Production Notes-From Official Press Kit
About the Production | Surrealism | Costume Designs | The Cast | The Filmmakers
- Production Information -
London, the 1960s. A cultural revolution is happening and London is the epicenter of the youthquake—mod clothes, the Beatles, pop art and "The Avengers."
London, the 1990s. The city is once again a hotbed of activity signaling the world to make way for the millennium. Fin-de-siècle nihilism alongside revisionist spiritualism, old-guard capitalism clashing with global-concern idealism, a nostalgia for the past rethought to serve the present. Time once again for heroes with style to burn. Time once again for John Steed and Emma Peel.
Legendary producer JERRY WEINTRAUB and director JEREMIAH CHECHIK have teamed Academy Award-nominees RALPH FIENNES and UMA THURMAN as Steed and Mrs. Peel, reinventing the inimitably British agent and his deadly smart partner for the ‘90s and pitting them against the devilishly clever and completely evil Sir August De Wynter (Oscar-winner SEAN CONNERY).
John Steed (Fiennes) has been called by The Ministry (Britain’s ultra-top-secret secret agency) to investigate some very strange goings-on in Her Majesty’s kingdom. The weather seems out of control, foul, deadly—even for England. Freak snowstorms, hail of Old Testament proportions, temperatures wildly fluctuating from blast furnace to arctic. Someone is out to control the weather, literally, and bring the country and the world to its knees. Who could master such a plan, such a brilliant and demonic attempt to extort the riches of nations in return for a temperate day? All bets are on Sir August De Wynter (Connery), former Ministry man, very rich, very odd, entirely too smart.
Preparing to fight fire (or snow or hail) with fire, Steed is paired with the unflappable Mrs. Emma Peel (Thurman), a master of jujitsu, a doctor in meteorological science and a body made for haute couture.
Steed and Peel, with martini-dry wit and icy sexiness, are here for a new age of cool.
Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery star in "The Avengers," a Jerry Weintraub Production distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Jeremiah Chechik ("Benny and Joon") directs the motion picture, which has a screenplay by DON MACPHERSON, based on characters from the British television series of the same name. JIM BROADBENT also stars, with FIONA SHAW, EDDIE IZZARD, EILEEN ATKINS and JOHN WOOD featured in supporting roles. SUSAN EKINS executive produces.
The behind-the-camera crew includes director of photography ROGER PRATT ("Shadowlands," "The Fisher King," "Brazil"); production designer STUART CRAIG, a three-time Academy Award winner ("The English Patient," "Dangerous Liaisons," "Gandhi"); editor MICK AUDSLEY ("Twelve Monkeys," "Interview With the Vampire"); composer JOEL McNEELY ("Wild America," "Terminal Velocity"); costume designer ANTHONY POWELL, also a three-time Academy Award-winner ("Tess," "Death on the Nile," "Travels With My Aunt"); and Oscar-winning set decorator STEPHANIE McMILLAN ("The English Patient").
that was then…
The postwar boom of the 1950’s brought with it a new way of looking at life, and much of that look was determined by what Americans saw on television. As the ‘50s came to a close, the eager and curious viewers of the early days of live television now found themselves confronted with a strange new land known as "The Sixties." Waning were the days of the weighty dramas of Playhouse 90 and variety shows relying on sketch comedy coupled with a healthy dose of "culture" (which usually meant a weighty opera singer or a pas de deux from a ballet). Popular taste now dictated a spate of family dramas and humorless crime series.
The American families depicted on television featured fathers who knew best, children in coordinated outfits and women using magic (like Samantha or Jeannie) to combat everything from troublesome bosses to near-disastrous dinner parties. And when it came to crime, Americans liked their crimefighters earnest and honorable and their women either in the steno pool (Perry Mason’s trusty Della Street) or in distress.
From 1966 to 1969, ABC aired a show that had been running in its native Great Britain since 1961. The show (syndicated from the fourth, fifth and sixth British seasons) featured a wry English gentleman named John Steed (actor Patrick Macnee) who possessed a dry sense of humor and a taste for champagne; Steed effortlessly battled villains that appeared ordinary at first glance—members of Parliament, nannies, apothecaries, country vicars, doting relatives—until, somewhere in the first half of the program, they revealed a maniacal plan…like taking over Westminster Abbey using an army of hypnotized soldiers or kidnapping a visiting dignitary by pumping nerve gas into his train compartment.
