Here are the official production notes for Marvel's DEADPOOL.
Please be aware that there may be some mild spoilers in here.
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero,
DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned
mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that
leaves him with accelerated healing powers adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed
with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down
the man who nearly destroyed his life.
DEADPOOL star and producer Ryan Reynolds has no bigger fan
than Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, who has a fun cameo in the film and also
serves as an executive producer.
“There’s never been a character like Deadpool, and Ryan Reynolds plays
him as though he was born to play the role,” says Lee. “Just like Robert
Downey, Jr. was born to be Iron Man, you just can’t picture anybody else
besides Ryan as Deadpool.”
Reynolds embraced the character’s myriad (and often
twisted) facets. “In the comic book
world, Deadpool is a man of our time with the ability to spout just the right
thing, in terms of a pop culture reference, at the worst possible moment,” he
quips.
“That’s what makes him interesting to
me and also makes him sort of limitless.” Reynolds had long championed a film
version of the iconic comics character.
His deep involvement in the film’s
development continued throughout production, in brainstorming sessions with
director Tim Miller and screenwriters Rhett Reese and
Paul Wernick
(“Zombieland”).
Tim Miller, who makes his feature film directorial debut on
DEADPOOL, notes, “I think Ryan’s personality and DNA are really infused in the
character. It was a close match to begin
with, which is why Ryan was so attracted to Deadpool in the first place.”
“Ryan has a tremendous sense of humor, is very quick, and
the character has really seeped into him,” says Reese. “He became in a way our ‘Deadpool Police.’
Whenever we got off tone or were writing in a way that didn't feel quite right,
Ryan would say, ‘I don't think that sounds like Deadpool.’ We knew he was the best arbiter, because Ryan
knows and loves the comics and has assimilated Deadpool’s voice and sense of
humor.”
“We’re staying as true to the character as possible,” adds
Reynolds. “We really ran with the idea
of Deadpool being aware he’s a comic book anti-hero. It gave us the freedom to tell this story in
a totally unorthodox way. We occupy a
space that no other comic book movie has – or can.”
Deadpool is also known as the “Merc with the Mouth” – and for
good reason.
“A lot of comic book movies almost feel
like you could watch them without sound and still get what's going on,” notes
Reese. “We wanted you to hear Deadpool’s
voice and his comedic commentary, so we really embraced dialogue. This is not one of those movies where the hero
is silent for 15 minutes. In DEADPOOL,
the other characters can't get a word in edgewise, because he’s constantly
filling silences with lucidly insane cracks.”
Deadpool is a unique figure in the Marvel Universe. Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld created
Deadpool as possessing an often non-superheroic attitude. A sardonic foil to the holier-than-thou
heroes and villains that populate
Marvel’s other comics, Deadpool constantly cracks edgy jokes and breaks
the fourth wall.
Liefeld joins Stan Lee in his admiration of the filmmakers’
work in translating the character to the big screen. “DEADPOOL explodes with action,” says
Liefeld. “Ryan, Tim Miller, Paul and Rhett mined all the good stuff in the
comics from about a ten-year period and came up with a movie that sews it all
together. This will be the
Deadpool that will become
canon moving forward!”
Director Miller provides Deadpool’s cinema incarnation with
a fractured narrative that hurtles back-and-forth in time. The film is anything but predictable, while
also being accessible to those who’ve never before encountered the Merc with
the Mouth.
The character’s accessibility is defined partly by his
twisted sense of humor. “It really draws
you in,” Reynolds notes. “Deadpool has
this bright, optimistic outlook on life, even though his life is pretty
shitty. I mean, he’s become horribly
disfigured from the experiments that gave him his powers. And, he can’t find love and he’s more than a
little insane.”
Reynolds’ director is also infused with Deadpoolian
traits. “Tim has a bit of Wade Wilson’s
acerbic attitude in him,” says Reynolds.
“He sort of speaks, moves and talks like him, too. I think that helped Tim access the
character. He really understands how to
balance the over-the-top action and humor with pathos, because in some ways,
Wade Wilson is a tragic character.”
FRIENDS, ENEMIES, LOVERS AND MUTANTS
In fact, Miller’s reality-based storytelling generates
empathy for all the protagonists, particularly in the poignant love story
between Wade and Vanessa Carlysle, who fall in love because of their flaws,
rather than despite them. Vanessa had a
rough childhood and is living a life full of regret. She's a prostitute when Wade meets her, and
together they embark on a quest to become better people.
“We wanted Vanessa to be someone who totally owns her
space, isn’t a damsel in distress, and when she does get into deep trouble,
does everything she can to get out of that predicament and really kick ass,”
Reynolds notes. “Morena Baccarin embodied Vanessa from the get-go.”
“Vanessa is incredibly different from any character I’ve
ever played because she’s a great combination of smart, sexy, cool and tough,”
says Baccarin. “She’s a guy’s girl, but
also very much a woman. She’s also a
fighter and it’s incredibly refreshing to see a female character in a superhero
movie who is just as tough as the guy, has something to say, and has balls.”
Deadpool’s nemesis is Ajax, played by Ed Skrein (“The
Transporter Refueled”). Ajax is the
architect of Deadpool’s transformation.
“He runs the WeaponX workshop and is a sadistic bastard,” notes
Miller. Ajax takes special pleasure in
torturing Wade during the procedures that transform him into Deadpool (and his
face into an amalgam of scar tissue).
Ajax – his given name is Francis (and you better believe
that Deadpool has a field day with that!) – had undergone the same program that
Wade came through.
