The time is 1979. Jimmy Bones (Grammy-nominated rap superstar, Snoop Dogg, in his first starring role) is a legendary protector and patron of his thriving urban neighborhood. Cool, handsome and respected, Bones is the benevolent caretaker of his people, until he is betrayed and murdered by those closest to him simply for refusing to cooperate with them in a plan to begin dealing crack cocaine to the local populace.
Flash forward to the present day …
Crime and drugs have crumbled the neighborhood and Jimmy Bones has become a feared legend, a charismatic emblem of better times but also some one whose very name evokes dread. His once elegant brownstone, the dwelling in which he was brutally killed, remains standing but has become a decrepit, abandoned memorial to it’s former owner. Those who have stayed behind in the neighborhood, including Bones’ woman Pearl (Pam Grier), whose love for her murdered man still burns bright, and Shotgun (Ronald Selmour), Bones’ right-hand man who has never forgiven himself for not having the courage to die an honorable death protecting his friend, give the place a wide berth — it’s well-known that strange happenings surround the house, and that those foolish enough to pass through it’s doorway often don’t come out.
As fate would have it, the sons of Bones’ old friend Jeremiah (Clifton Powell), one of those who betrayed him, find their way back to this very house. In the intervening years, Jeremiah has made good, left the ghetto behind and moved his family out to the suburbs. But unbeknownst to Jeremiah, his enterprising sons Patrick (Khalil Kain) and Bill (Merwin Mondesir) have returned to the old neighborhood to open an after-hours nightclub, buying the Gothic structure where Jimmy Bones still lies buried in the basement ‘ and where his tormented spirit has continued to claim dominion all these years. But the brothers, along with their step-sister Tia (Katharine Isabelle) and friend Maurice (Sean Amsing), are blissfully unaware of the danger and eagerly move in, anxious to fix the place up and get their dance club happening.
However, no sooner do they cross the threshold of the cursed edifice than a series of strange and unexplainably terrifying events begin to take place, and soon it becomes shockingly clear that Jimmy Bones is staging a comeback…and he’s hell-bent on revenge, intent on tracking down and visiting vengeance upon all those who betrayed him.
But Bones’ tortured spirit is also drawn back to this world by the love that once guided his life – his love for Pearl, the woman who has remained steadfast in her devotion to him and who has raised his daughter, Cynthia (Bianca Lawson), a child born after his death and someone he’s never known.
Snoop Dogg stars in the New Line Cinema horror-thriller Bones, directed by Ernest Dickerson from a screenplay by Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe. The film also stars Pam Grier, Michael T. Weiss, Khalil Kain, Bianca Lawson, Clifton Powell, Ricky Harris, Ronald Selmour, Merwin Mondesir, Sean Amsing and Katharine Isabelle. Bones is produced by Lloyd Segan, Peter Heller and Rupert Harvey. The executive producer is Carolyn Manetti and the co-producers are Leon Dudevoir and Stephen Hollocker.
New Line Cinema releases Bones (rated R by the M.P.A.A. for violence/gore, language, sexuality and drugs) nationwide on October 24, 2001.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Bones began as a pitch to New Line Cinema by producers Peter Heller and Lloyd Segan. “Snoop Dogg had done a cameo in a film I produced called Caught Up,” Heller explains. “I thought Snoop had real star potential, with his laid-back charisma and powerful presence. In speaking with him, it was clear that Snoop was very interested in doing a horror film.” Heller approached writers Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe, both aficionados of the horror genre, whom he’d worked with previously. Simon had an idea for a horror film which he and Metcalfe then began to adapt to fit Snoop Dogg. “We learned that in addition to horror, Snoop loves Clint Eastwood’s work and was also interested in doing a Western,” Heller explains. “The two genres coalesced into a form where in the first half of the movie Snoop is the ghost in a classic haunted house story and in the second half, he is more like the Clint Eastwood character seeking retribution.”
“Peter Heller and the writers approached me with the idea for Bones, at the time describing it as High Plains Drifter meets The Crow meets Nightmare on Elm Street, with Snoop Dogg as the lead character,” producer Lloyd Segan recalls. “I have a long-standing association with New Line Cinema and knew this film would appeal to them because of their great love of horror films.” New Line bought the pitch and Simon and Metcalfe soon set to work on the script. “We’re creating a whole new genre within the genre,” Segan continues. “The idea of doing a Gothic, dark thriller set within the horror genre makes it exciting. Jimmy Bones is a brand-able franchise character, which is something every studio likes, and New Line has particular expertise in creating a number of branded franchises as diverse as Nightmare on Elm Street, Blade, Rush Hour and Austin Powers.
