John Cena is the Marine
WWE wrestling SuperStar John Cena makes his motion picture
debut in the rugged action thriller THE MARINE. Cena is John Triton, a
heroic Marine who returns home after being discharged – against his will –
from the war in Iraq. Stateside, he finds himself back in action, when his wife
(Kelly Carlson) is kidnapped by a murderous gang led by the merciless
Rome (Robert Patrick). With everything on the line, the Marine will stop at
nothing to carry out his toughest and most important mission.
THE MARINE is directed by award-winning commercial director
John Bonito. WWE Films’ Joel Simon produces, with Kathryn Sommer Parry
and Jonathan Winfrey. Vince McMahon, Chairman, World Wrestling
Entertainment, Inc. is the executive producer with Matt Carroll. The film is
distributed by Twentieth Century Fox.
THE MARINE was filmed on location in Queensland, Australia, with
the production based at the Warner Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast.
Says producer Joel Simon, “We chose to film in Australia partly because it
was economically viable, but also because it offered us a great environment,
facilities and weather. And the crews are some of the best in the world. We
had a wealth of talent behind us such as our very talented cinematographer
David Eggby, ACS and our award-winning production designer Herbert
Pinter. So working in Australia was very exciting for us – a great
adventure.”
For WWE, THE MARINE represents an exciting new venture into
the motion picture business. Comments McMahon: “Having successfully
submerged itself in the world of television and generated a host of superstar
talent, WWE is ideally positioned to bring its unique and powerful cultural
sensibility to the motion picture industry. I am extremely excited about taking
WWE into the film business, and we believe that we will achieve new artistic
and commercial successes on the big screen.”
Adds Joel Simon, “The WWE is about entertainment and that’s
what we wanted to do with THE MARINE – give the audience pure
entertainment – character, action and fun. The film is character driven,
which was important, with a protagonist who’s in the wrong place at the
wrong time. Then it becomes pure guttural action, which is another reason
we selected this script. It’s the perfect action vehicle for John Cena, who is
one of the WWE’s biggest talents. We really do believe that he’s the next
major action star.”
MAKING “THE MARINE”…. IN THE WORDS OF THE FILMMAKERS
JOHN CENA: FROM RING TO SCREEN
John Cena: “My character in THE MARINE, John Triton, fights for
his country – and loves doing so. He has a good wife, and he’s really
focused on family. He’s a down-to-earth, grounded guy.”
Cena: “How did I get the role? That’s like asking me how I became
a professional wrestler. I think it is the dream of a lot of people to be both; it
certainly was mine! There was really no transition from wrestling to motion
pictures. It’s not a move up – they’re both on the same level. My goal is to
keep wrestling, until I can no longer handle it physically. I just want to add
movies and acting into the mix.”
Cena: “In THE MARINE, I’m not as over-the-top as I am in the ring,
where I’m usually the one talking trash and making fun of my opponents. In
the film, I have to be soft-spoken – a walk-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick kind of
guy.”
Cena: “I missed the roar of the [wrestling] crowd while I was
filming, and I can’t wait to get back to that. Filming is a whole different
experience from wrestling.”
Cena: “Robert Patrick plays the lead bad guy. He gets to be the
witty character – the guy who’s a snazzy dresser and shoots first and asks
questions later.”
Cena: “Kelly Carlson plays my wife, a character very different than
her role on ‘Nip/Tuck.’ In our film, she’s very clean-cut and wholesome – but
still very sexy.”
Cena: “Kelly [Carlson] can fight. She and Abigail Bianca, who
plays the villainous Angela, have a fight sequence in the film, where they
went at it WWE style! I think [the WWE wrestlers] The Divas would be proud
of their work. Kelly and Abigail were really in [their fight scene] with each
other. They made sure each kick and punch meant something. When I
heard that they accidentally really connected [blows] by mistake, I patted
them on the shoulder and said, ‘Welcome to the WWE.’”
Cena: “I wanted audiences [seeing THE MARINE] to get their
money’s worth. You’re going to see some great action – and you’re going to
believe in John Triton.”
ROBERT PATRICK: RETURN TO VILLAINY
Robert Patrick: [In THE MARINE] I play Rome, a jewel thief. He’s
psychotic and cold-blooded, but he has a wicked sense of humor. He’s a
charismatic bad guy. It’s one of those fun characters where I can do
anything I want and have a lot of fun with him. You’re in on the joke with the
audience; the hope is they like you being bad, and revel in your ‘badness.’”
Patrick: “I don’t think I’ve ever worked with anybody as powerfully
built as John Cena. Arnold [Schwarzenegger] in ‘Terminator 2’ was big – but
John’s enormous. I’m sure he’s not an easy guy to throw around the
[wrestling] ring.”
Patrick: “John Cena should be the next Terminator. I told John he
should go ahead and take that job. He’d be perfect. I think the Governor is
too busy to do it, isn’t he?”
Patrick: “There are a lot of big action sequences in this movie.
There’s an explosion every few minutes! And there are some things that
reminded me of working on ‘Terminator 2’, like missiles being fired into cars.
I haven’t done a film like this in a long time, so it’s fun to experience this kind
of relentless action, again.”
KELLY CARLSON: ACTION HEROINE!
Kelly Carlson: “One of the reasons I accepted the part was to be
part of an action film. I love doing fight scenes. I love being very active and
working out. We were constantly doing stunts in THE MARINE. So the film
fulfilled that ‘action’ side of me that I haven’t experienced in other roles.
During shooting, the cast and crew called me ‘Mini-Champ.’ I’m tiny, but I
can pack a punch!”
Carlson: “I have a long fight in the film with Abigail Bianca, who
plays one of my abductors. We stumbled, punched, flipped, kicked each
other – and she hit me in the face with a gun! Abigail is very physical – she’s
petite, but she held her own in our fight scene. Abigail and I should go on
tour with John Cena and the WWE – as a pre-show, of course [laughs].
Carlson: “Another draw to do THE MARINE was that the
character, Kate Triton, is sweet and loving, and she comes from an honest
place. I don’t get to play that very often. I usually play a femme fatale in
movies and on TV. On the series ‘Nip/Tuck,’ my character is sort of sugar
and vinegar. She can be very vindictive. And Kate [in THE MARINE] is the
opposite of that – she’s a very loving person.”
Carlson: “Shooting in the swamp was difficult: there were always a
lot of spiders and crocodiles. We worked in water up to our waists. It
freaked me out at first, but I got used to it.”
JOHN BONITO: A NEW ACTION FILM MAESTRO
John Bonito: “The WWE really wanted to put its mark on feature
films. They made it clear: Let’s go for the jugular with THE MARINE. I was
excited to be a part of that.”
Bonito: “Explosions? Let’s just say that on set we had a running
joke: If it’s getting built, it’s getting blown-up.”
Bonito: “THE MARINE is a fastball down the middle – a rock ‘em,
sock ‘em action thriller.”
Bonito: “I was not familiar with John Cena’s work as a wrestler, but
after working with him on THE MARINE, I was very impressed with his work
ethic – every day he came to play. He was a consummate professional.”
Bonito: “John Cena did many of his own stunts: He jumped cars,
smashed into cars, jumped out of burning buildings. He was blown up, shot
at, stabbed, punched and kicked. He also has a natural charisma; the
camera loves him.”
Bonito: “Robert Patrick does a lot of serious, dramatic roles, but he
has a great sense of humor, and that really comes across in the film.”
Bonito: “Kelly Carlson was a real trooper: she gets pushed around,
dragged, thrown, blow up – and she always wanted to do the big action
scenes herself.”
JOEL SIMON: A NEW ERA FOR THE WWE
Joel Simon: “Vince and Linda McMahon told me what they were
looking for in a film company. They wanted to make a full commitment to the
motion picture business. Most of all, we all wanted to fulfill the expectations
of the WWE fans. We have this wonderful audience that watches our
programming every week. Fulfilling their expectations for WWE funded
movies was what most excited me.”
Simon: “When I [co-produced] ‘X-Men,’ it took six years to get the
film off the ground. It took ‘Wild, Wild West’ [on which Simon was an
executive producer] five years in development. That’s just the pace of
Hollywood. Vince McMahon’s pace is very simple: He wakes up on Monday
morning with an idea, and that idea is on TV the same night.”
Simon: “The first thing we [WWE’s Vince McMahon, Linda
McMahon and Simon] decided was that we’re never going to make films
about wrestlers. We are not going to be in the wrestling-film business
because that’s what we do in our day jobs.”
ABOUT THE WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) finances the
development of its films, culled from pitches, original screenplays, books and
articles. WWE Films also supervises production and produces all of their in
house projects where the goal is not to be a development company, but to
make movies, both for theatrical release and the direct to video market.
WWE’s investment in its film products will include using all its
various media platforms and marketing expertise to promote these films to
the public. “There is a synergy within WWE that will allow us to put our
entire marketing and media infrastructure behind the opening of a WWE
movie,” says Joel Simon. “We can promote our movies within our television
programming, at our more than 325 live events a year, on the Internet, and in
our magazine, WWE, as well as in our many home video and DVD offerings
to expose our movies to the huge global WWE audience.”
ABOUT THE CAST
WWE SuperStar, actor and recording artist, JOHN CENA (John
Triton) is one of today’s rising young stars. Wired into today’s culture, he
has built a significant fan base over the past three years. He uses his
charisma, blue-collar work ethic and passion to provide his fans with a pure
adrenaline rush each time he performs. Grounded in modest roots and a
strong sense of self, he connects to fans around the world in a genuine way
that few celebrities can.
Cena’s intensity and authenticity has made him a household name
in sports entertainment and WWE’s most popular SuperStar in fan appeal
and product sales. Since his debut in June of 2002, John has become the 2-
time undefeated United States Champion at “WrestleMania.” His branded
product sales exceeded $12 million in 2004. He can currently be seen on
television weekly in over 100 countries as well as 200 live performances
annually on five continents. More teens watch John Cena each week than
an average regular-season NFL, NBA or MLB game.
Growing up in the rural community of West Newbury,
Massachusetts, Cena was an easy target with his baggy pants and Kid ‘N
Play high-top fade haircut. Inspired by hip-hop music’s messages of
rebellion and self-reliance, Cena stood his ground, stayed true to his love of
hip-hop and hit the gym.
Prior to becoming a WWE champion, Cena was an All-American
football player at Springfield College and a successful bodybuilder. A
dedicated WWE fan, Cena watched from the bleachers as his heroes, Hulk
Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, competed. He left
college to join a wrestling school and quickly began working as an Ultimate
Pro Wrestler.
Cena began freestyling taunts against his opponents after the WWE
creative team overheard him rhyming. “They asked me if I wanted to do it on
the air, and I said, ‘Of course.’ After that, I started rapping every week and
eventually created my own intro music.”
In May 2005, Columbia Records released Cena’s debut album,
“You Can’t See Me.” Featuring 17 original hip-hop tracks, it debuted at No.
15 on Billboard Top 200 Chart with over 40,000 albums sold the first week.
It was No. 3 on Billboard Rap Chart behind 50 Cent and Mike Jones, and No.
5 on Billboard R&B Chart. Paying tribute to the classic two-man rhyming
crews of the past, Cena and Tha Trademarc (Marc Predka) nimbly trade
verses throughout the album. Cena’s reverence for, and knowledge of, hip-
hop techniques and culture impressed respected rap legend Freddie Foxx
(aka Bumpy Knuckles), who is also featured on the album.
Recently, Cena guest starred on numerous television shows, and
he is quickly becoming a favorite of producers on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and
“Best Damn Sports Show Period.” In addition, he has been seen on “Late
Night with Conan O’Brien,” “Mad TV,” CNBC’s “The Big Idea with Donny
Deutsch,” CNN “Headline News,” “The Insider” and “Good Day New York.”
He performed in a sketch on “Mad TV.”
A steely-eyed veteran in his craft, ROBERT PATRICK (Rome)
commands the screen with his powerful, confident presence.
He can currently be seen starring as Colonel Tom Ryan in CBS'
new hit action-drama "The Unit," produced by David Mamet. The show
follows a team of America's covert operatives and how their dangerous job
affects their lives.
Patrick appeared opposite Harrison Ford in Warner Bros. "Firewall."
He was also recently seen opposite Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash's
father in Twentieth Century Fox's Golden Globe-winning film "Walk the Line"
for director James Mangold.
Patrick has an extensive television and film resume. Audiences will
remember Patrick as John Doggett on the last two seasons of the classic
television series "The X-Files." He is best known for his performance as the
T-1000 in the box office smash hit "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." He
received critical acclaim for his high profile performances in the second
season of HBO's "The Sopranos." His film credits include “Ladder 49,”
"Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "Spy Kids," "All the Pretty Horses,” "The
Faculty," "From Dusk Til Dawn 2: Texas Blood," "Copland,” "Eye See You,"
"A Texas Funeral," and "The Only Thrill."
He also appeared in the films "Rosewood,” "Striptease" "Fire in the
Sky," "Double Dragon: The Movie," "Decoy," "The Last Gasp" and "Hong
Kong '97." He was featured in an episode of Showtime's "The Outer Limits,”
in the TNT Original Movie "Bad Apple,” and in the CBS mini series "Elvis," in
which he played Elvis' father.
Born in Marietta, Georgia, Patrick was an avid athlete growing up
but was taken with acting after sitting in on some drama classes in high
school. He moved to Hollywood in 1984 and was cast in the beatnik play
"Go." He got his break during this performance when he was discovered by
casting director Roger Corman.
KELLY CARLSON (Kate) is a series regular on the FX drama
series “Nip/Tuck,” starring as Kimber Henry, the perfection-compelled model
with a reckless appetite.
She had a starring role in “Starship Troopers 2.” As part of the
film’s promotion, she enthusiastically devoted time to visiting hospitals to
meet with military personnel wounded in the Iraqi and Afghani theatres of
war and meeting with their families.
Born in Minneapolis, Carlson began her working relationship with
cameras as a model at 17, and soon became one of the most popular
models and commercial actresses in the Midwest. Professionals constantly
urged her to continue her career in Hollywood, and at the insistence of her
agent she headed west while still in her teens.
She had trained in acting for years, and soon began to study with
top coach, Lee Kelton Smith. Soon thereafter, she landed roles in “Little Big
League,” “Splitsville” and “Paparazzi.” Her television work includes guest-
starring roles on “Everwood” and “Passions.” She has appeared on stage in
such productions as “Vanities,” “Cheaters,” “Girl’s Guide To Chaos,”
“Charlotte’s Web” and “Can’t Trust The Mate.”
Carlson is a spokesperson for the Smile Network, an organization
that addresses the cosmetic surgery needs of at-risk children. A one-time
nationally competitive equestrian, she still enjoys horseback riding.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JOHN BONITO (Director) is one of the world’s leading commercial
directors, best-known for his humorous, edge-of-your-seat, action-based
spots. His “take-it-to-the-limit” attitude has garnered him numerous awards
and given him the opportunity to helm some of the biggest action-sports
campaigns, including the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, the mini-movie
promo “Rumble In The House” for NBC, and image spots for General Electric
and NASCAR. Bonito’s work features a unique mix of action and comedy,
as evidenced in the campaign for CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Bonito used the big screen to promote the 2002 Winter Olympic
Games, creating a 1.5 minute James Bond-like trailer that aired in theaters
across the United States. The promotional spot featured U.S. Olympic
snowboarder Chris Klug fleeing (via snowboard) from legions of police cars,
helicopters and snowmobiles after he’s clocked for “speeding” down the
slopes. After several aerial maneuvers, a crash through the glass of a
hockey rink, (where U.S. Olympic Women’s hockey player Cammie Granato
body checks a cop car on the ice to enable Klug’s narrow escape), and a
brief flirtation with a beautiful admirer on the sidelines, Klug is whisked into
the air by a helicopter, leaving the audiences wanting more for the ensuing
Games.
Bonito’s Arena Football League 2004 campaign, featuring Jon Bon
Jovi and John Elway, recently swept the 2004 PROMAX/BDA awards, where
Bonito won three Gold Awards for directing, editing and funniest promo.
Bonito is also attached to direct the feature “Searching for Jordan,”
with Ed Pressman producing.
MICHELL GALLAGHER (Story, Screenplay) is a Los Angeles
based writer and director who has written for television and film. Her credits
include the 2000 Sundance competitor "Shadow Hours" and her directorial
debut, the gritty comedy "Roads to Riches" starring Robert Forster, Rose
McGowan and Kip Pardue. Gallagher is currently set to helm her next
project in March 2007.
ALAN McELROY (Screenplay), a screenwriter and director,
attended Boston University, Miami University and college in Luxembourg.
He has degrees in Psychology, English, and extensive foreign language
training, as well as a keen interest in military history, special weapons and
military tactics.
McElroy started his film career with the franchise horror film
"Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers." He went on to write Brandon
Lee's breakout feature film "Rapid Fire" and the comic book adaptation for
the top selling Todd McFarlane comic book "Spawn.” He then developed; co-
executive produced and wrote the first season of the Emmy awarding
winning and critically acclaimed "Spawn" animated series for HBO.
McElroy has also written graphic novels, created a video game,
worked on drafts for "Resident Evil.” Recent credits include "Ballistic: Ecks
Vs. Sever,” a directing effort "Layover," and the horror film "Wrong Turn.”
Married, with two daughters and a son, McElroy makes his home in the
tranquil Ohio community of Orange Village. He is currently at work on a film
adaptation of the hugely popular Namco video game "Tekken," to star Jet Li,
and a horror/thriller project, "Day Away" that he will also direct.
JOEL SIMON (Producer) is president of WWE Films, which handles
a diverse slate of entertainment projects. In addition to THE MARINE, he
produced “See No Evil,” starring WWE RAW SuperStar Kane.
Previously, Simon served as president of Quincy Jones Media
Group and Quincy Jones/David Salzman Productions, overseeing all feature
and television productions from the late 1990s through 2001. Prior to that,
he was partnered for nearly a decade with producer Bill Todman, Jr. in
Todman/Simon Productions, which had a first-look deal with Lorimar and
Warner Bros. Pictures, and whose feature releases included “Married to the
Mob” and “Hard to Kill.” For television, the company produced the CBS
series “People Next Door” and the movie-of-the-week “The Innocent,” which
aired on NBC, as well as numerous network pilots.
Simon’s additional production credits include the feature comedy
“Vacuums,” starring Chevy Chase; the blockbuster hits “X-Men” and “X2”;
“Wild, Wild West” starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline and Salma Hayek; “Steel,”
starring Shaquille O’Neal; and “The In-Laws” starring Michael Douglas and
Albert Brooks; plus the television movie “Passing Glory” for TNT, and “Say It
Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America,” a five-hour VH-1 original
documentary mini-series.
KATHRYN SOMMER PARRY (Producer) has an extensive
background in motion picture development and production. For eight years
she served as senior vice president of Carolco Pictures, where she oversaw
the blockbusters “Total Recall,” “Cliffhanger,” “Basic Instinct,” “Stargate” and
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
Parry then became president of production at Atlas Entertainment,
where she oversaw “City of Angels” and “Twelve Monkeys.” Following that,
she was senior vice president of Cinergi Pictures, where she acquired the
theatrical motion picture rights to “I Spy,” and where she oversaw the
production of “Die Hard with a Vengeance.”
Parry has worked closely with notable film directors such as Oliver
Stone, Paul Verhoeven, James Cameron, Richard Attenborough and Roland
Emmerich.
JONATHAN WINFREY (Producer) began his career in the film
business working with Roger Corman, producing and directing several action
adventure films. Winfrey then moved into the television arena as an episodic
director. He has worked for the BBC, Nickelodeon, and the Disney Channel,
and also in the reality re-enactment world of “America's Most Wanted.”
Winfrey directed the soon-to-be- released television show "Watch Over Me,"
for the new MyNetworkTV.
In between directing assignments, he continues to produce movies,
and is also completing a documentary on Reggaeton music, entitled “La
Gasolina.”
VINCE McMAHON (Executive Producer), Chairman of the Board of
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE), is a third generation promoter
who has made WWE into the global phenomenon it is today. As a pioneer in
the television syndication and pay-per-view businesses, a recognized
television personality throughout the world, a visionary promoter and a
fearless marketer, he continues to make his presence known as a leader
within the broadcast and entertainment industries.
In 1972, McMahon joined his father’s company, Capitol Wrestling
Corporation, on a full-time basis. By 1979, the company had syndicated
programming to 30 television stations. In 1982, he purchased the Capitol
Wrestling Corporation from his father and decided to take what had been a
regional operation and turn it into a national venture.
McMahon soon became a pioneer in the cable television industry by
leveraging the new technologies of pay-per-view and closed-circuit television
for the first WrestleMania. Now, not only had he built a brand that people
would watch in syndication, he had built the WWE into a brand that people
would pay to watch. WrestleMania III in 1987 attracted 93,173 fans to the
Pontiac Silverdome, setting an indoor attendance record that still stands. In
April 2000, more than a million fans purchased WrestleMania X-6, at the time
making it the most watched non-boxing event in pay-per-view history.
WrestleMania has achieved the one million buys level four more times since
then. In fiscal year 2006, approximately six million households purchased
WWE pay-per-view events, making the company the largest pay-per-view
event programming provider in the world.
Today, WWE produces original weekly programming, 52 weeks a
year, distributed domestically, internationally and via WWE.com. Domestic
cable and broadcast programs include “Monday Night RAW” and “A.M. Raw”
on USA Network and “Friday Night SmackDown” on the new CW Network.
WWE recently introduced ECW® (Extreme Championship Wrestling) as a
complimentary brand to “Monday Night Raw” and “Friday Night
SmackDown.” It can be seen Tuesday nights on the Sci Fi Channel. WWE
programs reach more than 14 million viewers during the average week.
WWE’s television programming is sold in 130 countries around the world.
Each year more than 7,500 hours of WWE programming is broadcast in 18
languages throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, New
Zealand and Latin America.
As the television audience has grown exponentially, so has the live
event audience. In fiscal year 2006, WWE performed 300 live events,
including 52 international events, entertaining more than 1.7 million fans
around the world.
Under McMahon’s leadership, the company continues to grow. The
company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WWE.
WWE has started WWE Films, which will produce and fully finance two to
four motion pictures a year, and is making inroads into digital media
platforms with new video on demand, broadband and mobile services.
MATT CARROLL (Executive Producer) is a veteran filmmaker who
has been involved in the motion picture business for four decades. Recently,
he produced “To Catch a Killer” for Granada/ITV, and executive produced
“See No Evil” for WWE Films. His many other motion picture credits include
“Diana and Me,” starring Toni Collette; and “Passion.” He was a producer
on the acclaimed science-fiction television series “Farscape.”
In 1986, Carroll formed the production company Roadshow, Coote
& Caroll, which produced feature film and television programming. In 1981
he was awarded an OBE for services to the film industry.
