel, Rush Hour 2.
In 1998, Glickman was named president of production for Spyglass Entertainment
and, in 2003, was promoted to president. While at Spyglass, Glickman has produced
such international hits as Shanghai Noon, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Pacifier and
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
In 2008, Glickman produced the sleeper romantic-comedy hit 27 Dresses, which
so far has grossed more than $160 million worldwide. Most recently, he produced Four
Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.
Glickman, who is married to television writer Christy Callahan, graduated with
honors in English from the University of Michigan and attended USC’s Peter Stark
Producing Program.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 23
J. MILES DALE (Executive Producer) served as executive producer of the
recent film Talk to Me, starring Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe Award
winner Don Cheadle (Crash, Hotel Rwanda) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Inside Man, Kinky
Boots), as well as Hollywoodland, a film noir starring Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck and
Diane Lane.
Dale’s credits as executive producer also include Danny Leiner’s hit comedy
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and the family Christmas film Blizzard, directed by
LeVar Burton, starring Kevin Pollak, Christopher Plummer and Brenda Blethyn and
featuring the voice of Whoopi Goldberg. Dale also produced the hit feature Wolf Girl,
starring Tim Curry, Grace Jones and Lesley Ann Warren, as well as James Toback’s
feature Harvard Man, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Eric Stoltz.
For television, Dale produced USA Network’s highest-rated movie of 2000, the
critically acclaimed All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story, starring
Penelope Ann Miller and Mercedes Ruehl. He produced and made his feature directorial
debut with The Skulls III, the sequel to the 1999 box-office hit The Skulls. Having spent
a number of years producing and directing television pilots and series for most of the
major networks and syndication companies, Dale co-executive produced the two-hour
pilot and two seasons of the popular action show F/X: The Series and directed multiple
episodes.
Dale helped adapt the RoboCop franchise for television and produced the two-
hour pilot and 22 episodes of RoboCop for worldwide syndication. He produced three
seasons of the popular reality series Top Cops for CBS and three seasons of the now-cult
classic television series Friday the 13th . These four series scored numerous Gemini,
Emmy and Peabody awards, among other awards for episodes Dale produced and
directed. He also produced several dramatic pilots for ABC, CBS and NBC, and he was
the production supervisor on Daniel Petrie’s The Execution of Raymond Graham, a live-
to-air two-hour Sunday night movie for ABC that examined both sides of the capital
punishment issue and starred Morgan Freeman. He is currently writing his first feature,
Stolen Fire, which he also plans to direct.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 24
THOMAS A. BLISS (Executive Producer) co-founded Strike Entertainment,
which produces motion pictures chiefly for distribution by Universal Studios, in 2002.
Previously, Bliss served as chief operating officer at Beacon Communications, which he
joined in 1990.
Recent projects include Children of Men, Slither and Dawn of the Dead. Earlier,
Bliss served as executive producer for The Emperor’s Club, Tuck Everlasting, Spy Game,
Thirteen Days, The Family Man, End of Days, The Hurricane, Air Force One, Trippin’, A
Thousand Acres, Playing God and The Baby-Sitters Club. He produced Bring It On
Again, Bring It On, A Life in the Theater and Box of Moonlight. In his career, Bliss has
been involved with more than 25 film and hundreds of television projects.
Born in Hollywood, Bliss made his first (8 mm) film in junior high school. After
graduating from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, he served as dean of
students at USC’s Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (one of only three residential
arts academies in the United States), returning to UCLA for a degree in law. He next
earned a spot in the Directors Guild of America - Alliance of Motion Picture and
Television Producers Training Program. Bliss has been honored with a Peabody Award,
two CableACE Awards and the Florence Virginia K. Wilson Scholarship, (awarded to
UCLA law students for outstanding academic achievement), as well as the American Red
Cross Humanities Service Medal and Distinguished Community Service Citation.