The powerful villain’s abilities include
heightened agility and strength, as well as numbness to pain and human
emotion. Ajax doesn't feel empathy or
sympathy and has no qualms about tormenting someone as a means to an end.
Ajax’s henchwoman and “muscle” is Angel Dust, a statuesque
beauty who possesses incredible physical prowess. She does the jobs that Ajax avoids – and
loves every minute of it.
“Angel Dust’s superpower is basically accessing her
adrenaline to create super-strength,” notes Gina Carano, a former international
mixed martial arts champion. “It’s kind of like that horse that you want to let
the reins go on a bit. I feel like Ajax
has the reins and Angel Dust says, ‘Oh, I’m ready. Put me in.’”
There’s sometimes a thin line between these enemies and
Deadpool’s mutant “allies,” Negasonic Teenage Warhead and a behemoth known as
Colossus. Apart from her powers as a
living, breathing nuclear warhead, which provides what may be the coolest
superhero name ever, NTW is in many ways a typically rebellious teenage girl. She’s too cool for school, standoffish and
sarcastic.
Colossus, a CG creation, can change his skin into steel,
and in DEADPOOL is moonlighting from his stint as one of the X-Men. He has been charged with being
NTW’s mentor.
The film introduces a fun and idiosyncratic dynamic between
Deadpool and Colossus. “When I read that
Colossus is kind of watchdogging Deadpool, making him the straight-man to
Deadpool’s antics, I fell off the couch,” recalls Liefeld. “It’s genius!
It elevates Colossus to a place he’s never been before.”
The movie breaks away from its rapid-fire action sequences
involving these uber-powerful characters to showcase Deadpool trading
wisecracks with barkeep pal Weasel, played by actor-comedian T.J. Miller
(“Silicon Valley”). In spite of his
motto of always “looking out for number one,” Weasel is a trusted friend to
Wade. Weasel owns Sister Margaret’s Home
for Wayward Girls, a clandestine establishment where mercenaries drink away
their conscience. He’s also a savvy
weapons dealer who loves money and guns.
Miller appreciated the film’s unique elements. “DEADPOOL is nothing less than the greatest
story ever told – with guns and swords,” he jokes. “It’s also very self-aware; Deadpool knows
he’s in a comic book and he even knows he’s in a movie. He breaks the fourth wall and talks to the
audience. Sometimes he’s mean to the
audience, but they deserve it! I like to
think of him as the regenerating degenerate.”
Deadpool also relaxes by kicking back at home with his
roommate Blind Al, a sightless senior citizen whom Deadpool found on
Craigslist. Singer/actress Leslie Uggams
takes on the role. “Al is independent,
sassy, sarcastic and tough, and she can give as good as she gets,” Uggams
says.
They’re an unusual pair of roomies, but they end up
becoming friends. It's a quid pro quo
relationship. “Wade makes the money and
Al keeps house, more or less,” Uggams notes.
“Because she’s blind and can’t see his disfigurement, Al provides a
comfortable camaraderie for Deadpool, and he makes no judgments – and certainly
offers no special accommodations – for Al’s challenges.”
IT’S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE GETS
SKEWERED ON A KATANA
Bringing the exploits of an unconventional superhero to
life sometimes created an equally unexpected vibe on set. Notes Stan Lee: “When you see Tim Miller and
Ryan Reynolds working together, they are both so in sync; they see the movie
the same way. It’s though they’re
playing a game and each one of them is doing his job so magnificently. When I did my scene in DEADPOOL, I didn’t
even know I was working. When it was
over, I said, ‘When do we start?’ and Tim said, ‘You’re finished.’ That’s how effortless he makes it seem.”
That
kind of playfulness, intermixed with a badass physicality, marks the film’s
acrobatic action sequences. “Deadpool’s
always been more lithe and agile than other characters in the Marvel universe,”
says Liefeld. “Without even thinking
about it, he can drop into a moving car and then take out a small army of tough
guys, all the while cracking wise.”
Wade
is a tactically-trained ex-mercenary, and his newly acquired mutant powers
allow his body to regenerate. So, “it’s
kind of like all bets are off, when it comes to Deadpool fighting,” says stunt
coordinator Philip Silvera. “There’s
also an off-the-wall, tactical approach to combat. To the observer, Deadpool’s martial
strategies don’t make a lot of sense, at first, but in the end, you realize his
methodology works!”
One
of the all-time boxing greats inspired some of Deadpool’s approach to
fighting. Notes 2nd Unit
Director/Supervising Stunt-Coordinator Rob Alonzo: “When we trained with Ryan, we incorporated
some of Muhammed Ali’s boxing moves. Ali
was known to constantly talk during a bout, and when we watched Ali’s early
fights with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier and George Foreman, we noted that Ali was
both dangerous and carefree. The
physicality that Ryan brings to Deadpool is playful and comedic, but at the
same time I’ve held mitts for Ryan, and I’ll tell you, he can pack a wallop on
a punch.”
Adds
VFX Supervisor Jonathan Rothbart: “Deadpool’s moves are dynamic. He's a superhero, so we wanted to make him
more than human, but we also kept the action grounded. We did amazing stuff on set, and in-camera,
to which we would add some visual effects to make the action even more
over-the-top. We went just a little
crazy with the action, which is something I love about it.”
In
one memorable face off, the Merc with the Mouth wields his signature katanas
against Ajax, who’s armed with a pair of deadly axes. “We created a hybrid style for the katanas,”
Silvera explains. “It’s not a
traditional Japanese sword style; it’s more of a mix of tactical thinking, Japanese
and Chinese sword work, and [the Filipino martial art] Kali strikes – always
making sure that Deadpool is attacking vital points and control points.”
