In You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, a comedy from screenwriters Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog), and Judd Apatow (Knocked Up), Sandler stars as Zohan, a top Israeli commando who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream: becoming a hairstylist in New York. Though he wants to put his life of counter-terrorism behind him, he quickly finds that it is not so easy to escape one’s roots. As enemies old and new try to take him out, they will all come to learn the same thing: you don’t mess with the Zohan.

Columbia Pictures presents, in association with Relativity Media, a Happy Madison production, a film by Dennis Dugan, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. The film is directed by Dennis Dugan. The producers are Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo. The film is written by Adam Sandler & Robert Smigel & Judd Apatow. The executive producers are Barry Bernardi and Robert Smigel. Director of Photography is Michael Barrett. Production designer is Perry Andelin Blake. Editor is Tom Costain. Costume designer is Ellen Lutter. Music is by Rupert Gregson-Williams. Music supervision by Michael Dilbeck and Brooks Arthur.

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for crude and sexual content throughout, language and nudity. The film will be released on June 6, 2008.

Israeli commando Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler) – known throughout his country as The Zohan – is his country’s most famous counter-terrorist. Highly skilled, seemingly indestructible, The Zohan is equally adept with the ladies as he is with taking out his enemies, including his nemesis, the Palestinian terrorist Phantom (John Turturro). But The Zohan has a secret… though he loves his country, he is tired of all the fighting, and he longs for an opportunity to make a break from the army and express his creativity by becoming a hairstylist. However, as long as he fights terrorism, The Zohan’s dream is impossible, leading him to cry himself to sleep at night over images from the 1987 Paul Mitchell style book he keeps hidden in his bedroom.

The Zohan gets his chance when Phantom resurfaces. Instead of taking him out, The Zohan fakes his own death and escapes, leading a delighted Phantom to believe that he has finally offed The Zohan. Stowing away on a plane to New York with only a dream and the clothes on his back, The Zohan hides out in a cargo container with two dogs, Scrappy and Coco.

The Zohan’s first stop is the Paul Mitchell salon, where he takes on his cover identity: “Scrappy Coco.” “Scrappy” expects to be hired but is mocked for his outdated ways. However, The Zohan is not to be stopped in his quest to make the world silky smooth.

After defending the meek Michael (Nick Swardson) following a traffic accident, The Zohan finds a place to stay – upstairs from Michael and his mother, Gail (Lainie Kazan), in their Brooklyn apartment.

That very night, The Zohan attends his first American disco. Though he insists that his name is Scrappy Coco, his true identity is detected by Oori, an Israeli immigrant who immediately recognizes his hometown hero and can’t believe that The Zohan is alive and well and living in New York. Oori promises to keep The Zohan’s identity a secret.

After being rejected by salon after salon, The Zohan visits Oori at his electronics store, and is shocked to see that in this neighborhood, Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side in relative peace. Oori knows just the place for The Zohan to get his foot in the door...a relatively run-down salon with an older clientele. There’s just one catch: it’s on the Arab side of the street. At first, The Zohan is hesitant – he came here to get away from the fighting, but can he actually work for a Palestinian? The salon’s owner, Dalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui), has her own reservations – after all, “Scrappy Coco” has no experience cutting hair. In pursuit of his dream, The Zohan perseveres and Dalia relents. “Scrappy Coco” might just be sweeping the floor for no pay, but he is on his way…

…and will soon get his chance when one of Dalia’s hairdressers quits without notice. With his first client in the chair, The Zohan rises to the occasion. Though he is only capable of cutting styles from his ancient Paul Mitchell book, his client – enraptured by The Zohan’s sexy talk and performance – loves the results. His dream is his destiny. Word soon spreads among New York’s older women: see Scrappy Coco and you will leave satisfied.

Everything is going great for The Zohan. He is living his dream of making the world silky smooth. Business is booming, allowing Dalia to meet the exorbitant rent payments demanded by the block’s new owners. He is even beginning a budding romance with Dalia. But trouble looms.

Salim (Rob Schneider), a Palestinian cabdriver with a long-held grudge against the former army commando, recognizes The Zohan from the old country and becomes determined to do him in. After a few misguided attempts at taking out the Zohan, Salim alerts the Phantom that The Zohan is still alive, and soon, the infamous terrorist is winging his way to New York.

For The Zohan, this is a disaster – not because he is afraid of the Phantom, but because he came to America to put the fighting behind him. What he doesn’t expect is that he and the Phantom will have to unite against a common enemy that threatens to tear the neighborhood apart.

The idea for Zohan, a kick-ass Israeli soldier who gives up the counter-terrorism game in order to pursue his dream of being a hairdresser, first came to Adam Sandler many years ago, and he immediately saw the best way to develop the character into a screenplay. He would work with two good friends: his fellow “Saturday Night Live” alumnus (and original head writer for Conan O’Brien and creator of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and “TV Funhouse”) Robert Smigel, and his onetime roommate (and now comedy heavyweight) Judd Apatow.

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan represents familiar ground for the writers. “My interest in writing about Israelis started at ‘Saturday Night Live,’” says Smigel, who was a sketch writer on the show for a number of years. “Oddly enough, the very first sketch that Adam was ever in was ‘The Sabra Shopping Network,’ a sketch I wrote about Israelis.”

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan also represents a return to Sandler’s roots – playing an outlandish, wild, broadly drawn character, as he did both on “SNL” and early in his film career. “Adam’s audience has gotten used to seeing him play characters closer to himself,” adds Smigel. “But even though Zohan can do no-arm pushups, he’s still goofy and vulnerable like Adam.”

According to director Dennis Dugan, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan pits The Zohan against an equally large and imposing opposite, who happens to be a terrorist: The Phantom, played by John Turturro. “Ali and Frazier, the Celtics and the Lakers, the Yankees and Boston, The Zohan and Phantom,” says Dugan. “It’s the fiercest rivalry.”

Though its basis is one of the most vexing problems on the world stage, the filmmakers’ primary goal was to bring the comedy. Still, Rob Schneider, a near-and-dear member of the Happy Madison family who joins the cast as Salim, a Palestinian cab driver, says that it’s possible that comedy is the only way to approach an unapproachable problem. “Comedy brings people together,” he says. “The Zohan is ridiculous – so ridiculous that, I hope, everybody takes a step back and laughs together.”

The film also features a host of hilarious cameos from friends old and new. Dave Matthews – of his eponymous band – and Kevin James reunite with Sandler after taking on cameo and starring roles, respectively, in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Michael Buffer, the “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” announcer, takes on a featured role in the film. And Mariah Carey, the best-selling female artist of all time, who earlier this year made history with the most #1 singles by a solo artist, appears as herself (and the idol of both Israeli and Arab fans). Carey’s song “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time,” the third single from her album “E=MC2,” is also featured in the film.

But the cameos don’t stop there. Among other surprises, the film also features Kevin Nealon, John McEnroe, Charlotte Rae, who was Mrs. Garrett on ‘The Facts of Life,’ and Academy president Sid Ganis. “We may not get any OscarÆ nominations now, only because Sid has to appear neutral,” says Smigel.

Melding the serious and the ridiculous is director Dennis Dugan, who has previously helmed the Sandler hits Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, as well as the Happy Madison project The Benchwarmers, in addition to many other films and television programs.

“My job is to tee up the ball so that Sandler can smack it,” Dugan says. “We have a similar sensibility. I try to get his vision for the film and I work with all the departments to figure out the best way to facilitate it. Now that we’ve done five movies together, I know what he wants; it’s easier to know than to try to predict.”

“When I was 12, I didn’t have half as much energy as Dennis Dugan has now,” Smigel says. “He’s unbelievable. He shared a secret with me that it’s deliberate – he knows that if he drags, everyone else will drag, too. He’s got to set the example. Plus, he made me laugh every day on the set. It doesn’t pay as well, but I’d like to see him emcee at a comedy club.”