Aiding Steed in his battle against the bizarre-clothed-in-normalcy (all the while engaging in witty repartee peppered with innuendo) was a female sidekick of a different sort. Mrs. Emma Peel (as played by Diana Rigg in the first two years of the show’s American run) was an icy combination of smarts, beauty and girl power. While Steed used his trademark (and specially outfitted) bowler hat and bumpershoot to combat his adversaries, Mrs. Peel could and would utilize a well-placed jujitsu kick or karate flip to fell her foe. And after the bad guys were neatly dispatched, Steed and Peel would trade smirks and quips over a smart cocktail and then part ways—until evil reared its ugly head the following week and Emma received the familiar call of "Mrs. Peel, we’re needed."
American viewers were left suitably enamored. "The Avengers" made an indelible impression on its fans—so that almost 37 years after its initial run on British television, the show remains that country’s most popular exported serial (the show has been sold to 120 countries to date). Currently, numerous unofficial Avengers fan sites populate the Internet, including a German site.
this is so now…
Producer Jerry Weintraub was one of the number of original aficionados of the show who waited each week until "The Avengers" took to the airwaves. The producer was already a fan of the show when it debuted in America—he had been abroad during its first British seasons. He remembers, "I was working in the music business in London in the ‘60s. I was one of those millions of guys around the world who was in love with Emma Peel."
Weintraub’s infatuation with the show (and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel) never faded. He eventually purchased the Thorn-EMI library (which included the rights to the series) in 1985 and made a commitment to bring Steed and Peel to the motion picture screen.
Weintraub continues, "When Warner Bros. and I went into business together, I knew I wanted to make ‘The Avengers.’ But I wanted to do it right, and it took a long time for me to find the right script and the right cast. When you’re making a big action-adventure movie, your natural tendency is to Americanize it—I didn’t want to. I knew John Steed and Emma Peel had a worldwide audience and I didn’t want to bastardize these characters."
British screenwriter Don Macpherson recalls his own memories of the original. He says, "I watched the program on television when I was growing up, and it always remained with me as one of the great things about England in the ‘60s. But it is three decades later, so while we wanted to keep the spies in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ world, we wanted to reformulate something new as well."
When Weintraub proposed that Macpherson produce the script for the Avengers film, the writer knew it would have to reinvent the crimefighting pair for the new generations of the uninitiated. Macpherson elaborates, "There will be two audiences for this film: one, the people like myself who grew up with ‘The Avengers’ and, for whom, it’s a cult standard and a real touchstone; and two, the much bigger audience of moviegoers who don’t know John Steed and Emma Peel—they are the ones with whom we need to share the fun secret of the new Avengers."
Acknowledging the crisp style that so identified the original, the producer and writer hit upon a solution to bringing the movie into more modern times without destroying one of the key elements of the show’s success. Macpherson notes, "We decided to set the film in a time we’ll call 1999, but it’s really a Britain where the ‘60s were never superseded by the ensuing decades. The ‘80s and Margaret Thatcher have never existed. Cellular phones don’t exist, yuppies haven’t happened. The ‘60s have simply continued to go on for 30 years. Right now, the worlds of style and fashion have embarked on a post-modern spree, recycling and reclaiming the retro looks of the past, the ‘60s in particular; we’ve taken that decade as a starting point and made it our own. It’s called ‘Avengersland.’"
Macpherson worked closely with Weintraub while developing the feature script for about two years. And when it came time to find a director, Weintraub had his trademark definite ideas.
The producer remarks, "This script is character led. It’s an adventure and a romance, very British, very funny and a little surreal. I think it’s a new formula—a great blend of character and action."
Chechik shared Weintraub’s attachment to the original. He remembers, "The first time I read the script, I was taken with its commitment to a fresh, new sensibility, both visually and structurally. I felt I needed to see this movie with all its feeling for the characters and their idiosyncrasies. It was obvious that we needed to pay homage to the series, but energize it and take it further. Having grown up watching ‘The Avengers,’ I couldn’t wait to re-invent our own Mrs. Peel."
The director also had his theories of why the characters have proven so enduring. He comments, "Mrs. Peel is really kind of a miraculous blend of the best aspects of women. She’s extraordinarily bright and sexy. Steed, on the other hand, is the Zen warrior represented by the English gentleman. He’s completely self-aware, quite comfortable in his own skin, which masks this potentially deadly interior."
Macpherson sees the characters as representing two distinct influences in England. He says, "Steed is the last English gentleman and his way of life is on the wane. He’s a knight who no longer fits into current times. Emma Peel, in a way, represents the future, both of Britain and, less specifically, of any place. She’s very new, sassy and bright and, although she respects it, she doesn’t feel the need to bow to tradition. The attraction between them stems from this game, this dance between two opposing points of view."