Another key mutante a
mutante fight sees Colossus squaring off against Angel Dust. It’s truly a clash of the titans, even if one
of the combatants was largely created months later, as a CG figure. In the X-Men comics, Colossus is over seven
feet tall and massively strong, so “I was after that enormous, bigger-than-life
quality, and the only way to accomplish that was with CG,” says Miller.
For the Colussus-Angel Dust battle royale, Gina Carano
enjoyed taking on what would become a CG figure. “I’ve never fought a CG character before, and
most of the actors that I’ve fought are usually around my size or just a little
bit taller,” she says. “All my moves in
the scene had to be so big and so strong, so the audience believes that Angel
Dust has the strength to take on Colossus.”
From a technical standpoint, Colossus presented some unique
challenges and opportunities. “He’s
entirely reflective, so we used a 3-D camera system to capture all the action
that happens around him,” Rothbart explains.
“Then we put that back onto him as a reflective component of his
body. It’s going to be fun because we have
a lot of scenes where Deadpool is running circles around him and doing all
sorts of crazy things, and we really wanted to make sure that we didn’t just
capture Ryan’s performance on camera, but also caught it in the reflections on
Colossus.”
THE FAULT IN OUR SCARS
A famous poet wrote that, “…the most massive characters are
seared with scars” – which would certainly apply to Deadpool, whose mutilated
visage was the result of the horrific experiments he underwent at The
Workshop. Equally applicable is this
comment from his buddy Weasel: “You look
like Freddy Krueger face-f***** a topographical map of Utah.”
On set, Reynolds wore the iconic red suit as a badge of
honor, and inhabited
Deadpool’s scars with the same sense of
kinship and admiration. When Reynolds as
Deadpool removes his mask for the first time to reveal his disfigured face, you
can’t help but feel empathy. It’s a
moment that really humanizes the character, because as vile and violent as
Deadpool can be sometimes, he presents here an unmasked vulnerability.
“Ryan and I had a lot of fun with the scene when Weasel
sees the scarred version of Wade for first time,” T.J. Miller recalls. “It’s pretty horrifying to look at. It
was difficult for me to talk to Ryan when
he was in makeup. He’d come over and
say, like, “T.J., I’m lonely, you know?
I need a friend on set.” And I
would say, “Get away from me. Your face
looks like a roadmap to hell.”
Makeup Department Head Bill Corso worked with the Creative
Character
Engineering department to create that
scarred look. “We did multiple
full-makeup tests and designs, trying to come up with not just a guy who’s
disfigured, but a cool, iconic character,” Corso explains. “I knew that, with Ryan, Deadpool would also
possess a certain charm and ruggedness.
We took his features and strengthened and played with them, to slightly
skew everything, so it’s still Ryan but an enhanced, mutated version of
him.”
In the end, Corso created a series of thin silicone
prosthetics with a translucent quality, revealing muscles, blood and tissue
beneath the skin. “Ryan had ten
paper-thin silicon appliances on his head,” Corso explains. “Now multiply that by a whole body for the
compelling fight sequence with Ed Skrein as Ajax at the Workshop, when Ryan is
basically au naturel. It’s a raw, brutal fight, and there’s no
clothing or padding. It gets very
real!”
“…STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, SEXUAL CONTENT
AND GRAPHIC NUDITY”
Along with Deadpool fighting in the buff, the film’s torrid
scenes between Wade and Vanessa, and Deadpool’s non-stop and off-color verbal
stylings, all contribute to the film’s R-rating. “I think the R-rating allows us to have a
level of reality that wouldn’t be possible with a PG-13,” says Miller. “I also think it’s an important step in the
expansion of the genre. There’s a type
of film that can only be made with this rating, and that really expands the
boundaries of the stories comic book movies can tell.”
As the filmmakers
ready DEADPOOL for a February 2016 opening, they remain convinced the time is
right for this unique movie event. “When
comic book movies first appeared, they had to be ‘tentpole’ movies, which had
to appeal to the broadest possible audience,” Miller says. “DEADPOOL was always meant to be an edgy
film, and the time is right for it. The
genre of superhero and comic book films is wider and it feels like it’s time to
do a film like this, that sort of pushes the boundaries a little further.”
DEADPOOL is produced by Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: Days of
Future Past”), Ryan Reynolds and Lauren Shuler Donner (“X-Men: Days of Future
Past”). The executive producers are Stan Lee, John J. Kelly (“Spy”), Jonathon
Komack Martin
(“The Change-Up”), Aditya Sood (“The
Martian”), and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
The director of photography is Ken Seng (“Project X”), the
production designer is Sean Haworth (“Goosebumps”), the editor is Julian
Clarke, ACE (“District 9”), and music is by Tom Holkenborg (“Mad Max: Fury
Road”).
ABOUT THE CAST
RYAN REYNOLDS (Deadpool,
Producer) is one of Hollywood’s most diverse leading men, seamlessly
transitioning through drama, action and comedy in his rich and ever evolving
career.
Recently, Reynolds was seen in “Mississippi Grind,”
alongside Ben Mendelsohn. The film directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden
premiered at Sundance to rave reviews and opened October 2015.
Also this year, Reynolds was seen in the features “Woman in
Gold,” “The Voices” and “Selfless.” In
The Weinstein Company’s “Woman in Gold,” Reynolds starred alongside Helen
Mirren to tell the story of Maria Altmann (Mirren), a Jewish refugee who is
forced to flee Vienna during World War II and embarks on a mission to reclaim a
painting the Nazis stole from her family: the famous Lady in Gold.
