Brokeback Mountain

Heath Ledger was born and raised in Perth, Australia.

At the age of 10, he enrolled in the local theater company. While performing on stage, he also began landing roles on such Australian television series as Clowning Around, Bush Patrol, Corrigan, Ship to Shore, and Home and Away.

In 1997, Mr. Ledger starred in an American television series, Roar, which was filmed in Queensland, Australia. The series landed him an American talent agent, and he decided to make his move to America.

He returned to Australia to star in Gregor Jordan's award-winning feature Two Hands. Back in America, starring roles in four major films soon followed: the popular comedy 10 Things I Hate About You (opposite Julia Stiles for director Gil Junger); Roland Emmerich's blockbuster The Patriot (alongside Mel Gibson); Brian Helgeland's hit A Knight's Tale; and the Academy Award-winning Monster's Ball (with Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry for director Marc Forster).

Mr. Ledger's subsequent films include Shekhar Kapur's The Four Feathers, Brian Helgeland's The Order, Gregor Jordan's Ned Kelly, Catherine Hardwicke's Lords of Dogtown, and Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm.

He next stars in Lasse Hallström's Casanova, as the legendary title character. Mr. Ledger also recently returned to Australia to make a new independent feature, Neil Armfield's Candy (with Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush).

Jake Gyllenhaal

Among the most promising young actors of his generation, Jake Gyllenhaal has an impressive and diverse list of film credits that continues to attract attention from critics and audiences alike.

He will soon be seen starring in Sam Mendes' Jarhead, alongside Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, and Chris Cooper; and in John Madden's Proof, opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins. His next film is David Fincher's Zodiac, in which he stars as real-life author Robert Graysmith, with Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo.

Mr. Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of the title character in Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko, one of the most talked-about films of recent years. His other films include Roland Emmerich's blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, Miguel Arteta's The Good Girl, Nicole Holofcener's Lovely & Amazing, and Joe Johnston's October Sky.

His earliest film appearances were small ones, in A Dangerous Woman (directed by his father, Stephen Gyllenhaal); and, as Billy Crystal's son, in Ron Underwood's smash City Slickers. He also appeared as Robin Williams' son in the highly acclaimed "Bop Gun" episode of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street.

In 2002, Mr. Gyllenhaal made his theatre debut, in Laurence Boswell's London staging of Kenneth Lonergan's This is Our Youth. His performance in the play earned him the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer.

Linda Cardellini

One of the most versatile actresses currently working in both film and television, Linda Cardellini is well-known for her portrayal of Nurse Samantha Taggart on NBC's highly-rated ER. She is reprising the role (which she originated in 2003) this fall, as the series begins its 12th season.

In addition to Brokeback Mountain, she stars in two other films this year; Aric Avelino's drama American Gun, with Donald Sutherland and Forest Whitaker, and Nick Goossen's comedy Nana's Boy, produced by Adam Sandler and costarring Shirley Jones, Shirley Knight, Doris Roberts, and Nick Swardson.

Ms. Cardellini's past feature film work includes starring as Velma in Raja Gosnell's pair of popular Scooby-Doo movies; appearing in Robert Luketic's hit Legally Blonde; and costarring with Martin Short in Vadim Jean's Jiminy Glick in Lalawood.

Among her earlier screen credits are Alan Cohn's Dead Man on Campus, Brian Robbins' Good Burger, John Pieplow's Strangeland, and Tom McLoughlin's The Unsaid.

Ms. Cardellini first came to prominence starring as academic decathlete Lindsay Weir on the celebrated NBC series Freaks and Geeks, which has recently enjoyed a renaissance on DVD.

Anna Faris

Anna Faris is known to audiences worldwide for her starring role as hapless heroine Cindy Campbell in the Scary Movie film series, directed initially by Keenen Ivory Wayans and, subsequently, by David Zucker. She will reprise the role in the fourth film in the blockbuster series, which is beginning production.