The writer also sees something more basic. He continues, "‘The Avengers’ was always really about—no matter who the villain was that week or what the strange and wonderful plot was—the question with Steed and Peel…are they or aren’t they? Let’s just say that that sexual tension is still very much a part of the story."
It was the very heritage and cult status of the series that originally intimidated the filmmakers’ Steed of choice—Ralph Feinnes. Fiennes, who had played everything from a Nazi camp guard to the Prince of Denmark, recalls, "The strengths of the show are also the strengths of our script—its lightness and its wit. It walks the delicate line between pastiche and something serious, with a subtle undertone of the romantic attraction between the leads. The audience is kept guessing about Steed and Emma and, while they can fantasize about what is going on, they are never going to know. Patrick Macnee created something so quintessentially English, a wonderful mixture of eccentricity and likable cliché. But there came a point where I just thought, well, if I’m going to do this, I can’t imitate Patrick’s Steed—I have to absorb what he gave and make it my own. Which is exactly what Jerry and Jeremiah have done."
To fill the black boots of Emma Peel, producer and director were in total agreement, so they sent the script to Uma Thurman. The actress says, "When I read the script, I found something charming about it and was impressed by its sophistication. I had heard about the project a few years ago. So when it came back around, it seemed like it was coming back to me for a reason. Ralph was perfect for the part of Steed and Emma is a great character—positive, intelligent, witty, sort of a superwoman. She’s a free spirit and somewhat unconscious of her draw over men. The script was written in a soft shoe style in the interaction between Steed and Peel, which is a different style of movie for me."
With both of the Avengers ready to fight crime, filmmakers now needed a formidable criminal. Though known for his strong portrayals of heroic men (a man named Bond in particular) on the right side of the law, Sean Connery immediately came to the producer’s mind when casting turned to the role of Sir August De Wynter. But true to the characters he has made an art out of playing, Connery needed convincing to assume the dark cloak of a villain.
Weintraub recalls, "Sean Connery and I are good friends, which I thought would be helpful. I sent him the script and he called me and said, ‘I’m not going to do this.’ And I said, ‘But this would be great for you.’ So what ended up happening was that I flew to Sean’s home in Spain with Jeremiah and Don and executive producer Susan Ekins. We went to work on the character of Sir August and, three days later, Sean signed on."
Chechik comments, "Sean brings Sean Connery, and all that entails—a fantastic sense of power, a great sense of self-assuredness, a wicked sense of humor. He’s a delightful antagonist."
In keeping with their commitment to the origins of the piece, Weintraub and Chechik rounded out the cast with a group of some of Great Britain’s distinguished actors: Jim Broadbent, Fiona Shaw, Eddie Izzard, Eileen Atkins and John Wood.
An interesting addition to the cast that may be detected by astute listeners is the voice of Patrick Macnee as "Invisible Jones," a character who is heard but never seen. Macnee, of course, was the original John Steed in the television series.
The gathering of designers assembled to bring "The Avengers" to the screen also proved a British majority: director of photography Roger Pratt, production designer Stuart Craig, editor Mick Audsley, costume designer Anthony Powell and set decorator Stephanie McMillan. The producer even secured the use of Laurie Johnson’s original theme from the television series (from Colgems-EMI Music) for use in the motion picture.
The wry Britishness, the mod-inspired look, the urbane sophistication—all of the qualities that had been building blocks for Weintraub, Chechik and Macpherson now had to be visually translated to the screen.
Designer Craig notes, "What was fascinating about the original Avengers was its sophistication. The show’s producers were conditioned by not having any money. Out of necessity they went to derelict airfields, for example, for shooting. Dereliction, empty spaces, no cars, no people—that’s all they could afford. So they very wittily, very cleverly made a virtue of that. They ended up with a very surreal world, a kind of selective reality."
To capture that surrealism (an artistic movement that sprang up in the 1920’s and strove to re-create the intense irrational reality of a dream), Craig went to the works of surrealist painters Magritte and De Chirico for inspiration, pinning posters to the walls of his office.
Weintraub describes the world created for his Avengers as "a land that never existed and will never exist except in our minds. There are no street signs, no ads, minimal use of background extras. It’s just a clean London."
Since today’s London is very much a city in the ‘90s with its own "real" look, special care was taken when choosing locations. Soundstages were used at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios in England and practical locations were selected that embodied the spirit of the characters with which they were associated: the modernist Chelsea home of internationally renowned architect Richard Rogers (who designed Pompidou Centre and the Lloyds building in London) became Emma Peel’s flat; an amalgam of historic homes (Blenheim Palace, Hatfield and Syon Houses) all came to represent different parts of Sir August’s Hallucinogen Hall; the Royal Naval College in Greenwich served as the headquarters of the world council of ministers; the 19th century residential homes of Regent’s Park and a giant ballroom at Stowe Castle were also used for their elemental symmetry.