When the time came to bring a director on board, the producers sought some one with the bold visual style and original storytelling vision that the project demanded and found that perfect synergy in Ernest Dickerson. It just so happened that Dickerson, who began his career as an acclaimed Director of Photography on such films as Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X before making the transition to director, is also a huge fan of horror films, possessing a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the genre (Dickerson also directed the 1995 “Tales from the Crypt” feature film, Demon Knight).
“I like good horror,” says Dickerson. “But it’s only as good as the script and the script only really works if you care about the people that these things are happening to. That’s the element that really brought me to the project. I love the characters. They’re very well drawn. I think the whole relationship between Jimmy Bones and Pearl is very rich. I also love the fact that the story is universal. You could set this story anywhere. It happens to be set in an urban neighborhood, but it could be set in Japan, modern day with the Yakuza or even a few hundred years ago with the Samurai, or it could be set in a small town in Italy, with the don of the town being betrayed and assassinated.”
Dickerson describes his vision for the film as Gothic horror, hearkening back to some of the great horror classics like The Exorcist and The Omen. “I’m a big fan of the Italian Gothic cinema,” Dickerson enthuses, “directors like Mario Bava, Dario Argento and Antonio Margheriti, and Bones was a chance to do something on this level. I’ve seen horror films since I was a kid, but I also read the literature, and this script grasped the larger vision of the genre, which is about people coming to grips with the fantastic.”
“The best horror films are really about something more than scaring somebody, ” Dickerson continues. “They’re about the fears that affect each of us. Jimmy Bones is our dark avenger. He’s been robbed of his life, brutally murdered, and the neighborhood he loved has been destroyed by the same people who murdered him. It’s about the sins of the past visiting themselves upon the children. It’s about a man’s spirit – his drive to come back to right the wrongs, or as well as he can, to get revenge. On another level, the story tells us that revenge is not without its cost. There’s a price that you pay for revenge and the price that Jimmy Bones is paying is the loss of his soul. It’s an escalating, dangerous and deadly cycle that he’s gotten himself into.”
With the script written specifically for Snoop Dogg, the filmmakers had a touchstone for the chemistry they were looking to build in the cast. “When I first read the script,” says Dickerson, “I was very pleased because I could hear Snoop’s speaking rhythms, his personality and his own personal cadences, which made me believe that he could create the character of Jimmy Bones with a great deal of style. In fact, he’s exceeded all my expectations in bringing Bones to life – and to the afterlife.”
In Jimmy Bones, Snoop Dogg discovered the type of film role he had long been looking for. “People are always saying to me, Snoop, why haven’t you starred in a movie’ Because it was never the right movie, the right situation, until now. This was the perfect role, and it was handcrafted for me.” Snoop responded to the fundamental human dilemma that faces his character. “Jimmy Bones is a real person, the lord of his neighborhood. He goes through the community spreading love, keeping the peace, not allowing drugs and violence. But he’s someone who was wronged by evil people and gets the opportunity to take his revenge. I’m able to come back and take care of those who thought they took care of me.” But Snoop also responded to some of the film’s more fun-house thrills. “The movie is pretty spooky. We just want it to slide up and scare the hell out of you.”
Snoop found starring in his first movie alongside seasoned actors a constant challenge but was inspired to push himself to rise to the occasion. “I have to dig in and give it my all as if I’ve been doing it as long as the other actors I’m working with,” says Snoop. “It drives me and makes me want to do my best.” It’s a sentiment echoed by director Dickerson. “Snoop wanted to be surrounded by high-caliber actors because he wanted a bar that he had to raise up. He’s doing a really amazing job.”
Snoop was inspired by the experience of working with director Ernest Dickerson and the collaborative process of shooting a film. “Ernest was leading me, telling me where I was right, where I was strong and where I should stand as far as my attitude and demeanor are concerned,” says Snoop. “In film every actor needs a great director, unlike in the music industry where you’re usually your own director.” This trust came in handy when Snoop was called on to perform some of his own stunts, such as pursuing his victims through a room ablaze with fire. “It was scary,” he says, “but I was concerned that it look real and believable and frighten people.”
Snoop also found musical inspiration from his character, penning several songs for the film’s soundtrack, including “The Ballad of Jimmy Bones.” An added benefit came when Snoop learned that he would be able to keep his character’s colorful and funky wardrobe, created by Costume Designer Dana Campbell. “These clothes were custom-fit for me and there’s nobody else that’s made like me,” says Snoop, “so it would be useless for some sucker to get my clothes and be running down the street trying to be like me.”