Bliss is a member of the board of governors of the Idyllwild School of Music and
the Arts, the board of trustees of the Directors Guild of America - Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Producers Training Program and the Board of Trustees of
California Indian Legal Services. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
ERIC NEWMAN (Executive Producer) is a film producer and founding partner
in NBC/Universal-based Strike Entertainment, a production and co-financing company
established in 2003 with partners Marc Abraham and Thomas A. Bliss. Movies recently
produced by Newman include Zack Snyder’s 2004 reimagining of the horror classic
Dawn of the Dead and Alfonso Cuarón’s three-time Academy Award®-nominated
Flash of Genius—Production Information 25
Children of Men. Newman and the company are currently in preproduction on Creature
From the Black Lagoon and The Dallas Buyer’s Club, starring Ryan Gosling.
Prior to the formation of Strike, Newman served as the ranking development and
production executive at Beacon Communications, joining the company in 1999. Movies
released during Newman’s tenure include Spy Game, The Family Man, Bring It On, End
of Days, The Hurricane and Thirteen Days.
Newman began his career working as an intern in the talent office at Saturday
Night Live. He later joined producer Lorne Michaels’ Paramount Pictures-based
Broadway Video as a production executive, where he helped oversee the Chris
Farley/David Spade films Tommy Boy and Black Sheep.
Newman is a graduate of the USC School of Cinema-Television.
DANTE SPINOTTI, ASC, AIC (Director of Photography) is a master craftsman
whose work on such films as The Insider, L.A. Confidential, Crimes of the Heart and The
Last of the Mohicans has earned him a formidable reputation.
In his native Italy, Spinotti worked with such internationally respected directors as
Lina Wertmüller, Liliana Cavani and Giacomo Battiato before making his American
debut with Michael Mann’s Manhunter. He returned with Mann for The Last of the
Mohicans, freeing his camera to accompany the trajectory of a bullet or the flight of a
tomahawk, and again for the epic cops-and robbers-saga Heat.
Spinotti recently teamed with Mann again for Universal Pictures’ Public Enemies,
starring Johnny Depp. Another frequent partner is director Garry Marshall, the two
teaming on Beaches, Frankie and Johnny and The Other Sister. Spinotti was director of
photography on Michael Apted’s films Blink and Nell. He also filmed Brett Ratner’s
After the Sunset, Red Dragon and X-Men: The Last Stand.
Spinotti’s collaboration with Curtis Hanson yielded the internationally acclaimed
L.A. Confidential and earned his first Oscar® nomination. After teaming with Roland
Joffé for Goodbye Lover, Spinotti again made the best of his cast and locations in The
Insider and received his second Oscar® nod. He then joined Hanson for Wonder Boys,
proving that dark, dreary weather is not incompatible with comedy.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 26
He has twice won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best
Cinematography, first for L.A. Confidential and then for The Insider.
HUGO LUCZYC-WYHOWSKI (Production Designer) has worked on such
acclaimed features as Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, Guy Ferland’s Dirty Dancing: Havana
Nights and Jonathan Demme’s The Truth About Charlie. He was also production
designer on Gary Oldman’s directorial debut Nil by Mouth. More recent projects include
Martian Child and Ira Sachs’ Married Life.
An accomplished painter, Luczyc-Wyhowski began his career art-directing rock
music videos and TV commercials. It was after working with Stephen Frears on a
commercial that Luczyc-Wyhowski was offered the chance to design his first feature
film, Frears’ multi-award-winning My Beautiful Laundrette. He went on to collaborate
with Frears on such films as Prick Up Your Ears, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Dirty
Pretty Things and Mrs. Henderson Presents.
Additional feature credits include the Miramax feature Birthday Girl, starring
Nicole Kidman; Cousin Bette, starring Jessica Lange; Columbia TriStar’s Madeline; and
Stephen Gyllenhaal’s Waterland.
JILL SAVITT, ACE (Edited by), a native New Yorker, started her career
working in commercials. She then moved into features, working with such directors
as Warren Beatty (Reds), Sydney Pollack (Tootsie), Alan J. Pakula (Sophie’s Choice),
Jonathan Demme (Melvin and Howard) and Robert Benton (Places in the Heart). The
move to features gave Savitt the opportunity to work and learn from such esteemed
editors as Dede Allen, Carol Littleton, Craig McKay and Evan A. Lottman.