Craig says of the locations, "We’ve created a London as this empty world. We’ve controlled roads, kept traffic and crowds out. Other than our characters, the only people you see are functionaries with a uniform—a nanny, a cab driver, a policeman, a scientist in a lab coat."
While the producer is quick to acknowledge the characters’ style and the clean vision presented in the original series, he is adamant about creating an updated vision, one re-invented and large enough to engage today’s moviegoers. Weintraub explains, "I thought the sexual tension, innuendo and the repartee between Steed and Emma was very important. But can you make a movie of this size with just sexual repartee? No. You can’t do a Noel Coward piece as an action movie. So what we have is a romantic comedy with an action-adventure background of several set pieces."
Several large-scale sets were constructed at the studios, including the bunker-like set of Ministry Headquarters beneath the Thames River (which recalls Churchill’s bunker) and the enormous futuristic structure of the Prospero project (De Wynter’s weather-controlling station). Steed’s apartment was also created as an 18th century Belgravia home, chock full of antiques, bookcases and paintings.
Fiennes felt that Craig’s work reinforced the contrast of Steed (traditional) and Peel (hi-tech). He comments, "It’s the counterpoint between Steed and Emma which makes it work. Emma’s always ultra-modern, an independent tough lady, sexy and graceful. Steed’s the embodiment of the English gentleman. I have this line—‘Tradition is all we have, Mrs. Peel.’"
The scale of the Ministry and Prospero sets, however, was not literally the biggest challenge confronted by the filmmakers. Craig, set decorator Stephanie McMillan, director of photography Roger Pratt and visual effects supervisor Nick Davis were faced with re-creating London’s famous Trafalgar Square in the midst of an Arctic snowstorm invented and controlled by De Wynter.
Craig explains, "In the script, there is a sequence where Steed is chasing a hot air balloon through Trafalgar Square while fighting through 30-foot snowdrifts. To shoot that, we physically needed moving cameras, and the best way to accomplish that was with a major model."
A large scaled-down version of the square was built on Stage H at Shepperton Studios—the impressively detailed structure covered over 10,000 square feet of studio space. Small sections of the square (such as the columns outside of the historic St. Martin’s-in-the-Field church) were constructed to full scale on a separate stage and, through the magic of visual effects supervisor Davis, the Magic Camera Company and effects labs of Cinesite in London, shots of Steed wading through drifts outside of the church could be seamlessly integrated into shots of the balloon floating past the statue of Lord Nelson in the center of the square.
Almost as memorable as the stark design of the original show was the look of the avenging duo—Steed in his traditional-to-the-extreme tailored suit and Emma (some of the time, anyway) in a leather catsuit.
Costume designer Powell admits, "Since it’s a classic, you have to start from what everybody knows. Steed was dressed in a way that was already anachronistic in the ‘60’s. It’s interesting that today, apart from the bowler hat, a beautifully cut Saville Row suit is the height of fashion again. Given that Steed is a veritable poster image of tradition, it seemed to me to have everything connected with him made in Saville Row."
Powell used tailors from the shops along the world-famous district in London, many of the historic establishments dating back to Queen Victoria’s early days on the throne, to create Steed’s pinstripe suits, shirts, shoes, umbrellas and signature bowler hats (crafted by a hat making company that is in service to the royal family).
Fiennes remembers, "We spent ages going through various pinstripes and weights of cloth. I’d never been to Saville Row tailors in my life, and I must say it’s addictive."
The designer’s job was a bit less cut and dried when it came to creating Emma’s clothes. Powell turned to the decades that surrounded the original television icons, studying back issues of Vogue from the period. He recalls, "I was astonished by the quality of innocence and freshness of the clothes then. But the look was sort of a dolly bird, Lolita look—Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton—and that simply isn’t Uma. In film, you can’t impose an image on any actor, you have to work with what is there. Uma is tall with her own personal sense of style. So, we started over with clothes that were right for Uma, right for the ‘90s and with a flavor of the ‘60s."
And the famous leather catsuit? Powell continues, "At my first meeting with Uma, she asked where the catsuit would hang in Emma’s wardrobe. That’s a very good question—you don’t get up one morning and think, ‘Today, I may fall off the top of a skyscraper, so I’d better wear the black leather.’ For costumes to be successful, they have to look inevitable, as though they are part of an actor’s body. So, to resolve it, I made sure that everything else lead up to the famous catsuit, that everything has an echo of it—either it’s something formfitting or made of suede or leather. That way, the suit at the end becomes almost inevitable."