In Lionsgate’s serial killer comedy “The Voices,” by famed
French director Marjane Satrapi, Reynolds stars as a troubled, med-addicted
factory worker driven to murder by his talking pets, a psychopathic cat called
Mr. Whiskers and a peaceloving dog named Bosco.
Reynolds also voices the animals.
He then starred opposite Ben Kingsley in the independent feature
“Selfless,” directed by Tarsem Singh.
Reynolds voiced two DreamWorks Animation films in
2013. In “Turbo,” Reynolds voiced a
snail who has dreams of winning the Indy 500.
The movie also features the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Maya Rudolph,
Snoop Lion and Michelle Rodriguez. Prior
to that, Reynolds made his animated film debut as the voice of Goy in DWA’s
“The Croods.” The movie also featured
the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener and earned over
$508 million worldwide. Reynolds has
signed on for the sequel, which is in development.
His other film credits include the Universal action
thriller “Safe House,” opposite Denzel Washington, which opened to $40 million
domestically in its first weekend and went onto earn $208 million worldwide;
the Universal comedy “The Change Up,” opposite Jason Bateman; the Warner Bros.
adaptation of the popular
DC Comic “Green Lantern”; and the
mystery/thriller “Buried,” in which Reynolds is the only actor to appear on
camera.
In 2009, Reynolds and Sandra Bullock starred in Disney’s
romantic comedy “The Proposal.” The film
opened at #1 at the box office and grossed $315 million worldwide. That same
year, Reynolds was seen as Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” He starred opposite an all-star cast,
including Hugh Jackman, and the film grossed $365 million worldwide. Also in 2009, Reynolds starred in
“Adventureland,” opposite
Kristen Stewart, which premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival and was nominated in the “Ensemble
Performance” category at the 2009 Gotham Awards.
Reynolds’ other film credits include “Paperman”; the
Working Title film “Definitely, Maybe” for Universal Pictures; writer/director
John August’s “The Nines”; director Joe
Carnahan’s “Smokin’ Aces,” for Working Title and Universal Pictures; and “The
Amityville Horror,” a remake of the classic cult film that opened to #1 at the
box office and made $107 million worldwide.
Reynolds’ TV production company, DarkFire, recently sold its
first two projects
– the live action comedy
“Guidance” and the animated comedy “And Then There
Was Gordon,” to 20th Century Fox TV. Reynolds will executive produce the series
alongside Allan Loeb, Jonathon Komack Martin, Tim Dowling and Steven
Pearl.
Reynolds serves on the board of directors for the Michael
J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. In November of 2007, Reynolds ran
the New York City Marathon in honor of his father, who has long suffered from
ravages of Parkinson's disease. Reynolds’ marathon run raised over $100,000 for
the Foundation.
MORENA BACCARIN (Vanessa)
made her television debut in the science-
fiction drama “Firefly”
and she reprised her series role of Inara Serra in the 2005 film “Serenity.”
In May 2009, Baccarin made her Off-Broadway debut in Theresa Rebeck's
television satire “Our House” at Playwrights
Horizons in New
York City. That year, Baccarin joined
the cast of the Showtime television drama “Homeland,”
for which she won acclaim for her performance as the conflicted wife of a
former prisoner of war. In 2013, she was nominated for Outstanding
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the
2013 Primetime Emmy awards for her
performance.
Her other television credits include “V,” “The O.C.,”
“Stargate SG-1,” “Justice
League” and “Gotham.”
ED SKREIN (Ajax)
grew up in North London and is one of the most highly versatile artists of his
generation. He was selected by Screen International as one of their
“Stars of Tomorrow” in 2012, which showcases the next generation of talent from
the UK.
Skrein stars in the action crime thriller reboot, “The
Transporter Refueled,” directed by Camille Delamarre and produced by Luc Besson
and Mark Gao (“Lucy,” the “Taken” films).
Skrein portrays the lead role of Frank Martin, a former special-ops
mercenary who now spends his life as a transporter of classified packages for
questionable people on the other side of the law.
Skrein also recently appeared in “The Model,” directed by
Mads Matthiesen, which chronicles the story of an emerging fashion model who
struggles to enter the Parisian fashion scene and develops a deadly obsession
for fashion photographer Shane White (Skrein). Nordisk Film Distribution releases the film.
In 2016, Skrein will appear alongside Nicholas Hoult and
James Corden in the comedy crime film “Kill Your Friends,” directed by Owen
Harris. Based on John Niven’s 2008
novel, the film tells the story of a 27-year-old A&R man working at the
height of the Britpop music craze and going to extremes to find his next
hit. “Kill Your
Friends” screened at Cannes and was
purchased by Well Go USA Entertainment, which will release the film.
In 2013, Skrein appeared in the critically-acclaimed and
BAFTA and Critics Choice Television Award winning HBO series “Game of
Thrones.” Skrein portrayed the character
Daario Naharis, originally a
lieutenant in the Second Sons, who takes over the company after killing his
superiors and aligns with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).
In 2012, Skrein starred in Revolver Entertainment’s
critically-acclaimed drama
“Ill Manors,” written and directed by Ben
Drew. The film revolves around the lives of eight characters as they struggle
to survive on the streets. It takes
place over the course of seven days, with each story blending into the others,
painting a gritty picture of a world on the brink of destruction.
Other film credits include “The Sweeney,” “Tiger House,”
“Piggy,” “Northmen – A Viking Saga,” “Sword of Vengeance” and “Goldfish.” Other
television credits include “The Tunnel.”
Skrein currently resides
in London.
T.J. MILLER (Weasel)
is one of the most sought after comedians in the comedy world, but not in the
drama world, or the finance world. He
was one of
Variety’s “Top 10 Comics to Watch,” and EW's “Next Big Things in
Comedy."