The Seattle native began acting in theater at a young age and embarked on her professional acting career there. She starred in commercials before being cast in Jon Steven Ward's independent feature Lovers Lane.

Ms. Faris' subsequent film credits include, also for Focus Features, Sofia Coppola's Academy Award-winning Lost in Translation; Tom Brady's The Hot Chick (starring opposite Rob Schneider); and Lucky McKee's May (which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival).

She has recently completed roles in several features, including Roger Kumble's Just Friends and Ryan McKittrick's Waiting (starring opposite Ryan Reynolds in both); and Paul Myers and Brennan Shroff's Southern Belles.

On television, Ms. Faris made guest appearances during the 10th season of NBC's top-rated Friends, including in the series finale.

Anne Hathaway

Continuing to emerge as one of the industry's most engaging talents, Anne Hathaway is an accomplished actress, singer, and dancer.

She memorably starred as Princess Mia Thermopolis, opposite Julie Andrews, in Garry Marshall's The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, both of which were boxoffice hits.

Ms. Hathaway's other films include Tommy O'Haver's Ella Enchanted, Douglas McGrath's Nicholas Nickleby (for which she shared, with her fellow actors, the National Board of Review's Best Acting by an Ensemble award), and Mitch Davis' The Other Side of Heaven. Prior to working in films, she attracted industry attention with her acclaimed performance in the television series Get Real.

While in high school, she was nominated for the Rising Star Award, sponsored by New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse. She studied acting at the Playhouse, and was the first and only teenager ever admitted to the intensive acting program at NYC's award-winning Barrow Group. She also studied in the musical theatre program of the Collaborative Arts Project (CAP 21), which is affiliated with New York University.

Additionally, Ms. Hathaway studied dance at the Broadway Dance Center; is a first soprano, and has performed twice at Carnegie Hall with the All-Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus; and, in 2002, received the prestigious Clarence Derwent Award following her performance in the City Center "Encores!" series production of Carnival.

In January 2005, she traveled to Cambodia to participate in a documentary production organized by Angelina Jolie. The project placed 25 participants in various locations on the same day, with each videotaping their surroundings at a specific "moment in time" (the working title for the documentary).

Michelle Williams

In 2004, Michelle Williams shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with her fellow actors from Thomas McCarthy's The Station Agent, for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The film had previously earned the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and also won a BAFTA Award.

She has recently finished production on Julian Goldberger's The Hawk is Dying, with Paul Giamatti and Michael Pitt. Last year, Ms. Williams starred in Wim Wenders' Land of Plenty, which was in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, winning the UNESCO Prize. On stage, Ms. Williams received glowing reviews for her portrayal of Varya in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Prior to that, she also achieved critical acclaim for her run in Mike Leigh's Smelling a Rat at the Samuel Beckett Theatre and her off-Broadway debut in Tracy Letts' Killer Joe.

Ms. Williams' other film credits include Dan Harris' Imaginary Heroes, Richard Ledes' A Hole in One, Michael Showalter's The Baxter, Sandra Goldbacher's Me Without You, and Andrew Fleming's Dick.

On television, she starred opposite Chloë Sevigny in the critically acclaimed HBO telefilm If These Walls Could Talk 2, for director Martha Coolidge. She also had a 6-year run as Jen Lindley on The WB's hit television series Dawson’s Creek. The program premiered in 1998 and remained one of The WB's top-rated shows throughout its time on the air.

Randy Quaid

Randy Quaid has been one of America's favorite actors ever since his memorable performance in Hal Ashby's The Last Detail earned him Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award nominations.

Brokeback Mountain marks Mr. Quaid's return to the milieu of the American West; his many roles in that setting over the years recently earned him a career Golden Boot Award.

He will soon be seen, also for Focus Features, in The Ice Harvest, directed by Harold Ramis; Mr. Quaid's previous collaboration with the director was on the original smash comedy Vacation.

He has been directed five times by Peter Bodganovich: in the Academy Award-winning The Last Picture Show and its sequel Texasville (both film versions of novels by Brokeback Mountain screenwriter Larry McMurtry), as well as in Targets, What's Up, Doc?, and Paper Moon.