* * *
Much like the originators of the British television series, the filmmakers behind "The Avengers" have crafted something new—a stylish and wry action-adventure with elements of a romantic comedy.
The director comments, "This is a movie that’s a lot of fun to watch, that combines the best of lightness of romantic comedy with explosive kinetic action. We were chasing our tails trying to combine all of that."
Fiennes offers a different slant. He concludes, "This is a comic thriller, really. I think what we’re saying in this film is, ‘Isn’t it bizarre that Steed can be involved in a long, drawn-out fight, yet remain so immaculate throughout?’"
Warner Bros. Presents A Jerry Weintraub Production of A Jeremiah Chechik Film: Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery in "The Avengers," starring Jim Broadbent. The music is by Joel McNeely; the editor is Mick Audsley; the production designer is Stuart Craig; and the director of photography is Roger Pratt, B.S.C. The executive producer is Susan Ekins. "The Avengers" is written by Don Macpherson, produced by Jerry Weintraub and directed by Jeremiah Chechik. Distributed worldwide by Warner Bros., A Time Warner Entertainment Company. www.the-avengers.com
RALPH FIENNES (John Steed) received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his work in "The English Patient." His performance in "Schindler’s List" brought him a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor, awards from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. He was voted Best Actor of 1994 by the London Film Critics and, in 1995, won a Tony Award for his work in the title role of "Hamlet" on Broadway—the only actor (out of the roughly one dozen actors who have played Hamlet on Broadway) in history to win the award for his portrayal of the Danish prince.
Fiennes, the eldest of six children born to a photographer father and novelist mother, is a native of Suffolk, England. After attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, he joined Britain’s Royal National Theatre in 1987 and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1989. Stage credits include "Six Characters in Search of an Author," "Fathers and Sons" and "Ting Tang Mine" (all at the National Theatre) and "The Plantagenets" (the three parts of Shakespeare’s "Henry VI" plus "Richard III") for the RSC. Other stage credits include "Much Ado About Nothing," "King John," "Troilus and Cressida," "Love’s Labour Lost," "King Lear" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner."
His other film credits include "Strange Days" and the critically lauded "Quiz Show." Fiennes most recently starred in the film "Oscar and Lucinda." Upcoming projects include the title role in "Eugene Onegin" and as the voice of the Pharaoh Ramses in the animated "Prince of Egypt."
UMA THURMAN (Emma Peel) earned an Academy Award nomination for her standout performance in Quentin Tarantino’s highly praised hit, "Pulp Fiction." She went on to star in "A Month By the Lake," "Beautiful Girls," "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," "Batman & Robin" and the futuristic drama "Gattaca." She was most recently seen in the role of Fantine in the motion picture version of Victor Hugo’s novel, "Les Misérables," directed by Billie August.
Thurman was raised in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Woodstock, New York. She attended a preparatory school in New England, where at 15 she was discovered by two New York agents in a production of "The Crucible." At 16, she transferred to the Professional Children’s School in New York City in order to pursue an acting career.
Thurman’s role as the goddess Venus in Terry Gilliam’s 1988 fantasy, "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," brought her to international attention. She went on to receive critical acclaim for her work in Stephen Frears’ "Dangerous Liaisons." The following year, she starred in Philip Kaufman’s controversial "Henry and June."
Her additional feature film roles include "Where the Heart Is," "Final Analysis," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "Mad Dog and Glory."
SEAN CONNERY (Sir August De Wynter) won both a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe Award in 1987 for "The Untouchables."
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Connery had small parts in movies and television before landing the role that would launch his career. Cast as James Bond, Agent 007, in a small-budget British picture called "Dr. No," Connery inaugurated the longest-running series in film history, starring as the urbane Bond in "From Russia with Love," "Goldfinger," "Thunderball," "You Only Live Twice," "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Never Say Never Again."
Connery also starred in Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie" and in "A Fine Madness," "The Molly Maguires," "The Anderson Tapes," "Murder on the Orient Express," "The Wind and the Lion," "The Man Who Would Be King," "Robin and Marion," "A Bridge Too Far," "Outland," "Zardoz," "The Name of the Rose," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "The Russia House," "The Hunt for Red October," "Medicine Man," "Rising Sun" (on which he also served as executive producer) and "First Knight."
More recently, Connery starred in the blockbuster "The Rock" and in "Dragonheart" (as the voice of the dragon). Upcoming projects include the ensemble drama "Dancing About Architecture" and the thriller "Entrapment," also starring Katherine Zeta Jones.