Miller lent his voice to Disney’s Academy-Award® winning
animated feature, “Big Hero 6.” You may
recognize his non-animated face and body from his role in
2014’s surprise indie hit
“Transformers 4,” or from Mike Judge’s HBO comedy series
“Silicon Valley,” for which Miller received
the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television
Comedy.
His podcast "Cashing in with T.J. Miller" on
nerdist.com is listened to by 12 and ½ people, and Miller is a nationally
touring standup, crisscrossing the country listening to Kris Kross. (He's also done shows in the U.K. and Puerto
Rico; Puerto
Rico did not go
well.)
Miller has been performing his absurdist observational
standup act for over 10 years, and has never gone to the bathroom in his pants
on stage. His hour long Comedy Central
stand-up special “T.J. Miller: No Real Reason” and hip-hop/pop/folk music album
“The Extended Play E.P” is an E.P. with 41 tracks, and the “Illegal Art Remix
Tape” are all available now. He hosted
Comedy Central’s “Mash-Up,” a mashup of standup, sketches and visualizations,
and has appeared on “Chelsea Lately” more than most women his height.
Miller got his start touring with Second City in Chicago
and improvising with Annoyance Theater, iO, and managers at electronics stores
who asked why he is late and smells like gin.
Miller has been in a number of major studio films including
“Cloverfield,” “She’s Out of My League,”
“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” “Our Idiot Brother,” “Yogi Bear”
(Ranger Jones is Miller’s greatest role to date), “Unstoppable” and “Get Him to
the Greek.”
He has appeared on television in “The League,”
“Carpoolers,” “Goodwin Games,” “Happy Endings,” and other canceled
programs. Miller also talks like an old
drag queen after a hard night of chain smoking, and thus voiced the character
Tuffnut in the Oscar® nominated animated film “How to Train Your Dragon” and
“How to Train Your Dragon 2.” He voices
Robbie from “Gravity Falls” on Disney, Tuffnut in the Netflix “How to Train
Your Dragon” television series, and “Gorburger,” a very strange show you just
have to Google to understand.
Miller currently resides in Hollywood, California, where he
struggles to find meaning in an uncertain world. He is a comedian.
GINA CARANO (Angel
Dust) stars in Lionsgate’s upcoming
“Extraction,” opposite Bruce Willis.
Prior to that she had lead roles in “Bus 657,” opposite Robert De Niro,
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kate Bosworth and Dave Bautista, and also appeared in a
remake of the cult film “Kickboxer,” with Dave Bautista.
Gina had a key role in “Fast and Furious 6,” as the partner
to the character portrayed by Dwayne Johnson.
The film opened at #1 during the biggest Memorial Day weekend in
box-office history. Universal had their largest debut ever with that
installment in the action franchise, collecting $96.7 million in three days
toward an incredibly strong $120 million opening weekend and over $785 million
worldwide. It was also Universal's
largest opening ever in China.
Gina made her acting debut starring as Mallory in the
Steven Soderbergh directed film “Haywire,” with a supporting cast that included
Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Channing
Tatum and Bill Paxton. The film received
strong reviews and Gina was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best
Actress in an Action Film, alongside such Hollywood heavyweights as Anne
Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, Judi Dench and Emily Blunt. In preparation for “Haywire,” Gina trained
several months with ex-Israeli Mossad agent Aaron Cohen.
Gina is a top rated MMA athlete who fought in the first
ever female main event, which aired on Showtime and was the highest rated fight
of any gender in Showtime history. She
is widely acknowledged as the original face of female MMA. While actively competing, Gina was rated as
Yahoo's top female athlete and was the fifth most influential woman on Yahoo,
on a list that included Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. In 2014, despite having been out of
competition for several years, Gina was still the tenth most searched athlete on
Yahoo.
BRIANNA HILDEBRAND (Negasonic
Teenage Warhead) recently wrapped a leading role in Kerem Sanga’s independent
drama “First Girl I Loved.” Brianna
previously starred in the award-winning web series “Annie Undocumented.”
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
TIM MILLER (Director)
is the Executive Creative Director/Co-Founder of Blur
Studio.
With over 20 years of experience in the CG/VFX world, Miller’s work has
been honored with Academy Award, Annie and Ves Award nominations.
Miller’s deep knowledge and love for books, comics, sci-fi,
fantasy and games informs his writing and directing across multiple visual
platforms, including commercials, game trailers and feature film
development. Tim directed the opening
prologue for the Marvel film “Thor: The Dark World,” as well as a launch spot
for Microsoft’s epic marketing campaign for "Halo 4: Scanned.”
Additional directing projects include Warner Bros.’
"Batman: Arkham City,” Sony’s “DC Universe Online,” and a “Dante’s Inferno” Super Bowl spot for EA. Miller also led the creative effort on the
title sequence for David Fincher’s “The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo” and was selected for The
Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors' Showcase 2012 in Cannes. Miller is currently developing feature film
projects at 20th Century Fox, Legendary and Sony Pictures.
RHETT REESE &
PAUL WERNICK’s (Writers,
Executive Producers) first feature collaboration was “Zombieland,” which they
wrote and executive-produced for Columbia Pictures in 2009. “Zombieland” received critical acclaim (90%
fresh on
Rotten Tomatoes) and became one of the
highest grossing zombie movies of all time ($100M+).
More recently, the two wrote Paramount Pictures’ “G.I.
Joe: Retaliation,” starring Dwayne
Johnson, Channing Tatum, and Bruce Willis.
The film went on to gross $375 million worldwide.