Mr. Quaid's numerous other films include Ted Kotcheff's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz; Arthur Penn's The Missouri Breaks; Hal Ashby's Academy Award-winning Bound for Glory; Alan Parker's Midnight Express; Walter Hill's The Long Riders; Robert Altman's Fool for Love (adapted by Sam Shepard from his play); Bob Balaban's Parents (for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination); Tony Scott's Days of Thunder; Howard Franklin and Bill Murray's Quick Change; Ron Howard's The Paper; Roland Emmerich's blockbuster Independence Day; Peter and Bobby Farrelly's Kingpin; Mikael Salomon's Hard Rain; and (in voiceover) Will Finn and John Sanford's Home on the Range.

His television credits include, most recently, an Emmy Award-nominated portrayal of Colonel Tom Parker in James Sadwith's miniseries Elvis. He won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Lyndon Baines Johnson in Peter Werner's LBJ: The Early Years, which also brought him an Emmy Award nomination. He had previously been an Emmy Award nominee for his work in John Erman's telefilm remake of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Mr. Quaid has also starred in an episode of the anthology series Gun, which reteamed him with director Robert Altman, and, among other miniseries, Joseph Sargent's Streets of Laredo (written by Brokeback Mountain screenwriters Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana).

His stage appearances include starring in several works by Sam Shepard, among them True West and The God of Hell.

Mr. Quaid next stars onscreen in Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts, as Spain's King Carlos IV, with Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman.

Kate Mara

Kate Mara's first film roles were in Frank Whaley's independent feature Joe the King and Sydney Pollack's Random Hearts (as Kristin Scott Thomas' daughter).

She has since appeared in such films as Gary Winick's Tadpole, Jonathan Parker's The Californians, and Mary Lambert's upcoming Bloody Mary.

Ms. Mara has had notable recurring roles on several television series, including Everwood, Nip/Tuck, and (most recently) Jack & Bobby. She has also guest-starred on such shows as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order, CSI, CSI: Miami, and Cold Case.

She is an accomplished singer, and made her professional theatre debut at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Landscape of the Body, with Lili Taylor.

Ang Lee

As director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee received the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film. Based on a novel by Du Lu Wang, that film won 3 additional Academy Awards – Best Cinematography (Peter Pau), Best Original Score (Tan Dun), and Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Tim Yip) – and was nominated for 6 more, including Best Picture and Best Director. Mr. Lee won the Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, among other honors.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Mr. Lee moved to the United States in 1978. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from the University of Illinois, he went to New York University to complete a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in film production. His short film Fine Line won Best Director and Best Film awards at the annual NYU Film Festival.

His first feature film, Pushing Hands, was screened at the 1992 Berlin International Film Festival and won Best Film at the Asian-Pacific Film Festival. The film was also nominated for 9 Golden Horse Awards [Taiwan's equivalent of the Academy Award].

Pushing Hands was also the first film in his "Father Knows Best" trilogy, all of which starred actor Sihung Lung. The next film in the trilogy, The Wedding Banquet, premiered at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival. It won the top prize (the Golden Bear) there and subsequently opened to international acclaim. The film was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, and received 6 Independent Spirit Award nominations.

Mr. Lee capped the trilogy with Eat Drink Man Woman, which was selected as the opening night feature for the Directors Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes International Film Festival. Named Best Foreign-Language Film by the National Board of Review, the film was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, and received 6 Independent Spirit Award nominations.

In 1995, Mr. Lee directed Sense and Sensibility, starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay (Emma Thompson, from the Jane Austen novel). Sense and Sensibility also won Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture [Drama] and Best Screenplay; was named Best Picture by BAFTA, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and the National Board of Review; and won the top prize (the Golden Bear) at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival. Mr. Lee was cited as Best Director by the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review, and the Boston Society of Film Critics.