Pam Grier co-stars as Pearl, a woman whose passion for life and commitment to love never flag. “Pam was someone that Ernest Dickerson sought out,” producer Lloyd Segan recalls. “He immediately envisioned her opposite Snoop as the wonderful, beautiful, insightful and clairvoyant Pearl. In fact, in so many ways Pam embodies this character because she is a very spiritual woman in her own right. She’s greatly intelligent and brings to Pearl something that I’m not even sure any of us previously believed possible,” Segan enthuses. “Her Pearl really is co-equal in every way to the Bones character, which makes it easy to believe their attraction for one another.”
Dickerson lights up when he talks about Pam Grier. “When I was casting the role of Pearl I was thinking which black actress can play from 30 years of age to 50 years of age and do it with grace and style and have the strength needed to portray the character, and the only person I thought of was Pam. For me it was a kind of ‘Pam or nobody else’ mind-set.”
The connection between Snoop Dogg and Pam Grier was already in place before the pair even met. “You always wonder what the chemistry will be like when you bring two actors together,” Dickerson muses. “When I told Snoop that I was trying to get Pam to play Pearl, he said, ‘Oh man, you have to get her!’ And when I told Pam that Snoop was playing Jimmy Bones, she said ‘I love Snoop!’ So they were a mutual admiration society from the very beginning.”
“When Ernest told me that Snoop Dogg was playing Jimmy Bones, I asked ‘Is he tall”,” quips Pam Grier, who’s quick wit and ready smile never fail her. “Ernest said, ‘Yeah, he’s real tall,'” Grier continues. “That’s good, because I don’t want my leading man to lay his head on my shoulder. I always want to lay my head on someone else’s shoulder,” she slyly winks. “And Snoop really is tall and he can kiss, too!”
Although Snoop Dogg is a relative newcomer to acting, Grier feels he’s a natural. “Just look at his videos, his songs and his creativity,” she says. “He can tell a story and visualize, and that’s the sign of a good actor. It’s like he’s been doing it all his life.”
For Grier, who starred in such archetypal 1970s films as Coffy and Foxy Brown, the early scenes in Bones set in 1979 time-warped her back to what she remembers as a more innocent time. “It definitely took me back. When I put on my costume and afro, I felt like going out and kicking butt! The 70’s was the only decade where we were actually celebrating our freedom, individualism and uniqueness. The colors, the clothes we haven’t had that since we lost it in the 80’s.”
Bones also provided Grier with the opportunity to indulge in a little excitement. “I’m always the one that goes on roller coasters and likes watching horror and science fiction movies,” she says. “That’s my escape. I just want to run out and be a kid again and be frightened.”
Casting for the four young people who are in many ways responsible for raising Jimmy Bones’ spirit from the dead was once again a matter of finding the right chemistry. “We wanted the audience to really feel that these kids had a history together,” Ernest Dickerson explains. “We narrowed it down and did mixes and matches to see where the best chemistry was.”
Khalil Kain plays Patrick, the elder of Jeremiah’s two sons who buys the decrepit building that was once Bones’ home with the intention of turning it in to a successful nightclub. He had previously worked with Ernest Dickerson on the film Juice, which marked both Dickerson’s directorial debut and Kain’s first on-screen role. “Patrick has an entrepreneurial spirit,” Kain explains, “but he definitely has something to prove to his father, who’s come up the hard way and made a lot of money. As well as being a great horror film, I like the fact that there are many other layers to the script. You have Cynthia and her mom as a single parent family, facing the issues of adolescence and independence. Then there’s my brother Bill and my step-sister Tia and myself, in an interracial mixed-family situation, and amidst all this there’s also a lot of humor,” says Kain.
Kain’s character Patrick, however business-like he might try to be, is blind-sided by his attraction for Pearl’s daughter Cynthia. Played by Bianca Lawson, Cynthia is a radiant beauty who possesses the same psychic sensibility as her mother. “I play my first love scene ever in this movie with Khalil,” Lawson admits. “It’s all very innocent, but still the level of intimacy was scary. Like a lot of the elements in this movie, it doesn’t go for the obvious surface appeal, but instead delves into the deep stuff, in this case the deep connection between two people. In so many ways Patrick and Cynthia are what Jimmy Bones and Pearl could have been,” Lawson concludes.
Rounding out the young talent from the cast is Katharine Isabelle as Patrick and Bill’s stepsister Tia and Sean Amsing as their ill-fated friend Maurice.
The rogues gallery of villians, those who betray and murder Jimmy Bones, is comprised of an eclectic cast of character actors that includes Michael T. Weiss as the corrupt neighborhood cop Lupovitch, Clifton Powell as Jeremiah Peet, who finds even though he’s moved up in the world his past isn’t easily left behind, Ricky Harris as local neighborhood hustler Eddie Mack and Ronald Selmour as Bones’ one-time friend, Shotgun, who still lives across the street from the haunted brownstone and shouts out warnings to any one attempting to enter it.