DAVID EGGBY, ACS (Director of Photography) began his career in
still photography. He then served as a Naval Airman Photographer with the
Royal Australian Navy for six years. Eggby has also worked on many police
TV dramas, commercials, miniseries and television movies.
Eggby’s first feature film was George Miller's groundbreaking
adventure “Mad Max” in 1977. Since then, he has gained international
recognition for his visually innovative style. He has collaborated several
times with directors Rob Cohen (“Daylight,” “Dragonheart,” “Dragon: The
Bruce Lee Story”) and Simon Wincer (“Harley Davidson & the Marlboro
Man,” “Quigley Down Under,” “Lightning Jack”).
More recently, Eggby was director of photography on the family
movie “Racing Stripes.” Other credits are “Euro Trip,” “Monte Walsh,”
“Scooby Doo,” “Crossfire Trail,” “Pitch Black,” “Horseplay,” “Blue
Streak,” “Virus,” “Fortress,” “Warlock,” “The Blood of Heroes,” “The Naked
Country,” “Kansas,” “Buddies” and “Kansas.”
HERBERT PINTER (Production Designer) was born in Austria and
is now an Australian citizen. He has been in the film industry since 1973,
working with directors such as Peter Weir ( “Picnic at Hanging Rock,”
“Gallipoli,” “The Year of Living Dangerously”) and Bruce Beresford (“Breaker
Morant,” “Black Robe,” “Mr. Johnson,” “Paradise Road” and “Bride of the
Wind”).
Pinter has received the AFI, Sammy and Genie Awards and
multiple AFI award nominations. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2004 for
Outstanding Art Direction for A Miniseries, Movie or A Special for HBO’s
“And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself.”
His ability to adapt difficult locations and represent any historical period has
earned him international acclaim. He has filmed in the heat of the Sahara;
the freezing north of Canada; the sweltering tropics of South East Asia and
the Amazonian jungle; the mountains of Mexico; and the cultured climes of
old Europe.
DALLAS PUETT, A.C.E. edited “The Fast and the Furious” and “2
Fast 2 Furious,” both for Universal. Puett has also worked on “Star Trek:
Nemesis” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” for Paramount Pictures. For
Warner Bros, Puett edited “Red Planet,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “Lethal Weapon
3,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” “Executive Decision,” “Free Willy 2,” “Maverick” and
“Demolition Man.”
JED BLAUGRUND (Co-Producer) is a native of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, and received his B.A. degree in Critical Studies from the University
of Southern California School of Cinema/Television. He began his career at
the Bedford Falls Company, where he was the assistant to director Edward
Zwick, with whom he worked on “Legends of the Fall” and “My So-Called
Life.”
Blaugrund was then hired as a creative executive at the newly-
formed Turner Pictures, where he worked under company president Amy
Pascal on “Michael,” “Any Given Sunday” and “City of Angels.” With the
dissolution of Turner Pictures, Blaugrund joined Universal Studios-based
Mostow-Lieberman Productions as VP Production, reporting to director
Jonathan Mostow and producer Hal Lieberman.
Blaugrund is currently VP Production at WWE Films, where he is
responsible for bringing in and supervising development of both films and
television programs. He was co-executive Producer of WWE Films’ “See No
Evil,” released by Lionsgate on May 19, 2006.
DON DAVIS (Music) has scored “The Matrix,” “The Matrix
Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions,” “Behind Enemy Lines,” and “House on
Haunted Hill.” In addition, he was orchestrator on several pictures.
©2006 WWE Films. All rights reserved.
Permission is hereby granted to newspapers and periodicals to reproduce this
text in articles publicizing the distribution of the Motion Picture.
All other use is strictly prohibited, including sale, duplication, or other transfers of this material.
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX Presents
In Association with WWE FILMS
“THE MARINE”
Directed by.............................JOHN BONITO
Screenplay by............MICHELL GALLAGHER
.................................... And ALAN McELROY
Story by.....................MICHELL GALLAGHER
Produced by..............................JOEL SIMON
Produced by.....KATHRYN SOMMER PARRY
...................................JONATHAN WINFREY
Executive Producer............VINCE McMAHON
Executive Producer..............MATT CARROLL
Director of Photography.DAVID EGGBY, ASC
Production Designer.........HERBERT PINTER
Film Editor................DALLAS PUETT, A.C.E.
Co-Producer......................JED BLAUGRUND
Music by......................................DON DAVIS
Music Supervisor..............RANDY GERSTON
Costume Designer..........GRAHAM PURCELL
JOHN CENA
KELLY CARLSON
ANTHONY RAY PARKER
ABIGAIL BIANCA
JEROME EHLERS
MANU BENNETT
DAMON GIBSON
DREW POWELL
And
ROBERT PATRICK
Australian Casting by.......................................
...............................TOM McSWEENEY, CSA
.....................................MAURA FAY GROUP
U.S. Casting by..DONNA ROSENSTEIN, CSA
A WWE FILMS PRODUCTION
Unit Production Manager.................................
................................ JENNIFER CORNWELL
First Assistant Director......... STUART WOOD
Second Assistant Director................................
............................... ANGELLA McPHERSON
Second Unit Director.. CONRAD PALMISANO
Second Unit Director of Photography...............
.................................... JOHN STOKES, ACS
CAST
John Triton................................. JOHN CENA
Rome.............................. ROBERT PATRICK
Kate Triton........................ KELLY CARLSON
Morgan.................. ANTHONY RAY PARKER
Angela................................ ABIGAIL BIANCA
Van Buren........................ JEROME EHLERS
Bennett............................... MANU BENNETT
Vescera.............................. DAMON GIBSON
Joe....................................... DREW POWELL
Frank............................... FRANK CARLOPIO
Al Qaeda Leader.................. FIRASS DIRANI
Marine #1......................... REMI BROADWAY
Marine #2........................... STEVE HARMAN
Marine #3......................... DAMIEN BRYSON
Braun............................... ROBERT COLEBY
Chris................................... ASHLEY LYONS
Billy.......................................... JEFF CHASE
Paul ..........................................JAMAL DUFF
Lincoln Kennedy.............................. HIMSELF
Chop Shop Girl ............CHRISTINA LINDLEY
Mr. Titizian................................ GERRY DAY
Brian........................................ TODD LEIGH
Johnny................................ ALAN McELROY
Officer Herrera............................ TODD LEVI
Rick .......................CHRISTOPHER MORRIS
Laura....................................... JANE EPPELL
Fran............................. LAURENCE BREULS
Officer Brady.................. COREY ROBINSON
Patrol Officer............................ PETER LAMB
River Boat Cop.................. DAMIEN GARVEY
Female Clerk #1................ HELEN HOWARD
Female Clerk #2........................ NICCI HOPE
Male Clerk ...............................BRAD HAYES
Stunt Coordinator ...........CHRIS ANDERSON
Stunts.........................ANDREW ALLAN KEIR
...................................BECK CON BERKIRIS,
.................BRAD BUCKLEY JANINE CARLIN
..........................................GAVIN COLEMAN,
.........HAYDEN DALTON, NICOLE DOWNES
............RUSSELL FROST, KYLE GARDINER
....................NICK LAWSON STEVE MORRIS
.....MICK VAN MORSEL YASCA SINIGAGLIA
...................................WILFRED WOODROW
Associate Producer......... FRANK CARLOPIO
Art Director.......................... DARYL PORTER
Set Decorator................. MANDY WILLATON
Set Designers.......................... MARTIN ASH
........................................KLAUS KASTBERG
Storyboard Artist....... GRAEME CALLANDER
Second Second Assistant Director..................
........................................... NICK McKINNON
A Camera Operator ..............HENRY PIERCE
B Camera Operator / Steadicam.....................
.............................. GREG MANGO GILBERT
First Assistant A Camera........ DAVID ELMES
First Assistant B Camera.................................
.................................... RICKY SCHAMBURG
Second Assistant A Camera............................
..................................... CAMERON MORLEY
Second Assistant B Camera.. PHIL LAVERTY
Camera Attachment............. MATT WESTON
Video Split Operator.............. PETER QUINN
Video Split Assistant................. TOM EGGBY
Truck Loader................... DANIEL BOMBELL
Stills Photographer........... VINCE VALITUTTI
Production Sound Mixer........ PAUL BRINCAT
Boom Operator...................... ROD CONDER
Cable Person....................... NICOLE MILLER
Property Master....................... MARK BRIMS
Standby Props................. JOHN ANDERSON
Props Buyer ..........................EMMA RUDKIN
Props Buyer /Dresser........... DOUG FRANKS
Script Supervisor ..........KAREN MANSFIELD
Gaffer ................................MATT SLATTERY
Best Boy................................... ALAN WILLIS
Electricians ...EDDIE SIMS, BOO SLATTERY
Key Grip................. GRAHAME LITCHFIELD
Best Boy Grip....................... SIMON COOKE
Best Boy #2 .........................PHIL MULLIGAN
Dolly Grip............................ JASON McPHEE
Rigging Grip................ GRAHAME MARDELL
Assistant Grips .................MAURICE McKAY
.............................................BORIS ZOULEK
Costume Supervisor .DAWN DOUGLAS-BILL
Costume Coordinator....... GABRIELLA NAGY
Key Costume Standby.......... HELEN MAGGS
Key Makeup /Hair............................................
............................ MARGARET STEVENSON
Additional Makeup /Hair .MAREE McDONALD
............ANITA MORGAN, MICHELLE RITCHI
Location Manager............ JAMIE McLENNAN
Assistant Location Manager .......NICK SMITH
Production Coordinator... KERRY MULGREW
Assistant Production Coordinator
..................................... CINDY GOLLAGHER
Third Assistant Director............ TIM HUGHES
Special Effects Supervisor.......... BRIAN COX
On Set Special Effects Supervisor ..................
.............................................ANGELO SAHIN
Special Effects Office Coordinator
.........................................LEANNE BROOKS
Special Effects Technicians.............................
.................JOHN BENNETT HERMAN BRON
................................PATRICK CARMIGGELT
....................................ROBERT CHARLTON
.................................AARON COX IAN KATH
.................................JIM LENG JEFF LITTLE
.......................JOHN NEAL BRIAN OSMOND
..................ALBERT PAYNE PIETER PLOOY
........JULIAN SUMMERS STEVE SZEKERES
.WALTER VAN VEENENDAAL KENT WILLIS
Special Effects Assistants.... MITCHELL COX
............................................DARREN FRANK
Construction Manager.....................................
................................ CORNELIS BOOGAART
Construction Foreman.. KRISTIAN KIELLAND
Construction Leading Hand ............................
......................................BRADLEY HOWARD
Construction Office Coordinator......................
................................................ ANITA AHLOY
On Set Carpenter .................WAYNE DISKIN
Carpenters........................ANDREW BISHOP
............DAVID CHILDS, JAMES CORNELIUS
........ANDREW DUNCAN, CLINTON DURBIN
.........................DANE EADE, RON GORDON
...........BARRY MIDDELTON, AARON O’NEIL
................KEVIN RIXON, RORY SAUNDERS
....................JON STILES, ROLAND VETTER
.............DOUGLAS WARD, PATRICK WILLIS
..............................................ALLAN WILSON
Assistant Art Director .................JIM MILLETT
Art Department Coordinator.. JOHN HIGGINS
Graphic Artist.................... MATT WILLATON
On Set Dresser.................. ZEB LAWRENCE
Set Builder ................RAYMOND CHAPMAN
Model Maker..................... GARY CAMERON
Scenic Artist ..........................ROBERT BULL
Painters..............CARLIN BULL, LOUIS BULL
...............TINA BULL DANE CHURCHHOUSE
......................LEE KIRK CHRIS GEISSMANN
...............CHRIS GODDARD WAYNE TRUCE
Art Department Swing Gang.. JAC CHALTON
Steel Leading Hand............... PETER EXTON
Steel Foreman ...................WAYNE PORTER
Steel Tradesmen................... GRANT ENGEL
..............................................ROSS ROWELL
Head Greensman......................... KEN BEITZ
Assistant Greens.................... GRAHAM COX
Executive Assistant to Joel Simon
.............................................RICHIE LOWELL
Executive Assistant to Jed Blaugrund ............
...........................................SHARYN STEELE
Assistant to Matt Carroll......... HOLLY SMITH
First Assistant Editor .................KATE BAIRD
Assistant Editor....................... BLU MURRAY
Second Assistant Editors (Australia) ..............
...................MANDY JACOBS, GEOFF LAMB
Production Secretary.......... JASMIN LYFORD
Production Assistants
...... HANNAH BYRNAND, JASON ROWLING
Production Accountant.... MARIANNE FLYNN
First Assistant Accountant JULIE WIBBERLEY
Second Assistant Accountant JUSTIN BRACE
Payroll Accountant ........RACHEL DUXBURY
Lead Post Production Supervisor
..............................................NANCY HIRAMI
Post Production Supervisor (Australia) ...........
..............................................SIMON KLAEBE
Post Production Supervisor (United States)
...........BARBARA SCOOTER OSTROWIECKI
Casting Associate............ ALLYSON BOSCH
Extras Casting................ FIONA McMASTER
Acting Coach................. JENNIFER KUBLER
Assistant Acting Coach....................................
................................. ANTHONY AUCKLAND
Dialogue Coach................ BRUCE SHAPIRO
ADR Dialogue Coach............ JOHN HIGGINS
Military Advisor.................. MARK WICKHAM
Unit Publicist..................... FIONA SEARSON
Transportation Coordinator DAMIAN EGGINS
Transportation Captain................ IAN CLARK
Transportation Assistants. RIKI HOROMONA
........................................DOUGLAS MAYBIR
............................PAUL GREGORY MORRIS
...................LEHI TAHAU, PHIL THOMPSON
Action Vehicle Coordinator .............................
......................................RICHARD CARROLL
Assistant Vehicle Coordinator..........................
.................................... TRUCK HUMPHRIES
Action Vehicle Assistants.................................
........ JULIAN BORBIDGE, GARY COLEMAN
...............ELI MORTIMER, GARY SHERLINE
............................................RON WYNDHAM
Boat Wranglers .....................DOUG BROWN
.........................................GARY McNAMARA
Key Armorer.................... ALLAN MOWBRAY
Armorer .................................JEFF GRIBBLE
Safety Supervisor..................... SEAN RIGBY
Stunt Department Coordinator ........................
.........................................JANNETTE STOTT
Additional Stunt Coordinator .GREG STUART
Assistant Stunt Coordinators ..........................
........YASCA SINIGAGLIA, MARK WICKHAM
On Set Nurse......................... KATIE HARRIS
Craft Service .........................JOYLENE BICE
Catering .........................ELEETS CATERING
SECOND UNIT
First Assistant Director .PETER FITZGERALD
Second Assistant Director .....JULIE BURTON
B Camera Operators....... ANDREW CONDER
..............NINO MARTINETTI, TIM McGAHAN
First Assistant A Camera....... JASON BINNIE
First Assistant B Camera.................................
.................................. WARREN LAZARIDES
Second Assistant A Camera............................
...................................... MELINDA RICKMAN
Second Assistant B Camera ANGELA KELLY
Video Split Operator........................................
........................... MARGARET STANCOMBE
Production Sound Mixer........... GARY DIXON
Script Supervisor .................JENNY FULTON
Gaffer.................................... KEN MOFFATT
Key Grip.................................. SEAN ASTON
Best Boy............................... ANDREW SAUL
Best Boy Grip.............. TRENT WILLIAMSON
Dolly Grip..................................... JIM NEALE
Standby Props.... STUART POLKINGHORNE
Costume Standby............ AMANDA ENDERS
On Set Dresser ................HAYDN SIMMONS
Production Coordinator................ DAN READ
Transportation Manager... JAMIE WHITFIELD
Makeup/Hairdressers.................. GAIL KANE
............................................SUE KELLY-TAIT
On Set Nurse............................. KALEB DAY
Safety Supervisor................ LANA WILLIAMS
S P L I N T E R U N I T
Grip............................. DAMIEN KWOCKSUN
Gaffer........................................... JOE STICK
UNDERWATER CREW
Director of Photography SIMON CHRISTIDIS
Camera Assistant........... JESSE CHRISTIDIS
Gaffer ........................ANDREW HARCOURT
LOS ANGELES UNIT
Los Angeles Unit- Associate Producer ...........
................................................MARK McNAIR
UPM/ First Assistant Director .........................
...................................JONATHAN McGARRY
Key Second Assistant Director .......................
.............................................BAC DE LORME
Second Second Assistant Director .................
.........................................SAMANTHA LAVIN
Director of Photography..................................
.......................... THEO VAN de SANDE, ASC
Camera Operator / Steadicam.........................
........................................TOMMY LOHMANN
Production Supervisor..... RALPH BERTELLE
Production Accountant............. ROBERT LEE
Assistant Accountant........ CARYN CHEEVER
Production Designer......... CHARLES BREEN
Art Director .........................GARY DIAMOND
Construction Coordinator .............DAN TURK
Storyboard Artist ....................PAUL POWER
Costume Designer............ SABRINA ROSEN
Costume Supervisor............ DEBORAH HALL
Gaffer ................................BAQI KOPELMAN
Best Boy Electric..................... CHRIS SHAW
Key Grip ..............................RUSS ST. JOHN
Best Boy Grip...................... JEFF TOMUAVE
Location Manager ...........GEOFFREY SMITH
Department Head Makeup.. KATE SHORTER
Department Head Hair......... LINDA ARNOLD
Propmaster .........................BRAD EINHORN
Script Supervisor.................... ALEXA ALDEN
Set Decorator................. JEFFREY KUSHON
Production Sound Mixer.... SHAWN HOLDEN
Special Effects Coordinator.............................
........................................... FRANK CEGLIA /
..........................SPECTRUM EFFECTS, INC.
Stunt Coordinator ....................ANDY CHENG
Stunts by.............................. TIM CONNOLLY
Transportation Coordinator.. RICK MERCIER
Transportation Captain........ RICH BENNETTI
Picture Car Coordinator........ JERRY OLIVERI
Los Angeles Grip Equipment provided by .......
...................................LEONETTI COMPANY
Sound Design & Editorial by............................
..................................... DANETRACKS, INC.
Sound Design / Supervising Sound Editors ....
.................................CHRISTOPHER S. AUD
...........................RICHARD E. YAWN, MPSE
Sound Designers ......DANE A. DAVIS, MPSE
.........................ERIC WARREN LINDEMANN
Sound Effects Editors......................................
.............................RICHARD ADRIAN, MPSE
.................................................BILL R. DEAN
JULIA EVERSHADE, MPSE
.................................................MARK LARRY
......................................STEVEN F. NELSON
...................STEPHEN P. ROBINSON, MPSE
..........................................BRYAN WATKINS
Supervising ADR Editor...................................
................................... BOBBI BANKS, MPSE
ADR Editor............................. LISA J. LEVINE
Dialogue Supervisor KIMBERLY LOWE VOIGT
Dialogue Editor.. STEPHANIE FLACK, MPSE
Supervising Foley Editor..................................
..................... SOLANGE SCHWALBE, MPSE
Foley Editor.................... DONALD WARNER
First Assistant Sound Editor.............................
............................... NANCY BARKER, MPSE
Second Assistant Sound Editor .......................
...................................NATHAN WHITEHEAD
Foley Artists ....................................................
................LAURA MACIAS CHRIS MORIANA
...........JAMES MORIANA VINCE NICASTRO
......................................JEFFREY WILLHOIT
Foley Mixers................ NERSES GEZALYAN
.......................................SHAWN KENNELLY
Sound Editorial Coordinator.. MATT HEDGES
Post Production Sound Services provided
by ....................................................................
.....WILSHIRE STAGES, LOS ANGELES, CA
Sound Mixing.......................... GARY GEGAN
..........................MATTHEW IADAROLA, CAS
Additional Sound Mixing .................................
............................MARSHALL GARLINGTON
Recordist.................................. MATT DUBIN
Additional Recordist... MARTIN SCHLOEMER
Mix Engineer ...........MICHAEL MORONGELL
Mix Facility Coordinator ..PAUL RODRIGUEZ
ADR Mixer ..............ERIC THOMPSON, CAS
ADR Recordist.................. CHRIS NAVARRO
Loop Group Casting......... THE FINAL WORD
Loop Voices.....................JOE CAPPELLETTI
...................LYNN EVANS, JACK HANNIBAL
....................DASTON KALILI, JOEY NABOR
...JENTLER PHOENIX, JACQUELINE PINOL
.......................................PHILECE SAMPLER
Music Editor ................ELLEN SEGAL, MPSE
Assistant Music Editor......... BRENDA HEINS
Orchestrations & Conducting by. DON DAVIS
Scoring Mixer..................... ARMIN STEINER
Synthesizers Mixed by.... DAMON TEDESCO
Contractor ..............................DAVID SHERR
Supervising Copyist........ TOM CALDERARO
Orchestra recorded at.....................................
.............THE EASTWOOD SCORING STAGE
........................at WARNER BROS. STUDIOS
Score Recordist ....................GREG DENNEN
Engineer ...........................RYAN ROBINSON
Stage Crew........... RICHARD WHEELER JR.
Client Services .....................JAMIE OLVERA
Dolby Sound Consultant......... ANDY POTVIN
Preview Engineer......................LEE TUCKER
Negative Cutting by ........................................
...................NEGATIVE CUTTING SERVICES
....................................SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Negative Cutters........................ LEO BAHAS
...................................VERONICA MARCANO
...............VICKI McRITCHIE, JOHN SPATHIS
Film Processing by .....ATLAB QUEENSLAND
Laboratory Manager.................... GARY KEIR
HD Video Dailies by..... THE POST LOUNGE
Telecine Colorists................... SIMON CLARK
..............................................CHARLIE ELLIS
Dailies Projectionist....... JUSTIN McDONALD
Facilities Producer..................... ALICIA BELL
Visual Effects Producer .........JULIAN PARRY
On Set Visual Effects Supervisor ...................
..............................................CRAIG CLARKE
Additional On Set Visual Effects Supervisor
...................................DEREK WENTWORTH
Visual Effects Coordinator ..............................
............................SUZANNE EVANS-BOOTH
Visual Effects by FUEL INTERNATIONAL
Visual Effects Supervisor...... DAVE MORLEY
CG Supervisor.................. ANDREW HELLEN
Visual Effects Executive Producer ..................
..................................................JASON BATH
Visual Effects Producer....... KENT BOSWELL
Pre-Production Supervisor .............................
