EARTH

DISNEYNATURE FILMS

Presents

EARTH

BBC, GREENLIGHT MEDIA,

DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Co-Production

BBC NATURAL HISTORY UNIT

Film

Directors . . . . . . . . . ALASTAIR FOTHERGILL

MARK LINFIELD

Producers. . . . . . . . . SOPHOKLES TASIOULIS

ALIX TIDMARSH

Narrated by. . . . . . . . . . . JAMES EARL JONES

Executive Producers . . . . . . . . MIKE PHILLIPS

ANDRÉ SIKOJEV

STEFAN BEITEN

WAYNE GARVIE

MARTYN FREEMAN

NIKOLAUS WEIL

Original Music Composed

and Conducted by. . . . . . . . GEORGE FENTON

Original Music Performed

by . . . . . . . . BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

Film Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . MARTIN ELSBURY

Associate Producers . . . . . . MELISSA CARON

AMANDA HILL

MICHAEL HENRICHS

WITH THANKS TO

DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INC

Photography . . . . . . . . ANDREW ANDERSON

DAVID BAILLIE

DOUG ANDERSON

DOUG ALLAN

PAUL ATKINS

BARRIE BRITTON

RICHARD BURTON

SIMON CARROLL

ROD CLARKE

MARTYN COLBECK

JUSTINE EVANS

WADE FAIRLEY

TED GIFFORDS

MIKE HOLDING

MICHAEL KELEM

SIMON KING

TOSHIHIRO MUTA

JUSTIN MAGUIRE

DIDIER NOIRET

ANDREW PENNIKET

RICK ROSENTHAL

ADAM RAVETCH

TIM SHEPHERD

ANDREW SHILLABEER

PETER SCOONES

WARWICK SLOSS

PAUL STEWART

GAVIN THURSTON

JEFF TURNER

NICK TURNER

JOHN WATERS

Field Assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GIL ARBEL

TOM CLARKE

SUE FLOOD

TIM FOGG

TJ JENKINS

IAN KELLET

FREDERIQUE OLIVIER

JASON ROBERTS

GRAHAM SPRINGER

MARGUERITE SMITS VAN OYEN

Script Narration . . . . . . . . LESLIE MEGAHEY

Production

Managers . . . . . . . . AMANDA HUTCHINSON

MANDY KNIGHT

CREDITS

Production

Coordinators. . . . . . . . . . . SAMANTHA DAVIS

JUSTINE HARDMAN

NICOLE SKORKE

Re-Recording Mixers . . . . ANDREW WILSON

MATTHEW GOUGH

Sound Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . KATE HOPKINS

TIM OWENS

Foley Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . BRIAN MOSELEY

Executive Music Producer . . . . JANE CARTER

Orchestrations . . . . GEOFFREY ALEXANDER

Music Preparation . . . . . . . . . . BILL SILCOCK

Assistant to George Fenton . . . NICOLE JACOB

Music Recorded

at . . . . . JESUS-CHRISTUS-KIRCHE, BERLIN

Music Recorded and

Mixed by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . JONATHAN ALLEN

Recorded by . . . . . . ABBEY ROAD MOBILES

Assistant Engineer . . RICHARD LANCASTER

Technical Engineer . . . . . . . . RICHARD HALE

Digital Music Editing . . . . . . . . . SIMON KILN

Music Editors. . . . . . . . . . . JAMES BELLAMY

STEVEN PRICE

Additional Recording . . . . . . . . . STEVE PRICE

Original Score Published

by. . . . . . . . . BBC MUSIC PUBLISHING LTD/

SHOGUN MUSIC LTD

Audio Post Production . . . . . . . . . . . FILMS@59

and WOUNDED BUFFALO

Digital Audio Post Production. . . GOLDCREST

ADR Mixer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAMIE RODEN

ADR Recordist. . . . . . . . . . . MARK APPLEBY

Mix Technician. . . . . . . . . . . MARK PARESON

Digital Post Production

Produced by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . JON THOMPSON

Data Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JACK JAMES

Chief Conform Editor . . . . . . . . . ROSS BAKER

Conform Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . JATEEN PATEL

Digital Conform Assistant. . . . GARY ZWEERS

HD Supervisor. . . . . . . . . JONATHAN SMILES

Post Production

DI Coordinator . . . . . . . . ILARIA BUCCHIERI

DI Color Consultant . . . . . . . . IAN CHISHOLM

Colorist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LUKE RAINEY

Rocket LTD

Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOM JONES

Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . LAURA METCALFE

Financial Coordinator . . . . . . . . JOHN TADROS

DI Render Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UNIT POST

Scanning and

Recording. . . . . . . . CINESITE (EUROPE) LTD

Head of Imaging . . . . . . . . MITCH MITCHELL

Scanning Supervisor . . LORRAINE JOHNSON

THE FARM GROUP LTD

DAVID KLAFKOUSKI

IAN DODD

MOLINAIRE

MARK FOLIGNO

NINA KHAN

Color by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DELUXE

Graphic

Design. . . . . . . . BURRELL DURRANT HIFLE

TIM BRADE

NICK BROOKS

STEVE BURRELL

CARYS HULL

Additional VFX . . . . . . . . . . . . . BASE BLACK

HOWARD JONES

LIME

LIPSYNC POST

RPS FILM IMAGING LIMITED

International Marketing. . . . . FARHANA GANI SARAH WADE

JOANNA FOY MARTIN WHATLEY

MARCUS FREEMAN JEFF WILSON

B7 INNOVATION

The Directors Would Also Like to Thank

International Press. . . . . . . CHRIS CHARLTON RUTH BERRINGTON

CHARLES MACDONALD MELINDA FOTHERGILL

MELANIE GENTZIK DAVE COX

GINA FUCCI

Stills Coordinator . . . . . . . . LAURA BARWICK MILES HALL

HIROMICHI IWASAKI

Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REBECCA CONROY MASARU IKEO

DUNCAN SWAIN MASAMI MIZUNUMA

MICHAEL HARVEY MAUREEN LEMIRE

PETER HARVEY NEIL NIGHTINGALE

CRAIG MUSKER KEITH SCHOLEY

MARK MCCABE JENNIFER SILVERMAN

SIMON MACKIE

FRITH TWEEDIE The Producers Would Like to Thank

GABY LEE PAUL TIDMARSH

POKE NY DIANA PRETE

SOPHIA ELECTRA TASIOULIS

Story Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOHN TRUBY ADAM STANHOPE

SARAH SCOTT

Legal and Commercial JOHN DURIE

Support . . . . . . . . . . . TANYA SCHIPELBAUM START CREATIVE

CARRIE GALVAU CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP

KOFI QUASHIE-WILLIAMS LIZ PEARSON

Licensing and With Thanks to

Deliverables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KATJA WAGNER NHK (JAPAN BROADCASTING

CORPORATION)

The Directors Would Like to NHK ENTERPRISES, INC.