“I was an actor for a long time, so my theory is that the more comfortable I make the actors, many of whom are actors/comedians, the more I make them feel at home and the funnier they’ll be,” Dugan says. “So no matter how tired I am or how long the hours are, I always pretend that I’m not tired and I pretend I’m not mad and I pretend I’m not cranky. That way, the actors feel like the set is a cool place where they can work, be safe, and be free. Everything I do is oriented toward that, because eventually it all comes down to what happens when you say, ‘Action.’”

When Adam Sandler decided to take on the role of the Zohan, he committed himself to the role. “Sandler worked very, very, very hard. He worked out with a Navy SEAL for four months,” says Smigel. “Lifting weights, running miles, doing sit-ups, no snacks. I’ve never seen him happier.”

Sandler also worked on his Israeli accent. He had help from the script supervisor Ronit Ravich-Boss, who hails from Israel. She assisted Sandler with pronunciation and word usage. In addition, she was a helpful person to have around. “Sometimes, Adam would ask Ronit if she knew the Hebrew word for something,” Dugan says. “If it was a word that sounded funny to us, Adam would use it.”

Another Sandler adviser was Eytan Ben-David, who – in life-imitates-art fashion – is a former Israeli army soldier who now works in a hair salon in Los Angeles. Ben-David met with Sandler and gave him tips on how a hairdresser acts, how to hold the scissors, and hairdresser lingo.

That said, bringing The Zohan to life wasn’t all hairspray and conditioner. Sandler also got into fantastic shape to play the counter-terrorism agent. The other key adviser to Sandler was stunt coordinator Scott Rogers, veteran of Spider-Man 2 and 3 and Sky High. As Dugan explains, Scott would be in charge of showing off The Zohan’s extraordinary abilities. “We wanted to make all the stunts look as fresh and as original as possible,” says Dugan. “We didn’t want the stunts to be comedic, Jackie Chan-style stunts, but real, brutal, scary, and as terrifying as possible – and wherever possible, to show the Zohan doing it.”

Smigel says he knows what really attracted Sandler to the part. “I think he wanted to get it done while he was still young enough to look reasonably good with his shirt off,” he says.

Rob Schneider, who has been a loyal part of Sandler’s films from the very beginning, adds, “Adam really did his research, but he found something that was very approachable. I don’t think anybody in the world could have played this part except Adam Sandler. There’s a real joy to his performance – you get to see him having the time of his life.”

John Turturro says, “I’m always happy to have the opportunity to work with Adam and the Happy Madison guys. Adam goes out of his way to make sure everybody is happy and that the set is a good place to work. Plus, it’s nice to cut loose and have some fun.”

Turturro, who previously starred opposite Sandler in Mr. Deeds and Anger Management, plays Phantom. Turturro explains, “Phantom is Zohan’s antagonist. He calls me a terrorist, but he sees himself as the freedom fighter for the Arabic side against Zohan and the Israeli side.”

After the big battle in which Zohan fakes his own death, Phantom – who thinks he’s finally offed his nemesis – celebrates his success… but as Turturro explains, that’s not the end of Phantom’s story. “Zohan is faking his death, but little does he realize that Phantom also has his own dreams of not fighting anymore. If Zohan is the Jewish James Bond, Phantom is an Arabic Eminem. He has gold teeth, he always wears shades, and he has his own chain of Muchentuchen restaurants. Basically – and ironically for a guy named Phantom – he’s living off his fame not only as a freedom fighter of the people, but as the man who got the Zohan.”

To research his role and work on his accent, Turturro called on a friend. “I’ve had a chance to read up and I’ve had a couple of the Arab actors help me with the accent. I have a good friend, Tony Shalhoub, whose family is from Lebanon. He’s always introducing me to a lot of the things that go on in that part of the world that are not really seen. This might be a silly comedy, but it’s still an opportunity to learn something new.”

Schneider says, “If you’re working with John Turturro, you have to be on your game. He’s very unpredictable, a good physical comedian, and a marvelous actor – in fact, he’s one of the few guys who are good at both dramatic acting and comedy acting.”

Emmanuelle Chriqui, who recently rose to fame with a recurring role on the HBO hit “Entourage,” takes on the role of Dalia, a Palestinian immigrant to New York. She owns the hair salon and gives Zohan his first job in the U.S. “She gives him a chance even though at first she thinks it’s a really bad idea. He ends up helping her and making her business flourish.”

Chriqui, who claims French and Moroccan heritage, says that she looked to the influence of her mother to play Dalia. “My mother was a very fiery, unbelievable Moroccan woman, so I tapped into that energy to play a strong Palestinian woman. Even though Morocco’s in North Africa, the customs are very similar to those throughout the Arab world.”

Though Chriqui is the one woman among the boys’ club on the set of Zohan, she held her own. “It’s a recurring theme in my life to be the one girl among a lot of guys,” she says. “But when the guys are as funny as Sandler, it’s not so bad.”

Like the other actors, Chriqui spent time with a dialogue coach to master her character’s accent. “The Palestinian actors on the set told me that I had a pretty good Palestinian accent, which I was very glad to hear. I worked hard to get it right.”

Chriqui was also gratified by the chance to explore Dalia’s amazing wardrobe. “At first, we considered a very ethnic look for Dalia – dripping in gold and scarves, that kind of thing. But as we got into it, we realized that Dalia’s got a ton of energy: she’s edgy, she’s funky, and she’s strong. It takes a lot of guts for someone to immigrate to America and be running a business just four or five years later. Ellen Lutter was a great collaborator, helping to infuse the energy of New York City into the character through her clothing.”

Rob Schneider is along for the ride in an unpredictable and wild role. “I play Salim, a Palestinian cab driver who came to New York to fulfill his dreams,” he explains. “He has some residual bitterness – he’s harbored a grudge ever since, as a young man, a goat that he was very fond of was taken from him by Zohan. That stuck with him, so when he sees Zohan in New York, he’s shocked by it and plans his revenge.”

Schneider adds, “He’s not just a cabdriver. He’s also a Spiegel catalog salesman. Salim’s got about three jobs going simultaneously. He’s taking fares and making sales on the cell phone while he drives.”

Smigel says that Salim is a guy who never got a chance to show the world what he could do. “He’s just an innocent cab driver forced to work 14 hour shifts to get by. He finally sees his chance at some fame when he recognizes Zohan. He’s jealous of Phantom, who’s totally blinged-out. He wants revenge on Zohan, but he also knows capturing Zohan would be a coup, and he wants his little slice of glory.”

“I was very flattered that Robert Smigel wrote this part for me,” says Schneider. “It reminded me of our best ‘Saturday Night Live’ days – he handed me a great character and I knew that I had to knock it out of the park. It’s pressure, sure, but it’s the best kind of pressure.”

To get Salim’s accent right, Schneider had the help of a couple of coaches. “I talked with Dr. Salame, a Palestinian physician in Milwaukee. Dr. Salame was nice enough to help me out and put all my lines on tape – and then he did it all in Arabic too.”

Memorizing the lines and the accent – that was the easy part. The hard part was staying on his toes. Schneider says, “Adam likes to adlib. So I had all my lines completely down, with the accent – I’ve got it on paper, spelled out phonetically – and then Adam starts to adlib and I’m like, ‘Ohhhh.’ Fortunately, we had Palestinian actors on the set – I would go up to Ahmed Ahmed and ask him, ‘How would you say this?’ Between him, Daoud, and Sayed, we were like the Arabic Bowery Boys. It was a lot of fun.”

Daoud Heidami, one of the Palestinian actors who worked closely with Schneider, says, “I grew up watching Rob, so when I found out I was going to have the opportunity to work with him, I was really excited. It was exciting to watch and work with him. He’s helpful and encouraging in a lot of ways – he always has such a great energy that it’s really easy to work off of him.”