He next directed The Ice Storm, adapted by James Schamus from Rick Moody's novel, and starring Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Ricci, and Tobey Maguire. The film premiered at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival (where it won the Best Screenplay award), and was selected as the opening night feature for the 1997 New York Film Festival. For her performance in the film, Sigourney Weaver won a BAFTA Award, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, for Best Supporting Actress.

Mr. Lee's subsequent films were Ride with the Devil (adapted by James Schamus from Daniel Woodrell's novel, and reteaming the director with actor Tobey Maguire); the aforementioned Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and the boxoffice hit The Hulk (starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly).

Larry McMurtry

Larry McMurtry was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for his novel, Lonesome Dove.

He has authored 40 books, both novels and essay collections, and has written over 30 screenplays. Several of his works have been adapted into feature films and television miniseries. His first novel was Horseman, Pass By. The book became Martin Ritt's Hud, adapted by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr. and starring Paul Newman. The film won 3 Academy Awards: Best Actress (Patricia Neal), Best Supporting Actor (Melvyn Douglas), and Best Cinematography (James Wong Howe).

Mr. McMurtry's novel The Last Picture Show was made into a feature film by Peter Bogdanovich, with Mr. McMurtry receiving an Academy Award nomination for co-writing the screenplay adaptation with the director. The film won 2 Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor (Ben Johnson) and Best Supporting Actress (Cloris Leachman), and was nominated for Best Picture.

His novel Terms of Endearment, was adapted into a movie, and directed, by James L. Brooks. The film won 5 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine), and Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson). The aforementioned Lonesome Dove was adapted by William D. Wittliff into a television miniseries directed by Simon Wincer. The program, one of the most popular miniseries of all time, won 7 Emmy Awards.

Mr. McMurtry began a writing collaboration with Diana Ossana in 1992. The team has written two novels together, Pretty Boy Floyd and Zeke and Ned. They adapted two of his novels, Streets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk, into acclaimed miniseries, both of which they also executive-produced. The two miniseries were directed by Joseph Sargent and Yves Simoneau, respectively. The duo later adapted Frederick Manfred's novel Riders of Judgment into the miniseries Johnson County War, which they also executive-produced, and which was directed by David S. Cass Sr.

Tom Hanks is slated to star in, and produce, the Universal Pictures film version of Mr. McMurtry's novel Boone's Lick, for which the author and Ms. Ossana are writing the screenplay adaptation.

Among his other novels are Moving On, All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers, Somebody's Darling, The Desert Rose, Film Flam, Loop Group, and The Colonel and Little Missie: The Beginnings of Superstardom in America. His essay collections include Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen, Roads, and Paradise. He is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books.

Mr. McMurtry was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and raised in Archer City. His father and eight uncles were all ranchers. He attended North Texas State and Rice Universities, and was also a Stegner fellow at Stanford University.

Diana Ossana

Diana Ossana was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father emigrated from Italy to America in 1937. She attended Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico, majoring in English/Political Science. She moved to Arizona in 1977. In Tucson, she helped to implement and establish a successful law practice for a corporation of 5 trial attorneys.

In 1992, Ms. Ossana began a writing collaboration with Larry McMurtry, which continues to this day and has expanded to encompass film and television projects that they write and produce.

The team has written two novels together, Pretty Boy Floyd and Zeke and Ned. They adapted two of his novels, Streets of Laredo and Dead Man's Walk, into acclaimed miniseries, both of which they also executive-produced. The two miniseries were directed by Joseph Sargent and Yves Simoneau, respectively. The duo later adapted Frederick Manfred's novel Riders of Judgment into the miniseries Johnson County War, which they also executive-produced, and which was directed by David S. Cass Sr.

Tom Hanks is slated to star in, and produce, the Universal Pictures film version of Mr. McMurtry's novel Boone's Lick, for which the author and Ms. Ossana are writing the screenplay adaptation.