The group was faced with the challenge of playing their characters both in 1979 and in the present day. For Michael T. Weiss’ Lupovitch, this meant aging twenty years and donning a padded suit and prosthetic makeup to give him the realistic appearance of having added a few hundred extra pounds. After being put through the grueling four-hour makeup process each day, the normally trim Weiss, best known for his starring role on the television series, “The Pretender,” says with a laugh, “I know now that I’m staying away from eating anything that’s possibly bad for me for the rest of my life!”
CREATING THE WORLD OF BONES
From the start, director Ernest Dickerson knew he wanted to make Bones in the style of the classic horror movie, using the techniques of those earlier films, not to the exclusion of computer-generated effects, but certainly with an emphasis on practical, mechanical, make-up and prosthetic effects. “Ernest has used a lot of practical and physical effects in his work to date,” says producer Rupert Harvey. “He’s also a great cinematographer and this is a picture that demands a certain look. Some of the processes we’re applying to the film technically, only a director of Ernest’s experience could pull off as spectacularly as he’s been able to do.”
Dickerson’s interpretation of the otherworldly Necropolis, the land of the dead that serves as the visual centerpiece of the film, was particularly bold and exciting. “Ernest brought a wonderful sensibility to the Necropolis that the writers conceived of in the script,” producer Peter Heller explains. “It’s another dimension that exists concurrent with our dimension but one that is not accessible to the living. Because of Jimmy Bones’ violent demise and subsequent refusal to go on to heaven or hell, he stays in this land of the dead and tears open a doorway that allows our human characters to enter this other world.”
Production Designer Douglas Higgins and Make-Up and Prosthetic Effects Designer/Supervisor Tony Gardner rose masterfully to the challenge of interpreting Dickerson’s vision on the Bones house, the exterior 3-story façade of which was built from the ground up on a street in Vancouver, the interiors comprising four separate sound stages.
“In the process of transformation that the ‘Bones Brownstone’ set goes though, we begin with an attractive architectural integrity in 1979, which 22 years later becomes shabby and degraded,” says Higgins. “From there we devolve into the nightmare landscape of the Necropolis by using an overlay of polyurethane foam and plastics, to make it look like the architecture has been overgrown by a kind of cancerous organism. Orifices lead into tunnels which feel like the inside of arteries or intestinal tract, the walls of which have writhing bodies, both human and animatronic, embedded in them.”
“Ernest first described the Necropolis to me as an environment that uses the souls of the damned as building blocks,” Gardner explains. “He showed me some pictures as references. Ernest also had a specific color scheme in mind. From that initial meeting my team and I did some illustrations and with feedback from Ernest on those drawings, we sculpted a miniature version of the Necropolis walls with people embedded in them. Once we had the miniature locked down, we made a scale size blueprint which we mounted on the wall of the shop.”
We started building big wooden frames and doing live casts of actors and friends – literally anyone who we thought might be willing – in all sorts of weird poses,” Gardner laughs. “We created an arsenal of bodies and body parts to be embedded in the walls. We also had to take into account how to make these walls articulate, deciding where we would put animatronics and where we could insert live performers to arrive at something that looked like a huge panel of body upon body, smashed together into a compressed space – a wall that could pulsate, writhe and have facial expressions.”
Gardner was thrilled by the professional challenge that Bones presented. “I love the fact that we are pushing the envelope, experimenting with traditional techniques and doing everything practically as much as possible,” he says. “We’re using CGI where it works best, like compositing, and also in combination with the physical effects, but I’ve always preferred effects you can see, that the actors can interact with on set, that you can light, and everyone can collaborate on more collectively.”
The Necropolis is only one element of the fantastic that Gardner and his team were called upon to create for Bones. Their work also involved the mangy, ravenous black dog that initially appears as Jimmy Bones’ other, his physical presence in the world before he becomes physically manifest. In addition to sequences filmed with a real dog, Gardner’s team created a demonic, animatronic version. “The puppet version of the dog has eyes that glow as well as a glow that emanates from the back of its throat,” Gardner explains. “It just looks messed up and more frightening than the real dog. With shock cuts between the real and the animatronic dog, it gives Ernest one more tool to play with in telling the story. We also created several puppet versions of the dog for specific purposes. A couple of the dogs pulsate, there are digging paws, in fact, the dog is sort of a ‘Mr. Potato Head’ dog with a removable back end, front end and paws so that Ernest can pick and choose what he needs for a particular shot.”