A movie about an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian terrorist coming together? It’s not as crazy as it sounds, says director Dennis Dugan. “The people living in conflict in the Middle East are the same people living in one neighborhood in New York – except that while there may be rivalries in Gaza, they don’t hate each other in Brooklyn. Everybody just gets along,” he notes. “They treat each other more as people than as rival factions. You Don’t Mess with the Zohan is a comedic way of sort of getting at the West Side Story aspect of life.”

Amazingly enough, Smigel notes, the story of the movie was reflected on the set. “One of the great things on the set – and we didn’t do this intentionally – was that we had many scenes that involved all the Arab guys and the Israeli guys in the same scene, meaning they were all called to the set together,” says Smigel. “Everyone would be eating lunch together. They had a lot of passionate discussions, but it was very friendly, very healthy, very open-minded. It was really cool to see – some of the guys have said to me that it’s the most they’ve every talked to an Arab or an Israeli before.”

One key to bringing You Don’t Mess with the Zohan to the screen was to hire the best and funniest actors from Israel and the Arab world to bring to life the supporting roles. “We have an entire squad of people – not just the usual suspects from Happy Madison,” says Dugan. “We went from Israel to Palestine to New York to Anaheim, all over Los Angeles, to find people from the Middle East – Israelis and Arabs alike – to be in the movie. I think we read every SAG and non-SAG acting aspirant for this movie. With 175 roles in the movie, we had to do that.”

“Toward the end of the shoot, I heard from some of the actors that they’d grown up hating or mistrusting all Israelis or all Arabs – until they came here,” Smigel adds. “They actually said the shoot was a life-altering experience. Even though we make the point in the movie, I think it was a shock to everyone to see how much they all had in common. Look, it’s not like we think we’re solving anything with this film; we just wanted to be funny. But even for me, as a Jew, it was very interesting to feel as close to the Arabs on the set as I did to the Israelis.”

To play Oori, who becomes Zohan’s guide to all things American, the filmmakers found Ido Mosseri, who has been an actor in his native Israel since he was eight years old. “I’ve always dreamt about Hollywood, but it was something I didn’t think would really happen. Being in an American movie with Adam Sandler is more than a dream for me.”

“It was a great acting school for me to watch Adam work,” he says. “He’s so kind and giving, and he’s a very fun man to be with – he’s like a child sometimes. It’s important to love what you do and I can see all the time how Adam loves his work – and how he enjoys it and how much he wants everyone else to feel the same way.”

“I’m always happy for the opportunity to work with Arab actors,” Mosseri adds. “On the Zohan set, I think the first time the Arab and the Israeli actors met each other, I think we immediately became friends – we have a lot in common. Each of us comes from his own place and his own opinions and his own background. The most important thing that we were sitting together and listening to each other and wanting to learn about the other. So I felt privileged that we had the opportunity to play together, to talk together, to get to know each other. We became real friends.”

About Mosseri, Smigel says, “When I was writing the Israeli characters as horndogs, I worried if it was too much of a stereotype. Fortunately, Ido fulfilled all my dreams. At one point on the set he was raving about Tel Aviv, the scene there, and how I had to visit. Then he paused and asked me if I was married, and I said yes. He said, ‘Well… maybe you don’t need to visit.’”

Sayed Badreya plays Hamdi, a Palestinian cab driver who works with Rob Schneider’s character, Salim, and Daoud Heidami’s character, Nasi. Badreya is an Egyptian-American who came to the U.S. in 1979 to attend NYU Film School. He remembers, “I’m a product of war and peace. When I was a little boy during the war, I always hid in movie theaters, watching American movies. So I fell in love with America before I knew what America is, because of the movies. When Sadat made peace with Israel, I had the opportunity to come to America to study film.”

He says that sometimes, the motion picture industry can be tough on Arab actors. “When I first came here in 1979 and first sought acting jobs, the only roles available were roles as terrorists. I was young and fit and too good looking to be a terrorist, so I couldn’t get a job,” he jokes. “I grew my beard, put on weight, and got a job right away. Since then, for 20 years, I’ve had one line in every movie I’ve been in: ‘In the name of Allah, I kill you all.’”

Daoud Heidami plays Nasi – like Salim and Hamdi, a Palestinian cab driver in New York. Heidami was born in Bethlehem to a Palestinian father and mother. His family moved to Houston, Texas when he was four.

Heidami says that it’s entirely believable that Nasi would join his friend Salim on the wild goose chase to catch Zohan. “In the Middle Eastern culture, it’s like everybody is cousins – even if you’re not really related,” he says. “So if my ‘cousin’ calls me and says he needs help, I go. Everyone’s family when you need a favor.”

Working on the film and with Happy Madison, Heidami notes, “They created a unique environment where it felt safe as an actor to play and explore on set, to take risks. And that safe environment extended beyond the set, too. We would talk during our lunch breaks and get to know each other. Little by little, this lead to discussion of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. It was great – everyone was very passionate, everyone had an idea and people listened to each other. The Israeli actors would listen to my stories about growing up in Bethlehem, and I would listen to theirs. That has a lot to do with the environment that Adam set up.”

Schneider adds, “It went so smoothly. It was beautiful, which gives me hope. All we’re trying to do with this movie is make people laugh, but if we can do that, then maybe it will have some impact – just because we’re trying to be respectful to both sides and funny.”

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan reunites many key production personnel. The film marks production designer Perry Andelin Blake’s tenth Happy Madison production and costume designer Ellen Lutter’s ninth film with the team. Editor Tom Costain previously served as assistant editor of many Sandler productions. Cinematographer Michael Barrett joins the team for the first time.

Blake says that all departments, as well as input from Dugan and Sandler, are key to determining the look of the film. “Dennis Dugan and Adam Sandler are heavily involved. As we do some photo shops – playing with design for specific locations – we also work with Ellen to share pictures of the locations and the colors we’re going to use. She’s always done a ton of research – on Zohan, she showed us the uniforms for the Israeli army and the clothes an average Palestinian might wear. We take from her the colors that she feels are right, and we coalesce everything into one design concept.”

Although most of the film was shot in New York and Los Angeles, Dugan and a small crew shot a few scenes on a Tel Aviv beach. “The beginning of the movie takes place in Tel Aviv in the summer, so I went there and worked with an all-Israeli crew and got some shots of the very crowded beach in Tel Aviv. For some other shots from the same scene, we filmed on a beach in Mexico. In Israel, there is a very distinctive orange umbrella that is put out by an ice cream company – those umbrellas are all over the beach. We got those umbrellas and shipped about a hundred or so down to Mexico.”

One part of production that was unusual for a Happy Madison production were the many, many stunts required to bring the world’s greatest Israeli counter-terrorist to the screen. “Just like a Bourne or Spider-Man, where we play the stunts straight, we played them pretty straight in Zohan,” says Rogers. “We tried to give Sandler a foundation he could leap from: his Zohan is stronger, faster, and more capable than any human being, but he’s not a superhero.”

Rogers admits that that part – pushing Zohan just beyond the boundaries of human possibility – was the best part. “We played him 10 percent beyond what a human could actually do,” he says. “It gave us the freedom to make him bigger than life and to get real creative. The swimming scene where he swims down the Phantom, who’s on a jet ski, was just an extraordinary opportunity to do some pretty fun stuff. We play it straight, but then you know in the context of what’s going on, it’s a very funny stunt and a very funny scene.

“When we first were talking about the scene, I pitched that he would swim like a dolphin,” he continues. “They loved it, but were skeptical that we could pull it off. We had to find the right boat and the right equipment, and then, we went to the swim facility at USC and found the right swimmer, Meir Hasbani, a guy on the Israeli national team, believe it or not. We cruised along the water at 18 miles per hour, flying him on wires, and then we started porpoising him through the water. It actually came together fairly easily.” So easily, in fact, that Sandler wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip by without trying the rig himself – and soon the star was swimming like a dolphin through the blue sea of La Paz.