..................................PAUL BUTTERWORTH
Lead Compositors .....WARWICK CAMPBELL
....................................................TONY COLE
Senior Compositors............... CHRIS DAVIES
......................ROB NICOL, HANNAH PEIRCE
Compositors..................JASON BILLINGTON
........... OCTAVIO De LELLIS, HOWARD HILL
.......................JAMIE WOOD, KIM WORRALL
......................................... KOJI YAMAGUCHI
Junior Compositors..............DEXTER DAVEY
..........................KONSTANTIN KOVALENKO
........................................MATTHEW WYNNE
Matte Painter .............................DANIEL COX
Graphic Designer .........PRU BRYANT-FENN
Camera Tracking ................LIANNE FORBES
CG Particles. MIKE BAIN, MATT McCOSKER
.........................................ANDREAS WANDA
CG Artists........................................................
.................CRAIG BROWN KANE ELFERINK
...................CHRIS FRENCH ALEX McLEOD
......MAX McMULLIN GREG PETCHKOVSKY
.................MATT SMITH ANDERS THONELL
IT Manager................................. LUKE COLE
Systems Administrator ......DYLAN PENHALE
IT Assistant................................ AN NGUYEN
I/O Operator ............................CHRIS SCOTT
Assistant I/O Operator.. DANIELLE HESSION
Production Assistants. REBECCA JOHNSON
..................................................DANNY RIZK
Render Wranglers .....STEVE KREUTZMANN
......................................................KENT LEE
Visual Effects by PHOTON VFX
Visual Effects Producer ...MARTIN WISEMAN
Digital Effects Supervisor ....DANIEL BROWN
Digital Effects Production Manager .................
.................SHEREENA-LEE, VAN de BERKT
Digital Effects Coordinator ..............................
......................................NICOLA SCARROTT
Digital Effects Coordinator ..............................
.......................................JAYNE HERRMANN
Sequence Lead...... MURRAY SMALLWOOD
Compositors.....................ALICIA AGUILERA
.....................TATE ARBON, DOMINIC BEAN
............BARIS CAGLAR, ANGUS CAMERON
............................SIMON DYE, MATT GREIG
............RICHARD HALL, SHELLY MORROW
.....MARK NETTLETON, LOREN ROBINSON
......DANIEL SUNWOO, RANDY VELLACOTT
...............................................KIM WORRALL
Motion Control Operator......... BEN MURRAY
Motion Control Assistant............ MIKE KELLY
Transportation.................. WAYNE COOPER
Grip......................... GEORGE CARAMANLIS
CG Effects Artists ...............ELISA ESTEBAN
........DAMON MILMAN, CRAIG STEVENSON
VFX Editorial ............................PAUL BOOTH
Technical Support ..............DEAN CRANNEY
.......................NICKY LADAS, DAVID PETTS
Digital Intermediate Services...........................
....................................... ATLAB AUSTRALIA
Digital Intermediate Producer .........................
............................................ANTHOS SIMON
Digital Colorist............. OLIVIER FONTENAY
Digital Supervisor ........ROBERT SANDEMAN
Digital Liaison................. JONATHAN DIXON
Senior Compositor .............REBECCA DUNN
Compositors...............................BRAD DUNN
..............JAMIE HEDIGER, MICHELLE HUNT
...................................... MATTHEW NORTH,
.......................................TAKAHIRO SUZUKI
............................ SANDEEP VENGSARKAR
Scanning & Recording.............. LEO GOMEZ
..........PETER LUCZAK, HENRY YEKANIANS
Digital Optical Effects by ATLAB
AUSTRALIA
Main Title Design by............................. yU+co
End Title Artist................. MELISSA ELLIOTT
Production Services provided by.....................
.................................. VILLAGE ROADSHOW
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT PTY LTD.
President..................................... MIKE LAKE
Production Financial Controller
................................................. LYNN PAETZ
Post Production Accounting SUSIE SHAYLER
Filmed at THE WARNER ROADSHOW
STUDIOS, GOLD COAST,
AUSTRALIA
Travel / Freigh............................t SHOWFILM
“MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN”
Written by Shauna Reynolds, Jay Yuenger
and Rob Zombie
Performed by White Zombie
Courtesy of Geffen Records
under license from Universal Music
Enterprises
“SUNSHINE”
Written by Carlos Hassan, Sandy Lol and
Eric Weston
Performed by Lil’ Flip featuring Lea
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony BMG Music
Entertainment
“TONIGHT”
Written by Stephen Phillips and Tim P.
Performed by Stephen Phillips and Tim P.
Courtesy of Bad Poodle Music
“CHICAGO BOOGIE”
Written by Stephen Phillips and Tim P.
Performed by Stephen Phillips and Tim P.
Courtesy of Bad Poodle Music
“DUELING BANJOS”
Written by Arthur Smith
“SHOULD HAVE BEEN GONE”
Written by Wayne Perry and Tommy Smith
Courtesy of Firstcom Music, Inc.
“IF IT ALL ENDED TOMORROW”
Written by John Cena and Marc Predka
Performed by John Cena and Trademarc
Courtesy of World Wrestling Entertainment
and Columbia Records
THE PRODUCERS WISH TO THANK THE
FOLLOWING FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE:
GOLD COAST CITY COUNCIL
FORD GLOBAL BRAND
ENTERTAINMENT
Office Equipment Supplied By
CORPORATE EXPRESS
Produced on location in
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
with the assistance of
Prints by DELUXE®
No. 42214
Copyright © 2006 WWE Films
All Rights Reserved.
WWE Films is the author of this motion
picture for purposes of copyright and other
laws.
The events, characters and firms depicted
in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity
to actual persons, living or dead,
or to actual events or firms is purely
coincidental.
Ownership of this motion picture is
protected by copyright and other applicable
laws, and any unauthorized duplication,
distribution or exhibition of this motion
picture could result in criminal prosecution
as well as civil liability.
RELEASED BY TWENTIETH CENTURY
FOX
THE GUARDIAN
INTENSE SEQUENCES OF ACTION / PERIL,
BRIEF STRONG LANGUAGE AND SOME SENSUALITY. © Touchstone Pictures. All Rights Reserved. theguardian.movies.go.com
TOUCHSTONE PICTURES
and
BEACON PICTURES
present
A
CONTRAFILM / FIRM FILMS
Production
A
Film by
ANDREW DAVIS
Directed by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANDREW DAVIS
Written by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RON L. BRINKERHOFF
Produced by . . . . . . . BEAU FLYNN / TRIPP VINSON
Executive Producers. . . . . . . . . . . . . CHARLIE LYONS
PETER MACGREGOR-SCOTT
Executive Producers . . . . . . . . ARMYAN BERNSTEIN
ZANNE DEVINE
Director of Photography . . . . . . . STEPHEN ST. JOHN
Production Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . MAHER AHMAD
Edited by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DENNIS VIRKLER, A.C.E.
THOMAS J. NORDBERG
Visual Effects Supervisor . . . . . . . . . WILLIAM MESA
Music by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TREVOR RABIN
Casting by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RANDI HILLER, C.S.A.
& SARAH HALLEY FINN, C.S.A.
Unit Production Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . MARK INDIG
First Assistant Director . . . . VINCENT LASCOUMES
Second
Assistant Director . . . . . . . CHRISTOPHE LE CHANU
Associate Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . LOWELL BLANK
CAST
Ben Randall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KEVIN COSTNER
Jake Fischer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ASHTON KUTCHER
Helen Randall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SELA WARD
Emily Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . MELISSA SAGEMILLER
KODIAK
Capt William Hadley . . . . . . . . . . . CLANCY BROWN
Carl Billings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OMARI HARDWICK
Wild Bill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ALEX DANIELS
Co-Pilot
Wakefield. . . . . LCDR DANIEL J. MOLTHEN, USCG
Pilot Mitchell . . . . . LT ANDREW SCHANNO, USCG
Benjamin Reyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ADAM PENA
Co-Pilot Antunez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOE ARQUETTE
Julian Zankich . . . . . . PO1 GARY BILLBURG, USCG
Mitcheltree . . . PO2 JOSHUA MITCHELTREE, USCG
Mover #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RUSTY TENNANT
Doctor #1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAMES BARNES
Doctor #2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEPHANIE BARNES
OPS CENTER
Ops Commander . . CPO ANDREA MARTYNOWSKI, USCG
Wickham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LTRON FIEN, USCG
Co-Pilot Krauss . . . . LCDR NEVADA SMITH, USCG
Ops Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAY BINGHAM
Whaley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KEITH SWEITZER
Swimmer Nelson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SHANE WALKER
“A” SCHOOL
Capt Frank Larson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN HEARD
Jack Skinner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NEAL MCDONOUGH
Butch Flythe. . . . MCPO JOSEPH “BUTCH” FLYTHE, USCG
Robert Watson . . . PO1 ROBERT E. WATSON, USCG RET.
John Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . PO1 JOHN F.HALL, USCG
Johnell Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHNELL GAINEY
Executive Officer . . CDR JEFF LOFTUS, USCG RET.
Billy Hodge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRIAN GERAGHTY
Ken Weatherly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DULÉ HILL
Cate Lindsey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SHELBY FENNER
Nick Zingaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL RADY
Danny Doran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PETER GAIL
Mitch Lyons . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRIAN PATRICK WADE
Benny Partida . . . . . . . . . . . . BENNY CIARAMELLO
Travis Finely . . . . . . . . . . . . . TRAVIS WILLINGHAM
Matt Stokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . PO3 MATT LAUB, USCG
Matthew Bunch. . . . . . . . . . . MATTHEW L. RUCKER
Tanica Treadwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TANICA JAMISON
Paul Metz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAUL WALLACE
Tilky Flint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TILKY JONES
Megan Hyde. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MEGAN MELGAARD
Scott Reeves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SCOTT MUELLER
Jacob Pavich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JACOB STEVENS
Austin Vogel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AUSTIN LASH
Mark Colby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARK GANGLOFF
Damon Bennett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAMON LIPARI
Roger Cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROGER EDWARDS
Pilot Victim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . GREGORY J. BARNETT
Groom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KENNY G. KRAUSS
Waiter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GIOACCHINO BRUCIA
Jailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.D.EVERMORE
Manny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRYCE CASS
MAGGIE’S BAR
Maggie McGlone . . . . . . . . . . . BONNIE BRAMLETT
CREDITS
1
CREDITS
Chicago Catz
Guitars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RICHARD DAVIS
JAMES BURTON
Bass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TONY BROWN
Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WAYNE STEWART
Keyboards . . . . . . . CHRIS “HAMBONE” CAMERON
Trumpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARK OHLSEN
Saxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GENE BARGE
STEVE EISEN
Singers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOSIE AIELLO
DEVIN THOMPSON
TINA TREADWELL
SQUID BAR
Bartender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CORRINE DEGROOT
Huge Navy Guy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GREG SPROLES
Navy Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RON DEAN
Navy Guys
BRANDON MOLALE JAMES LANDERS
AUSTIN KINCAID JESSE DE VILLA
ERIC NORRIS
RESCUES
Drowning Woman . . . . . . . . . . . LEIGH HENNESSEY
Husband . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TANNER GILL
Sea Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NORM COMPTON
Young Crewman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DONALD FISHER
Cargo Crew
YOSHIO IIZUKA TOMMY ROSALES
TONY SNEGOFF VLADIMIR TEVLOVSKI
CaveVictim #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HENRY KINGI, JR.
CaveVictim #2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DORIAN KINGI
Victim’s Aunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DEBORAH BOONE
Victim’s Mother. . . . . . . . . . . ROXANNE A. BROOKS
Fishing Boat Captain . . . . . . . CONRAD PALMISANO
Fisherman #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL JAMES
Fisherman #2. . . DANNY COSMO HIGGINBOTTOM
Fisherman #3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GENE HARTLINE
Survivor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN ROTTGER
Stunt Coordinator
ALEX DANIELS
Stunt Double Randall . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL TRISLER
Stunt Doubles Fischer . . . . . . . . . . . . . TIM SOERGEL
OLIVER KELLER
Stunt Doubles Billings. . . . . . . . . . . TIERRE TURNER
KEITH WOULARD
Utility Stunts/Water Safety
JOHN ROTTGER GREGORY J. BARNETT
TANNER GILL MICHAEL TRISLER
CHRIS PAPAJOHN TERRY AHUE
Utility Stunts
JEFFREY BARNETT GEORGE FISHER
SCOTT R. FISHER MICHAEL HAYNES
KARIN JUSTMAN EDDIE MATHEWS
STEVE RITZI STERLING WINANS
RUSSELL TOWERY
Stand-Ins
MARK THOMASON RYAN BIRD
Visual Consultant
THOMAS L. FISHER
Art Directors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANDREW M. CAHN
AUSTIN GORG
Art Department Administrator. . . . HOLIDAY LANDA
Storyboard Artist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARC VENA
Set Decorator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GENE SERDENA
Leadman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GRANT D. SAMSON
Set Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WILLIAM V.RYDER
JAMES E. TOCCI
DANIEL JENNINGS
Construction Coordinator. . . . . . . . RANDALL S. COE
General Foremen. . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN B. CLAREY, III
JAMES B. DUPUY
Labor Foreman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAY SANCHEZ
Paint Foreman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RICK BRODERMAN
Propmaker Foremen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DANIEL A. COE
MIKE DUPUY
JOHN SEAY
Stand-by Painter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. R. FLORES
Location Manager . . . . . . . . VIRGINIA MCCOLLAM
Assistant Location Managers . . . . . TARA E. MARTIN
MARC H. JOHNSON
Costume Supervisor . . . . . . . . . MARK A. PETERSON
Key Costumer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ED FINCHER
Key Set Costumer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NISA KELLNER
Key Set Costumer Local . . . . . JENNIFER KAMRATH
Set Costumers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EVA L. PRAPPAS
LAYNE BRIGHTWELL
ASHLIE E. PHILASTRE
Costumers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRYAN H. MOSS
BRAD HOLTZMAN
CHESTER QUINTON BELL
Department Head Makeup. . . FRANCISCO X. PEREZ
Key Makeup Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . LOUIS LAZZARA
Mr. Kutcher’s Makeup Artist . . . . . . . TRACEY LEVY
2
Makeup Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAIGE REEVES
CARLA CHAO BRENHOLTZ
AIMEE STUIT
Department Heads Hair . . . . . . . ELEANOR ELLIOTT
CAROL A. O’CONNELL
Key Hairstylist . . . . . . . . . . . KERRY MENDENHALL
Additional Hair Stylist . . . . . . . . . . FRANK PARRISH
Underwater D.P./Camera Operator . . . MIKE THOMAS
Steadicam/Camera Operator . . . . . ROBERT ULLAND
Camera Operator . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL APPLEBAUM
A Camera First Assistant . . . . . . BAIRD B. STEPTOE
A Camera Second Assistant . . . MARKUS MENTZER
B Camera First Assistant . . . . . . . . STEPHEN WONG
B Camera Second Assistant . . . . . . . . ROBERT BAEK
Underwater Camera
First Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRAD PETERMAN
MARYAN ZUREK
MIKE BERGSTROM
Still Photographer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BEN GLASS
Video Assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JEFF BURRAGE
Media Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JON KING
“A” School Videographers . . . . . . . . . DAVID BROWN
RYAN GROWNEY
KENNY G. KRAUSS
Script Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . DRUANNE CARLSON
Production Sound Mixer . . RICHARD B. GOODMAN
Boom Operator. . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID ALLEN SMITH
Sound Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROSS LEVY
Chief Lighting Technician . . . . . . . . . . . . ANDY RYAN
Best Boy Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SCOT GAAL
Best Boy Electric Local/
Balloon Tech . . . . . . . . . . . LARRY LUKE COTTRILL
Rigging Gaffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GLENN E. MORAN
Rigging Electric Best Boy. . . . . . . . . SCOTT GRAVES
Key Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANTHONY T.MARRA II
Best Boy Grip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL J. FAHEY
Best Boy Grip Local . . . . . . . . . . DANIEL J.RECTOR
Dolly Grips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEPHEN DRINON
SEAN DEVINE
Key Rigging Grip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . GARY KANGRGA
Best Boy Rigging Grip. . . . . . . . . . . DONIS RHODEN
Super Technocrane Technicians . . . . . STEVE WELCH
ART VILLASENOR
KENNY DEZENDORF
Property Master. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RITCHIE KREMER
Assistant Property Master. . . . . . . . . MONICA PEREZ
Property Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHRIS LANE
CASSIE CATALANOTTO
Special Effects Coordinator . . . . . . SCOTT R. FISHER
Special Effects Shop Foreman . . . ANDREW MILLER
Special Effects Office Coordinator. . . PAULA FISHER
Special Effects
Production Assistants. . . . . . ANTONETTE J. MILLER
JUSTIN BANCROFT
Special Effects Technicians
JOSEPH JUDD ALAN R. KIRIU
THOMAS DAVID KNOTT ALVIN LICOAN
IAN MCARTHUR MICHAEL RIFKIN
ALAN SAMUEL RIPKIN CHRISTOPHER AGUILAR SUAREZ
ROBERT L. SLATER ROBERT MENAPACE
On-Set Special
Effects Foreman . . . . . . . . JAMES SIDNEY ROLLINS
On-Set Special
Effects Technicians . . . . . . . . . . . . RONALD EPSTEIN
LEO SOLIS
Production Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . CHARLES RAPP
Facilities Supervisor . COL VICTOR LENT, USA RET.
Wave Making Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ART LONG
Marine Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . NICK SPETSIOTIS
Marine Consultant. . . . . . . . . . . . . LANCE H. JULIAN
Marine Rigging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HARRY JULIAN
Technical Advisor
CDR JEFFREY D. LOFTUS, USCG RET.
U.S. Coast Guard Advisors
MCPO JOSEPH “BUTCH” FLYTHE PO1 ROBERT E. WATSON
PO1 JOHN F. HALL LCDR NEVADA SMITH
LCDR DANIEL J. MOLTHEN PO1 GARY BILLBURG
LT ANDREW SCHANNO SCPO JAMES HOWARD BRANDT
SCPO SHANE WALKER PO3 MATT LAUB
PO3 JAASON LEAHR CPO MATT MOYER
CWO MONTY EVERSEN PO3 JODI LARSON
MCPO SCOTT DYER
Post Production Supervisor . . . CLARK HENDERSON
Visual Effects Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . MARK HERMAN
Assistant Editors . . . . . . . . . . . MATTHEW SCHMIDT
HAROLD PARKER
CLAY RAWLINS
Assistant Visual Effects Editor . . . . BRIAN G. ADDIE
Post Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAHED ALHABIB
Supervising Music Editor. . . . . . . JEANETTE SURGA
Music Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAN DI PRIMA
Temp Music Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHUCK MARTIN
Assistant Music Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . OLIVER HUG
Music Scoring Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ROBB BOYD
Production Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . LESLIE S. MOAK
Production Coordinator—Travel. . . MIMI N. MCGREAL
CREDITS
3
CREDITS
Assistant Production Coordinator . . . ALICE WYMER
Production Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . ERIN K. ROGERS
2nd 2nd Assistant Director . . . . . . JULIAN M. BRAIN
DGA Trainee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STEVEN HACKER
Key Set Production Assistant . . . . . TOMMY MARTIN
Set Production Assistants
JASON HALLEY CALI POMÉS
MEGAN SCHMIDT ROBERT S. WILHELM, JR.
Assistants to Mr. Davis . . . . . . . . KENNY G. KRAUSS
TINA TREADWELL
Assistants to Mr. Vinson. . . . . . . . . . . JULIE BENSON
KEITH SWEITZER
Assistant to Mr. Flynn. . . . . . . MARYN SILVERBERG
Assistant to Mr. Lyons . . . . . . . . . TRACEY HETRICK
Assistants to Mr. Macgregor-Scott . . AMANDA UBER
TOMMY BERNARD
Assistant to Mr. Bernstein . . . . GLENN KLEKOWSKI
Assistant to Mr. Costner. . . . . . . . . . . . . JASA ABREO
Assistant to
Mr. Kutcher . . . . . . . . . KARYN SPENCER MURPHY
Production Accountant . . . . . . . . . . . ELLEN ADOLPH
First Assistant Accountant . . . . . . . . ROBERT CABLE
Second Assistant Accountants . . . . . . . . HEIDI LEWIS
MICHAEL MILLER
DAVID MCCOMB
Payroll Accountant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIZ PROBST
Accounting Clerks . . . . . . . . . JENNIFER L. BROOKS
VANESSA C. BLOCK
Unit Publicist . . . . . . . . . . . . PETER J. SILBERMANN
Transportation Coordinator . MICHAEL D. ANTUNEZ
Transportation Captains . . . . . . . . TOMMY ROBERTS
DAVIE BEARD
Louisiana
Casting . . . . . CRAIG, MARK & LISA FINCANNON
Additional Casting . . . . . . . . . . . . TINA TREADWELL
Extras Casting
Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . MARTY KEENER CHERRIX
Extras Casting Associate . . . . . . . . . . GAVIN NASSAR
Casting Associate. . . . . . . . . . . . . TAMARA HUNTER
Casting Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . . TAYLOR JENKINS
SARA ARRINGTON
MICHAEL MCCASKEY
Set Medic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SUSAN KEATLEY
Construction Medic . . . . . . LELA LAVONNE DOANE
Set
Catering . . . HANNA BROTHERS ENTERPRISES, LLC
Craft Service . . . . . . . . . SMITTY’S CRAFT SERVICE
Office Assistant (CA). . . . . . . . . . . . . SAM SKORYNA
Office Assistants (SHV). . . . . . TONJA GREENFIELD
ADAM J. BABIN
Office Assistant/Film Runner (SHV) . . . MARY BEAN
SECOND UNIT
Director/Director of Photography
RONALD B. HERSEY
Unit Production Manager . . . . VINCENT AGOSTINO
First Assistant Director . . . . . . . . . JAMES LAROCCA
Second Assistant Director . . . . . . . . . . . ETHAN ROSS
Department Head Makeup (OR/WA) . . . . JEFF DAWN
Camera Operator/Technocrane Op. . STEVE ADCOCK
A Camera First Assistant . . . . . . . . . SCOTT C. SMITH
A Camera Second Assistant. . . ROBERT SETTLEMIRE
B Camera First Assistant (SHV). . . . . . . . IAN LYNCH
B Camera
Second Assistant (SHV) . . . . . . DAVID C. EDWARDS
B Camera
First Assistant (OR/AK) . . . . . . . . . MASON HERSEY
B Camera Second
Assistant (OR/WA) . . . . . . . . COURTNEY HARRELL
Director of
Aerial Photography. . . . . . . DAVID B. NOWELL, ASC
Camera Pilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KEVIN LAROSA
Helicopter Ground
Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KEVIN N.LAROSA, II
Script Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SAM SULLIVAN
Sound Mixers. . . . . . . . . . . . MACK MELSON, C.A.S.
JEFFREY E. HAUPT, C.A.S.