Annie Proulx

Annie Proulx's short story, “Brokeback Mountain,” was originally published in The New Yorker in 1997. The story earned, among other accolades, a National Magazine Award. It was subsequently published in the author’s 1999 collection Close Range: Wyoming Stories.

In 1994, Ms. Proulx’s novel The Shipping News earned her the Pulitzer Prize. The Connecticut native studied history at the University of Vermont and Concordia University in Montreal, and passed her doctoral oral examinations in that subject.

In 1975, with few teaching jobs available, Ms. Proulx became a journalist. She also wrote short stories, two of which were listed in editions of Best American Short Stories. In 1988, she published her first fiction work, Heart Songs and Other Stories. Her first novel, Postcards, won the 1993 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Ms. Proulx's other books include Accordion Crimes, That Old Ace in the Hole, and Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2.

James Schamus

An integral contributor to the American independent film business for over a decade, James Schamus has the unique distinction of being an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and producer who is also a film executive.

He has had a long collaboration as writer and producer with Ang Lee, on nine feature films. Prior to Brokeback Mountain, the duo's earlier films together include The Hulk (which Mr. Schamus wrote and produced); Ride with the Devil (which Mr. Schamus produced and adapted); The Ice Storm (which Mr. Schamus produced and adapted, earning the Best Screenplay prize at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival as well as WGA and BAFTA Award nominations); Sense and Sensibility (which Mr. Schamus co-produced); Eat Drink Man Woman (which Mr. Schamus co-wrote and associate-produced); The Wedding Banquet (which Mr. Schamus co-wrote and produced); and Pushing Hands (which Mr. Schamus produced).

Mr. Schamus is co-president, with David Linde, of Focus Features, a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company committed to bringing moviegoers the most original stories from the world's most innovative filmmakers. The duo formed Focus in May 2002.

Prior to the formation of Focus, Mr. Schamus was co-president of the independent film production company Good Machine, which he co-founded in 1991. Mr. Schamus and his partners at the company produced over 40 films during an 11-year period, in partnership with filmmakers such as Mr. Lee, Todd Solondz, and Nicole Holofcener. Through its financing and distribution arm, Good Machine International, the company represented dozens more filmmakers, among them Pedro Almodóvar and the Coen Brothers. Good Machine was recently honored with a 10-year retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Mr. Schamus is also a screenwriter, and received Academy Award nominations in the Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song categories for his work on Mr. Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The blockbuster Good Machine feature, which Mr. Schamus co-wrote and executive-produced, won 4 Academy Awards.

He executive-produced several Good Machine features that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, including Edward Burns' The Brothers McMullen, Tom Noonan's What Happened Was…, and Todd Haynes' Poison. Among the other films that he executive-produced at Good Machine are Paul Schrader's AutoFocus, Gregor Jordan‘s Buffalo Soldiers, Todd Solondz' Happiness, Bart Freundlich's The Myth of Fingerprints, Cindy Sherman's Office Killer, Nicole Holofcener's Walking and Talking, and Todd Haynes' Safe.

Mr. Schamus is also Associate Professor in Columbia University's School of the Arts, and he currently serves on the boards of directors of Creative Capital and the Foundation for Independent Video and Film. He was the 1997 Nuveen Fellow in the Humanities at the University of Chicago, and received his Ph.D. in English from U.C. Berkeley in 2003.

He was honored with the NBC Screenwriter Tribute at the 2002 Nantucket Film Festival as well as with the Writers Guild of America, East's 2003 Richard B. Jablow Award for devoted service to the Guild.

Focus' top-grossing film to date is Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, which grossed over $100 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The company's most-honored release to date is Roman Polanski's The Pianist, which won 3 Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor.

Focus' other celebrated releases have included two more Academy Award winners, Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries; Todd Haynes' Far from Heaven; François Ozon's Swimming Pool; and Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams.

William Pohlad

William Pohlad is president of River Road Entertainment, an integrated entertainment company active in independent film production. River Road, which maintains offices in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, was founded by Mr. Pohlad in 1987.