“Of course Zohan can do anything – he isn’t limited to running fast or martial arts or swimming; he does everything,” Rogers notes. “Whatever the circumstance demanded, we looked for the best possible person for that specific talent. We brought in free runners to jump from building to building. We had gymnasts to do some of the floor routines on the chair. We had dancers for the disco scenes and we had the swimmers for the water scenes. Those were just some of the stunt people. I’ve never heard of anybody having this many doubles for one character; it’s almost ridiculous, but at the same time, it’s very funny. It’s what gives this character his talent and his abilities.”

Still, it’s important for the audience to see Sandler, as Zohan performing as many of his own stunts as was feasible. In one case, New Yorkers got to see Adam Sandler riding on top of a taxi down Park Avenue. “We rode him down in New York City at actually probably 20-25 miles an hour, surfing a car. It was important to show that it was actually Adam doing the stunt – audiences are very sophisticated, so seeing the actor doing the stunt himself helps to suspend the disbelief; if you give them too many reasons to doubt it, then you pull them out of that world that you’re creating. Adam was very game and very good at keeping the audience within this odd little world that Zohan lives in.”

ADAM SANDLER (Zohan/Screenwriter/Producer) has enjoyed phenomenal success in the entertainment industry as an actor, writer, producer and musician.

Sandler was last seen in a starring role opposite Kevin James and Jessica Biel in Universal’s hit comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, which opened #1 at the box office. Prior to that, he starred opposite Don Cheadle in Columbia Pictures’ Reign over Me for director Mike Binder, as well as the box-office hits Click, starring with Kate Beckinsale, and The Longest Yard, starring with Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds. He also starred in James L. Brooks’ Spanglish, opposite Tea Leoni; the romantic comedy 50 First Dates, with Drew Barrymore; Anger Management, with Jack Nicholson; and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. Sandler will next be seen in Disney’s Bedtime Stories.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, Sandler’s first brush with comedy came at age 17, with a performance at a Boston comedy club. From then on he was hooked, performing regularly in comedy clubs throughout the state, while earning a degree in Fine Arts from New York University.

Sandler made his motion picture debut in Coneheads opposite Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin. He has gone on to become an almost self-contained mini studio involved in all aspects of film production. Happy Gilmore was one of the most successful movies of 1996. With a budget of just $12 million, it grossed more than $40 million at the box office and $35 million on home video. The Wedding Singer, in which he also starred with Drew Barrymore, was the first box office hit of 1998, with an opening weekend gross of more than $22 million. His next film, The Waterboy, had an opening weekend of almost $40 million. Other recent $100 million-plus grossing Sandler films include Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, Anger Management and 50 First Dates.

Sandler collaborated with writer Tim Herlihy on the screenplays for Happy Gilmore, Little Nicky, Billy Madison, Big Daddy and The Waterboy. Billy Madison has become a cult classic for college students across the country, with “Billy” nights and “Sandler” festivals.

Sandler served as producer through his Happy Madison Productions on Click, The Benchwarmers, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Strange Wilderness and the upcoming films The House Bunny and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He executive produced Grandma’s Boy, The Animal, Joe Dirt, The Master of Disguise, The Hot Chick and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison Productions, has a deal with Columbia Tri-Star Domestic Television to develop shows for the studio including the current hit show “Rules of Engagement” starring David Spade and Oliver Hudson and the upcoming Comedy Central series’ “The Gong Show with Dave Atell” and “Gay Robot.”

During breaks from his busy filming schedule, Sandler spends time in the recording studio. Several of his comedy albums on Warner Bros. Records have gone multi-platinum. Collectively, they have sold more than six million copies to date. Several years ago, Sandler launched AdamSandler.com. This site is updated weekly with mini-movies featuring Sandler and the staff of Happy Madison in their daily routines.

JOHN TURTURRO (Phantom) studied at the Yale School of Drama. For his theatrical debut, he created the title role of John Patrick Shanley’s “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” for which he won an Obie Award and a Theater World Award. Since then, Turturro has performed on stage in “Waiting for Godot,” in the title role of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” and in “ Eduardo De Filippo’s “Souls of Naples,” for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. He is currently performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame.”

Turturro has performed in more than 60 films, including Martin Scorsese’s The Color of Money, Tony Bill’s Five Corners, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever, Robert Redford’s Quiz Show, Peter Weir’s Fearless, Tom DiCillo’s Box of Moonlight, Francesco Rosi’s La Tregua and Joel and Ethan Coen’s Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou? For his lead role in Barton Fink, he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the David di Donatello Award.

For his work on television, Turturro was nominated for a SAG Award for his portrayal of Howard Cosell in “Monday Night Mayhem” and won an Emmy for his guest appearance on the hit series “Monk.” Most recently he was nominated for a SAG Award for his portrayal of Billy Martin in ESPN’s “The Bronx Is Burning.”

Most recently, he appeared in Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd, Michael Bay’s Transformers, Noah Baumbach’s Margot at the Wedding, and Barry Levinson’s What Just Happened? He is currently filming Columbia Pictures’ The Taking of Pelham One Two Three opposite Denzel Washington and John Travolta.

John Turturro has directed three films. His directorial debut, Mac, won the Camera d’ Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed Illuminata and the recently-released Romance & Cigarettes starring James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet.

Upon arriving in LA, Chriqui quickly made a name for herself in the states, landing roles in New Line Cinema’s Detroit Rock City, Paramount/Nickelodeon’s Snow Day and the cult favorite 100 Girls. However, it was Miramax’s On the Line that provided Chriqui with her first leading role in a Studio film. She continued her success with another lead role, this time in the New Regency thriller Wrong Turn. Her other films include Rick, opposite Bill Pullman, as well as the films Waiting with Ryan Reynolds, The Crow: Wicked Prayer with Edward Furlong, Lionsgate feature In The Mix starring opposite Usher and Chazz Palminteri.

Later this year, Chriqui will be seen in the independent film Patriotville, starring opposite Justin Long and the independent feature Tortured in which she stars opposite Cole Hauser. She recently completed filming on Sony/BMG Cadillac Records opposite Adrian Brody and Jeffrey Wright.

The actor, writer and comedian NICK SWARDSON (Michael) recently released his debut album “Party” on Comedy Central records. The album, produced by Adam Sandler, opened at #1 and sold over 50,000 copies in its first two months.

Swardson continues to work with Happy Madison productions. He most recently acted in and co-produced the I Now Pronounce you Chuck & Larry. His other credits include The Benchwarmers (actor/co-writer/co-producer), Grandma’s Boy (actor/writer/producer), Click, Blades of Glory, Malibu’s Most Wanted (actor/writer), and “Reno 911: Miami.”

Appearing at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel, Kazan attracted the attention of Francis Ford Coppola who offered her a role in One from the Heart. The following year, Kazan was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress in Richard Benjamin’s My Favorite Year with Peter O’Toole. Her other films include Lust in the Dust, Delta Force, Beaches, The Cemetery Club, 29^th St., The Associate, Love Is All There Is, The Big Hit, The Crew, What’s Cooking?, and the Tom Hanks-produced comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Kazan has sung with the Boston Pops and the Cleveland Pops and performed to sold out houses throughout Europe, Asia and Las Vegas and at such venues as The Greek Theatre, Harrah’s, Trump Castle and the hallowed stages of New York’s Rainbow and Stars, Tatou and Tavern on the Green, and Feinstein’s at The Regency Hotel. A recording artist, her CDs include her jazz collections “Lainie Kazan – In the Groove” and “Body and Soul.” She is a frequent headliner at The Algonquin and Regency Hotels in New York City and stages throughout the country. Kazan serves on the board of the Screen Actors Guild, the Young Musician’s Foundation, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She is also involved in charitable work on behalf of AIDS.