Savitt edited the pilot for the hit television series Gilmore Girls. She worked on
and off Gilmore Girls throughout the first six years of its seven-year run, becoming the
sole editor for the show during the third season. She juggled television work with editing
features for such writers/directors as David Koepp (Secret Window, Stir of Echoes, The
Trigger Effect) and Scott Frank (The Lookout).
Savitt currently resides in Los Angeles.
Flash of Genius—Production Information 27
AARON ZIGMAN (Music by) recently completed composing for the film
Powder Blue. Zigman’s recent film credits include the hit comedy Sex and the City, Meet
the Browns, Step Up and its sequel Step Up 2: The Streets, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder
Emporium, Martian Child, Why Did I Get Married? and The Jane Austen Book Club.
Additional feature credits include John Q and The Notebook, for which Zigman
won BMI Film Music Awards; Alpha Dog; Akeelah and the Bee, for which he won a
Black Reel Award for Best Original Score; Take the Lead; and ATL. Zigman also shared
an Outstanding Original Song Daytime Emmy Award for composing “Sim Shalom” for
the telefilm Crown Heights.
A sixth-generation Californian and graduate of UCLA’s prestigious film school,
G. MARQ ROSWELL (Music Supervisor) knows all too well how music can contribute
to almost any film’s ultimate success. To date he’s lent his talents to more than 50 films,
including The Great Debaters (directed by Denzel Washington and starring Forest
Whitaker and Washington), Spy Game (starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, directed
by Tony Scott), Dawn of the Dead (directed by Zack Snyder), The Hurricane (starring
Denzel Washington and directed by Norman Jewison), An Unfinished Life (directed by
Lasse Hallström), For Love of the Game (directed by Sam Raimi), Iraq for Sale: The War
Profiteers (directed by Robert Greenwald) and the classic Tommy Boy (directed by Peter
Segal).
All of the films Roswell has supervised have played right into his vast knowledge
and love of music. Throughout the years Roswell has employed a number of unique and
different musical styles and combinations, earning him high praise from directors,
producers and composers. His encyclopedic knowledge of music—both past and present
—ensures that each project he takes on is infused with fresh score ideas and deep cuts not
heard elsewhere.
Roswell has the unique ability to seek out and immerse himself in the music for
each project, no matter what genre it occupies. In the Denzel Washington-directed The
Great Debaters, he and partner Adam Swart mined the rich tapestry of African-American
music from the 1930s and produced new tracks with Alvin Youngblood Hart, Sharon
Jones and Carolina Chocolate Drops. He worked with Queens of the Stone Age and
Flash of Genius—Production Information 28
Rahzel on Let’s Go to Prison and pop/country artists Lyle Lovett, Trisha Yearwood,
Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill on For Love of the Game; assembled hard rockers Guns
N’ Roses, Korn and Limp Bizkit for End of Days; sought out contemporary rhythm-and-
blues artists Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, The Roots, Mos Def and Me’Shell Ndegeocello
and legend Bob Dylan for The Hurricane; and worked with a host of Middle Eastern
musicians and artist/composer Harry Gregson Williams for Spy Game. Unlike many
supervisors working today, Roswell has the ability to actually produce the music for his
projects, from assembling talent, picking the right songs and overseeing the actual
sessions to collaborating with the composer on the score. “I see myself as a musical
consigliere to the director,” he says. “I constantly work to provide the elements of music
that contribute to the scope of his or her vision.”
Due to the nature of how music complements a film’s content, Roswell prefers
that his role begin very early in the process. And depending on the complexity of the
music used, that involvement could last many months. For The Great Debaters, which
takes place in 1935, the process took almost a year. Roswell met with director Denzel
Washington in preproduction, produced the music for on-camera playback, provided
existing masters for source and was cutting music video extras for the DVD release long
after the film was mixed.