After founding the company, he wrote, directed, and co-produced his first feature film, Old Explorers (which starred José Ferrer and James Whitmore). He followed that up with numerous commercial, corporate, and documentary film and video projects. His documentary credits include profiles of rock star Prince, Hall of Fame baseball player Kirby Puckett, and Irish theatre director Joe Dowling. He has also created music videos and in-store programming for Musicland/Sam Goody, and has partnered with Musicland to produce music programming for cable and syndicated television. The company continues developing and producing creative television programming through its River Road Productions subsidiary.

The company also owns Hi-Wire, a state-of-the-art post-production facility with full digital, HDTV, film and video editorial, film transfer, 3-D animation, motion graphics, and music and sound design capabilities. Clients include major national advertising agencies, working with such brands as Best Buy, BMW, LL Bean, Target Stores, and Northwest Airlines.

In 2003, River Road closed a co-financing deal with Focus Features. The resulting features are distributed domestically by Focus, which handles international sales on some of the titles as well.

With River Road partner Laura Bickford, Mr. Pohlad's next projects as producer are Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, to be directed by Steven Shainberg and adapted by Erin Cressida Wilson from a biography by Patricia Bosworth, and to star Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey, Jr.; Brett Morgen's political documentary C7; and Che, which will reteam two Academy Award winners, director Steven Soderbergh and actor Benicio Del Toro. The latter will star as the legendary Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna.

Recently, Mr. Pohlad executive-produced the Madonna documentary I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.

Michael Costigan

After a successful career as a motion picture studio executive, Michael Costigan has now made the transition to producing movies, beginning with Brokeback Mountain.

He is president of Ridley and Tony Scott's production company Scott Free, which is based at 20th Century Fox. Scott Free's 2005-2006 slate includes Domino, directed by Tony Scott and starring Keira Knightley; In Her Shoes, directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine; A Good Year, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Albert Finney; and the hit television series Numbers.

Mr. Costigan founded his own production company, Corduroy Films, in 2002. Corduroy, based at Sony Pictures, retains projects in development at the studio including Another Bulls—t Night in Suck City, to be adapted and directed by Academy Award nominee Paul Weitz from Nick Flynn's award-winning memoir; and Dallas, the feature film version of the globally popular television series, which Robert Luketic will direct from Robert Harling's screenplay. The latter project, being done in conjunction with New Regency, will be distributed through 20th Century Fox.

He is also developing an hourlong HBO series, Motel Novella, which he will executive-produce with Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo.

Previously, Mr. Costigan was an executive at Sony Pictures for 9 years. As executive vice president, production, he oversaw the acquisition, development, and production of dozens of movies. Among these were James Mangold's Girl, Interrupted; Milos Forman's Academy Award-nominated The People vs. Larry Flynt; McG's blockbuster Charlie's Angels; Gus Van Sant's acclaimed To Die For; Andrew Niccol's first film, Gattaca; and Wes Anderson's debut feature, Bottle Rocket.

Michael Hausman

Michael Hausman has made a career of film production for nearly four decades.

The native New Yorker has had a long collaboration with Academy Award-winning director Milos Forman. The duo began their creative association with the director's Taking Off, for which Mr. Hausman was both production manager and associate producer. They worked together again on Hair (for which Mr. Hausman was first assistant director), Ragtime (which Mr. Hausman executive-produced), Amadeus (which Mr. Hausman executive-produced, and which won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture), Valmont (which Mr. Hausman produced), The People vs. Larry Flynt (which Mr. Hausman produced), and Man on the Moon (which Mr. Hausman executive-produced).

He has teamed with writer/directors Robert Benton and David Mamet three times apiece. For the former, he executive-produced Places in the Heart (which won 2 Academy Awards), Nobody's Fool, and Twilight. For the latter, he produced House of Games, Things Change, and Homicide.

Mr. Hausman's many films as producer also include Elaine May's Mikey and Nicky; Robert M. Young's Rich Kids and The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez; Richard Pearce's Heartland, No Mercy, and A Family Thing (the latter two as executive producer); Mike Nichols' Silkwood; and Eugene Corr's Desert Bloom.

