Filmmakers

Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance as real-life Rwandan hero Paul Rusesabagina in Terry George's award-winning Hotel Rwanda. He also earned Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, NAACP Image, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for the portrayal.

He next starred in and produced Paul Haggis' independent feature Crash, which won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, among a host of honors. Earlier this year, he received the Male Star of the Year award at NATO's ShoWest convention.

In 1995, Mr. Cheadle was named Best Supporting Actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, for his breakout film performance opposite Denzel Washington in Carl Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress. The latter also earned him his first NAACP Image Award nomination; his subsequent ones have included nods for his portrayals in John Singleton's Rosewood and Warren Beatty's Bulworth.

He has collaborated multiple times with directors Steven Soderbergh and Brett Ratner; for the former, he starred in the multi-Academy Award-winning Traffic, the acclaimed Out of Sight, and the trio of Ocean's movies (numbering Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen). For the latter, he starred in After the Sunset, Rush Hour 2, and The Family Man.

Among Mr. Cheadle's other features are Mike Binder's Reign over Me; Niels Mueller's The Assassination of Richard Nixon; Jordan Melamed's Manic; Dominic Sena's Swordfish; Allison Anders' Things Behind the Sun (for which he earned both Emmy and Independent Spirit Award nominations); Brian De Palma's Mission to Mars; Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights; Mick Jackson's Volcano; Robert Townsend's The Meteor Man; Dennis Hopper's Colors; and John Irvin's Hamburger Hill.

The Kansas City native received his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from the prestigious Cal Arts in Valencia, California. While attending Cal Arts, he auditioned for film and television roles, and landed a recurring role on the hit syndicated series Fame. His subsequent television series credits included a recurring role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a two-year stint on Picket Fences.

Mr. Cheadle has starred in several notable telefilms. These include Eriq La Salle's Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault; Joseph Sargent's A Lesson Before Dying (for which he earned an Emmy Award nomination); Stephen Frears' live broadcast of Fail Safe; and Rob Cohen's The Rat Pack. For the latter, in which he portrayed legendary entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., Mr. Cheadle won a Golden Globe Award and was an Emmy Award nominee.

His stage work includes originating the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning play Top Dog/Underdog at New York's Public Theater under the direction of George C. Wolfe. His other stage credits include Leon, Lena and Lenz, at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis; The Grapes of Wrath and Liquid Skin, at the Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis; Cymbeline, at The New York Shakespeare Festival; 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore, at Chicago's Goodman Theater; and Blood Knot, at Hollywood's Complex Theater. Mr. Cheadle has also directed West Coast stage productions of Groomed, Cincinnati Man, The Trip, and Three, True, One, among other plays.

Mr. Cheadle is also a writer, singer and musician. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album, for his narration/dramatization of the Walter Mosley novel Fear Itself.

With human rights activist John Prendergast, he has co-authored a new book, Not on Our Watch, due out in May 2007. The nonfiction book contains the first-person accounts of extraordinary individuals among us who have mobilized others with an effective unified response to the atrocities in the Darfur region, and offers practical strategies for taking further action.

In an effort to further raise awareness about the latter, as producer, Mr. Cheadle is currently in post-production on a documentary about the Sudan.

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel Ejiofor was recently a double Golden Globe Award nominee, for his performances in Julian Jarrold's Kinky Boots and the miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath (directed by Bharat Nalluri), and a nominee for the BAFTA "Orange Rising Star" Award.

Born in the Forest Gate section of London to Nigerian parents, he started acting in school plays at the age of 13 and then earned a scholarship to the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. He made his feature film debut in Steven Spielberg's Amistad.

Mr. Ejiofor's performance in Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things earned him Best Actor honors from the British Independent Film Awards, the San Diego Film Critics Society, and the Black Reel Awards, among other accolades. His other films include Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men; Spike Lee's Inside Man and She Hate Me; Joss Whedon's Serenity; John Singleton's Four Brothers (which also starred Taraji P. Henson of Talk to Me); Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda; and Richard Curtis' Love Actually.