Among the many international honors Connery has received for his work are the Legion d'Honneur and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (the highest honors given in France) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Best Actor Award for "The Name of the Rose" (1987), as well as a Lifetime Achievement Tribute Award presented by BAFTA in 1990. Connery also founded the Scottish International Education Trust in 1968.
JIM BROADBENT (Mother) is one of Britain’s most versatile character actors, with a long list of credits ranging from screwball comedy to weighty drama. More recent credits include "Smilla’s Sense of Snow," Sir Ian McKellan’s acclaimed motion picture version of "Richard III" and Woody Allen’s "Bullets Over Broadway." His other recent film credits include "Rough Magic," "Princess Caraboo," "Widow’s Peak," Neil Jordan’s "The Crying Game," "Enchanted April" and Mike Leigh’s "Life Is Sweet." He was most recently seen in "The Borrowers" and his upcoming projects include "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice."
Broadbent’s theatrical resume includes performances in Sam Mendes’ production of "Habeas Corpus" and Richard Eyre’s production of "Kafka’s Dick" (both by Alan Bennett); "The Government Inspector," also directed by Richard Eyre; and "Goosepimples" and "Ecstasy" for director Mike Leigh.
His television credits include Richard Loncraine’s "Wide-Eyed and Legless" ("The Wedding Gift" in the United States), the award-winning "A Sense of History" (which he wrote and starred in for director Mike Leigh), "Walter" (opposite Ian McKellan and directed by Stephen Frears) and Mike Newell’s "Birth of a Nation: Tales Out of School."
FIONA SHAW (Father) is one of Ireland’s most respected actresses, with a distinguished career on stage and screen. Her film credits include roles in "My Left Foot," "Mountains of the Moon," "Three Men and a Little Lady," "London Kills Me," "Super Mario Bros," "Undercover Blues," "Jane Eyre" and "Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina." She most recently starred as Mrs. Nugent in Neil Jordan’s acclaimed "The Butcher Boy." Her television work includes "Sherlock Holmes" for Granada Television, "Love Song" for Anglia TV, "Maria’s Child," "Hedda Gabler," "Persuasion" and "The Wasteland," all for the BBC.
Shaw’s extensive theater credits include "The Rivals" at the National Theatre and "As You Like It," "Philistines" and "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Touring productions with the RSC include "Much Ado About Nothing," "The Merchant of Venice" and "Hyde Park." Her performance in "Electra" at the Barbican in London in 1990 gained her the Olivier Award for Best Actress and the London Critics Award. She received the London Critics Award again in 1992 for her performance in "Hedda Gabler" at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and in 1993 received the Olivier Award for Best Actress and the Evening Standard Drama Award for Best Actress for her performance in "Machinal" at the National Theatre.
Her other theater work includes roles in "Footfalls" at the Garrick Theatre, "Richard II" and "Way of the World" at the National, and her acclaimed performance of "The Wasteland" in Paris, Toronto, Montreal and on Broadway.
EDDIE IZZARD (Bailey) has forged a name for himself as one of Great Britain’s most popular stand-up comics and has now started invading America with two sell-out Off-Broadway runs in 1996 and 1997 and a successful Broadway engagement in 1998. His film credits include the critically acclaimed role of Vladimir in "The Secret Agent" and Jerry Devine in Todd Haynes’ upcoming feature "The Velvet Goldmine," starring Ewan McGregor.
EILEEN ATKINS (Alice) has enjoyed a distinguished career on screen, stage and television for over three decades. The London-born Atkins’ recent film credits have included roles in "Jack and Sarah," in the hit comedy "Cold Comfort Farm," opposite Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer in "Wolf" and in the moving drama "Let Him Have It." Other motion picture credits include "The Vision," "The Dresser," "Nelly’s Version," "Equus" and "Inadmissible Evidence." Atkins has appeared on telelvision in "The Lost Language of Cranes," "Roman Holiday," "Titus Andronicus," "Oliver Twist," "She Fell Among Thieves," "This Lady’s Not For Burning," "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" and "The Three Sisters," as well as title role performances in "The Duchess of Malfi," "Electra" and "The Lady from the Sea."
The actress’ esteemed body of stage work includes the recent critically lauded performance in a revival of Edward Albee’s "A Delicate Balance" (opposite Maggie Smith) and the starring role alongside Kathleen Turner, Roger Rees and Jude Law in the acclaimed Broadway production of "Indiscretions." She has also played Broadway, the West End and has toured extensively with her one-woman show about the Bloomsbury author Virginia Woolf, "A Room of One’s Own," and starred in the West End as Woolf in Atkins’ own play, "Vita and Virginia." Her expertise on the life of Woolf resulted in a screenplay based on Woolf’s book, "Mrs. Dalloway," recently released and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha McElhone and Rupert Graves.