He has also been executive producer of such notable films as Sydney Pollack's The Firm, Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, and Steven Zaillian's upcoming update of All the King's Men.

Mr. Hausman previously worked with Focus Features on Michel Gondry's Academy Award-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

While continuing his producing career, he is a member of the board of directors of DuArt Laboratories; teaches at Columbia University's Graduate Film School; and is co-chair of the producing concentration of Cuba's EICTV (International School of Film and Television).

Scott Ferguson

Scott Ferguson has worked together with Brokeback Mountain executive producer Michael Hausman on 11 films to date. These include (also for Focus Features) Michel Gondry's Academy Award-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Milos Forman's The People vs. Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon, both of which Mr. Ferguson associate-produced; Robert Benton's Nobody‘s Fool and Twilight, both of which Mr. Ferguson associate-produced; Sydney Pollack's The Firm; David Mamet's Homicide; and Steven Zaillian's upcoming update of All the King's Men.

His other producing credits include Lisa Cholodenko's Laurel Canyon (as executive producer); David Mamet's Heist (as co-producer)' Alan Taylor's Palookaville (as co-producer); James Mangold's Heavy (which won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and which Mr. Ferguson associate-produced); and Joseph Castelo's American Saint (which won the Golden Starfish at the Hamptons International Film Festival). Additionally, Mr. Ferguson was production consultant on Catherine Hardwicke's award-winning debut feature thirteen.

Rodrigo Prieto

Amores perros brought cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto to the attention of the world film community. His work on the feature, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, brought him several honors, including the Silver Ariel Award (Mexico's equivalent of the Academy Award) and the Golden Frog Award at the Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.

His subsequent films as cinematographer have included Michael Cristofer's Original Sin, Julie Taymor's Frida (for which he was nominated by his peers, for the American Society of Cinematographers Award), Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile, Spike Lee's 25th Hour, and Mr. Iñárritu's award-winning Focus Features release 21 Grams.

Mr. Prieto traveled to Cuba with director Oliver Stone to shoot Comandante, the documentary on Fidel Castro. The two then went to the Middle East to film a documentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Persona Non Grata. Their next project together was the epic Alexander, for which Mr. Prieto was honored with the Silver Frog Award at the Camerimage International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.

He studied at Mexico City's Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica. Prior to Amores perros, he shot 12 Mexican feature films in a decade, winning two previous Silver Ariel Awards for his work on Carlos Carrera's Un Embrujo and Daniel Gruener's Sobrenatural.

Judy Becker

Cited as one of "25 to Watch" in the summer 2002 issue of Filmmaker, Judy Becker came to her career in production design from a background in fine arts, including several years as an "underground" comics artist.

She most recently completed work on the production design for two movies, Julian Goldberger's The Hawk is Dying, starring Paul Giamatti and Michelle Williams, and Douglas McGrath's Every Word is True, starring Toby Jones as Truman Capote.

Ms. Becker has been the production designer of several notable independent films, among them Mike Mills' Thumbsucker; Zach Braff's Garden State; Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival); and Peter Sollett's Raising Victor Vargas.

Geraldine Peroni

Geraldine Peroni (1953-2004) was born in Manhattan and raised in Rockaway, Queens. She studied film at Hunter College, and began her career with the Mirra Bank/Ellen Hovde three-part independent feature Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, on which she was an editorial apprentice.

Working under Thelma Schoonmaker, Ms. Peroni was first assistant editor on Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, as well as the director's "Life Lessons" segment of New York Stories. She was also assistant editor on John Sayles' Matewan, before earning her first full credit as editor on Shirley Sun's Iron & Silk.

Beginning on Vincent & Theo, she began a steady creative collaboration with director Robert Altman. This continued through The Player (for which she received Academy Award, BAFTA, and A.C.E. [American Cinema Editors] Award nominations), Short Cuts, Prêt-à-Porter [Ready to Wear], Kansas City, The Gingerbread Man, Dr. T and the Women, and The Company.