Mr. Ejiofor will soon be seen in a dual role in Michael Almereyda's independent feature Tonight at Noon; and with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's highly anticipated American Gangster.

In addition to working in films, he has starred onstage in the U.K. His performance in Joe Penhall's play Blue/Orange (at the Royal National Theatre) earned him the London Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer, the London Critics Circle Theatre Awards' Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and an Olivier Award nomination. Most recently, Mr. Ejiofor starred opposite Kristin Scott Thomas in the Royal Court Theater staging of Chekhov's The Seagull (adapted by Christopher Hampton).

Cedric The Entertainer

Cedric The Entertainer is well-known to audiences for his film and television work.

His memorable work in the two Barbershop movies (directed by Tim Story and Kevin Rodney Sullivan, respectively) brought him NAACP Image and MTV Movie Award nominations, among other honors.

Through his production company A Bird & A Bear Entertainment, Cedric starred in and produced Johnson Family Vacation (directed by Christopher Erskin); and produced and starred in Code Name: The Cleaner (directed by Les Mayfield).

His stand-up comedy was showcased in Spike Lee's documentary feature The Original Kings of Comedy, as well as in his recent television special Cedric: Taking You Higher (which he also executive-produced).

Cedric's other movies include Joel and Ethan Coen's Intolerable Cruelty; John Schultz' The Honeymooners (which he also executive-produced); Brad Silberling's Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'; F. Gary Gray's Be Cool; Raja Gosnell's Big Momma's House; and Doug McHenry's Kingdom Come.

Additionally, he has contributed voiceover performances to such features as Charlotte's Web (directed by Gary Winick); Dr. Dolittle 2 (directed by Steve Carr); Madagascar (directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath); and Ice Age (directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha).

Cedric is a five-time NAACP Image Award winner, including for his series-regular roles on The Steve Harvey Show and (the animated) The Proud Family. His other television credits include the talent showcase Cedric the Entertainer Presents, which he also executive-produced.

Taraji P. Henson

For her performance in Craig Brewer's Hustle & Flow, Taraji P. Henson was named Best Supporting Actress by the Black Movie and Black Reel Awards, and Best Actress by the BET Awards; and also earned a double MTV Movie Award and NAACP Image Award nominations. She made her singing debut in the film; was featured on the original motion picture soundtrack; and performed the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" at the Academy Awards, where it won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Ms. Henson's breakout screen role was in John Singleton's Baby Boy, and she reteamed with the director on the hit Four Brothers (which also starred Chiwetel Ejiofor of Talk to Me). She was most recently seen in Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces (starring as part of the ensemble cast) and Sanaa Hamri's Something New (also for Focus Features, and which also starred Mike Epps of Talk to Me).

She starred for three years on the dramatic television series The Division. Her telefilm credits include Anthony Shaw's Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (with Angela Lansbury and Phylicia Rashad); Jeffrey Byrd's Book of Love; and Christopher Leitch's Satan's School for Girls. She has made guest appearances on such shows as ER, CSI, One on One, and House; and starred opposite Common in his music video "Justified."

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ms. Henson is a graduate of Howard University. She is currently filming David Fincher's long-awaited The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Mike Epps

Mike Epps has, in the past seven years, become an audience and industry favorite among comic actors.

The Indiana native has steadily climbed the stand-up comedy ranks, performing in sold-out theaters and clubs around the country. His 1995 appearances on Def Comedy Jam and the national tour of the same name brought him a large following. His show-stealing performance at the 1999 Laffapalooza festival in Atlanta occasioned a move to Los Angeles, where a successful appearance at L.A.'s Comedy Store caught the attention of Ice Cube. This in turn led to Mr. Epps being cast opposite the latter in Steve Carr's Next Friday, which more than doubled the gross of its predecessor film Friday. The duo soon reunited for two more movies, Kevin Bray's All About the Benjamins and Marcus Raboy's sequel Friday After Next. Mr. Epps also reteamed with director Steve Carr, providing a voiceover for Dr. Dolittle 2.