On The Commitments, the story of an Irish soul band, Roswell spent months in
preproduction listening to and categorizing literally hundreds of R&B songs. He then
traveled to Ireland to help director Alan Parker recruit the cast and finalize which songs
would be used in the film. Once those decisions were made, Roswell organized and co-
produced the recording sessions. “By and large,” he says, “I’ve found that I get to be as
creative as my collaboration with the director allows. Luckily, I’ve been fortunate
enough to work with directors who have an incredible understanding of music.”
Another such labor-intensive project was director Norman Jewison’s The
Hurricane, for which Roswell researched nearly 40 years of rhythm and blues. “There’s
so much fantastic soul and R&B music that came out of the period between the late 1940s
up to the early 1980s,” Roswell says. “Some of the songs we used were moving and very
powerful,” he says, citing Gil Scott-Heron’s stirring “The Revolution Will Not Be
Flash of Genius—Production Information 29
Televised” as a prime example of a song that quite literally made one of the film’s
scenes.
With many big-budget projects, finishing the film is only half the battle. Even
though CD revenues are shrinking, movie soundtracks if infused with vision can continue
to be a lucrative and important aspect of the business. The Great Debaters soundtrack
album on Atlantic Records has newly recorded tracks, produced by Roswell, featuring
Sharon Jones, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Carolina Chocolate Drops, and is referred to
as the Soul Brother Where Art Thou.
Roswell has put together some of the early winners. One of the biggest-selling
soundtracks ever is The Commitments, which has sold more than 7 million copies to date.
The Varsity Blues soundtrack went platinum, while Fine Young Cannibals wrote both
songs (including the No. 1 hit “Good Thing”) and the score for Barry Levinson’s Tin
Men. The inclusion of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” in David Lynch’s Wild At Heart
almost single-handedly gave Isaak a career. The song eventually went to No. 1. As the
music supervisor, Roswell was responsible for the producing or placement of these
successful tracks that ended up on one of the best independent soundtracks ever.
On Flash of Genius, Roswell encouraged director Marc Abraham and producers
Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber to hire up and coming composer Aaron Zigman. “On
every film, I usually have an instinct as to who would be perfect to score the film based
on my creative conversations with the director,” comments Roswell. “Marc and I agreed
Zig was the man. I had collaborated with Marc as a producer on many films, but this was
the first time working with him as a director. We found a couple of nuggets like ‘Green
Onions,’ which inspired certain score cues for Aaron. Zigman’s themes provided the
perfect complement to Marc’s highly emotional and inspiring film.”
ADAM SWART (Music Supervisor) began his career with gigs at Epitaph/Anti-
Records and Varèse Sarabande. While at Varèse Sarabande, he became well versed in
movie scores and soundtracks. With a desire to pair his passion for music and film, Swart
turned to music supervision, partnering with G. Marq Roswell at 35Sound. More than 25
film and television projects later (including The Bronx Is Burning, Dawn of the Dead,
Flash of Genius—Production Information 30
The Great Debaters, Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers and The Grand), Swart’s love of
music and film has only grown stronger.
Swart is at once adept at finding breaking songs and artists in order to artfully
sculpt scenes, and possesses the skills to exhaustively research genres, time periods and
artists, as recently evidenced in The Great Debaters. An ace at music clearances as well,
he possesses all the skill necessary to properly supervise a film from preproduction
through the final mix.
For Swart, the beauty of music supervision lies in the collaboration in order to
fully realize the vision and art of the filmmaker.
LUIS SEQUEIRA (Costume Designer) is responsible for the costume designs for
Charlie Bartlett, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Anton Yelchin; Breach, starring Chris
Cooper and Ryan Phillippe; Thomas and the Magic Railroad, starring Alec Baldwin and
Peter Fonda; and the features Highwaymen and Breaking Point. His television credits
include the costumes for F/X: The Series as well as the television movies Buried Secrets,
Moonshine Highway, Treacherous Beauties and Derby.
As assistant designer, Sequeira worked on the major feature films Hollywoodland,
Cinderella Man, Mean Girls, Bulletproof Monk, The Tuxedo and K-19: The
Widowmaker.
—flash of genius—