Thank the Production Team of the

Planet Earth Television Series Very Special Thanks to

SUE AARTSE-TUYN YVES CHEVALIER

PENNY ALLEN RICHARD LLOYD

JUSTIN ANDERSON

VANESSA BERLOWITZ The BBC Natural History Unit

LESLEY BISHOP Would Like to Thank

MARK BROWNLOW HECTOR CASIN

ANDY BYATT BRADY DOAK

HUW CORDEY CHRIS AND MONIQUE FALLOWS

TOM HUGH-JONES GUILLAUME MAZILLE

KATHRYN JEFFS DOUG CASTLEMAN

JONNY KEELING PAUL BREHEM

CONRAD MAUFE PAUL LICKTE

EMMA PEACE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND

LISA SIBBALD TOURISM, NAMIBIA

JOANNA VERITY ROWEN MILES

CREDITS

MOHAMED IXA

JUDITH STUHRENBERG

DANUM VALLEY FIELD CENTRE

JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE

DAVID WATTS

JOHN MUTANI

MAKERE FIELD STATION

SAMUEL KEPUKNAI

JOSEPH TANU

TRANS NIUGINI TOURS

TOSHIHIRO MUTA

MASAHIRO HAYAKAWA

DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE AND

NATIONAL PARKS, BOTSWANA

THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF

BOTSWANA

AFRISCREEN FILMS

CAPTAIN ANTHONY MENDILLO JR.

SAMUEL MUNENE

MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE

EVERETT AVIATION

VIEWFINDERS

NEPALNATURE.COM

NATIONAL TRUST FOR

NATURE CONSERVATION

ANNAPURNA CONSERVATION

AREA PROJECT

INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION

NEPAL ARMY

NEPALESE AIR WING

BRIG GEN. GUNJ MAN LAMA

COL. SATISH SHAH

COL. SUDHIR SHRESTHA

HELINET AVIATION SERVICES

CINEFLEX SYSTEMS

ALAN PURWIN

JOHN COYLE

DAVID CALVERT-JONES

JOHN BURTON

THE AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION

THE CAPTAIN AND SHIP’S COMPANY OF

HMS ENDURANCE

THE ROYAL NAVY

212 FLIGHT OF 815 NAVAL

AIR SQUADRON

MASU - RNAS YEOVILTON

BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY

NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

POLAR REGIONS UNIT, FOREIGN AND

COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

LAVAL UNIVERSITY, CENTRE D’ETUDES

NORDIQUES

NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESEARCH

CENTRE, ENVIRONMENT CANADA

CANADIAN WILDLIFE SERVICE,

YELLOWKNIFE

SIRMILIK NATIONAL PARK

GILLES GAUTHIER

NOAH KADLAK

MICHAEL BROOKE

JEROME PONCET

DAVID REID

DANY CLEYET-MARREL

RANDALL JAY MOORE

NIAL MOORES

THE NATIONAL TRUST, TYNTESFIELD

PETER PERLSTEIN

ANATOLY PETROV

STEVE SCAMMEL

ROBERT AND DOROTHY SEYFARTH

THE GOVERNOR OF SVALBARD

TRANS NIUGINI TOURS

WILDERNESS SAFARIS

KEDROVAYA PAD ZAPOVEDNIK

ZYGMUNT GIZEJEWSKI

PETER ROSÉN

BIALOWIEZA NATIONAL PARK

BRIAN STONE

JARI PELTOMAKI

ANATOLY PETROV

KEN ROBERTSON

RICK BEAMAN

SAUL GUTIERREZ

FLAVIO SOMOGYI

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

GRACIE ATKINS

DISNEYNATURE CREW

ExecutiveProducer . . . . . . . . . . . . DON HAHN

Film Editor. . . . . . . . . . . VARTAN NAZARIAN

Associate

Producer . . CONNIE NARTONIS THOMPSON

Narration Directed by . . . . . . RICK DEMPSEY

Re-Recording Mixer. . . . . . . . . KEVIN BURNS

Additional Sound Editing . . . . . . . . . RON ENG

Dialog Editing . . . . . . . . RANDY COPPINGER

Assistant Editor. . . . . . . . . ANDREW SORCINI

Additional Music by . . . . . . . . . CHRIS BACON

Additional Music Editors . . . EARL GHAFFARI

and BRYAN LAWSON

Additional Score Recorded

and Mixed by . . . . . . . . . . . SHAWN MURPHY

Additional

Orchestrations by . . . . . . . . . PETE ANTHONY

and JON KULL

Additional Orchestra

Contractors. . . . . . . . . SANDY DE CRESCENT

and PETER ROTTER

Music Preparation . . . . . . . . MARK GRAHAM,

JOANN KANE MUSIC

Additional Score

Recorded at . . . . . . . . . . . CAPITOL STUDIOS,

Hollywood, CA

and SONY SCORING STAGE,

Culver City, CA

“Birds of Paradise” and “Baboons” Music

Written by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATRICK KIRST

Produced by. . . . . . . . . . . NOAH GLADSTONE

Additional Music

Production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GREG CURTIS

MILTON GUTIERREZ

GLENN MORRISSETTE

Vocal Contractor . . . . . . . . JASPER RANDALL

Vocalists. . . . . . . . . . . . . STEPHEN AMERSON

TYLER AZELTON

JENNIFER BARNES

VATSCHE BARSOUMIAN

RICHARD BOLKS

JOANNA BUSHNELL

STEVE DUNHAM

HARRY J. CAMPBELL

BILL CANTOS

ELIN CARLSON

WALT HARRAH

WILL COLLYER

DONNA DAVIDSON

SCOTT DICKEN

MONIQUE DONNELLY

AMBER ERWIN

DIANE FREIMAN REYNOLDS

CHRIS GAMBOL

MICHAEL GEIGER

ABDIEL GONZALEZ

JULES GREEN

MICHELE HEMMINGS

LUANA JACKMAN

CLYDENE JACKSON

ELISSA JOHNSTON

TERRI KUIDE

EDIE BODDICKER

EDWARD LEVY

LEBERTA LORAL

JONATHAN MACK

SUSAN BOYD JOYCE

LIKA MIYAKE

DREA PRESSLEY

JASPER RANDALL

DOUGLAS SHABE

NIKAR SIMOR ST. CLAIRE

MARK EDWARD SMITH

KAREN WHIPPLE-SCHNURR

GERALD WHITE

ED ZAJAC

Narration Recorded at . . . . . . . . . . . . . NOMAD

Re-Recorded at . . . . . . . TODD AO BURBANK

Post Production

Supervisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID CANDIFF

SARA DURAN SINGER

Colorist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIKE SOWA

Digital Intermediate Services

LASERPACIFIC MEDIA CORPORATION

-A KODAK COMPANY

Production

Coordinator. . . . . . . . . CHRISTOPHER GAIDA

Production Assistant . . . . . . CHARLES HAYES

Production

Intern . . . . . . . . . . STEPHANIE VAN BOXTEL

EARTH IS A

BBC WORLDWIDE AND GREENLIGHT

MEDIA AG CO-PRODUCTION

This motion picture is protected under the laws

of the United States, Canada and other

countries. Any unauthorized exhibition,

distribution or reproduction of this motion

picture or any part thereof including the

soundtrack may result in severe civil and

criminal penalties.