His additional feature credits include another sequel that outperformed its predecessor, Alexander Witt's Resident Evil: Apocalypse; Jesse Dylan's How High; Antoine Fuqua's Bait; Malcolm D. Lee's Roll Bounce; Jonathan Lynn's The Fighting Temptations; John Schultz' The Honeymooners; Kevin Rodney Sullivan's hit Guess Who; Zak Penn's upcoming The Grand; and, also for Focus Features, Sanaa Hamri's Something New (which also starred Taraji P. Henson of Talk to Me). Mr. Epps will next be seen in Russell Mulcahy's Resident Evil: Extinction (reprising his role from the earlier movie).

He recently hosted and performs on the new season of Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam as well as headlining his own stand-up comedy special, Mike Epps: Inappropriate Behavior.

Vondie Curtis Hall

Actor/director/screenwriter Vondie Curtis Hall has had success in both film and television, and on both sides of the camera.

His most recent feature as writer/director was Waist Deep, which was named one of the year's Ten Best films by author/columnist Stephen King. The Rogue Pictures release starred Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate, and The Game.

Mr. Hall also directed Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story, which played at the Sundance Film Festival and then aired on the FX cable network. Mr. Hall won a Black Reel Award for his direction; among the biopic's other honors, lead actor Jamie Foxx received NAACP Image and Black Reel Awards as well as Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his performance as the late activist Stan Tookie Williams.

His other feature credits as director include Gridlock'd, from his screenplay and starring Tim Roth and the late Tupac Shakur, for which he was honored by the National Board of Review with the Excellence in Filmmaking Award; and Glitter, starring Mariah Carey. For television, he has helmed episodes of such series as Sleeper Cell, The Shield, Firefly, and ER.

The latter program has featured Mr. Hall in a guest-starring arc, as well as in an earlier (separate) characterization that earned him an Emmy Award nomination. He was a series regular on Chicago Hope (for which the ensemble twice received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations) and Cop Rock. He also had guest-starring arcs on the acclaimed television series Soul Food and I'll Fly Away.

He began his career in music, training at Juilliard and then starring in several NYC stage shows. Among them were such Broadway musicals as It's So Nice To Be Civilized; Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music; Stardust; and the original production of Dreamgirls.

Mr. Hall next segued into films, with roles in such movies as John Landis' Coming to America; Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train; Ridley Scott's Black Rain; Renny Harlin's Die Hard 2; John Sayles' Passion Fish (opposite Alfre Woodard); Joel Schumacher's Falling Down; Spike Lee's Crooklyn; Phillip Noyce's Clear and Present Danger; John Woo's Broken Arrow; Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet; John Herzfeld's telefilm Don King: Only in America (for which, as Lloyd Price, he won a Satellite Award); Leon Ichaso's telefilm Ali: An American Hero (as Bundini Brown); and his wife Kasi Lemmons' Eve's Bayou (for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination).

He is board president of Film Independent, which is the organization that encompasses the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Mr. Hall's next project as writer/director is The Big Biazzaro, based on Leonard Wise's novel of the same name, to star and be produced by Pierce Brosnan.

Martin Sheen

Whether as actor or activist, Martin Sheen is one of the entertainment industry's most respected figures.

Born Ramon Estevez to immigrant parents, he left his Dayton, Ohio home for the bright lights of New York City. There, he apprenticed at Judith Malina and Julian Beck's Living Theater and also began working in movies and television.

Mr. Sheen's breakthrough role came on the stage, with Frank Gilroy's play The Subject Was Roses. He was nominated for a Tony Award and later reprised the role in the film version (directed by Ulu Grosbard), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. His other notable early screen credits included Larry Peerce's The Incident; Mike Nichols' Catch-22; and Terrence Malick's first film, Badlands.