ROB SCHNEIDER (Salim), once a comedian, then an actor, is now a comedian-actor-director-writer and producer.

Schneider recently made his directorial debut on the prison comedy Big Stan, starring Schneider, David Carradine, M. Emmett Walsh, Scott Wilson, Henry Gibson and Jennifer Morrison (“House”). Schneider also co-wrote and stars in the upcoming film The Chosen One, which he produces with his brother, John Schneider.

In spring 2006, Schneider starred alongside David Spade and Jon Heder in the hit comedy The Benchwarmers. Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo of Happy Madison Productions produced. Schneider met Sandler when they were struggling stand-up comedians and worked together on “Saturday Night Live.” Schneider has worked on ten of the company’s films, including co-writing and starring in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The Hot Chick, The Animal, and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, narrating the animated comedy Eight Crazy Nights, co-starring with Sandler in The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, and 50 First Dates, and taking cameo roles in many more.

In addition to acting, writing and directing, Schneider has been active in a number of charities. He founded his own charity, “The Rob Schneider Music Foundation,” to encourage and assist in music education for middle and high school students.

DENNIS DUGAN (Director) is a talented filmmaker whose diverse career in entertainment spans over two decades. Dugan is considered one of the industry’s top feature film comedy directors, earning his reputation with such hits as Big Daddy and Happy Gilmore, both of which starred Adam Sandler; Saving Silverman, starring Jack Black, and Amanda Peet; and Beverly Hills Ninja, starring Chris Farley. He most recently directed I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel. His other films include The Benchwarmers, starring Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder and Jon Lovitz, and National Security, starring Martin Lawrence.

On the small screen, Dugan has directed dozens of television projects including, “NYPD Blue,” “Moonlighting,” and “Ally McBeal,” as well as the telepics “Columbo: Butterfly Shades of Gray” and “The Shaggy Dog.”

In addition to small, yet memorable, acting roles in his own films, the most recent being the taxi driver in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Dugan’s feature-film credits include roles in Parenthood, She’s Having a Baby, Can’t Buy Me Love and The Howling.

ADAM SANDLER (Screenwriter/Producer/Zohan) See Cast Section

ROBERT SMIGEL (Screenwriter/Executive Producer/Yosi) has contributed as a writer, performer and producer to two of late night’s most popular shows, “Saturday Night Live” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” At “SNL,” Smigel is best known for his “Saturday TV Funhouse” cartoon shorts, including “The Ambiguously Gay Duo,” “Fun with Real Audio,” and “X-Presidents.” Working with animators David Wachtenheim, Robert Marianetti, and J.J. Sedelmaier, Smigel’s cartoons have been honored at numerous festivals, including first prize at the annual World Animation Festival, and were compiled on the DVD The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse. Smigel has won two Emmys for his writing at “SNL,” and in 1998 he received the Dallas Video Festival’s Ernie Kovacs Award for innovative contributions to television.

Smigel was the original head writer and producer of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” creating signature routines like “In the Year 2000” and the “Clutch Cargo” interviews (with writer Dino Stamatopoulos), in which Smigel has provided the lips and voices of Presidents Bush and Clinton, Bob Dole, Don King, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many other celebrity victims. The popularity of his most famous creation, Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog (whom he puppeteers), has spawned the Grammy-nominated CD/DVD entitled “Come Poop With Me,” and a Best of Triumph DVD collection including reports from the Westminster Dog Show, the MTV Awards, and the “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” premiere.

The son of Dr. Irwin Smigel, the dentist who developed tooth bonding, Smigel grew up in Manhattan and struggled as a pre-dental student at Cornell and NYU. After moving to Chicago to study with Players Workshop of the Second City, Smigel performed in the long-running revue “All You Can Eat and the Temple of Dooom” and was hired in 1985 by Al Franken and Tom Davis as a writer for “Saturday Night Live.” At “SNL,” Smigel’s most popular sketches included “Trekkies (Get a Life!),” “Schmitts Gay Beer,” “Mastermind Reagan,” “The Sinatra Group,” and “Da Bears,” in which Smigel himself played one of the kielbasa-loving Chicago sports fans. Smigel often wrote for Carvey’s impressions (Johnny Carson, Regis Philbin, John McLaughlin, Tom Brokaw) and collaborated frequently with O’Brien (the infamous “Nude Beach” sketch and the Tom Hanks-Jon Lovitz “Girlwatchers”). In 1991, Smigel and O’Brien wrote and produced the unsold pilot “Lookwell” starring Adam West. Smigel collaborated with Sandler on numerous sketches as well, and wrote the first sketch Sandler appeared in on “SNL,” the Israeli-themed “Sabra Shopping Network.”

In 1996, Smigel was an executive producer, writer and cast member on the controversial “The Dana Carvey Show.” Among its innovative sketches was the original “Ambiguously Gay Duo,” voiced by “Carvey” cast members Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell.

While continuing on “SNL,” Smigel spun off “Saturday TV Funhouse” in 2000 as a weekly series on Comedy Central. Created with Stamatopoulos, “TV Funhouse” was a mock children’s show featuring animation, short films and the “Anipals,” an ensemble of animal puppets that interacted with live animals in a variety of cable-friendly ways. “X-Presidents” was expanded into a graphic novel, co-written by Adam McKay and published by Villard in 2000. In 2003, Smigel produced the first “Night of Too Many Stars” benefit. The biannual events, now hosted by Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, raise money for schools and educational programs for children and adults with autism.

Smigel has appeared in numerous movies, including Wayne’s World 2 and several Adam Sandler films, including the voice of the bulldog Mr. Beefy in Little Nicky. Most recently, Smigel played Larry’s mailman in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and Sandler’s dentist brother-in-law in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love.

In addition to Zohan, Smigel and Sandler continue to collaborate on television, as Smigel recently developed (with Greg Cohen) the cartoon pilot “The Animals” for Happy Madison Productions. Smigel also takes special pride in conceiving Sandler’s dirtiest recorded song, “At a Medium Pace,” and co-writing Adam’s second dirtiest song, “She Comes Home to Me.”

JUDD APATOW (Screenwriter) made his feature directorial debut with the 2005 summer box-office smash The 40-Year-Old Virgin, starring Steve Carell, and followed up with the Universal release Knocked Up, starring Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, and Paul Rudd, and written, directed and produced by Apatow.

Apatow recently produced April’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Jason Segel and Kristen Bell and directed by Nicholas Stoller; March’s Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson and directed by Steven Brill; last December’s comedy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, starring John C. Reilly and directed by Jake Kasdan; last summer’s Superbad, starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Bill Hader and Seth Rogen; and the summer 2006 hit Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, starring Will Ferrell. He also executive-produced 2006’s independent film The TV Set, a scathingly funny look at the television industry starring David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver.

Apatow executive-produced Kicking & Screaming, starring Will Ferrell, and produced Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, also starring Ferrell with Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd.

He co-wrote the screenplay for the remake of Fun With Dick and Jane, starring Jim Carrey and TÈa Leoni. He made his feature film debut as a co-writer and executive producer on the comedy Heavyweights. He also served as a producer on the dark comedy The Cable Guy, directed by Ben Stiller and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick.

On the small screen, Apatow served as an executive producer of the critically praised, award-winning series “Freaks and Geeks,” which debuted in the 1999–2000 season and for which he also wrote and directed several episodes. He also created and executive-produced the series “Undeclared,” which was named one of Time magazine’s Ten Best Shows of 2001.

Previously, Apatow worked as a writer, director and producer on the award-winning and widely acclaimed series “The Larry Sanders Show,” starring Garry Shandling. For his work on the show, he earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. In addition, “The Larry Sanders Show” brought Apatow two CableACE Awards for Best Comedy Series and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination.

Born in Syosset, New York, Apatow aspired to become a professional comedian at an early age. While still in high school, he created a radio show and began interviewing comedy personalities he admired, including Steve Allen, Howard Stern and John Candy. Inspired, he began performing his own stand-up routines by the end of his senior year.