Boom Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARVIN MELSON
RUBY C. HAUPT
Chief Lighting Technician . . . . . . . RICHARD CRONN
Chief Lighting Technician Local . . SEAN FINNEGAN
Best Boy Electric. . . . . . . . . . . RICARDO CARRILLO
Best Boy Electric Local . . . . SCOTT D. ZUCHOWSKI
Key Grip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DENNIS S. ZOPPE
Key Grip Local. . . . . . . . . . . . GILLY CHARBONNET
Best Boy Grip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PETER WAGNER
Best Boy Grip Local . . . . . . . . . . LEE T.MCLEMORE
Dolly Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DARRELL B.SHELDON
Production
Coordinator (SHV/AK) . . . . . . ANTHONY ROSSI, III
Production
Coordinator (OR/WA). . . . . . . . DAWNN PAVLONNIS
Assistant Production
Coordinator (SHV). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TRANG DANG
Assistant Production
Coordinator (OR/WA). . . . . . . . HEATHER BECKETT
Production Secretary (OR/WA) . . . . . ELLE MARTINI
Second Second
Assistant Director (SHV) . . . . . . . . . . . . JIMI WOODS
Second Second
Assistant Director (WA/SHV) . . . . COLLEEN CASEY
4
Key Set P.A.. . . . . . . . . ISMAEL MELLO MARTINEZ
Set P.A.s (SHV)
JONATHAN P. ADAMS ISAAC MEISENHEIMER
ANTHONY YUSE
Set P.A.s (OR/WA)
BEN LIPSEY RON R. RIDENOUR
JACKSON ROWE
Locations Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN MARKEL
Location Manager (Elizabeth City) . . I. KARL GOLDEN
Payroll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KAREN TURNER
Transportation Captain . . . . . . . . . . J.D. YARBROUGH
Transportation Captain (OR/WA). . . . DAVID NORRIS
Set Medic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JASON INMAN
Safety Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . DOUG KNUTZEN
Craft Service (SHV). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LARS SLOAN
Craft Service (OR/WA) . . . . . . . . . PATSY WILLIAMS
Supervising Sound Editors
TODD TOON
ROBERT L. SEPHTON
Re-Recording Mixers
DAVID E. FLUHR, C.A.S.
MYRON NETTINGA
MICHAEL CASPER
Sound Effects Editors. . . . . . . . . RANDLE AKERSON
F. HUDSON MILLER, MPSE
DAVID KERN
DONALD J. MALOUF
Supervising ADR &
Dialogue Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VAL KUKLOWSKY
Dialogue Editors . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN KWIATKOWSKI
FRANK SMATHERS
CHARLES W. RITTER
ADR Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G. W. BROWN
JULIE FEINER
ELIZA ZEBERT
Supervising Foley Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . PIERO MURA
Foley Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . MATTHEW HARRISON
Assistant Sound Editors
MARK A. TRACY ANNIE L. THORNBERG
ANNE COUK DON MURRAY
Sound Effects Field Recording . . . . . . . . ROB NOKES
Editorial Re-Recording Mixer . . . . . . SCOTT WEBER
ADR Mixers
DOC KANE TOMMY O’CONNELL
ROBERT DESCHAINE
ADR Recordists
JEANNETTE BROWNING RICK CANELLI
TAMI TREADWELL
Foley Artist
JOHN SIEVERT
Loop Group
LOOPIES
Foley Mixer
STEVE COPLEY
Sound Services
BUENA VISTA SOUND
Executive Music Producer. . . . . . . . LOWELL BLANK
Music Consultants BUDD CARR and NORA FELDER
Additional Music by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAUL LINFORD
DON HARPER
DAVID REYNOLDS
Featured Vocalist . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIZ CONSTANTINE
Score Recorded & Mixed by . . . . . . . . JOEL IWATAKI
Additional Engineering by . . . . . . . . TREVOR RABIN
PAUL LINFORD
Orchestrations by . . . . . . . . . . . GORDON GOODWIN
TREVOR RABIN
TOM CALDERARO
FRANK MACCHIA
Music Preparation by . . . . . . . . . . . BOOKER WHITE,
WALT DISNEY MUSIC LIBRARY
Orchestra Conducted by . . . . . . GORDON GOODWIN
Digital Recording Operator. . . . . . . . . . . LARRY MAH
Orchestra Contractors. . . . . . . SANDY DECRESCENT
PETER ROTTER
Orchestra Recorded at. . TODD AO SCORING STAGE
Orchestra Mixed
at. . . EASTWOOD SCORING STAGE, WARNER BROS.
Score Recordist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOM HARDISTY
Main & End Title Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yU+Co.
Digital Intermediate by
TECHNICOLOR® DIGITAL INTERMEDIATES
A TECHNICOLOR® COMPANY
Digital Film Colorist . . . . . . . . . . . TRENT JOHNSON
Additional Colorist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JASON FABBRO
Digital Intermediate Producer . . . ZAHIDA BACCHUS
Digital Conform & Opticals . . . . . . . . . CASEY BARR
Imaging Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHRIS KUTCKA
Color Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEE WIMMER
CREDITS
5
CREDITS
Visual Effects Producer
SUSAN ZWERMAN
Visual Effects by
FLASH FILM WORKS
Visual Effects Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . JOHN P. MESA
Visual Effects Producer. . . . . . . . . EMILY C. WALLIN
3D Water Animation Supervisor . . . . . . TIM EVERITT
Visual Effects Technical Supervisor . . . . . DAN NOVY
3D Ships/Helicopter Supervisor. . KEN STRANAHAN
Fluid Simulation Supervisor. . . . . . . MARK STASIUK
Visual Effects Production Supervisor . . . . PAT PEACH
Visual Effects Editor. . . . . . . . . LINCOLN KUPCHAK
Visual Effects Coordinator. . . . MATTHEW A. RUBIN
Visual Effects
Asst. Coordinators . . . . . . . . . . . ADAM FENDERSON
DANIELLA ESTRADA
BENJAMIN SCHNEIDER
Compositing Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID FOGG
Compositors
CHRISTOPHER DAWSON JEREMY A. NELSON
ALFRED BERGER WALT CAMERON
MICHAEL PECCHIA JERRY WHITAKER
STUART CRIPPS BRUCE HARRIS
DANIEL DALTON AKERS JOSEPH ZAKI
ZIAD ROMAN SEIRAFI ANTHONY R. DAVIS
3D Animation and Modeling
DON J. MYERS TIMOTHY NASSAUER
DAVE BAILEY MARK KOCHINSKI
JOHN BAVERESCO PAUL RUNYAN
KEN WILDER MICHAEL ASH
AUDRI PHILLIPS
Fluid Dynamics Artists
JENNIFER HACHIGIAN APRIL WARREN
TOMA JOHN BOWEN PATRICK KILLIK
JOHN KARNER
Paint/Rotoscope Artists
STEVEN J. BROOKS JASON BOND
KAREN RUGGERO LISA WILBANKS
MICHAEL SHERMIS PHILLIP FRASCHETTI
Visual Effects by
PIXEL MAGIC
Visual Effects
Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . RAYMOND MCINTYRE JR.
General Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RAY SCALICE
Executive Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . BONNIE KANNER
Visual Effects Producer . . . . . . . . . . GEORGE MACRI
Production Supervisor. . . . . . . . VICTOR DIMICHINA
Compositing Supervisor . . . . JAMES DAVID HATTIN
Digital Compositors . . . . . . . . . . . MICHAEL CURTIS
JAMES GORMAN
GREG GROENEKAMP
AUSTIN HISER
STEPHEN MITCHELL
CG Artist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JUAN CARLOS VARGAS
Visual Effects by
FURIOUS FX
Executive VFX Supervisor . DAVID LINGENFELSER
Executive Producer . . . . . . . . . SCOTT DOUGHERTY
Visual Effects Producers . . . . . . . TIFFANY A. SMITH
TRACY TAKAHASHI
Creative Supervisor . . . . . . . KEVIN LINGENFELSER
Compositors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TED ANDRE
SEAN O’CONNOR
KIM PEPE
CG Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARK SHOAF
CG Artist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TERRY SHIGEMITSU
Rotoscope Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ERIN CULLEN
KIM PEPE
Computer Services Manager. . . . . . . CHRIS SERENIL
Visual Effects by
DIGITAL DREAM
VFX Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JERRY POOLER
VFX Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CORINNE POOLER
VFX Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOM CLARY
Compositors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARCO RECUAY
SCOTT HANKEL
DAVE BEEDON
WALLY CHIN
ALFREDO RAMIREZ
Ulrich Compositor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NICK LUND
Digital Artist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HONG KIM
Production Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . JEREMY GERKE
Data Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEWIS MENGA
Co On Set Visual Effects Supervisor . . . JOHN COATS
Visual Effects Production Coordinator . . BETH HOWE
Visual Effects Data Technician . . . . . . . DIONE WOOD
In House Compositing Supervisor. . JAMMIE FRIDAY
On Set Video Compositor. . . MICHAEL UGUCCIONI
Motion Control Programmer . . . . . . ROB MENAPACE
Encoderhead Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIKE LEBEN
LES BERNSTIEN
Visual Effects Set
Production Assistants. . . . . . . . . . . PATRICK BARNES
JOEY BARTO
Visual Effects Post Assistant . . . . . . . DAVID SCHEID
Visual Effects Office
Production Assistants . . . . . . . CHRISTOPHER WARE
HOPE GILMORE
6
“Saturday Night”
Written by Willy Abers, Raul Pacheco, Justin Poree,
Asdru Sierra, Jiro Yamaguchi, Ulises Bella and
J. Smith-Freedman
Performed by Ozomatli
Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.
“Club Foot”
Written by Sergio Pizzorno and Christopher Karloff
Performed by Kasabian
Courtesy of SONY BMG Music Entertainment (UK)
Ltd. and The RCA Records Label
By arrangement with
SONY BMG Music Entertainment
“The Mockingbird”
Traditional as arranged by Lisa Lavie, Ben Margulies
and Will Champlin
Performed by Lisa Lavie
Courtesy of Boundary Entertainment
“Seven Year Itch”
Written and performed by Abby Ahmad
Courtesy of Little Whisper Records
“Once Again”
Written and performed by Richard Davis
and Neil Artwick
“Hold On I’m Comin’”
Written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter
Performed by Bonnie Bramlett and Chicago Catz
“So Lovely”
Written by Richard Davis, Neil Artwick
and Colby Beserra
Performed by Colby Beserra
“Hold Tight”
Written by Richard Davis, Chris “Hambone” Cameron
and Tad Robinson
Performed by Tad Robinson
“Something To Talk About”
Written by Shirley Eikhard
Performed by SHeDAISY
Courtesy of Lyric Street Records, Inc.
“Love And Happiness”
Written by Al Green and Mabon Hodges
Performed by Bonnie Bramlett and Chicago Catz
“Run Me In The Dirt”
Music by Craig Miller
Lyrics by Craig Miller and Joseph “Butch” Flythe
“Ain’t No Easy Way”
Written by Peter Hayes and Robert Been
Performed by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Courtesy of The Echo Label and RCA Music Group,
a unit of SONY BMG Music Entertainment
“No More You”
Written by Tony Brown, Richard Davis, Mark Ohlsen,
Kevin Smith and Wayne Stewart
Performed by Chicago Catz
“Tri-Me”
Written and performed by Abby Ahmad
Courtesy of Little Whisper Records
“New Day”
Written by Nick Woolfson, Elliot Morgan Jones
and Aine Belton
Performed by Sounds From The Ground
Courtesy of Nettwerk Productions
“Shake Up The World”
Written by Stevie Butler, Richard Davis
and Chris “Hambone” Cameron
Performed by Stevie “Funkworm” Butler
featuring Gravity
“Home To Houston”
Written and performed by Steve Earle
Courtesy of Artemis Records
“Jazzy Piano”
Written and performed by Neil Artwick
“Friday Night”
Written by Richard Davis, Chris “Hambone” Cameron,
Cheryl Wilson and John Rice
Performed by Cheryl Wilson
“Never Let Go”
Written by Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy
and Trevor Rabin
Orchestral arrangement by Trevor Rabin
and Jennifer Hammond
Produced by Bryan Adams and Trevor Rabin
Performed by Bryan Adams
Courtesy of Polydor Limited
“Run Me In The Dirt (Throwdown)”
Music by Craig Miller, Mickey Petralia
and Michael Fitzpatrick
Lyrics by Craig Miller and Joseph “Butch” Flythe
and Marty James
Produced by Mickey Petralia and Michael Fitzpatrick
Performed by Marty James & Joseph “Butch” Flythe
CREDITS
7
CREDITS
In Grateful Appreciation to:
USCG Air Station Astoria, OR
USCG Air Station and ISC Kodiak, AK
USCG Air Station and Support Center
Elizabeth City, NC
USCG ATTC Elizabeth City, NC
USCG Station Cape Disappointment, WA
USCG Aircraft Repair & Supply Center
Elizabeth City, NC
USCG Motion Picture & Television Liaison Office
USCG Air Station San Diego, CA
USCG Air Station Los Angeles, CA
USCG Air Station Houston, TX
USCG Air Station New Orleans, LA
USCG Aviation Training Center Mobile, AL
USCG Station Dauphin Island, AL
USCG Station Pascagoula, MS
USCG Group Mobile, AL
USCG Cutter Storis
USCG Cutter Kennebec
USCG Cutter Alex Haley
United States Department of Defense
Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office
Barksdale Air Force Base, LA
The Louisiana National Guard
Jack and Viki Thompson
Iris Brustien
The Ramsey Family
CDR Claudia McKnight, USCG
Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission
NASA’s Earth Observatory
Adriana
Ava Lily
Thanks to Shreveport, Bossier City,
Caddo Parish, Webster Parish and the
State of Louisiana.
A special thanks to the City of New Orleans
and all her people for their early support in the
making of this film.
Image Courtesy of MODIS Rapid Response Project
at NASA/GSFC
Set Dressing Imagery from NOAA
Footage Provided Courtesy of NASA/JPL-CALTECH
MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY
TAM COMMUNICATIONS
Camera Cranes & Dollies by
CHAPMAN/LEONARD STUDIO EQUIPMENT, INC.
Camera Equipment Provided by
PANAVISION® REMOTE SYSTEMS
Aerial Cameras Provided by
SPACECAM SYSTEMS, INC.
Lighting and Technical Fabrics Provided by
THE RAG PLACE RENTALS, INC.
MPAA #41893
Prints by
TECHNICOLOR®
8
Copyright ©2006 HOLDING PICTURES
DISTRIBUTION CO., LLC
All Rights Reserved.
This motion picture was created by
“A” School Productions, LLC for purposes of
copyright law in the United Kingdom.
Distributed by
BUENA VISTA PICTURES DISTRIBUTION
INTENSE SEQUENCES OF ACTION / PERIL,
BRIEF STRONG LANGUAGE AND SOME SENSUALITY.
CREDITS
9
THE GUARDIAN
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
“When storms shut down entire ports, we go out. When hurricanes ground the U.S. Navy, we go out.
When the Holy Lord Himself reaches down from heaven and decides to destroy His Good Work with
winds that’ll rip houses off the ground, we go out…If by some miracle, you actually have what it takes
to become one of us, you get to look forward to a life of meager pay and the distinct possibility of dying
slow, cold, and alone somewhere in the vast sea. You will, however, get the chance to save lives.”
— THE GUARDIAN
From Andrew Davis, the director of the action-
adventure classic “The Fugitive,” and starring Kevin
Costner, Ashton Kutcher and a cast of veteran and
breakout stars, comes THE GUARDIAN, a riveting,
white-knuckle story of hard-core courage and selfless
sacrifice set inside the never-before-seen world of
Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers—a special breed of
men and women who risk their lives against the
biggest storms and most monstrous waves in service
to the motto: “So that others may live!” Previously
seen by most Americans only as the unsung, daredevil
heroes who saved thousands in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s deadly floods, the lives and teamwork of
Rescue Swimmers come to the fore in this heart-stopping adventure.
As THE GUARDIAN begins, legendary Rescue Swimmer Ben Randall (COSTNER) becomes the
sole survivor of a deadly crash at the height of a massive storm. In the wake of the accident, he is sent
against his will to teach at “A” School—the elite
training program that turns arrogant young recruits
into the best and bravest of Rescue Swimmers.
Reeling with grief and regret, Ben throws himself
into teaching the only way he knows how, turning
the entire program upside down with his
unconventional, out-of-the-box training methods.
But Ben understands exactly what’s at stake—he
knows that his students will one day have to make
tough decisions between who dies and who lives.
When he knocks heads with the cocky swimming
champ, Jake Fischer (KUTCHER), Ben sees someone with what it takes to be the best of the best—if
only he can combine his raw talent with the heart and dedication necessary and avoid the mistakes that
Ben himself has made. Heading out on his first treacherous mission to the fierce, turbulent waters of
Alaska’s Bering Sea, Jake will have to put all that he’s learned into action as he discovers just what it
means to truly risk everything.
The film was created with the Coast Guard’s full cooperation, utilizing true-life rescue heroes as
advisors and as part of the cast. In a production that was itself constantly battling weather and the
elements—and which was designed around a massive, innovative wave tank that simulated the wild,
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
11
UNSUNG HEROES OF THE SEA
rolling waves of the open ocean—THE GUARDIAN
provides some of the most viscerally realistic scenes
of water rescue yet seen on film.
Touchstone Pictures and Beacon Pictures present
THE GUARDIAN, directed by Andrew Davis from a
screenplay written by Ron L. Brinkerhoff in his
feature-film debut and produced by Beau Flynn
(“The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “After the Sunset”)
and Tripp Vinson (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose,”
“After the Sunset”). The executive producers are
Armyan Bernstein (“Ladder 49,” “Air Force One”),
Charlie Lyons (“Ladder 49,” “Air Force One”) Zanne Devine (“House of D”) and Peter Macgregor-Scott
(“Under Siege,” “A Perfect Murder,” “Batman and Robin,” “Batman Forever,” “The Fugitive”).
Along with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, the film’s cast also includes Melissa Sagemiller
(“Sleeper Cell”), Clancy Brown (“The Shawshank Redemption,” “Carnivale,” “Pathfinder”), Sela Ward
(“The Day After Tomorrow,” “The Fugitive”), Bonnie Bramlett (“The Doors”), Neal McDonough
(“Boomtown,” “Minority Report”), John Heard (“In the Line of Fire,” “The Sopranos,” “Pollock,” “The
Package”), Brian Geraghty (“Jarhead,” “Conversations With Other Women”), Dulé Hill (“The West
Wing,” “Holes,” “Edmond”) and newcomer Shelby Fenner.
Bringing the power of the sea to life through a blend of innovative engineering and artistry in THE
GUARDIAN is a creative team with extensive action-adventure credits, including director of photography
Stephen St. John (“Holes”), production designer Maher Ahmad (“Fever Pitch,” “Miss Congeniality 2:
Armed and Fabulous,” “Holes”), editors Dennis Virkler (“The Hunt for Red October,” “The Fog,”
“A Perfect Murder,” “Under Siege,” “The Fugitive”) & Thomas J. Nordberg (“Holes,” “Any Given Sunday”),
special effects coordinator Scott R. Fisher (“Memoirs of a Geisha,” “The Terminal” “Titanic”) and visual
effects supervisor William Mesa (“Collateral Damage,” “Holes,” “The Fugitive,” “Into the Blue.”)
INTRODUCING THE UNSUNG HEROES OF THE SEA:
THE GUARDIAN BRINGS THE WORLD OF RESCUE SWIMMERS TO THE FORE
There are many kinds of heroes in this world. There are the well-known lifesavers we encounter every
day—firefighters, policemen and doctors—and then there are those who work mainly in the shadows, who
will risk anything and everything to save total strangers under the
most extreme and rare of circumstances. In this category are the
Coast Guard’s extraordinary but little-known Rescue Swimmers.
These brave men and women are an elite few possessing the
uncommon physical and mental fortitude to free-fall from helicopters
directly into raging seas and massive storm-floods to rescue those in
harm’s way, no matter the costs. Though rarely celebrated publicly,
the Coast Guard saves in the vicinity of 5,000 lives and $2.5 billion
worth of property in an average year—and during the devastating
2005 hurricane season, they rescued or evacuated an estimated
33,520 people in the Gulf States ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The teeth-gritting training program of the Rescue Swimmers
is considered the toughest in all of the military—with nearly
50% of those who enter dropping out. And for those remarkable
few who actually make it, what lies ahead are perilous missions
in the darkest, coldest, roughest waters known to humankind,
where they must battle disorientation, exhaustion, hypothermia and lack of oxygen while trying to
help the stranded, the panicked and those who have given up all hope.
12
In just 20 years of existence, the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program has become one of the
most respected in the entire military profession. The Rescue Swimmer program was first mandated by
Congress in 1984, after a cargo ship tragically lost 31 crew members to stormy waters on the Eastern
Seaboard with only one courageous but outmatched
naval helicopter unit to assist. Since then, the
Rescue Swimmer program—the only one of its kind
open to both men and women—has developed into
a crack unit called upon whenever disasters
involving high water strike.
Yet their code of quiet bravery has meant that their
stories have rarely been told. Many Americans had
never seen them in action until the unforgettable news
clips of helicopters plucking victims from the
rooftops and floodwaters of New Orleans. Now THE
GUARDIAN story of a legendary Rescue Swimmer passing his torch to the next generation, brings out
the heart of what makes Rescue Swimmers so fascinating: the indomitable human drive to help others.
The film’s genesis began when screenwriter Ron L. Brinkerhoff was inspired to write a movie that
would explore the nature of heroism but was in search of a fresh approach. “Cops and firemen have been
done over and over, but the world of the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program had never been explored
on screen,” he explains. “What I found most compelling is that the Coast Guard is the only branch of the
military whose mandate is entirely to save lives…not take them.”
After beginning his research, Brinkerhoff decided
to focus his screenplay on two men—one a revered
veteran of fabled deep-water rescues nearing
retirement, the other a bold, brash, self-assured young
man just starting his training—and explore how
bravery and wisdom are gained through their intense
experiences. “In approaching the story, I wanted to
kind of deconstruct the quintessential action hero,”
says Brinkerhoff. “I wanted to highlight the physical,
psychological and emotional toll this kind of
profession takes and underline the remarkable
sacrifices ultimately required of them as human beings.”
Early on, Brinkerhoff brought the idea to producers Tripp Vinson and Beau Flynn at Contrafilm, who
coincidentally had themselves also been considering the world of Rescue Swimmers as the setting for a
future film. “We were excited about the idea of combining dramatic human moments with a big action
canvas,” says Vinson. “We also wanted to peel back the question of what makes a hero and ask why does
somebody do this and what price do they pay. In looking at that, it makes these guys seem even more heroic.”
Before going any further with development, Vinson and Flynn went directly to the Coast Guard for
their blessing—knowing their unalloyed support would be absolutely key to bringing a visceral
authenticity and heart to the production. “We pitched the Coast Guard before we even pitched Disney,”
notes Vinson. “The Coast Guard was integral to this movie, and we wanted to make sure they were
completely behind us. Ultimately, they invited us into their training facilities, offered up their personnel
to us, helped us acquire equipment and the list goes on and on. I can’t say enough about how supportive
and inspirational they have been.”