This film is supported by the

Federal German Film Board

CREDITS

©BBC WORLDWIDE MMVII

MPAA #44899

disneynature.com

www.loveearth.com

EARTH

Production Information

The first in the Disneynature line-up of films, “EARTH,” narrated by JAMES EARL

JONES, tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journeys across

the planet we all call home. “EARTH” combines rare action, unimaginable scale and

impossible locations while capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and

most elusive creatures. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative

team behind the Emmy Award®-winning “Planet Earth,” combine forces again to bring this epic

adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day, April 22, 2009. Behind-the-scenes talent

includes producers Alix Tidmarsh and Sophokles Tasioulis, award-winning composer George

Fenton directing the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and editor Martin Elsbury (“Deep Blue”).

DISNEYNATURE: ALL NEW, ALL NATURE

Disneynature is the first new Disney-branded label in 60 years. Jean-François Camilleri

serves as executive vice president and general manager of the company. With plans to release

one feature-length nature film a year, Disneynature was formed in the proud tradition

established by Walt Disney with the classic True-Life Adventures series from 1948 to 1960,

which won eight Academy Awards®.

Camilleri says: “I think the public

worldwide is really looking for films

which are entertaining, which are

educational, which show beautiful

things about nature and are basically

environmentally conscious. And I

think that Disney is the best studio to

do this because that’s what Walt

Disney created 60 years ago.

“Nature invents the most beautiful

stories,” he continues. “If you’re

looking for the best scripts, they are actually in nature. So in a place like the Disney Studios,

where storytelling is key, we are going to go and look for the stories in nature and bring them

to the big screen. This was a vision of Walt Disney back in 1948, and this is the vision of

Disneynature today.”

Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, says, “Disney has been a pioneer in

creating landmark nature films for more than six decades, and we’re thrilled to be expanding

upon that legacy with some extraordinary new films from Disneynature. We believe that

DISNEYNATURE

moviegoers of all ages and all over the world want to know more about the planet in which

they live. Working with the world’s top nature filmmakers, it is our goal to create exciting new

motion pictures on a variety of subjects that are timely, entertaining and informative.

‘EARTH’ is a great example of the kind of film we want to make, and we know audiences

POLAR BEARS STRUGGLE

everywhere are going to be blown

away by this magnificent production.”

“I think ‘EARTH’ is a perfect film

to start the Disneynature series in the

States because it is a portrait of the

whole planet,” director Alastair

Fothergill says. “We literally filmed

from pole to pole. It’s a celebration of

the beauty of the entire planet. In a

sense, ‘EARTH’ is like the overture in

an opera. It’s the very, very best

together in a wonderful epic

celebration, so it’s a wonderful opener for the whole of the Disneynature series of movies.”

Starting in the arctic winter just 700 miles from the North Pole, “EARTH” follows the sun’s

warming influence as it travels south right down to the Antarctic. This epic global journey is

told through the eyes of three key animal families. We watch as a polar bear mother struggles

to feed her newborn cubs as the sun melts the ice beneath their feet. We marvel at the

determination of an elephant mother as she guides her tiny calf on an endless trek across the

Kalahari Desert in search of fresh water. We follow a humpbacked whale mother and her calf

as they undertake the longest migration of any marine mammal—4,000 miles from the tropics

to the Antarctic in search of food.

POLAR BEARS STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL

The first family to appear on screen is the polar bears. Some 700 miles south of the North

Pole, a male adult bear hunts far out on the pack ice, which, as spring arrives, is melting

around him earlier than in past years.

And a mother bear emerges from her

den with her two cubs after a long

winter in their snow den. She too

faces the challenge of feeding her

family and herself because her

hunting platform, the sea ice, is

melting earlier and earlier each year.

Her survival and that of her cubs are

in serious question.

Director Mark Linfield says: “I

think the polar bear has become an

emblem for all the animals that are struggling on planet Earth because its plight is so visual,

it’s so graphic. When the polar bear falls through the ice, you almost need no commentary, the

images just tell the story and it’s heart rending. Of course global warming hits the poles first,

that’s where we first see it and that’s where it hits hardest, so the polar bear in a very real sense

is a barometer for what’s happening and a warning for

what’s ahead.”

The filmmakers were the first to be allowed access

to the polar bear denning site in Kong Karls Land,

Norway, where they captured the emergence of a

mother polar bear with her two cubs from their snow

den. They also provided a first-time perspective, using

aerial photography, of polar bears negotiating the sea

ice, which cannot be filmed from the land. For the

aerial shots, they used helicopters equipped with gyro-

stabilized Cineflex aerial camera systems with more

powerful lenses than had been possible to use before.

This allowed the filmmakers to track their animal

characters from great distances and heights and place

them into the context of their environment without

disturbing them.

Fothergill says: “For me, probably the ultimate

moment filming for ‘EARTH’ was in the helicopter

getting those wonderfully special images of the polar bear swimming in the ice. It was a very

beautiful image, but also it seemed to me it was a fantastic symbol: the world has disappeared

beneath the feet of this large carnivore, and in a sense it was emblematic of the fragility of our

planet.”

The bitter cold posed a challenge to

both the crew and the camera

equipment. To keep the camera kit

warm, they developed a special jacket

they called a “polar bear jacket” made

of quilted down with a heating circuit

in it. “However, keeping the crew

warm was just as important,” says

Jason C. Roberts, polar logistics

expert. “The biggest problem they

face is frostbite. You have to keep

moving to keep warm. But camera people are very focused, and when they are filming they will

keep still, which can be dangerous.”

ELEPHANTS OF THE KALAHARI DESERT

To visit the next family, filmmakers travelled far to the south, the journey continuing across

the world’s harshest deserts. We are battered by sandstorms in the Sahara, we fly over the

world’s largest sand dunes in Namibia, and in the Kalahari Desert we meet the second of the

animal stars: an elephant mother and her tiny newborn calf.

It is the dry season and thousands of elephants are struggling across the Kalahari in search

of fresh water. Thick clouds of dust blow across the desert, and there is a real risk that the

ELEPHANTS OF THE KALAHARI

mother and calf will get separated in the sandstorm, and after days of trekking, the matriarch

finally leads the herd to an isolated water hole in the

desert. At last the elephant calf and mother can

quench their thirst, but they do not drink alone. The

elephants are forced to share the precious water with

hungry lions.

During the day the elephants dominate the water

hole, but at night the balance of power shifts. Lions can

see far better in the darkness, and the lions try to steal

the calf away from its mother. The elephants gather

around their calves to form a defensive wall of hide.