Following an appearance on HBO’s Young Comedians special, Apatow eventually stopped performing in favor of writing, and went on to co-create and executive-produce “The Ben Stiller Show,” for which he earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program.

Upcoming Apatow Productions include this summer’s Pineapple Express, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco and directed by David Gordon Green; this summer’s Step Brothers, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly and directed by Adam McKay; and 2009’s Year One, starring Jack Black and Michael Cera and directed by Harold Ramis.

JACK GIARRAPUTO (Producer) is one of Hollywood’s most successful producers. His films have grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide, with eight of them topping well over the $100-million mark. These films include I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Click, The Longest Yard, 50 First Dates, Anger Management, Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy and The Waterboy.

BARRY BERNARDI (Executive Producer) most recently executive produced the films I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel; Click, starring Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken; The Benchwarmers, starring Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder; and the box-office hit The Longest Yard, starring Sandler, Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds. He also produced Anger Management, starring Sandler and Jack Nicholson; Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo; The Master of Disguise; and The Animal. As executive producer, Bernardi has worked on the features The Haunted Mansion, Double Take, Inspector Gadget, My Favorite Martian, Deep Rising, Tom and Huck, Cabin Boy, The Adventures of Huck Finn and Devil’s Advocate. His other producer credits include Poltergeist III and Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.

After attending the California Institute of the Arts, Bernardi began his career as a story editor and producer’s assistant. In 1979, he teamed with director John Carpenter to be an associate producer on The Fog and Escape From New York. He remained with Carpenter to co-produce Halloween II, Halloween III, Christine and Starman.

From 1987-89, Bernardi served as senior vice president of production at New World Pictures, where he oversaw the development, production and release of such films as Heathers, Meet the Applegates and Warlock.

Bernardi went on to co-found Steve White Productions. With White, he produced more than 25 telefilms. Among their credits are “Amityville,” “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?,” “She Said No,” “The Carolyn Warmus Story,” “She Stood Alone” and “A Mom for Christmas.”

He recently finished shooting The Mysteries of Pittsburgh directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, starring Sienna Miller, Mena Suvari, Peter Sarsgaard and Nick Nolte. His other feature films include Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang directed by Shane Black, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer, and the Golden Globe Best Picture nominated Bobby directed by Emilio Estevez and starring Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Lawrence Fishburne and Elijah Wood.

PERRY ANDELIN BLAKE (Production Designer) began his design career by receiving a master of architecture degree from Harvard University, where he met the noted architect Frank O. Gehry. After working with Gehry as a design architect for several years, he opened his own architectural and design office in Los Angeles. Blake soon began designing not only homes and offices, but also sets for commercials, working on more than 100 commercials for such clients as Coke, Pepsi and Nike.

Blake’s first feature film was Billy Madison, starring Adam Sandler. He went on to design many of Sandler’s films, including Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy and The Wedding Singer—where he met director Frank Coraci, for whom he designed Around the World in 80 Days. He most recently worked with Happy Madison on the box-office hits I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, starring Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel and Click, starring Sandler, Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken. He also designed

The Longest Yard, The Benchwarmers, and Grandma’s Boy.

Blake’s work also includes such eclectic design projects as the rock-and-roll stage set for Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest and the animated holiday feature film Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights. In 2002, he made his directorial debut with the Dana Carvey feature The Master of Disguise. Blake’s work has been published in numerous magazines and periodicals.

TOM COSTAIN (Editor) most recently edited HBO’s pilot “EastBound & Down,” and the documentary “The Last Saturday in May” about the path to the 2006 Kentucky Derby eventually won by Barbaro. He also helped edit the Steve Carell film Get Smart. His other films include Strange Wilderness and Grandma’s Boy and he worked as an additional editor on The Longest Yard, starring Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds and Chris Rock. His other films include White Chicks, 50 First Dates, Anger Management, Mr. Deeds, and The Animal.

He served as assistant editor on The Matrix, Little Nicky and Phoenix. His television credits include “The Crossing,” “Pronto,” “Weapons of Mass Distraction” and

“Gotti.”

Costain worked as an assistant editor on Canadian feature films before moving to Los Angeles in 1996.

ELLEN LUTTER (Costume Designer) is Brooklyn-based and happily counts among her credits such East Coast films as Fresh, Flirting With Disaster, Copland, Living in Oblivion, Mississippi Masala, 28 Days, Big Daddy and House of D.

Thanks to the miracle of jet travel and the superhuman miracle of loyal Los Angeles bosses, Lutter has had the privilege of designing six West Coast films for Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo’s Happy Madison. These films include I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Click, The Longest Yard, Anger Management, Mr. Deeds, 50 First Dates and Little Nicky.

When not working on a film, Lutter spends time side-by-side working with her husband at their Brooklyn based hot dog store “Willie’s Dawgs.”

RUPERT GREGSON-WILLIAMS (Music by) has scored a wide variety of film and television projects. Most recently, he has composed the score to Columbia’s romantic comedy Made of Honor. His other films include Bee Movie, Adam Sandler’s I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Click as well as the animated film Over the Hedge. In 2004, he collaborated with Andrea Guerra to compose the score for the acclaimed true-life drama Hotel Rwanda, for which the composers won the European Film Award. He more recently contributed to the scores of the OscarÆ-winning animated feature Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Antoine Fuqua’s live-action epic King Arthur.

Gregson-Williams has also created the scores for such feature films as the teen comedy What a Girl Wants, starring Amanda Bynes and Colin Firth; the biographical comedy-drama The Night We Called it a Day, starring Dennis Hopper and Melanie Griffith; Brad Mirman’s crime-comedy Crime Spree, starring GÈrard Depardieu and Harvey Keitel; Nick Hurran’s Plots With a View, starring Brenda Blethyn and Alfred Molina; Peter Hewitt’s Thunderpants, starring Simon Callow; Nick Hurran’s Virtual Sexuality; and GeneviËve Jolliffe’s Urban Ghost Story. He has also collaborated with composer Hans Zimmer on a number of animated and live-action features.

MICHAEL DILBECK (Music Supervisor) has enjoyed a career in the music and film industries that has spanned more than 25 years. He began as a concert promoter for superstar acts such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Led Zeppelin; Three Dog Night; Joe Cocker; and Chicago.

Dilbeck was the record-label executive and a consultant on Footloose and Top Gun. He was the music supervisor on Batman, Caddyshack II, Cadillac Man, Tango & Cash and Navy SEALS. As an executive with Columbia TriStar Pictures, he worked on the film soundtracks of Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, My Girl, A League of Their Own, Last Action Hero, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Poetic Justice.

Dilbeck currently has his own company, Dilbeck Entertainment, and his credits include I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Strange Wilderness, Click, Grandma’s Boy, The Benchwarmers, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, The Longest Yard, 50 First Dates, Anger Management, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Bad Boys, Money Train, Bulletproof, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, The Master of Disguise, Joe Dirt, The Animal and Mr. Deeds.

Recording engineer/record producer BROOKS ARTHUR’s (Music Supervisor) credits include “My Boyfriend’s Back”; “The Locomotion”; “Chapel of Love”; “Leader of the Pack”; Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Astral Weeks”; Neil Diamond’s “The Early Years”; Art Garfunkel’s “I Only Have Eyes for You”; and Peter Allen’s “I Go to Rio.” Arthur produced/engineered Janis Ian’s Grammy-winning “Between the Lines” (“At Seventeen”); he was the owner and recording engineer at 914 Recording Studios, the birthplace of Bruce Springsteen’s recording career.

Arthur has produced the multi-platinum comedy albums of Adam Sandler (“The Chanukah Song”) and Robin Williams’ Grammy-winning “Reality…What a Concept.” Arthur co-wrote, co-produced and music supervised Sandler’s film Eight Crazy Nights and music supervised Sandler’s I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Click.