Reese and Wernick
currently have several projects in development, including
“Life,” for Skydance
Productions, with Daniel Espinosa directing; and “Cowboy Ninja
Viking,” for Universal Pictures, with Chris
Pratt starring. They recently optioned
“The Real Coke, The Real Story,” a non-fiction account of the epic failure of
New Coke, which they plan to write and produce.
Reese and Wernick first collaborated in 2001,
creating, writing, and executiveproducing “The Joe Schmo Show” for Spike
TV. The series drew Spike’s highestever
ratings. “Joe Schmo” was named to
numerous Best Of lists, including Time magazine’s
Top 10 TV Shows of the year and Entertainment
Weekly’s 50 Best TV Shows Ever on DVD.
Reese and Wernick followed up with “Joe Schmo 2” and “Invasion Iowa,” a
high-concept comedy hybrid starring William Shatner.
Reese
has written movies for Pixar Animation Studios (“Monsters, Inc.”), Walt
Disney Feature Animation (“Dinosaur”), and
Warner Bros. (“Clifford’s Really Big Movie”), among others. Wernick has produced several network reality
shows. He won three Emmy awards for his
work in news.
Reese and Wernick met in high school and have
collaborated professionally for over 15 years.
SIMON KINBERG, p.g.a. (Producer) has established himself as one of
Hollywood’s most prolific filmmakers,
having written and produced projects for some of the most successful franchises
in the modern era.
Kinberg graduated from
Brown University, and received his MFA from
Columbia University Film School, where his
thesis project was the original script “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Released in 2005, the film starred Brad Pitt
and Angelina Jolie. In 2006, Kinberg wrote “X-Men: The Last Stand,” which
opened on Memorial Day to box-office records, and began his ongoing
relationship with the franchise. In 2008
Kinberg wrote and produced
Doug Liman’s film “Jumper” for 20th Century Fox. In
2009 Kinberg co-wrote the film “Sherlock
Holmes” starring Robert Downey Jr., directed by Guy Ritchie. It set the
box-office record for the biggest Christmas Day opening in history. Robert Downey, Jr. received a Golden Globe®
for Best Actor, and the film was nominated for two Academy Awards.
In 2010, Kinberg established his
production company Genre Films, with a first look deal at 20th
Century Fox. Under this banner, he
produced “X-Men: First Class,” executive produced “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire
Hunter,” and wrote and produced
“This Means War.” In 2013, Kinberg produced “Elysium,” starring
Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, directed by Neill Blomkamp.
On Memorial Day 2014, Fox released “X-Men: Days of Future
Past,” which Kinberg wrote and produced.
The film opened number one at the box-office, received critical acclaim,
and went on to gross $750 million worldwide.
Last year, Kinberg re-teamed with Neill Blomkamp to produce
“Chappie” starring Hugh Jackman and Sharlto Copley, and produced Disney’s
“Cinderella,” starring Cate Blanchett, directed by Kenneth Branagh. The latter was Kinberg’s ninth picture to
open number one at the box-office. Also
in 2015, he wrote and produced
“Fantastic Four” and the
next X-Men movie, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” to be released
Memorial Day 2016. In addition, Kinberg is producing the X-Men
spinoff movies,
“Gambit” starring Channing Tatum, and the
next “Wolverine” movie with Hugh Jackman.
Kinberg is also writing and producing one of the upcoming
“Star Wars” films, served as consultant on “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and is the
creator and executive producer of the animated show “Star Wars: Rebels,” on
Disney XD.
LAUREN SHULER DONNER
(Producer) has in the past three decades established herself as one of the
most successful and versatile producers in Hollywood. To date, her films have grossed over $4
billion worldwide.
Shuler Donner was bound for success from the beginning, as
the first feature film she produced was the smash hit comedy, “Mr. Mom,” one of
the top ten grossing films that year.
She then went on to produce “Ladyhawke” starring Matthew Broderick,
Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer and “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “Pretty in Pink,”
both of which created a new phrase in teen lexicon, “Brat Pack.”
In the early ‘90s, Shuler Donner produced the box office
smash hits “Dave” and “Free Willy,” two of the top ten films of 1993. The critically acclaimed “Dave” was nominated
for both an Academy Award (Best Original Screenplay) and a Golden Globe (Best
Picture-Comedy). She went on to produce
“You’ve Got Mail,” with Meg
Ryan and Tom Hanks, “Any
Given Sunday,” “Radio Flyer,” “3 Fugitives, the sequel to
“Free Willy” and “Constantine,” with Keanu
Reeves and Rachel Weisz. As head of The
Donners’ Company, she has executive-produced “Volcano,” "Bulworth” and
“Just Married.” Shuler Donner’s other
productions include “Timeline” with Paul Walker and Gerard Butler, “She’s The
Man” with Amanda Bynes and "Hotel For Dogs," starring Emma Roberts.
Shuler Donner also produced “The Secret Life of Bees” for
Fox Searchlight Pictures, which was written and directed by Gina
Prince-Bythewood and stars Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson,
Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo and Paul
Bettany.
This film won multiple People’s Choice awards - “Favorite Film” and
“Best Dramatic Film” among them. It also
won Best Picture from the NAACP Image Awards.
In 2000, Shuler Donner began a new franchise with “X-Men”
and followed up in 2003 with "X2: X-Men United.” The second film was released by Fox and broke
box office records with an opening weekend total of $86 million dollars
nationwide. Not only did the film gross
$406 million dollars internationally, it is also the only sequel of 2003 to
receive critical acclaim as well. “X
Men: The Last Stand” was released in May, 2006 and a month later it was on its
way to the half billion dollar mark worldwide.