JOHN WOOD (Trubshaw) has shaped an acclaimed career founded on versatility that has spanned more than 45 years. His early roles include "The Rebel," "Live Now - Pay Later," "Which Way to the Front?" and "Nicholas and Alexandra." Wood has also appeared in "WarGames," "Ladyhawke," "The Purple Rose of Cairo," "Lady Jane," "Heartburn," "Jumpin’ Jack Flash," "Twelfth Night," "Bullseye," "The Bit Part" and "The Young Americans." Recent credits include "Shadowlands," "Orlando," "The Madness of King George," "Richard III," "Sabrina" with Harrison Ford and "Jane Eyre" with William Hurt. His notable television roles include HBO’s "Rasputin" and "Citizen X," "The Summer House," "Memento Mori" and "At Mother’s Request."
PATRICK MACNEE (Voice of Invisible Jones) spent 10 years as the star of the international hit television series "The Avengers," where he created the leading role of the distinctive John Steed.
Born into an aristocratic English family, Macnee began his acting career in 1941 with small stage and screen roles in Britain. Soon after, he served a four-year stint in the Royal Navy. Following active service, Macnee returned to England and starred in more than 30 television plays and more than a dozen films, commuting between Britain, the United States and Canada, where he helped pioneer Canadian TV. In the late 1950s Macnee came to Hollywood for roles in the films "Les Girls" and "Mission of Danger," as well as the television series "Playhouse 90" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and numerous stage appearances.
Macnee’s other film credits include the comedy "Young Doctors in Love"; the James Bond film "A View to a Kill"; "Sea Wolves" with David Niven, Gregory Peck and Roger Moore; and "Rob Reiner’s satire "This is Spinal Tap." He appeared onstage in a New York production of "Sleuth" and starred during the 1970s in the TV series "The New Avengers." Macnee has also made TV appearances on such shows as "Sherlock Holmes" with Christopher Lee; HBO’s "Dream On"; and 26 episodes of "Thunder in Paradise," and he currently hosts the Sci-Fi Channel’s "Mysteries, Magic and Miracles." In addition, he has recorded numerous books on tape and has written two books, an autobiography entitled Blind in One Ear and the current release The Avengers and Me.
JEREMIAH CHECHIK (Director) is best known for the critically acclaimed "Benny and Joon," starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn, as well as his work as a director of award-winning commercials and music videos.
The Montreal-born filmmaker majored in theater at McGill University and, after graduating, moved to Toronto to pursue a career as a photographer and a painter. In the late 1970s, Chechik traveled to Europe and established himself in Milan as a cutting edge fashion photographer for Italian Vogue.
Chechik began directing television commercials in the United States in the early 1980s. He went on to win Clio Awards and Directors Guild of America Award nominations for his breakthrough advertising work, which included spots for such top accounts as AT&T, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Diet Coke, Nike, American Express and Michelob, and featured such performers as Paul Newman, Whitney Houston and Phil Collins. As MTV grew in popularity, Chechik began directing music videos for artists including Van Halen and Hall & Oates.
Chechik made his feature film debut with the 1989 comedy hit "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation." Most recently, he directed "Diabolique," starring Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani and Chazz Palminteri and "Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill," starring Patrick Swayze, Scott Glenn and Catherine O’Hara.
JERRY WEINTRAUB (Producer) has made a significant contribution to every area of the entertainment field. His credits as a motion-picture producer include "Nashville," "Oh God!," "Diner," "The Karate Kid" and its sequels, "Cruising," "Pure Country" and "The Specialist." Upcoming projects include "Soldier," a futuristic action story starring Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee. He appeared on the other side of the camera as an actor in Sydney Pollack’s "The Firm."
He has been involved in the production of more than 100 television specials, including the 1984 Olympic Gala, telecast immediately before the opening of the Los Angeles Olympic Games. In 1986, he became one of the first independent movie producers to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the same year has was named "Producer of the Year" by the National Association of Theatre Owners. In 1991, Weintraub was appointed by then-President George Bush to the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In recognition of his philanthropic and professional achievements, he was also designated Cacaliere Officiale of the Order of al Merito della Republica Italiana by Francesco Cossiga, President of the Italian Republic.
In 1965, Weintraub founded Management III with two partners, a meager investment and three clients. He parlayed that into a career as a leading concert promoter with such landmark successes as Elvis Presley’s comeback concert. His reputation as an expert concert promoter led to the formation of Concerts West, the company that handled concerts for such artists as Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and the Beach Boys and became one of the great success stories in the music promotion world.