Frustrated by this defense, the lions have to change

their tactics. This is the largest pride of lions in Africa,

and 30 of them join forces to attack a young adult

elephant. Will the calf and its mother survive the night

and continue their trek for fresh water, which must

continue to ensure they survive? The elephants are

striving for the Okavango Delta, an inland delta still

hundreds of miles away. At the moment the delta is dry,

but the flood will come.

Fothergill says: “Filming the extraordinary sequence of the lions and the elephants at night

from open vehicles was a great challenge. In the first place, that is a very, very unique story.

I think, as far as we know, only that one pride in Botswana, 30 strong, has learned to bring a

massive elephant down in the way

they do.

“For us filming it, there were a

number of challenges. In the first

place we knew we had to film it in

infrared; any normal light would have

disturbed the natural behavior of the

lions and the elephants. What was

absolutely terrifying was that in

complete darkness, blind, very upset,

very large female elephants were

running all around the place, and I

have to say that a big female elephant or a bull elephant, upset, thinking it’s about to be eaten

up by lions, will not stop if they run into a vehicle, and that was what was quite frightening: it

wasn’t the lions, it was the elephants.”

Linfield says: “For me, the scene of elephants battling a sandstorm in the Okavango delta

is one of the most powerful in the whole movie. From our chopper above the storm, we could

see everything. It was elephants versus the elements. It was just raw, natural drama. The

lengths that one mother went to in order to save her calf was so uplifting and yet, moments

later, the dust cleared and it became apparent that another calf was lost. And from high

overhead, we could see what that little calf could not—it was walking in the wrong direction

into the middle of the desert. There was nothing we could do to help it. In one sequence we

had drama that touched so many different emotions, and it came out of the blue with no script.

Nature did it all for us.”

SUN’S ANNUAL RHYTHM DRIVES CYCLE OF WET AND DRY

The lives of the elephant stars are just as dominated by the sun as those of the polar bears.

The sun’s annual rhythm drives the cycle of wet and dry which forces the elephants to be

constantly on the move in search of fresh water. “EARTH” sets the elephants’ intimate

struggles against the epic global story of the freshwater supply across the planet. With

spectacular time-lapse photography from the air, we watch as massive storms form over the

tropical seas before blowing inland to meet the great mountain ranges of the planet.

The clouds forced up by the mountains cool and drop their moisture as snow. When the

sun’s warmth melts that snow, we follow as this fresh water starts its long journey back to the

ocean. The cameras take viewers right over the world’s highest and largest waterfalls and on

towards the sea. As this fresh water sweeps across desert lands, the Okavango Delta is

transformed into a fertile paradise. After weeks of marching, the elephant mother and calf

have finally arrived and play together in the crystal clear waters.

“This was a very special shoot,” says field assistant Chadden Hunter. “We lived with the

elephants for nearly two months observing them as they traveled across near barren desert,

surviving on such a meager diet. They are remarkably tough animals and incongruous in such

an extraordinary setting!”

HUMPBACK WHALES MIGRATE 4,000 MILES

Just as it does on the land, the sun fuels life in the oceans, and it is there that filmmakers

go for the final stage of the journey. The third stars are a humpback whale mother and her

newborn calf, and we meet them first in tropical waters near the equator. These warm, calm

waters make good nurseries. The calf is just a few weeks old and the mother delicately

supports him near the surface so he

can breathe. The calf receives over

600 quarts of milk a day from its

mother, but the mother is starving.

There is nothing for her in these clear

waters.

Eventually, when the calf is five

months old, mother and calf set out

on the longest journey undertaken by

any marine mammal—4,000 miles

from the tropics all the way to the

southern extremes of the planet in

Antarctica. From a unique aerial perspective, flying just above the whales, cameras follow

them as they journey all the way.

As they travel south, the whales encounter some of the ocean’s greatest spectacles. A

hundred sailfish, with javelin-like bills, chase through the ocean at nearly 70 miles an hour in

search of prey. A great white shark, filmed in ultra-slow motion, explodes out of the ocean to

SUN’S ANNUAL RHYTHM

GIANTS OF THE OCEAN

grab its fur seal prey.

Eventually the humpback whale

and her calf reach Antarctica just in

time for the summer. The sun has

melted the ice and life has returned.

Now the humpback mother can

replenish her reserves. She and other

whales cooperate to create a

spiralling net of bubbles with which

they harvest shrimp-like krill. But

the whales must work fast because

soon the sun’s warming influence

will return to the north and the sea will freeze again—forcing the whales to journey all the

way back to the tropics.

GETTING CLOSE TO THE GIANTS OF THE OCEAN

“Filming underwater means getting up close, which is why it’s so special,” cinematographer

Doug Allan says as he describes filming the giant whales. “When you are on the land, you

quite often rely on being a long way away and you’ll be hidden in a blind or in a vehicle. In

the water, you have to work much closer to the subject. It will be aware of you, so its

confidence is essential. My goal is always for the animal to accept me.

“I’m not surprised when people say having a whale encounter changes their lives,” he

continues, “and I had a far more intimate, personal experience with a whale than most people.

There is no equivalent experience

with a live animal. You can make

friends with an elephant but whales

are so much bigger, and in the

weightless medium of water, they

have this intangible mystery about

them.”

Speaking of the three animal

families featured in the film,

producer Sophokles Tasioulis says:

“They are heroes in a very traditional

way. They have their battles, they

have their defeats, they have their victories, so you sympathize with them, you feel with them,

and that’s what you want to have in a big-screen drama.”

Producer Alix Tidmarsh adds: “I really felt that we needed the intimate stories of the

animals combined with the epic scope of the film to make it work well on the big screen.”

CARIBOU MIGRATE ACROSS ARCTIC TUNDRA

While focusing on the three animal families, “EARTH” also explores the lives of other

members of the animal kingdom and the geography of the planet. Traveling south from the

arctic home of the polar bears, the film reveals the first vegetation after the snows—the

endless grasslands of the arctic tundra. This expanse of grassland is practically lifeless in the

winter, but every summer thousands of visitors arrive from the south to take advantage of the

brief flush of food in the summer. In Canada, 3 million caribou trek 2,000 miles north

following the thaw. It is one of the longest overland migrations on Earth and one of nature’s

greatest spectacles. The vast herds do not travel alone. Hungry wolves shadow them all along

the way. We watch a complete wolf hunt from the air as the wolves cooperate to separate a calf

from its mother.

To reach the first trees on the planet, the film travels some 1,200 miles from the North Pole,

where stunted shrubs mark the

“tree line” of the planet. This is the

start of the taiga—the greatest

coniferous forest in the world which

stretches unbroken all around the

northern hemisphere—containing

one-third of all the trees on Earth.

For much of the year the taiga is a

snow-covered wonderland, a silent

world where the snow is rarely

marked by footprints. Among the few that live there is the lynx, which is captured on film.