In 2011, she produced “X-Men: First Class,” the fifth film in the “Xmen”
franchise, which received critical raves.
Her most recent films are “The Wolverine” and “X-Men: Days
of Future Past,” released in 2014, and which became a global blockbuster.
In October 2008, both Shuler Donner and her husband,
Richard Donner, were awarded stars next to each other on the Hollywood Blvd.
Walk of Fame. She and Richard were also
honored by The American Cancer Society in June of 2006 and by Lupus L.A. in
2008. She has been recognized for her
body of work in 2001 by
Premiere
magazine with the Producer Icon Award, and was recognized by Daily Variety
with a Billion Dollar Producer special issue.
In June 2006, she received the prestigious Crystal Award from Women in
Film. They were also awarded Lifetime
Achievement Awards at the Ojai Film Festival in November of 2008.
Shuler Donner is a dedicated philanthropist who thrives on
giving back to the community. She was on
the board of directors for Hollygrove Children’s Home until it merged with EMQ
in 2006. She has been on the advisory
board of Women in Film, was a long-time member of the advisory board of
TreePeople, and is an ex-Board member of Planned Parenthood. She is serving currently on the advisory
board of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, the advisory board of the
Natural Resources Defense Council, USC School of Theater, is the Treasurer for
the
Producers Guild of America, and is on the
executive committee of the Producer’s Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences.
STAN LEE (Executive
Producer) the chairman emeritus of Marvel Comics, is known to millions as the
man whose superhero characters propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in
the comic-book industry. Hundreds of legendary characters, including
Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man,
Daredevil, The Avengers, The Silver Surfer, Thor and Dr. Strange, all grew out
of his fertile imagination.
Lee served as executive producer for “The Avengers: Age of
Ultron,” “The
Wolverine,” “Thor: The Dark World,”
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Iron Man
2,” “The Avengers,” “Thor”,” X-Men: First Class,”
”X-Men: Days of Future
Past,” Captain America: The First
Avenger, “The Amazing
Spider-Man, and “Iron Man 3,” and many
other hit films based on Marvel Comics titles.
It was in the early 1960s that Lee ushered in what has come
to be known as The Marvel Age of Comics, creating major new Super Heroes while
breathing life and style into such old favorites as Captain America, The Human
Torch and The Sub Mariner.
During his first 25 years at Marvel, as editor, art
director and head writer, Lee scripted no fewer than two and as many as five
complete comic books per week. His
prodigious output may comprise the largest body of published work by any single
writer. Additionally, he wrote newspaper features, radio and television scripts
and screenplays.
By the time he was named publisher of Marvel Comics in
1972, Lee’s comics were the nation’s biggest sellers. In 1977, he brought the
Spider-Man character to newspapers in the form of a syndicated strip. This
seven-days-a-week feature, which he has written and edited since its inception,
is the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips, appearing in more
than 500 newspapers worldwide.
In 1981, Marvel launched an animation studio on the West
Coast and Lee moved to Los Angeles to become creative head of Marvel’s
cinematic adventures. He began to transform his Spider-Man and Hulk creations
into Saturday morning television and paved the way for Marvel’s entry into
live-action feature films.
Under the umbrella of his new company POW! (Purveyors of
Wonder!)
Entertainment, Inc., Lee created and
executive produced an animated “Stan Lee Presents” DVD series. Lee’s television
credits with POW! include serving as
executive producer and star on the hit reality series “Who Wants To Be a
Superhero?,” and as co-producer and
creator of “Stripperella” on the Spike cable channel. Previously, he executive
produced “Nick Fury: Agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “The
Incredible Hulk,”
“Spider-Man” and “X-Men.”
Lee has written more than a dozen best-selling books,
including “Stan Lee’s
Superhero Christmas,” “The Origins of
Marvel Comics,” “The Best of the Worst,” “The Silver Surfer,” “How to Draw
Comics the Marvel Way,” “The Alien Factor,” “Bring on the Bad Guys,” “Riftworld,”
“The Superhero Women” and his autobiography
“Excelsior! The Amazing
Life of Stan Lee.”
JOHN J. KELLY (Executive
Producer) recently produced the comedy “Spy,” with director Paul Feig. Kelly also produced the blockbuster
“Divergent,” Tyler Perry’s “Madea’s Witness Protection,” Timur Bekmambetov’s
“Abraham Lincoln:
Vampire Hunter” and
“Darling Companion” starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline.
Kelly produced the Golden Globe and Oscar nominated “127
Hours,” starring James Franco. The film
was nominated for numerous Academy Awards including; Best Actor, Best Adapted
Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and
Best Picture. It was also nominated in
many of the same Golden Globe categories.
Kelly spent all of 2006 producing Sean Penn’s “Into the
Wild,” which garnered two Academy Awards nominations, two Golden Globes, four
SAG Awards™ and two Teen Choice Awards.
Kelly worked with David Mamet on “Spartan,” Kevin Reynolds
on “Tristan and Isolde,” Brian DePalma on “The Black Dahlia” and Roger
Donaldson on “The World’s
Fastest Indian,” starring
Anthony Hopkins.
JONATHON KOMACK MARTIN
(Executive Producer) is Ryan Reynolds’ producing partner at their company
DarkFire Films, with a first-look TV deal at Universal Cable Productions. In addition to their feature slate, the
company focuses on developing both half-hour comedies and one-hour dramas, for
cable outlets and broadcast networks.
Martin served as executive producer on “R.I.P.D.,” starring
Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, and “The Change-Up,” starring Reynolds and Jason
Bateman. Martin’s previous producing
credits include “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder,” “Held Up,” and the
long-running “George Lopez” television series.