For one memorable and terrifying sequence in the film where maggots rain down on a crowded dance floor, no effects were necessary, as only the real thing would do: a “maggot wrangler,” accompanied by over one hundred thousand of his charges, was brought in for the job.
Owing to Ernest Dickerson’s background as a cinematographer, a number of cutting-edge visual techniques, both practical and computer-generated, were used throughout filming and overseen by Visual Effects Producer/Supervisor Ariel Velasco Shaw. In the opening sequences of the film that tell the story of Jimmy Bones’ cold-blooded murder, says Shaw, “we used a PAL mini DV camera mounted on a descender rig and did a big pull back to depict Bones seeing himself being murdered and going up toward the spectral light, up towards what we as humans believe to be the better place. Midway through, he halts and realizes that he has unfinished business to attend to and rushes back down. Not only do we rush back down into the real world, but we actually pass into Tony Gardner’s world of the Necropolis. It’s my job to take this mix of in-camera effects and prosthetic effects and digitally put them together to create an omniscient, ghost-like point-of-view.”
“When you shoot a practical effect,” Shaw continues, “you get a very specific physical signature and all the beautiful detail. If I need to punctuate that or need to augment it, make it larger or smaller, that’s where the visual effects aspect of it really starts to shine, particularly in this show. We’re trying to touch the base of the brain for that primal fear reaction,” Shaw grins, “by taking something that looks and feels real and tweaking it slightly so that it becomes weird. That’s when it gets creepy, and that’s when I start having fun.”
More than anything else, with Bones the filmmakers have set out to terrify audiences by tapping in to their collective fear of the supernatural and unknown. “Science has demystified so many things,” says producer Segan, “but there is no science that can absolutely tell us about the afterlife, and because of this it’s something we fear the most.”
“The public’s love for the supernatural is the same as every child’s fear of goblins at night. People like to be reminded that what we consider to be reality is not necessarily the only reality. That everything we believe in and trust and assume is solid under our feet in fact isn’t,” suggests producer Rupert Harvey. “It brings those primeval fears out into the light in a way and makes us feel more secure when we realize that it’s only a movie. Plus it’s fun to have a good scare every so often.”
ABOUT THE CAST
Snoop Dogg (Jimmy Bones)
Internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated rap artist Snoop Dogg makes his starring film debut in Bones. Snoop Dogg secured his place in hip-hop history with his solo album “Doggystyle”, which became the first rap album by a debut artist to enter the Billboard pop chart at #1. “Doggystyle” also secured the #1 spot on the R&B charts and spawned the gold single “Who Am I (What’s My Name)’.” “Gin and Juice,” another hit single from “Doggystyle,” garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance. His other albums, all of which went platinum, include “Da Game Is To Be Sold Not To Be Told” and “Top Dogg” as well as his albums with Da Eastsidaz, “Da Eastsidaz” (which entered the charts at #1) and “Deuces and Trays.” His latest album, “The Last Meal,” has spawned three hit singles. Snoop began his recording career in 1993 teaming with Dr. Dre on both the soundtrack for the film “Deep Cover” and Dre’s classic rap album “The Chronic.” Snoop also heads up his own record label, Doggystyle Records, whose roster of artists includes Soopafly, Butch Cassidy, Kokane and Tha Angels.
On the big screen, Snoop can currently be seen co-starring opposite Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in the drama, Training Day. Later this year he will be seen opposite Dr. Dre and Eminem in the comedy, The Wash. Other film credits include cameo performances in Half Baked and The Game of Life.
On television, Snoop recently appeared as himself on the hit NBC comedy series, “Just Shoot Me” and was also the subject of the award-winning VH1 series “Behind the Music.”
Snoop also hosts the nationally-syndicated radio show, “Big Snoop Dogg Radio.” His latest venture takes him into the world of fashion with the development of his own clothing line of denim wear and athletic gear, Snoop Dogg Clothing (SDC), as well an upcoming deal to develop his own line of shoes. In partnership with the William Morris Agency, Snoop has launched Doggfather Entertainment, which will develop film and entertainment projects.
Pam Grier (Pearl)
Pam Grier is an accomplished actor who has helped shape contemporary notions of women and power in Hollywood. Grier began her acting career and achieved fame in the early 1970’s when she starred in a series of films which reflected African-American music, art and popular culture of the day including Coffy, Foxy Brown and Sheba Baby.
In 1997 Grier was honored with nominations by the Screen Actors Guild, the NAACP and the Golden Globes for her performance in the title role of Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed feature Jackie Brown. Most recently Grier starred in the crime thriller In Too Deep, with Stanley Tucci, Omar Epps and LL Cool J. Her other recent film credits include: Mars Attacks! Paramount’s hit comedy Snow Day and Jane Campion’s Holy Smoke, co-starring Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet.