The 1970s and 1980s saw him star in a host of groundbreaking and acclaimed telefilms. These included That Certain Summer and The Execution of Private Slovik (both directed by Lamont Johnson), which earned him his first Emmy Award nomination; The Andersonville Trial (directed by George C. Scott); Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (directed by George McCowan); Catholics (directed by Jack Gold); The Missiles of October (directed by Anthony Page); Choices of the Heart (directed by Joseph Sargent); Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story (directed by Richard T. Heffron); Nightbreaker (directed by Peter Markle), which he executive-produced; and the miniseries Blind Ambition (directed by George Schaefer), in which he portrayed Robert F. Kennedy, and Kennedy (directed by Jim Goddard), in which he portrayed John F. Kennedy.

Mr. Sheen's many features also include Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now; Richard Attenborough's Gandhi; Jason Miller's That Championship Season; David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone; Oliver Stone's Wall Street (opposite his son Charlie Sheen) and JFK; Matt Clark's Da and Leo Penn's Judgment in Berlin (both of which he also executive-produced); Ronald F. Maxwell's Gettysburg; Rob Reiner's The American President; Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can; Gregory Nava's Bordertown; Martin Scorsese's The Departed; and his son Emilio Estevez' The War at Home and Bobby.

He starred for seven years as U.S. President Bartlet on the celebrated television series The West Wing, earning Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and ALMA Awards, among other honors.

Mr. Sheen won an Emmy Award for his guest appearance on Murphy Brown. His other guest roles on television series have included ones on Mission: Impossible; Columbo; and (opposite his son Charlie) Two and a Half Men, for which he was an Emmy Award nominee.

In 1998, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Imagen Foundation.

Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons' feature screenwriting and directorial debut, Eve's Bayou, was the highest-grossing independent film of 1997. The film went on to win the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and receive seven NAACP Image Award nominations, including Best Picture. Eve's Bayou starred Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, and Vondie Curtis Hall; and was an early showcase for young actors Meagan Good and Jurnee Smollett.

Ms. Lemmons was also honored with a newly created award from the National Board of Review, for Outstanding Directorial Debut. Among the other honors for her and the film was the Director's Achievement Award at the Nortel Palm Springs Film Festival.

Her next film, The Caveman's Valentine, starring Samuel L. Jackson, opened the Sundance Film Festival in 2001. The following winter, Ms. Lemmons directed the moving Salute to Sidney Poitier that was broadcast on the Oscars telecast during which Mr. Poitier received an honorary Academy Award.

Ms. Lemmons also wrote and directed the short film Dr. Hugo, starring her husband Vondie Curtis Hall and Victoria Rowell. Made prior to Eve's Bayou, Dr. Hugo has since been screened at film festivals around the world.

Her earlier acting work includes Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs (opposite Jodie Foster); John Woo's Hard Target; Rusty Cundieff's Fear of a Black Hat; Bernard Rose's Candyman; David C. Johnson's Drop Squad; Robert Townsend's The Five Heartbeats; Robert Bierman's Vampire's Kiss; and Spike Lee's School Daze.

Michael Genet

Michael Genet is a writer and actor. His father, Dewey Hughes, is portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor in Talk to Me.

Mr. Genet and Mr. Ejiofor both had roles in She Hate Me, for which Mr. Genet conceived the original story and then co-wrote the screenplay with director Spike Lee. Mr. Genet previously starred for the latter director in 25th Hour.

His other feature screenwriting credits include the telefilm Hallelujah (in which he also appeared), directed by Charles Lane and starring Dennis Haysbert, James Earl Jones, and Phylicia Rashad; Dream Racer, to be produced by Daniel Rosenberg; such recently completed scripts as Sunny Royal (A Very Romantic Comedy), Eagle Down, and Twelve; and Pork Pie, which was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and will be produced by Daniel Bigel.

Mr. Genet has also adapted the latter screenplay for the stage. The play version of Pork Pie was selected to the prestigious Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference; went on to win the Kennedy Center Award for New American Plays; and world-premiered at the Denver Center Theatre for the Performing Arts.