DON MACPHERSON (Screenwriter), also a native of Great Britain, has written scripts for some of Hollywood’s most elite filmmakers and stars, including Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and Jodie Foster. A former journalist and a graduate of Cambridge University, Macpherson lists among his screenwriting credits the visually groundbreaking musical "Absolute Beginners," the gritty drama "The Big Man" (starring Liam Neeson and Joanne Whalley) and the yet-unproduced screenplay adaptation of Henry Fielding’s 18th century novel, "Jonathan Wild."
SUSAN EKINS (Executive Producer) has been working with Jerry Weintraub for more than 14 years and is Vice President of Jerry Weintraub Productions. She was associate producer of "Pure Country" and "The Specialist" and executive producer of "Vegas Vacation." She is also executive producer of the upcoming "Soldier," starring Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee.
ROGER PRATT, B.S.C. (Director of Photography) worked on one of his first motion pictures as an assistant cameraman on 1972’s "My Childhood." He followed that with work on two films of the seminal British comedy troupe, Monty Python’s Flying Circus—"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (camera assistant) and "Jabberwocky" (focus). Credits as a cinematographer include the recent "In Love and War," "12 Monkeys," "Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein," "The Line, the Cross & the Curve," "Shadowlands," "The Year of the Comet" and "The Fisher King." His other feature credits include "Batman," "High Hopes," "Mona Lisa," "Brazil," "Dutch Girls" and a segment of "Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life." Television credits include "Bernard and the Genie," "Scoop," "The Short and Curlies" and "Meantime."
STUART CRAIG (Production Designer) is a three-time Academy Award winner for his art direction ("The English Patient," "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Gandhi"). He received additional Oscar nominations for work on "Chaplin," "The Mission" and "The Elephant Man."
While attending art school as a painter in London, Craig became interested in scenic design and created sets for several local stage productions before beginning a formal course of study at the Royal College of Art’s Film and Television Department. His first motion picture job was on the James Bond film "Casino Royale," eventually becoming art director on "A Bridge Too Far" and "Superman." As a production designer, Craig’s other credits include "Mary Reilly," "In Love and War," "The Secret Garden," "Shadowlands," "Memphis Belle," "Stars and Bars," "Cry Freedom," "Cal," "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" and "Saturn 3."
MICK AUDSLEY (Editor) has worked as an editor on some of the most acclaimed dramas to come out of the United States and Great Britain in the past two decades. Feature editing credits include "The Serpent’s Kiss," "The Van," "12 Monkeys," "Interview with the Vampire," "Hero" and "The Grifters." His additional credits include "We’re No Angels," "Dangerous Liaisons," "Soursweet," "Prick Up Your Ears," "Comrades," "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid," "My Beautiful Laundrette," "Walter and June," "Dance with a Stranger," "The Hit," "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman" and "My Way Home."
JOEL McNEELY’s (Composer) scores were most recently heard in the Turner telefilm "Buffalo Soldiers" and in the features "Wild America" and "Vegas Vacation." His additional scoring credits include the big screen version of "Flipper," "Radioland Murders," "Terminal Velocity," "Iron Will" and "Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale." He also composed music for the television series "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" and "Tiny Toon Adventures" and provided additional music for "Air Force One." His upcoming projects include the features "Soldier" (starring Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee), "Zack and Reba" and the thriller "Virus" (starring William Baldwin and Jamie Lee Curtis).
ANTHONY POWELL (Costumer) has won three Academy Awards for costume design—"Tess," "Death on the Nile" and "Travels with My Aunt." He also received Oscar nominations for "Pirates" (for which he received a Cesar Award—France’s Oscar equivalent) and for "Hook." Powell’s other motion picture costuming credits include "101 Dalmatians" (including Glenn Close’s outlandish wardrobe as Cruella de Vil), "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "Frantic," "Ishtar," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," "Evil Under the Sun" and "Priest of Love." His other credits include "Sorcerer," "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson," "That Lucky Touch" and "Papillon." Powell’s stage costumes have also been lauded; his work on the Broadway production of "School for Scandal" received a Tony Award and his costumes for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "Sunset Boulevard" netted him a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award.
STEPHANIE McMILLAN (Set Decorator) won an Academy Award for Set Decoration on "The English Patient." Her other feature credits include set decoration on "Fierce Creatures," "Mary Reilly," "In Love and War," "The Secret Garden," "Shadowlands," "Under Suspicion," "The Year of the Comet," "Dealers" and "A Fish Called Wanda." She additionally worked as a set dresser on "A Kiss Before Dying."
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