ADITYA SOOD (Executive
Producer) is the President of Simon Kinberg’s production company, Genre Films,
which they started together in 2010.
Genre Films has a first look deal at 20th Century Fox. Sood was a
producer on Fox’s critically acclaimed and award-winning blockbuster “The
Martian,” directed by Ridley Scott, starring Matt Damon.
Before that he was executive producer on the successful
action-comedy Let’s Be Cops.
Prior to working at Genre, Sood ran Walter Parkes and
Laurie MacDonald’s production company at DreamWorks and was Vice President,
Production at Warner Bros. Pictures. He started his career at New Line Cinema
and DreamWorks, and later was a story editor for producer Mark Johnson. A
Seattle native, Sood is a graduate of Pomona College and lives in Los Angeles,
California with his wife, Becky Chassin.
KEN SENG (Director
of Photography) captured international attention with his groundbreaking
large-set choreographed 3D action sequences in “Step Up 3D.”
His other feature work includes the comedy “Project X,” the
slick thriller
“Obsessed,” starring
Beyoncé, and the horror film “Quarantine.”
Frequently lending his hand to large scale commercial
campaigns, Seng crafted the beautiful images in the most recent Canadian
Budweiser campaign, directed by Oscar-nominated Henry Alex Rubin.
SEAN HAWORTH (Production Designer) was
the production designer on the
hit film “Goosebumps,” the
science fiction thriller “Ender’s Game” and the horror film
“The Thing” (2011).
As
an art director, Haworth won an Art Directors Guild Award (shared) for his work on “Avatar,” and was
nominated for his work on “Tron: Legacy” and “Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory.” His other notable credits as
art director include “Thor,”
“Mission: Impossible III”
and “Transformers.”
JULIAN CLARKE, ACE (Film Editor)
collaborated with director Neill
Blomkamp on several projects including
“District 9,” “Elysium” and “Chappie.”
For his work on “District 9,” Clarke was nominated for an Oscar for Best
Achievement in Film Editing, an American Cinema Editors (ACE) Eddie Award for
Best Edited Film Feature (Dramatic) and a BAFTA Film Award for Best
Editing.
Clarke’s other work includes “Project Almanac” for Paramount
Pictures, and
“The Thing” for Universal
Pictures.
TOM HOLKENBORG (Composer),
aka Junkie XL, is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum producer and
composer. A multi-instrumentalist who
plays keyboards, guitar, drums, violin, and bass, he also possesses a mastery
of studio technology.
Now focusing on film composition, Holkenborg recently
created the score for director Scott Cooper’s drama “Black Mass,” George
Miller’s blockbuster “Mad Max: Fury Road” and Ericson Core’s “Point
Break.” He is also scoring a wide range
of upcoming films, including the crime comedy “Kill Your Friends,” and Zack
Snyder’s much-anticipated action adventure “Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice.” His recent film credits also
include Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Run All Night,” Robert Luketic’s
“Paranoia,” Neil Burger’s “Divergent,”
and Noam Murro’s “300: Rise of an Empire.”
The foundation for Holkenborg’s new career path was laid in
his native Holland, where he created multiple film scores. He later continued to grow under mentorships
with renowned composers like Harry Gregson-Williams, on the films “Domino” and
“Kingdom of Heaven,” and Klaus Badelt on “Catwoman.” From there, Holkenborg formed a successful
association with composer Hans Zimmer,
with whom he worked on Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel”; Christopher Nolan’s “The
Dark
Earlier in his composing career, Holkenborg also provided
music for such films as “Bandslam,” “DOA: Dead or Alive,” “The Chronicles of
Riddick: Dark Fury,” “The
Holkenborg’s career as an artist began in 1993 when he
started the industrial rock band NERVE, while also producing hardcore and metal
bands like Sepultura and Fear Factory.
Drawn by electronic breakbeats, he started Junkie XL in 1997, debuting
with the album Saturday Teenage Kick. Holkenborg went on to produce five more
albums under the Junkie XL moniker while playing headline shows all over the
world. In 2002, the producer-remixer
scored a number one hit in 24 countries with his rework of Elvis Presley’s “A
Little Less Conversation.” Following
that success, Holkenborg collaborated with celebrated artists like Dave Gahan,
Robert Smith and Chuck D, and remixed such artists as Coldplay, Depeche Mode,
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, among many others. In addition, Holkenborg created the music for
videogames, including “Need for Speed,” “The Sims” and “SSX,” as well as
commercials for global campaigns for Nike, Heineken, Adidas, Cadillac and VISA.
JOHN HOULIHAN (Music Supervisor) since
working on the acclaimed music film “Mr. Holland’s Opus”, has has helped shape
more than 70 feature films, numerous television series and dozens of popular
soundtrack albums.
Most recently he worked on the Antoine Fuqua directed drama
“Southpaw,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forrest Whitaker and Rachel McAdams.
Houlihan’s numerous credits include “Training Day” which
earned a Best Actor Academy Award for Denzel Washington, all three “Austin
Powers” films, and both of the “Charlie’s Angels” films. Recent releases include “Looper,” “Don Jon,”
“Let’s Be Cops,” the animated film The Book of Life” and the Keanu Reeves
thriller “John
Wick.”
Documentary project highlights are Oscar-winning director
Davis Guggenheim’s “From the Sky Down” and Davis’ acclaimed public education
exploration “Waiting For ‘Superman.”
Houlihan was co-producer and music supervisor for the entertainment
industry documentary film “Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon,” which marks
the directing debut of Mike Myers.
Houlihan also worked on several films that were part the 2008 and 2012
presidential campaigns for President Barack Obama.
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