She will next be seen co-starring opposite Eddie Murphy in Pluto Nash and Showtimes “The Feast of all Saints.”
Michael T. Weiss (Lupovitch)
Michael T. Weiss was the star for four seasons on the hit television drama “The Pretender.” Weiss’ feature film credits include Net Worth, co-starring Daniel Baldwin, Freeway, produced by Oliver Stone and co-staring Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland and Amanda Plummer, and Jeffrey, co-starring Steven Weber and Patrick Stewart.
Clifton Powell (Jeremiah Peet)
Clifton Powell has appeared in the feature films Next Friday, Rush Hour, Deep Rising, Dead Presidents and The Cotton Club, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Powell has guest-starred on the television series “Walker, Texas Ranger”, “N.Y.P.D. Blue”, “Touched By An Angel” and “In The Heat Of The Night”.
Ricky Harris (Eddie Mack)
Ricky Harris starred in the feature films Hard Rain, Heat, Poetic Justice and Thick as Thieves. Harris has guest-starred on the television series “C.S.I.” and “ER” and has been a regular host on “Def Comedy Jam” for HBO. Harris has also directed and starred in two Snoop Dogg videos, “Gin & Juice” and “Doggy Dog World”.
Bianca Lawson (Cynthia)
Bianca Lawson has appeared in the feature films Save the Last Dance and Primary Colors. Lawson was a series regular on “Dawson’s Creek”, “Saved By The Bell: The New Class” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. She also appeared in the NBC mini-series “The Temptations”.
Khalil Kain (Patrick)
Khalil Kain made his feature debut starring in Juice, directed by Ernest Dickerson. His other feature credits include Love Jones and Renaissance Man. Kain played Muhammad Ali’s brother Rudy in the television movie “Ali,” as well as the title role in Showtime’s “The Tiger Woods Story.” He also starred opposite Sidney Poitier in Showtime’s “Execution of Justice.” In addition, Kain has guest starred in the series television shows “Moesha”, “Suddenly Susan” and most recently in “Girlfriends” and “Angel.”
Merwin Mondesir (Bill)
Merwin Mondesir received a Gemini nomination for his performance in the television series “Straight Up”. Mondesir’s other television credits include a series regular role on “Riverdale” and a guest-starring role on the series “Due South”.
Sean Amsing (Maurice)
Sean Amsing was part of the ensemble teen cast of Disturbing Behavior with Katie Holmes, James Marsden and Nick Stahl. Amsing has also appeared in the acclaimed Canadian feature film Roller Coaster. He was a series regular on the television series “Caitlin’s Way” and “Nilus The Sandman” and has guest-starred on “Stargate SG-1”, “Cold Squad” and “Madison”. He has appeared in the television movies “Angels in the Endzone” and “Texas Heat”.
Katharine Isabelle (Tia)
Katharine Isabelle, one of Canada’s most sought-after young actors, has been acting in film and television since the age of eight. Isabelle recently portrayed the title character in the acclaimed independent feature film, Ginger Snaps and will soon be seen co-starring opposite Al Pacino in Insomnia. Other feature credits include Disturbing Behavior and Snow Day.
Isabelle’s extensive television credits include guest-starring roles in the series “The X-Files,” “First Wave” and “Davinci’s Inquest,” the miniseries “Titanic” and the telefilm “Voyage of Terror.”
Ronald Selmour (Shotgun)
Ronald Selmour has appeared in guest-starring roles on the television series “DaVinci’s Inquest”, “Harsh Realm”, “The Crow”, “Viper”, “The Outer Limits” and “Millennium”. He will next be seen in a supporting role in the upcoming Tribeca/Showtime film, “Holiday Heart,” directed by Robert Townsend.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Ernest Dickerson (Director)
Director Ernest Dickerson began his career in film as an acclaimed cinematographer, forming an extended creative collaboration with director Spike Lee that began when the pair met at New York University (where both earned graduate degrees in film from the Institute of Film and Television at the Tisch School of Arts), working together on Lee’s short film Sarah and the one-hour thesis film, Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, which won a student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Dickerson’s camera work on the latter project caught the attention of director John Sayles, who hired him to shoot the science-fiction fantasy, The Brother from Another Planet. After shooting the rap comedy Krush Groove, Dickerson re-teamed with Spike Lee as Director of Photography on the films She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing (for which Dickerson received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer), Mo’ Better Blues, JungleFever and Malcolm X.
Wanting to make the transition to director, in 1990 Dickerson directed “Spike & Company: Do It A Capella,” a Great Performances musical performance for PBS co-hosted by Spike Lee and Debbie Allen and featuring a capella groups including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Mint Juleps.