Approximately 1,500 miles south of the North Pole are broad-leafed woodlands. Summer

is long enough here for deciduous woodlands to take over from conifers. These are the

woodlands of bluebells and nightingales, foxes and deer. In spring, mandarin duck chicks take

their first brave and comic leaps from their nest hole high in the treetops.

Eventually the epic journey reaches the equator. This is the only part of the planet that has

no seasons, for here in the tropics the sun shines reliably for 12 hours every day of the year.

With so much available energy, the jungle grows unchecked and supports a variety of life.

Although it covers just three percent of the planet, the rain forest is home to more than half of

all its plants and animals. In Papua New Guinea alone, there are 42 different species of Birds

of Paradise, an extraordinary variety

with amusing mating displays. The

jungle depends not just on reliable

sunshine all year round but also on

receiving more rainfall than

anywhere else on Earth. Without

rainfall there would be no

rainforest—just desert.

Among other animals featured in

the film are flocks of demoiselle

cranes that undertake an incredible

migration over the planet’s highest

peaks—the Himalayas—from Mongolia to India. Able to climb to altitudes of up to 25,000 feet,

they must reach their breeding grounds on the other side to winter in warmer climes, but there

are times when winds over the mountains force them to turn back and try again another day.

ACROSS ARCTIC TUNDRA

CAPTURING PREDATION IN SLOW MOTION

CAPTURING PREDATION

To capture predation in super-slow motion—including a scene in which a cheetah brings

down a gazelle—the filmmakers used a camera originally developed for crash testing cars. It

records straight onto a hard drive—

there’s no film or tape—creating

digital files that are stored straight

onto a laptop computer. It can film

at 1,000 frames per second at full

1024x1024 pixel resolution. This

means that the filmmakers can slow

an event down by up to 40 times but

maintain the clarity and detail of the

image.

“We use this camera to give a unique perspective on wildlife events that happen in a very

short period of time,” says cinematographer Simon King. “Only by filming this way can we

truly appreciate the beauty and mastery of such magnificent creatures as the cheetah or evoke

the poignancy of the life-and-death struggle between prey and predator. Shooting at its highest

speed, this camera would take an event that occurs over four seconds and make it into a shot

that takes more than five minutes to lay out!”

Although animals in nature must

struggle for survival, there are lighter,

even humorous moments in their

lives. In the Okavango Delta a troop

of baboons gingerly wade through the

water, clearly hating to get wet. Also

in the delta, elephants joyously swim

in the crystal-clear waters after their

long trek through the desert.

Elsewhere in the film, chimpanzees

stuff their mouths full of fruit, a male

bird of paradise dances and struts to

attract a mate, and baby mandarin ducks launch themselves from their nests high in the trees,

making hard, bouncing landings on the ground that leave them unharmed.

“EARTH”—A MASSIVE PROJECT

Never in the history of cinema have so many resources and so much time been invested in

a true-life feature film. “EARTH” is the ultimate portrait of the planet, revealing its natural

splendors as they have never been seen before. At a time when we are all becoming

increasingly aware of global warming and the fragile state of the planet we call home,

“EARTH” is a movie of the moment.

“I’ve worked on some pretty massive projects in my time,” Fothergill says, “but they’re

completely dwarfed by the scale of ‘EARTH.’ In over five years‚ we filmed at more than 200

locations in 64 countries worldwide and employed 60 cameramen‚ all of whom are complete

experts in their own field. Nobody in the history of cinema has ever had so much time,

resources and talent brought together for one true-life feature.”

In addition, the production included 250 days of aerial photography, and the final movie

features 42 animal species.

As the years pass, more and more of the natural world is dwindling or disappearing. “If we

were to make this film in 10 or

certainly 20 years’ time, we would

not be able to bring the extraordinary

images we are bringing to the big

screen,” Fothergill says. “So there’s a

subtle, yet powerful message behind

the film, which aims to encourage

those who see ‘EARTH’ to feel

compelled to do something to

preserve our beautiful but fragile

planet.”

“Five years is a long time,”

director Mark Linfield says, “and in a production of that length you have ups and downs and

some shoots fail and some shoots are successful; you have to constantly rethink the story. I

think it’s fair to say that all of the teams at times thought, ‘Can we really pull this off?’ It’s such

a massive undertaking in terms of the sheer scale and the vision, but looking back at it after

five years I think it worked out really well.”

As narrator James Earl Jones says: “The people who put the footage together for ‘EARTH’

are artists. Not just artisans, as every photographer has to be, but artists. To have the patience

to find the subject, to know what angle they want to shoot that subject in, the light they want

to shoot the subject in and then the patience to wait for it to behave in a way that’s interesting,

A MASSIVE PROJECT

that they’ve never seen before—that’s artistry.”

In conclusion, producer Tidmarsh

says: “We as humans are all part of one

big system—a complex system of

relationships called Earth. We affect this

system more than most, therefore I

believe we have a responsibility to respect

it. By showing and reminding people of

the beauty and wonder of our planet, we

hope that it will remind us all to just take

a little more care and action towards

preserving our precious resources and the

living things that share our planet with us. Without them, our lives could change radically in

a way we might not like, and given it’s impossible to tell which direction things may definitely

change I hope that people watching this movie will just take a little more care to protect our

planet.”

“EARTH” FUN FACTS

Humpback Whales

“EARTH” FUN FACTS

•

The humpback whales in the film migrate 4,000 miles from the warm waters of the

tropics to the waters off Antarctica where they feed on krill and small fish.

•

To avoid getting separated and losing track of each other, mother whale and calf keep in

contact by slapping their fins on the surface of the water.

•

Humpbacks sometimes feed on krill cooperatively using a method call “bubble netting.”

A group of whales emit bubbles in a circle, which herds the krill together and forces

them towards the surface at the center of the circle, making it easy for the whales to feed.

•

Humpback whales’ very small eyes help them withstand the pressure of a deep-sea dive.

•

Instead of teeth, a humpback whale has approximately 330 pairs of baleen plates, or fine

brush-like structures, which strain krill from the water.

•

Humpback whale calves are able to swim within 30 minutes of being born. Calves drink

about 160 gallons of milk a day.

•

Humpback whales are singers: their songs can last up to 10 minutes. Why or how

humpbacks sing is unknown, though it is possible it is related to communication and, in

breeding season, to mating.

Polar Bears

•

The polar bear gets all the

liquid it needs from its food

its main source being the ringed

seal—so it has no need to

drink water.

•

Polar bears will travel hundreds

of miles in search of food and

can swim 12 miles a day.

•

The polar bear is so well adapted to retaining heat that they can’t run long distances

because it would be in danger of overheating.

•

Polar bears are the largest land predator in the world. Males can grow up to about eight

feet and weigh up to 1,800 pounds.

•

Even with their mother’s care, only 50 percent of the polar bear cubs survive their first

year, and more are lost when they first leave their mother to make their way alone.