His other acting credits include, most recently, the off-Broadway revival of Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play and the Broadway musical Lestat. He has previously performed on Broadway in A Few Good Men, Hamlet (as Horatio), and Northeast Local; off-Broadway in Earth and Sky and The Colored Museum; and, at the Long Wharf Theatre, in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (as Benedick).

Mr. Genet starred for six years on As the World Turns (as Lamar Griffin), and has guest-starred several times on Law & Order, among other television credits. In addition to the previously mentioned movies, his screen work includes Alan J. Pakula's Presumed Innocent; Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us; and Antonio Macia's recently completed independent film Ego.

He trained at the Juilliard School and the California Institute of the Arts.

Rick Famuyiwa

Rick Famuyiwa made his feature debut as writer/director on The Wood, the screenplay for which had been developed at the Sundance Institute. The sleeper hit movie starred Taye Diggs, Omar Epps, and Richard T. Jones.

He next directed and co-wrote another popular film, Brown Sugar, starring Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, and Queen Latifah. Mr. Famuyiwa's next feature projects are My Soul to Keep, which he will direct from his own adaptation of Tannarive Due's book of the same name; and The Wedding Pact and Bill Strickland, both of which he is writing and will direct.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, he double-majored there in Cinema/Television Production and Critical Studies. During his senior year at USC, he wrote and directed a thesis film, Blacktop Lingo. The short brought him acclaim and industry attention, and was one of 29 films selected (out of 1,500 submissions) to screen at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, making Mr. Famuyiwa the first undergraduate from USC to have a film shown at the Festival.

Mark Gordon

Mark Gordon has produced and financed over 60 motion pictures and television programs. The theatrical box office revenue from his movies has exceeded $3 billion.

The Mark Gordon Company's current film slate includes Lasse Hallström's recently released The Hoax, starring Richard Gere; and Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C.

Mr. Gordon also continues to executive-produce two of network television's top-rated series, Criminal Minds and Grey's Anatomy. The latter was honored earlier this year with the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series [Drama]. Also this year, the Company's new cable series Army Wives debuts.

As producer, among the honors he has received are an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe Award, and the Producers Guild of America's top prize, the [Darryl F. Zanuck] Producer of the Year Award, Theatrical Motion Pictures. These accolades all came for Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. The classic film also won the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the Chicago Film Critics Association awards for Best Picture, among many other awards worldwide.

As executive producer of Joseph Sargent's Warm Springs, Mr. Gordon won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Made-for-Television Movie. He is also a Daytime Emmy Award winner, for Best Children's Program, for The War Between the Classes (directed by Michael Toshiyuki Uno); and a BAFTA Award winner, in the children's entertainment category, for Paulie (directed by John Roberts).

His other feature films as producer include such smashes as Jan de Bont's Speed; John Woo's Broken Arrow; and Roland Emmerich's The Patriot and The Day After Tomorrow.

As executive producer and/or financier, Mr. Gordon's credits include such award-winning films as Mike Nichols' Primary Colors; Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan; Milos Forman's Man on the Moon; and Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys.

His other credits include executive-producing Bruce Beresford's telefilm And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself; and producing and directing the Holocaust documentary Nothing But Sun, for which he was again a Daytime Emmy Award nominee.

A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (where he studied film) Mr. Gordon serves on the boards of the Producers Guild of America, the Virginia Film Festival, and Teach for America (in Los Angeles).

Sidney Kimmel

Veteran producer Sidney Kimmel is chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the Los Angeles and New York-based production, finance, and distribution company.

Active in the motion picture industry for more than 20 years, Mr. Kimmel is responsible for such pictures as Michael Hoffman's The Emperor's Club (starring Kevin Kline and Emile Hirsch); Stanley Donen's Blame It on Rio (starring Michael Caine and Michelle Johnson); and Adrian Lyne's 9 1/2 Weeks (starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger). His passion as an independent producer eventually led to the founding of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment in October 2004. Producing up to ten features per year, the company works with esteemed filmmaking talent to create quality commercial films.