Also coming on board were executive producers Armyan Bernstein, Charlie Lyons and Zanne Devine
of Beacon Communications, one of the film industry’s most successful independent production
companies, with a keen eye for strong material. Later, they were joined by executive producer Peter
Macgregor-Scott, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most skilled hands-on producers for complex
productions and who has previously worked with Andrew Davis on three films, including the runaway hit
UNSUNG HEROES OF THE SEA
13
UNSUNG HEROES OF THE SEA
“The Fugitive.”
“We’re always looking for compelling stories,
and when this script came along, I think it touched
all of us in the same way as having tremendous
potential to be a great experience on screen,” says
Bernstein. The more they learned about the Rescue
Swimmer program, the more intrigued they became.
Notes Charlie Lyons: “Coast Guard Rescue
Swimmers are a unique blend of extreme
professional athlete, surgeon, psychiatrist and
clergyman. Not only do they have to decide who to
save, but it is not uncommon for them to deliver last rites to a victim at sea.”
With the Coast Guard’s cooperation, screenwriter Brinkerhoff now had a chance to dive much deeper
into understanding the everyday life and experiences of Rescue Swimmers. He spent significant time at
“A” School watching young would-be heroes suffering through the infamous training regimens. He then
journeyed to Kodiak, Alaska, to meet as many experienced Rescue Swimmers as he could—weaving their
life-and-death stories into the final screenplay.
Eventually that screenplay would attract the attention of a director known for his consummate skill with
smart, taut, character-driven thrillers—Andrew Davis, whose work includes “The Fugitive” (the
dramatically intense action epic which garnered seven Academy Award® nominations, including Best
Picture), as well as “Under Siege,” “A Perfect Murder” and the hit family adventure “Holes,” among others.
Says Davis of his attraction to THE GUARDIAN: “What’s unique about this story is that it takes you
into a world that nobody has ever really seen before. Nobody has actually been in the Bering Sea at night
rescuing people, jumping into 20-foot waves in freezing temperatures and saving lives, so this is a unique
opportunity to experience something amazing like that.”
Davis also brings to the film his own lifelong fascination with the power and dangers of water.
“I was on the South Chicago YMCA swim team, was a lifeguard in college and have a sailboat. I’ve
lived near the water all my life—and I’m very intrigued by what it means to go out in a terrible storm
and try to survive,” he says.
For the producers, there was no one better suited to
the daunting task of capturing Rescue Swimmers in
action than Davis. “The tension, drama and danger of
the situations these characters find themselves in
required someone who could convey that in a
spectacular visual way, and at the same time, the story
needed someone who is really good with character,
performances and drama. Andrew has that balance,”
says Vinson. Adds executive producer Charlie Lyons:
“What Andrew did is create a character out of the
ocean right next to Kevin, Ashton and the Coast Guard guys.”
Davis knew that he would be up against extraordinary technical challenges in attempting to create on
screen the kinds of furious storms and choppy seas faced by Rescue Swimmers. Though he relished the
chance to work with the unruly elements of water and weather, there was far more to the film’s appeal for
Davis. Acutely interested in human nature, Davis was especially intrigued by the complex relationship
between Kevin Costner’s Ben Randall and his over-confident but promising young student Jake Fischer,
played by Ashton Kutcher.
“The story is really about these two men and about the passing of a mantle—and how the younger man
comes to replace the legend,” comments Davis. “What I loved in the writing is the honesty of their
relationship. It’s about one man facing the reality of growing older and another learning from his mentor
what life is really about and how not to make the same mistakes. It’s this human element in the midst of
14
these incredible natural forces that makes THE GUARDIAN so fascinating.”
Davis felt right from the start that key to making a powerful motion picture would be to trust the
incredible experience and expertise of the Coast
Guard. He collaborated closely with three Rescue
Swimmer legends in their own right, who served as
consultants as well as taking roles in the film:
renowned Coast Guard instructor and rescue survival
specialist Robert E. Watson; John F. Hall, who was
responsible for numerous rescues after Katrina; and
Joseph “Butch” Flythe, a much-decorated swimmer
and one of five original Rescue Swimmers chosen for
the Coast Guard program.
Once they learned that Davis intended to be
painstakingly accurate in his portrayal of the Coast Guard, these three self-effacing heroes of
countless rescues were more than pleased to lend their knowledge to THE GUARDIAN. “The
commitment to doing the movie correctly was phenomenal,” says Watson. “Everyone was
constantly asking us, ‘Is this how things really would be done?’ The way they bent over backwards
to represent us in a true way was awesome.”
The admiration was even stronger on the other side. Says Andrew Davis: “These three men really set
the standard that Kevin, Ashton and the 22 swimmers in our cast had to live up to.”
THE LEGEND MEETS THE NOVICE:
KEVIN COSTNER AND ASHTON KUTCHER HEAD THE GUARDIAN’S TEAM
Even before the screenplay was completed, THE GUARDIAN’s filmmakers knew that the fate of the
film would turn on being able to cast the right two actors as haunted veteran Ben Randall and high-
energy newcomer Jake Fischer—who both antagonize and bring out the best in one another. That’s why
they were so gratified when two of Hollywood’s
biggest stars immediately signed on: Academy
Award® winner Kevin Costner and rising leading man
Ashton Kutcher.
Costner was an early choice for director Andrew
Davis. “He is perfect for this role because he has that
kind of masculine power as a leading man combined
with being a sensitive human being—so he can play a
guy who is not only tough and capable but also
looking inward to see where his life is heading,” he
says.
For Costner, whose roles have ranged from his passion project “Dances With Wolves” to such
blockbuster hits as “No Way Out,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams” and “The Bodyguard” to the recent
acclaimed drama “The Upside of Anger,” the script was hard to resist. “The excitement of the opening
and the moving nature of the ending absolutely grabbed me,” he says.
Costner says it was the script’s “mythic quality” that drew him most of all. “I think all of us would
like to think if we were lost at sea, someone would come and find us, even when conditions couldn’t
be worse,” Costner says. “That’s a comforting feeling, which translates into a heroic or a romantic
idea—the notion that someone will always come to the rescue. And I believe that’s the awesome
promise of the Rescue Swimmers, that when all the ports are shut, when other people won’t go out,
they will! They’re willing to put their lives on the line at any time, and I think screenwriter Ron
Brinkerhoff did a great job of capturing the emotions and personalities behind that. From the
beginning of the story to its riveting climactic conclusion, there’s the sense of what it’s like to be that
15
THE GUARDIAN’S TEAM
THE GUARDIAN’S TEAM
person who helps the scared and the lost to hold on.”
The more he learned, the more impressed Costner was with the
Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program. “These guys go out and risk
their own lives for complete strangers, and that’s something that only
human beings do for one another—it’s really one of those things that
can make us proud of who we are,” he says.
Costner’s character, Ben Randall, is someone who has always been
there right on the frontlines of rescue missions, but now in the wake of
a terrible tragedy, he has to face change on the horizon. “Ben reminds
me of one of those great athletes, like Michael Jordan, who keeps
coming out of retirement because he still has the bug and he can’t get
rid of it,” observes Tripp Vinson. “Rescue is the only thing Ben knows,
and he can’t let it go and he can’t move on with his life to the next
chapter…until he sees himself in this kid, Jake.”
Adds Costner: “Ben’s a lifer. They say you don’t make Rescue
Swimmers, you find them, and he’s a part of that breed. It’s far more than just a job for him, it’s a
calling, but that has also taken its toll. So when we meet Ben, we also see a slightly bruised and
broken character.” Despite his flaws, Ben must step up to a new and unexpected mission—passing
along his knowledge to a group of raw recruits who have no idea what they will experience ahead.
“Ben’s not a natural teacher,” Costner admits, “so his methods are quite unorthodox. He’s faced
with these cocky kids, and he tries to find ways to
give them a strong sense of responsibility.”
The urge to knock some sense into his talented
young students reaches its apex with Jake Fischer,
whose strength as a swimmer is exceeded only by the
power of his youthful confidence. Costner enjoyed
the opportunity in THE GUARDIAN to watch
Ashton Kutcher bring the character of Jake full
circle—from tough kid to heroic man—with his own
unique touches. “Ashton has an ability to sense the
dramatic opportunities that aren’t necessarily on the
page, seize them and translate them into dramatic moments on film, thereby making the picture jump a
level,” Costner says of his co-star.
On top of the film’s psychological intensity came the physical challenges. Despite having trained for
an exceptionally long list of intensely physical, action-oriented roles before, THE GUARDIAN jumped
right into Costner’s list of the toughest. “This film taxed all my physical abilities,” admits Costner. “I’m
51 and these other guys in the movies are all in their 20s, so the training was a real labor of love for me.”
For Costner, it was all worth it just to capture the experience of the Rescue Swimmers who jump in first
when someone needs help. “I don’t pretend for a second that I could do what they do—but I think this
film feels very real and gives you a grasp and appreciation for who these guys are. It puts you in their
place for an exhilarating moment,” he says
As an award-winning director himself, Costner was especially impressed by Davis’ skill at integrating
all the elements of such a demanding production. “Andy was able to deliver a big action movie on a short
schedule and a tight budget with many challenging circumstances. As a director, I couldn’t have done
what he did,” offers Costner.
Like Costner, Ashton Kutcher was instantly compelled by the script for THE GUARDIAN—and saw
that it offered an unusual opportunity. “I was definitely looking to do something that was a total departure
from what I’ve done before, and this is definitely that,” says Kutcher. “I was also looking for the chance
to work with actors who I look up to and who I could learn from. And this film not only offered many
opportunities for me to learn and stretch myself, that’s also what it’s about—one generation learning from
16
the one just ahead.”
Kutcher also was inspired to dig deeper behind the
exploits of the Rescue Swimmers. “The guys in the
Coast Guard are the kind of heroes who don’t talk
about themselves,” notes the actor. “And I hold very
high regard for those kinds of people.”
Kutcher threw himself with total devotion into
the role, knowing he would need to undertake the
same kind of grueling training Coast Guard
swimmers really go through. “If I was going to do a
film about Rescue Swimmers and portray these
kinds of heroes, I wanted to do them proud,” he comments. “I definitely didn’t want to have somebody
else come in and double for me. I figured that these guys are saving lives for a living and for me, as
an actor, to get into shape and be able to portray them is small potatoes and the least I could do.”
The actor soon found himself, along with the rest of the cast, in a gut-wrenching, sweat-inducing boot
camp that would test his resolve. “The boot camp with the Aviation Survival Technician teachers was an
unforgettable experience,” he says. “I’ve never been yelled at so much by someone I respect so much in
my life, except maybe my parents. These guys rode us, and they rode us hard! In the actual ‘A’ School
style of training, the instructors never ask the students to do anything that they don’t do. So if they yell at
you, tell you to get down and do 40 or 50 push-ups, they’ll do ’em right there with you. And so you just
have the most enormous respect for them.”
The ultimate result was that Kutcher was able to meet all the stringent requirements of a Coast Guard
Swimmer well before the end of his training—including tests of speed, strength and endurance—and his
instructors noted that he seemed to have what it takes to join their
ranks. Ironically, the biggest challenge for Kutcher in the beginning
was his own lack of comfort in the water. “I don’t really like the
water,” he laughs. “I mean if I get thrown in a pool, I’m not going to
drown, but this is a whole different kind of swimming. The hardest
thing for me was simply diving in first thing every morning. Still, I was
just happy to be in a wave tank, and not the open ocean, where if
something went awry, they could have pulled me out.”
Andrew Davis was very impressed with Kutcher’s devotion to
the role. “He did an amazing job preparing for this movie. We
needed to find a spunky, worldly kid capable of taking on the
mantle of a great Rescue Swimmer—and that’s exactly who Ashton
was,” says the director. “I think he gained ten or fifteen pounds of
pure muscle in his training.”
Davis continues: “Both Ashton and Kevin brought a lot to the table
in terms of developing Ben and Jake. As a director in his own right,
Kevin’s sense of timing and character has been an important part of the evolution of the script, and Ashton
is very smart and a great improviser with a terrific sense of commitment.”
Once on the set, working through risky sequences and emotional confrontations, Costner and Kutcher
developed a tight bond that seemed to mirror that of their characters. Sums up producer Vinson: “The real
bonus in casting Kevin and Ashton is that they had such great chemistry together. It’s probably the thing
that most excited me about making this movie. I think they’re really going to surprise audiences.”
17
THE GUARDIAN’S TEAM
CAST GOES TO “A” SCHOOL
DIVING IN: THE CAST GOES TO “A” SCHOOL
Joining Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in THE GUARDIAN is the diverse cast that makes up the
22 young recruits at “A” School—a group made up not only of exciting young actors but also several
Olympic-level swimmers, competitive triathletes and a couple of
real-life Rescue Swimmers. “I really went out of my way to make
sure we cast real swimmers,” says Andrew Davis, “and at the same
time, to create a great mix of different sizes, genders and personalities
in the class. Having so many accomplished athletes and members of
the Coast Guard in the cast really elevated the actors, because
everybody was trying to keep up with each other.”
To further prepare the cast for the exceptional rigors and dangers
of even simulating water rescues, those playing Rescue Swimmers
and trainees were shipped off to attend an abbreviated, but definitely
no-holds-barred, “A” School led by the Coast Guard’s Robert
Watson, John Hall and Butch Flythe. Andrew Davis notes that just
being in the presence of the real Rescue Swimmers was a constant
inspiration. “There’s a certain way they carry themselves, a certain
sense of discipline and a general view of life they have that is just
terrific,” he says. “We felt very blessed to have people who have
actually saved the lives of others right there on set with us, giving us feedback.”
The cast was also excited—but felt the considerable weight of trying to live up to the heroism of the
men and women they were portraying. Says Brian Geraghty, the young star who plays the underdog
trainee Hodge: “We knew these guys we were working with had saved a lot of lives, so that puts a lot
of pressure on you to get it right.” Geraghty
continues: “But man, this training was ridiculous!
I’ve been surfing my whole life and I love the water,
but this was so tough physically and mentally it was
like nothing else.”
Notes Butch Flythe: “We put the actors through
what we would call Rescue Swimmer Lite, but it was
still very intense. They worked incredibly hard—and
if you looked on the pool deck at any moment, you
wouldn’t be able to tell this wasn’t a real ‘A’ School
class, which was very impressive to us.”
Although many of the actors in THE GUARDIAN had been through various film “boot camps” before,
nothing seemed to compare. “It was a great experience because it bonded us all together,” says Tripp Vinson.
“We had a very athletic cast but everyone was dead tired by the end of it, and we were really proud of that.”
Coast Guard technical advisor Jeffrey D. Loftus believes that the hard-core training helped both cast
and filmmakers to take more creative risks. “Between the real swimmers being around all the time and the
training and the exposure, the cast got the rescue techniques at boot camp, they were able to take things
much further,” he says. “They got great opportunities to see the things that a swimmer goes through that
normal people can’t really imagine. I think that helped them to really represent the professionalism,
dignity and honor that distinguish Rescue Swimmers.”
For Rescue Swimmer Robert Watson, the experience of working on a Hollywood film production was
equally eye-opening. “As Rescue Swimmers, we came in with our perceptions of Hollywood, but we
found Kevin, Ashton and the rest of the cast to be truly honorable,” he says. “They had a job to do and
they wanted to do it right. We train very hard to do our jobs, and it was cool to be around other
professionals who also put their heart and soul into what they do.”
Meanwhile, in exploring the world of Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers, THE GUARDIAN also delves
18
into the job’s resonant effect on the swimmers’
outside lives and relationships. This emerges through
two of the film’s female characters: Ben Randall’s
frustrated wife Helen, played by popular TV and film
star Sela Ward, and Jake Fischer’s blossoming love
interest, Emily, portrayed by rising star Melissa
Sagemiller, who recently came to attention in
Showtime’s “Sleeper Cell” series.
Ward was thrilled to reunite with Andrew Davis,
having previously starred as Harrison Ford’s wife in
“The Fugitive.” “I really wanted to work with him
again, and I’d never worked with Kevin Costner before, so I thought this would be a lot of fun,” she says.
“There’s also enough to the role of Helen that I thought I could really showcase something special and
make each scene count.”
Ward sees Helen as “a very strong, artistic woman who lives a far bigger life than Kodiak, Alaska, can
offer her.” She continues: “I think Helen thought that she and Ben would one day have much bigger plans
together, but now she sees very little of him with his work demands. They are really two people who
should be together but can’t seem to be under the
circumstances and have grown apart.” Despite being
realistic about the toll such a career can take on
families and marriages, Ward also developed
immense respect for the Rescue Swimmers in the
course of the production. “They are really about the
human ability to give of oneself for another human
being,” she observes. “That’s the heart of this movie.”
Sagemiller was also moved by the real-life
Rescue Swimmers—but her character, Emily, is
less than blown away by Jake Fischer’s bravado at
first. “Emily is a schoolteacher and a kind of no-nonsense, firecracker sort of girl who meets Jake,
thinks he’s cute but a smart-ass and is just not that impressed,” laughs Sagemiller. “She thinks he’s
got a lot of work to do on himself!”
She continues: “The two of us right away have this very intense chemistry. There’s a lot of back-andforth game-playing where we’re constantly one-upping each other, but in the process of all these games,
we completely fall for each other.”
But as their relationship deepens, Emily’s honesty towards Jake becomes invaluable to him. “Emily
can see right through Jake, whereas Jake can’t always see through his ego and what’s going on with him
and his struggle,” comments Sagemiller. “She gives him that sort of feminine intuitive point of view he
really needs. She’s a really fun, spicy character to play.”
Working with Ashton Kutcher was a big bonus for Sagemiller. “He’s incredibly fun and spontaneous,”
she says. “He’s always telling jokes and he’s got this great energy and magnetism. We hit it off right
away—and it was great to see his intense commitment to his character.”
Rounding out the female cast are also ’60s singing star Bonnie Bramlett in the role of Maggie, the bar
owner and widow who is intimately connected to the “A” School; and Shelby Fenner, an exciting
newcomer previously seen on television’s “C.S.I.” and “Charmed,” who takes the action-oriented role of
Cate Lindsey, one of the female recruits at “A” School. Fenner was intrigued to learn that the Coast Guard
Rescue Swimmer program is the only one of its kind that is “gender blind” and allows women to enter if
they can meet the physical requirements. Now she had the honor of joining Ashton Kutcher and the other
men in training at the production’s challenging boot camp—and to portray one of the handful of
exceptional women currently working as Rescue Swimmers.
CAST GOES TO “A” SCHOOL
19
INTO THE CRASHING SEA:
DESIGNING THE FILM’S INNOVATIVE WAVE TANK
INNOVATIVE WAVE TANK
As production for THE GUARDIAN got underway, the filmmakers would find themselves in an
unusual position: battling severe weather—including the after-effects of hurricanes and volcanoes—while
simultaneously coming up with creative ways to re-create it.
As soon as he had read the script for THE GUARDIAN, director Andrew Davis knew he would be up
against a serious challenge. After all, how exactly does one make a film set in an utterly unfilmable
location such as the lethal waters of the Bering Sea? “I was very concerned about how we were going to
simulate the Bering Sea and, at the same time, create a real, fascinating character out of the ocean,” he
says. “That was the big question.”
To help him find the answers, Davis turned
to two of his longtime collaborators:
production designer Maher Ahmad, who would
ultimately oversee the creation of the film’s
unprecedented wave tank and submersed sets;
and visual effects supervisor William Mesa,
whose inventive work created some of the most
realistic computer-generated images of storms
ever seen. “William Mesa and Maher Ahmad
were key to figuring out how to create a
realistic world of water,” says Davis. “We looked at the most outrageous footage of real storms and rescue
scenes, and amazingly, they delivered something just as powerful.”
Adds Peter Macgregor-Scott: “William Mesa gave us the jet fighters in ‘Under Siege,’ he gave
us the train chase in ‘The Fugitive’ and now he has given us the raging storms in THE GUARDIAN,
all with amazing reality.”
For his part, Ahmad was thrilled to reunite once again with Davis but was especially excited to take
on a design task that would ultimately combine innovative engineering with old-fashioned motion-picture
artistry. “It was great fun because we got to create all kinds of things you don’t generally get to do in
movies,” muses Ahmad. “Usually, you’re designing kitchen and living-room interiors, but here we were
designing vast water environments—caves and boats and the open sea.”
At the center of the design would be the film’s most vital “set”: a water tank that would serve as a
virtual ocean through the film’s most suspenseful action sequences. Creating the tank turned out to be an
incredible adventure. “I’ve done a lot of big films, but this water tank is truly something spectacular and
unique,” says Macgregor-Scott. “It’s the only one of its kind in the world.”
The tank was just in the beginning stages when, as irony would have it, an all-too-real monster storm
would impact the production of THE GUARDIAN. Originally slated to shoot in New Orleans in 2005,
the film was forced to move to Shreveport, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina struck, shattering much of
the city. “Despite having to roll with the changes, we still felt there could be no better place to shoot a
movie about Rescue Swimmers than Louisiana, especially after Katrina,” says Tripp Vinson.
Now it fell to Ahmad to start to rebuild the wave tank in a state still reeling from its own need for rescue.
“Under the gun, we had to hire new engineers, find new locations, engage new contractors and really start
all over again from scratch under a great deal of stress and time pressure—yet in the end, it turned out far
better than any of our hopes,” sums up Ahmad. “It involved the skills of an enormous number of people.”
The foundation of the water tank was an eight-chambered, 100- x 80-foot concrete pool capable of
holding 3/4 of a million gallons when full—built in front of a 50-foot-tall blue-screen wall. To assure the
utmost in technical safety and authenticity, Ahmad brought in a full panoply of engineers—including soil
engineers, civil engineers, structural engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers—to assure
everything would work just right.
Then came the crux: generating the tank’s surging, 6- to 9-foot waves, replete with bubbling foam and
20
cresting white caps. To create the ultimate wave
machine, the production brought in the New York-
based firm Aquatic Development Company (ADC),
who designed a novel system utilizing three 150horsepower engines which drive fans capable of
producing enough air pressure to knock out truly
oceanic, “rolling” waves, one after another. The full
effect of the waves emerges when they hit the rear end
of the water tank, reflecting in a crashing motion to
the next wave being generated, creating a perpetually
undulating motion just like the ocean.
“ADC has frequently made wave tanks for amusement parks, but they’d never done something
like this where the waves had to become incredibly strong and hectic, so now they were working
in unknown territory,” says Ahmad. “It was a gratifying day when we saw how wonderful the
waves are. It looked just like an angry winter’s day in the Bering Sea—and they were strong
enough that they actually made some of the stunt guys nauseous!”