“ACADEMY AWARDÆ” and “OSCARÆ” are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“Me sentÌ muy halagado cuando Robert Smigel escribiÛ este papel para mÌ”, dice Schneider. “Me hizo recordar nuestros mejores dÌas de ‘Saturday Night Live’. Me dio un personaje formidable y supe que tenÌa que esforzarme muchÌsimo. Es una gran presiÛn, por supuesto, pero es la mejor clase de presiÛn”.

Para tener el acento correcto, Schneider recibiÛ la ayuda de un par de instructores: “hablÈ con el Dr. Salame, un mÈdico palestino de Milwaukee. El Dr. Salame fue muy amable en ayudarme, grabÛ todos mis di·logos, y tambiÈn lo hizo en ·rabe”.

Memorizar los di·logos y el acento fue la parte m·s f·cil. La parte difÌcil era lo inesperado. Dice Schneider: “a Adam le gusta improvisar. Yo sabÌa la letra, con su pronunciaciÛn, todo escrito en fonÈtica, y de repente Adam empieza a improvisar y yo pensÈ: ‘°oooh!’ Por suerte, habÌa actores palestinos en el set, entonces iba y le preguntaba a Ahmed Ahmed cÛmo se decÌa eso. Entre Ahmed, Daoud y Sabed, parecÌamos los Bowery Boys ·rabes. Fue muy divertido”.

Daoud Heidami, uno de los actores palestinos que trabajÛ estrechamente con Schneider dice: “crecÌ mirando a Rob, asÌ que cuando supe que iba a tener la oportunidad de actuar con Èl, estaba realmente emocionado. Era muy estimulante observarlo y trabajar con Èl. Te ayuda y alienta de muchas maneras, siempre tiene tanta energÌa que es realmente muy f·cil aprovechar su experiencia”.

øUna pelÌcula acerca de un soldado israelÌ y un terrorista palestino que llegan a unirse? No es tan loco como suena, dice el director Dennis Dugan. “Las personas que viven en conflicto en Medio Oriente son las mismas personas que viven en un vecindario de Nueva York, excepto que mientras que pueden existir rivalidades en Gaza, en Brooklyn no se odian. Todos simplemente se llevan bien”, agrega. “Se tratan m·s como personas que como bandos enfrentados. You Don’t Mess with the Zohan es una manera cÛmica de tratar de encarar el aspecto de la vida que se asemeja a "Amor sin barreras”.

Sorprendentemente, advierte Smigel, la historia de la pelÌcula se reflejaba en el set. “Una de las cosas grandiosas del set - y no lo habÌamos planeado - fue que tuvimos varias secuencias que involucraban a todos los ·rabes y los israelÌes en la misma escena, lo que significaba llamarlos a todos juntos al set”, dice Smigel. “Todos almorzaban juntos. TenÌan muchas discusiones intensas, pero eran muy amigables, muy sanas, con actitudes muy abiertas. Era realmente fant·stico observarlo. Algunos de los muchachos me dijeron que fue la ocasiÛn en la que habÌan hablado por m·s tiempo con un ·rabe o un israelÌ hasta ese momento”.

Una cuestiÛn clave para llevar You Don’t Mess with the Zohan al cine fue contratar a los mejores y m·s graciosos actores de Israel y el mundo ·rabe para darle vida a los papeles secundarios. “Tenemos un contingente entero de personas, no sÛlo los sospechosos de siempre de Happy Madison”, dice Dugan. “Fuimos de Israel a Palestina, a Nueva York, a Anaheim, buscamos por todo Los Angeles, para encontrar personas de Medio Oriente - israelÌes y ·rabes por igual - para que actuaran en la pelÌcula. Creo que para el reparto de papeles de esta pelÌcula debe haber audicionado cada aspirante a actor perteneciente al SAG y tambiÈn los que no pertenecen. Con 175 roles en la pelÌcula, fue necesario hacerlo”.

“Hacia el final del rodaje, escuchÈ a algunos de los actores decir que habÌan crecido odiando o desconfiando de todos los israelÌes o de todos los ·rabes, hasta que vinieron aquÌ”, agrega Smigel. “De hecho dijeron que el rodaje fue una experiencia que les cambiÛ la vida. A pesar de que lo remarcamos en la pelÌcula, creo que fue impactante para todos darse cuenta de lo mucho que tenÌan en com·n. No es que creamos que estamos resolviendo algo con esta pelÌcula: sÛlo querÌamos ser graciosos. Pero incluso para mÌ, como judÌo, fue muy interesante sentirme igual de unido a los ·rabes que a los israelÌes en el set”.

Para el papel de Oori, quien se convierte en el guÌa de Zohan en todo lo referido a la cultura estadounidense, los cineastas encontraron a Ido Mosseri, quien ha sido actor en su Israel natal desde que tenÌa ocho aÒos. “Siempre habÌa soÒado con Hollywood, pero no era algo que creÌa realmente posible. Estar en una pelÌcula estadounidense con Adam Sandler es m·s que un sueÒo para mÌ”.

“Ver a Adam trabajar fue una gran escuela de actuaciÛn para mÌ”, dice Mosseri. “Es tan amable y generoso, y es un hombre muy gracioso con quien compartir momentos; y es como un niÒo algunas veces. Es importante amar lo que uno hace y puedo ver todo el tiempo cÛmo Adam ama su trabajo, y cÛmo lo disfruta y cu·nto quiere que todos los dem·s se sientan de la misma manera”.

“Siempre estoy feliz de tener la oportunidad de trabajar con actores ·rabes”, agrega Mosseri. “En el set de Zohan, creo que la primera vez que los actores ·rabes e israelÌes nos conocimos, nos hicimos amigos de inmediato: tenemos mucho en com·n. Cada uno de nosotros viene de su propio lugar, con sus propias opiniones y su propio entorno. Lo m·s importante fue que nos sentamos juntos y nos escuchamos mutuamente y querÌamos aprender acerca del otro. AsÌ que me sentÌ privilegiado por tener la oportunidad de actuar juntos, de hablar juntos, de llegar a conocernos. Nos hicimos amigos de verdad”.

Acerca de Mosseri, Smigel dice: “cuando estaba escribiendo el guiÛn y describÌa a los personajes israelÌes como excitados sexualmente, me preocupaba que esto fuera demasiado estereotipado. Afortunadamente, Ido hizo realidad mis sueÒos. En un momento en el set se deshacÌa en elogios sobre Tel Aviv, sobre la movida local, y me decÌa que yo tenÌa que visitar la ciudad. Luego hizo una pausa y me preguntÛ si estaba casado, y le contestÈ que sÌ. Y Èl me dijo: ‘bueno… tal vez no necesitas visitarla’”.

Sayed Badreya interpreta a Hamdi, un taxista palestino que trabaja con el personaje de Rob Schneider, Salim, y el personaje de Daoud Heidami, Nasi. Badreya es un egipcio-estadounidense que llegÛ a los Estados Unidos en 1979 para asistir a la Escuela de Cine de la Universidad de Nueva York. El actor recuerda: “soy un producto de la guerra y de la paz. Cuando era pequeÒo, durante la guerra, siempre me escondÌa en los cines, y miraba pelÌculas norteamericanas. AsÌ que me enamorÈ de los Estados Unidos antes de saber incluso quÈ era, debido a las pelÌculas. Cuando Sadat hizo las paces con Israel, tuve la oportunidad de venir a Estados Unidos para estudiar cine”.

Dice que, a veces, la industria del cine puede ser dura con los actores ·rabes. “Cuando lleguÈ aquÌ por primera vez en 1979 y comencÈ a buscar trabajo como actor, los ·nicos papeles disponibles eran para interpretar a terroristas. Era joven y estaba en forma y era demasiado apuesto como para hacer de terrorista, asÌ que no conseguÌa trabajo”, bromea. “Me dejÈ crecer la barba, aumentÈ de peso, y conseguÌ un trabajo enseguida. Desde entonces, por 20 aÒos, he tenido sÛlo una lÌnea en cada pelÌcula en la que he actuado: ‘en el nombre de Al·, los mato a todos’”.