Mr. Kimmel and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, in association with Universal Pictures, financed Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass' critically acclaimed United 93, as well as executive-produced Billy Ray's Breach (starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, and Laura Linney). Universal also released Nick Cassavetes' controversial Alpha Dog (starring Emile Hirsch, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, and Justin Timberlake), which Mr. Kimmel produced and financed.

He is producing a diverse slate of films for release in 2007. In addition to Talk to Me, upcoming releases include Frank Oz' Death at a Funeral, starring Matthew Macfadyen and Peter Dinklage; Jon Poll's Charlie Bartlett, starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., and Hope Davis; Ira Sachs' Married Life, starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, and Rachel McAdams; Craig Gillespie's Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson, and Emily Mortimer; and Marc Forster's The Kite Runner, based on the acclaimed novel of the same name. The latter is being produced with DreamWorks Pictures, Participant Productions, and Parkes/MacDonald Productions, to be released by Paramount Vantage in the fall.

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment is gearing up for its 2008 slate, going into production with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York.

In addition to his success in filmed entertainment, Mr. Kimmel founded Jones Apparel Group in 1975, which has since grown into a $4.5 billion diversified fashion industry empire. Still active as the chairman of Jones' board of directors, he has also established the Sidney Kimmel Foundation and its subsidiary, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, which is one of the nation's largest individual donors to cancer research.

Mr. Kimmel is extremely involved in philanthropic endeavors benefiting his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Jewish education and continuity. He recently oversaw the opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, home of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra.

He is also a partner in Cipriani International, the acclaimed international restaurant and catering establishment, and is a part owner of the Miami Heat basketball team.

Joe Fries

As an independent producer, Joe Fries formed Pelagius Films with Joey Rappa in January 2004. Pelagius concentrates on bringing to film and television screens real-life stories with compelling protagonists and significant artistic appeal. Among the company's current projects are Johnny Eck, written by Caroline Thompson, to star James Franco and be made with Talk to Me producing partner Mark Gordon; Bombing Harvey, from writer/director Nick Cassavetes, and the cable sitcom "Arthur Avenue," being developed with writers/directors Anthony and Joe Russo. Mr. Fries began his media career in Washington, D.C., as an account executive in broadcast television. After several successful years, he joined an upstart group of ex-government politicos to form the ACSN cable network. The network later became The Learning Channel, known today as TLC. He was integral to TLC's branding and programming.

He next established Powerhouse, a top post-production facility that worked with news outlets and networks. Recognizing the value in untold stories from real people, Mr. Fries was spurred to form Pelagius.

Josh McLaughlin

Josh McLaughlin is executive vice president, and co-head of the motion picture division, of The Mark Gordon Company.

Among the projects that he is currently developing for Mr. Gordon are Hurricane Season, a sports drama centering on a Louisiana high school football team and their struggle to unite as players and as a community post-Hurricane Katrina; a remake of Don't Look Now; a reworking of the classic Robin Hood tale, written by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley; and Killing Pablo, to be written and directed by Joe Carnahan.

Mr. McLaughlin began his industry career at the Gersh Agency. He has been working with Mark Gordon for the last seven years, first at Mutual Film Company and now at The Mark Gordon Company.

William Horberg

William Horberg is president of production at Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE). He joined SKE after heading his own independent feature production company, Wonderland Films.

Prior to forming Wonderland, he was partnered for 11 years with Academy Award-winning filmmakers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella in their film and television production company Mirage Enterprises.

During Mr. Horberg's tenure at Mirage, he produced such films as Mr. Minghella's Cold Mountain (for which Renée Zellweger won an Academy Award) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (starring Matt Damon and Academy Award nominee Jude Law); Phillip Noyce's The Quiet American, starring Academy Award nominee Michael Caine; Tom Tykwer's Heaven, starring Cate Blanchett; Peter Howitt's Sliding Doors, starring Gwyneth Paltrow; and Steven Zaillian's Searching for Bobby Fischer.

For television during that time, he created and produced the acclaimed anthology series Fallen Angels (episodes of which were directed by Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Steven Soderbergh, among others); and executive-produced Bob Rafelson's telefilm Poodle Springs, starring James Caan as Phillip Marlowe.