•

The polar bears were filmed on Kong Karls Land, a group of islands between the

Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Part of Norway, it is a land where the midnight sun

lasts from April 20 to August 23, and the polar night lasts from October 26 to February 15.

Elephants

•

An adult elephant can eat more than 300 pounds of food and drink 50 gallons of water

a day.

•

Elephants’ ears act as a cooling system. By holding them out in the wind or flapping

them, the elephant can increase the movement of air over its ears and cool the blood

running through them, thereby regulating its body heat.

•

It can take up to six months for an elephant calf to learn how to use its trunk to bring

water up to its mouth.

•

In times of danger the adult elephants in a herd will form a ring around the young, facing

out to protect them.

•

In the film the elephants spend weeks traveling across the Kalahari Desert to reach the

abundant waters of the Okavango Delta, the world’s largest inland delta, where the

Okavango River empties into the desert.

Other Cast Members

•

Millions of caribou undertake one of the world’s longest land migrations at

2,000 miles.

•

Grey wolves travel greater distances than any other land mammal in North America

except for the caribou.

•

Thousands of demoiselle cranes migrate from Mongolia to the warmer climates of India,

over the highest mountain range on Earth: the Himalayas. They can fly at altitudes up to

25,000 feet.

•

Lions are the only cats to live socially in prides, and it is the lionesses in a pride that do

most of the hunting.

•

The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal. It can accelerate from 0 to 40 miles

per hour in three strides and to its full speed of 70 miles per hour in seconds.

“EARTH” FUN FACTS

ABOUT THE NARRATOR

•

A great white shark is the world’s largest predatory fish, with about 3,000 teeth

at any one time. It is one of the few sharks that can jump fully out of the water.

•

In the film, a troop of Chacma baboons can be seen delicately wading through the

flooded Okavango Delta, where the Okavango River empties into the Kalahari Desert,

as though they can’t stand getting wet. They do, however, enjoy eating the tubers of

aquatic plants. An average troop of baboons consists of 20 to 80 individuals.

•

Mandarin ducks build their nests in a hole in a tree up to 30 feet from the ground. When

the eggs hatch, the mother calls the chicks from the ground. Each chick crawls out of

the hole and launches itself into a free fall. Astonishingly all the chicks land—and

sometimes bounce—unhurt and head for the nearest feeding ground.

•

There are approximately 40 different bird of paradise species in Papua New Guinea,

each with a different mating display. For his mating display, the male six-plumed bird

of paradise builds his dance floor, clearing a small patch of forest floor of leaves and

twigs and pruning the surrounding branches of leaves. He wants all the visiting females

to get a good look at his performance.

•

During the approximately five years of filming “EARTH,” the production captured

42 animal species on film.

•

The Earth is tilted at an angle of exactly 23.5 degrees to the sun. Without this tilt, the

Earth would be a very different planet. While there would still be climatic variations

north to south caused by the varying concentration of solar energy reaching the planet’s

surface, there would be no seasons and no variation in the hours of daylight and darkness

during the year.

•

Tropical rainforests cover less than 3 percent of the planet’s surface but are home to

more than 50 percent of the world’s species.

ABOUT THE NARRATOR

JAMES EARL JONES’ voice is known by people of all ages

and walks of life—the “Star Wars” fans who know him as the voice

of Darth Vader, children who know him as Mufasa from Disney’s

“The Lion King,” those who hear him intone “This is CNN” while

watching the news, and the countless people who use Verizon phone

services, for which he was the exclusive spokesperson for many

years.

Born in Mississippi and raised in Michigan, Jones moved to New

York City after graduating from the University of Michigan and

serving in the military. Renowned Broadway producer Joseph Papp

gave Jones one of his first major breakthroughs, casting him as Michael Williams in

Shakespeare’s “Henry V.” This marked the beginning of Jones’ long affiliation with the New

York Shakespeare Festival, which eventually included the title roles of “Othello,” “Macbeth”

and “King Lear” among his many distinguished performances for the company.

Based on his success in the theater, he began to be cast in television roles. In the 1960s,

Jones was one of the first African-American actors to appear regularly in daytime soap operas

(playing a doctor in both “The Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns”), and he made his

film debut in 1964 in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.”

In 1969, Jones won a Tony Award® for his breakthrough role as boxer Jack Johnson in the

Broadway hit “The Great White Hope” (which also garnered him an Oscar® nomination for

the 1970 film adaptation). He won a second Tony Award in 1987 for August Wilson’s

“Fences.”

Although he was cast in numerous leading roles in films in the 1970s, including “The

Man,” “Claudine,” “The River Niger” and “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor

Kings,” Jones continued to make his biggest impression on stage. In addition to his

Shakespearean work, he began a long-standing collaboration with South African playwright

Athol Fugard, acting in “The Blood Knot,” “Boseman and Lena” and the critically acclaimed

“Master Harold…and the Boys,” among others.

His films of the 1980s included John Sayles’ “Matewan” and “Field of Dreams,” while the

‘90s found him in the thick of the Tom Clancy blockbuster trilogy—“The Hunt for Red

October,” “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger”—as well as in the film version of

the Alan Paton classic “Cry, the Beloved Country.”

His career also includes a wide range of television work, including “Roots: The Next

Generation”; “Heat Wave,” for which he won an Emmy®; and a great number of guest roles in

series ranging from “The Defenders” and “Dr. Kildare” to “Touched by an Angel” and

“Homicide: Life on the Streets.” He also earned an Emmy as the title character in the series

“Gabriel’s Fire.”

In addition to the many awards he has received as an actor—two Tonys®, three Emmys®, a

Golden Globe®, two CableACEs, two OBIEs, five Drama Desks, and a Grammy®—Jones was

honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992 and the John F. Kennedy Center Honor in

December 2002. He also was honored by the Screen Actors Guild with the Lifetime

Achievement Award in January of 2009.

In the spring of 2005, Jones starred on Broadway in a critically acclaimed revival of “On

Golden Pond,” for which he was nominated for a Tony Award®. In 2006, he also starred as

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in the production of “Thurgood” at the Westport

County Playhouse, and in spring of 2008 portrayed Big Daddy in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ” on

Broadway with cast members Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

ALASTAIR FOTHERGILL (Director) was educated at Harrow School and the

Universities of St. Andrew’s and Durham. He joined the BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) in

1983. He has worked on a wide range of the department’s programs, including the BAFTA

award-winning “The Really Wild Show,” “Wildlife on One” and the innovative “Reefwatch,”

where he was one of the team that developed live broadcasting from beneath the sea.

Fothergill went on to work on the BBC ONE series “The Trials of Life,” with David

Attenborough. In 1993 he directed “Life in the Freezer,” a six-part series for BBC ONE

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

celebrating the wildlife of the Antarctic. While still working on the series he was appointed

head of the NHU in November 1992.