Daoud Heidami interpreta a Nasi: como Salim y Hamdi, un taxista palestino en Nueva York. Heidami naciÛ en BelÈn de padre y madre palestinos. Su familia se mudÛ a Houston, Texas, cuando tenÌa cuatro aÒos.

Heidami dice que es completamente creÌble que Nasi se una a su amigo Salim en la b·squeda infructuosa para atrapar a Zohan. “En la cultura de Medio Oriente, es como si todos fueran primos, incluso si no est·s emparentado en verdad”, agrega. “AsÌ que si mi ‘primo’ me llama y me dice que necesita ayuda, yo voy. Todos son familiares cuando necesitas un favor”.

Acerca de trabajar en la pelÌcula y con Happy Madison, Heidami comenta: “crearon un ambiente ·nico donde te sentÌas seguro como actor para interpretar y explorar en el set, para arriesgarte. Y ese ambiente seguro se extendÌa m·s all· del set tambiÈn. Habl·bamos durante los almuerzos y llegamos a conocernos. Poco a poco, esto nos fue llevando a la discusiÛn sobre la cuestiÛn de israelÌes y palestinos. Fue grandioso: todos se apasionaron, todos tenÌan sus propias ideas y la gente se escuchaba mutuamente. Los actores israelÌes escuchaban mis historias sobre mi niÒez en BelÈn, y yo escuchaba las suyas. Eso estuvo muy relacionado con el ambiente que creÛ Adam”.

Schneider agrega: “Todo saliÛ muy bien. Fue hermoso, lo cual me da esperanzas. Todo lo que intent·bamos hacer con esta pelÌcula era hacer reÌr a la gente, pero si podemos hacer eso, entonces tal vez tenga alg·n impacto, simplemente porque intentamos ser respetuosos con ambas partes y graciosos al mismo tiempo”.

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan re·ne a varios miembros clave del personal de producciÛn. La pelÌcula es la dÈcima del director de arte Perry Andelin Blake con Happy Madison, y el noveno filme de la diseÒadora de vestuario Ellen Lutter con el equipo. El editor Tom Costain trabajÛ previamente como editor asistente en muchas de las producciones de Sandler. El director de fotografÌa Michael Barrett se une al equipo por primera vez.

Blake indica que todos los departamentos, asÌ como los aportes de Dugan y Sandler, son clave para determinar la apariencia de la pelÌcula. “Dennis Dugan y Adam Sandler est·n muy involucrados. A medida que trabajamos con fotografÌas - probando los diseÒos para locaciones especÌficas - tambiÈn trabajamos con Ellen para compartir fotos de las locaciones y los colores que usaremos. Ella siempre hace una investigaciÛn exhaustiva: en Zohan nos mostrÛ los uniformes del ejÈrcito israelÌ y la ropa que podrÌa vestir un palestino corriente. Tomamos de ella los colores que cree que son los apropiados, y combinamos todo en un solo concepto de diseÒo”.

Aunque la mayor parte de la pelÌcula fue rodada en Nueva York y Los Angeles, Dugan y un pequeÒo equipo filmaron unas pocas escenas en una playa de Tel Aviv. “El comienzo de la pelÌcula se desarrolla en Tel Aviv en el verano, asÌ que fui allÌ y trabajÈ con un equipo conformado sÛlo por israelÌes y obtuve algunas tomas de la muy concurrida playa de Tel Aviv. Para algunas otras tomas de la misma escena, filmamos en una playa en MÈxico. En Israel, hay una sombrilla naranja muy caracterÌstica que pertenece a una compaÒÌa de helados: esas sombrillas est·n por toda la playa. AsÌ que conseguimos alrededor de cien o m·s y las enviamos a MÈxico”.

Un aspecto del rodaje que fue inusual para una producciÛn de Happy Madison fue la cantidad de dobles de riesgo que se requirieron para llevar a la pantalla al antiterrorista israelÌ m·s asombroso del mundo. “Tal como en Bourne o Spider-Man, donde se hacen las escenas de riesgo directamente, las hicimos de manera bastante cl·sica en Zohan”, explica Rogers. “Tratamos de darle a Sandler una base a partir de la cual pudiera lanzarse: su Zohan es m·s fuerte, m·s veloz y m·s habilidoso que cualquier ser humano, pero no es un superhÈroe”.

Rogers admite que esa parte - la de llevar a Zohan m·s all· de los lÌmites de las posibilidades humanas - fue la mejor. “Lo hicimos desempeÒarse un diez por ciento m·s all· de lo que un ser humano puede hacer en verdad”, explica. “Nos dio la libertad de hacerlo exagerado y heroico, y de volvernos realmente creativos. La escena de nataciÛn donde vence a Phantom, quien maneja una moto acu·tica, fue una oportunidad extraordinaria de hacer algunas cosas muy graciosas. La hicimos de manera seria, pero luego, en el contexto de lo que est· sucediendo, resulta una acrobacia realmente graciosa y una escena muy cÛmica.

“Cuando empezamos a hablar sobre la escena, yo propuse que nadara como un delfÌn”, contin·a. “Les encantÛ la idea, pero dudaban que pudiÈramos lograrlo. Tuvimos que encontrar el bote correcto y el equipo adecuado, y luego fuimos al complejo de nataciÛn de la USC y encontramos al nadador apropiado, Meir Hasbani, un muchacho del equipo nacional de Israel, aunque parezca mentira. Navegamos por el agua a casi 30 kilÛmetros por hora, haciÈndolo volar con cables, y luego comenzamos a impulsarlo como un delfÌn a travÈs del agua. En efecto, resultÛ relativamente f·cil”. Tan f·cil, de hecho, que Sandler no iba a dejar pasar la oportunidad de probar el aparejo por sÌ mismo, y pronto la estrella estaba nadando como un delfÌn en el mar azul de La Paz.

“Por supuesto que Zohan es capaz de cualquier cosa: no se limita a correr r·pido o hacer artes marciales o nadar; hace de todo”, agrega Rogers. “De acuerdo a lo que la escena demandara, busc·bamos a la mejor persona posible para ese talento especÌfico. Trajimos corredores libres para que saltaran de edificio en edificio. Usamos gimnastas para que realizaran algunas de las rutinas de piso sobre la silla. Trajimos bailarines para las escenas en la discoteca y nadadores para las escenas acu·ticas. Esos fueron sÛlo algunos de los dobles especiales. Nunca escuchÈ que alguien tuviera tantos dobles para un solo personaje; es casi ridÌculo, pero al mismo tiempo, es muy gracioso. Es lo que le da a este personaje su talento y sus habilidades”.

A pesar de esto, es importante que el p·blico vea a Sandler en el rol de Zohan, llevando a cabo la mayor cantidad posible de acrobacias por sÌ mismo. En una ocasiÛn, los neoyorquinos tuvieron la oportunidad de ver a Adam Sandler montado en el techo de un taxi por Park Avenue. “Lo llevamos por la ciudad de Nueva York a probablemente 30 Û 40 kilÛmetros por hora, practicando surf sobre un auto. Era importante mostrar que era Adam en verdad quien realizaba la escena de riesgo. Las audiencias son muy sofisticadas, asÌ que ver al actor haciendo la acrobacia por sÌ mismo ayuda a mantener la suspensiÛn de la incredulidad; si les das demasiadas razones para dudar de algo, entonces las sacas de ese mundo que est·s creando. Adam estuvo muy dispuesto y fue grandioso para mantener a la audiencia dentro de este pequeÒo y curioso mundo en que vive Zohan”.