Before partnering in Mirage, Mr. Horberg spent several years at Paramount Pictures, beginning in 1987 as a creative executive. He was later promoted to senior vice president of production, and oversaw the development and production of such films as Jerry Zucker's Academy Award-winning smash Ghost; David Zucker's The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear; Kenneth Branagh's Dead Again; Mike Nichols' Regarding Henry; Michael Hoffman's Soapdish; Barry Sonnenfeld's The Addams Family; and Francis Coppola's The Godfather Part III.

J. Miles Dale

J. Miles Dale recently executive-produced another Focus Features release, Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, and Bob Hoskins. His producing credits include Danny Leiner's cult favorite Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle; LeVar Burton's family favorite Blizzard; James Toback's Harvard Man, starring Adrian Grenier and Sarah Michelle Gellar; and The Skulls III, which he also directed.

Mr. Dale was the producer of one of the USA Network's all-time top-rated telefilms, the critically acclaimed All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story, directed by Lloyd Kramer and starring Penelope Ann Miller.

His television credits also include co-executive-producing the syndicated show F/X: The Series, and directing multiple episodes; producing the syndicated series RoboCop: The Series and directing episodes; producing and directing the popular network reality series Top Cops; and producing three seasons of the syndicated Friday The 13th: the Series.

Additionally, Mr. Dale has directed episodes of two more syndicated series, Andromeda and Earth: Final Conflict; and was the production supervisor on Daniel Petrie's The Execution Of Raymond Graham, a live-to-air two-hour network telefilm.

His father, James Dale, worked as the musical director on such groundbreaking television variety shows as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny and Cher Show.

J. Miles Dale is currently writing the feature Stolen Fire, which he also plans to direct.

Joey Rappa

Joey Rappa is partnered with Joe Fries in the independent production company Pelagius Films, which they formed in January 2004. Pelagius concentrates on bringing to film and television screens real-life stories with compelling protagonists and significant artistic appeal. Among the company's current projects are Johnny Eck, written by Caroline Thompson, to star James Franco and be made with Talk to Me producing partner Mark Gordon; Bombing Harvey, from writer/director Nick Cassavetes; and the cable sitcom Arthur Avenue, being developed with writers/directors Anthony and Joe Russo.

The UC-Berkeley graduate previously worked in development production at Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Among the projects for both companies that he was a part of were Tom Shadyac's blockbuster hits The Nutty Professor (starring Eddie Murphy) and Liar Liar (starring Jim Carrey).

Stéphane Fontaine

Talk To Me is the first American feature for French cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine, who recently won a French César Award [France's equivalent of the Oscars] for his cinematography of Jacques Audiard's De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped). His other films as director of photography include Agnès Jaoui's award-winning Comme une image (a.k.a. Look at Me); Nicole Garcia's Selon Charlie; Philippe Grandrieux' La vie nouvelle (A New Life); and Arnaud Desplechin's En jouant 'Dans la compagnie des hommes' (Playing "In the Company of Men").

Earlier in his career, Mr. Fontaine was first assistant camera on such features as Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth (for the Paris portion of the shoot); Nicole Garcia's Le fils prèfèrè (The Favorite Son); Olivier Assayas' Irma Vep; and Arnaud Desplechin's Comment je me suis disputè…(ma vie sexuelle) [a.k.a. My Sex Life…or How I Got Into an Argument].

Warren Alan Young

Warren Alan Young's work as feature film production designer was recently on view in four 2006 releases - Doug Atchison's Akeelah and the Bee (starring Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer); Nnegest Likke's Phat Girlz (starring Mo'Nique); Irwin Winkler's Home of the Brave (starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Brian Presley, and Curtis Jackson); and, for Talk to Me's Vondie Curtis Hall, Waist Deep (the Rogue Pictures release starring Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate, and The Game).