The water tank exceeded everyone’s expectations. Recalls Davis: “What was really exciting is
that when Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Robert Watson saw the waves, he said, ‘I’m getting goose
bumps because this is so real!’ Another amazing thing is that we were able to constantly fine-tune
it—we could have rolling patterns of waves, diamond patterns, different heights, different
frequencies. We were basically able to decide on the palette of waves we wanted in each scene.”
Once the water/wave tank was up and running, Maher Ahmad began to design three major sets
that would sit inside the tank: the cave, the fishing
boat and the engine room. One of Ahmad’s biggest
challenges was creating the sea-cave, where one of
the film’s most harrowing rescues unfolds. “The
cave had to be completely built outside the tank,
then transported with two giant 150-ton cranes and
dropped into the water,” Ahmad explains. “It also
had to be able to withstand the pounding forces of
six-foot waves hitting it. To keep it light but tough,
we used a very dense foam that was hand-carved
like rock and then spray-coated it with a hard-coat
plastic. It was very successful and turned out quite impressive looking.”
For the fishing boat, the production had initially purchased a 72-foot trawler just south of New
Orleans—and was stunned to find later that the very location where they had bought the boat was
wiped off the map during Katrina. Now they had to find a way to transport the boat, trapped by
Katrina’s debris in Lake Pontchartrain, to Shreveport. This was no mean feat—involving an 800-mile
trip up the Mississippi by tow-barge—and that was just the beginning. “Once we got it to Shreveport,
there was a lot of work still to be done,” Ahmad recalls. “We had to rebuild a lot of it and redo all of
the rigging to accommodate the stunt work, and then it got a complete paint and aging job.”
Then came the most important touch: the boat was mounted on a pneumatic gimbal that rocked
and rolled the structure to replicate the pitching of huge waves. In these sequences, huge drums of
water were dropped down 35-foot chutes to form additional rogue waves that would douse both the
sets and the actors. To further add to the water-logged atmosphere, Ahmad used gargantuan fans
to create gale-force winds and misting rains.
Another intricate set design involved the flooded engine room where Jake becomes terrifyingly
trapped. “This entire set had to be built so that it could still function while soaked in water,”
explains Ahmad. That presented a lot of challenges in ways you wouldn’t even think about at
first—like the lighting, which all had to be completely waterproofed because you wouldn’t want
INNOVATIVE WAVE TANK
21
INNOVATIVE WAVE TANK
to electrocute anybody!”
Ultimately, the water tank provided the cast
and crew with their own personal sense of what it
would be like to work at high intensity in cold,
wet conditions for hours on end. It also brought
back haunting memories for some of the real
Rescue Swimmers on the set. “One of the hardest
scenes to watch was when Randall is caught in the
net in his dream,” admits Butch Flythe. “That was
a really spooky scene because every Rescue
Swimmer’s biggest fear is, ‘Am I going to jump
into something that I can’t get out of?’ It gave me a real chill.”
That’s exactly what the filmmakers were hoping for. “There’s never been a movie made in the Bering
Sea, because it’s not somewhere you can afford to go and get in trouble,” notes Scott. “But when all our
Coast Guard instructors and consultants told us that we re-created it amazingly well, that meant a lot to us.”
A sense of adventure was required for all members of the crew, especially cinematographer
Stephen St. John, whose cameras were intentionally placed as close to the action as possible to give
the audience a sense of being right in the water with the film’s characters. “The bottom line was that
we wanted everything to feel real,” says Vinson. “If
the movie has some grit, that’s OK, if there’s water
drops on the lenses, that’s OK, because that’s the
way things really are in a rescue situation.”
To further add to the authenticity of the film,
the second unit traveled to the choppy coast of
Oregon to shoot actual Coast Guard Rescue
Swimmers in action—jumping out of helicopters
and into the waves. They then went north to
Alaska, to capture soaring aerials of Kodiak
Island, where a recent volcanic explosion created
more challenges. On dry land, Ahmad created detailed mock-ups of the Coast Guard’s Jay Hawk
helicopters, from which the Rescue Swimmers jump and conduct their rescues. He also designed
the “A” School itself inside several empty buildings on a National Guard base—starting from
scratch but trying to match the precise atmosphere of the Coast Guard’s premiere school in
Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Another few days
of filming took place in Elizabeth City, to capture
the ambiance of a large Coast Guard air station.
But the heart of the film remains the water
scenes, because it is in these moments that the
characters are tested right down to their very
souls. In post-production, the water sequences
truly came alive due to the creative work of visual
effects supervisor William Mesa. “The challenge
was creating realistic oceans that could be
integrated with both the real and digital
environments of the film,” Mesa says. “You have scenes that are very layered and complicated with
boats sinking, objects exploding and big seas breaking over everything.”
Mesa worked extensively with the wave tank, so that he could take footage of the waves created
inside and literally “morph” them into the menacing 30-foot seas into which the Rescue Swimmers
venture. Working with water can be a digital nightmare, Mesa admits, but he took a very original
approach that brought astonishing results. “Water is probably the most difficult of all computer
22
generated objects because it’s organic,” he explains. “A real storm is so complex, it really can’t be
programmed, so most storm footage you’ve seen in recent movies just repeats the same patterns
over and over. But what we’ve done that’s unique is actually animate over the top of the surface of
real storms to make our footage appear much more real.”
The challenges may never have stopped on THE GUARDIAN, but no matter what the cast and
crew faced, they knew it would never compare to what real Rescue Swimmers go through to save
those in dire need. The hope was simply to capture some of that human strength and compassion
in action. “We had a number of people on the set who rescued people during Katrina, and when
you hear their stories, it just brings tears to your eyes,” sums up Davis. “These guys are the real
thing and they have so much humility and loyalty to each other—that’s what it’s really all about.”
ABOUT THE CAST
KEVIN COSTNER (Ben Randall) began his career starring in
independent films, gradually earning small parts in more established
movies. His first major motion-picture role was in the coming-of-age
comedy “Fandango.” Throughout his career, Costner has varied his
choices with comedy, action and dramatic roles. He has appeared in such
popular box-office hits as “No Way Out,” “Bull Durham,” “Field of
Dreams,” “The Bodyguard” and “Wyatt Earp.”
Costner’s exceptional filmmaking abilities were showcased in “Dances
With Wolves,” which he produced, directed and starred in and which won
seven Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Director.
In addition to appearing in memorable roles in “JFK,” “The
Untouchables” and “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” he reteamed with
his “Bull Durham” director, Ron Shelton, for the hit feature “Tin Cup.” Costner also starred in “Thirteen
Days,” successfully collaborating again with his “No Way Out” director, Roger Donaldson. His other film
credits include: “For Love of the Game,” “The War,” “3,000 Miles to Graceland,” “Dragonfly” and “The
Postman,” his second directing effort.
Costner recently directed and starred in the box-office hit and critically acclaimed “Open Range,”
alongside Robert Duvall and Annette Bening. He was also recently seen in the critically praised drama
“Upside of Anger,” in which he portrayed a former baseball player who helps a single mother and her four
headstrong daughters after the disappearance of their father.
Costner recently completed a starring role in “Mr. Brooks,” a dark drama which he co-produced with
partner Jim Wilson. The film was lensed in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he shot THE GUARDIAN, and
co-stars Demi Moore and William Hurt.
ASHTON KUTCHER (Jake Fischer) has made his mark on the
small and big screens, both behind the camera and in front of it. On
September 29, he can be heard in Sony’s animated feature, “Open
Season,” along with Martin Lawrence, for which Kutcher supplied his
voice. Best known as Michael Kelso on “That ’70s Show,” Kutcher
ended his long-running role on the Fox/Carsey Werner hit television
series in 2006 when the show came to an end. Through his production
company, Katalyst Films and Television, Kutcher serves as the co
creator and producer of MTV’s hit series “Punk’d” and the CW reality
series “Beauty and the Geek.” Katalyst is also developing other major
network-television series and films.
Kutcher has starred in a variety of #1 hits including the box-office
thriller “The Butterfly Effect” and the comedy “Guess Who,” opposite Bernie Mac, for which he served
ABOUT THE CAST
23
ABOUT THE CAST
as producer and star. Other film credits include “A Lot Like Love,” opposite Amanda Peet, “Just Married,”
“Cheaper by the Dozen” and the cult hit “Dude, Where’s My Car.”
Kutcher was born and raised in Homestead, Iowa (population 100), where he lived on a farm
with his parents, older sister and twin brother. To finance the cost of his education as a biochemical engineer at the University of Iowa, he worked as a cereal-dust sweeper at the General
Mills plant in Cedar Rapids. After being discovered by a local model/talent scout, Kutcher moved
to New York to pursue his interest in acting.
MELISSA SAGEMILLER (Emily Thomas), a beautiful and
talented actress who will hit both the big and small screen in the coming
months, has had a very busy year. Sagemiller was recently seen in
“Sleeper Cell,” Showtime’s Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominated
original series. Next, Melissa stars alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Susan
Sarandon and Seann William Scott in the comedy “Mr. Woodcock,” for
New Line Cinema.
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Sagemiller’s passion for the arts
emerged early. At the age of 3, she began to study dance: tap, ballet, jazz
and modern. After responding to an ad in The Washington Post,
Sagemiller made her stage debut at the age of 9 as Dill in “To Kill a
Mockingbird.” Soon, she became a regular on local DC stages. She took
a break from acting to attend the University of Virginia, where she received a degree in Art History. When
Sagemiller decided to return to acting full-time, she began studying at The Stella Adler Conservatory,
NYU’s Stonestreet Studio and at the Michael Howard Studio.
Sagemiller’s film credits include: “The Clearing,” “Soul Survivors,” “Get Over It,” “Life on a Ledge,”
“Standing Still,” “Sorority Boys” and “Love Object.” Her additional television credits include “Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit.”
BONNIE BRAMLETT (Maggie McGlone) is one of today’s most
revered female jazz/blues/soul/rock vocalists and has written songs,
recorded, toured and performed with the best of the best. She
recently released a new album on ZOHO Records, aptly titled
“Roots, Blues and Jazz.”
Bramlett began her career in St. Louis nightclubs then made musical
history as the first white Ikette with Ike and Tina Turner. She then became
the diva engine that drove Delaney & Bonnie & Friends into the hottest
duo breakout of the late ’60s. She had several solo albums and was also
one of the industry’s most sought-after backup singers, working with Joe
Cocker, Carly Simon, Little Feat, Jimmy Buffett and Dwight Yoakum,
among others. She then moved into acting. She was seen in a guest role
on the TV series “Fame,” then landed a part in the Oliver Stone movie “The Doors,” playing opposite Val
Kilmer, Meg Ryan and Billy Idol. In the early ’90s, she also had a recurring role in the #1-rated television
show in the nation, “Roseanne.”
24
CLANCY BROWN (Captain William “Bill” Hadley) began his
acting career in Chicago theater and continued to perform on stage
locally until he won the role of Viking, a nasty prison inmate, in the 1982
feature film “Bad Boys,” starring Sean Penn. Brown has gone on to star
in many motion pictures, including the multiple Oscar® nominated film
“The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Hurricane,” “Starship Troopers,”
“Flubber,” “BlueSteel,” “Shoot to Kill,” “Extreme Prejudice” and the cult
classic “Highlander.”
Brown’s television credits include: the Emmy® nominated HBO
movie “Normal,” the NBC series “Earth 2,” the CBS movie “The Patron
Saint of Liars,” the NBC miniseries “Love, Lies and Murder” and a
recurring role on “ER.”
Brown is also known to millions of children as the voice of Mr. Krabs from the hugely popular
animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Brown was most recently seen reprising his role as Brother
Justin Crowe for the second season of HBO’s Emmy® award-winning series “Carnivale.”
Brown will also be seen this year as the Viking, Gunnar, in the action-adventure saga “Pathfinder.”
SELA WARD (Helen Randall) previously worked with Andrew
Davis on “The Fugitive,” starring as Harrison Ford’s wife. Ward also
starred opposite Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal in the worldwide
blockbuster “The Day After Tomorrow” for director Roland Emmerich.
Other feature credits include: “54,” “My Fellow Americans,” “Hello
Again,” “Nothing in Common,” “Rustler’s Rhapsody,” “The Man Who
Loved Women” and “Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights.”
Ward starred last year opposite Hugh Laurie on the acclaimed medical
drama “House.” Ward received an Emmy® award, two Emmy®
nominations, a Golden Globe® award and two additional nominations, all
as Best Actress in a Drama, for her portrayal of Lily Manning on ABCTV’s critically acclaimed dramatic series “Once and Again,” produced by
the esteemed team of Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick. In 1996, Ward received unanimous acclaim for
her performance in the Lifetime Original Film “Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story,” portraying the
late NBC News anchorwoman. Her performance earned her a Cable Ace award, a Screen Actors Guild
nomination and an Emmy® nomination. Ward also received a Golden Globe® nomination and won an
Emmy® award for Best Actress in a Drama in 1994 for her role as Teddy, the struggling artist and
recovering alcoholic, on NBC-TV’s award-winning series “Sisters,” and was nominated as Outstanding
Female Actor in a Drama Series by the Screen Actors Guild for that show in 1996.
Ward’s additional television credits include the telefilm “Suburban Madness,” in which she starred
opposite Elizabeth Pena and Showtime’s “Rescuers Stories of Courage—Two Women,” a series of
telefilms executive produced by Barbra Streisand. She also starred in the telefilms “The Reef,” “Double
Jeopardy,” “Killer Rules,” “The Haunting of Sarah Hardy” and “Bridesmaids” and the ABC-TV
miniseries “King of Love” and had a series-regular role on the CBS-TV series “Emerald Point, N.A.S.”
and made appearances on “L.A. Law,” “Night Court,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Frasier.”
Ward’s first book, Homesick, was published in 2002, and appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.
ABOUT THE CAST
25
ABOUT THE CAST
NEAL McDONOUGH (Jack Skinner) joins a select group of
actors who combine a leading man’s profile with a character actor’s
art in displaying astonishing versatility with a wide range of roles in
film, television and theater.
McDonough has four film projects ready for release. In Clint
Eastwood’s “Flags of Our Fathers,” McDonough is one of six World War
II marines who raise the flag at Iwo Jima. The film is a
DreamWorks/Paramount production based on the best-selling story by
James Bradley. Also upcoming is Jon Avnet’s “88 Minutes,” with Al
Pacino; Michael Caleo’s “The Last Time,” also starring Michael Keaton
and Brendan Fraser; and Paul Kampf’s “American Gothic,” with Patrick
Wilson. It was McDonough’s starring role in Steven Spielberg’s
“Minority Report,” with Tom Cruise, that first drew audience attention. McDonough also starred in
“Timeline,” with Paul Walker; “Walking Tall,” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; and Jeff Hare’s “A
Perfect Little Man,” which earned him the Best Actor Award at the 2000 Atlantic City Film Festival.
In the Golden Globe®- and Emmy®-winning HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” produced by Tom
Hanks and Steven Spielberg, McDonough starred as Buck Compton, a rugged World War II hero whose
all-American veneer is cracked by the horrors of war. McDonough recently starred in NBC’s drama
“Medical Investigation” as Dr. Stephen Connor, the head of a highly skilled team of specialists who
investigate mysterious illnesses.
McDonough is perhaps best known as Deputy District Attorney David McNorris in the
acclaimed NBC drama series “Boomtown.” He was praised for his performance and recognized by
the Television Critics Association with a nomination for Individual Achievement in Drama. His
stage credits include “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Always Alone,” the latter earning him a
Dramalogue Best Actor award Raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, McDonough attended Syracuse
University and later trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He lives in Los
Angeles with his wife, Ruvé, and newborn son, Morgan.
JOHN HEARD (Frank Larson) has appeared in over sixty feature
films and dozens of television movies, and he has guest-starred in
numerous award-winning dramas on TV in his thirty-year career. John
Heard began his career on the stage, winning multiple awards in both
Chicago and New York, including a 1976-77 Theatre World Award and
Obie Awards for his off-Broadway performances in “Othello” and
“Split.” His early screen successes include performances in “Cutter’s
Way” and “Chilly Scenes of Winter” and as Jack Kerouac in “Heart
Beat.” From there, he built his career with starring roles in films such as
“Big,” “The Pelican Brief,” “Beaches,” “Home Alone,” “Awakenings,”
“In the Line of Fire,” “Pollock” and, most recently, “White Chicks.” He
also starred in Andrew Davis’ “The Package” with Tommy Lee Jones and
Gene Hackman.
Heard has turned in many memorable performances on the small screen as well, including guest
appearances in such television shows as: “The Outer Limits,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Hack” and
all three “Law & Order” series. He was nominated for a Cable ACE Award for Best Actor in a TV Movie
for his 1987 performance in “Tender Is the Night,” and his turn in the 1999 season of “The Sopranos”
earned him an Emmy® nomination.
Heard has recently been seen in recurring roles on “Prison Break,” “CSI: Miami” and “Jack & Bobby”
and as a guest star on “Numbers” and “Battlestar Gallactica.” He starred in the independent feature films
“American Gothic,” opposite Patrick Wilson, Neal McDonough and Scott Michael Campbell; and
“Sweetland,” with Ned Beatty and Alan Cumming, which won the Audience Award at the Hamptons Film
26
Festival. He most recently starred in and co-produced “Steel City,” which was accepted into the dramatic
competition at 2006’s Sundance Film Festival.
BRIAN GERAGHTY (Hodge) was recently seen starring opposite
Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard in Sam Mendes’ film
adaptation of “Jarhead” for Universal Pictures. This winter, he will star
in the Emilio Estevez-directed film “Bobby,” along with Anthony
Hopkins, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan and Elijah Wood,
among many others, as well as in the Warner Bros. drama “We Are
Marshall,” directed by McG and starring opposite Matthew Fox and
Matthew McConaughey.
Geraghty recently starred opposite Camilla Belle in “When a Stranger
Calls,” the Screen Gems remake of the classic 1979 horror film of the
same name. His other films include: “Conversations With Other
Women,” with Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter; “The
Optimist,” with Leelee Sobieski; Terry Zwigoff’s “Art School Confidential,” with John Malkovich;
“Stateside,” with Val Kilmer and Jonathan Tucker; and “Cruel World,” with Edward Furlong.
Prior to launching into a film career, Geraghty had guest-starring roles on several top television series,
including “The Sopranos,” “Law and Order” and “Ed.” Originally from New Jersey, Geraghty graduated
from The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City. His stage credits include roles
in productions of: “Berlin,” “Midnight Moonlight,” “Snipers” and “Romeo and Juliet.” An ardent surfer,
he has been a surf instructor and is an active supporter of the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit
environmental organization working to preserve our oceans.
Best known for his work as Charlie Young on “The West Wing,”
DULÉ HILL (Ken Weatherly) stars in “Psych,” the hit one-hour
crime/comedy series in which an amateur sleuth (James Roday) cons the
police into believing he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. Hill
plays straight man to Roday’s foil. Produced by the NBC Universal TV
Studio for the USA Network, “Psych” was the highest-rated scripted
series premiere on basic cable this year.
On film, Hill currently appears opposite William H. Macy in Stuart
Gordon’s adaptation of David Mamet’s “Edmond.” Next year, he stars in
the Universal Pictures thriller “Whisper,” directed by Stewart Hendler.
Hill most recently played Sam the Onion Man in Disney’s “Holes,”
Davis’ adaptation of the award-winning children’s novel by Louis Sachar
that co-starred Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and Shia LaBeouf. “Sugar Hill,” “She’s All That” and the
independent “Sexual Life” also mark his filmography.
Hill first came to prominence as The Kid opposite Savion Glover and Jeffrey Wright in “Bring in ’Da
Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk” (Public Theatre, Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre), directed by George C.
Wolfe. The history of the African American told through tap dance and music, “Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring
in ’Da Funk,” proved one of the most exciting events of the 1996 season. His stage credits also include
“Black and Blue” (Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre), “Shenandoah” (Paper Mill Playhouse) and “The Little
Rascals” (Goodspeed Opera House). Hill began attending dance school when he was three and received
his first break years later as the understudy to Savion Glover in “The Tap Dance Kid” on Broadway. He
went on to perform the lead role in the musical’s national tour alongside Harold Nicholas.
Hill joined the cast of NBC’s acclaimed “The West Wing” in the third episode (1999). As Charlie
Young, Personal Aid to the President (Martin Sheen), and subsequently Deputy Special Assistant to the
Chief of Staff (Allison Janney), Hill garnered an Emmy® nomination and four Image Award nominations
for supporting actor (drama series), and two Screen Actors Guild Awards® (from a total six nominations)
ABOUT THE CAST
27
as part of the ensemble (drama series). On Sunday, May 14, Hill co-stars in the final episode of the series
created by Aaron Sorkin and produced by John Wells. Born and raised in New Jersey, Hill currently
resides in Los Angeles.
SHELBY FENNER (Cate) will next star in “Vantage Point” for Sony
Pictures, opposite Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Matthew Fox and
Dennis Quaid. Fenner’s other film credits include “Ghost Game” and
“Swatters” and the independent films “Local Boys,” “Blood Moon” and
“Wolf Girl” for USA.
She has guest-starred on hit television shows such as “CSI,” “CSI:
Miami,” “Charmed” and “Dragnet.” Fenner is athletic and enjoys sports,
especially surfing and snowboarding. Originally from Michigan, she has
since relocated and now resides in Los Angeles, California.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
ANDREW DAVIS (Director) is a filmmaker with a reputation for directing intelligent thrillers,
most notably the Academy Award®-nominated box-office hit “The Fugitive,” starring Harrison Ford
and Tommy Lee Jones. The film received seven Academy Award® nominations, including Best
Picture, and earned Jones a Best Supporting Actor award. Davis garnered a Golden Globe®
nomination for Best Director and a Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding
Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Direction. In reviewing “The Fugitive,” film critic Roger Ebert
commended Davis, noting that he “transcends genre and shows an ability to marry action and artistry
that deserves comparison with Hitchcock, David Lean and Carol Reed. He paints with bold, visual
strokes.”
Davis is the son of parents who met in a repertory theater company in Chicago, where he was
raised. He received his degree in journalism from the University of Illinois and began his work in
motion pictures as an assistant cameraman to renowned cinematographer and director Haskell
Wexler on the 1969 classic “Medium Cool.” Wexler’s ultra-realistic approach was to have a great
influence on Davis, who then became a director of photography on numerous award-winning
television commercials and documentaries, as well as on 15 studio and independent features. In
1976, joined by many of his fellow cinematographers, Davis challenged the IATSE union’s restrictive
studio roster system in a landmark class-action suit that forced the industry to open its doors to young
technicians in all crafts.