In 1992, Dickerson made his feature film directorial debut with the acclaimed Paramount Pictures, Juice, a controversial drama he also wrote and which co-starred Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur. Produced for a cost of $3 million, the film went on to gross in excess of $30 million.
Dickerson’s other feature directing credits include the action thriller Surviving the Game, starring Ice-T, the horror film Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, starring Billy Zane and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the action comedy Bulletproof, starring Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler.
For television, Dickerson’s directing credits include the HBO film “Ambushed,” an action film that explored racial problems and starred Courtney B. Vance, Robert Patrick and Virginia Madsen, the Showtime film “Blind Faith,” a courtroom drama set in Harlem in the 1950’s that starred Charles S. Dutton and Courtney B. Vance, and ABC’s “Future Sport,” a futuristic thriller that starred Dean Cain, Wesley Snipes and Vanessa L. Williams. In 1991, Dickerson received critical acclaim and the prestigious Peabody Award for his direction of Showtime’s “Strange Justice,” a re-enactment of the controversial 1991 Clarence Thomas Senate Judiciary Committee hearings that starred Delroy Lindo as Thomas and Regina Taylor as Anita Hill.
Over the past ten years, Dickerson has also directed commercials for General Motors, Pontiac and a series of spots for Reebok with Shaquille O’Neal.
Upcoming projects include the TNT Original Film, “Monday Night Mayhem,” based on the book by Marc Gunther and Bill Carter about ABC’s “Monday Night Football” and starring John Turturro (as Howard Cosell), Patti Lupone and Eli Wallach. The film is scheduled to premiere on TNT in January 2002. Dickerson is currently in post-production on Showtime’s “Our America,” (for which he also served as cinematographer) a true story set in Chicago from 1994-1998 about two teenage boys who produced a radio documentary investigating a murder in their neighborhood. The film stars Josh Charles, Brandon Hammond and Vanessa Williams and is scheduled to premiere on Showtime in early 2002.
An avid moviegoer since childhood, Dickerson was especially influenced by the work of David Lean, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock. After majoring in architecture at Howard University (at the same time taking many movie classes), he studied with Haile Gerima, a well-known Ethiopian filmmaker, and Roland Mitchell, an African-American cinematographer who worked on the documentary, When We Were Kings, moving on to work for a few years as an archival and medical photographer in Washington, D.C.
Dickerson was also one of the first recipients of the prestigious Gotham Awards honoring film-making excellence in New York.
Adam Simon (Screenwriter)
Adam Simon wrote and directed the feature films Brain Dead and Carnosour, as well as the documentary The Typewriter, The Rifle and The Movie Camera, about legendary director Sam Fuller.
Tim Metcalfe (Screenwriter)
Tim Metcalfe wrote the screenplays for the feature films Kalifornia and Iron Maze, for which he received the best screenplay award at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Killer: A Journal of Murder, produced by Oliver Stone, marked Metcalfe’s directorial debut. His television movie writing credits include “The Day Lincoln Was Shot” for TNT.
Lloyd Segan (Producer)
Lloyd Segan’s recent producing credits include New Line Cinema’s The Bachelor, starring Chris O’Donnell and Renee Zellweger, and the controversial Boondock Saints, starring Willem Dafoe, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He also executive produced Showtime’s Emmy-nominated Hendrix, based on the life of Jimi Hendrix.
Previous producing credits include Eric Shaeffer’s Wirey Spindell, Universal’s thriller Judgment Night, starring Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Stephen Dorff and Denis Leary, MGM’s action drama Blown Away, starring Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones and the HBO Premiere Movie Crossworlds.
Currently, Segan is Executive Producing the UPN series, Stephen King’s The Dead Zone, premiering mid-season.
Peter Heller (Producer)
Peter Heller manages writers and directors and produces feature films through his company Heller Highwater. Heller was the executive producer of Barbed Wire and Hotel De Love and producer of Caught Up. He is currently in production on the Fox Searchlight film Brown Sugar, which stars Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan, and in pre-production on Like Mike for 20th Century Fox.
Previously, Heller was an executive at Universal Pictures and Propaganda Films and the President of Hughes Entertainment, where he was involved with the production of Home Alone.
Rupert Harvey (Producer)
Rupert Harvey has produced Plunkett and Macleane, Pump Up The Volume, Nightmare On Elm Street V, Critters (1,2 & 3), The Blob and Slamdance. Harvey’s television movie credits include HBO’s acclaimed cult classic, “Crossworlds”. His upcoming projects include the feature film The Snow Queen and a television series based on the hit film The Lawnmower Man.