Mr. Young's previous feature credits as production designer include Nick Castle's The Seat Filler; Mink's Full Clip; Craig Ross' Ride or Die; and the Polish Brothers' Twin Falls Idaho.

For television, he has been the production designer on a wide variety of projects, including a number of BET telefilms (among them Brian Goers' Fire and Ice); and multi-camera concert programs spotlighting (among others) Mo'Nique, D.L. Hughley, and Talk to Me's Cedric the Entertainer.

Mr. Young holds a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Arts for Interior Design/Interior Architecture from the American College for the Applied Arts.

Terilyn A. Shropshire

Talk to Me continues Terilyn A. Shropshire's collaboration with filmmaker Kasi Lemmons; Ms. Shropshire previously edited the features Eve's Bayou and The Caveman's Valentine, and as well as the 2002 Academy Awards telecast's Sidney Poitier salute, for Ms. Lemmons. The latter earned Ms. Shropshire an Emmy Award nomination.

For director Vondie Curtis Hall (costarring in Talk to Me), she recently edited his Rogue Pictures movie Waist Deep. This followed their work together on the award-winning feature Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story. The latter earned Ms. Shropshire an American Cinema Editors (A.C.E.) Eddie Award for Best-Edited Motion Picture for Commercial Television.

Her other feature editing credits include Darren Grant's hit Diary of a Mad Black Woman; Reggie Rock Bythewood's Biker Boyz; Gina Prince-Bythewood's Love and Basketball'; and José Luis Valenzuela's Luminarias.

Gersha Phillips

Gersha Phillips' latest project as costume designer is the telefilm remake of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Kenny Leon and reuniting the cast of the hit Broadway revival - Sean Combs, Sanaa Lathan, Audra McDonald, and Phylicia Rashad.

Her other features as costume designer encompass both major-studio and independent films. Among them have been Joe Carnahan's Narc, starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric; Jeremy Podeswa's The Five Senses, starring Mary-Louise Parker; Richard Kwietniowski's Owning Mahony, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman; Kevin Bray's Walking Tall, starring The Rock; and Brian Levant's Are We There Yet?, starring Ice Cube.

Ms. Phillips designed the costumes for the television version of Barbershop, among other series projects.

Terence Blanchard

Terence Blanchard previously composed the scores for Talk to Me filmmaker Kasi Lemmons' first two features, Eve's Bayou and The Caveman's Valentine.

The Grammy Award-winning trumpeter/composer's two most recent albums, "Flow" and "Bounce," were released on the legendary Blue Note Records label. Among his prior albums are "Let's Get Lost," "Wandering Moon," "The Heart Speaks," and "Simply Stated." In addition to his Grammy win last year for his collaboration on McCoy Tyner's "Illuminations" album, he has been nominated four additional times.

The New Orleans native first picked up the trumpet in elementary school, and was also coached at home by his opera-singing father. In high school, he came under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis. After graduating, he attended Rugters University on a music scholarship. One of his professors soon helped get him a touring gig with Lionel Hampton's band. Wynton Marsalis later recommended Mr. Blanchard as his replacement in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

A subsequent stint in a quintet was followed by a solo career - now well into its second decade - that has expanded to encompass bandleading as well as film and television score compositions.

Mr. Blanchard has worked with Talk to Me's Vondie Curtis Hall as composer of the director's scores for the recent Rogue Pictures release Waist Deep, as well as Glitter and Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story. Other films he has scored include Ron Shelton's Dark Blue; Tim Story's Barbershop; Daniel Algrant's People I Know; and Gina Prince-Bythewood's Love and Basketball.

He continues to enjoy an ongoing collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee, scoring 12 of the latter's feature films - among them Inside Man, 25th Hour (for which the score earned a Golden Globe Award nomination), Summer of Sam, 4 Little Girls, Malcolm X, and Jungle Fever - as well as performing as a featured musician on Mo' Better Blues and Do the Right Thing. Most recently, Mr. Blanchard scored Mr. Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts in addition to participating in the project on-camera with interviews and off-camera with (ongoing) aid efforts in his home city.