Ms. Peroni's other credits as film editor include Rose Troche's The Safety of Objects, Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock, and Nora Ephron's Michael. She also edited episodes of the television series The Wire.

Dylan Tichenor

For his editing on Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Dylan Tichenor received an A.C.E. (American Cinema Editors) Award nomination.

Geraldine Peroni and Robert Altman gave him his start in the business, as apprentice editor on The Player. Continuing those collaborations, Mr. Tichenor became assistant editor on Short Cuts, Prêt-à-Porter [Ready to Wear], and Alan Rudolph's Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle; technical coordinator on Kansas City; and editor on the documentary Jazz '34 (for which he received an Emmy Award nomination).

He subsequently worked on three films with Paul Thomas Anderson, beginning as post-production supervisor on Hard Eight, and then editing the award-winning Boogie Nights and Magnolia.

Mr. Tichenor's other credits as film editor include Brad Silberling's Academy Award-winning Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Mike Figgis' Cold Creek Manor, M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable, and Anthony Drazan's Hurlyburly.

Gustavo Santaolalla

Gustavo Santaolalla's most recent original score was for Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries, which earned him the BAFTA Award for Best Music. The Focus Features release was also honored with the Academy Award for Best Original Song (Jorge Drexler's "Al Otro Lado del Río").

Mr. Santaolalla has collaborated with Alejandro González Iñárritu on Amores perros, for which he composed the original score (receiving a Silver Ariel Award [Mexico's equivalent of the Oscar] nomination); on the award-winning Focus Features release 21 Grams; and on Mr. Iñárritu's segment of the multipart feature 11'9"01.

In 1967, he founded the legendary Arco Iris, the Argentine band that pioneered the fusion of rock and Latin American folk. In 1981, he released his first solo album, "Santaolalla," followed by two more solo projects: 1995's powerful "GAS" (which featured the hit "Todo Vale") and 1998's instrumental "Ronroco."

As a producer, Mr. Santaolalla has worked with and developed some of the most important musical talents in Latin America. If "rock-en-español" is now a Pan- American global movement, credit is due the top-selling albums that he has produced with Anibal Kerpel. Through their Surco Records, they have overseen albums by artists including Molotov, Café Tacuba, Caifanes, Maldita Vecindad, Divididos, Bersuit, La Vela Puerca, Puya, Arbol, El Otro Yo, Fiebre, Dracma, and Juanes.

A Latin Grammy Award winner in the awards' inaugural year (in 2000, for producing Café Tacuba's "Revés/Yo soy"), he has been nominated several times since, winning three more in 2003 (including album of the year, for "Un Dia Normal").

Mr. Santaolalla most recently received a Grammy Award in 2004, for producing Café Tacuba‘s "Cuatro Caminos."

Marit Allen

Marit Allen has been the costume designer on two previous films directed by Ang Lee, The Hulk and Ride with the Devil.

She was a Costume Designers Guild Award nominee for her work on Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut; an Emmy Award nominee for her costume design on John Erman's miniseries Scarlett; a CableACE Award nominee for designing the costumes on Ivan Passer's telefilm Stalin; and a BAFTA Award nominee for Michael Radford's White Mischief.

Early in her career, Ms. Allen collaborated with director Nicolas Roeg, on Don't Look Now and Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession, and would later reteam with him on Eureka and The Witches.

Among the many other films she has been the costume designer on are Stephen Frears' The Hit; Frank Oz' Little Shop of Horrors and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; Dusan Makavejev's Manifesto' Wayne Wang's Eat a Bowl of Tea; Richard Benjamin's Mermaids; Carroll Ballard's Wind; Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden; Chris Columbus' Academy Award-winning Mrs. Doubtfire; Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man; Kathryn Bigelow's The Weight of Water and K-19: The Widowmaker; Jonathan Frakes' Thunderbirds; and, most recently, Steven Zaillian's All the King‘s Men.