Flavio Labiano (Director of Photography)
Flavio Labiano has been the Director Of Photography on numerous feature films in his homeland of Spain. Labiano’s feature film credits include Muertos De Risa, Atilano Presidente, La Mirada Del Otro, Perdita Durango and Matias, Juez De Linea. Labiano recently served as Director of Photography on the television movie, “Harlan County” for Showtime, produced by Mimi Rogers.
Douglas Higgins (Production Designer)
Douglas Higgins has a diverse list of credits spanning more than two decades. Production designing credits include the feature films The Guilty, Alaska, Crying Freeman and Personal Choice. His television movie design credits include “Sports Pages”, “Up Up And Away”, “Fishing With John” and “Max Q”. Higgins served as Art Director on Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico, and Assistant Art Director on The Exorcist.
Stephen Lovejoy, A.C.E. (Editor)
Stephen Lovejoy is an award-winning editor whose credits include the feature films Demon Knight, Off Limits, Born In East L.A., and Bordello of Blood. Lovejoy’s television movies include “Strange Justice” for Showtime, winner of the prestigious Peabody Award, “Tales From The Crypt” for HBO, for which he received the ACE Eddy Award, “Blind Faith” for Showtime and “The Tempest” for NBC, both of which received nominations for the ACE Eddy Award, “Ambushed” for HBO, “Y2K”, “Mutiny” and “Born Into Exile” for NBC.
Michael N. Knue, A.C.E. (Editor)
Michael N. Knue has been editing for over twenty years, with feature credits that include Highlander Endgame, Spawn, The Crow: City of Angels, The Tie That Binds, Man’s Best Friend, Rocky V, Lock-Up, Nightmare on Elm Street, IV (for which he also served as 2nd Unit Director), Lucky Stiff, The Hidden, Night of the Creeps and House.
For television, Knue received an A.C.E.-Eddy nomination for Best Editing for his work on the Showtime drama, “Lily Dale.” Other credits include the Showtime films “Scam” and “Nails,” as well as the upcoming FOX movie “The Rats.” Currently, Knue is editing the new CBS series “The Guardian.”
For the past ten years, Knue has also taught a class in editing at the UCLA Extension.
Dana Campbell (Costume Designer)
Dana Campbell was the Costume Designer on the television movies “Ambushed” and “The Corner” for HBO. She has worked on numerous feature films including Next Friday, The Jungle Book, Sommersby and Weekend At Bernie‘s. Her television credits in the costume department include “The Hughleys” and “Moesha”.
Ariel Velasco Shaw (Visual Effects Supervisor/Producer)
Ariel Velasco Shaw has received both an Academy Award Nomination for Visual Effects for A Nightmare Before Christmas and an Emmy Award Nomination for Visual Effects for the television mini-series “From The Earth To The Moon”. Shaw worked with Warner Brothers Imaging Technology as Director of Digital Production on such films as Batman Forever, A Little Princess, Space Jam and Eraser. He continued his work with Warner Brothers as Visual Effects Supervisor on the feature films My Fellow Americans, Vegas Vacation, Selena and Contact.
Shaw’s numerous other credits as Visual Effects Supervisor include Final Destination, Lethal Weapon 4, Armageddon, Blast from the Past and Soldier. Shaw began his career at Disney as Digital Film Print and Optical Supervisor on such classics as The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Rescuers Down Under.
Tony Gardner (Make-up and Prosthetics Effects Designer/ Supervisor)
Tony Gardner has worked on numerous feature films including The Craft, Me, Myself and Irene, Three Kings, A Civil Action, Stir Of Echoes, Darkman, There’s Something About Mary, Contact, The Rock and Batman and Robin. He was Animatronic Effects Supervisor on the series “ER”, “Mad About You” and Stephen King’s “Tommyknockers”. He is currently transforming Gwyneth Paltrow into a 370-pound woman for the upcoming comedy, Shallow Hal.
Elia Cmiral (Composer)
Elia Cmiral’s film credits as composer include Stigmata, Battlefield Earth, John Frankenheimer’s Ronin, the cult classic Apartment Zero and the French thriller Six Pack. His next feature project will be the suspense thriller, They.
For television, Cmiral scored the Fox movie-of-the-week “The Rats” and the Showtime original film, “The Wishing Tree,” as well as the entire first season of the CBS series, “Nash Bridges.”
Born in Czechoslovakia, Cmiral attended the Prague Music Conservatory before moving to Sweden, where he established himself as one of the country’s leading young composers, which included writing three ballets for the National Theater of Sweden. Cmiral then moved to America to enroll in the University of Southern California’s Film Scoring Program.