Davis made his directorial debut in 1978, with the critically acclaimed independent musical
“Stony Island,” which he also co-wrote and produced. It was followed by the thriller “The Final
Terror” for producer Joe Roth, which starred then-newcomers Darryl Hannah, Joe Pantoliano, Rachel
Ward and Adrian Zmed. Davis then co-wrote the screenplay for Harry Belafonte’s rap musical “Beat
Street” before moving into the director’s chair full-time for Mike Medavoy with “Code of Silence.”
Davis directed, co-produced and co-wrote “Above the Law,” Steven Seagal’s feature debut. Davis
then directed “The Package,” starring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones. In “Under Siege,”
Davis teamed Steven Seagal with Tommy Lee Jones, resulting in fall 1992’s top-grossing picture.
Davis’ other directorial credits include “Collateral Damage,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; “A
Perfect Murder,” starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen; “Chain Reaction,”
starring Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman; and “Steal Big, Steal Little,” starring Andy Garcia and
Alan Arkin. Davis last directed and produced “Holes,” the adaptation of Louis Sachar’s Newberry
Medal and National Book Award-winning children’s novel. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight and
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
28
Patricia Arquette, “Holes” grossed over $70 million theatrically and over $40 million in home video
sales since its April 18, 2003, release by Walt Disney and was named one of the 100 Best Family Films.
BEAU FLYNN and TRIPP VINSON (Producers) launched their New Line Cinema-based production
company, Contrafilm, in March 2004. The first film released under their banner was the Brett Ratner
helmed “After the Sunset.” Contrafilm’s next release, in conjunction with Lakeshore, was Screen Gem’s
“The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” Directed by Scott Derrickson, it grossed $150 million worldwide and was
one of the most profitable films of 2005.
Flynn and Vinson’s next film is the Jim Carrey thriller “The Number 23.” Directed by Joel Schumacher
for New Line Cinema, it’s scheduled to release February 23, 2007. They’re currently producing “Journey
to the Center of the Earth” for New Line Cinema/Walden, which is the first feature film to be shot on high-
definition 3-D. The duo also produced Disney’s 3-D CGI film “The Wild,” which was released Easter,
2006.
Prior to Contrafilm, Flynn was a partner at The Firm where he ran the motion picture and television
production divisions. He also produced critically acclaimed films: “Tigerland,” “Requiem for a Dream,”
“The House of Yes,” “The Alarmist,” “Guinevere” and “Johns.” After graduating from NYU, his first job
in the industry was as Scott Rudin’s first assistant. Vinson and Flynn first worked together at Bandeira
Entertainment in 2000, then proceeded to head up Firm Films. Vinson started in Hollywood at Jerry
Bruckheimer Films after graduating from USC.
ARMYAN BERNSTEIN (Executive Producer), Chairman of Beacon Communications, ShoWest
Producer of the Year, has produced and executive produced such films as “Air Force One” starring Harrison
Ford, “The Hurricane” (which he also co-wrote) starring Denzel Washington, “Thirteen Days” starring
Kevin Costner, “End of Days” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Family Man” starring Nicolas Cage,
“Bring It On” starring Kirsten Dunst, “For Love of the Game” starring Kevin Costner, “Spy Game” starring
Brad Pitt and Robert Redford, “Open Range” starring Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall and Annette Bening,
“Raising Helen” starring Kate Hudson and John Corbett, “Ladder 49” starring John Travolta and Joaquin
Phoenix, “A Lot Like Love” starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet and “Firewall” starring Harrison
Ford, Virginia Madsen and Paul Bettany. Currently in production is “Waterhorse” directed by Jay Russell.
Bernstein founded Beacon Communications in 1990, and it has become one of the most successful
independently financed film companies in the entertainment business. Its first films were “The
Commitments,” directed by Alan Parker, which was nominated for a Golden Globe® as Best Picture and
went on to win four BAFTA Awards; Keith Gordon’s critical triumph “A Midnight Clear,” starring Ethan
Hawke; “A Thousand Acres” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and
Jessica Lange; “Sugar Hill,” starring Wesley Snipes; “Playing God” starring David Duchovny and
Timothy Hutton; “Princess Caraboo,” starring Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline; “The Road to Wellville,”
directed by Alan Parker and starring Anthony Hopkins; and David Mamet’s “A Life in the Theatre,” which
won a cable ACE Award for Best Drama.
Armyan was born and raised in Chicago and attended the University of Wisconsin. He was a
broadcast journalist with PBS and then with ABC. He wrote the cult classic “Thank God It’s Friday,”
starring Debra Winger and Jeff Goldblum. He then wrote and co-produced Francis Ford Coppola’s
legendary Vegas romance “One From the Heart.” Bernstein made his directing debut with “Windy
City,” from his screenplay, which starred John Shea and Kate Capshaw. He also co-wrote and directed
“Cross My Heart,” starring Martin Short and Annette O’Toole. Armyan wrote and produced ABC’s
Emmy® award-winning “The Earth Day Special.”
CHARLIE LYONS (Executive Producer) is Partner and CEO of Beacon Pictures. Charlie and Beacon
Chairman Army Bernstein have worked together for over a decade, during which the company has created
over twenty major motion pictures including “Air Force One,” “The Hurricane,” “13 Days,” “Bring It On,”
“Spy Game” and “Family Man.” Recent films include “Wrong Element,” “Open Range,” “Raising Helen,”
29
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
“A Lot Like Love” and “Ladder 49.” The company is in post-production on “The Half Life of Timofey
Berezin,” which Charlie is producing along with Section Eight and HBO Films.
Lyons is also the Founder and Past Chairman of the Ascent Entertainment Group Inc., a global media
enterprise which was purchased by Liberty Media Group in 2000. Ascent was the owner/operator of
Beacon Pictures, On Command Corporation (largest hotel cable company in the world), Ascent Network
Services (provider of broadcast and network services to the NBC television network), the National
Basketball Association Denver Nuggets and the National Hockey League Colorado Avalanche (1996
Stanley Cup Champions), the developer and financier of a $200 million sports and entertainment facility
(the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver, Colorado); and the founder of Colorado Studios in partnership
with Liberty Media Group, the leading Colorado-based production company. Charlie is a past Board
Member of the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League and a Founding Board
Member of the Women’s National Basketball Association. He also serves on the board of numerous
corporate and charitable organizations.
ZANNE DEVINE (Executive Producer), former president of The Kennedy/Marshall Company, joined
Beacon Pictures as its President of Production in January 2004. Prior to Beacon, Devine was president of
Ovation Entertainment, a feature-film production company financed by Jeff Skoll, co-founder of eBay.
While at Ovation, Devine executive produced “House of D,” written and directed by David Duchovny.
The film starred Robin Williams, David Duchovny, Tea Leoni and Erykah Badu. Ovation Entertainment
also co-produced and co-financed the feature film “Eulogy,” starring Ray Romano, Debra Winger and
Hank Azaria. Both pictures were distributed domestically by Lions Gate.
Prior to The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Devine was senior vice president of PolyGram Filmed
Entertainment, where she was the senior creative executive managing the entertainment group of the
companies: Working Title, Propaganda Films, Interscope Productions, Jodie Foster’s Egg Pictures and
Norman Lear’s Act 3 Productions. Successful releases include: “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “The
Game,” “What Dreams May Come” and “Fargo.”
From 1990 through 1995, Devine served in various positions at Universal Pictures, lastly as Vice
President of Production and Acquisitions, where she oversaw Gramercy Pictures (in partnership with
Polygram), during which time the company released: “The Usual Suspects,” “Priscilla Queen of the
Desert,” the Academy Award®-winning films “Elizabeth” and “When We Were Kings.” Devine began her
career as an independent producer with the Academy Award®-nominated feature film “Anna.”
PETER MACGREGOR-SCOTT (Executive Producer), known as one of the best hands-on producers
in the business, marks his fourth collaboration with Andrew Davis on THE GUARDIAN, having
previously produced “The Fugitive,” “Under Siege” and “A Perfect Murder.” He has also produced
“Batman & Robin,” “Batman Forever,” “Revenge of the Nerds” and, most recently, “Death to Smoochy.”
Moving from England to the United States in 1970, Scott produced his first film, “Ride the Tiger,” that
same year. He went on to produce three hit films starring the comedy team of Cheech & Chong: “Cheech
& Chong’s Next Movie,” “Cheech & Chong: Still Smokin’,” “Cheech & Chong’s The Corsican Brothers”
as well as Cheech Marin’s “Born in East L.A.” His other early credits include: “The Jerk,” “The Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas,” “Gotcha!” and “Troop Beverly Hills.”
Macgregor-Scott then co-produced three films starring action-star Steven Seagal: “Marked for Death,”
“Out for Justice” and “Under Siege.” He also produced the critically acclaimed “Black Beauty,” adapted
for the screen and directed by Caroline Thompson.
LOWELL BLANK (Associate Producer) has twenty years of experience in all aspects of the motion-
picture business. From 1995 to 2003, he was President of Chicago Pacific Entertainment, director Andrew
Davis’ production company, where he was responsible for all day-to-day operations and management of
an office and post-production facility in Santa Barbara, California, used by filmmakers such as Robert
Zemeckis, Stephen Sommers and Luis Mandoki.
30
Blank served as a producer on “Holes,” the spring 2003 hit from Walt Disney Pictures, starring Shia
LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson and Patricia Arquette. Blank negotiated the
purchase of the “Holes” film rights on behalf of Davis, and worked closely on the adaptation with author
Louis Sachar and the Chicago Pacific, Walden Media and Phoenix Pictures development staffs. Blank also
served as an executive producer on the “Holes” soundtrack album.
Blank has served in various producing capacities on both independent and major studio feature films
including: “Collateral Damage” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, “A Perfect Murder” starring Michael
Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow, “Chain Reaction” starring Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman, “Steal Big
Steal Little” starring Andy Garcia, “Benefit of the Doubt” starring Donald Sutherland and Amy Irving
and “South Central” starring Glenn Plummer and Carl Lumbly. He has also produced commercials,
documentaries and other projects.
RON L. BRINKERHOFF (Screenwriter) was born in Wyoming and spent his youth growing up on
a cattle ranch in Montana. Brinkerhoff has a BA degree from the University of Utah, with a philosophy
and English major. He started out working in production during college and worked on “A Midnight
Clear,” “Far and Away” and “The Sandlot” in various production capacities. After graduating, Brinkerhoff
moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as the Director of Creative Research at Imagine Entertainment,
Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s company. He spent four years there learning the ins and outs of
development. Brinkerhoff sold his first script, left Imagine six years ago and has been writing full-time
ever since. THE GUARDIAN represents his first major screenplay to be produced.
Brinkerhoff wrote “Spares” for DreamWorks and has another project at Disney called “Ashland,” a
supernatural thriller with Brad Silberling attached to direct and Tripp Vinson and Beau Flynn producing.
He recently wrote “Fort Knox,” a heist movie, for Warner Bros., with Thunder Road producing. He is
currently working on “Scared Straight,” a prison thriller for Newline.
TREVOR RABIN (Composer) was born and raised in South Africa. He was formerly a member of
the influential progressive rock band Yes, serving as guitarist, songwriter, keyboardist, singer, producer
and recording engineer. He left the band in 1994 to pursue his career as a film composer. He has since
composed the music for such films as “Armageddon,” “Enemy of the State,” “Remember the Titans,”
“Bad Boys 2,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “Con Air,” “Deep Blue Sea,” “The Banger Sisters,” “Kangaroo
Jack” and many others. His most recent film include “Flyboys,” “The Gridiron Gang,” “Snakes on a
Plane,” “Glory Road,” “The Great Raid,” “National Treasure,” “Coach Carter” and “Paul Schrader’s
Exorcist: The Original Prequel.”
MAHER AHMAD (Production Designer) began building stage sets for the local community theater
while still in high school. He attended Northwestern University and received a Master of Fine Arts in
theater scene and lighting design. After teaching theater design for two years, he worked as a professional
theater set and lighting designer in the “first wave” of the Chicago theater renaissance. He also served as
resident set and lighting designer at the North Light Theatre for five seasons.
Ahmad has designed well over 100 theater projects (both set and lighting design) for Chicago theaters
including the St Nicholas, Organic, Victory Gardens, Goodman and many others. He was nominated six
times for Chicago’s “Joseph Jefferson” award.
Ahmad met and worked with director Andrew Davis’ father, Nate Davis, a prominent Chicago theater
and film actor, for five years before meeting the director. After moving from Chicago to New York,
Ahmad worked there on many features, including “Goodfellas” and “Married to the Mob.” THE
GUARDIAN marks Ahmad’s 10th project with Andrew Davis, with their collaborations including
“Holes,” “Chain Reaction,” “Steal Big, Steal Little,” “Above the Law,” “Code of Silence” and “The
Fugitive.” Ahmad’s films also include “Fever Pitch,” “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous,”
“Dodgeball,” “Mr. 3000,” “Paid in Full,” “Gun Shy,” “US Marshals,” “That Night,” “The Cemetery Club,”
“Miami Blues” and “Angel Heart.”
31
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
STEPHEN ST. JOHN (Cinematographer) is one of the industry’s most sought-after cameramen and
camera operators and has worked with some of its top directors. St. John has worked many times with
Davis, most recently on the Bruckheimer pilot “Just Legal” and before that on the Walden/Disney release
“Holes.” Their other mutual credits include: “Collateral Damage,” “A Perfect Murder,” “Chain Reaction,”
“Steal Big Steal Little,” the Academy Award®-nominated “The Fugitive” and “Under Siege.”
St. John has repeat collaborations with a large and diverse group of directors and cameramen including
Barry Sonnenfeld, Haskell Wexler, Tony Scott and Clint Eastwood. St. John and Sonnenfeld first worked
together on the Coen Brothers’ “Raising Arizona,” on which Sonnenfeld served as cinematographer. Once
Sonnenfeld began directing, he brought St. John in on such films as “Get Shorty,” “Men in Black” and
“Wild Wild West.” Haskell Wexler and St. John worked together on commercials before they teamed up
on “Blaze,” “Colors” and others. It was also commercial work as both operator and cinematographer with
Tony Scott that led to “Man on Fire” and “Domino.” Clint Eastwood and cinematographer Jack Green
chose St. John to be the “A” operator on “Heartbreak Ridge” after he worked extra camera assignments
on “Pale Rider” and other Eastwood films of the era. This relationship continued on many Malpaso
productions, including the Academy Award® winning “Unforgiven,” and one of the many times St. John
worked with Kevin Costner, “A Perfect World.”
A sampling of other motion-picture credits include: “Mission: Impossible 3” (action unit), “The
Matrix Reloaded,” “Coyote Ugly,” “Lolita,” “For the Boys,” “The Bodyguard,” “Die Hard 2,” ”No Way
Out,” “Lethal Weapon,” “Out of Africa,” “Love Streams,” “The Goonies” and “Never Cry Wolf.”
DENNIS VIRKLER (Editor), who has edited more than 30 films, marks his fifth collaboration with
Andrew Davis with THE GUARDIAN. Their previous work together includes “Under Siege,” “The
Fugitive,” “A Perfect Murder” and “Collateral Damage.” Virkler has been nominated for two Academy
Awards® for “The Hunt for Red October” and “The Fugitive,” for which he also received a BAFTA Award.
His other credits include “Into the Blue,” “The Fog,” “The Chronicles of Riddick,” “Daredevil,” “Batman
and Robin,” “Batman Forever” and “Independence Day,” to name but a few.
THOMAS J. NORDBERG (Editor) graduated from New York University Film School in 1985 and
began working in film and commercial production, eventually becoming an assistant director. In 1990,
Nordberg segued into editing, where he worked as an assistant for such notable editors as Duwayne
Dunham, David Brenner and Sally Menke, among others. Nordberg then began a longtime collaboration
with director Oliver Stone, working on “Heaven and Earth,” “Nixon,” “Natural Born Killers,” “U-Turn,”
“Any Given Sunday” and “Alexander.” Other editing credits include: “Scary Movie 2,” “What Women
Want,” and “Holes,” where he first worked with THE GUARDIAN director, Andrew Davis.
WILLIAM MESA (Visual Effects Supervisor), who has served as the visual effects supervisor on
such diverse films as Rob Reiner’s “Stand By Me,” Sam Raimi’s “Darkman” and “Army of Darkness,”
Peter Weir’s “Fearless” and Andrew Davis’ “Under Siege” and “The Fugitive,” gained his reputation as
an innovative master of visual effects, combining mechanical, miniature and optical techniques long
before CGI became state of the art.
Ahead of the curve, in 1993 Mesa opened Flash Film Works to design and create cutting-edge digital
visual effects. Under this company, he directed the science-fiction action adventure “Terminal Force,” a.k.a.
“Galaxis,” for HBO as well as the CD-ROM game “Maximum Surge.” His second directorial undertaking
was the HBO premiere “DNA.” Mesa was the visual effects supervisor on “The Waterboy” with Adam
Sandler and “Collateral Damage” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. His company, Flash Film Works, has also
worked on the films “Deep Blue Sea,” “Red Planet,” “The Perfect Score” “The Italian Job” and the Wayans
Brothers comedy “White Chicks.” Mesa was the visual effects supervisor for “Holes” directed by Andrew
Davis and was the Flash Film Works Visual Effects Supervisor on “The Last Samurai.” Mesa was the
recipient of the Visual Effects Society Award for Best Supporting Visual Effects for “The Last Samurai.”
Recently, Mesa was the Visual Effects Supervisor on “Man of the House” starring Tommy Lee Jones. Flash
32
Film Works was the key visual effects company for the critically acclaimed “Sideways” for director
Alexander Payne, the Walter Salles film “Dark Water” and the Cameron Crowe film “Elizabethtown.”
Mesa has been the recipient of many awards over the years. He received the Technical Achievement
Award from the Motion Picture Academy and a British Academy Award (BAFTA) nomination for Best
Visual Effects on “The Fugitive.” He has been nominated three times for Emmy® awards, with two wins,
and has received numerous other awards including seven major awards for Best Commercial Visual
Effects for the “Batman/Onstar” commercials.
SUSAN ZWERMAN (Visual Effects Producer) is a member of the Board of Directors of the Visual
Effects Society (VES) and Chairperson of the DGA’s Visual Effects/Digital Technology Committee. Her
credits appear on more than 50 major films. She produced the visual effects for “Around the World in 80
Days,” “Fat Albert” “Tall Tale,” “Broken Arrow,” “Alien Resurrection,” “Mafia,” “Men of Honor” and
“The One.” Her other credits include the acclaimed “All That Jazz,” “Wise Guys,” “Scarface,”
“Nightshift,” “Nighthawks” and “The Flamingo Kid.” A special highlight in Ms. Zwerman’s career was
winning a Grammy Award® for “Best Concept Music Video” in 1988, producing the “I’m Fat” music
video starring Weird Al Yankovic. This led to the producing of the fantasy sequences and music videos
of Weird Al in the film “UHF.” In addition, Zwerman is a well-known seminar leader at many universities,
teaching visual effects techniques in the entertainment field.
GENE SERDENA (Set Decorator) studied Fine Art at the Philadelphia College of Art and California
Institute of the Arts. The critical foundation he honed at art school has been instrumental in the integration
of his design sensibility with the demands of narrative filmmaking. Mr. Serdena’s primary concern as a
Set Decorator has been the expression and representation of character and the ways in which his work
supports the narrative framework of each film. He doesn’t consider himself a signature stylist and
considers authorial gestures in decoration unnecessary functions of ego.
Gene Serdena’s credits include: “Holes,” “Being John Malkovich,” “House of Sand and Fog,” “Three
Kings,” “Tombstone,” “Adaptation” and the upcoming “Infamous.” Mr. Serdena won an Emmy® award for
his work in the television series “Northern Exposure” in 1992.
Information contained within as of September 6, 2006.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
33
We, Buena Vista Pictures Marketing, grant you, the intended recipient of this press kit, a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the
enclosed photos under the terms and conditions below. If you don’t agree, don’t use the photos. You may use the photos only to publicize the motion
picture entitled “The Guardian.” All other use requires our written permission. We reserve the right to terminate this license at any time, in our sole
discretion, upon notice to you. Upon termination, you must cease using the photos and dispose of them as we instruct. You are solely responsible
for any and all liabilities arising from unauthorized use or disposition of the photos. This press kit is the property of Buena Vista Pictures Marketing
and must not be sold or transferred. ©Touchstone Pictures. All rights reserved.
THE DEPARTED
Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg star in
Martin Scorsese’s new crime drama “The Departed.”
“The Departed” is set in South Boston where the Massachusetts State Police
Department is waging an all-out war to take down the city’s top organized crime ring.
The key is to end the reign of powerful mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) from
the inside. A young rookie, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), who grew up in South
Boston, is assigned to infiltrate the mob run by Costello. While Billy is working to gain
Costello’s trust, another young cop who came up from the streets of “Southie,” Colin
Sullivan (Matt Damon), is quickly rising through the ranks of the state police. Earning a
spot in the Special Investigations Unit, Colin is among a handful of elite officers whose
mission is to bring Costello down. But what his superiors don’t know is that Colin is
working for Costello, keeping the crime boss one step ahead of the police.
Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information
about the plans and counter-plans of the operation he has penetrated. But when it
becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that they have a mole in their midst,
Billy and Colin find themselves in constant danger of being caught and exposed to the
enemy—and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save
himself.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Plan B / Initial Entertainment Group / Vertigo
Entertainment Production, in association with Media Asia Films, a Martin Scorsese
Picture, “The Departed,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson,
Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga and Alec Baldwin.
1
The film was directed by Martin Scorsese, from a screenplay by William
Monahan. Brad Pitt, Brad Grey and Graham King produced “The Departed,” with Roy
Lee, Doug Davison, G. Mac Brown, Kristin Hahn and Gianni Nunnari serving as
executive producers, and Joseph Reidy co-producing.
Collaborating with Scorsese behind the scenes were director of photography
Michael Ballhaus, production designer Kristi Zea, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, and
costume designer Sandy Powell. The score was composed by Howard Shore.
“The Departed” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros.
Entertainment Company. This film has been rated “R” by the MPAA for “strong brutal
violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.”
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
HONG KONG TO BOSTON
“The Departed,” the gritty crime drama from director Martin Scorsese, takes us
into the lives of two cops: Colin Sullivan, smart and unabashedly ambitious, appears to
be on the fast track in the Massachusetts State Police Department’s elite Special
Investigations Unit, whose prime target is powerful Irish mob boss Frank Costello. Billy
Costigan, street-smart and tough, is purported to have a violent temper that costs him his
badge and eventually lands him back on the rough streets of South Boston, where he is
recruited into Costello’s ranks. But neither man is what he seems and, as they work at
cross purposes, they are plunged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse in which the
stakes could not be higher.
The story of “The Departed” is based on the 2002 crime thriller out of Hong Kong
called “Infernal Affairs,” which achieved great success in Asia before coming to U.S.
shores in 2004. An American version was soon in the works, with William Monahan
writing the screenplay.