In June 1998, Fothergill stepped down from his role as head of the NHU to concentrate on

directing the TV series “The Blue Planet,” the ground-breaking TV series on the Earth’s oceans,

and “Deep Blue,” the feature-length version which achieved both critical and box-office

success for its outstanding cinematography. “Deep Blue” went on to rejuvenate worldwide

interest in the documentary film genre. He is also the creative visionary behind the Emmy®and

Peabody Award-winning 11-part series “Planet Earth,” which he executive produced.

MARK LINFIELD (Director) was educated at the University of Oxford. He had a

childhood passion for nature and started his filmmaking career at the age of 21, on a BBC

documentary about gorillas in the Congo, West Africa. He then joined Green Umbrella

Productions from where he traveled the world producing and directing many award-winning

documentaries including “The Triumph of Life,” “The Battles of Braveheart,” “Orangutans:

The High Society” and “The Temple Troop.” In 2000 Mark returned to the BBC to direct on

the BAFTA-nominated “Life of Mammals” with Sir David Attenborough. In the last four years

Mark has produced and directed the award-winning “Capuchins: The Monkey Puzzle” and

two episodes of “Planet Earth,” including the opening show: “Pole to Pole.”

SOPHOKLES TASIOULIS (Producer) studied aerospace engineering at Berlin’s

Technical University (TU Berlin) as well as media design and media art at the BILDO

Academy Berlin. After completing his studies, he worked for various broadcasters and film

production companies (including Arte, BBC, CanalPlus, ZDF) and founded THESA Film und

Fernsehproduktion in 1991. In 1998 he founded Hope & Glory Film Productions. Since 2002

he has been in charge of developing, financing and producing projects with German and

international co-production partners.

He produced and co-produced a number of noted documentaries, including “Cheerleader

Stories” and “Deep Blue” as well as features such as “Shoes of America,” “The Great Match”

and the animation feature “Quest for a Heart.”

ALIX TIDMARSH (Producer) gained a degree in zoology from Bristol University. In

1998 she joined BBC Worldwide for seven years, as Director of Marketing where she headed

an integrated, full-service marketing operation that included strategic market planning and the

creative execution of campaigns.

She facilitated company-wide marketing projects and helped shape the company’s

investment strategy. She was responsible for providing consumer insights, marketing and

funding support to the production process and directed the account management of the BBC

specialist factual departments, working with producers and BBC Marketing to develop

programming with a global multi-media potential. Her team also coordinated and managed

the global exploitation of those brands across media. She was instrumental in managing the

global marketing of hugely successful, award-winning brands such as “The Human Body,”

“Walking With Dinosaurs,” “The Blue Planet” and David Attenborough’s “Life of Mammals,”

and is responsible for providing consumer insights, marketing and funding support to the

production process. A highlight was the funding and marketing of the successful IMAX film

version of “The Human Body” as well as conceiving and producing the box-office smash hit

“Deep Blue.” Prior to joining the BBC, Tidmarsh gained 14 years’ experience in classic

strategic marketing roles from two major international companies, Unilever and L’Oreal,

before running her own successful restaurant and bar.

As managing director of international television and film, MIKE PHILLIPS (Executive

Producer) managed BBC Worldwide’s television and feature film business. Responsible for

the investment in BBC programming and selected BBC theatrical films, he has served as

executive producer on “Deep Blue”; Julian Temple’s “Pandemonium,” starring John Hannah

and Linus Roache; the Roddy Doyle comedy, “When Brendan Met Trudy”; and the

supernatural thriller “Dr. Sleep,” starring “ER’s” Goran Visnjic.

Before joining BBC Worldwide, Phillips was managing director of Thames Television—

then the U.K.’s largest independent production company—a director of two U.K. production

subsidiaries, Euston Films and Cosgrove Hall productions, and president of the Los Angeles-

based production company Reeves Entertainment. He was responsible for single films for the

BBC such as John Schlesinger’s “Cold Comfort Farm.”

ANDRÉ SIKOJEV (Executive Producer) studied philology, Slavic literature and

orthodox theology in Munich and Berlin. He began working as a freelance journalist (Der

Spiegel) during his studies and later became an author (“Die Narten—Kinder Der Sonne”),

publisher and literary translator.

Sikojev is one of the co-founders of Greenlight Media AG and, since 2006, chairman of the

supervisory board. Furthermore, he is the author of the successful 26-part animation series

“SimsalaGrimm” and, together with Stefan Beiten and Nikolaus Weil, the producer of the

series. As the co-producer and producer, he has developed and implemented further animation

films, including “Funky Cops” and “Quest for a Heart,” the TV documentaries “Sandstones,”

“Giorgio Armani—A Man for All Seasons” and “Iceland—Realm of the Gods,” as well as the

motion picture “The Great Match.” He is also executive producer of “Deep Blue.”

STEFAN BEITEN (Executive Producer) began his international career in 1993 in the

film and media law firm Chrystie & Berle in Los Angeles. He continued his career as a lawyer

for Beiten Burkhardt in Berlin and as an investment banker for film and media finance with

ABN AMRO in London.

In 1998 Stefan Beiten co-founded Greenlight Media AG and became chairman of the board

of the media company. He is co-creator and producer of the successful animated series

“SimsalaGrimm” and executive producer of the productions “Giorgio Armani—A Man for All

Seasons,” “Iceland—Realm of the Gods,” “Sandstones,” “Funky Cops,” “Deep Blue,” “The

Great Match” and “Quest for a Heart.”

WAYNE GARVIE (Executive Producer) is BBC Worldwide’s managing director of

content and production. He joined BBC Worldwide in January 2006 to develop ways to secure

and produce content for the company, and to manage vital investment relationships with BBC

Production and with the independent production community.

Over the last two years, Garvie has led Worldwide’s production strategy both in the U.K.

and around the world. Under his direction, the company helped set up new U.K. producers

such as Left Bank Pictures and Cliffhanger, as well as investing in existing companies such as

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Baby Cow, Big Talk, Clerkenwell and Hardy Pictures. Internationally, Garvie established

Worldwide’s first production center in Los Angeles, producers of the hugely successful

“Dancing with the Stars,” as well as conceiving wholly owned production companies in New

York, Mumbai and Paris. During his tenure, Worldwide has also taken shares in companies in

Sydney, Toronto, Moscow and Buenos Aires as it builds an international network of

production companies.

Before joining BBC Worldwide, Garvie was the BBC’s head of Entertainment Group. He

is credited with having transformed the department during his four years in the position. He

employed a new generation of creative leaders and a host of innovative new shows such as

“Strictly Come Dancing,” “Dragons’ Den,” “Honey, We’re Killing the Kids,” “Hardspell” and

“The House of Tiny Tearaways.”

Garvie is the current chair of the Royal Television Society, a trustee of the National

Museum of Labour History, and holds a Ph.D. in economic and social history. He is also

visiting professor of media at the University of Chester.

NIKOLAUS WEIL (Executive Producer) studied law in Freiburg, Munich and New York.