The screenwriter recalls, “I hadn’t seen ‘Infernal Affairs,’ and I didn’t want to
watch it before adapting the story. I worked from a translation of the Chinese script.
There was a great central story around which I could create new characters. I loved the
2
duplicity of the characters in the Chinese film, but my adaptation, thematically, is all
about the engine of tragedy that is started when people depart from what they really
should be doing with their lives.”
“‘Infernal Affairs’ is a very good example of why I love the Hong Kong cinema,
but ‘The Departed’ is not a remake of that film,” states Martin Scorsese. “It was inspired
by ‘Infernal Affairs’ because of the nature of the story; however the world William
Monahan created is very different from the Hong Kong film. When I received the script,
it took me quite a while to read through it because I began visualizing the action and
getting into the nature of the story and the characters. One of the things that hit me was
that the depiction of the characters and their attitudes toward the world in which they live
was so uncompromising. That’s what really got me interested in directing the movie.”
Producer Graham King notes, “You could say ‘The Departed’ takes Martin
Scorsese back to his days of ‘GoodFellas’ and ‘Mean Streets,’ which is a genre he has
been identified with in the past. But in this film, he’s taking that genre and turning it into
something new and different and original. That’s what Marty does.”
“Working with Martin Scorsese was extraordinary,” Monahan says. “It was a
privilege to see him put the film together in his mind as we were discussing the script.
It’s like having years of film school packed into each and every day.”
Monahan relates that he set “The Departed” in a world with which he was very
familiar. “The project came about at a time when I was thinking about Boston, where I
came from, and about the people I had lost in my own life. So it allowed me to explore
themes that were very personal to me.”
Thomas B. Duffy, a 30-year veteran of the Massachusetts State Police, who
served as a technical consultant for the film, reveals that the screenwriter’s decision to
center the film on the battle between the “Staties” and Boston’s Irish mob has its basis in
reality. “Certainly in ‘Southie,’ the Irish mob dominated and controlled the city’s
underworld, at least from the early 1970s until just a few years ago. They were the
pinnacle of the criminal world there.”
Collaborating for the third time with Scorsese, actor Leonardo DiCaprio
comments, “As much as it is a gangster movie, ‘The Departed’ is unlike anything Marty
has ever done. It deals with a very different set of circumstances—not just that it
involves the Irish underworld, but also the fact that it deals with the police force and the
3
corruption there, as well. It is also set in a completely different environment, being
Boston, not New York. Although, as we went on, we saw it more as a story of America
and the corruption of certain systems in our country as a whole.”
It is a story, Scorsese says, of “how two young men are shaped by the forces in
their lives: the institution of the police and a crime group headed by a figure named Frank
Costello. Costello takes Colin as a young boy and makes him into a seeming pillar of the
community so he can rise up in the hierarchy of the state police. But, in reality, he is
Costello’s inside man. At the same time, Billy is the perfect material for the police to
send undercover, because he comes from the working-class element of South Boston. He
is put in the position to join Costello’s crew, but he has really been set up to rat on
Costello. It’s like Billy and Colin are running on parallel tracks…but they will ultimately
end up on a collision course.”
COPS OR CRIMINALS…
WHEN YOU’RE FACING A LOADED GUN
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Billy Costigan, a promising cadet at the
Massachusetts State Police Academy, who is selected for a dangerous undercover
assignment before he has even had a chance to pin on a badge. The actor says that the
role represented more than an opportunity to work again with Scorsese. “I read the script
and immediately wanted to be a part of it. I just couldn’t put it down, and I said ‘yes’
without any deliberation or hesitation. I thought it was a really intense story with multifaceted
and very compelling characters.”
Billy Costigan came up from the streets of Boston, and DiCaprio remarks that his
character’s motivation to become a police officer is rooted in his desire to escape his
upbringing. “Billy comes from an underworld background and has all the chips stacked
against him in a lot of ways. I think he joins the police force because he has no other
options, and he wants to do things differently than his family did. Ironically, he is asked
to go undercover and pretend to be the very thing he was determined not to become. At
the heart of it, I think Billy is ultimately trying to redeem himself and not just be a
product of his environment, but he ends up deep in a situation that is extremely dangerous
4
and deceitful. There are moments when he could so easily be caught—all the arrows are
pointing in his direction as the ‘rat,’ and everything begins to cave in around him.”
Scorsese notes, “As an actor, I knew Leo would convey the conflict of a young
man who has gotten himself into a bad situation and then wonders what the hell he is
doing there. You can see it in his face; you can see it in his eyes. That’s one of the
reasons I like working with Leo; he knows how to express emotional impact without
saying a word. It just emanates from him. It is quite extraordinary to watch.”
Colin Sullivan is another member of the Massachusetts State Police Force with
roots in South Boston who is also leading a double life, although Colin’s is the mirror
opposite of Billy’s. A native of Boston himself, Matt Damon stars in the role of Colin, a
young hotshot in the department, who has quickly risen to the rank of sergeant in the elite
Special Investigations Unit while his Academy classmates are still in uniform. However,
despite what he has led his superiors to believe, there is only one authority to whom
Colin actually reports: mob boss Frank Costello.
“Matt brought a lot to the part of Colin,” states Scorsese. “I love that you can see
his mind working as Colin is trying to figure his way out of his latest predicament and
save himself, even as he gets himself in deeper and deeper over his head. In a way, Colin
is an even more tragic character than Billy, because he truly believes he will get away
with everything and that, by aligning himself with evil, he has created an inroad to
redemption, so to speak, represented by the upper class society of Beacon Hill and the
State House—that golden dome he keeps staring at. In the beginning of the picture, you
see Costello teaching Colin a false set of values and, by a certain point in time, Colin has
no values at all.”
Damon offers, “In Colin’s neighborhood, the character of Frank Costello is bigger
than life. Everybody knows who he is and is terrified of him. The first time Colin comes
in contact with him, Colin is about 12 years old, and that kind of interaction would be
incredibly meaningful to a kid from that neighborhood. Costello is even more powerful
than a father figure in Colin’s mind, and you see the relationship develop from the very
beginning.”
Costello can afford to bide his time because, as Damon says, “Inevitably, boys
grow into men and Costello knows he will be able to use the loyalty Colin has for him.
5
He gets Colin to join the state police to act as an informant for him. So while one guy is
an undercover cop in the mob, the other is a cop undercover for the mob.”
“Our characters are two sides of the same coin, even coming from the same
neighborhood,” DiCaprio agrees. “Colin chose one path and Billy chose another, but
their lives are intertwined…linked in ways they could never understand. It becomes this
really intriguing chess game of information and disinformation.”
The most obvious link between Billy and Colin is their unknowingly shared
connection to Frank Costello, who is portrayed by the legendary Jack Nicholson. “The
Departed” marks the first collaboration between Nicholson and Scorsese, although, the
director says, “Jack and I have known each other for 30 years. For some reason, we had
never quite connected on a movie, so I thought it would be interesting to see if he had any
desire to take on the role of Costello. It may have taken a long time, but it was worth the
wait because we had quite a time together on this picture.”
Graham King recalls, “When Marty first mentioned Jack Nicholson for the role, I
thought we were dreaming, but it became a reality. Jack took the character of Costello to
another level, as only he could do. There are so many of what I call ‘Jack moments’ in
the film, which are just terrific.”
“Jack really made the character his own,” Scorsese attests. “Costello has had
everything in life, so he doesn’t give a damn about anything anymore. And why should
he? He has all the power. But now, he starts taking too many risks, like putting himself
on the front lines of drug deals. He knows he doesn’t have to do that; it’s just for the
thrill of it at this point in his life. Costello has gotten too old, and he knows, ultimately,
he is probably on his way out. It was interesting to watch Jack portray Costello starting
to unravel.”
“Jack Nicholson is a force of nature,” DiCaprio adds. “He can be very
unpredictable when he’s on camera, so you have to learn to roll with the punches. I mean
there were moments during filming that I didn’t know what was going to happen next; I
was never sure which side of Costello he was going to be playing on any particular day.
That can be very exciting for an actor to play against, because it really keeps you on your
toes.”
There are only two people in the Massachusetts State Police who know the newest
addition to Costello’s crew is an undercover cop: Captain Queenan and Sergeant Dignam.
6
Mark Wahlberg stars as Sergeant Dignam, a hard-nosed detective who, the actor
acknowledges, “is a mean, miserable guy, and he is not going to pretend to be anything
else. He is very in-your-face, but, at the same time, he’s pretty on the level.”
“Mark Wahlberg is just remarkable as Dignam,” Scorsese says. “He comes from
the Boston area, so he knows that world fairly well and really knew this character.
Dignam is who he is; nothing is going to change his attitude towards anyone or anything.
He’s seen it all and heard it all, and there is nothing you can put past him. You can try,
but he’ll always have an answer for you, and it will most likely be only two words…I
think you know what they are,” Scorsese laughs.
Raised in the working-class neighborhood of Dorchester, Wahlberg found it
natural to revert to his native Boston accent, although, he jokes, “I don’t think Marty
knew what I was saying half the time. He would say, ‘We might have to use subtitles at
some point.’”
Describing his hometown as “a pretty rough place to grow up,” Wahlberg asserts,
“There is only one Boston. It has a reputation as this amazing school town, but there are
also those neighborhoods where you are either going to become a crook or a cop or a
construction worker. There’s not too much in-between. My being raised there has an
effect on everything I do, whether it’s obvious or not. I didn’t have to do much
homework for this movie—I’ve known a lot of these guys—the only difference is I was
playing one of the cops who used to arrest me all the time.”
Countering Dignam’s abrasive style is the level-headed Captain Queenan, played
by Martin Sheen. The actor reveals that he took the part even before reading the script.
“What made me say ‘yes’ almost instantly was the opportunity to work with Martin
Scorsese. I had never worked with him before, but he has always been one of my
favorite directors. With that in mind, how could I make a mistake? Then, of course, I
read the script, and I thought it was a great story of divided loyalties and betrayal in the
context of law enforcement and criminality. Sometimes they mix and overlap, and
you’re hard-pressed to tell the difference.”
Sheen adds that, while Queenan is not unsympathetic to Billy’s growing
desperation, he cannot afford to let that interfere with the objective. “He understands that
Billy’s identity has been swallowed up by going undercover. Except for Queenan and
Dignam, the cops know Billy only as a gangster and, if Costello discovers he’s a cop,
7
he’s a goner. It’s a precarious position because both sides could take him out at any
time.”
Billy’s real identity isn’t even known to the head of the Special Investigations
Unit, Captain Ellerby, portrayed by Alec Baldwin. “Ellerby is obsessed with bringing
down Costello and smashing his crime ring,” Baldwin states. “He views Costello as
being violent and depraved, so Ellerby is willing to bend the rules to suit his purposes.
But he is a good cop, nonetheless.”
Although Frank Costello has more than earned his violent reputation, he has
rarely done his own dirty work. Instead, he relies on a gang of brutal henchmen, none
more so than the one who goes by the name Mr. French. British actor Ray Winstone,
who plays the role of Costello’s top man, describes his character as “one of those guys
you get nothing from—he doesn’t trust anyone, doesn’t like anyone…probably doesn’t
like himself. To him, everyone is a rat. As an actor, I’m always trying to find the
emotion in a character, the weaknesses as well as the strengths. It started to dawn on me
early on that French is without emotion. Nothing rattles him, and nothing frightens him,
but if you get in his way, he’ll kill you without a second thought. His only loyalty is to
Costello.”
The one main character in “The Departed” who is neither a cop nor a criminal is
also the only woman. Vera Farmiga plays Madolyn, a psychiatrist who specializes in
dealing with troubled people on both sides of the law. In a twist of fate, she becomes
another unwitting link between Colin, the man she is seeing romantically, and Billy, the
man she starts out seeing professionally. Farmiga offers, “To Madolyn, Colin appears to
be a man who has it all together. He represents security and commitment for her, while
Billy is more intimacy and passion. He seems to be a bit of a derelict, but they are drawn
to each other.”
DiCaprio notes, “Madolyn is the only emotional connection Billy has. She is the
one person Billy can confide in, although in a very limited way because he can’t reveal
anything about himself or what he’s doing. As his counselor, she tries to help him
initially, but then a stronger bond develops between them.”
“What I liked about the character of Madolyn is that you have this psychiatrist
who is intuitive, but who is not following her own instincts. I loved that contradiction,”
says Farmiga.
8
Rounding out the main cast of “The Departed” are: Anthony Anderson and James
Badge Dale as state troopers Brown and Barrigan, who eventually become part of the
Special Investigations Unit; and David O’Hara and Mark Rolston as Fitzy and Delahunt,
two of Costello’s henchmen.
“One of the best parts of producing a Scorsese film is the casting,” Graham King
remarks. “Marty has a way of picking the most amazing actors for each role, and this
film was no exception.”
Matt Damon offers, “Working with Martin Scorsese is about as good as it gets for
an actor. I learned so much just watching him shoot this movie. He has a great eye for
behavior and for discerning what’s real and what’s not. So many of the brilliant moments
for which he’s been responsible have been those that delve into character. As actors, we
love to explore those moments; that is one of the reasons we all want to do his movies.”
“How does one make a motion picture?” Scorsese proposes. “You make it with
different instruments, so to speak. The story, the language, the milieu, the people
portraying the parts—these are all instruments. Of all these extraordinary elements, the
one I tend to rely on most often to tell the story is the cast. To have the actors we had in
this film all together was remarkable.”
ACT ACCORDINGLY
Prior to the start of principal photography, a number of cast members began
training for their roles, most with the help of technical consultant Tom Duffy. Recently
retired, Duffy had served three decades with the Massachusetts State Police, a significant
portion of which was spent in the Special Investigations Unit, targeting organized crime,
including the Irish mob. His background and experience made him an invaluable
resource for the cast, as well as the filmmakers.
Executive producer G. Mac Brown says, “When you start looking for a technical
consultant, you don’t always know where or if you’re going to find the right person. We
had learned about Tom and knew he was a retired state trooper, so we got his number and
just made a cold call. He ended up coming through with flying colors.”
Working on his first feature film, Duffy was duly impressed by Scorsese’s
commitment to accuracy, from the police terminology to the attire. “I was somewhat
overwhelmed by his attention to detail,” Duffy admits. “We went through a painstaking
9
process to make sure everything was as authentic as possible, not just about the rudiments
of police work, but in trying to get into the minds of the officers. Keeping in perspective
that it’s a piece of entertainment, I think it’s very realistic.”
The director was not the only one who benefited from Duffy’s expertise. Matt
Damon confirms, “I’m from Boston, so there are cultural aspects of the city that are
second nature to me, but that didn’t address the subculture of the state police. To have a
person like Duffy, with his breadth of actual experience, take me under his wing—it was
everything to me. Duffy gave me information and showed me around and connected me
with other state troopers. I was able to spend days with them, picking their brains and
watching them in action. I even went on a ride-along and, at one point, went in on a drug
bust with these guys. That’s the kind of experience you can’t approximate. It’s really the
fun part of the job,” he smiles.
Brown remembers that he wasn’t exactly smiling when he got the phone call
about Damon’s brush with Boston’s criminal element…after the fact. “Matt calls and
he’s all excited because he’s gone out on this ride-along. And I’m thinking, ‘Thanks a
lot, Duffy,’” Brown kids. “I mean, that’s just great for Matt, but, as a producer, you
worry about your star going out on a real raid with real police and real guns at a real
crime scene. Obviously, it all worked out okay.”
For Damon, the time spent with the real troopers had an impact on his portrayal of
Colin that went beyond the practical applications. “It was really humbling to see the
troopers’ commitment to what they do, often at tremendous risk. As I was thinking about
Colin, I realized that, at some level, he must have a deep, deep disdain, not just for the
law, but for police officers themselves. To be that close to that kind of selfless sacrifice
every day and then to want to undo it says a lot about who he is. There were so many
things I was able to bring to my performance that I would not have known without that
time with the experts, so what Duffy did for me was incalculable,” Damon states.
Duffy also advised Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin on the correct demeanor for
ranking members of the state police. In fact, Sheen notes, “I based my character a lot on
Tom Duffy. Whenever I shot a scene, I would try to think how Tom would do it…and he
was right there to make sure I did it right.”
Although DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan spends most of the movie acting more like a
criminal than a cop, the actor was nevertheless able to profit from Duffy’s years of
10
undercover experience. “Working undercover requires a certain state of mind,” Duffy
says. “Leo and I talked a lot about the toll it can take over time.”
“The whole idea of what it is to be a cop in that circumstance, and the mindset I
had to get into, would not have been as authentic without him,” DiCaprio attests. “He
was a tremendous help throughout the entire shoot.”
In preparing to play a native Bostonian, DiCaprio also knew the importance of
immersing himself in the local culture. “I definitely felt I needed to go to Boston and
walk around and get a feeling for the people,” he says. “Everyone there was extremely
supportive and tried to help me as much as they could. There was someone I hung out
with, who took me down to the old neighborhoods and also helped me with the accent. It
really helped me get into the character.”
“Leo was at a real disadvantage coming into this movie,” Damon allows. “I
mean, he had to do a lot of preparation work that Mark Wahlberg and I didn’t have to do
because we both grew up in Boston. There is a very particular attitude and culture there,
and Leo did a great job capturing that. It was truly impressive.”
THE BIG APPLE MEETS BEANTOWN
While “The Departed” is set entirely in Boston, principal photography on the film
was accomplished in and around the cities of both Boston and New York. Production
designer Kristi Zea, who had earlier collaborated with Scorsese on “GoodFellas,”
observes, “‘The Departed’ does have some of the same elements as ‘GoodFellas,’ but, of
course, this film takes place in Boston. Because we had worked together before, Marty
could refer to things we had done back then and say, ‘Remember that thing we did on
‘GoodFellas?’ I want something like that…only, what’s the Boston version? I’d scratch
my head and say, ‘Well, I’m not sure, Marty, but we’ll find out,’” she laughs. “It was
great to do another film with him.”
Almost all of the film’s exterior scenes were shot in Boston at such sites as
Boston Common, Boston Harbor, Chinatown, and, of course, South Boston, known to the
locals as “Southie.” Traveling outside of the city, the company also filmed in the
neighboring towns of Braintree, Quincy and Mark Wahlberg’s hometown, Dorchester. In
New York, the company stayed primarily outside of Manhattan proper, instead having
areas of Brooklyn double as Boston, mostly for interior scenes.
11
“The fact that we shot this movie in two different cities is not unusual,” Zea
relates, “but in this case, the differences between New York and Boston are pretty evident
as you drive around. Outside of downtown Boston, most of the structures are quite low
and there is lots of sky, whereas most of the New York sky is filled with high-rises. It’s
very difficult to do much in New York that looks like Boston from an exterior point of
view, which is why we stayed mainly in Brooklyn. In Boston, there is also a specific
style of New England architecture that doesn’t exist in New York, like the three-story
wooden houses with front or back porches on each floor. That is something of a
signature Boston look that we made sure to have in our film. Another element that was
fascinating to me is the “brutalist” mode of architecture, which is the cement look that
certain buildings were designed with in Boston, including City Hall and the Hurley
Building.”
Juxtaposed with the city’s historical landmarks, the imposing, cement-gray
Hurley Building, in the heart of Boston’s Government Square, was selected to serve as
the exterior for the utilitarian headquarters of the Massachusetts State Police. Zea and
her team then created the interiors of the headquarters on a cavernous soundstage in the
Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. “We decided to carry over the gray and
brown palette of the existing structure, which really worked well for those sets,” she says.
Director of photography Michael Ballhaus took a similar approach in lighting the
police headquarters. He offers, “Police stations are normally lit with fluorescents, but I
didn’t want to do that because fluorescents create a wash of light, which has no tension. I
decided to use direct light and shadows to add variety and texture to the atmosphere.”
Ballhaus, who had previously teamed with Scorsese on six films, states, “I don’t
think Marty and I have ever talked so much about lighting. The whole movie was
somewhat influenced by film noir. We lit it almost like a black-and-white film,
especially in the police station, which didn’t have much color. But even if you don’t
have a lot of color, color is still something you can use in a dramatic way.”
Costume designer Sandy Powell utilized color to set Jack Nicholson’s character
apart from the rest. She comments, “Basically, everybody else is in ordinary street
clothes in neutral tones of black, brown, gray and beige. That’s pretty much it.
Originally, we were just going to make Frank Costello blend in, but after meeting Jack, it
was obvious he wanted to take the look a little more to the extreme in terms of color and
12
design. Costello is a guy who has so much power, he can wear whatever he wants and no
one would dare question it. So we definitely had more leeway with his character’s
wardrobe.”
Within the almost colorless settings, the occasional injection of the color red was
both dramatic and deliberate. Zea confirms, “We intentionally made the costumes and
the sets fairly monochromatic, but Marty, Michael Ballhaus and I collectively made the
decision that whenever we used red, there was a reason for using red. It’s intended as a
subliminal message that something of a dangerous nature is about to happen, with blood
being the obvious correlation.”
The letter X was also used symbolically throughout the movie, at the behest of
Scorsese, who meant it as an homage to the 1932 movie “Scarface,” directed by Howard
Hawks and produced by Howard Hughes, in which the X has a special significance.
“Marty asked us to utilize the letter X wherever we could,” Zea reveals, “so you can see
X’s on windows, on walls, on floors…”
“The X is a sign of death, so Marty wanted us to include them—sometimes subtly
and sometimes not so subtly,” adds Ballhaus, who even used lighting to project X’s into
certain scenes.
The concept of death harkens back to the title. Monahan explains, “In the
Catholic Church, we would refer to the dead as ‘the faithful departed.’ I started playing
around with that idea and the fact that, ironically, this movie is about faithlessness—to
others, of course, but most fatally to the characters’ own best interests, so I thought the
title fit.”
Scorsese concludes, “William Monahan is an Irish American from Boston, so he
placed his characters in that milieu. Nevertheless, the movie is about people in a
situation that, in a sense, could be found in any city around the world. It is a story of trust
and betrayal and deception and loyalty, which could be told anywhere.”
# # #
13
ABOUT THE CAST
LEONARDO DiCAPRIO (Billy), a two-time Academy Award nominee, earned
his most recent Oscar nod for his portrayal of Howard Hughes in Martin Scorsese’s
acclaimed 2004 biopic “The Aviator.” For his performance in that film, DiCaprio also
won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama, and received Critics’ Choice
Award and BAFTA Award nominations. In addition, he was honored with two Screen
Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations, one for Best Actor and another as part of the
“The Aviator” cast, nominated for Best Ensemble. In 2004, DiCaprio was also named
the Actor of the Year at the Hollywood Film Festival.
Born in Hollywood, California, DiCaprio started acting at the age of 1