As an attorney he specialized in film financing, entertainment and publishing law. He

represented several clients from the film and music industry. He was also involved in

numerous structured finance as well as M&A transactions in the media area.

In 1998 he co-founded Greenlight Media AG and was appointed chief operating officer of

Greenlight Media, responsible for international co-productions, project financing and

business affairs. He is executive producer of internationally successful animated series

“SimsalaGrimm,” “Happily N’Ever After,” “Funky Cops,” “Quest for a Heart” as well as

“Giorgio Armani—A Man For All Seasons,” “Iceland—Realm of the Gods,” “Sandstones,”

“Deep Blue” and “The Great Match.”

Nikolaus Weil is also a co-founder and managing partner of the Berlin Atlantic Group, an

international investment house specializing in alternative assets, to which Greenlight Media

also belongs.

Born in 1964, JEAN-FRANÇOIS CAMILLERI (Executive Vice President and

General Manager of Disneynature), a graduate of ESCEM Management School in France,

began his career in 1988 at Grey in Paris, the advertising agency which handled the budgets

of Warner Bros. films in France, which, at the time, also distributed the Walt Disney films. He

worked on “Batman,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” and “Dead Poet’s

Society.”

He moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to become media manager at Buena Vista International

until 1991. During this period he worked on such films as “Pretty Woman” and “Honey, I

Shrunk the Kids.” He then participated in the creation of the Buena Vista European office in

Paris as advertising manager (1991-1992) and helped in the development of the Buena Vista

International offices in Europe.

In 1992, he joined the newly formed Gaumont Buena Vista International joint venture as

marketing director (1992-1997), then as general manager (1997-2004). During these years, he

worked on, among others, “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Tarzan,” “Armageddon,” “The Sixth

Sense,” “Sister Act,” “Cool Runnings,” “Face/Off,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Toy Story” 1

& 2 and “Monsters, Inc.”

In 2000, he started the distribution in France of the Japanese animation films from director

Hayao Miyazaki (“Princess Mononoke,” “Spirited Away,” “The Castle in the Sky,” “Howl’s

Moving Castle”).

Under his leadership, Buena Vista International opened its own French office in 2004 and

Camilleri became its senior vice president and general manager, releasing such films as

“Pirates of the Caribbean” 2 and 3, “Ratatouille,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The

Incredibles,” “Cars,” “The Village” and “Enchanted.” As head of BVI France, Camilleri also

developed local co-production and acquisition including, among others, “The Fox and the

Child” (2007) which did $21 million at the box office in France; “The First Cry” (2007),

nominated for Best Documentary at the French Academy Award; and “The March of the

Penguins” (2005), the most successful French film ever in the USA, earning $77 million at the

box office and $130 million at the global box office. The film won the Academy Award® for

Best Documentary (2006).

In 2008, Camilleri created Disneynature, the first new Disney-branded label in 60 years,

dedicated to producing wildlife films for the big screen. Currently executive vice president

and general manager for Disneynature Productions, Camilleri is working on such upcoming

films as “Oceans,” “The Crimson Wing,” “African Cats,” “Chimpanzee” and “Naked Beauty.”

MARTIN ELSBURY (Editor) is an award-winning BAFTA- and Emmy®-nominated

editor with over 25 years’ experience of film editing.

He joined the BBC in 1978 as an assistant film editor and in 1983 became a film editor,

quickly gaining a reputation for his work with the BBC Natural History Unit. Since becoming

a freelance editor in 1989, he has continued to maintain close links with the BBC.

His work for the BBC has included many major series such as “Kingdom of the Ice Bear,”

“Trials of Life,” “Life in the Freezer,” “Alien Empire,” “The Private Life of Plants,” “Life of

Mammals,” “Life of Birds” and “Blue Planet.” He has also edited many films for BBC’s

“Natural World,” the “Wildlife Specials” and “Wildlife on One.”

He has been nominated for five BAFTA awards and an Emmy® and has received several

awards for editing. He twice won the best editing category at the Missoula Film Festival. In

2001 he won a Royal Television Society Award for his part in the editing of “Blue Planet.”

Following the TV series “Blue Planet” he edited the associated theatrical release “Deep Blue.”

Besides BBC, Elsbury has worked with many other production companies for U.K., European

and American broadcast channels. These include “Forces of the Wild,” “The Future Is Wild,”

“A Company of Ravens,” “Limits of Perception,” “Appalachia—The Endless Forest,” “Animal

Devil,” “First Flight,” “Vergiftet” and “Time Limits.” The series “Nature Tech,” commissioned

by ORF, won the best limited series award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival in 2007 and an

Emmy® in 2008.

Elsbury edited the first program in the major BBC series “Planet Earth” and went on to edit

the theatrical release “EARTH” for Disneynature. He is now editing for a major new BBC

series, “Life,” and has just started to work on another Disneynature film for completion in

2011.

GEORGE FENTON (Composer) began writing scores in 1974 after a brief career

performing and songwriting. Theater work includes scores for The Royal Shakespeare

Company, The National Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Royal Court and Peter Gill’s

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

productions at Riverside Studios.

His film career began with films on television for Jim Goddard, including “Out” and

“Fox”; and for Stephen Frears, including “Bloody Kids,” “Going Gently” and “Saigon: Year

of the Cat.” His series credits include “The Jewel in the Crown,” “The Monocled Mutineer”

and “The History Man.” In addition he has written music for many of Alan Bennett’s plays,

films and monologues as well as popular theme tunes, including “Shoestring” and “Bergerac”

and the major documentary series “The Trials of Life,” “Life in the Freezer,” “Beyond the

Clouds,” “Shanghai Vice” and “The Blue Planet.”

He has composed for a wide variety of feature films, receiving Academy Award®

nominations for his work on “The Fisher King,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Cry Freedom” and

“Gandhi.” Other scores include “The Madness of King George,” “Groundhog Day,”

“Shadowlands,” “Ever After,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Stage Beauty” and “Hitch,” as well

as many of Ken Loach’s films such as “Land and Freedom,” “My Name Is Joe” and “A Fond

Kiss.”

Following the broadcast of “The Blue Planet” in 2001, for which he won Ivor Novello,

BAFTA and Emmy® awards for best television score, he has taken the show “Blue Planet

Live!” on tour performing in London at the Royal Festival Hall and Proms in the Park as well

as overseas in Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Montreal and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

In May 2003 for the film version of “The Blue Planet,” “Deep Blue,” he recorded the score

with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Philharmonie, Berlin, the first time the orchestra had

recorded a film score. His most recent film scores are “Fool’s Gold,” “The History Boys” and

“The Wind That Shakes the Barley.”

Recently the Royal Television Society awarded Fenton a Lifetime Achievement Award for

his contribution to music for television. He also won the Soundtrack Composer of the Year

Award for “Planet Earth” at the Classical Brit awards.

Information contained within as of April 7, 2009.

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